Caravanning Diary

Kanyaka Ruins, Flinders Ranges.

Tag - Along -Tour

2009

(5)

Burra Copper M ine.

WEEK 1 - WEEK 2 - WEEK 3 - WEEK 4 - WEEK 5

Thursday 1st Oct 2009 - Day 29 - Orrorroo
Departure time from Rawnsley Park was 10am. Our first stop would be Hawker for fuel and morning coffee before continuing the journey to Carrieton where we would have a Pub lunch at the Carrieton Hotel. We arrived in Carrieton by 12:30pm and set about ordering lunch. Carrieton is a typical small country town that has a pub, general store and a CFS station. When we arrived we must have increased the visible population of the town from 3 people in the pub to 27 a ninefold increase. The lunches took some time to appear because of staff numbers but were very nice to eat. Everyone enjoyed their meals.
After lunch some of us took a walk around town which took all of 5 minutes and then it was time to continue on to Orrorroo where we would have an overnight stop in the local CP. We arrived there around 3pm, enough time to set up and have a look around town. The CBD was within walking distance so we all headed of to look at the shops and maybe have a coffee in the Coffee Lounge/Cafe.
The 5pm briefing/Happy Hour was held in the outside BBQ shelter. By this time it was raining on and off and cold. A big difference from the weather we had experienced in the last couple of days. Entertainment was from John & Margaret and Geoff & Nancy tonight. By 6:30pm we were ready to head back to the warmth of our vans, heaters on. We had a light dinner of soup and then watched tv during the evening. It will be a wet night. Tomorrow we arrive in Burra for the long weekend and the end of the Tag Along Tour. Also, tomorrow we have two couples departing, Tom & Nell head back home in Gawler and Jack & Ann return to Victoria. We wish them all well and safe journey and hope to see them again in the future.

Orrorroo CP

Rain!, rain!, down it came!!

Friday 2nd Oct 2009 - Day 30 - Burra
Rain, rain, down it came! It rained most of the night. Orrorroo had about 13mm in the last 24 hrs. Had to get up at 3:30am to put the awning all the way up as the wind was banging it about. It has cooled down a lot as well.
Tom & Nell left early ( 7:30am) . Hopefully the rain will clear and the sun may break out later today. Looking forward to it!!
Jack & Ann left around 9:00am and we wished them well as well. By 10am we were all ready to go so Geoff headed out followed by all the ducklings. First stop was Jamestown where we would have morning coffee and lunch as well. We arrived there after an uneventful trip through the ranges. Time in Jamestown, 2 hours. We all had a good walk around, found the Craft Shop again!!, found the Bakery and tested the pies and cream buns.!! Yumma! I bought a bubble level from the local Camping shop to replace the one that was broken a few months ago. About 1pm we moved on and drove the rest of the way to Burra, our stop for the weekend, and the end of the Tag Along Tour. The weather here is clearing but some rain is still hanging around.
In the evening, we had our last tour 'Happy Hour' and speeches were made all round thanking all the organisers, participants and mention was made of some of the incidents that had occurred along the way. Some of the comments brought tears to our eyes as Sue & Gary's near disaster was retold. We were all grateful that no one was hurt and that temporary repairs could be made along the way so that they could remain on the tour. Geoff handed over the reins to Theo for the weekend muster. Theo introduced new members to the muster who were waiting for us when we arrived. Thanks go to Geoff and Nancy for taking us to places not many of us have been before, and introducing us to the wonders of the Eyre Peninsula and Flinders Ranges. To top the Happy Hour off , Sue provided the entertainment for the night and gave the new members a taste of what to expect in the future. I must say that Geraldine & I have never attended so many 'Happy Hours' in a row over the last 31 days. It has been a great way to meet people and make friends for life. Cheers!!
Afterwards some of us went to the local pizza parlor for dinner. On return we sat around the campfire that was set up between Dennis' & Jim's vans so that marshmallows could be burnt!!, I mean roasted. By the end of the evening we were all tired and ready for bed, or at least, I was.

The Burra Town Hall	Market Square, Burra.
Mike the Miner at Burra Copper Mine.	Market Square Museum.

Saturday 3rd Oct 2009 - Day 31 - Burra
First thing this morning we bid farewell to Chris & Rhonda who were heading back to Adelaide. Later Geraldine, Sue, Gary & I drove into town in the Prado to get fuel , have the spare tyre repaired and find a Bakery.. We managed to do that in record time and we were soon sitting in the Burra Bakery having coffee and some breakfast. We also bumped into John, Margaret, Alan, Helen, Ron and Beverly who had similar ideas. Later we picked up the spare wheel and took a drive around the town and Copper Mine stopping at the lookouts. Sue wanted to take a look at the Burra Creek Gorge campground, a popular weekend getaway spot about 26kms south of town.
When we got there the place was teeming with campers and caravans down for the long weekend. This would be a great spot to relax for a few days when the kids go back to school. We returned to the CP for lunch and relaxed in the afternoon.
At the Happy Hour , Therese & Dennis had our Tag Along 2009 jackets which had arrived that day from Adelaide. With great ceremony and fanfare we were all presented with our jackets ,which by the way were really good quality and warm as well. Photos were taken of all the couples and then a group photo was taken for the records.
In the evening we all wore our new jackets to the Burra Hotel for our dinner which made us stand out in the crowd. A great time was had by all.

Ron & Beverly	John & Margaret (Qld)	Gary & Sue
Theo, Maureen & Lilly	Alan & Helen	Geoff & Nancy
Alby & Geraldine	The 2009 Tag Along Team	Therese & Dennis
Joe & Pat	Helen with Veronica (Victoria)	Malcolm & Helen
Tom & Nell	End of the 2009 Tag Along Tour.	Jack & Ann (Victoria)

ACC Burra Muster 2-5 Oct 2009

Sunday 4th Oct 2009 - Day 32 - Burra

A quiet start to the day as most people slept in , I think due to the change to Daylight Saving Time. Clocks were put forward one hour at 2am for another 6 months of Summer Time. We started with Breakfast/Coffee at the Antique Tea Rooms before commencing our Passport Tour of Burra's attractions with Gary & Sue. First stop was the Burra Mine Historic site, including the Dressing Tower & Ore Floor, Morphett's Enginehouse Museum, Powder Magazine, and Town Lookout. This was followed with a walk around at the old Police Lockup and Stables, Redruth Goal ( used in "Breaker Morant" movie as a set) , Hampton Village ruins, Smelting Works Historic site, The Miner's Dugouts and the Unicom Brewery Cellars after lunch. After all that walking and looking at these sites we were dead tired and headed back to the CP for a coffee and Happy Hour at Dennis' Van. He and his brother in law Jim, were busy organising the cooking of a roast lamb in a choofer owned by Theo. We invited Gary & Sue to dinner at our van that evening and then went back to watch the NRL grand final. The STORM beat the EELS .
Dinner was spaghetti bolognaise and afterwards we took our bowls with us to Dennis' van where Therese was making Golden Syrup dumplings and custard. We sat around the campfire munching our dumplings, did a trivia quiz arranged by Theo and spun stories for a while. When it got too cold for us we headed back to the van and watched MidSomer Murders.

Redruth Goal	Walking through Hampton Village ruins
Smelting Works Historic site.	Cooking the Roast Lamb in Choofer.

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