Day 16 - The Red Centre - The Last Day

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Well it is time for the Last post for this Trip. Day 16 is the day we arrive home. We started this final leg in Renmark South Australia. Normally we would stir at around 7.30am but we had agreed the night before that we would leave by 7.30am. Well we had a great and warm night sleep in spite of the outside temperature plummeting to -3 degrees. Thanks to the well insulated cabins we did not suffer the rath of this freezing temperature. Anyhow we left the cabins at 6.45am. Everyone, including the grandchildren had some sort of final burst of energy to get going early. By 9am we had reached Mildura and had crossed the border to Victoria with little fuss. Mildura had those famous arches and we could not help ourselves and stopped at Maccas for coffee and breakfast for the grandchildren. Bought everything to go and we were back on the road before you could eat your hash brown. It felt like as if our homes and families were calling us from a distance and we could not wait to get home. We arrived home at 2.30 pm after spending 7.5 hours on the road.

We had now travelled just over 6,500 kilometres through two states and reached the dead centre of Australia and had travelled the bulk of the Oodnadatta track. Let's see if I can summarise the highlights a. Broken Hill mine tour, b. Did a Royal Flying Doctor Tour, c. Great pub meal at the Marree pub in the famous Tom Cruise room, d. Had a drink at the Williams Creek pub in the middle of the Oodnadatta trak, e. Made it to the Pink Roadhouse and slept there overnight having traversed the Oodnadatta trak, f. Spent two nights at Coober Pedy, g. Did an Opal Tour in Coober Pedy, h. Saw a dugout being built, i. checked out an opal mine, j. Saw a dugout church, k. Spent a week at Alice Springs, l. Toured the East and West MacDonald ranges, m. Toured the School of the air, n. Had lunch at the Ross River resort, o. Went to the Living Desert zoo and watched how aboriginals survive on the land, saw Uluru up close and personal, p. slept underground at Coober Pedy q. Slept in Port Augusta (why did we do that?) and finally spent one night in Renmark after visiting a brewery, Almond manufacturer and winery.

Well that is it. All crammed into 16 days. Too short but enjoyable with great company. I want to thank my son Paul, his wife Lisa and the grandchildren in addition to my sister Tracey and husband Xavier for making the journey really fun and enjoyable. Where to next?

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Comments

[Jan]

Thanks Tony for all the blogs you have written, I feel like I was on the holiday as well because you describe things so well, you should write a book. Jan.

[TYandTI]

The last Day
Thanks for your kind words. I was hoping not to be too boring for people reading the blog.