July 17th

Yesterday we drove out to Bowman Park, it was a working station from the early 1800s, till not so long ago. The remains of the buildings are still there. When you first enter the park there is a children’s play ground, with timber carvings and climbing areas .




Not sure what this fellow is. But different eh!

The remains of the original homestead 1850s

Then the next homestead


The caretaker /gardeners, were very busy while we were there, keeping a close eye on us.






From there we went on to Laura, and up into the hills to a lookout, back over the town.


Back down into the town, it was snack time for us at Meryle’s Cafe, which is a work in progress for the owner, and he is doing a great job, old relics and murals combined with a modern cafe. The place was full when we arrived. And the vanilla slices were good too.



Back through another small town, with murals at the swimming pool. Then a look at the Gladstone gaol, it was closed, so that was it for the day.




This morning we left Crystal Brook for Port Augusta, to meet up with friends and venture into the Flinders Ranges tomorrow.

We only had a couple of stops on the way, one was at the painted silos in Willaburra.

The next was at a lookout, way up in the hills near Wilmington. The view was spectacular although a bit hazy, and rough going to get there.



We pulled up in the RV park in Port Augusta, then went into town for supplies and fuel for the week ahead.

When we got back, the map was put on the table and Chris put his two bobs worth in as we plotted our Flinders trip. I’ve been looking forward to doing this for a few years . The weather is beautiful at the moment, lets hope it stays that way…