The weather had cooled down to an acceptable 32°C so we set off towards Whyalla to visit the Maitlands.
Before we left Port Augusta I revisited some of the camping spots to get co-ordinates for "the book".
That done, we set off down the Eyre Highway and then the Lincoln Highway. The land around here is pretty forbidding. The road, the railway line and the water pipeline run parallel and the high voltage power lines cross the landscape and for the rest it is all uninviting scrub.
We were warmly welcomed by the Maitlands and entertained to lunch before we were settled in by the shed on David's industrial site down the road a bit. We have power, water, and privacy so what more could we ask?.
On Monday we did a little sightseeing. Whyalla is dominated by lookout on Hummocks Hill which stands between the town proper and the sea. There is a good panoramic view of what there is to see though, as views go, is isn't really anything to write home about. The steel works is only a short distance along the coast and dominates this part of town. The iron ore processing plant is even nearer and puts so much dust into the air that, downwind, you can literally taste the stuff. In more recent times, Whyalla has grown into quite a big city and most of the development has been to the west and is very suburban.
Jean had been suffering from severe toothache for some days despite the treatment of the dentist in Port Pirie so we arranged to visit a doctor. He prescribed antibiotic ear drops and pain killers. He also ordered an x-ray.
On Tuesday, we picked up the mail and Jean had her hair cut and her jaw x-rayed. The weather has turned hot again so we rested up in the Motley.
On Wednesday, we went again to the doctor to get the results of the x-ray. The diagnosis was that the jaw joint showed a minor degree of degeneration but this was probably not involved in the present toothache problem. The decision was to continue the current treatment and see how it goes.
On Thursday, we had a call from a motorhomer friend who lives in Whyalla and who had seen me driving to the shops in the Little Motley. We had afternoon tea and a long chat with them.
On Friday we went to the Whyalla Wildlife and Reptile Sanctuary. This is a pretty sad place like most private zoos. The animals look to be in good condition and well cared for but there is obviously too little money to keep up with all the maintenance demands. We both thought the snake enclosure was the most interesting as the snakes were all very active.
In the evening we took the Maitlands to dinner to celebrate Jean's birthday. We went to the most up-market eatery in town and had to share the dining room with a whole gaggle of Whyalla worthies who were celebrating a visit from Amanda Vanstone, the Minister for Immigration and Aboriginal Affairs. The were very noisy and we had to negotiate a reduction in the volume of the background music so that we could converse. Notwithstanding all that, the food was excellent and we had a very good evening.