Saturday, April 21, 2012

Road Trip – Day 35 (April 19)

Today I managed to drag myself out of bed very early to capture the beautiful sunrise outside our caravan. I got outside to set up my camera to find all members of our group were outside to photograph the dawn.

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Lance and I decided to drive 52kms from Whyalla to Iron Knob where the beginning of mining iron ore began in the 1890 with pick axes and shovels. The mine at Iron Knob closed in 1998 and now there is still a town with very few facilities. Naturally the hotel was still going, along with a general store/post office which contained less supplies than most caravan parks.

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We first stopped at the information centre which was formally the mess hall for BHP employees. Outside I found a true Aussie “dunny”, although it is no longer used.

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We saw a dragline on show. It was a Marion electric shovel commissioned in 1965 for a cost of $38000.It was taken out of service in 1981. The bucket had an 18 ton capacity.

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Most of the houses in the town were occupied, probably because they are cheaper than those in Whyalla.

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Back at our idyllic campsite, the men went fishing while the women gathered while Viv gave me a new hair colour.

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This is certainly not my best look.

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