Caravanning Diary

Today we are joining some of the ACC members of the Southern Cross Overlander branch for the weekend at the North Beach Caravan Park in Wallaroo, to enjoy some of the events of the 'Kernewek Lowender' week which was being held between 11th-17th May 2009. We left home mid-morning and joined the traffic going north on the Port Wakefield Road. By 10:30am we were in Port Wakefield for a coffee break. We drove through Kadina where the 'Village Green Fair' was underway. We didn't stop to look because the traffic was chaotic and nearly every parking spot was taken. We arrived in Wallaroo by midday and set-up our van. Some others had already arrived but were away for the day. As luck would have it, after setting up the Sat. TV dish I found that the TV was still not working even after spending $90 on repairs after the last trip. We decided that to solve the problem we would go into Kadina and try the Target Store for a new one. We managed to find a Rank Arena 19" flat screen TV/DVD combo that suited our purpose and was within our price range. Spent the rest of the afternoon back at the CP setting up the TV and was impressed with its performance. Late afternoon saw the arrival of more members and by 4:30pm someone grabbed their glass of wine, chair and formed the start of the Happy Hour circle. We all joined him and sat around talking and doing the usual thing that Nomads do at Happy Hours. In the evening we all sat down to a BBQ dinner at the camp kitchen, the weather was deteriorating and the rain eventually came forcing us to disappear into our van for the rest of the night.

Wallaroo Jetty

Moonta Bay Jetty

A bit of drizzle overnight which cleared away in the morning to reveal a nice pleasant day. Some of the members went into Moonta to see the Grand Procession through the historic streets starting at 10:30am. There were magnificent floats, vibrant costumes, marching bands and dancers. Afterwards there was a traditional Cornish Fair or 'Fer Kernewek' at the Moonta Oval where visitors could enjoy a 'Swanky', the miners beer. Also, 100's of Cornish Pasties. We decided to have breakfast at one of the many small cafes in the main street as the parade went past. Later we ventured to the Moonta Mines Museum and inspected the precincts and learnt a bit more about the Cornish miners and the copper mining that went on in the 'Copper Triangle'. In the afternoon Geraldine and I visited an old work mate from Alice Springs, who has retired and now lives in Kadina. We spent the afternoon with Keith and Rosalie and looked over their caravan which they had recently bought. Both Keith and Rosalie have caught the bug and plan to use their van for trips away. In the evening the ACC members all went to the Prince Edward Hotel for our pub dinner which we all enjoyed very much.

Moonta Mines Museum

A Float in the Parade

This morning those club members that still work had to pack up and head back to Adelaide. The rest of us had an easy start to the day. Some went into Wallaroo for a look at the classic motor cars and the Aussie Breakfast at the Wallaroo Sailing Club or to a local address where a local member was having a sausage sizzle along the route that the cars would be taking for the 'Copper Coast Classic Cavalcade'. One of the biggest and best in Australia, the cavalcade weaves its way through Wallaroo, Moonta, Pt Hughes to Kadina where they assembled at the oval for a Fun Fair , so that onlookers could look over the various cars on display and enjoy lunch, refreshments and entertainment for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening we bought some fish and chips and watched the sun set over the Spencer Gulf.

The Motor Cavalcade

Passing through Kadina

After breakfast this morning there was another departure of vans that left only five of us left from the club group that stayed the extra day. Geraldine and I spent the morning continuing our visit to the Moonta Mines looking over all the ruins of the old processing locations where the copper was mined and made into ingots ready to transport them all over the world. We stopped in Moonta for lunch and had a traditional Cornish pasty. In the evening after the Happy Hour we all went to the pub for dinner before returning back to the CP to prepare for departure in the morning.

Sunset over Spencer Gulf

Ruins of Boiler House Moonta Mines

The run home was uneventful and we were parked and sorted at home by lunchtime. We will be taking a break till mid-July to get the van serviced then we will check out Yorke Peninsula, then we will join the ACC Tag-along Tour of Eyre Peninsula and the Flinders Ranges in September.