After what seemed an eternity of scheming, saving, preparation and trepidation we were finally on the road and heading west on our first ‘big’ adventure with the camper in tow. We left home making our way to the first overnight stop in Nyngan before tackling the Barrier Hwy to Broken Hill. The Riverside CP in Nyngan is very pleasant but was fairly noisy with Trucks, trains and dogs going off and by all night.
Second day saw us roll into Broken Hill where we lobbed at a friend’s place for the next three days. We had a great time seeing the sights. We went up to the miner’s memorial and restaurant on the hill, and nearly got blown clean of the big red chair by the howling wind.
We headed out to Silverton to see what all the fuss was about the place. The café at the top of the hill was first rate and the local art galleries were worth a look. It was then on to the Sculptures for a look see and the views and scenery was impressive.
We met up with Bigjules in BH and on the Friday headed west into SA for the push on to Wilmington.
When we arrived in Wilmington we got about setting camp. The powered sites we were on were over compacted road base and any attempt to drive a peg into it resulted in bent and buckled steel and some tested patience. Anyhoo much toil was eventually rewarded especially after I had to do a repair to our awning zip which had separated from the main tent during the gales in BH. So, if you need any hand stitch repairs done give me yell, I got good at it, just ask Parry.
During the wild weather Hem19X had the tropical roof blown from their new Modcon so it was all hands on deck to restore the canvas when the weather fined up. Talk about teamwork.
The national meet was a great time with plenty of activities going on to keep all busy if they liked. We did the day trip to the Bartagunyah winery and had a ball on the tour of the property followed by a wine tasting. The views were awesome and the Vintage Shiraz Port was a ripper.
We had a great day trip into the Alligator Gorge with few other ‘east coasters’ which gave us a taste of geology that was awaiting us in the North Flinders Ranges.
It was soon time for us to leave Wilmington and explore further north. We headed up through Quorn and Hawker and made a B line for Wilpena Pound. The structure of the pound is just something else and was a must see. We camped in the resort CP for the night before heading up Blinman the next day. It seems this campsite on the back fence has had a few Swaggers lob on it.
We arrived in Blinman after travelling what must be the best bit of tarred road in SA. It only being 2 years old probably has something to do with it. After sussing out the town we scoped out a family friend who lives there and we were soon camped on his front yard, in plain view of the pub. We did the tour of the copper mine, learning stacks about the origins of the town and how it came to be as we see it today.
After Blinman we were off to drive the Parachilna, Brachina and Bunyaroo gorges before meeting up with Hem19X and friends down in Hawker. The drive through the gorges was nothing short of spectacular and if we had had more time we would of spent more than a few days camping through there. The geology is awesome evoking a felling of reverence for the sheer time it has taken to get to the state it is in. Due to the rain the days before the drive out back to the tar was very entertaining with the slip n slide coating the buggy and camper in sticky sandy mud.
We hooked up and headed south with Hem19X and friends and made our way through Oorraroo, Peterbourgh to the Murray and on to an overnight stop in Renmark.
From there we parted ways and we headed east across the hay plain and north up Cowra way. We lobbed overnight at Rankin Springs before heading up to the family property overlooking the Wyangla Dam. It a top bit of dirt with stunning views.
After two days camped there we spent a further two days at the getaway south of Oberon we headed home 16days after heading west.
We had a great time and are looking forward to spending more time in South Australia.
