Westward Ho.....

At last the big day dawned and we were off on our journey west.  With most things packed already it was just a case of putting away our clothes and food while Bill hitched up and then it was farewell to Melbourne for the next couple of months or so.

We were travelling just out of peak hour so had a good run along the freeways and were soon out of the metropolitan area and on our way towards Adelaide.  We stopped for lunch at a park in Beaufort and then continued on our way to our first overnight stop.

We stayed at Little Desert Nature Lodge for the night and were the only people camping there.  Arriving with a couple of hours daylight left it gave us the opportunity to have a walk and we wandered down to Big M's waterhole where Bill had a great time with the many birds coming in for their evening drinks.  A bit like the six o'clock swill really!

On our way early the next day we continued on towards Adelaide stopping at Tintinara for lunch.  I loved the windmill and sculptures in front of the community store.  

We arrived in Adelaide later that afternoon and found our home for the next two days.  Brownhill Caravan Park in Mitcham was a lovely little park beside a creek with good facilities and owners that were right into Christmas.  The whole park was decorated even the trees between our vans had not missed out on her attention.  Very festive.

The next morning we made our way to Flagstaff Hill as we were having brunch with our friends Jill and Grant.  It was good to see them again and we enjoyed being able to relax at home with them.  Our next stop was a shopping centre to stock up for the next few days travels.  Back at home we just chilled out until it was time to walk down the road to The Edinburgh where we were meeting Andrew and Kathy with their daughters Rebecca and Olivia for dinner.  Andrew and Bill worked together for many years.  We had a nice meal and enjoyed seeing them again.

Day 4 saw us leaving Adelaide for the long haul across the country.  In need of a coffee our first stop was a tiny town called Dublin.  Lots of Road trains here.  Great coffee and a friendly guy and it was back in the car to clock up the miles.  We continued on to Redhill, another small country town with an old Pub and not much else.  We found a shady spot and ate our sandwich.  The old school bell outside the Museum was a nice piece of memorabilia.

Driving on we had a quick detour for a drive through Port Pirie, looked like a nice town but we didn't stop until a little bit further down the road we found Harry's place.  This had been recommended to us by Nolan and Josie as having great sauces, pickles and jams and yes we did succumb and left with a jar of Blackberry jam.

Not long after we reached our final destination of the day, Port Augusta Motorhome Park, and settled in for the night.  This is a freecamp run by a local sporting club for self sufficient campers.  $7.00 gives you a place to park safely in an area that does not have too many other options.  

Of course being a 'club' there is a bistro so we decided not to cook and support the local business.  My Chicken Neo was just about the best Parma I have ever eaten!  As usual far too much and I had to leave half, such a shame they all do this, there is so much waste.  The view across to the Southern Flinders Ranges was pretty good too.  Not that my phone photo does it justice!

So I'll say goodnight here until tomorrow's journey.........