Day 15 - Arckaringa to Kingoonya

Fri 28 Aug 2015

 

After leaving Arckaringa we headed for Coober Pedy which was our next stop for fuel via another road littered with corrugations but providing a lovely view of the country side along the way. As you drive in to Coober Pedy you can see some of the still working opal mines and underground homes. For those who remember the old drive ins, Coober Pedy still has a drive in screen although it didn’t look like it was operational.

Seventeen years ago we  visited Coober Pedy and we could see how the town had  grown since then. However we felt the town had lost a little bit of its “Country Charm” due to some big city progress however the people were still as friendly as ever.

After getting fuel and supplies we left Coober Pedy taking a little short cut on our way to Ceduna which bypasses Port Augusta. This short cut would take us to Wirrulla via some lovely country side before we headed west to Ceduna. We turned off the Stuart Hwy onto Gosses Road.

As we were passing through Kingoonya we pulled in at some public toilets. What a surprise, in addition to public toilets this very small town has provided a free camping area which boasts a picnic shelter and piles of firewood for campers to use – all free of charge. We contributed to  donation box so the facilities could be maintained.

Kingoonya was established in the 1900’s to support the Trans Australian Railway. Today the Ghan and Indian Pacific pass by Kingoonya along with many freight trains. It’s said Kingoonya has the widest mains street in Australia and cricket matches are reported to have been played on it.

Post script – If you’d like a little more than a free camp spot for the night, the pub has recently reopened and they offer accommodation. An added bonus – there is mobile phone and internet coverage.

Before settling in for the night we were treated to another lovely sunset.

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