Around Oz the First Time - Chapter 90 - Streaky Bay to Port Pirie

No pressure to get going this morning, no alarm, no other campers to worry about, we sleep in, just a little. We wake to a sunny morning and NO WIND. The vista from the caravan park across the gulf has changed, firstly because the wind has dropped and secondly because the tide is now low. This paradox has to be captured on film, and I wander down to the spot where I took a panoramic shot of me sitting between my fishing rods yesterday. The panorama does not do the scene justice, so I take plenty of other “normal” shots to show the effect.

With the tide out, you could walk to the island, which at high tide I was aiming baits at. There is a fisherman working on a spot where I caught the ray yesterday, but he is having less luck than I, if that is possible. As I walk back, bushes that were simply green yesterday are in bloom today, and I take some time to get shots of the flowers perfectly focussed.

As I head back, I feel the start of a zephyr and looking to the south, see the ugly forming clouds, looking to do what they did yesterday. I suspect Silver Leader and Rosalie, due south of us will not be staying the extra day contemplated and will be on the road early. We pack up and ready ourselves for departure with the last thing on the agenda, a dump point visit, meaning we need to encircle the park, to the furthest point from the front gate, make the dump and head out. A little cheeky, but not unheard of, as we find another van pulling up behind us to do the same thing.

Out on the road and the windscreen wipers signal the start of some precipitation. It doesn’t last long, but now the clouds are here. Thankfully there is no wind to speak of. Port Augusta is about four hundred kilometres away, almost straight across the peninsula. We have enough fuel for the entire trip according to the GPS, but a stop at Kimba, not only halfway on our trip today, but halfway between Perth and Sydney.

Fuel consumption is great, perhaps there is a little tail wind. Heading away from the coast, the wheat crops are plentiful and prolific, but the further we get away from the coast, the more the original bush takes over, until there are no more crops, only bush. You could be forgiven to believe the bush is right up to the road, until you get to a position where you can see past the fences marking the edges of owned land.

The vegetation against the road is much lusher than the other side of the fences. In fact, in places you can see the gum trees, sisters of the ones on our side of the fence, devoid of ground cover, where the roadside has all sorts of bushes, there is nothing other than the gums in the paddocks, just red dirt.

The bush then opens up to Nullarbor type land, treeless and covered in low bushes. Green and blue colours of the natives, covering what must be some sort of salt pan. This goes for as far as the eye can see for now, but is soon replaced with more trees.

Robyn raises the silly experience Silver Leader and Rosalie have had, attempting to get a caravan site in Torquay when they pass through. A simple case of supply and demand. Normally sites in the local caravan park, we suspect, are around the $40 mark, but in the weekend they want to be there, which just happens to be the four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, site fees are $104 per night.

Now in economics this can be explained by the supply and demand curve. There is a limited supply of sites, the demand for them is higher than supply, so we see an increase in price, because customers are willing to pay more for the convenience. This particular time, the second Tuesday in November, is often made to be a four-day weekend by Victorians, and this type of thing is the norm.

Fuel companies would attempt to explain the fuel price variances this way, but the “cycle” they talk about is of their making, and defies logic, not being relevant to supply and demand, AND generally is out of sequence with holiday periods, but still manages to occur, to the benefit of the oil companies only. Money breeds contempt, the oil companies for their customers, and the customers for oil companies every time they cry poor, much like the big banks churning out obscene profits, then crying about the price of funds.

By the time this discussion has finished we are in Kimba, the halfway point of the trip from east to west. Here there is silo art and a big galah, no not just me driving in, there is actually a large galah statue here. The road does a big “S” here for no apparent reason, which must annoy the interstate truck drivers. For us, the slowing only further encourages us to stop for lunch.

The halfway house, attempting to hide behind the big galah, has a large assortment of gourmet pies and souvenirs. A caravan has parked right across the front of the galah, and they are having their lunch, while no one can take a picture of the galah. This is very poor form in my view and very selfish. Whilst we sit down to have our lunch in the shop, those people complete theirs and move on, probably oblivious to their selfishness. Now I can take some stupid pictures of me and the bird, trying hard to distinguish the galah from the big bird.

Australia are playing Sri Lanka in a T20 fixture in Adelaide today, and the radio is agog with permutations of the test and one day teams for the summer. We choose to remain on the Ipod for the rest of the trip to Port Augusta.

