Return to Big Sky Country - Adelaide to Coober Pedy

From Kangaroo Island we headed north to Adelaide.  We only allocated a couple of days to this beautiful city in order to resupply and repair a couple of little bits and pieces before heading into the outback.

As we came closer to Adelaide, our wipers were first turned on, and then turned up.  Yes, it was raining, and Adelaide was about to cop it wettest day for over 40 years.  In fact it was about to cop two very wet days - coinciding exactly with our visit.

We stayed the Adelaide City Caravan Park - a claimed 20 minute walk to the city.  We would dearly have loved to have spent a day walking in the beautiful park lands surrounding the city, but it wasn't to be.  Instead we claimed our site by dropping the camper off, and jumped back into the car sodden.  It was no fun outside, so we went shopping, and later caught up with some old friends for dinner.

It was a wet sodden camp in Adelaide as over 75mm fell in 24 hours

The next day I dropped Jo and the kids off at the Adelaide library, whist I ran a few errands.  The traffic was horrendous as there was flooding, road closures and traffic lights out everywhere.  It was in short a good day to be holed up doing nothing.  By all accounts the library was excellent. It has recently been updated and was a great place to catch up on school work (and update some very out of date apps with the free wi-fi)

In the end I did get most things sorted - but by days end I was over it.  The last shop was at the supermarket, and I resorted to a packet dinner from the supermarket.

Dinner out of packets... a punnet of pasta salad, cherry tomatos and a bag of salad with feta cheese and a BBQ chicken...  not a bad 5 minute meal :)

The following morning we packed up early and hit the road, destination Big Sky Country.  It was overcast and threatening as we pulled into Port Augusta for lunch.  We checked out the Red Cliffs, surveyed by Flinders himself on his voyage charting Australia, and were simply enthralled by the Arid Botanic Garden

Red Cliffs at the head of the Spencer Gulf

Checking out the garden beds at the Arid Garden

The Arid Botanic Gardens was a fantastic display of native plants suited to arid areas.  There is also a nursery with native plants for sale.  We got many ideas for our garden at home - just might have to double check with our friends who work at the National Botanic Gardens in Canberra to make sure our plants will survive in a southern highlands winter!

We got into the groove of the Stuart Highway north - and even overtook the odd road train or two.  Not a bad effort for the little 2 litre engine of the Amarok!

We pulled off the Stuart Highway for a look at the rocket testing range at Woomera.  Being late on a Sunday afternoon, not much was open, but the kids enjoyed wandering around the Missile Park.

The boys check out a 1000 pound bomb

Some of the many rockets that were tested here

We pulled back onto the highway.  The sun was getting low in the sky and it was time to find a camp.  We decided to pull off the road near Lake Heart.  A salt lake in an ancient landscape, we at last were in Big Sky Country.  We thoroughly enjoyed our night camped away from it all again.  The flies might have been prolific, but the setting was timeless.  We were far enough off the road not to hear the passing traffic, and we only heard one train on the Gahn line overnight.  It was a great camp for the night.

Big Sky Country

Our camp near Heart Lake

Our ultimate destination was Coober Pedy, from the aboriginal words "Kupa Pity" meaning 'white man's burrow'.  We had fallen in love with White Cliffs, another opal town, on a visit there mid last year, so Coober Pedy was on our 'must see' list.

It has turned out to be so much fun that I think it warrants an entry in its own right.