Have to admit, Port Augusta captivated us. We intended to stay 4 days to look around and jump onto the Pichi Richi Railway out to Quorn. That was number two on your correspondent's 'must do' list. I'd been to Pt Augusta twice before, first time I was 7 y.o. then at 11 when I passed through with my parents on the way east. It was so long ago I could remember almost nothing of the town. No doubt it had changed plenty. As it was, we were there for 5 nights because I got a bit crook shortly before we were due to leave. Nothing serious, but rest was the Rx.
The fact that the weather was spring-time changeable made the port more interesting with varied photo opportunities. We learned here how South Oz tends to preserve and recycle its old buildings, a fact which we really appreciate. So there'll always be some golden oldies - bricks and mortar kind - amongst our pics. Here, we started to get a sense of the difficulties SA has financially. As Westerners it tended to soften our angst about GST matters.
Something else.. SA is simply a beautiful State which deserves more attention as a destination. It's not just a pass-thru on the way east! It ain't perfect, but in its own way, it's beautiful! Especially in springtime...
What a fantastic lightshow over the Flinders Ranges on a damp spring day from west-side Pt Augusta!
Pt Augusta's coal-fired power house (can't remember its moniker off-hand) was controversially closed a short while back. Here it presents a particularly moody look on a moody day.
A drive down the west coast of Spencer Gulf rewards the visitor with a collection of witty house names along parts of that stretch...
... and some pretty neat vistas on a showery day.
One of the best preserved buildings in the town is the Ag Department building. Just about every town in SA can boast a collection of such treasures.
Even a local shopping centre has an old brewery building as a parking area frontage. Sure beats looking at rows of parked cars from the street.
Another very fine old building, Pt. Augusta's Courthouse.
It's not all beer and skittles though. Pt Augusta's classic old town hall has been vacated and at risk because of structural deficiencies. Apparently, a teenage boy found that out when he fell through the roof a while ago while skylarking above. He survived, but the building may not.
There's more to come from our stay in Pt Augusta. This is not a town to rush away from. Our first really successful fishing episode happened here. A bag of juvenile salmon provided a feed for two grey nomad couples. There's a bit to see and do around these parts. And then there's the Pichi Richi steam Railway, leaving a couple times a week from the town on its fabulous day trips. It's a must do, and not just for enthusiasts!
-- Edited by JocknNik on Monday 21st of August 2017 04:42:38 PM
