Heading East

As I mentioned earlier, our exploration plans have once again changed.  Just as well we didn't really have any plans, as such, to change.

Before we moved on we did have time to explore a bit more of Burra.  Our first port of call was the site of the Unicorn Brewery, which had in its day supplied all the local pubs.    Most of the buildings have long since been demolished.  However, there were lots of these little roofs dotted across the site.

They are the vents from the underground cellars.  You'd want to watch your head on the arches.  Me, I had no worries at all.

There was quite a labyrinth of cellars under the buildings, all still very intact. 

This is part of the Paxton Terraces.  There are three rows like this around a square.  We didn't have time to visit the one that is on display.  They were built by the mining company for their workers.  In the 1980s the Council bought them and turned then into accommodation.  I think it would be lovely to stay in one of them.

Our final historic site was the old mine workings.  Initially there were lots of shafts for underground mining.  Not long before the mine closed in the 1870s they tried the new fangled method of open cut, but the ore at that stage was not of sufficient quality to be viable.  In the 1970s they reworked the area and increased the open cut to the size it is today, before they too ran out of viable ore.  Apparently that water is about 50 metres deep.  Water was a major problem for the mine during its lifetime.

There are a few major buildings still standing, particularly the engine houses, so similar to those in Cornwall, which is no coincidence, as most of the miners were Cornish.  The building on the left houses a museum.  

It originally housed a Beam Engine to run pumps and boilers etc.  This is a scale model.  

A total restoration was carried out in the 1980s, with all new timbers installed.  I couldn't get over the size of the beams, but that is what would have been required to support the Beam Engine.

The buildings look so interesting against the sky.

We went for a little walk up the hill to see the two chimneys.  Square chimneys were built by the Welsh.

Round chimneys by the Cornish.

The tops of the round chimneys were bricked, which must have been easier to work with as the diameter reduced.  They look good, anyway.

There is a chimney at the entrance to the town.  It was located in the mining area that was to be included in the enlarged open cut in the 1970s, so they dismantled it and rebuilt it at its present site.  Now that is one heck of a jigsaw puzzle.

If you look closely there is a little tin man standing on top of the chimney.  That is Johnny Green.  The tourist drive and booklet is called the Johnny Green Route.  We thought it was just a touristy gimmick, but no.  Johnny Green was not a real person.  In the early days the tin cut out used to live on the building that is now the museum (you can see him in some of the early photos) and he was the mine's mascot.  Just a bit of trivia we learnt along the way.

It was now late morning so time to have a cuppa.  We found a rather cute tea rooms in town.

As we would be on the road for a while now, we had an early lunch.  What the heck, let's try another version of a pasty.  This one was yummy too.  Don't worry, that is the last one I had, or I would be starting to look like a pasty.

As we headed on our way we were enjoying having a nice sunny day and saw some lovely countryside.

However, it wasn't long before we were back in the salt bush country.  Yes, we had once again crossed the Goyder Line into the arid areas.

As we were travelling east, we were entering the Murray Riverland area.  Somewhere we haven't been before, as we have only been as far as Mildura previously.

Our first stop was the old river port of Morgan.  It has some lovely old buildings.

We were both taken with the "Rail to River" play area built by the Lions Club. It even had paving laid to look like railway tracks. We noticed right along the Murray that the various service clubs seem to be very active, with parks, op shops, roadside maintenance and other projects.  Good on them.

Yes, he's still just a little boy at heart.

There was even a ferry crossing the river.  

To Mick's delight our route took us on the ferry.

Before long we started to see the benefits of Murray River irrigation.  Lots of riverland vineyards, featuring quite a few names we knew of.

We also saw lots of citrus orchards.

When we arrived at the pretty town of Waikerie we decided to call it quits for the day.  We had excelled ourselves and travelled 120kms this time.  I'm not quite sure how we manage such distances.  The caravan park we stayed in is the newest in South Australia, with some buildings still receiving the final touches.  It is so well designed and also fronts the river. A lovely spot to stay.  

We went for a walk to try and get some sunset photos over the river, but it sets too far around.  It was the first decent sunset we have seen since we left home.

The light over the river was lovely.

As was the changing western sky.

A lovely way to end the day.