IN AND OUT OF ADELAIDE - MEDICALS, A COLLEGIATE CATCH UP AND OFF TO CASTERTON (13 SEPTEMBER - 6 OCTOBER 2017)

Three weeks was long enough. We are over cities, even that in which we grew up and know so well. Our return to, and relatively brief sojourn back in Adelaide was prompted by a number of factors, not the least of which was the insistence of my eye surgeon that he peer into my now cataract free optic orbs to monitor progress.  Fortunately he is good at his profession.....all was sweetness and light, literally!

We took the opportunity to do the rounds of other medical specialists, including our dentist, and as I mentioned in my last, 'The Matron' donned her nursing glad rags for these three weeks and was welcomed back to The Memorial Hospital with open arms. I suspect that the need to arise at 0500 hours to take her to work in the dark chill on many mornings had something to do with my desire to be back on the road!

We did have another reason to return at the time we did, or at least yours truly did. My eye surgeon was adament that he see me no later than the end of September so I embraced the chance to celebrate the now officially recognised 'Peacekeepers' Day' with my Adelaide colleagues, something I'd not been able to do for some years for obvious reasons.

Many who gathered at the central Adelaide War Memorial at the appointed hour were chaps I'd not caught up with for quite some time (your scribe is wearing the light coloured trousers)

including the Army Chaplin who took part in the ceremony. Carl is personal friend of long standing...not only have Liz and I shared many a glass with him and his good wife at the Keswick Barracks Offiers' Mess over many years past, he performed our wedding ceremony.

Of course, there were a number of world problems to be solved immediately following the conclusion of the formalities (we were actually discussing the forthcoming Hobart reunion),

and, as tradition demands, it was then off to lunch, this time at the Avoca Hotel, a fine hostelry owned and managed by the SA RSL (where I managed a good shot of Liz's back!)

This was a great day (for me in particular) as I'd not seen many who were here for some years and today's company included a few with whom I had done some pretty hard miles in the past.

But then it was back to business. In addition to the medical stuff, our storage shed door was raised and lowered on several occasions as we rationalised clothes (for the forthcoming inevitable cold weather of Tassie), refitted the kayak rack and the loaded the boat, recovered our generator from my mate's farm south of the city, sourced, bought and had alterations made to a new formal Mess jacket, emptied and repacked all the van lockers to take the addition kit we were now carrying, and, not least of all, had a new, digital TV aerial and a new bathroom tap fitted to the van.

With all this going on and catching up with relatives and a few friends (as our limited time allowed), the three weeks did fly by, and on 6 October we again farewelled Adelaide and made our way out of the city and onto the freeway which was to take us over the Mount Lofty Ranges and beyond,

but not before Max had enjoyed a refreshing bowl of milk (he displayed a distinct change of attitude shortly thereafter when his cage appeared!)

We were en route to Melbourne, to stay again with our good friends on the Mornington Peninsula before venturing across Bass Strait to Tasmania, and rather than take the Dukes Highway as we had done last year, we chose an alternative route. I was determined to actually leave SA on our first day.  Our targeted destination for our first night out was Casterton, a small town but a short distance over the border east of Penola.

This meant a long haul was ahead of us, just over 450 kilometres, but we departed rejoicing....it was so good to be on the road again that I was sure the kilometres would fly  past (and they did)

The initial part of today's trip was old hat in highway terms, and I'll limit the photos until we hit the stretch of road we've not previously traversed, but there was one new feature of a town some 150 kms south of Adelaide which demanded recognition.

Coonalpyn is a small, upper south-east farming community which, until recently, has not had any articular claim to fame, but a recent initiative has changed all that. In an attempt to revitalise interest in this Dukes Highway town, the internationally recognised artist Guido van Helten was commissioned to paint the town silos. With the approval of all concerned, he chose five of the local school children to be his subjects.

Now, just as we did, motorists pull up here in their droves to look at and photograph this spectacular art work (we had actually previously seen the documentary detailing the way in which this had been achieved and we were very keen to see the real thing).

The work was completed in March of this year, and the results are utterly spectacular. 

This skill of the artist in being able to visualise the final outcome whilst perched high on a cherry picker, spraying away at each small section of the work which was within arm's reach, is unbelievable. He used over 200 cans of paint to complete this work, which rises up over the 30 metre height of the silos. The word 'spectaclar' is barely adequate.

One upshot of this project has been the opening (or re-opening) of two new cafe business in the town to provide refreshment for those who choose to linger, but there was to be no such tarrying for the Mobile Marshies......we had many kilometres ahead of us.

Some sixty-five of these, further to the south, brought us to Keith, where we turned off the Dukes Highway to begin a trip along the A66, the Riddoch Highway which would take us through to Penola.

The grazing and cropping country which surrounds Keith 

soon gave way to the board acre vineyards which have been a feature of the Padthaway district for some years now.  We took a short break here

before pushing on through the wealthy grazing town of Naracoorte and on into one of South Australia's most recognised wine regions, where the famed 'terra rosa' soil of the Coonawarra gives birth to some of Australia's finest red wines.

We had spent a delightful 'birthday' weekend here many years ago, and the long, straight road through the vineyards on either side  evoked very pleasant memories, 

as did the cellar door signs of Redman's (where I spent far too much)

and Di Georgio, the producers of what remains Liz's favourite brand of bubbles (where I also spent much more than I had intended).

