We enjoyed our brief stay in Mildura at the Buronga Riverside Caravan Park. Well technically it was in Buronga (as the name suggests), on the NSW side of the “Mighty Murray River”. Kate and I rapidly packed the caravan (we were pretty proud of ourselves to tell the truth) while the kids amused themselves on the conveniently located jumping pillow. While I did the final part of the pack, and hooked up to the Territory, Kate and the kids did a short exploration down to the river.
After collecting some supplies in Mildura, we headed towards Port Augusta. And, like yesterday, we wished we had time to explore the region we were travelling through. We had lunch in the “Historic Port of Morgan”, which had a fantastic park and playground, complete with Paddle Steamer.
We were struck by how much the landscape changed as we travelled. Not long out of Mildura, after passing vineyards, wheat fields, and almond groves, the landscape became particularly arid, sandy, scrubby, and I’m pretty confident I even saw tumbleweed. I think both Kate and I, with our limited knowledge of South Australia, thought that this might last for much of our journey. However, as we approached Burra, the scenery abruptly changed, with the arid landscape making way for green rolling hills. Apparently this was the northern end of the Mount Lofty Ranges. This region was quite beautiful, and was home to a number of Marino Stud and more canola fields, along with a cluster of sizeable wind generators.
Eventually we connected up to the A1 Highway, and headed toward Port Augusta with the Spencer Gulf to our left. Port Augusta was formerly a Sea Port, but now trains seem to be the major form of cargo transportation. We passed a train with more than 50 carriages, many with two shipping containers. From our caravan park we could hear machinery at the rail yards constantly, but more as a dull rumble (like the ocean), so it didn’t disturb our sleep.
Finally you can watch Isaac's Day 2 vlog is here: