2009-02-21 -34 138
I think this tells the story adequately enough for now. What do you think, Kate? I look forward to reading about your expedition. Regards, UnwiseOwl 14:14, 21 February 2009 (UTC).
| Sat 21 Feb 2009 in -34,138: -34.8655206, 138.8235131 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Location
In the bush south of Cuddly Creek.
Attendees
Report
I was in Adelaide for the weekend and Mum decided that we were going to spend Saturday driving round the countryside 'looking for dead people' (as Dad put it...) Mum's keen on Family History at the moment and it didn't take much convincing to come home via today's Geohash.
We headed North from Adelaide to a little town of Owen. Not much was happening in the town of Owen, until we drove past the bowling club, which was going off on a Saturday morning. Driving past the old buildings in the town we found a building with a plaque that my Great, Great, Grandfather built with some graffiti that Mum did not approve of, but Dad and I found quietly amusing...
From there we drove along some very dry and dusty country roads to a little cemetery on the side of the road where we found the graves of my Great, Great, Great Grandfather and Grandmother. They were the first of our family to come from Scotland to Australia in 1864.
We then went to the Barossa valley for lunch. When driving through the town of Kapunda we came across a giant statue. We had found MAP, the Cornish Miner who stands 8 metres tall!
His Plaque reads: "MAP is a monument to the profound, role and contribution of the Cornish miner in the Kapunda and in due course in other mines in South Australia. The Kapunda mine, established in 1844, was the first successful metal mine in Australia and contributed greatly to the economic development of South Australia. Up to its closure in 1878 ore to the value of more than £1 million was produced and up to 340 men and boys, mainly from Cornwall were employed."
As we drove through the Barossa the landscape changed quickly from the dry valley of Owen to the green grape growing region of the Barossa Valley. There is really only one river in South Australia and most of the water used in this region is pumped up from the Murry River.
We then drove down through the reservoirs and dams that hold Adelaide's water supply. They were dry. Some, completely empty. It was a very sobering moment to realise that 'The River Murry Crisis' so often trivialised in New South Wales (up river) was worse than I had imagined. Especially considering that the river Torrens that runs through the middle Adelaide had it's weir left open last week and millions of litres of water were drained out to sea leaving the city's lake, a giant mudflat (and exposing all sorts of debris, including a car...)
Weaving around the Adelaide Hills we finally came to the town of Cuddly Creek and found our way down Snake Gully Road where we a gate was locked across out path with a sign saying 'Private Property'. OH NO! But wait, a red sign on the fence post, the road was a part of the Heysen Trail a public track that extents 1200 km from the south of the state to the Flinders Rangers north of Adelaide. So, I was in luck. Mum and Dad decided to wait in the car so I set off down the track (with warnings of 'be careful' 'watch out for snakes' and 'don't go climbing any cliffs')...
The track turned out to be a lovely amble alongside some farmland before ending in the Mt Crawford National Park. The hash point was just off the track amongst the gum trees, a very pretty spot.
As I stomped back to the track (stomping-hoping to scare the snakes away before I stepped on them) I noticed a sign that said there was an unofficial logbook 100m up the track. I climbed the gate and found a lovely campsite with a logbook that I signed, but alas, it didn't look like any other Geohashers had been there, which would have been a shame as it was one of the best hash points I have ever visited.
A lovely walk through an area that I really hope to return to one day.
I then remembered that Mum and Dad were waiting for me so I ran back to the car. Mum hadn't wasted her time however, she had located another grave to visit on the way home! Searching through the St Bernards Cemetery in Magill we found the grave of my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather and Grandmother!
It was a wonderful day exploring South Australia!
