Port Augusta was an unexpected extended stay due to the issues with our clutch which I alluded to here and here. After lobbing up at Holden’s reception as soon as they’d opened, we ended up spending half of our Monday morning hanging out at Hungry Jack’s which was across the road from the Holden dealership and featured a playground to keep the girls occupied. After a couple of hours, the car was diagnosed and yes, we needed a new clutch, but we had to wait for parts to arrive from Adelaide so we could pick it up to use for the next couple of days and then drop it off on the Wednesday to get the new clutch.

Thunderstorms started to roll in so we were van-bound for the afternoon and Tuesday was similar, although we did attempt a trip out to the Australian Arid Botanical Gardens – unfortunately it was too wet to see much.

Wednesday we dropped the car off and got our courtesy car – luckily we had two spare car seats in the back of the ute (for my sister, in case you’re wondering) so we could use those and not have to pull out the girls seats from the ute. We checked out the info centre and the botanical gardens. The gardens were actually a pleasant surprise and a great way to kill some time before we had to pick up the ute.

And before too long the ute was done and we could pick it up – thankfully everything that was done to it was covered by warranty and the service at Holden Port Augusta was second to none! But now, it was time to get packed, hit the road and head Northward.

Has there been a time where car troubles have thrown a spanner in your travel plans? What highlights did we miss in Port Augusta (we’ll be back there next year!)?