The Pinnacles on the early morning drive from Broken Hill to the South Australian border.

In local turf wars, goats have overtaken Thackaringa Hills

Manna Hill Railway Station built in 1886 in the golden age of Australian railways. This is on the Indian Pacific railway line.

Saltbush country between Manna Hill and Yunta

A weather change was on the way

One pilot vehicle and two police escorts preceded the arrival of the 8 metre wide load.

Peterborough – celebrating railways is the feature of this town

Bob the Railway Dog is part of South Australian Railways folklore. His statue is in the main street of Peterborough. Bob travelled the rail network from 1881 to 1894 and was well known to railwaymen. William Ferry (who registered Bob after he had a few owners in his early life) was promoted to Petersburg (now Peterborough) Assistant Station Master by which time Bob had become accustomed to train travel. Bob was known to venture to and from Petersburg often sitting in the front of the coal space in the locomotive tender travelling on trains throughout South Australia and as far as Sydney and Brisbane. Bob collected bones from all the towns on his travels but that seems a bit far fetched.

Bob the Railway Dog atop a train at Port Augusta in 1887 (Image: State Library of South Australia B 6422)

Peterborough Town Carriage Museum. I would like to tell you how far this carriage travelled but I am not sure how to express it.

Sleeper compartment

The Big Cuppa on the old Capitol Theatre. A oversized cup once fell on my head – it’s terrible to be mugged.

Welcome to Orroroo – another stop for the famous pies at the Gumtree Cafe

Pekina Creek at Orroroo with some huge river red gums

A bush trail along Pekina Creek leads to some tilted slabs of stratified rock.

Ngadjuri Country – engravings cover one slab

An adventure playground at the nearby Lions Park has this creature as part of the play experience. I think it is a centipede – it is 100 feet long.

This gum was common in the woodlands west of Orroroo.

Sheep near Wilmington. It went down to 10 degrees during the day but I was warm with my merino pullover thanks to ewe.

Horrocks Pass in the Southern Flinders Ranges

This cairn at Horrocks Pass commemorates John Horrocks who travelled through here from the Clare Valley in 1846 in search of agricultural land north of Port Augusta. He died from his wounds (gangrene) after an accidental discharge of his shotgun after being bumped by Harry the Camel while reloading. Harry was the first camel to be brought to Australia arriving at Port Adelaide in 1840 from the Canary Islands by John Horrocks. Between 1860 and 1920 approximately 20,000 camels and approximately 3000 cameleers landed at ports around Australia to support a vast network of camel train routes across inland Australia. In South Australia, camels were used in the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line.

Unloading a camel at Port Augusta 1893 (Image: State Library of South Australia B 68916) This is one about to be parked in the Camelot.

Wind power with Spencers Gulf in the background. We overnighted at the excellent Crossroads Ecomotel in Port Augusta. Emu count today:4