We left Adelaide via the ring road without actually seeing the city centre. Another time. Even so it was a bit tense as it was still peak hour and the lights prioritised cross traffic going into the business area. This frustrated Bob as he always just seemed to miss the green. Fortunately no one else could hear his language. As we headed north there was a vicious cross wind which made life hard . We had planned to drive up through the Southern Flinders Ranges anyway and this meant we were more comfortable once we were in the shelter of the hills. Clare has grown some what since our last visit and the vineyards were wall to wall green up the sides of the hills. Lots of towns have planted deciduous trees and the cooler nights has brought out the colours so it was quite beautiful. Some of the other towns were not prospering as much and we had lunch in a funny old cafe in Spalding which had had an important history in the early diversion of water by the construction of huge concrete chanels. These have been replaced by modern steel pipes and the town is quietly withering. If we had continued northwards we knew from past experience that we would be exposed to the wind on the plateau so we cut across towards Port Pirie. We didn't go into this rather unattractive town (I was told) but visited the next port to the north. This was the first port on Spencer's Gulf and loaded wheat, wool and timber to the sailing ships along a two mile long jetty. The jetty is now only one mile long but claims to be the longest wooden jetty remaining in Australia. It is a pretty town that relies on tourism since the construction of deep water ports at Pirie and Augusta.
We stayed at our favourite motel in Port Augusta and strolled along to the usual pub for dinner.
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