Our drive along the Barrier Hwy was slow, because there are many kilometres of roadwork where the speed was reduced to 40/60/80 kph. I took photos of each settlement, village and small town we drove through.
There are few remaining buildings at Cockburn, literally just over the NSW/SA border. In the late 1800s the NSW Government refused to allow SA Railways to operate in NSW. In 1970 the 3ft 6ins railway was converted to 4ft 8.5ins solving the problem, and removing the need for so many workers to live in the town. The population was once 2000 but is now about 50.
The next small settlement is Olary which was established in the 1880s to service the railway and road transport. Only a couple of people live in Olary and the pub does not regularly open.
Manna Hill Railway Station is an elaborate structure built when the SA Government optimistically experimented with wheat farming in the late 1800s. Insufficient rain cruelled that idea. Only 6 people live in the settlement.
We crossed several creeks which unusually had water in them. My favourite creek name is the Winnininnie Creek near Yunta. There are two service stations, a pub, a post office and a school at Yunta.
The SA Quarantine Station is located at Oodla Wirra, 210 kms from the NSW/SA border. We thought we had eaten or frozen all fruit, but the Inspector confiscated an avocado from our fridge. There are hundreds of roadside flowers at Oodla Wirra, but not much else.
We stopped for fuel and lunch at the BP service station near the historic town of Terowie. We have previously explored the well preserved mostly empty buildings of Terowie, but the motel murals caught my interest. The pioneering Hollywood director JP McGowan was born in Terowie and served in the Second Boer War as a special dispatch rider. He is the only Australian to be made a life member of the Screen Directors Guild.
We drove through Hallett with its sheep statues and historic buildings; then onto Burra and Farrell Flat before passing through Clare.
Our caravan park is outside Clare. We have stayed here before but never been allocated such a small site. It took us half an hour to put the 7m long Bushtracker on the 8m site, because posts on the other side of the narrow road limited the turning options for the Toyota. We should have gone back to the office and demanded a bigger site. Our parking problems were aggravated by a small one-eyed dog wandering up and down the road without a lead or any owner.
We needed a change from pub food so ate at the Indii, the number 1 rated restaurant for this area. Most of our choices were excellent, especially the breads. As we drove home the sun was still shining on this unusual sandstone building. Bluey was lunatic when we opened the door to the Bushtracker. I will have to take him for a run tomorrow.
Committed Travellers 