As promised in yesterdays entry I spent some time this morning looking around Whyalla. It is certainly a town of contrasts. On the one hand there is the rusty iron color that dominates anything to do with the steel works that is the reason this town exists. On the other hand it has a beautiful waterfront and beach area. Finally It is a sizeable town and hence a big political problem as the many people who live here and work here NOT at the steel works are still dependent on the survival of those works.

Iron Knob

There is a short cut from Whyalla back to the Eyre Highway via the little rusty coloured town of Iron Knob. I am guessing that this is the town that provided the iron ore that originally justified the establishment of a steel works in the area. It is well named. The knob is a small mountain (or hill) that has been largely dismembered for its iron ore.

Wind and dust again

The day started out as pleasant riding weather and stayed that way until my brunch stop at the roadhouse in the town of Kimba. What I had not realized was that the wind had felt gentle up to that point because the road had been lined on both sides by native scub/bush about 20feet high and that had protected the road from the wind. Not long after Kimba the native bush gave way to farmland and the road was exposed to the full force of the wind, and the farm land added dust to the equation.

Wudinna

The first photo needs some explanation. This bag of chips is about 30cm (12 inches) tall, and I first noticed it when the lady cook brought it out and asked "who ordered a medium bag of chips?".

I thought Wudinna was a nice little town, well maintained park and interesting granite statue.

Minnipa

Eventually the wind and dust got the better of me and when I saw a sign for accomodation in the micro town of Minnipa I decided to try for a room. I was not alone in making this decision as the hotel/motel is full tonight.