No, no lift required, thanks anyway!
Sure I'm preaching to the converted here, but anyway:
- stock up on any fresh food at Port Augusta, also casks of water. Yulara is awfully expensive and Kings Canyon even more so.
- don't forget if you take fruit & veg from home you'll need to eat or dump it at the SA border.
- the big roadhouses north of PA are obviously geared towards bus groups and quantity, not quality, and are mostly to be avoided.
We had a lovely dinner at Ian's Western Hotel in PA a couple of summers ago, also an awesome coffee at the Macca's there on New Year's morning. The hotel is handy to Shoreline Caravan Park if you're staying there.
Harry's Homemade Fine Foods at Nelshaby (just north of Port Pirie) is worth a visit, a huge array of pickles, jams and loads of specialty items.
It should be quandong season too. About 30-40km north of PA you can find loads of trees. I guess you won't have the facilities to cook them though.
If you're heading along the Hamilton Hwy, there's a nice café in Penshurst, Café Bagdad. Also an old-style 2nd-hand bookshop next to the pub, good for fossicking. I suspect it's only open on weekends though.
Nice free-camping area in Casterton on the river. And Dergholm State Park to the north of Casterton, pleasant campground there.
Then there's the wine-tasting if you're driving through the Coonawarra region..................