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The day dawned windy and cool, quite a change after yesterday's warm weather. It was strange for it to be so warm and because we were in a caravan park last night we were able to indulge in having the aircon on.
Before we left this morning we checked out the maps, knowing we were heading towards Broken Hill, but decided it would be worth detouring slightly to drive via the southern part of the Flinders Ranges to the town of Quorn. We did this trip several months ago and remembered how beautiful the landscape around the Pitchie Ritchie Pass is. We were not disappointed, especially as the sun came out and we got to enjoy the spectacular green hills in sunshine.
We stopped in Quorn, checked out the local art gallery and stopped to have Devonshire coffee, with fresh scones straight out of the oven, sitting outside in the sun at a local cafe.
Then back on the road, with the next stop being at Orrorroo, where we visited a magnificent giant gum tree dated at over 500 years of age, and then we stopped at a lovely Lion's Park for lunch and we enjoyed a walk along a river bank and a rocky outcrop. Cadbury found some sheep, who took off running when he woofed at them, but their curiosity got the better of them, and they soon came back to check out the 'sheep-like' dog. Gadi got some great photos!
After lunch we headed south on a gravel track past endless green fields and windmills to a place called Magnetic Hill, where there is supposed to be a magnetic force that makes you feel like your car is rolling up hill when it is rolling down. The magnetic field (or illusion) didn't seem to work, but we didn't mind as the drive was very scenic.
We arrived in the railway town of Peterborough late afternoon and decided to stay in town at the free camp and watch the sound and light show this evening at the Steam Town Heritage Railway, and tomorrow we will take the guided tour to learn about the history of this town and the importance of the steam train.
We chatted to some of our neighbours about how we were supposed to get census forms to fill out tonight when a census employee came by and gave us our forms.
The sound and light show was terrific, very well produced and we enjoyed sitting in one of the original Y Class carriages and watching the outdoor screen in front of us, with Cadbury allowed to come with us. The brightly lit trains, each one a different colour, housed one next to the other in the round house, looked magical against the black sky. We know now how central the town of Peterborough was in the scheme of freighting goods to the ports from as far afield as Broken Hill and Silverton in the east, Alice Springs in the north and Port Pirie and Adelaide to the south. The railway even extended across the Nullarbor truly making this town the crossroads of train travel in the romantic era (seemed romantic but of course was very hard manual labour) of steam train travel. Today of course Peterborough survives from tourism based on its rich history.
Came back to our caravan after the show finished and filled out the census form. Very glad we are filling out a paper copy after hearing how the website has crashed.
Time to get ready for bed, so good night and sweet dreams xx
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