April 29 ... Port Augusta

I have the Royal Wedding on the radio as a backdrop to my blogging tonight ... much to Garry's disgust as he strongly dislikes all the fuss. It must be a girl thing!

The Flinders Ranges in shades of green

Today was unusual in that we only drove 107kms so we were able to arrive in Port Augusta in plenty of time to have a good look around. We have been very fortunate to have seen the Flinders Ranges at their peak. Apparently this has been the best season since 1974 and this is obvious by the greenness that is everywhere.
For much of the way we followed the railway line from Quorn. This is the Pichi Richi Steam Train route and it is another thing that we have added to the list for next time.
Also along the route we saw a lot of evidence of the early settlers and their small stone houses still look picturesque today, usually with the ranges as a background.

Port Augusta Waterfront

 Once we got to Port Augusta we found the waterfront for a quick coffee after which we headed for the Outback Centre...Wadlata

The Outback Centre

This was an excellent experience. It traced the history of SA from millions of years ago to the present, and it was very professionally done with lots of original film footage and equal consideration given to the Aboriginal perspective.

Water Tower Lookout

After some hours at the centre we moved on to the Water Tower lookout, and some fantastic views of the ranges that enclose the city.

View from the Water Tower Lookout

Lastly we drove out to the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens where we learned a little more about the history of the area in regard to Matthew Flinders, obviously the person the ranges are named after. There are many kms of walks through the "gardens" 200 hectares but it was just too hot. We decided that it had excellent potential but you really needed to go on a guided walk.

The Flinders Ranges from Matthew Flinders Lookout

Sturt's Desert Pea in the Botanic Gardens

 Today was really warm ... and lovely. At 5pm it was 32 degrees !I guess we should expect some warm weather on the Nullabor. Most of our winter clothes are packed away and already I am finding lots of "holes" in my packing.