Letter from Regional South Australia and Victoria

Ant Evans

Following on from a tongue in cheek comment about looking forward to the peace and quiet, Larraine bade Alan and myself farewell the morning of Friday the 13^th of June (good job I’m not superstitious, eh?).

Where were we off to? A road trip around regional South Australia and Victoria (with occasional forays to the Outback).

This trip had been one of Alan’s suggestions before my arrival. As well as getting to know roughly 2,870 kilometres of Australia (so taking plenty of bottled water was a must) and photographing some of the local wildlife, this trip would also include yours truly being photographed alongside some of Australia’s Big Things.

What are Big Things? They’re large structures, including novelty architecture and some sculptures. They can be found in each State and Territory of Australia. But obviously, ticking off each of them wasn’t going to be practical over the course of the six days we were away. So the most accessible ones took priority.

Our first stop after leaving Port Elliot on that decidedly wintery June morning was nearby Finnis to get a Cappuccino each. As I did as instructed and waited in the car, when Alan eventually reappeared next to the passenger side door of his car, he gave me a bit of a fright as he’d come out of the opposite end of the café that I’d expected.

Our destination on this first day of our trip was Mt Gambier, a roughly four hour fifty minute drive from where we began, with Alan using Siri to navigate (this was to be the cause of some frustration later on). The two of us spoke about anything and everything on this trip. Having been friends for nearly ten years, after first meeting in Buenos Aires (but that’s another story for another time) talking about all sorts comes easily to us. I owe a great deal of my confidence around people to Alan. His blunt no nonsense attitude was a great help in building up my confidence. Diolch yn fawr iawn i ti!

At one stage early on, we had to get a ferry across the Murray River. Alan told me as we crossed that the ferry crossings are more cost effective than building a bridge. The Murray River, due to its length, stretching from New South Wales, through Victoria and into South Australia, and its importance to Indigenous and non Indigenous people alike, was a common topic of conversation.

Around lunchtime, we stopped in a place called Meningie for a coffee, as well as a steak and pepper pie each (as I paid for all the food during our trip, there aren’t any prizes for guessing who was held responsible when we got back to Port Elliot and Alan discovered he’d gained weight).

I was more than a little concerned about sitting outside to eat, due to the number of gulls in the area. If you’ve ever been to Caernarfon, you’ll understand why. However, though we had an audience, none of the birds attempted to mug us for a free meal. Much more polite than their Cofi cousins!

Having left Meningie behind us, we then travelled on to Kingston South East, where I was photographed with the Big Lobster. After another coffee from the nearby café, trying to find somewhere to spend the night was going to be our next challenge. Eventually, we managed to get a twin room at the Somerset Motel in Millicent (it had gotten a bit late for us to make it to Mt Gambier). Both Alan and I underestimated the portion sizes of the Mixed Grill. I think one between the two of us would have been more than enough!

The small holes in the curtains became more obvious to me the following day, As Alan had remarked to Larraine on the phone “What else do you expect for $90?” being roughly £45 for the night.

On we went to Ballarat in the neighbouring state of Victoria. One thing I hadn’t anticipated was just how quiet the roads we took were during this road trip. We would quite often joke how jam packed the roads were whenever we saw a single car.

On the way, we stopped at Mt. Gambier, so that Alan could photograph me at the Blue Lake (which is especially blue in November, so obviously, it wasn’t at its best) and the Umpherston Sinkhole, where he also spotted and photographed a possum.

As we neared the state border, Alan told me to keep an eye on the car’s clock (as Victoria, along with the other eastern states, is half an hour ahead of South Australia). The car’s clock didn’t change as we crossed, however. Turns out it can only be changed manually when it’s stationary. Our phones on the other hand, had indeed jumped ahead by half an hour.

Our first Victorian stop was Hamilton, a city with a population similar in size to Caernarfon. After navigating the pavements, carpeted with wet dead leaves, we went into Manna Bar and Grill to escape the cold and have lunch. This consisted of flake and chips for both of us. Flake being another term for Gummy shark. As Alan told me “It probably wouldn’t sell as well if they called it shark on the menu.”

On we went to Ballarat, a city with a history of Welsh immigration during the Gold Rush era of the 1850s and 60s. We even visited Sovereign Hill (think a Gold Rush-themed St. Fagan’s) the following day.

The night we arrived in Ballarat however, we had Siri-related issues. Apple’s Digital Assistant sent us round in circles a fair bit before we eventually got to our accommodation that evening. Once we got to our accommodation, I was taken aback when the lady who checked us in correctly guessed we were Welsh. I speak English with a reasonably neutral accent and Alan, having lived in Australia for fifty six years, sounds Australian when he speaks English, so I’m not sure how she managed it (we hadn’t spoken Welsh after walking through the main entrance). Lucky guess? Were our surnames (Williams and Evans) a clue?

