8:30am Saturday morning, we threw the bag on the back of the bike, and headed off to the Port Augusta town markets. The markets are held twice a year, once in April and again in November and they send a buzz through the town and attract people from all over the place.
It was a cool start to the morning in Wallaroo as we headed off. About half an hour up the track, you come into Port Broughton - a quiet, tidy little town in a sheltered bay.
This is a good spot to stop for an icecream with the kids, and there’s a nice playground on the foreshore that they can enjoy while you take in the fresh air. There's a couple of great little cafe's and the Pub is a stones throw from the foreshore.
Pt Broughton Foreshore (photo Google Earth)
About 60 kilometres further up the Spencer Highway is Port Pirie, where the stunning lower Flinders Ranges start to appear up ahead.
Just out of Pirie, heading north, is Harry’s Homemade Fine Foods. This is a great little place for fruit & veg, pizza, and an enormous selection of homemade jams & pickles that are to die for! (facebook page)
Port Augusta is about another 90 kilometres from Port Pirie. The Flinders just keep getting bigger and better as you head north. We rode into Port Augusta around 10:30am, and the day had started to warm up by then. During the market, the main street is closed off to all traffic, and the stall holders and local shops have all their gear on display out on the footpath.
It’s a good turn out with all sorts of things on offer, as well as a few buskers along the street to add to the atmosphere. We discovered that there’s good little bakery in the main street with a Chinese takeaway next door – that was lunch sorted!
After lunch we had a bit of a ride around Port Augusta, fuelled up and headed for home. On the way we turned left onto the Germein Gorge Road. This road was closed back in January 2014 after the devastating Bangor fire ripped through, causing server damage. This was followed by flooding which swept parts of the road away. The road reopened in August 2014 after a $2.4 million rebuild. (the advertiser video dpti.sa.gov.au)
These 2014 events are just a small part of this road’s long history. Back in the 1930’s, local people were employed to take part in the construction of the Gorge Road Project. This was part of an effort to address the huge unemployment in the region, due to Depression and drought. If you get the chance to drive or ride the Germein Gorge Road, take the time appreciate the old stone wall and all the hard work that has gone into this road. It’s a great piece of South Australian history.
If you’re looking to stretch your legs, then a walk on the Port Germein jetty will do it, at 1532 meters long! There’s a bit of history that goes with the Port Germein jetty, where bagged wheat was once hauled all the way up it to be loaded onto sailing ships! (You only need to look at the Wallaroo jetty to see just how much things have changed since those days!). In 1881 the Port Germein jetty was known as the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. Today it still has SOME status, as the longest wooden jetty in South Australia.
We rode in through the gates of home at about 6:30pm, having experienced a little slice of the South Australian backyard! What a great day, Out and About!
Remember - You can forget what you do for a living, when your knees are in the breeze!
