The time flies by altogether too quickly and three days after arriving in Wilpena Pound we're packed up and heading south. The trip today is lazy with plenty of stops to take photos. The road is straight and boring until we reach Quorn, famous for the Pichi Richi steam train. The next train departs tomorrow and there's no good reason to stick around in Quorn so it's full steam ahead to Port Augusta.
This stretch wraps through the hills leading down to the bay. The road sweeps under and then over the rail several times with plenty of high speed straights terminated by tight dipping corners. It's in stark contrast to the drudgery we went through this morning. There are heaps of other bikes on this section going in the other direction and I'm about to find out why.
Port Augusta is unpleasant. It's a shipping town with rails and highways and the constant noise that comes with industry. Advertised tourist attractions include (no joke) the hideous power plant and fishing off the 110kph highway bridge. However the next stop on our route is Streaky Bay and it's too far away to reach today, so we'll be spending the night in Port Augusta. We pick a campsite furthest from the highway to get some peace and quiet. Unfortunately nothing in this town can be far away enough from the trains.
The afternoon is not yet over so Dave decides to visit the local Arid Gardens. This is an exhibit of local desert plants and it's the best attraction on offer.
And then, disaster.
Dave makes a routine stop to take a photo and his bike fails to start again. There's a fault in the immobilizer or fuel pump - we can't tell which - and it's beyond our skill to repair. Dave's bike is stranded several kilometres from the campsite on a Friday afternoon.
A call to BMW roadside confirms there are no qualified mechanics in Port Augusta, they will have to tow the bike to the nearest workshop in Adelaide, and the earliest they can look at it is Monday. There aren't even any qualified bike towing truckers in Port Augusta so someone will be driving up from Adelaide on Saturday and arriving that night.
The worst part is we're stuck in this hell hole until then.
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