A very long story!

We decided that two weeks away in the caravan would be perfect, now that the days were longer, and winter was nearly over.

I know we live by the beach, however visiting another beach is always refreshing.   We thought the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula would be the perfect place.   A little further north, and better weather.   Also the current algae problem which has hit our south coast has not moved so far west.     

So Streaky Bay here we come.   Or so we thought!   But more about that later.

The first stop.   Port Augusta, not the most popular place to stop in, but an important town as two main highways go through it.    The road that runs from Adelaide to Darwin, and the road that runs west to Perth.   There are three major roads that run east to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane although not directly from Port Augusta.   The railway lines also runs through Port Augusta as well.

Sadly people only stay overnight in Port Augusta and consequently there are plenty of hotels, motels and two camping grounds.   

Port Augusta has many problems, a bit run down, a bit rough, plus a lot of crime, I think.   When the camping grounds have high fences around them, plus locked gates at night, you take notice and make sure you are careful.  

Altogether, we stayed there for five nights, and found people to be very friendly, helpful and open.   It was such a pleasant surprise.

The main street, with plenty of trees.    I can remember visiting the town in the 1980s, and being impressed with the beautiful paving and landscaping work.   Those same pavers could do with a massive cleanup now, and sadly many shops were closed, probably due to the Woolworths supermarket and Big W store at the end of the street.

We visited the Arid Lands Botanical Gardens, and were fortunate to see many of the trees and plants in flower.   The photo was taken just before a huge downpour.   In fact it rained most of the time we were there.   Arid lands and rain do not usually go together.

Matthew Flinders Red Cliff Lookout.    The view towards the Flinders Ranges, with the Spencer Gulf and the railway bridge in the foreground.   The view that Matthew Flinders saw in 1802 would have been minus the bridge and speedboat of course.

We visited the amazing Wadlata"s 'Tunnel of Time' which was part of the Visitor Information Centre.   The journey through tunnels and exhibitions tell the creation of the Flinders Ranges and Outback, with displays of fossils, Aboriginal Dreaming stories, the Mound Springs, explanations of the underground water, and the development of European settlement.    

The following photographs are not in order!

Walter viewing the early explorers' diorama.  

The bush fire!

The huge snake!

The entrance, through the giant jaws of Max, the prehistoric Ripper Lizard.

Our initial two nights in Port Augusta, with intention of visiting the Arid Lands Botanical Gardens, was extended into five nights, with three nights spent in a very nice motel complex called Standpipe Golf Motor Inn.  The reception area and restaurant was in an old stone building built in 1883.  And next door was a very green and luxurious gold club.   Definitely not in keeping with the rest of Port Augusta, but then it was on the northern outskirts of the town.

They had pet friendly accommodation, thank goodness, but of course it was in an older room, not in the flash part of the motel complex.   Next to us were three young workmen who drank beer well into the early hours of the morning.   They also threw their beer bottles into the bushes and left their takeaway cartons lying around on the ground.    The joys!

The reason for the extended stay can be seen in the next photograph.   We managed to travel about 100 km west on the Eyre Highway when I noticed the caravan was leaning quite a bit, and nothing to do with the road either.    Luckily we pulled into a rest area straight away.    And yes there was a definite lean, and on closer inspection we saw the spring hanging down.   Not good.   

Luckily, a man, plus three little dogs, pulled up behind us, and he offered assistance.   So badly needed. He told us the Ubolt was broken.   Now the Ubolt holds the spring in place behind the wheel.   An easy fix if you have another Ubolt with you.   We of course did not have one.   I had never heard of a Ubolt until then.

We unhitched the caravan, and the lovely man let his three little dogs out to run around, and looked after our van while we drove back a distance in order to get a telephone signal.    Now for people who do not live in Australia it does not take long to lose a signal once you leave towns or settlements.

The man had no intention of stealing our van as he had his own, very new caravan.   And our caravan was by this time leaning very badly. 

We rang the RAA.   Luckily we have the top cover so no problem getting assistance so far from Port Augusta.   We had to wait three long hours though. 

The van was still leaning to one side as it was pulled onto the back of the truck.   

It was a gloriously sunny day which was some consolation.

Now the caravan repair firm in Port Augusta would not take the caravan, due to not making a prior arrangement to have it fixed there.   Now, how do they expect us to do this, in the middle of nowhere, with no telephone signal.  

Anyway the little company that has the RAA contract said they would carry out the repair themselves as they have a mobile mechanic.    A simple job, once they locate another Ubolt.    And it was an easy and quick job, but had to be completed between RAA call outs.   And the call outs were often a hundred or more kilometres away.   

So we stayed in the motel for three nights.  The repair costs were very reasonable at $160.

The caravan sat amongst thousands of wrecked cars for three days.   I have never seen so many wrecked cars.  Apparently their crusher no longer works.  

All fixed and ready to go.     

The manicured golf course beside the motel.   Lots of walks for Piper between the green parts.

And so we decided to not drive across the Eyre Peninsula to Streaky Bay, but head back down towards Adelaide, and stay in Port Hughes.   And it is beautiful here, but more about that later. 

Now we are considering purchasing a Starlink Mini just in case we break down again.   Even though it goes against our principles to support Elon Musk in any way.