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