We were rocked by terrifyingly strong winds again last night, causing I am sure even more dust than what may have been forecast. So strong were the gusts that even the task of opening the caravan door was something of an ordeal, first bodily shoving it open, while making sure a strong grasp of it was held, so as to prevent it swinging open to slam against the side of the van. With the wind came a corresponding dip in temperature that made it positively frigid. It came a time that we not only switched the air conditioner off, but seriously considered turning the heater on. We resisted the urge however and just snuggled beneath the covers as we watched TV late into the night, all the while fending off bouts of motion sickness as the van shook violently in the tempest.

We awoke this morning thankfully to a much calmer day, even the elevated temperatures of the past few days failing to materialise, leaving us to deal with a lovely, moderate day weather wise. Not that we were to do too much, sitting for the most part of the day in the van with the dogs, pouring over brochures for Adelaide figuring out what our movements in the capital city of South Australia are likely to be. We also managed to book in our accommodation for our stay in Adelaide, although were relegated to plan ‘B’ when we found our preferred caravan park already booked out for the period we are planning to be there.

With the bulk of our trip planning out of the way, Bec sat down to update her travel journal, which as it turns out is about as far behind as what our photo stream on Flickr is. While Bec managed to get her journal fully up to date, I struggled a bit with the photos. Be sure to take a look at our Flickr pages though, as I am getting there and many more have been added over the last couple of days. This I might add is due to an unusually strong phone signal here at the caravan park, allowing us quick upload speeds on the Internet. Our Internet has in fact been so much better right here in the middle of nowhere than what we have seen in some of the bigger population centres. How crazy is that?

It wasn’t until nearly 4:00PM that we finally ventured further afield than the front gates of the caravan park, heading off for a driving tour of the ‘Breakaways’. This first necessitated a quick stop at the visitor information centre, where we were able to purchase the permit required to visit the Breakaways Reserve. That set us back a grand total of $2.20 per person. I didn’t mention the dogs, incase we were charged extra for them.

So called The Breakaways, because they have broken away from the nearby Stuart Range, the reserve consists of a low range, featuring flat topped mesas that slope down to wide expanses of gibber desert plains. A mixture of grey, red and white dirt causes an ever changing scenic vista. The 30Km drive along a dirt road that was comparably better than many of the highways on which we’ve travelled takes you past a section of the nearly 5,500Km long ‘dog fence’, before winding up towards two cliff top vantage points.

The dog fence slips across the landscape.

Naturally, we stopped for pictures of our own two dogs in front of the dog fence, which was erected across three separate states to prevent dingo attacks on sheep herds. From the information bay at which we stopped, the fence snakes away endlessly across the desolate, flat landscape. Just the other side of the fence is a sprawling flat area known as Moon Plain, which features in several movies, including Mad Max III and Ground Zero.

Bec and the babies at the dog fence.

A stop at a natural lookout, which involved scrabbling to the top of one of the low hills on foot was next, before we wound our way up to the upper reaches of the escarpments, where we found the road to be slightly more rutted and consequentially rougher. The views were well worth the effort though, as we stood tall on the cliff, peering down across the hillock dotted plains. We possibly should have waited for the sun to set, to make the most of the changing light patterns, however with the sun already lowering in the sky, the light was turning a photographers dream shade of orange right before our eyes.

Wide open…

…spaces.

Capturing the moment.

Changing of the colour.

Scant Vegetation.

Low flat ‘Breakaways’.

Nearly 2 hours it took us complete the loop and return to the van. Not that we remained at the van for too long. Long enough as it turned out to feed the dogs, before turning around and heading back to town. We had seen an advert for an underground restaurant the other day, and were keen to add dining to our ever growing list of subterranean conquests.

Most likely one of the fancier dining experiences in Coober Pedy, it was dimly lit by electric lanterns hanging from the roughly cut sealed dirt walls and little candles adorning the tables. Our expectations weren’t too high however, as we descended the stairs to find only a couple of diners seated about the large dining room that had been gouged from the ground. It did however quickly begin to fill not long after we were seated at a little table by the earthen wall. I had decided against requesting a window seat, figuring the jovial manager who attended to us had most likely heard it all before.

Digging in.

We were to be in luck too, as tonight it turned out was ‘parma’ night. Looking across the room to another couple of diners, the parmigianas indeed looked to be the goods, although everything listed on the short menu sounded delicious. We quickly ordered a chicken ‘parma’ each, then sat back reminiscing happily about the past five and half months as we waited for our meal. When our plates were delivered, we were to be surprised by the outstanding quality of the fare, which I would put on an equal, if not better, standing than the parmigiana that I raved about in Port Lincoln the other week. Coupled with the uniqueness of sitting deep within the bowels of the earth, it was one of the better meals out we’ve enjoyed during our trip.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.