Day 5 Ceduna

We haven't been able to get internet access for the last couple of nights so posts may be intermittent.  I forgot to mention in previous posts how green it was while travelling through NSW and Victoria.  This is a result of the floods as there are many areas where the paddocks are absolutley waterlogged and the water is lying in the paddocks.  In some places, the water was lapping the edge of the road.  All the green growth is also what has contributed to the insect plagues.

We were not able to get to Lake Eyre because of the roads so will save that for another trip.  We have been carefully watching the weather in the far north west of Western Australia and as a result have decided that we will change the way we are going and instead of going to Kununurra and working our way down, we will now go to Perth and work our way up.  My friend Nola had suggested this was the better way to go at this time of year so we are taking her advice.  Unfortunately I had booked flights from Perth to Melbourne and return in May (to a Stampin' Up! conference) expecting to be in Perth.  Of course to get cheaper flights I booked non-transferrable, non-refundable flights!  Now depending where we are, I will either fly back to Perth or direct to Melbourne - an unexpected expense. 

From Mildura we set off on the Sturt Highway going through Cullulleraine and Paringa to Renmark.  We continued on through Berri, Waikerie, Morgan and Burra to Clare in South Australia.  We came through a plague of grasshoppers between Morgan and Burra and it was like a torrential downpour with grasshoppers hitting the windscreen instead of raindrops.  We have been to this part of South Australia a couple of times before when we went to the Flinders Rangers and to the Northern Territory and had visited the wineries and done lots of sight seeing.  We stayed in Clare for the night.

Grapes covered near Clare

Next morning we set off again going through Rochester, Yacka, Gulnare, Gladstone, Laura, Stone Hut, Wirrabara, Melrose, Wilmington and through Horrocks Pass to Port Augusta.  We stopped and bought some groceries in Port Augusta which had changed a lot since we had last been there.  We continued on to Iron Knob and had a look around.  This is all new territory for us.  Iron Knob's claim to fame is being the birthplace of the Australian steel industry and BHP.  The first iron ore was discovered here in 1894 and was sent to the Whyalla Steelworks.  The mine ceased operations in 1998 but you can still do mine tours.  We found the town very depressing.  It looks like a ghost town and lots of the houses have 4 sale signs. 

Iron Knob

We continued on to Kimba which has the big galah and claims to be the halfway point across Australia.  This is an agricultural area and the town has a population of 650.  We stayed there last night.

The big galah at Kimba

This morning we drove through Koongawa, Kyancutta, Wudinna, Minnipa, Poochera and Wirrulla to Ceduna where we are staying for two nights.  Ceduna is located on the western Eyre Peninsula and has a population of 4000.  It is located on the scenic shores of Murat Bay in the Great Australian Bight and local industries include wheat farming, gypsum mining, salt mining and commercial fishing.  Peter couldn't get over the size of the paddocks as we drove along.  They were huge and the machinery to work the farms is huge as well.   

The jetty at Ceduna looking into the Great Australian Bight - Peter and I walked to the end of the jetty, it was really windy.

We have been very lucky with the weather.  Haven't had any rain since Bookham on the first day and except for the really hot day and night in Naranderra, the temperture has been really pleasant and great for travelling.  It is quite windy here in Ceduna but Peter is hoping that it will blow us across the Nullabor when we set off.

That's it for now. 

cheers

Peter and Roz