WE REACH PORT PIRIE AND SETTLE INTO THE PARK (29 APRIL 2019)

After what had been for Liz at least, a very social weekend and a great start to our new adventures, we left Crystal Brook and meandered off to the coastal town of Port Pirie, a trip of precisely 33 kilometres. This was not a big day on the road!

Port Pirie, with an urban population of almost 15,000, is the State's sixth most populous town. It lies a few kilometres west of the main northern highway and is therefore not a town through which travellers pass incidentally.

I had spent some time here in my latter working life conducting various investigations, and knew that this was a town with an interesting history and one in which there are many gracious old buildings. 

Whilst in Crystal Brook I had suggested to my travelling companion that, because Pirie (as it is commonly known by most South Australians) was so close, perhaps we should take a quick detour from our planned route east cross the Barrier Highway and spend a few days there. 

Her reaction to this idea could best be described as incredulous. "Where did this come from? Don't tell me you have finally realised that we can wander about at will rather than sticking to a pre-planned schedule?"  I may have paraphrased slightly, but you get the drift!

So off we went, with the notion (not a plan!) that we would spent a couple of days there before pushing further east. And lo and behold, that two days became four but not through choice as I shall explain later.







Needless to say today's had been a very short drive before we pulled up at our chosen park









and waited in line to pay our dues and make our way past the boom gate to our site.








We had pre-booked what are described as a 'water front' site but these would be better named 'water view' sites. 

The position of the two trees either side of our assigned patch did present a mooring challenge, but I finally managed to edge in so that we were almost touching the trunk of the rather sad looking specimen on our fridge side. This was necessary to allow us the room for both an extended awning, and to park the Cruiser on site. I was thankful that we had not arrived here after a long drive!

I was a tad unimpressed with our dusty gravel surrounds, but to be fair, water has been at a premium here for quite some time, and we do travel well equipped with appropriate outdoor matting to ensure we can enjoy some creature comfort irrespective of our situation.





This shot of what is normally a grassed area (which we had seen in previous park photos) speaks volumes. Given the state of affairs at the moment, we were somewhat amused by the fact that this sign was still in place.










We may have been better off on one of the many drive-thru sites which lined the roadway opposite ours, but this was very much a case of being wise after the event. 








The park amenities block was not too far from our patch and was more than fit for purpose. The pathway to it took us past another open area, where small tufts of green showed what was and  might have been had the area received any rain of late.









The camp kitchen/BBQ area was not bursting with equipment but this did not prove a problem for us. We had no need to use it during our stay.








We did note that many of the sites here were occupied by long-termers whilst visitors came and went on the drive-thru sites on a daily basis. One night stays here seemed to be more popular option.









But not for everyone (including us). In this park we came across one of the biggest vans we had ever seen. This huge tri-axle monster certainly did not move throughout our sojourn.

For all its shortcomings, our site did at least provide us with great views.

From our elevated position above the massed mangroves below we could see out over the waters of this part of the port of Port Pirie, with the ridges of the Southern Flinders Ranges providing a marvellous backdrop of changing colours as the sun began to set.

In the other direction, the skyline was filled with the huge smokestack and other infrastructure of the Nyrstar lead smelter and with the cranes of the working docks of the port. This is what modern Port Pirie is all about.

Now despite my muted scorn in respect of our advertised 'water front' site, the local beach was not too far away. A two minute walk along this footpath which abutted a well kept park

soon had us looking out over the one sandy shore the Port Pirie harbour boasts, and whilst it all seemed reasonably presentable, it has to be said that this was a far cry from the Cote d' Azure!

The parks and gardens which line the foreshore here are a credit to the town burghers, but we did not have the time to take much advantage of what was on offer, for two reasons. We had initially only planned a two night stay which meant that we had to make the most of day two to 'see the town', but that was not the only reason we did not spend time lolling about a beach front park.

In two words....the weather!  We were more than grateful that we had the opportunity on our first afternoon to at least sit outdoors and enjoy the magnificent views over the estuary to the Flinders Ranges escarpments, because that was the last chance we had, as I shall share with you in my next.