Trip to South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales #2

8^th September. Darryl and I hitched up the van whilst waiting for Holly to join us for breakfast.  We finally left Ian and Wendy’s by 10.30 and heading WEST towards Balranald. 

 an old rail bridge at Narrandera

 lots of Cotton bales in the paddock

 closeup of Cotton Bales

Hay Plains

 Wide open spaces on the Hay Plains

A tree on an island at Yanga Creek.  Notice the water marks.

  Yanga Creek a little low on Water

 information on Yanga Creek and the National Forest park

 preparing veggies for par-boiling and freezing, ready to cross the South Australian border quarantine checkpoint.

We arrived at Balranald at 5pm and decided to par-boil our vegetables.  We did this because we know we will be going through a quarantine station tomorrow as we head into South Australia.  We had a great night at the Yanga Creek Rest Area outside the Yanga Homestead property.

9^th September.  We headed further west at about 8.30 am after we had a leisurely breakfast. We  continued to Mildura.  We re-fuelled at Mildura before continuing west.  We stopped for lunch before Yamba and ate the rest of the fruit and most of the tomatoes.

 a green field but the crop was not very high

 a VERY rocky paddock where we stopped for lunch

 We arrived at the Quarantine station and handed over the tomatoes before continuing through to Renmark SA.

  Approaching the Quarantine checkpoint at Yamba

 passing into South Australia

  Crossing the Murray River.  Darryl said he felt this bridge needed to be a little wider on bothe sides

  The Murray River

  Gazanias on the roadside

  Wattle

  Mulga bush and wattle

  Wide open spaces crossing from Morgan to Burra

 and about 10km from Burra we have GREEN and hills with no trees

 denuded hills

We decided (because we gained half an hour when we crossed the border) that we would continue to Burra.  We arrived and set ourselves up in the Showgrounds for 4 nights.  It was VERY windy again and we were advised NOT TO put out our awning.  The van was being rocked AGAIN :D.

The fuel indicator was telling us that we only had 19km to go before the tank was empty, so we headed into town to re-fuel.  Back to the van and cook dinner and an early night.

10^th September. Into town to the information centre and we decided to do the ‘Passport Key;’ tour of the town.  It is an 11km journey in and around town.  You pay the tour fee, and a key deposit and then you follow ‘Johnny Green’ around the town and visit points of interest. [Johnny Green was the mascot of the Cornish miners and he appeared on top of buildings and chimneys throughout the mine.]  

  Johnny Green at top of the Peacocks Chimney

The KEY permits you to enter buildings and facilities and do your own tour at your own pace. We also got some medical supplies and had lunch at the Gaslight Café.  For some reason the warning light for low fuel had not reset itself and kept telling us we have 19kms to go.  We did a trip out to the ‘Midnight Oil HOUSE’ and the warning lamp still telling us we had 19km until we ran out of fuel!!!!!

 this house appeared on the cover of the 'Diesel and Dust' Album for Midnight Oil.

That afternoon we spent three hours going around the ‘Monster Mine’ and accessing engine houses and winding houses and learning all about the history. 

 Morphetts Enginehouse and Windinghouse

  can you see Johnny Green?

 arty-farty window shot

 Enginehouse and Windinghouse

  the pit. This was the local swimming hole for many years.  It is now used for diving course.

 Graves enginehouse

 looking up Peacocks tower

  there are Soooo many trees on the Golf Course

11^th September. That indicator was still telling us that we had 19km until we ran out of fuel!!! 

We continued to follow the map and our electronic guide ‘Johnny Green’ around Burra.  There are about 50 properties to see and 10 of those you can access with the Key.  There are so many buildings made from stone in this town.  The history is great.  We visited the Bon Accord Mine  

 outside the Bon Accord Mine Museum

  Wedding dresses from the late 1800's, and yes it is black

  The Blacksmiths cottage.

 the first motorized Fire Engine, a Model T ford 1922

and the historic Railway Station [we nearly got blown off our feet here, the wind was gusting at more than 60kmph)

 Burra Railway station

 along the platform. The restoration is being achieved from the donations received.

and we accessed a couple of museums and the Town Hall photo gallery

 there was lots of Information about the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity Lodge

 and an outfit from the late 1800's

 and the Art Gallery and before we knew it, it was 5.30.  The wind did not ease off much at all, and we had about 24degree temperatures up until the raindrops started to fall at 4pm and the temperature promptly dropped by about 8 degrees. 

  Upstream on Burra Creek in town, before the small weir

  Tatting display at the Museum

 a gown at the Tailors

  Kangaroo skin blanket

 a garden in town

 a HUGE rosemary bush.  about 7 feet across and 3 feet high in bloo,

  Miners Dugouts

  approx, 2000 miners and their families lived in these dugouts along Burra Creek, until the 1851 flood washed most of the dugouts away

Malowen Lowarth (Hollyhock garden)

This cottage is part of the Paxton Square Cottages in Burra

 the garden at rear of cottage

  trying to reseal/repair the pressed earth floor

  Kitchen

 bedroom

 painted Calico ceiling

 looking up along the Paxton Square Cottages

Unicorn Brewery

  Air vents for the tunnels below

 looking down the steep stairs

  stairs from below

  Darryl in one of the tunnels.  They kept the hogs-heads of ale, and Barrels in these tunnels

 a tunnel without the  render

 a tunnel with some render and a drain

I think we managed to get 0.4mm but the wind was still so strong.

12^th September. The indicator was still telling us 19km left – even with checking the manual, there was no way for us to get it to reset.

The wind was not as strong today and the temperature has fallen to about 8 degrees.  We went to continue our tour when we got a warning light flashing on the dashboard and we had little power when the accelerator was pressed.  Turned around and headed into town to Goyder Auto Service and the chap there checked the car for us.  His machine told him that there was a problem with the air intake and sure enough, Darryl found a split in one of the air hoses.  The mechanic is going into Adelaide tomorrow and he will pick up a new hose and install it on Friday when he is back.  HE managed to get the indicator to reset – he had to disconnect the battery first though.  At least now it is not dinging at us each time we start the car.

We then continued our tour and visited the Hampton Village

  lots of dry stone walls remain

 a lonely fireplace

 look!!!! a stove is still in the kitchen

 looking towards Burra

  The 'Jacka' home

  lots of Agave around the town

 dry stone wall

  Kangaroos in the crop

Redruth Gaol and Girls Reformatory

  Front entrance

 Exercise yard

 escape deterrent

 display

 kitchen

 Love these floor boards

 utilising the skills of the inmates

 ailments treated by the doctor

 the gaol was also used in the film Breaker Morant

Police Station and Stables

 the stones were laid on their sides to provide stability and strength for the horses

  The old Courthouse

And visited 2 of the churches in town before having lunch. 

We will now stay at the Showgrounds until Sunday morning.  Apparently when you pay for 6 nights, you get the 7^th free.  So, we will do a trip to Clare on Friday after the new hose goes on and think about what we are going to do on Saturday before we continue to the Yorke Peninsula on Sunday.