Our destination today is Erldunda, a roadhouse and accommodation complex on the junction of the Stuart and Lasseter Highways. It is considered the Centre of the Centre of Australia. We weren’t the first to leave town for the drive north but we weren’t the last. Open plains near Coober Pedy changed to Mulga woodlands then … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 11 – The Centre of the Centre

The morning was spent looking around the town features of Coober Pedy. We used Trip Advisor reviews to short list attractions most worth seeing. The Umoona Museum and opal shop contained some interesting exhibits, fossil opals and some higher quality opal jewellry. Opalised belemnites (squid like animals) from the gut of an icthyosaur. Opalised belemnites … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 10 – Coober Pedy

We left Port Augusta just after sunrise to begin the long drive to the red centre of Australia. The ranges and huge panoramic views made this our favourite drive so far this trip. Just outside Port Augusta Ranges View Rest Area A goods train heading for the coast Island Lagoon – salt lake with conical … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 9 – The Stuart Highway

Today was a day of big things – big fish, big ant, big rocks, big farmer, big galah, big trucks, big flocks and big paddocks. A big fish – before leaving Streaky Bay, we visited the local Shell station to see the great white shark replica of the exact size caught with a hand line … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 8 – Big day on the Eyre Highway

An early morning walk on th jetty is a refreshing start to the day. Everywhere we go, the locals greet us with open arms. The Streaky Bay Hotel, where we dined last night, was built in 1866, Our destination today is Point Labatt, 51km south of Streaky Bay. It is the largest mainland colony of … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 7 – Streaky Bay, Seals and Sceales

Spencers Gulf has an amazing variety of sea life. Leafy sea dragons, sea horses, giant cuttlefish and great white sharks call this area home. A morning walk on the jetty showed us a glimpse of their world with sea stars, anemones and other creatures living amonst the sea lettuce and seagrass. Port Lincoln from Winter … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 6 – The Great Southern Ocean

The western coastline of Spencers Gulf terminates at Lincoln National Park in the south. Small coastal towns of Cowell, Arno Bay, Port Neill and Tumby Bay provide breaks in the drive from Whyalla to Port Lincoln. Lilac coloured flowering gum at Whyalla Wetlands. The Wetlands themselves are artifical with the area busy in the norning … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 5 – Flinders Highway

A very showery day greeted us on day 4. We set out westwards on the Barrier Highway. The Pinnacles are on the western side of Broken Hill are near an enormous solar farm. Rock sida growing at Thackaringa Hills outside Broken Hill. The horizon from the Barrier Highway near the South Australian border. A wedge … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 4 – Into South Australia

A crisp morning of 5 degrees greeted us on Day 3. After a quick trip for a loaf of bread at Cobar Hot Bake, we set out on the Barrier Highway through a changing landscape of cypress pine, mulga and saltbush. Typical of outback highway travel, the journey from Cobar to Broken Hill sees one … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 3 – The Barrier Highway

This long day saw us traverse four highways, south on the Newell from Moree to Gilgandra; west on the Oxley to Nevertire; north west on the Mitchell to Nyngan; and west on the Barrier from to Cobar.  The morning took us past the great Nandewar Range (containing Mount Kaputar National Park) and onto Narrabri – … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 2 – Four highways

  It’s a long way from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to the Red Centre of Australia but the roads less travelled have their rewards. After a later start than expected, the twin tunnels of Airportlink and Legacy Way had us back on time. The road west from Brisbane crosses the Great Dividing Range at Cunningham’s Gap … More The Red Centre – Winter 2017 Day 1 – Across the Great Divide