Day 69 26/08/2013 Coober Pedy to Burra.
As our days become less exciting, the number of photos taken decreases!
As mentioned before, we are travelling on the Stuart Highway, named for the Explorer John McDouall Stuart, who was the first person to successfully, (after several failed attempts), cross Australia from south to north, in 1862, accomplishing what Burke and Wills had so tragically failed to do a year earlier. We were not alone in departing Coober Pedy at around 8am and heading south. The sun was shining and it was already warm, although cloud was moving in from the west. The first part of our journey was through some very flat and featureless territory. Part of this area was the 'Woomera Prohibited Area'.....no off-road excursions allowed. In the1950s, this region was used by the UK and Australia to test Atomic Weapons! Testing of weapons systems, rockets and drones still takes place in the area. The town of Woomera itself used to be off-limits but is now open to the public and has a heritage display. This town is not on the Stuart Highway, and we elected not to take the detour. After the turn off to Woomera the scenery became more interesting, with hills and mesas off into the distance and more trees. The desert was slowly receding.
Once again we saw eagles, and at one point we came across a kangaroo literally in the middle of the road. They are common on the sides of the road, especially in the early mornings or late afternoons, however they usually take off into the bush very quickly. This one continued to jump along the road in front of us for at least a couple of hundred metres, before he did, very sensibly, head off into the scrub!
The railway line was close to the road in places and we were fortunate to see a freight train literally snaking through the countryside.
It became progressively cloudier today, but did not rain. We stopped for rest breaks and to have coffee and lunch, and one of these was at Lake Hart, a very picturesque salt lake, just before the Woomera turn off. We were able to tune in to the radio today, so that helped to pass the time!
As we approached Port Augusta, we could see the peaks of the Flinders Ranges in the distance to the east. This town is situated at the head of the Spencer Gulf. It is a seaport and railway junction. We stopped for fuel here. After leaving Port Augusta the landscape changed markedly. We wound our way through rolling hills into the southern Flinders Ranges where the land use was mainly pastoral. We passed many farms and saw evidence of crops being grown, and sheep and cattle being grazed.....mainly sheep. Signage at the entrance to some of the properties indicated that the sheep were Merinos. We continued driving through several small towns, (again lots of shared time at the wheel today), until we reached the heritage town of Burra....only 150km north of Adelaide!), where we have camped once before, and where we managed to secure an unpowered site in the small, but busy, campground! No heater to keep us warm before bed tonight! This will be as far south as we will go........we are definitely heading east tomorrow !!