This was just a run through the SA countryside, with stops along the way in some interesting towns. Everything has turned brown now that I’m in warmer climates and what appears to be harvesting seasons (if the hayfever is anything to go by).
Heading north west towards Adelaide I stopped at Keith for brunch, saw Pink Lake (there appear to be lots of them in Oz), then turned west a little further on towards Meningie that sits on the edge of Lake Albert. Today was quite warm (35) so I was hoping that getting close to a body of water might drop the temperature a little. It did, but not much. Either way, it was a pleasant change of scenery.
StinkyPete suggested I do this as it then leads to Wellington and a ferry crossing over the Murry River. It was apparently quite busy talking to the locals in the queue with me – it took 3 cycles to get through.
I must admit, by this stage of the trip many towns are looking alike. They all have a pub, quite often a hundred years or more old; they have a town square/centre with a monument honoring a war (or wars) and the contribution from the locals, and usually ANZAC; they have a sports ground (AFL/NRL – depending on location); and some shops that almost always include a bakery.
However, there are the odd few that stand out. Today it was Stathalbyn south east of Adelaide. I’d been through this neck of the woods several years ago when OzSToc had their national rally in Middleton.
It didn’t take long for the memory to come back, remembering how pretty the town was. I stocked up at the local supermarket and then went for a walk (shoulda reversed that – the food got quite hot in the topbox).
I was going to stay in Strathalbyn, but given the temperature (still 34) I figured I’d head towards Victor Harbour – hopefully it would be a bit cooler. It was.
As I drove through, I remembered the OzSToc visit – and the horse-drawn tram out to Granite Island. I doubt I’ll spend much time looking around tomorrow, other than just refreshing the memory some more.
My original planning for this stage of the trip didn’t really consider that SA is much like WA where there are quite large distances between significant townsites. I have well and truly felt like the last few days are just about “getting home” now. There are still plenty of KMs to do, and things to see, but from here on I’ve been-there-done-that mostly due to that OzSToc trip in 2013.
I was thinking of making a detour to the Flinders Ranges, but I’ll see how I feel on the day – it’s quite warm/hot now and with home and family being on my mind I have a feeling I’ll just point the ship west and keep going. I predicted this would happen – at the tail-end of the trip I’d probably just want to get home.