Day 197. Coober Pedy to Wilmington

What is this thing called rain?

This morning we bid farewell to Coober Pedy. We found this quirky little town in the middle of nowhere to actually be quite interesting. Other than the dingos walking the streets, 250,000+ holes in the surrounding landscape, and the fact that you have to pay for water (There's even a bowser where you pay to fill up your van - 20c for every 30ltrs), the place is very 70's!

wide open spaces...

We were on the road at just after 8am this morning; heading south and back towards the coast once again. What we left behind were the wide open plains of central Australia, with deep red soils and hardly any vegetation. However, we were soon blown away by the bright colours of the wild flowers in such a stark landscape. There were vivid reds of the Sturts Desert Pea, as well as mauve's, pinks, whites, yellows and oranges creating a carpet of blossoming wild flowers. Both Bec and Scarlett loved it - so much so that I was forced to stop the car so they could walk the road/desert fringes to take a million photo's and pick the odd flower to place in Scarlett's flower press. I must admit it was a wonderful contrast to the plain colourless vegetation we have been experiencing further north.

Funny South Australian road signs...

We stopped at Glendambo Roadhouse where we devoured some of the best 'Burgers' we have had in a long time. Yummy! We then continued our journey further south, and eventually came to Port Augusta where we fuelled up the Pajero. Diesel was only $1.46 per litre; a price we haven't seen for over 6 months. It was a nice change from the prices we have experienced in some of the more remote places - like $2.19 per litre back at Kings Canyon.



A lush carpet of Sturt Desert Pea's



More funny South Australian road signs...

Upon leaving Port Augusta, we turned east and headed up into the hills where we ended up stopping at Wilmington, a small town located approx 50km south east of Port Augusta. Here we set up camp for the night, and Scarlett immediately disappeared to pat the pony and feed the local Brush-Tailed Possums. At one stage, there must of been at least 8 of the furry little critters jostling for the food that the caravan manager and Scarlett were handing out!

Winding roads through South Australian hills...

Today held the biggest contrasts we have experienced since leaving Sydney back in January. This morning was open plains -where you could see for miles and miles, while this afternoon was crawling through the winding ranges east of the Spencer Gulf, through lush green fields of grass and farming produce. We were all mesmerized, not only the landscape; but also the weather. This morning there was a clear cloudless sky, but the further south we headed the clouds continued to build until we were finally getting spits of rain about 100kms north of Port Augusta. Tonight, here at Wilmington, the heavens have finally opened up and the rain is falling. What is this thing called rain?

Believe it or not, but its been 70 days to the day that we last experienced rain! That's two and a half months of bright blue skies and cloudless horizons. We should of guessed that heading south would lead to rain! (At least the grass is greener).

PS: We travelled in excess of 580kms today! The days are long, but Scarlett is still doing great. Her focus and goal is getting back to nana and grumpy's house! She is counting down the days, as she misses them terribly!