Monday 11 December –
Moana – Adelaide
Moving day! Can’t believe our time in Adelaide is up already, but we are both ready to make a move. We were awake at 7am and didn’t sleep in, getting out at 720am and straight into morning rituals.. the park was alive with many others doing the same and preparing to make a journey to another destination. We were all done by 820am, making our way from site 39 and into the suburb.
We stopped first for fuel and then the GPS led us through the familiar streets of southern Adelaide. We met the tail end of the early morning commute which slowed down our progress immensely. It did however have the effect of smoothing out the pot holes, always a good thing.
It was 10am before we finally cleared the northern end of Adelaide and followed the Port Wakefield Hwy, as we had done when we headed out to the Barossa last week. This time though, we stayed on the highway, not cutting out to Gawler in the hills.
We settled in for the final 430km, 5 hour journey to Kimba. It was a long drive with not much in between. Occasionally we were amused by roadside creations the locals had erected, but for the most part we had white line fever, as we followed the road through farmers dry, wheat crops.
This section of highway was quite familiar as we have driven it twice this trip. We passed through Wakefield and Lochiel with its pink lake and then the turn off for Snowtown, where a roadside marker stated “The Big Blade”, which had me making eek eek eek noises and slashing gestures. It is a bit unfortunate given the towns history.
The miles clicked away regularly, passing road trains and road signs and not much else. We made it to the outskirts of Port Pirie and my phone began ringing, which startled us both as I didn’t think I would have coverage. It was Sharon and Simon checking in. It was so lovely to hear from them both and do a very brief catch up. I am really looking forward to getting home and catching up with everyone.
We arrived in Port Pirie at midday, after ducking off the A1 as I needed a loo. We found the free camp spot just in town, parked, used the facilities and then returned to the road, heading for Port Augusta.
The temperature was starting to rise outside and by the time we stopped for fuel at 1pm in Port Augusta, it was 34 degrees. Paul cleaned the windows and checked the tyres while it started putting our rolls together. We then drove further into town trying to find a suitable spot to stop and enjoy our lunch.
At 130pm we found a roadside rest area to pull over at and have lunch. With the van stopped and the cab aircon off, the van soon became warm and I was sweating. We didn’t hang around, choosing to eat and run, returning to the Road for 145pm and the next 150km to Kimba.
Dad rang at 2pm and we had a quick chat about the goings on there and our loose plans. I then spoke to Mum as well, letting her know it was now 36 outside. Sounds like it was quite warm back there too.
Due to the increasing temperature, we made the decision to just keep on moving rather than stop in Kimba. The rest stop I had flagged had showers and toilets, but no power and we knew tonight was going to be an air con night. This meant we would be in search of a caravan park. Streaky Bay was only a further 230km on and the GPS was telling us we would make it just before 6, which was good enough for us.
The drive was pretty lonely with very little traffic to bother us, though we did have to navigate the roaming emus that were popping up West of Iron Knob. You just hoped they had sense to get off the road and keep moving, not dart back.
At 315pm we reached Kimba and it was HOT! We passed a sign stating, “halfway across Australia” and the giant galah, that I remember seeing when we drove through the town in 2003. I was glad we had chosen to keep heading towards the coast, it would have been far too hot camped there for the night.
4pm and we were passing through Kyancutter, 142km short of Streaky Bay. The outside temp now a blazing 39 degrees. We were glad the air con was effective enough in the cab. In fact, it was cool enough for me to become reacquainted with my hand weights, throwing them about a few times. I could regret it later though, it has been awhile. Gearing up to get back into our fitness regime.
Wudinna passed with a granite statue commemorating Australian Farmers. Minnipa also disappeared with the blink of an eye. Poochera was next and it was here that we turned onto the Streaky Bay Road, 50km still to travel and 40min left. By now I had a numb bum and was hanging to just get out of the van, stretch and go for a walk.
We found a local radio station tuning in for the 5pm news bulletin and the music to follow and by 535pm we were in the heart of Streaky Bay and it was all coming back to us. We drove along the foreshore, watching the sun dazzle over the blue expanse of water and then we pulled in to the caravan park.
The park was far from busy and we were able to pick up a drive thru site for a couple of nights. We drove the van around to 46b and began the set up, opting to leave the car on the trailer, as we didn’t plan on heading too far from town. 6 o’clock and we were done and dusted and looking for a drink to cool us off.
I needed to get out and walk, so when the drink was done, we made our way out to the water where we walked along the sand. The tide was a fair way out, so there was no paddling. We wandered all the way into town, stopping in at the pub. We bought drinks and sat in the outdoor area, overlooking the water and jetty. Unfortunately, the food started coming out and the wafting food smells made us both hungry, so we returned to the van.
We got straight into putting dinner together. At the same time, I was able to load up some of the photos from Victoria. It has been a while since we have had decent internet, so I will catch up as much as I can.
After dinner, I went for a cooling shower, washing off the sweat and stink of the day. It felt so good to stand under the flow of water. When I returned, Paul went off to do the same thing. I laid on the bed finishing off the blog for the day and listening to the iPod. It was already 830pm and I was just waiting for the night to descend
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