Copley to Adelaide

 Day 6 - we left Copley after a couple of great days but we are ready to get home but will take our time and enjoy a few days travelling on our way.

We headed to Hawker and on the way I spotted an Eagle in a bush about 20 metres from the road so we turned around and carefully drove back to the spot, as we have at other times frightened off any wildlife and so have missed a good opportunity for photographs.  I was very excited that the eagle stayed put so we got a few photos but I could tell  it was a bit nervous by the way it kept looking around.  They are a magnificent bird and when up reasonably close they are a very big bird and quite majestic.

Back on the road we were saying that we hadn't seen a lot of wildlife on this trip so the sighting of the eagle was very exciting, and then we saw some emus!  Our luck had changed so I got some more photos, although the emus weren't quite as exciting as the eagle but we were happy to see them and they weren't crossing the road as that is always more of a problem - on another trip we unfortunately hit an emu that ran straight in front of us and when we stopped to see what damage had been done to the emu and/or our caravan, the emu was on its back with its long legs in the air!  We waited a few minutes to work out what to do when suddenly it jumped up and took off at full speed, so that was an amazing and good outcome.

Back on the road and our next stop was at Cottage Creek ruins.  Originally built in 1856 they were built as railway fettler cottages and are also known as Appealinna ruins on the site of the pastoral homestead.

Cottage Creek ruins

Flinders Ranges wildflowers

On the road

Hawker

Hawker - Jeff Morgan Gallery

The Jeff Morgan Gallery is amazing work  and is constantly changing.  We didn't stop this trip but will go back again as it is well worth a few visits.

We passed through Hawker and then on to Quorn for lunch.  Next stop was Wilmington and then short drive to Stony Creek Caravan Park for overnight stop.

Stony Creek Caravan Park has a few interesting rusty relics scattered about

Stony Creek CP gardens

More interesting rust 

We had an enjoyable overnight stay at Stony Creek.  It is a no fuss caravan park which is what we like but it is very friendly and the sites are large and not crowded so for us it is perfect.

Next morning we packed up and were on the road by 10 am , passed through Murraytown and through Germein Gorge and to Port Germein.

Port Germein

Port Germein lighthouse

Truck Museum in Port Pirie

Outside the truck museum

At Port Pirie we stopped for lunch at a great cafe just out of the town centre and had a good lunch at Harry's and couldn't eat it all so they packed it up in a takeaway box for us to have later.

We then went the 30 km  on to Crystal Brook where we got a drive through site which helped Ron's back.  Crystal Brook is a nice little country town which we have often stayed at so we just enjoyed a short walk around the park then back to the van to enjoy the rest of the day.

Next morning we packed up, went to the Bakery for some bread and cakes, then onto Mt Pleasant where we will stay the night before going on to Mannum to store the van before driving home to Adelaide.

Our trip was great without any major problems but we think that we will probably not travel with the caravan in the future as our age and health makes it less appealing and we are grateful that we have had many trips throughout Australia and have not had any accidents or major mishaps and think we will quit while we are able to make our own decisions.  This does not mean we will not travel, but we will stay in B&B's or cabins in caravan parks so we will still be on the road but without the problems.🚗😄