12th July Port Augusta

Kms today 229                Kms to date 3509

I had a short distance to ride today, so made a leisurely start and didn't get away until 9:45.  It had rained overnight but thankfully the rain held off and the afternoon was warm and sunny.

I followed the Goyder Hwy through some lovely countryside which was glowing green with new growth. A large water pipeline followed this route to take water from the Murray at Morgan to Port Augusta and further afield.  This was the last time I saw an advisory speed limit for a corner (65kph) until I was coming home through NSW!

The water pipeline follows the Gotder Hwy from the Murray river to Port Pirie and Port Augusta

As I had some time up my sleeve I decided to visit Port Pirie. This is a large town on the shores of Spencer Gulf that smelts the ore dug up by BHP at Broken Hill into Lead, Zinc and Silver in an admirable example of value adding. The town was established in 1845 and has a number of distinctive buildings from that age.  I learnt about the town at the National Trust Museum, where time seems to have stopped in 1986.  On the advice of Peter Mellet, I also visited an exhibit of a huge 5.5m Great White Shark that was hauled up with some fishing lines in 1998. 

The smelter chimney can bee seen from the Princes Hwy

 

Model of a huge white pointer shark hauled up in some fishing nets in 1998

Sun Drop Solar Farm 

I could see this white glowing tower from 30 kms before I got to Port Augusta.  I found out it was a solar furnace that was used to generate electricity and  to evaporate seawater and distil it into fresh water for growing tomatoes.  There were hundreds of mirrors on the ground concentrating sunlight on to the furnace.

I arrived at the Flinders Hotel at 2:30 hoping to check in and do some sight seeing, only to find the place deserted.  I asked around and no-one could tell me anything.  

The Kawasaki outside the deserted  Hotel Flinders

So I went off to Arid Lands Botanic Gardens just outside town on the Stuart Hwy.  I spent over an hour wandering through the plants and then observed the setting sun lighting up the nearby Flinders Range.

The Arid Lands Botanic Gardens

This was afar north as Mathew Flinders got in 1802

I hope he got to see the sun setting on the Flinders Ranges

When I got back at about 5:30 to the Flinders Hotel there still was no sign of life but I managed to speak to a driver of a ute as he entered the security gate.  He said he would ring the owner for me.  It turned out the Manager had quit and the bar had been closed over the weekend.  One of the relief barmen turned up and booked me into a pretty decrepit room at the back. But it's a bed for the night.