Day 20 - Monday 6th February

We weren't sure what we would do today, depending on the weather when we woke up. Thankfully, the wind had died down overnight, so decided to go west rather than south, (as we had intended originally) as the weather looked a bit better to the west. We headed north west to the small settlement of Iron Knob. The roads out here are very straight, some are up to 30kms straight ahead. This is as we were approaching Iron Knob.






Iron Knob was the birth place of the Australian steel industry. It was here that the first iron ore deposits were discovered. Mining of iron ore ended in1998, however more recently they have re-opened the mine on a much smaller scale.
We did a tour of the area where we could view an open cut mine.





From here we set off to Kimba - which is geographically half way across Australia, between Sydney and Perth, as the crow flies.




One of Australia's "big things" is the 8 meter tall Big Galah situated next to the Eyre Highway at Kimba. These galahs can often be seen by the hundreds, eating seeds on the ground.




Another unusual sculpture is located at the lookout which has 360* views of the area. They represent John Edward Eyre and his Aboriginal tracker- Wylie. These were the first men to cross southern Australia from east to west.



On the way to the lookout is the golf course - anyone for a round or two?
(or square)










This is the 5th green (or is that black).



Murals of days gone by are very popular in many of the towns we have visited.







Wheat has been grown in this region since 1908, and today this is one of South Australia's major grain belts.






We headed back to the lookout at sunset hoping for the perfect sunset it but wasn't as good as hoped.









- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kimba, SA

Day 19

Haven't got a lot to report today as we decided that we would have a "rest" day, as we have been on the move most days, so have stayed at Whyalla. Last night about midnight the wind started and it has continued all day and it seems to be getting worse.
I had a chance to get the washing done this morning and didn't take long to dry. Also did some "housework". We went for a bit of a drive but wasn't very pleasant with the wind, so retreated back to the van. This caravan park is on the waterfront so it is very blowy here.
During our drive saw a statue of the "Loaded Dog". This sculpture is based on the dog from Henry Lawson's bush tale, "The Loaded Dog", a story about a mischievous retriever, Tommy, who took off with a stick of explosives. The dog drags the fuse through the campfire, lighting it and creating mayhem in the chase that follows.
The sculpture is made of steel, welding thousands of pieces of 10 & 12 mm rod together. It is appropriately situated outside a vet surgery.




Another unusual sculpture is this one of Matthew Flinders, who was the first European to navigate and chart this unknown coast of SA.





This is overlooking the Spencer Gulf from the lookout at Whyalla




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Whyalla

Day 18

We only drove a short distance today, about 80 kms to Whyalla on east coast of the Eyre Peninsula. Apparently there are more than 300 days of sunshine here each year. Whyalla is a steel and ship building hub. Originally it was the port for the departure of iron ore which was mined from nearby Iron Knob. There were 66 ships built here at the shipyards. The HMAS Whyalla (below) is now a museum. It was the first modern warship built in South Australia in 1941, and it now stands on dry land 2 kms from sea, and is the largest landlocked ship in Australia.






This afternoon we drove 20 minutes out to Point Lowly. The lighthouse was built in 1883, but in 1909 was extended by 8 meters due to a ship running aground. You can probably see above the 3rd window where it was extended.















After going to mass tonight, we went to the lookout which has 360* views of Whyalla. We were hoping on another nice sunset tonight but it didn't turn out to be much. These are some of the views.











- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Whyalla

Day 17

Last night our intention was to go to Adelaide from Peterborough today, but looking at the map, Peter realized we could go north west to Port Augusta, then go down to Port Lincoln, before going to Adelaide, so that's what we will do.
Before leaving Peterborough we went to the Steamtown Rail Museum. Peter had fun playing with the "big boys toys".






Now, "this is a spanner". Peter said he doesn't have one quite this big.





This is a statue of "Bob the railway Dog" at Peterborough. It's a bit like "Red Dog", but spent most of his life riding trains. This was back in the late 1800's. He jumped on & off trains making interstate journeys and short suburban trips on trams, as well as Murray River steamers. He travelled as far as Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and many places in between. I can't believe it, but as I am writing this, a story about this dog has just come on TV on the 7.30 report.




