Day 110: Sat 06 Jul 24 - Port Augusta to Clare

Sat 06 Jul 24 - Port Augusta to Clare (201km)

Wow...what a wild night with winds gusting up to 80km/h, at times we thought the van was going to flip over it was so strong. Thankfully we had no trees around us, but unfortunately for one van in the next row, a tree came down across the drawbar of their caravan.  Thankfully no one was injured - it could have been much worse.

We woke to 6 Deg, feeling like 2 Deg and a clear sky, and while the strong overnight winds had eased a little, they were still strong. The winds eased enough that I was happy enough to set set off for Clare, but by the time we drove away at 09:30am after refueling, the wind picked up again and made for a very uncomfortable towing experience. Everyone on the road seemed to be experiencing the same discomfort as they were driving much slower than usual too. Once we turned off the Princes Highway and turned for Gladstone long the Wilkins Highway, the wind eased a bit more. The 20km drive to Gladstone then another 79km to Clare was very scenic through rolling hills and green pastoral land with lots of healthy looking grain crops and sheep. It was a very scenic drive.

On arrival in Gladstone, we stopped for a coffee which we had in the van (as there was not one shop open in this small rural town), then I went for a wander around the streets. As I come from Gladstone in QLD, I had to see what one of the other four Gladstone's in Australia look like (QLD, NSW, SA and TAS). Gladstone (SA), is a small rural wheatbelt town at the southern edge of the Flinders Ranges, and has a few lovely old heritage buildings for its size. Historically it was an important rail centre, and the district around the town is noted for its sheep and wheat, and reputedly has the largest grain receiving site in inland Australia. It's a very neat and clean town, and having driven past it twice previously, I'm glad we made the effort to visit this time. 

Continuing on our way, the next town we came to was Yacka, an even smaller town than Gladstone.  The town name was shortened from 'Yackamoorundie' an indigenous place name for the area which was used to name Yackamoorundie Creek. There isn't much to see here so we were quickly on our way again. We arrived at the Discovery Park in Clare at 1:00pm and immediately after setting up, we drove into a nearby bakery for a bite to eat, then into town to a cafe for another coffee. It was very windy and cold, so after a quick look around, we returned to the van where Noel set about doing the washing. Meanwhile, I unloaded my bike and went for a ride along the Riesling Trail through the vineyards and farmland along an old rail trail. Despite the wind and cooler temperature, it was a very enjoyable ride. After dinner, the evening was spent doing something that I haven't done for a very long time - watched the Wallabies win a game of rugby. 


Gladstone - Memorial Hall


Gladstone - Commercial Hotel which dates from 1878 has some nice lattice work

Gladstone - A very quiet main street 

Gladstone - Old Pub & Butter Factory

Gladstone - Old Pub

Gladstone - District Hall

Gladstone - Main Street

Gladstone - Main Street

Gladstone - Happy Rock Cafe (Closed)

Gladstone - Heritage listed National Australia Bank and Savings Bank of South Australia

Gladstone - War Memorial

Gladstone - War Memorial

Gladstone - The Indian Pacific passes through Gladstone on its way from Sydney to Perth. The railway is also used to transport lead and zinc from Broken Hill to Port Pirie. Trains no longer stop at Gladstone, and the station is now a private residence

Gladstone _ Main Street

Yacka - War Memorial

Yacka - War Memorial


Yacka

Yacka

Clare

Clare - Main Street

Clare - Main Street


Clare

Clare - Wineries

Clare 

Clare

Clare

Clare - Ride along the Riesling Trail. Sculpture

Clare - Ride along the Riesling Trail. New vineyard

Clare - Ride along the Riesling Trail. Sculpture

Clare - Ride along the Riesling Trail. Pipped him at the post.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 109: Fri 05 Jul 24 - Merghiny Gravel Pit (Ceduna) to Port Augusta

Image
Merghiny Gravel Pit (Ceduna) to Port Augusta (450km)  It was 8 Deg and feeling much less, raining on and off from 4:00am for the first 100km, then cloudy and very windy for the rest of the day. At Port Augusta it reached 18 Deg with strong winds gusting in excess of 60km/h. The past few days have been tiring driving in the wind and rain with lots of heavy transport travelling in both directions, so it was nice to have a quiet start to our 450km drive today. This post is a little light on photographic material, as we have now covered the stretch between Ceduna and Port Augusta three times in the past 18 months, so we kept driving with minimal stops.  Coffee was had at the Minnipa rest area, then lunch at the Kimba roadhouse, before arriving at 3:00pm at the Discovery Parks Caravan Park in Port Augusta for an overnight stay.  We have a drive through site for the night for a quick get away tomorrow. From here we have settled on a couple of nights at Clare for a bit of a brea...
Read more

Day 111: Sun 07 Jul 24 - Clare

Image
Sun 07 Jul 24 - Clare  The overnight temperature dropped to 6 Deg with 54km/h winds which eventually eased by the time we climbed out of bed. No surprise though when we woke, it was raining again, and it continued raining until mid afternoon, so it was a day of forced rest which we both enjoyed. The day comprised coffee in town this morning, then a visit to Hill River Wines to buy a few local wines. I chose this winery out of all others because t hey are a young cellar door and they are family owned. The wines also tasted nice. Back at the van, we had a quiet afternoon resting and watching a documentary series about one of Australia's biggest and strangest art heists on SBS.  It's about an investigation into the art heist from the New Norcia monastery where we recently visited - it's very interesting. Check it out.  The clouds cleared late afternoon, so I mustered the motivation to go out into the cold (6 Deg) for a late walk, before we drove back into town for an Indian ...
Read more

Day 11: Fri 29 Mar 24 (Good Friday) - Madura Pass to Norseman

Image
Fri 29 Mar 24 (Good Friday) Madura Pass to Norseman (530km) It was 14 Deg with a very slight SE breeze and a light dew, reaching 32, clear and sunny with no wind at Norseman. It was a lovely morning, and a nice change waking to early daylight, so we took the opportunity to get on the road earlier than usual. Today was a long haul, 530km along very good road, but with not a lot to see. We were amazed at how green the countryside was, and particularly so around Madura. This is clearly a reflection of all the recent heavy rain had in the region. One other observation from our trek across the Nullarbor, is despite the various Camel, Kangaroo, Wombat, Cattle and Emu warning signs, we did not see any roadkill. Disappointingly, Noeleene went another day without spotting a camel (dead or alive). The traffic today was well spread out, and the majority was Heavy Transport Trucks and caravans - all well behaved, and surprisingly a lot of three-wheeled motorbikes.  We also spotted a couple mor...
Read more