Winter 2019 - OZ 21 Back to Port Augusta

2019 - OZ  20   Back to Port Augusta

Saw Quite a Few Wrecked, Abandoned Cars

We are not under pressure to get back to Melbourne…as of yet!  But we can no longer just meander around. 

It is time to head towards Melbourne; or at least travel among more people, if we have trouble, there would be more people to help us out.  Here in the outback, if we get car trouble or something else happens to us, we are kind of stuck.

So, we decided, after talking about it to NOT go on to Alice Springs (we’ve been there before), but head back, back to Port Augusta.

Passed By Several Salt Flats

It will be a long drive again but it’s a must for us, staying in the outback is not really an option any longer.

The outback of Australia is an amazing area, with the entire nothing there; there is a lot to see.

Smiles!

I mean when was the last time you spent time seeing nothing and liking it?

Another Salt Flat

Wedge Tailed Eagle - Check Its Legs

On the drive back we saw a few Wedge Tailed Eagles. They were sitting on the side of the road, eating carrion. No vultures came near them while they were busy devouring their lunch. Those birds are huge, a wing span between 1.8 to 2.3 meters. Furry, long legs and fierce, too I understand.

You Can See the Wedge Tail  - Look at the Talons

We booked our hotel via the internet and it was a quiet, old place. The Hotel, Pampas Motel, was run for years by the mayor of town, a lady who was much liked in town. Now this lady passed away and now the daughter is in charge, she inherited the place. We had a little chat with the new proprietor who told us that she would love to sell the Motel.  

Pampas Motel

Well, the motel was run very well, the rooms were clean, the colors cheery, the parking adequate, why would she want to sell?  True, there was nothing around the hotel as far as food was concerned, not even breakfast was given, but it was a lovely, old place. No internet, but that could be added if you really tried. But that is the issue, once you decide you don’t want it, why upgrade?

We stayed in many smallish motels while in Australia. They were mostly family run, mostly a ‘mom and pop’ operation. The big American Chain Hotels are not so widely spread in Australia. I am glad of that, I don’t really like them, they all look alike to me, have really no character. 

We Had a Patio But No Internet

So this owner of the Motel kind of offered the Motel to me… She wanted to have a life like we have, travel, see the world, she told me. She did not really want to be bogged down in one spot, serving others, washing their towels each day.

I could understand her on one side, on the other side; she was good at what she was doing. Had a cheery disposition, made a good impression. 

But somehow fate or circumstances made her ‘serve’ others. While I have the good fortune to just idle my time away, moving from spot to spot.

How lucky am I?

We had to find a place to eat that night, a place with internet, and a place not too far from this Motel.

It struck me as funny that we had to go to another Motel down the street to eat, while the place we had booked had nothing to offer besides a bed for the night only because the owner did not want to offer anything else.