From Peterborough we passed through the small township of Orroroo.
These were some sculptures in the main street.



We travelled through a variety of landscapes, from wide open plains used for agriculture, to arid mountains of the Flinders Ranges. It is much drier here, and that is very evident by the mountains with no vegetation at all.









We arrived in Port Augusta mid afternoon. It is nestled between the Flinders and Baxter Ranges on the calm waters of Spencer Gulf. This is a view from the boardwalk - originally this prime waterfront land was occupied by the railway - the rail tracks are still evident.








As I am writing this daily report, Peter looked out the window and thought we might get a lovely sunset, so we quickly grabbed our cameras and took off to find a suitable location, and this is the result.







Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Port Augusta

Day 16

It was another cool morning in Broken Hill. We set off on our travels by 8.30am and headed west on the Barrier Highway to Peterborough, 280 kms away. The landscape varied from wide open plains to undulating hills, and the rich red soil was left behind as we passed over the border into South Australia. We passed through some small settlements on the way. This was the railway station and hotel at Mannahill, typical of the buildings in these communities.








On the eastern side of Broken Hill there is a quarantine area for fruit fly. So there are lots of fruit and some vegetables that can't be brought into Broken Hill and parts of South Australia and Victoria. We didn't have much that we had to throw away, but of course we had to buy more in Broken Hill when we arrived there a few days ago. When we got almost to Peterborough today, there was another exclusion zone and we had more fruit and vegetables that we had to give up. There was an inspection point here where a fellow actually needed to check what we had in the caravan and fridge. I was surprised that we would get things confiscated when we had bought them in Broken Hill. We had been warned about the first one but didn't realize it would happen again so soon.



We arrived in Peterborough mid afternoon and it is warmer here at a pleasant 28*. Peterborough has a long railway history, and of course a railway museum which Peter will be checking out before leaving here.

Like many of these communities, Peterborough is notable for its historic buildings. Most are made from stone, and many like this Catholic Church are heritage listed.






These are some murals on the toilet block at the caravan park.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Peterborough

Day 15

This morning we had to get the car serviced, so we set out on foot to check out many of the galleries and museums around town. Broken Hill is not only known for its minerals but also the artists that call Broken Hill home. Of course, one of the most famous being Pro Hart.




Four Rolls Royce cars adorn the entrance to his gallery, one of which he used as a canvas. And yes, Peter said it is a V8!!!!!



Another gallery we visited was the Silver City Art Centre which is the home to the worlds largest painting on canvas - 100 metres long and over 12 meters high, and painted with 9 tonne of paint. It features natural and man made landmarks within 300 kms of Broken Hill. Unfortunately we weren't able to take any photos in the gallery.

While strolling around town we came across many of the historic buildings.







""

Many of the miners cottages here have been built using tin, not only the roof but also the outside walls. Even some of the old houses that have been renovated have kept this style. Not sure if these photos show the detail of the tin.








Overlooking the town is a mountain of rock and stone which is waste from the mining of the silver, lead and zinc. On the top is a restaurant and a miners memorial, a tribute to the hundreds of men who have died in the mines over the past 125 years.



This view is from the restaurant overlooking town.




Peter was in his element at the railway museum. I think most know that Peter did his apprenticeship at the railway workshops in Ipswich, so he always loves to spend time in these museums. There is also a hospital museum, transport museum and a large mineral collection all within the one museum.










This is an "Iron Lung" used in the treatment of polio, found in the hospital museum.



Have I shrunk? (don't think so)!!!!!





In the centre of town is an original mine shaft lift which lowered workers hundreds of meters underground and was then used to bring ore to the surface.




The weather here today has been cool - even had a cardigan on - can you believe that in Broken Hill in February. Normally the temperature at this time of the year would be in the top 30's or even into the 40's. It was 14* at 7 o'clock this morning and reached about 24*. Still quite windy today.

Tomorrow is another day on the road, so Peterborough here we come.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Broken Hill