On the Road again - CFT Birdsville - Day 6

 Monday 22 May 2023

This morning it was cold again and I had a light breakfast of toast and jam but Kerrie and I did take a little container of stewed peaches with us to have later on the coach. We left on our way right on 8am and headed west into South Australia. A brief toilet stop along the way then a take away morning tea stop at Yunta so that we could get on our way quickly.

It was at this stage of our trip that I wrote a piece having asked Fiona what the word was for the feeling you get when you gaze over such wide country. Fiona gave me a paragraph rather than a word and that inspired me to write...

Look Again

Look at the distant vistas of wide, empty nothingness, of ear-splitting silence and breathtaking space. "Just miles of nothing" I hear you say!

But look again at the wide all-embracing love of God's creation and enjoy his gracious hugs.

Look again at the creatures - hopping, flying, slithering, running - living their own full lives. So difficult to capture on film or even spot among the rocks and vegetation.

But look again at the colours around your feet in the myriad variety of leaves and stones.

So look again at the distant vistas and imagine... and feel blessed.

At Peterborough we stopped for lunch so Kerrie and I walked the length of the main street and right at the far end found an old theatre converted to a cafe. The ambience was amazing but the food was ho-hum. But we enjoyed our experience there. 

Wandering back past all the shops we went into a couple including the local haberdashery shop where there were a lot of quilting supplies. We chatted to the lady for a bit then continued back to the coach and were soon on the road again.

At Hawker we visited the Jeff Morgan gallery and were amazed at the art he had created and was actually painting when we arrived. We were also gob-smacked by his collections of full-sized and model cars, minerals, biscuit tins, and on and on. A man after Surrey's own heart.

After arriving at Wilpena Pound and checking into our rooms we attended the welcome to country talk by one of the aboriginal guides. Then it was time to do our washing so while Kerrie waited in the queue for the washing machine I went with a walk with Wendy. The whole area is so different to when I was here in the late 1980s??

Our room now looks like a laundry with washing draped over every possible chair as well as pegged on the lines I travel with.

Dinner was great and as it was a buffet we could just take the amount we wanted and not waste so much food. Dessert was a lovely tiramisu that I shared with Kerrie. Just the right amount.