Day 71 Port Augusta

Happy Birthday To Me

Spoiled again! I awoke to another sunny day with a warm breeze drifting in from the north and after a quiet coffee on my own, Jacqui and the boys awoke and loaded me up with lots of presents and more importantly, lots of love. I got new shirts, a book, ACDC memorabilia, and my own voodoo doll to keep us safe on the remainder of our trip. I had calls and messages from family and friends and then it was time to pack up and move ourselves to Port Augusta.
Not surprisingly, we found getting started a little difficult but by 8:30, we were on the road. The heat in this part of the country is oppressive and with the anniversary of Victorias 2009 bushfire disaster upon us, we made our way across the Eyre Peninsula with an ever vigilant eye on the horizon searching for signs of smoke. The winds blowing in from the north gained intensity throughout the day with the occasional hot and dry gusts blowing us around, making the drive a little scary. The temperature gauge in the car got to 44 degrees. We stopped in at Iron Knob which was interesting if for no other reason than the two brothers we met that are running the roadhouse. Even if they hadn’t mentioned that they’ve lived at Iron Knob for over 40 years but that both where born in Tasmania, I would have guessed it.
When we arrived at Port Augusta, we set up the van and then went for a quick stroll around town where we took a few photos at the towns central park. It wasn’t all that exciting but after we found a Woolies to restock the fridge with fruit, drinks and meat, it was back to the van for a swim, but not before Tom trialled for a management role. We followed this up at the park pool, where Zach managed to dive into the shallow end and scrape the skin off his lips but luckily, his teeth are still in place.
According to the weather site on the net, it’s still 38 degrees at 10:30. We have the 300km long drive to Adelaide in the morning and with this heat expected to continue, it should be an interesting day.
Cheers,
Jorg