An easy drive that morning to the town of Orroroo, on the edge of the Flinders Ranges. Made more interesting when we took the old dirt back road, rather than the highway.
There has been rain here too.
Orroroo is a cool country town. I’ve stopped here many time on Flinders Ranges outings.
One the way out of town we passed the Swiss girls Hilux pulled over with both of them fast asleep inside. I guess the camper wasn’t exactly peaceful in last nights wind either.
Onto to Port Augusta, meant we were finally ‘back on track’ of our original itinerary after the detour to Brisbane (it should be noted that Roxy was as delightful a dog as you could wish for, and will make an excellent camping and adventure companion. She’s also very patient with our grumpy old man Rollo, so the detour was totally worth it). However the 105 was overdue a service. Mainly just an oil change and spark plugs as most other things I had covered off before we left for Brisbane.
Fortunately Port Augusta Toyota had those parts in stock, and after purchasing some oil and a drain tray I found a quiet car park and quickly changed the oil. I can get it done in about 15 minutes. The drain tray and old oil filter went in the skip bin of the auto store, and we took the old oil to the waste recycling centre. The plugs can wait a few days.
A quick car wash to wash the old oil off the engine block and axle, and a restock of the food supplies and we were on our way.
Right onwards to Eyre Peninsula, one of my favourite parts of Australia. An easy drive to the town of Kimba, about a third of the way across the upper part of the peninsula. But first, a quick stop at an old favourite.
We had traveled through Kimba a few times before, notable mainly for its beautifully painted silo on the main highway.
This is an old photo, as the light was not good when I photographed it this time. You also can’t drive right up to it anymore (in fact you probably weren’t meant to when I took this shot, but…).
I would suggest having the silo art has made the town realise the benefit of giving people a reason to stop, and now the benefit of giving them a reason to stay. So at the back of the town they have built a dedicated free camping area, with toilets and showers. As usual we were the only tent campers, and other campers came in all shapes and sizes.
A totally peaceful night was a welcome contrast to the last few. We headed out to the servo that morning to get some $1 coins for the shower. There I bought two books that had been advertised at the campsite.
Not sure what the exact link to Kimba is with the author, although he has a PhD in Ecosystem Management, and is a fellow of the outback. Anyway keen to get stuck in. If nothing else these trips have reinvigorated my interest in reading stories.
I also noticed they served a range of curries (the servo was run by an Indian couple). I asked what time the curries would be ready “oh in 15 or 20 minutes” awesome, enough time for showers and to check out the statues at the back of the town.
So, we had traditional Indian curries for our late breakfast, out in country South Australia. Australia may not have the exotic food culture you find in some other countries, but its diversity of population means you get these nice surprises from time to time.
We didn’t have too much ground to cover today, for a nice change. So we ambled down and few farm tracks and minor trails. This one got very minor.
As this was the state of the original trail.
This monolith is Carappee Hill, looking angry in the overcast conditions.
It reminded me of Bald Rock, on the NSW/Qld border, that we visited last year. Just less bald, patchy rock, receding rock,, thinning rock…
Heading south west, we passed many salt lakes. The cloudy skies stopping them from looking their best.
Onto Greenly Beach, tucked in behind another monolith, Mount Greenly. Can’t find anything in who Greenly is, but it is a spot worth hunting out. After a full week of driving everyday and overnight campsites, we would stop here a couple of days.
Ratatouille and Camembert toasties for supper that day.
So we spent a ‘rest day’ changing the spark plugs and giving the Land Cruiser a good once over. A few other small jobs. Plenty of beach walking and rock pooling. I tried fishing in the afternoon in some of the rock pools, but to no avail. I’m new to fishing, and I am not sure I really have the patience for it, but anyway, I don’t mind just skipping around the rocks, the day I catch something will be a bonus.
Greenly Beach has a very photogenic swimming hole. The sun came out for just long enough for a couple of photos. Judging by the steady traffic to and from the swimming hole that day (relatively speaking, about 5 car loads) it is certainly a popular spot with tourists and locals alike.
It was cloudy most of the time (so of course we both got sunburnt…) but it is just a beautiful area.
So a good spot and definitely a good place to spend a couple of nights. Had the skies been clearer we would probably have stayed another night and climbed Mount Greenley, but that’ll keep. The great thing about being in your home state is it’s not too much of a stretch to come back here.
Time to get back on the road.