Port Augusta

Port Augusta, South Australia

The route:

The journey between Broken Hill and Port Augusta was confined solely to the Barrier Highway, making the drive an easy one. The distance between Broken Hill and Port Augusta is about 412 kilometres. We stopped off at Junta for a coffee break, then at Peterborough for a petrol top-up ($1.57/ltr.) before arriving at Port Augusta. Weather-wise it was a mix of sunshine, winds and sunny periods.

The caravan park:

Shoreline Caravan Park

Gardiner Avenue

Port Augusta, SA 5700

I’m pretty sure I have stayed here before. The site nestles under the shadows of the Flinders ranges and almost reaches the water of the Spencer Gulf - A great place for anglers. Once again pets are allowed on a leash (so Buddy and I can rest our heads for as long as we wish).

The caravan park offers a substantial list of facilities that I’m sure will cater of everyone’s needs and expectations

A view across the river at Port Augusta

The Southern Flinders Ranges in the back ground

Our caravan location (in the background) at Port Augusta

A view across the river at Port Augusta looking at the Southern Flinders Ranges

Port Augusta riverside walk close to the city centre

Mobile and TV reception:

Mobile coverage: Good (3 bars on my Optus served iPhone

4 bars on my Telstra dongle for broadband

TV reception includes:

22 Digital signals, 4 radio.

Included all commercial stations, ABC and SBS

Rates: 

Powered Ensuite Site $33 per night, 

Surrounding area:

There are galleries, fishing, lookouts and Museums of the past are all around and of course, the Royal Flying Doctors are represented. For rainy days there is the Augusta cinema.

The Southern Flinders Mountain Range imposes itself over Port Augusta

The Sydney Morning Herald describes the location (in part):

There is no other town in Australia quite like Port Augusta for contrasts. Arrive in spring and the journey over the mountains from Wilminton is a magical experience. The car cuts through Horrocks Pass down onto the seaside plains near Port Augusta. To the west lie the beautifully contoured, undulating slopes of the Flinders Ranges. They are magical in their beauty and, in spring, they are impossibly green and fertile. At sunset they are gently coloured with a purplish hue. Yet this is only one angle on Port Augusta. The town is literally on the edge of the desert. Drive north along the Stuart Highway and only a few kilometres to the north, the edge of town gives way to flat scrubby land which stretches to the horizon. To the west lie five huge plateaux and their are dry salt lakes beside the road.

Port Augusta is located 322 km north of Adelaide and is a genuine crossroads with roads heading north to Alice Springs and Darwin, west to the Nullarbor and the Eyre Peninsula and east to Adelaide.

Port Augusta was an overnight stop for us so there was little time to explore the region. We re-hitched the caravan so that we would have less to do in the morning. From here we will head off to Woomera which is a mere 187 kilometres drive