Unfortunately, we are really on our way home now. We had another comfortable night even-though it was very cold.
We departed just after 8.00am heading towards Port Augusta and our departure off the Stuart Highway. But before we reached Pimba (6 kilometers from Woomera and on the highway), we were forced to stop at a rail crossing for a freight train. The train has to be one of the longest we have ever seen and we kept pace with the train to a point just short of Port Augusta where we waited and photographed the train as it crossed a level crossing. The driver acknowledged us with a couple of short“toots” on the whistle.
Port Augusta is said to be the cross roads of Australia with the Junction of the Stuart and Eyre Highways providing the opportunity to go north to Darwin, west to Perth, South to Adelaide or south for a short distance and then east to Sydney and north to Brisbane.
We stopped in Port Augusta for a quick shop at Coles and then had coffee and scones at the local heritage centre (well worth a visit).
Unfortunately just after leaving Port Augusta we experienced our first inconsiderate truck driver who appeared to be anxious to pass us even though we were doing the speed limit. He had an opportunity at a passing lane but did not have the power to accelerate past. Fortunately we turned off shortly thereafter but experienced the truck tailgating us for several kilometres. The drive sounded his air horn as we turned and this resulted in “He” giving the truck driver “mouth full” over the two way radio. It was unfortunate that it is individuals like this moron who give truck drivers a bad name as during our journey we have seen hundred trucks and they have all been very courteous.
Before checking in to the caravan park at Peterborough we called into “Steamtown” which is a rail museum now owned by the local council. The museum contains one of the last steam roundhouses in Australia and the only one in the world capable of handling three different gauges. We paid a fee of $5 each and were rewarded with a guided tour of the museum. This is probably the best valued tour we have ever had. A thoroughly enjoyable experience.
We had the pick of the caravan park and it was really very quiet. “He” cooked steaks which we consumed with coleslaw and pasta salad.
We settled in front of the DVD player and watched several episodes of Boston Legal on what turned out to be a very cold night.