But today the siren call of the cellar doors could not tempt us to detour and the contents of our wallets remained unchallenged as we pushed on into nearby Penola 

where we negotiated the busy main street

before turning left off the Riddoch Highway and onto the C198.

With nearly 400 kms under our belts by now, this sign provided the welcome advice that we had but a short distance yet to travel.

We had barely begun this leg along what is a decidedly secondary, but quite manageable road,

when the primary object of today's trip was achieved....we crossed out of SA into Victoria. Silly as it sounds (and probably is) now we really felt as though we were back in nomad mode.

This is cattle grazing country

and for the next 50 kms or so we rolled on past broad paddocks of lush grass

and the occasional belt of wildflowers to remind us that spring had indeed sprung,

whilst every so often sharing the road with a yet another reminder of the main industry of this area.

As we made our approach into Casterton, 

the flat landscape changed dramatically. Here the highway began to rise and fall across the rolling hills which are a feature of this town and its surrounds.

Apart from grazing, Casterton makes the claim to be the home of the Australian Kelpie, something which the town sign artistically highlights.) I'll have a bit more to say about this shortly.

We enjoyed a brief return to 'the flat' as we passed through the western outskirts of the town,

but within a few minutes the real topography of this pretty little place was on show, complete with its name emblazoned in large white letters on the hillside opposite.

We traversed the short business section of main street in no time

at the far end of which we found the Glenelg Inn (thanks to 'Gday pubs' for the pic).  Here we paid our dues for our night at the nearby council owned caravan park and, on the strength of the reports we had read about the quality of meals served at the pub, booked in for dinner.






The park here sits beside the very picturesque Glenelg River, and is accessed via the entrance to the Casterton sporting complex.

Apart from one other couple, whom we suspect may have been working in the area (they were very well established), we had the place to ourselves. To say that it was green and lush would be an understatement, but at this time of the year we would not expect that the mower would be run over the place on a daily basis.


After such a relatively long day it was a real treat to be able to simply drive onto our site, hook into power and water and pop the legs down.....done! No need to unhitch (although in these circumstances I always fit the jack and take the weight off the towing hitch), and here, there was even no need to attach sullage....a bit more water on the long grass went completely unnoticed.

The amenities were right up to scratch, clean, efficient and only about twenty metres from our patch. Liz did take a toddle through town during the late afternoon, but yours truly decided that any enjoyment of our evening out demanded a recovery nap, which means we have a scant pictorial record of Casterton to share.






As you can see from this shot which I took the following morning, we were only a hop, step and jump from the main street, some of the buildings of which we could see across the rinks of the adjacent bowling green.







As booked, we were on deck at the appointed hour to join those in the dining room of the Glenelg Inn which was close enough to almost have a common boundary with the park.









I thought it was important to dress appropriately for the occasion....what better than a Glenelg SLSC top in the Glenelg Inn? And the meal? Excellent....particularly washed down with a glass or two of Di Geogio bubbles. We were celebrating after all....we were back on the road!



We could not possibly move on from this Casterton whistle stop stay without a word about its dogs.

I guess there would hardly be an Australian alive who has not heard of the famous Kelpie cattle dog, but I wonder how many know that the breed originated here in Casterton.  I must confess that, prior to our arrival in the town I would have had to number myself amongst that group!

I'll let the Casterton Kelpie Association website take up the story:

"Casterton is nationally recognised as the ‘Birthplace Of The Kelpie’ and celebrates its role each June long weekend through the Clark Rubber Australian Kelpie Muster.

Warrock Homestead, north of Casterton, is the birthplace of the amazingly intelligent Kelpie breed of working Australian cattle and sheep dog. The original ‘Kelpie’ was born in 1871; her parents being a pair of black & tan Collies imported from Scotland by Warrock’s owner George Robertson.

Robertson had a policy of not selling females from the stock but had given a pup to his nephew. Jack Gleeson, a drover working at nearby Dunrobin Homestead, wanted to buy a female pup, but could not obtain one from Robertson.

At a rendezvous on Warrock’s boundary fording the Glenelg River, Gleeson met with Robertson’s nephew and asked to buy the pup. The nephew initially refused to sell but eventually swapped the pup for a horse which he fancied. Gleeson named the pup ‘Kelpie’, meaning ‘...a malignant water sprite haunting the fords and streams in the shape of a horse’.

Shortly after, Gleeson left the district [smart move I suspect ...editor's comment!] and Kelpie was mated with working dogs in Ardlethan, NSW. The progeny created the bloodlines of the Kelpie breed, with one of the original litter going on to come equal first in a trial in 1878."

And there you have it. I did wonder what old George Robertson might have had to say about all this, or indeed if he ever became aware of his nephew's betrayal. Surely he must have....it's a bit hard to hide a horse! 

In any event these dogs continue to be the best in the country for working with cattle, and as I soon discovered, there is money to be made from these fine animals......for the right one that is. 'Dotti' pictured here, was the top dog, literally, at the recent annual Casterton Kelpie Muster. This capable canny canine sold for the staggering amount of $12,000!  I'd have a smile on my face, too, if I had been it's breeder.








Well, so much for our first day out.  Tomorrow we head further east, to the Princes Highway town of Colac for yet another single overnight stay en route to Melbourne.