ON THE ROAD AGAIN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Crossing the border to South Australia, we were guided through quarantine. Honest John and Righteous Ruthie thought they had done all the right things by having no fruit to declare. The Riverland district is facing a fruit fly outbreak. We had forgotten about our prepared pre dinner nibbles in the car fridge. The cut up capsicum and baby tomatoes didn’t make the cut. Alarm bells rang and Ruthie was led away to be interrogated under the spotlight. We’re not sure at this stage whether we will get a fine. There was also a Covid testing station there. A condition of entry to South Australia was a negative test. There was quite a queue there and we opted to drive to Riverland Hospital in Berri. Great decision as we were both tested and out of there in ten minutes! When I tried to book into a Berri caravan park for the night, we were rejected as we hadn’t received our negative Covid result yet. Hmmm, could be free camping tonight by the side of the road. Eventually we landed at a caravan park at Renmark right on the mighty Murray River. Beautiful spot and they didn’t seem to give a toss about a negative Covid test.

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We spent the following day at Renmark as well but the weather changed and it was a lot chillier than the previous day. The famous puffer jackets were the order of the day and we managed a great walk along the Murray River. I’ve always thought you should try most things in life at least once. So you can imagine Ruthie’s shock when I came back from the barber with a number 1 haircut. Not sure what all the hysterical laughter was about. I’ve also taken to not shaving as I’ve never had a beard. My morning grooming has suddenly become a lot easier. Speaking of hair, I own a strand of hair in the tail of a racehorse and as it was racing, we went to the Renmark Hotel, in fact the Mick Molloy Bar, made famous by a promotion on The Front Bar, to watch the race. Well bugger me, if it didn’t win and so a brilliant stopover at Renmark was had. Setting up camp was definitely easier than packing up. Getting everything packed back into the Camry was nearly the cause for a few domestics. Luckily the tent nearly blowing away and sailing down the Murray River took our minds off the packing.

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The GPS was set for Port Augusta. Along the way we detoured to a quaint little town called Burra. It was established in 1851 and supplied 5% of the worlds copper. There was a large influence of Cornish immigrants to the town and they were well known for their mining experience. As you walked through the town you could feel that this would have been a thriving community back in the day. Many of the old buildings have been maintained including numerous banks which catered for the mining wealth that had existed. Now it’s all for the tourist.We drove through the beautiful winemaking region of the Clare Valley and briefly detoured through Port Pirie. Although we stayed in a caravan park in Port Augusta, we opted for a warm bed in a cabin rather than the swag.

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A very straight 5 hour drive up the Stuart Highway and we were in Cooper Pedy. To enhance the experience, we stayed in an underground motel which was very cool. It was very peaceful in the room. No outside noise could be heard and when the light was switched off, it was jet black. A beautiful dinner at the Big Winch restaurant on top of the hill showcased a sensational sunset over the vast outback. There were people from all walks of life living and working here. There was even some secret Greek men’s business going on in the cafe. I bet some very interesting tales could be told about the town and the characters that have resided here. The next day as we drove out of town, the landscape was covered in tailings as far as the eye could see from prospectors looking to find their fortune. It is probably the closest I’ll ever get to seeing something similar to a moonscape.

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