Iron Knob is a huge iron ore mine, not far from our destination, and the road takes us right by the mine. Its Sunday but work continues, trucks like ants are moving along road ridges and down into the central control. Robyn takes lots of shots as we head past. Just past the mine there are a series of red flags and warning signs, that because of their distance from the road, are impossible to make out, other than the word “danger” and three pictures, one being of a person inside a circle with a line through it. These go all the way from Iron Knob to just short of Port Augusta.

Robyn, as she starts to get reception, finds out Silver Leader and Rosalie are quite close to Port Augusta as well and are heading to Port Pirie for the night. We discuss the pros and cons of a stop here in Port Augusta or a continuance to Port Pirie. The longer trip now will reduce the distance tomorrow and wins out.

Port Augusta though is well worth the drive through, there are interesting things to see in most directions. The wind farm on the ridge on the way in had numerous turbines on top, and the port looks to have all manner of interesting structures. We pass the motel in which we stayed when we crossed the Nullarbor previously, right next to the chicken shop.

As soon as we head towards Adelaide, the road becomes far more congested. Chances to overtake are limited, save using overtaking lanes which are frequently positioned, having said that I help as many cars as possible get by. I have had to slow to 95kph now as we have turned into the wind and fuel consumption is too high at 100kph.

We are travelling beside the train line now and Robyn sees a train coming. It’s the Ghan, she quickly grabs for the phone to take snaps, and manages not only a clear shot of the engine but several of the carriages as well, although many of those are blurry being straight out her window as opposed to out the windscreen. She is chuffed, having missed it altogether at Katherine earlier in the trip.

We are getting close to the designated van park. Silver Leader is somewhat behind us, and if he sees the “Everything Pickles” shop we see about five kilometres short, he will be even longer. The manager deals with Robyn and helpfully comes out to suggest how I should attack the site he has designated for us. Most helpful indeed. He is actually trying to sell the business, and although I suspect it makes good money, he has been unable to sell it for eighteen months. I suspect the location has a lot to do with it.

We get into position and set up the van with the assistance of a very sticky fly population, that has never heard of Aeroguard. I fill the water tanks and we wait for the arrival of Silver Leader. I video his approach and send to Forbsy for a joke. Forbsy has just arrived in Darlington Point, some 780 kilometres today, and will be staying with friends there the night (and I suspect tomorrow).

Australia have won the T20 fixture and Warner has blasted an unbeaten ton. Things look good for the summer. Dinner tonight, barring being carried away by the flies, will be at the Silver Leader, Manu’bque, although Robyn will be heating up the chilly oysters and eating them, I have defrosted some lamb chops for the occasion.

For the moment though, she is finishing off some work that needs to be sent in the morning, and we might also be sending bills as well. Now we have been here a while, its not as noisy as it seemed when we first arrived, perhaps because it is Sunday the heavy traffic may have slowed down for now.

Sunday night means NCIS, the new series, and I am tasked with making the TV work so we can watch it. Here on the open plains, with the town or Port Pirie in sight, I start with the antennae pointed towards the silos, and the picture is perfect. After dinner we will have no issues with watching our favourite show. We missed last week due to our location, but I am sure we will see it eventually.

Silver Leader Manu does his usual job on the Weber, while Robyn heats up some of the cold roast potatoes and other vegetables saved from the quarantine station bins at Ceduna. You can see her mouth watering at the chilly oysters as she places them on the tray to also warm up. The directions were “in the oven until the cheese starts to bubble”. There is no noise from the other side of the table as they are consumed.

In the period between food consumption and our favourite show, there is a break of about half an hour, at which time the sun is setting in the west over the township. With no clouds, it seems like almost, dull and boring usual sunset, until I notice the traffic is cutting across my view. Its Sunday night but the level is still reasonable and includes the odd road train. I set myself up to take shots as the road trains block the view of the sun. This I have to do with the repeat function on the phone, capturing a sequence of shots as the truck passes.

My first attempt is an abject failure, I tried to follow the truck and all I got was blur. Standing still, holding the button down, captures some amazing shots. I only have a small window of time but I manage to get a couple of trucks as they head on their way.

Back well in time for the show, we snuggle up in bed to watch NCIS, and then drift off to sleep