Once we checked in and left our things in the twin room we were sharing, our next job was to get something to eat. Not that we had to go too far mind you. We ended up at a nearby pub, where we ordered a pizza and had a couple of pints. We had a (good natured) argument as to whether the branding for what I was drinking was blue (my view) or green (Alan’s opinion). As sure as I was at the time, I’m going to defer to my friend here, what with me having a white cane.

As mentioned above, we went to Sovereign Hill the following day. Think a Gold Rush themed St Fagans. Walking along you could see dwellings ranging from tents, to more permanent wooden structures, depending on whether the migrants were just passing through or had decided to settle. The Main Street had a decidedly Wild West feel.

We went on a group mineshaft tour during the morning. Not somewhere you’d expect to see somebody as claustrophobic as I am. Alan made a comment in Welsh about our guide being fond of the sound of his own voice (being quite a bit louder than some of the equipment.)

A darker side to the area’s history was clear to see. A copy of the Chinese Regulation Act demonstrated clearly the attitudes held towards Chinese migrant workers in the 1850s. Such attitudes would continue into the 20^th century, with the passage of the Immigration Restriction Act federally. This was known informally as the White Australia Policy, which was gradually dismantled in the years after the Second World War.

Having had lunch, we then set off for Horsham. The road was as quiet as usual. We stopped off at Great Western, which Alan and Larraine once called home. Alan took the opportunity to show me the Rotunda he built during their time there and the property where he and Larraine lived. Some of the local wildlife had made themselves at home on the neighbouring block of land. I took the opportunity to take a photo.

Our next stop was Dadswells Bridge, where I had a photo taken with the Big Koala. Apparently, its nostrils are big enough to allow birds to nest inside. Not that there were any nesting birds at this time of year.

We got to Horsham just before dark. That evening, when we were on our way to get something to eat, Alan made friends with an incredibly docile possum. I couldn’t believe how unconcerned it seemed around humans! Later that evening, after having had something to eat, I apologised to Alan for not being able to do my share of driving, for white cane related reasons. After assuring me there was no need to apologise, he then came up with the idea of testing my knowledge with an online New South Wales (we couldn’t work out why there wasn’t a South Australian equivalent) theory test. I passed with flying colours! It was all common sense, really. But as I joked to Alan “Good luck finding a test centre willing to give a bloke with a white cane a practical test!”

The following day, we made our way to Berri, with stop overs to admire some silo art and for Alan to take a photo of me with the Mallee Bull, before we went to Loxton to see the fourth Lock of the Murray River. Despite the warnings about snakes being active in the area, luckily it was much too cold for them. Before leaving for Berri, we both had a chat with one of the workers there, who was amazed by the travelling we’d done, asking me what the appeal of travelling was.

***

“SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!”

As Alan slammed on the breaks of his Subaru the following day, somewhere between Hawker and Wilpena Pound, I was worried that he’d nearly hit somebody. Turns out he’d just spotted a wild Emu and wanted to give me the opportunity to photograph it. That wasn’t the only bird we saw that day either. There were quite a few Galahs (a species of Cockatoo) to be seen too, with Alan pointing out the birds relative stupidity compared to other animals, with their habit of flying into the path of oncoming vehicles. This also explaining, he continues, the word Galah being used to describe stupid people.

Back in Hawker, I experienced another first; eating Kangaroo Schnitzel with pepper sauce. I’ve always said I’m willing to try anything once. It was very difficult to cut through, but tasted, to my mind anyway, not too dissimilar to beef.

The following day, well rested, we set off to Port Pirie, via Kimba and Iron Knob. As Alan drove us out of Hawker, we came across Wilson, an abandoned settlement (not enough rainfall to sustain a community apparently.) It was quite eerie seeing the remains of long abandoned buildings.

On we went to Iron Knob, which may as well have been abandoned itself, it was so eerily quiet. The only signs of life were the two older ladies in the visitor’s centre, knitting as there wasn’t much else to do. After a quick chat, off we went to Kimba for a rather lukewarm cheese and ham toastie for lunch, and where Alan photographed me with the Big Galah (no smart remarks, hehe!)

When we finally got to Port Pirie, we stopped at the Church of Fish & Chips for Barramundi and chips with a seafood salad and shared a bottle of red wine.

The following morning, we had a roughly three and a half hour drive back to Port Elliot. The most hair raising part of this journey was nearly getting squashed by a triple decker lorry. Just as well Alan’s reactions behind the wheel are so quick!

Aside from that, the journey (with a stop over at Kapunda so I could be photographed with a statue of a nineteenth century Cornish miner “Map the Miner”) was straightforward enough. I have to say, the highlight of this trip was, naturally, Alan’s company (even when Siri was a source of frustration), as well as getting to see so much wildlife and so much of the country, having travelled nearly three thousand kilometres!

As we neared Port Elliot, Alan phoned Larraine. When she answered, he began singing:

“Polly put the kettle on! Polly put the kettle on! Polly put the kettle on! We’ll all have coffee!”

He’s a case! But nearly ten years since first meeting him in Argentina, I can honestly say, I feel as though I’ve won the lottery to have such amazing friends as Alan and Larraine.

Diolch yn fawr iawn!