Country Towns South Australia Pt 2

Note to Email Subscribers

If you are receiving this blog post via Email subscription our last post and maybe this one could have photos missing. The captions appear but the photo doesn’t. If that has happened to you just go to our Home Page, go to the bottom of the page a click on the most recent post. There you should see the post properly. Not sure why it does it but it only happens via the automatic email set up, may need to change provider. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Home Page

Our Trip Continues

This is part two of our trip through some country towns of South Australia. We left our overnight spot at the back of the Farrell Flat hotel and headed into Burra where we parked next the river and had breakfast on a nice table and chairs in a park. Bacon and eggs with coffee a great way to start the day

20210218 100330
Breakfast in Burra - bacon , eggs and coffee

Burra

Burra was a copper mining town and there are many sites to explore the towns past. In the morning we first went to the tourist information office where we were given a map of Burra and the surrounding district. Then it was off to get a bit of culture at the town art gallery followed by coffee and cake at a very nice cafe.  At the cafe we looked at our information given to us at the Tourist Office and decided to head north before coming back to Burra to explore more of the sights.

20210218 111953
Jenny perusing the art collection.
20210218 114256
Really nice cafe in Burra

Our Drive North of Burra

As the forcast was to be for hot weather we decided to go for a drive in the morning and explore Burra later. The first place we visited was the “Midnight Oil House”. The place has that name as it was on the cover of the Midnight Oil album cover of Diesel and Dust. It is supposed to be the most photographed abandoned building in Australia. It is located about 10 kilometres north of Burra. I think our photo turned out quiet well. [For those who don’t know who Midnight Oil are they are a rock band who came to prominence in the 80’s] 

20210218 155003
Midnight Oil House - North of Burra
midnight oil album cover
Album cover of Diesel and Dust from Midnight Oil.

We continued north to the town of Hallett the road was quiet and interesting with old abandoned buildings , windmills and  wagons etc. 

20210217 145205
An old wagon sitting in the paddock
20210218 125513
It is the end of summer and you can see how dry it is.

Scenic Drive to Mt Bryant

We saw the sign “Scenic Drive” and we said why not. We had plenty of time and no destination in mind so we left the bitumen and drove on a dirt road to who know where! The drive took us to Dares Hill Summit with views across the dry valley.

20210218 131433
View on the side of the road on the scenic route.
20210218 133423
As you can see the road was in good condition and we only saw two other cars the whole time we were on the scenic route.
20210218 140509
The sign at the summit with plenty of bullet holes in it.
20210218 140859
We saw plenty of kangaroos, unfortunately they were very shy and took off when our vehicle approached. This is the best photo we took of a kangaroo.
20210218 140102
View from the summit.

We continued on passing abandoned houses and coming to the Mt Bryant Church and school. We stopped to have a better look at the school and found that the back door was open. Inside was a kitchen and sleeping areas along with a lounge area. The place has been converted to an overnight accommodation place for hikers who walk the Heysen Trail. 

20210218 133637
Abandoned farm house at Mt. Bryant
20210218 134159
The old church at Mt. Bryant. Now no longer in use.
20210218 134121
The School House at Mt. Bryant now used for hiker accommodation.
20210218 143711
There were two rooms with bunks for people to sleep in. No mattresses, you have to be tough to stay here.
20210218 143917
Lounge room, a place to relax after a days hiking.
20210218 143940
The Kitchen at the old Mt Bryant schoolhouse.
20210218 144153
The old toilets, luckily they have built a new toilet block nearby.

Further along the road we stopped where the road and the Heysen Trail converged and went for a walk to explore and stretch our legs. Our walk took us along a dry creek bed where you could see signs of when water must have raged through. Trees were brought down by the erosion caused by the water flow.  

20210218 141509
20210218 141931
20210218 142020
20210218 142156
20210218 142208
Jenny walking on the dry creek bed, no sign of any water today.

Back to Burra

After our scenic drive it was back onto the bitumen and time to explore some of the sights of Burra. After a very late lunch at another of Burra’s bakery we drove around Burra to it’s many historic and interesting places.

20210218 121811
A ute garden. Only in Australia would you see an old ute converted into a raised garden bed.
20210218 111348
The Burra Town Hall on the main street.
20210218 122456
The train station, now a museum, we passed on going in.
20210218 122705
The old train turntable.
20210218 174955
The old goal. Sorry but you can also see part of my finger!!
20210218 175810
Old miners cottages.

It was now late in the afternoon and time to check out the swimming pool at Burra. For a $2 entry fee we cooled off and took advantage of their showers. That night we stayed at the Bon Accord Hotel which allows campers to stay there if they purchase a meal. The meal was above average for a pub meal and we had a quiet stay next to the old stables which are being renovated into a living quarters. 

20210219 072744
Our quiet spot for the night next to the old stables rear of the Bon Accord Hotel.

In the morning we set off back home having enjoyed our small tour of South Australia. In April we are going further afield to the Flinders Ranges, we will keep you posted , cheers until next trip. 

PDF 📄

This Post Has One Comment

  1. mickpamg April 2, 2021 Reply

    J+E
    Enjoyed your blog as usual. A wonderful series of photos of country South Aus. It does look hot and dry out there, makes you wonder how our forefathers etched a living in such a harsh environment.

    Did mean to comment on how good the new format looks, well done.

Leave a Reply