We spent a few days visiting some country towns in South Australia. With our overseas travels halted we have been using our small campervan “Scamp” to visit our own country. We set off at night after Jenny finished work and stopped on the side of the road next to the Mt. Crawford Forest and had a peaceful sleep.
Whispering Wall
The Whispering Wall is the dam wall of the Barossa Dam situated near Williamstown. Built between 1899 and 1903 it has a unique feature which brings many visitors to the site. When two people stand at either end they can talk to one another and it comes through crystal clear as if they are standing next to each other. Quite amazing.
Gawler
The day was hot and swimming later in the afternoon was the order for the day, but to do that I needed a new pair of bathers so we headed to Gawler. As it was the end of the season the bathers were cheap so I bought a couple of pairs. Unfortunately no photos were taken of me in them, maybe next time [LOL]. After shopping we strolled down the main street had an iced coffee and noticed the building which had the sign Bunyip on it. As our motorhome in Europe is called the Bunyip we took a few photos and discovered that it is a local newspaper.
After Gawler we Drove through the town of Freeling, not a lot to see. The towns claim to fame is that the television series Mcleod’s Daughters was filmed in the area.
Kapunda
Our next country town was Kapunda, formally the town was a base for a copper mine the oldest copper mine in Australia. As you enter the town they have a large statue of Map the Miner. Of course we stopped to take a photo. The local bakery was busy which is always a good sign so we stopped to join the locals and visitors for a pie and a drink. From there we hit the back streets to visit the site of the old mine. During our drive we saw many churches of various styles.
At the mine site they had a great statue of Clyde a draught horse made out of scap metal. Very well done, we had seen other statues done in the same way on our previous trip to New South Wales.
The drive through country South Australia was very quiet with very little traffic on the roads. It was far from boring as there was plenty to see along the way, many derelict buildings and abandoned houses.
Eudunda
Once a thriving town the place it is a shadow of its former self with many of the buildings abandoned. It as the birthplace of author Colin Thiele who’s most notable work was the book Storm Boy which was made into a film twice, first in 1976 and then in 2019. There is a statue of him in a park at the centre of the town.
After leaving Eudunda we drove through the town of Marrabell which holds an annual rodeo. Below is a photo of a statue commemorating this event.
Clare
We drove into Clare with one purpose in mind, to go to the swimming pool. It was now about four in the afternoon on a hot day and we had driven enough for one day and seen enough sights. The pool was refreshing and I tried out my new bathers. For the two of us it cost $11.50, well worth it to cool down in the cool water. No photos of the pool as now people frown upon taking photos where there are children. A couple of hours later it was time to find a spot to stay for the night and that place was to be Farrell Flat.
Farrell Flat
There is not a lot in Farrell Flat, it’s in the middle of nowhere between Clare and Burra. They have had the silo painted recently hoping to attract some visitors unfortunately most come, take a photo and leave. The local pub manager was very disappointed that his sales have not increased with the tourists that drive through. Speaking of the pub that is where we spent the night. If you have a meal there you are welcome to spend the night in his yard and also use the shower and toilet facilities. We didn’t use the shower as we had already had one at the pool but we spent a quiet night in the hotel yard after a good meal and a couple of drinks.
That concludes our first day I will post day two shortly. Over that past few months I have revamped the website using a new theme, realigning the blog post photos, adding some new pages, updated all of our maps and giving it a new home page. These are best viewed on a computer or a tablet as it looses some effect on a phone. Below are the links to some of the new stuff. I still have some work to do on some of the other pages, its a work in progress. Let me know what you think.
Great to see your back on the road ,we will be traveling through your state late April then on to WA.
Look forward to your posts and safe travels Mark and Mireille.
J+E
Great to see you back on the road again. Enjoyed the photos, particularly the silo art.
Drive safely…
It is great to see and read about all these familiar places. The Whispering Wall us one of the few we have not experienced.
Thanks for the wonderful travelogue Ewout & Jenny.