I'll start with a large (and in my experience unusual) brickbat to Google maps. On asking for a route from Wentworth to Dutton Bay West I got this map.
- fit a propeller to the Subaru; or
- force the route through Port Augusta.
It turns out the short route includes a 70km ferry trip. On checking the Ferry website it emerges they charge $210 but more importantly only leave at 9am which means that to get there from Wentworth we'd have to leave about 2am. I don't know how long to allow for hosing the many dead roos off the roo-bar on the front of the car! That is so obviously stupid direction provision that the 4kg steaming item goes to Google!
The day began a tad early as I was awoken about 2am by a
lustful Southern Boobook. For overseas
readers, this is an owl which calls repeatedly in the breeding season. (This got my Wentworth bird list up to 39
species.) I didn't feel inclined to hit the road and fortunately got back to
sleep until about 5:30 when we both got up, showered, packed, and were on the
way at 6:40. This was well before dawn,
let alone sunrise. However, we had 950km
to cover and the end needed to be done in daylight – tricky rural roads from
the sound of it – so a prompt start was Good.
We took a cut off once over the Murray and got out to the
Sturt Highway rather easily, avoiding all the suburbia of Mildura, Merbein
etc. Then on down the road to South
Australia, where we stopped for fruit-fly check. On to Renmark for a grocery shop and petrol
fill up. Then on to the West.
After successfully finding the quick cut to Morgan, we paused
to buy some Navel Oranges ($5 for 5 kilos) at a roadside stall and off through
the saltbush towards Burra (SA – not the place in Western Palerang). A few windmills were evident (well done ETSA).
This was a pretty steady drive and as we neared the end of that stretch Frances asked if people would grow crops there. I had just opined that I thought it unlikely when we passed a sign marking Goyder's Line, which is the limit of agriculture due to rainfall. This is the first time I have seen it marked on a road – perhaps because the road was the Goyder Highway?
This was a pretty steady drive and as we neared the end of that stretch Frances asked if people would grow crops there. I had just opined that I thought it unlikely when we passed a sign marking Goyder's Line, which is the limit of agriculture due to rainfall. This is the first time I have seen it marked on a road – perhaps because the road was the Goyder Highway?
We then started to cut across the bottom of the Flinders
Rangers which was pleasant driving through a hilly agricultural area until a
crossing semi caused the windscreen rubber to tear out again. This got fixed a couple of times (with
increasing levels of bad language - I hope no-one thought Billy Connolly was in
the area) before we got to Port Pirie where a helpful local directed us to
Serge's Crash Repairs. They are also the
local agents for Windscreens O'Brien so should be good. My oath they were good: a ragazzo (after a lad so described fixed a car for us in Venice) appeared and said that a squirt of Superglue would fix it. His boss appeared and explained that the
rubber was just cosmetic: the screen is held in by some other compound to stop
it exploding when the air bags deployed.
Whatever 15 minutes and $15 later we were on our way. No more trouble for the trip. Big, big bouquet to these guys.
A big problem on the man road (Highway 1, which circles the
country) was the number of Road Maggots.
Some people call them caravans and say they are driven by Grey
Nomads. Whoever propels these things
typically cannot drive: they go about 20kph under the speed limit (unless
overtaking is possible when they speed up) and are generally a menace to
society. A big brickbat to caravans.
Despite the efforts of the Road Maggots we go to Port
Augusta, noted the flock of Black-winged Stilts feeding in some water, refuelled and headed off towards Eyre
Peninsula. This had a bit more saltbush,
but it was generally mixed up with Mallee so a
bit more interesting. Past
Whyalla we found we had about 100km to go to Cowell, which we had never heard
of. As we got close to this burg some
agriculture appeared. On the far side
the sea (aka Spencer's Gulf) also appeared
in a very pleasant blue condition. Many of the properties we passed had 'candlelabra plants' on their drives.
The afternoon passed quite pleasantly, tooling on down the
Peninsula to Port Lincoln. Here we found
the discount petrol place, refuelled (discussing small terriers with the clerk)
and headed out of town on a very crappy, and poorly signed, road towards Coffin
Bay. It then turned out this was the Old
Flinders Highway which joined the newie, of far superior quality. It also turned out we were driving into the
sun and that our windscreen was filthy.
Not an easy drive.
Using Greg's instructions we found our way to the Shack where
we are staying for the next several days.
The first macropods of the trip were spotted about 200m from the Shack –
wallabies of some type. The Shack is
brilliant. Apart from anything else it
is millimetres from the beach
and as I first looked out at the water a SootyOystercatcher strolled by and some Pacific Gulls landed just off shore. A good start to the birdlist.
Bird of the Day: Sooty
Oystercatcher (on rarity grounds, [The Stilts get a mention for numbers.]
Plant of the day: Flamboyant
red candelabra plant grown in driveways.
[Soursobs (Oxalis sp) got a tick on emotional grounds as I once offered
to landscape the soursobs in Frances house.]
Most interesting thing of the day: The green-ness of the
Southern Flinders and Eyre Peninsula.
What we learned today: The
Mysteries of modern windscreens.
The sun came up after we had left,
Out of the scrub came he!
And he shone bright, and on the night
Went down into the sea.
