We left after lunch on Friday and drove for one hour through Adelaide to the camping ground in Bolivar, run by Aspen Holidays. A short start to the trip but certainly takes the stress out of packing the caravan and tidying the house.
Bolivar, where the sewerage plant is situated, and the aroma touched our noses as we left the expressway! Luckily no smell at the camping ground. Interestingly we stayed in the new area designed for short term stays, but most of the area is for permanent/long term stays, and interestingly at the back of this area they are building a residential area, with two bedroom houses. Both areas have swimming pools and are beautifully maintained.
But go back forty five years when it was a dismal area on Port Wakefield Road, the road north that had very little development on it. I so remember driving past it on my way to teaching at a school in Virginia, which seemed to be way out in the country. And it was then. But no more! Industrial sites, housing and you name it all the way, roughly 20 km of development.
The view of the sunset from my little bedroom window.
We looked forward to travelling through the country towns of Mallala, Balaclava, Blyth, the top of Clare, Spalding, Jamestown and Orroroo. Each town has its own character. But we forgot that they also close at midday on a Saturday, including service stations. A bad mistake.
Of course we could have topped up with diesel before midday, but we did not, and by the time we got to Orroroo we were down to 1 bar with a 130 km range. And the service station in Orroroo was not only closed for the weekend but it was going to be closed for months due to a fuel leak in one of its underground tanks. Luckily we decided to not stay in the camping ground there.
So we decided to take a detour via Wilmington, 51 km away. As we drove into the wind and rain our km range kept dropping rapidly, due to towing a caravan in the head wind. After a nail biting, high anxious time we finally made it to Wilmington, still with one bar, but with messages flashing up on the screen to say that we need to refuel. No range left.
And guess what, the service station/road house in Wilmington was closed, so we drove a few kilometres to the camping ground and stayed there. Wet, muddy and cold. But we were not stranded on the side of the road.
The rule in Australia is keep your fuel tanks topped up, and obviously this applies to areas close to Adelaide too.
Anyway, the service station in Wilmington opened Sunday morning for a few hours so we were able to continue our journey today, another 100 km to Hawker, via Quorn. Phew!
While on the bad news front! The lower part of South Australia has been in the grip of a two/three year drought. I think that where we live on the Fleurieu Peninsula it has broken as we are receiving plenty of rain and the countryside is now green.
But above Adelaide, it is still brown. And the recent storms have blown the topsoil away, with the new seed in it, so no crops this year. The rain that we saw yesterday came too late.
Heavy clouds over the brown land.
Flat land too, with the hills away in the distance.
Beautiful, but harsh scenery.
We parked on the side street in Quorn. All ready to head north east, and with plenty of fuel. Plenty of blue in the skies too.
Just before Hawker we stopped at a place which used to be called Wilson. And for a couple of years in the mid 1800s it was a prosperous place, with people growing crops and generally living well. That is until a drought hit, and people realised the land and climate was not suitable for farming. Now there are just ruins and a cemetery. 
The old station master's house, I think. A railway line ran through here, from 1880 until 1981.
We stopped at the church hall in Balaclava for the best double shot latte, and banana cake. The cafe is run by volunteers on Friday and Saturday mornings. We arrived just in time. No photos as we were totally focused on our coffee.
We h also have no photos of Wilmington, or the camping ground which is not the most brilliant place. It was also very muddy.
Today we stopped in Quorn for our coffee and cake, in the sunshine. An historic town, beautifully restored and reasonably prosperous. It is popular with travellers heading to the Flinders Ranges, and for people keen to take a trip on the old train that travels towards Port Augusta.
There is even a gin distillery here.
Now we are in a friendly and beautifully maintained camping ground in Hawker, and ready to explore the local area.
While on the subject of drought and fuel I would like to mention Orroroo again. We stayed there five years ago when the land around was very green, and despite Covid, the town was buzzing with activity. Now they are in the grip of a drought, with top soil and seed blown away. And they are unable to buy fuel in town due to the leaking underground tank, which will takes months to fix. They will have to travel 50 km or more in order to fill their vehicles with fuel. And no alternative transport either, no trains or buses or cycling paths. Life in country Australia.
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