Port Augusta Travel Guide

There is no other town in Australia quite like Port Augusta for contrasts. Arrive in spring and the journey over the mountains from Wilminton is a magical experience. The car cuts through Horrocks Pass down onto the seaside plains near Port Augusta. To the west lie the beautifully contoured, undulating slopes of the Flinders Ranges. They are magical in their beauty and, in spring, they are impossibly green and fertile. At sunset they are gently coloured with a purplish hue. Yet this is only one angle on Port Augusta. The town is literally on the edge of the desert. Drive north along the Stuart Highway and only a few kilometres to the north, the edge of town gives way to flat scrubby land which stretches to the horizon. To the west lie five huge plateaux and their are dry salt lakes beside the road. Port Augusta is located 322 km north of Adelaide and is a genuine crossroads with roads heading north to Alice Springs and Darwin, west to the Nullarbor and the Eyre Peninsula and east to Adelaide. The area was probably inhabited by either the Banggarla or Nuguna Aborigines prior to European settlement. Located in Flinders Terrace (turn off Highway One) this is one of the finest and most comprehensive tourist information centres in Australia. Not only does Wadlata allow the traveller to plan for for their trip into the Outback it also offers a wonderful opportunity to experience what lies ahead. It provides information about the animals which roamed the area thousands of years ago, about the Aborigines who moved through the area, about the early European explorers and of the stockmen, pastoralists, miners who opened up the Outback. It looks at the great challenge of transport and communication in the desert and alerts the traveller to the unique set of forces which created modern day Central Australia. For details (08) 8642 4511. One of the fascinating aspects of Outback Australia is the way education and health are provided to people in isolated communities. Port Augusta, being located on the edge of the Outback, is one of the many bases for both the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the School of the Air. It is possible to visit the School of the Air (located in Power Crescent contact (08) 8642 2077 for details) to see teachers interacting with their outback students via the new high quality broadcasting equipment. Take Howard Street north off Victoria Parade and you will reach the large Homestead Park Pioneer Museum, an excellent railway and farming museum in an attractive park. The centrepiece, and a symbol of the hardships of the early settlers, is the 130-year-old Yudnapinna Homestead which was moved to the site from over 100 km away. It is the only genuine log cabin in South Australia and has been furnished to reflect the kind of lifestyle which was common 130 years ago.

Das Tor zur Wüste. Viel Wasser einkaufen zB. Coles 10Liter Sack ca. 5 Dollar. Obwohl Port Augusta noch am Meer liegt ist es nicht möglich (oder nur schwer) das kühle Nass zu geniessen. Sucurity in Coles ärgern (very funny). Um-die-Ecke-Schau ob man beobachtet wird, verdächtiges Handeln antäuschen - danach folgt er einem durch den ganzen Laden.2x30mins gemacht!