Jetty Tour Day 10 - Wallaroo

Wallaroo Town Hall

Too tired to write so writing about our day in Wallaroo in later retrospect than normal.

My day started with a 3 km sunrise walk during which I was baled up by a Jack Russell and a woman who objected to me having ear buds on and listening to music instead of saying good morning to her. I was patient with the dog.

Wallaroo is the northern most town of a triangle of towns very close together that make up the Copper Coast. They are all linked by the role they played in the mining, processing and exporting of copper between 1861 and 1923 and the home they provided for the Cornish miners who came with their wives and families and settled the area.

The town is a history precinct in its own right. The vast majority of the buildings date back to at least one hundred and twenty years ago and much earlier and the way they have been maintained only adds to the image of indestructibility that each building has. Even those that are sad an neglected - and they are few - still have solid basic structures, despite broken windows and splintering doors.

In the centre of town is the railway station, which is now the offices of the council and the town library. The large supermarket is the only modern building in the centre of town. The original post office took on a second purpose in 1910, when it became the police station and then in 1975, it became the home of the historical society headquarters and museum. Towering into the sky not far away is Walter Hughes chimney, the only remaining smelter chimney from the big copper smelter which stood close to the shore and provide processed ore for the overseas market from Moonta Mine. The rest of the large area is currently under development as residential estate at what will be big prices.

We spent the morning and some of the afternoon in Wallaroo.

We visited the third town in the triangle, Kadina, as the afternoon wore on, to replenish our grocery stocks. Kadina, by comparison to Moonta and Wallaroo, is just another country town.

Sue took in the late afternoon with a walk through the shallows of the flow tide while I preferred a more sedate view from a comfy chair.

Click to see today's photos

The only other matter of note was my near flooding of the van. Having set the tap to fill the sink to wash the evening dishes, I was distracted by a program on TV and turned back to see the water besting the top rim of the sink. Near disaster avoided but some leakage into Sue's clothing area ...

... oh well.

Jetty Tour Day 8 - Port Germein to Moonta Bay

Sunset at Moonta Bay

Short drive today, with a few stops.

We had some thoughts of a couple of nights at Port Germein but we felt we had seen all it had to offer last night. A deciding factor was the standard of the toilet block at the caravan park.

Our first stop was Port Pirie, just to top up on a few groceries and then on to Port Broughton. We hadn't expected much but it was a delightful little town. We had tea at the Baker's Bear Cafe, sometimes known as the bakery but it wasn't the drinks that were the feature, it was the table of locals we chatted with. Lovely folks, who's company we really enjoyed. As with most of the small towns we have visited down the west coast of the Yorke Peninsular, there are many fine old building made from local stone and Port Broughton has there share. Perhaps the finest example is the Port Broughton Hotel, built in 1910.

Moving on, we drove the longest leg of the day to Kadina, where we topped up the petrol tank. Fuel is getting cheaper every day, which is good because this trip I am using premium unleaded and the difference to fuel consumption is marked.

Moonta Bay was only a short distance further on and we settled in comfortably beside the bay. Fantastic campsite with breath taking views. During the afternoon we walked to the end of the hooked shaped jetty, which has a netted swimming area attached. As the afternoon progressed, so did the incoming tide, gradually filling probably 400 metres of sand flats.

Click here to see today's photos

We finished the afternoon watching another fine sunset and then ate alfresco under our new shade structure, which we used for the first time.

Pretty cool day.

Another two nights at Moonta Bay before we move south.