Saturday, October 25, 2014

Day 42: Tanunda to Pewsey Vale

Saturday 25th October 2014

Our walk started with the usual morning briefing, held just outside Tanunda.  Our theme for the weekend was 'German'.  Mary Cartland dressed Morris Minus in very tight lederhosen.




Morris Minus was awarded to Dean Mortimer for notoriously forgetting to bring the radios. Judging from his smile, Dean had also forgotten to bring one of his front teeth.  Dean's flag was Kaiser Stuhl.



As we walked to Tanunda, we saw lots of freshly cropped bales in the paddocks.



The view of Tanunda over the vines as we approached Jane Place........



where Jane Haar posed happily under the sign.



There were several interesting sights on this road.

Shoes strung along a fence

A quirky gate

Geese by the river


We crossed the North Para River into Tanunda via a sturdy footbridge.





On the outskirts of Tanunda, Dean and I attempted to improve communications between the leaders, but to no avail.




Another rare event was being seated at tables for morning tea.  We spent some time at Bethany Reserve, enjoying the luxury and being sheltered from the sun.




This split tree was also at Bethany Reserve.



The day was already quite warm, and this lorikeet was drinking and bathing in Bethany Creek.



The creek had very little water and was not flowing, but the fallen tree and footbridge offered several options to cross.



Suitably refreshed after morning tea, we began the long climb up to Kaiser Stuhl Conservation Park, all the while taking in the sweeping views over the famous Barossa Valley.











Over the last stile, the Heysen Trail joins a section of the Little Kaiser Stuhl walk.






Soon after we arrived at the Kaiser Stuhl Conservation Park, we regrouped and discussed plans for lunch. The options were to have lunch on the Heysen Trail, or to take a small detour to a lookout and have lunch with views over the Barossa Valley.




Adjacent to the Heysen Trail, several areas of forest had been logged.




After lunch, we walked through the Kaiser Stuhl Conservation Park, past some forests and along this charming section of the Heysen Trail, before exiting onto Brownes Road to finish the day.



We walked a total of 21 km today.  The weather was quite sunny and warm to hot. Being in the Barossa Valley, we then indulged in a wine tasting organised by Nikki Birrell.  The wines were from Faith Lutheran College.  During the revelry, at 4.30pm, Dean learned that there was a fire ban in the area we were to walk tomorrow, so unfortunately our 2014 walk program ended there and then.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Day 41: Kapunda to Tanunda

Sunday 28th September 2014

Today was a long day, very warm, and included the historic first meeting of two End-to-End groups on the Trail.

Our theme for the weekend was Scottish, and several of our group kilted up for the day.

At the morning briefing, a battle plan was formed.  The fiercest warriors in our E2E-1 group would ambush the unsuspecting E2E7 group and momentarily wreak havoc in their midst.  Morris Minus had a badge added to his outfit for the historic meeting of End-to-End groups, courtesy of Margaret Schmidke.  MM was awarded to Mary Cartland for her meritorious work organising our group BBQs and Saturday night meals.



Margaret sports one of her commemmorative badges


The Scottish referendum held overnight failed to steer Scotland on the road to independence.  So today, Dean's flag simply displayed the true flag.


Morning tea was by a dry, eroded creek bed, close to Greenock Road.  It was obviously a favourite dumping ground for the locals, but we enjoyed a peaceful break, with some of our group taking some time out for contemplation.






After morning tea, we donned the war paint and prepared to spring an ambush on the End-toEnd 7 group.

Judith applies war paint to the warriors

Selfie with war paint

A short time later, we established radio contact with the approaching End-to-End 7s.  Our warriors gathered to fine tune their plans and practice their battle cry ahead of the ambush.


Then it happened.  The End-to End 7 group rounded a corner and came into view.  Dean hurriedly looked around for our warriors, but saw most were lagging well behind.  So the planned ambush did not eventuate.  The two groups met quietly and had an enjoyable lunch together under some shady trees.  Bubbly and wine appeared, glasses were provided, and toasts and speeches were made to mark the occasion.

There they are! Dean reaches for his radio and turns to call up the warriors, but realises it is too late.

Reluctantly, Dean gives up the planned ambush and takes the lead group to meet the E2E7s.







After a long, lazy lunch, the groups went their respective ways.  Our group continued on to Greenock for an afternoon tea hosted by Jan & Barry Matthew.  And this was no ordinary afternoon tea. Special thanks have go to Jan & Barry for their generosity.  They provided everything the weary walker could wish for on a very warm day.  The biggest hit was the Golden North ice-cream, which proved irresistible, especially for our President, Robert Alcock.

No-one was really counting, but surely three ice creams was enough, Robert.


We stayed and stayed, enjoying the hospitality and the shade.  No-one really wanted go back out in the heat and do the last bit of road walking into Tanunda, but eventually, that is what we did.

Today also held special significance for Coral Campbell, who completed the Heysen Trail and was awarded her certificate by Robert Alcock.


Despite the late finish and lengthening shadows, the celebrations continued.  We had walked 29.2 km, created history, had a long lunch, celebrated with our friends, and we saw no reason to stop.



These photos of the day were taken by Mary Cartland:








These are some of my other photos taken on the day, highlighting the landscape, crops another interesting features: