Port Augusta 14-15 May 2006

It was bright and sunny for Mothers Day as we set off for the short drive down the mountain. It was a magnificent view and a real buzz to see the sparkling water again. This is the end of Spencer Gulf and it has the feel of a big river yet something else. The visual impact of the mountain ranges in the background, the deep orange cliffs along the waters edge and plains of grey saltbush produce a very different feel. We parked right on the new wharf area in town and had morning tea. Peter felt that Port Augusta was a bit of a disappointment after the magnificent towns we had visited. It obviously has some sort of a crime problem, with a number of the houses having high metal fences around them and the caravan parks having high fences topped with barb wire. We visited a fascinating native botanic garden set out on 200 hectares. The range of unusual plants intrigued Heather and the camera got a good work out. We settled down for the night at a caravan park right on the edge of the water. Very surprised how many caravans are on the move. Lucky we had a great spot in the caravan park or we might have got a complex. Apparently there are at least 80 coming per night and there is another bigger caravan park here. There is talk about a big caravan rally in Alice in early June. Think we will go in a different direction for a few weeks to make a space between us. Convinced that free/bush camping has some definite advantages. On Monday morning we had a look around town and tried to catch up on some jobs. While we were aware of how much services have been cut back in the bush, it is not until you need a few things yourself that you realise how isolated you can be, even in large provincial centres. It must make it very hard for people to be sending away for equipment all the time or having to travel long distances for basic services.