Day 5: Sat 23 Mar 24 - Berri to Snowtown (via Munno Para & Port Wakefield)

Sat 23 Mar 24 - Berri to Snowtown (via Munno Para & Port Wakefield) (336km)

A more moderate 13 (feeling like 8) Deg this morning at Berri, reaching a sunny 26 Deg at Snowtown, which was made to feel so much colder with the strong (40km/hr+) southerly winds. We're finding it very hard to get moving in the morning when it’s so fresh and still so dark. It's been a long today, so I'll keep the narrative short. We left Berri by 08:00 and made our way 200km to Munno Para stopping for coffee about 60km short of our destination at Dutton East Rest Area after a long and steep climb. Continuing through the Barossa we arrived at Munno Para at about 1120, where Bunnings proved very easy to find, just off the M2 Northern Expressway - it's a massive store. I parked in the main carpark, walked in and paid for and collected the Starlink kit, and we were quickly on our way again, continuing towards along the A1 Highway to Port Wakefield where we stopped for lunch. We were here about 12 months ago, and there appears to have been a lot of work done in town to make it more appealing. After lunch and a wander around we continued 30km north to Lochiel on the western edge of the Pink Salt Lake - Lake Bumbunga. The attraction here, aside from the Pink Lake, is  the sculpture made of rubber tyres, supposed to resemble the Loch Ness Monster. After a short walk down the lakes edge, and a chat with a young German tourist, we were on our way again the short distance to our overnight stay at Snowtown. We are staying in a caravan park - more like an open space at the back of the footy oval and other sports facilities with power and water. No one to check in with, or take our money, just select a site and the caretakers will come around eventually. There are only about six powered sites, and thankfully we arrived when we did, because the others were filled shortly after us. We struck up a conversation with our neighbours for the night who just returned from WA in a motorhome, and told us about the difficulties they had getting accomodation in Ceduna. So, we promptly went inside and tried a few parks before eventually securing a 2 night stay from Monday. Tomorrow night we plan to free camp along the way - likely at Kimba. Tomorrow we will also start making bookings for WA. After setting up a Starlink account and getting it to start linking with the stars, I packed it away to finish setting up tomorrow. With a strong focus on food by now, Noel and I walked down the main street to the pub where we joined our friendly neighbours for dinner. Noel had a tasty Roast Lamb while I had a very enjoyable seafood Pad Thai. Walking back to the van, the strong southerly wind persisted, and made the hot shower that much more enjoyable before bed. 


Dutton East Rest / Coffee Stop - Very Windy

Dutton East Rest Area

Dutton East Rest Area

Port Wakefield

Port Wakefield - I love this mural on the pub wall

Port Wakefield

Port Wakefield

Port Wakefield

Port Wakefield

Lake Bumbunga - Lochiel


Lake Bumbunga - Lochiel

Lake Bumbunga - Lochiel (It was very windy)

Lake Bumbunga - Lochiel 

Lochiel

Lochiel

Snowtown

Snowtown - Saturday Footy

Snowtown - Saturday Footy

Snowtown - Main Street

Snowtown - The Big Blade, a 44m Wind Turbine Blade

Snowtown


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