Departing Port Augusta

We are in our final day at Port Augusta and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The region has an incredible history and there is certainly plenty to see and do.  Port Augusta is at the very top of Spencer Gulf and if like us you are travelling tomorrow northward through the centre of Australia, it is the last major town before Coober Pedy.

Port Augusta Harbour and looking towards the city

The Spencer Gulf was first explored in 1802 but it wasn’t until 1852 that Port Augusta was named after Augusta Marryat, the wife of the first civilian Governor of South Australia. A key issue for Port Augusta both then and now, has been their water supply.

There was no reliable drinking water in the area until 1865 when a pipeline was laid from Woolundunga Spring in the Flinders Ranges to Port Augusta. Nowadays, a pipeline from the Murray River supplements the area’s water supply and the town recycles its wastewater from a modern local plant. Even now visitors to the city are asked to either purchase their drinking water from retail outlets or if travellers like ourselves, obtain our water from the local caravan park.

While much of our time in Port Augusta has been preparing (vehicles and ourselves) for the next leg of our journey, we were still able to get out and about. We undertook a couple of great walks around the Gulf foreshore, spent an afternoon at the Wadlata Outback Centre and even managed to go out to dinner on Saturday night.

Our journey is put into perspective when you realise how big Australia is compared to other countries.

The only task we have yet to do is to fill the motorhome with diesel tomorrow morning before we leave. We were pleased to see today that diesel is down to $1.53 per litre. With our 4 cents a litre discount we get for grocery shopping at Woolworths, we should be buying diesel tomorrow at $1.49 per litre – a big change from $1.80 per litre over Easter.

We are not sure if we will have telephone coverage between Port Augusta and Coober Pedy. If family cannot get hold of us, don’t panic. We plan to be in Coober Pedy on the 30 April.