Penong - South Australia

Penong, Where the hell is Penong. Penong is the last town before you cross the Nullarbor of the first town after the Nullarbor if you have come from the Perth like us. It is a one-horse town, with a pub, a police station, and a general store, the first store we have seen separate from a Petrol Station in a week.

It is here weary travellers stock up on items to cross or replenish their trip after the desert trip and Truck drivers order 15 dim sims, steamed because they are on a diet.

We came in late to this town on Monday night after travelling 725km (10,000 for the trip so far) and stayed in a little cottage called Penong Cottage. I was surprised when I was given the address of Penong Cottage with no number or street name but after seeing the town and ruling out the Pub and the Petrol station it was the only building left. It was noisy (close to the road) but a perfect place to ride out the storm.

Penong's location in South Australia on the far west coast of Eyre Peninsula is at the boundary of where rainfall is generally sufficient to support agriculture, so they use a series of windmills to supply farms from the Anjutabie Basin. The South Australian Railways constructed underground concrete water storage tanks in 1923, with a capacity of 4.54 million litres which keeps the town alive.

After catching up on some laundry, Aslan and I enjoyed a roof over our head as we make our trip to Port Augusta 5 hrs away and then on to Adelaide where we make the final leg home.Read more