Port Augusta

Port Augusta is not a pretty town, it is rocky, arid, and finding a patch of green grass anywhere is near impossible. It is heavily industrial and though it’s no longer a shipping port, it is a key hub for rail transport and a major player in renewable energy. But don’t let that stop you from coming to visit.

The country here is unlike any I’ve seen so far. Scrubby ground growth, the majestic Flinders Ranges, just begging to be explored, and salt pans from the edge of Spencer Gulf, nestled in the very heart of Port Augusta. As we drove past these, I had to convince myself that I wasn’t looking at an icy lake.

Before you explore the Ranges, there’s plenty to do in town. In the centre of town you can find the Wadlata Outback Centre. This is well worth a visit and is one of the best presented  information centres we’ve visited. Even Hugo enjoyed it.

A ten minute drive from the Wadlata Center is the Australian Arid Botanical Gardens. I was surprised at the variety of plants that grow, flourish and provide food for the wildlife in this harsh environment. I would love to see it in spring!

From there it’s a good stretch of the legs, or a short drive to the Redcliffe Lookout. This gives wide views of Spencer Gulf and back towards Port Augusta.

But I think that the thing we enjoyed the most was our ride on the Pichi Richi railway up to Quorn (pronounced corn) on a beautifully maintained steam train. Not many of you know this, but when I was a little girl, I wanted to be a steam train driver. Just like Casey Jones! Although I didn’t get to drive it, I did get to go into the locomotive, let me tell you, there’s some heat coming off that furnace!

It took us two and a half hours to get to Quorn, a few days later we drove there, and it took us thirty minutes. Well, there were a lot of hills for the little train that could. 😊

We only had an hour and a half to find somewhere to have lunch along with the other passengers (it was a packed train) and then explore Quorn, but that was more than enough time. Quorn is a lovely little town with super wide streets and a lot of old buildings. There have been seven Australian films made there, including the Shiralee, Gallipoli and the Water Diviner.

It was a great day out and if you only had time to do one thing while in Port Augusta, it would have to be the Pichi Richi Railway and not just because its fun to say, ‘Pichi Richi Railway!

Now we are off to explore the Flinders Ranges. No, we haven’t forgotten about Lake Eyre, but I’ve been told that there is more water coming from the north so we’re just giving it a bit of time to get there.

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!