On my return trip, I arrived in Port Augusta on a Wednesday, and stayed until Sunday. Not because Port Augusta itself had any particular attraction, but because there was a special Christmas train on the Saturday, and I was able to get the last seat. This Christmas in July thing turns up occasionally in Australia because the weather is more likely to correspond to Northern Hemisphere's traditional Christmas climate. The train is on a surviving section of the old 3'6" gauge Ghan line, using a steam locomotive and restored wooden carriages, and it ran to Pichi Richi Pass, to a restaurant where Christmas dinner was served.
Having extra time waiting for Christmas to happen on July 29, I drove up the road to Quorn and beyond. This, like a lot of South Australia, includes marginal farming country that was exploited optimistically a hundred or so years ago, but now has "historic site" signs where once farms and small towns stood.
And there's the "Arid Lands Botanic Garden" just north of the city.