Broken Hill
From Ceduna, we had to decide whether to detour to Streaky Bay or just keep on track for home. The windy weather really decided things for us. The beach is no fun in the wind and so we went instead to Poochera for the night. Where the heck is Poochera? Well it's about 138 Km east of Ceduna on the Eyre Highway. It's a teeny town and we pulled in to a campground at the back of the pub. We were again blessed with a drive-through site and better yet, we were told the pub offered a decent and cheap counter meal at night. We went over to the bar after a nice hot shower and found another couple who were parked just opposite us also about to order a meal. We all ended up sitting at a table together and had a very pleasant evening chatting about our travels.
The following morning everyone in the campground were packing up to leave. The forecast was for more windy weather. That forecast was not kidding! It was pretty hard going battling gusts of wind especially towing the van. There were large clumps of spinifex, some the size of hay bales being blown across the road in front of us, some striking the car and van. It was like a scene from a wild west movie with tumbleweed blowing down a dusty street. The dust was incredible. Literally every surface in the van and car are covered in dust and it is playing havoc with Barb's asthma. We reached Port Augusta and literally lost the will to go on. Even though we'd been warned by friends back in Maleny that Port Augusta was not a pleasant place to stop, we did anyway. Just for one night. It was not too inspiring when on check-in at the campground we were warned we must keep everything under lock and key at all times as there'd been a spate of thefts by young local teens. Forewarned is forearmed. We left nothing outside the van and literally battened down the hatches for the night.
We ran fast outta there the next morning. The Jackaroo handled the climb up the pass in the hills to Wilmington and then on to Peterborough. We stopped here for a bite to eat and a quick look around. It's a rather nice small town, very proud of its railway heritage. While we were having our cuppa it began to lightly rain and got quite cold. Time to be on our way.
It's a long stretch of lonely road between Peterborough and Broken Hill. We stopped regularly to stretch our legs. We were particularly interested to see if our old friend was still at the Olary Hotel. Last time we came through this way (five years ago) this rather potty-mouthed lady had chatted to us over coffee which we'd had to make ourselves because "you know how you like it". (yep, that's really what she said). Sadly the pub was closed and possibly shut down permanently. That leaves the population of Olary down from three to maybe one. So sad.
We arrived quite late in the afternoon at Broken Hill, feeling quite shattered by the long drive. Barb was also feeling very poorly with her asthma getting worse from all the dust. A chance phone call from her sister Janice in Tasmania led Barb to finally seek medical help. Jan was very alarmed by Barb's breathlessness and cough. We tried to find a GP, but were turned away and sent to the Emergency Department at Broken Hill Hospital. After the usual lengthy wait to be seen, Barb finally got called in and the nice young doctor quickly ordered some Prednisone orally and some cortisone puffers. We were able to find a pharmacy open and also purchased a spacer for the puffers. At least Barb had a better night's sleep after getting some appropriate treatment.
The doctor also insisted that we take a day off from travelling so Barb could have a chance to recover. The rest did us good. We did drive into town for lunch and while we were in town had a look through the Jack Absolom Art Gallery and the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery which we'd enjoyed so much last visit here. Both were great. We really like Broken Hill. It's got a nice feel to the place and the old buildings in the main street are gorgeous. We didn't go and see the Sculptures in the Desert this time, as the best time to view them is at sunset and we wanted to be settled inside in the warm for the night, but if you're ever in Broken Hill it's a "must see" attraction.
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