OUR LODGING IN PORT AUGUSTA is a definite upgrade from the Waikerie garage—and it’s ten bucks cheaper! Costello Hotel has nine unique lovingly restored suites on the second floor with the original high ceilings, refinished wood floors and mouldings. Each apartment is fully air-conditioned with a modern kitchenette, large comfortable bed, en suite bathroom, wifi and even a washing machine. It has been open for only a week and I think we’re the first guests in #5.
Quite the Upgrade
Comfy . . . and never been slept in
The building was constructed in 1887 and served as Port Augusta’s Town Hall for nearly a century. It is within 100 meters of both Woolworths and Coles, Australia’s big grocery chains, and just minutes away from the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens, a local birding hotspot.
White-Browed Tree Creeper
Gilbert's Whistler
First, a confession. We mad one more ill-advised, long, dusty drive to Gluepot—Connie had a few more birds to find, doncha know? We arrived early to avoid the heat and walked several miles along the Whistler Trail, hope springing eternal. You might think a White-browed Tree Creeper and a Gilbert's Whistler would be a letdown after the Malleefowl excitement and a small reward for such a long drive. But you aren't a birder with a target list. Or a photographer with a long lens. We have seen 40 species with six “lifers,” about what Connie expected. And did I mention how good it feels to have driven the bumpy, dusty road from Gluepot for the last time?
Not everyting is Poisonous, Odd or a Sheep—Austalian Goanna
The Shingleback Lizard is most definitely Odd
Someone—obviously not a birder—once wrote that Australian animals can be divided into three categories: Poisonous, Odd and Sheep. While we were searching for a few more birds we came upon some reptiles. I don't think the Goanna is poisonous—he didn't even move from the road as we passed—but the Shingleback Lizard certainly qualifies as Odd!
