Port Augusta, Snowtown & Port Broughton

What a week!! The weather changed drastically from absolutely beautiful to cold, wet and miserable. We said goodbye to our neighbours John and Vicky and also to Chris and David, who very generously allowed us to stay on their Industrial Block. It was also very sad to leave Whyalla as I had grown quite attached to the town. Maybe it was all the lovely people we met. Sunday we paid a visit to the HMAS Whyalla the first ever warship built in Whyalla, beautifully restored and homed at the Maritime Museum. We toured over the whole ship, quite an experience. We arrived in Port Augusta Monday and we are now camped in a Motorhome Parking area near the local Sportman's Club. $5 per night or $25 per week no power, toilets or showers. Lucky we have our own. There are hot showers available at the BP Service Station for $2 for those who need them. We were able to get the radio sorted out at long last. We were lucky again as the Technician discovered that a part we only just purchased for the equalising of our batteries (our House power) was the wrong one and was getting rather hot and could cause a fire. We rang the company to exchange the part but it meant a quick trip up to Adelaide (This is the capital city of South Australia to those who don't know) and back about 300 kms one way. Wednesday saw us on the way again headed for Adelaide in the Jimny. On the way we noticed some fellow travellers from home camped along side of the road. We pulled in and had a cuppa with Ron and Colinda, Luckily again I was having problems deciphering a pattern and she was able to set me on the right track. Thanks heaps Colinda. We arrived in Adelaide about 11.30 and were following the GPS which kept on sending us on to the Southern Expressway (the wrong way) we managed to overcome this by driving further up and being diverted back to the correct road. After we picked up the part the salesmen informed us that the Southern Expressway goes one way in the AM and reverses in the PM but if we left straight away we could go via that road as it changed at 12.30pm. As it was 12.15 we made it back quite safely. On the way back we called in to Snowtown for a little bit of nostalgia. My father originated from Snowtown and moved to WA in his late 20s and never returned. He was one of 13 children so we still have lots of rellies in this area and Port Broughton. We managed to find a cousin Jenny and enjoyed a chat with her. Unfortunately Phyllis and Keith (another cousin) had left for Adelaide that day and wouldn't be back until the weekend. We were over here for a family reunion in the 1980's, it was huge. Thursday, Bill felt sorry for me and again in the Jimny we went on a mission to find other lost rellies in Port Broughton about 107km away along the coast past Port Pirie. The two addresses I had drew a blank as nobody was home. Rather than leave disappointed we stopped for a coffee in the local cafe and borrowed a phonebook. We drove out to meet Basil and his wife Maureen and they were able to lead us to Uncle Fred and Aunty Barbara, and from there to Ted's (He was married to cousin Joan who passed away about 2 years ago.) We were sitting down enjoying a chat when another cousin walked in Roma, who is Aunty Alice's daughter. There were lots of other rellies we could have caught up with but we ran out of time. I was a bit sad that Aunty Joyce was'nt home because I would have loved to have met up with her. Uncle Fred and Aunty Joyce are the last of the siblings and they are in their late eighties. I will include some photos next time.Talk again soon