Travelling to South Australia? We've got some great ideas for you!
Have you thought about an Out back road trip??? We decided to pack up the three children and head North for some sunshine and some opal. It's winter in Adelaide so it was the perfect excuse to submit to the opal fever and run from the cold and rain.
Our children are 6 years, 4 years & 10 months so embarking on a 7 hour drive for most would be fine, but for us with little ones, it could have been seen as a challenge. Without children you could get there easily in a day but we chose to make an adventure of it. We stopped at various playgrounds in rural towns and had a stop over in the South Australian Flinders Ranges. The scenery in the Flinders Ranges is breathtaking and the children loved the wild life and Kangaroo spotting.
We drove from Adelaide through the Clare Valley then onto Quorn for the night. It was -2 degrees over night but that made the camp fire and toasted marshmallows extra special! We ate at the local Quorn Pubs and cafes where we were greeted with friendly faces and scrumptious food.
We took the children on the picturesque half day Pitchi Ritchi Railway explorer where we shared a carriage with a lovely family from Adelaide. The volunteers who staff the train were full of knowledge and very friendly making travelling with young ones a breeze!
The Flinders Ranges is home to the outback flower the Sturt Desert Pea. It's an unusual flower but pretty when you see so many together all at once! Sadly this visit all we got to see were some placed as a table centre.
Our journey from Quorn took us to Port Augusta, then 200km on to Pimba with only a Flinders Ranges look out and a long drop in-between. I was surprised at the amount of travellers with their caravans, everyone friendly and willing to have a yarn. With only a truck stop and petrol station at Pimba we continued 6 kms to Woomera. This once filled outback town reflected an eerie desolation. Home still to an army base and the gathering of grey nomads it made a good toilet and play ground stop. We stopped and looked at the aeroplane and rocket monuments swiftly and headed onto Roxby Downs.
The drive to Roxby Downs was also pretty desolate, vast emptiness for miles with an impressive display of power lines and wildlife. We nearly had a few run in's with some wedge tailed Eagles eating road kill. They were so slow and clumsy waiting to collide with some wind screens. We'd finally found some clear blue skies, warm air and soothing rays. We were in the outback.
Roxby Downs welcomed us with bright red sand and bush scrub and trees. There was a police car with a safety camera waiting for drivers, never the less I felt safe being greeted by a police presence in the middle of no where! Near the entrance of the town was our lovely accommodation at the Discovery Parks. We had a standard two bedroom cabin which was modern and spacious with everything we needed. We were all pleased with how comfortable it was after the long drive! Definitely better than standard accommodation.
Roxby Downs was surprisingly welcoming with modern infrastructure and facilities. It was super family friendly with a lovely play ground and a water park! Sadly it was not open due to the season but it looked super fun! The bakery there had the most delicious coffee, pies and donuts where we stocked up daily before hitting the field!
I was super excited to visit Andamooka as it was mine & the girls first time here. Our first stop as usual was the play ground which was super welcoming and the locals and travellers were very friendly. It was a historic town with a great new play ground and toilet! If you're travelling there though a must see is Duke's Bottle House Museum & the Andamooka Yacht Club! The Yacht Club is a pleasant surprise in the middle of the desert with beautiful atmosphere and coffee!!
We did some family noodling whilst our youngest was in her pram, Miss 4 and Miss 6 noodled away. Sadly we didn't find anything as a family but daddy found a nice painted lady. Miss 4 found all the flies hard to handle on the warmer days and only wanted to stay in the play ground it was that good!
More about Andamooka soon,
Kimberley xx
Kimberley is originally from Liverpool in the UK and is a mother of three young daughters. She loves opal and jewellery design and in her spare time loves travelling around South Australia with her family exploring and living life to the full.
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