Finding an Oasis in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia

May 7, 2009 at 2:53 PM | by amandak | Comments (0)

Every good mountain range needs a big town for a base, and the Flinders Ranges of South Australia have theirs in Port Augusta. Situated exactly two hundred miles north of Adelaide, Port Augusta likes to think it's a crossroads town because those crazy enough to drive across Australia from east to west are almost obligated to stop by.

Up until recently, Port August has been relatively devoid of such travelers, but the last decade or so has seen the town jumping on the tourism bandwagon to reinvigorate itself. A highlight of the image renovation is the Wadlata Outback Centre, a multimedia museum explaining all about life in the South Australian outback.

You'll see School of the Air demonstrations, which is a school conducted over radio for kids who live too far from a town to attend physical school, listen to a Flying Doctors consultation with a bleeding man, and figure out how miserable life must have been for the first non-aboriginal settlers of the region.

Wadlata also has a great restaurant for lunch—don't miss the quandong desserts, made of the risque-sounding quangdong berry native to the region.

The rest of Port Augusta will successfully keep you distracted from returning to the wild, like any good outback town should. There are some museums and galleries, jetties and bridges at the port area, the Arid Lands Botanic Garden, and a few Aussie pubs to quench your thirst.

Add the Port to the end of your itinerary—if you head back to Port Augusta after wandering through the outback, you'll feel like you've really hit the big smoke.

Related Stories:
· Wadlata Outback Centre [Official Site]
· Finding the Flinders Ranges in Outback South Australia [Jaunted]
· South Australia Travel Guide [Jaunted]

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