What a pleasant surprise Farina Historic Ruins turned out to be. With a big campground, flushing toilets and showers, we were amazed at the architecture and the serenity of it all. We had to light 'the donkey hot water' with wood to have our showers - which was a first for some of us. The heartache the early settlers must have experienced in building a township and then having to abandon when the wheat crops did not survive in the arid conditions. The area was also known for copper and silver mines. In its hey day, Farina had its own "FCG" for cricket matches, an underground bakery, two hotels and a brothel.

On a hill overlooking the campground sits a monument honouring soldiers from the local district. ANZAC Day celebrations saw 100 people camped in the campground and participating in the services which would have been amazing to be part of.

We had a lazy morning exploring the ruins - looking for Samuel who went missing for the second time. We need to put a leash on him. The post office at Farina was still used up until 1960 and the railway service ceased in 1980 (which was when the Old Ghan railway line was closed).

On this day, the local sheep dog Pepi visited us whilst we were looking around (he had gotten off his lead). It looked like Tom was going to pass out when the dog came toward him with a stiff dead rabbit in his mouth!

Julie was nearly having palpitations when we couldn't find Samuel. Steve told a story of when he was a kid, and he would often go off exploring. The difference was, he often had a rifle with him and once lost he would fire three shots and his old man would come and get him.