June 23rd: Torrens Creek to Pentland – 51.2 km
Day 253
Getting ripped off is always painful, especially when you learn that there was a better alternative. Just across the street there is a very small bathroom with running water, and a flat grassy area, we could have easily stayed there for the night for free, and the paid site was not much better. Such are the misfortunes when you’re tired and a hot shower sounds too good to think rationally.
If we were taken advantage of in Torrens Creek then Pentland was our redemption. A few long uphills and some nice long downhills and we were close.
As we approached we saw a couple of farmers selling fruit and stopped and bought fresh apples, tomatoes, fresh-baked buns, and a jar of homemade Rosella jam. The two men working there were sharp wits and we stayed another 30 minutes having a chat. One claimed that he was the more social of two and lived in town while the other preferred his farm. There was no town, and only farms. Their roadside fruit business was one of two businesses in town, the other being the caravan park. They also told us that we had crossed the dividing range, which explained why everything was turning from brown to green. Two other local men stopped by, one because his dog barked on our way by and the other was out for a stroll with his walking stick.
We hadn’t planned on staying at Pentland, but both agreed that if they offered us a good price we would stay. Normally unpowered sites are 18 but we were told it would be ten, total. She must have read our minds. We set up on a perfect patch of grass with some low plants to give us shade and spent the rest of the day reading and devouring fresh bread, and jam. We splurged and got two bottles of cold ginger beer. It was one of the days that everything was just perfect.
