We can’t stay in Whyalla forever, even though I just want to stay in bed and sleep my flu away while B takes charge of everything, but on the road again we must go.
We usually don’t have much of a plan as to where we are stopping, all we know is that B flies in and then we have 2 weeks until he has to get back on the plane and fly back to work. We usually know where he is going to fly out from and so we aim to end up somewhere close enough to the airport for that to happen – someone has to earn the money to keep the kids and I living in style 🙂
Shall we stop at Port Augusta….no, let’s have a quick shop and get back underway. The kids are getting really good at snapping up opportunities as they appear and the skate park behind the shops is calling their name. Sending B and Big shopping is always a little dodgy, there is always lots of fruit and nuts and bread in the bags but usually nothing helpful in the way of ingredients for an evening meal…but I am too tired to care and so use the time to lay the seat back and have a snooze.
They’re back, the Camps 6 book comes out and we have a look at what might be within a few hours drive of us, decisions need not be made yet but it is always good to make sure that you at least have the page open at the right map.
We drive and I, as always, point out the beautiful countryside which everyone drags their eyes towards and then promptly drops them back down towards iPod screens, Mad Magazines etc. I bet my kids wish they had a dollar for every time I say “Just have a look, take it in….one day you will tell your kids about this.” The countryside is amazing and I am happy to gaze out at it and wonder at what a task it must have been to take power lines up, over and through these hills.
Shortly afterwards we slow to a crawl on the highway as we come across the aftermath of what looks like a three car accident. One car is in a field, looks like they drove off to avoid an oncoming vehicle. They are loading another vehicle onto a truck and in the middle of the road is the shattered shell of a caravan, just the floor and part of a side wall cling drunkenly to the chassis. Thankfully, nobody is badly injured but I feel sad for all involved, especially for the people who’s van trip has been cut terribly short.
We don’t have the heart to go much further and so pull into a little place called Baroota Campground. We are greeted by three dogs running in from a paddock where a 4 wheeler is working. Much to our delight and amazement we watch one of the dogs jump clear over the paddock fence whilst the others look on longingly. It’s a little muddy, we are the only people here but the fireplace is fantastic, the “shower shed” is huge and Little has a brand new friend, Matilda, the blue heeler.
Can we keep her?
Decisions have been made and we are going to head down the Yorke Peninsula to Innes National Park so off we go again.
The weather is awful, it is Winter and I have once again NOT excelled at navigation. We make it as far as Maitland and I suggest that there is a Showground where we can overnight. How good was it to pull in and see this undercover area where our van can snuggle underneath overnight!
Snug as a bug in a rug.
Again, just a single overnighter and we are back on the road down the Yorke. On either side of the road are fields of green, which I later find out is barley. Apparently our next stop, Minlaton, is the barley capital of the world. It is also the home of The Red Devil, Captain Harry Butler’s monoplane. This “must see” monument radiates the pride and respect that the people of the Yorke Peninsula feel for their flying ace. I was inspired by this “self educated” pilot who was fascinated by flight from an early age but then also devastated to find out that he died so young, at 34, in 1924, possibly as a result of injuries sustained in an earlier plane crash in 1922. He was married in 1920. Sometimes life just doesn’t seem fair.
So, I am inspired, the kids have played at the park and we have only about 100kms to go until we reach Innes National Park.
Teens with attitude…at the kiddies playground.
LCHF for Families 