Around the Copper Triangle

Today was dedicated to Copper Triangle exploration so we set out after breakfast.

There is only one road to Kadina from Moonta – the main road – but was pretty quiet and there was no wind. I spotted this lion which had an identical companion. No-one wants their concrete lions to have the sun in their eyes!

We had a good opportunity to examine the roadside rubbish, mostly drink containers and bottles with the occasional car tyre and household garbage pile. This excellent spanner was a good find though!

We went through Jerusalem, the south eastern area of Kadina. I had not heard of it before. Kadina was neat, clean and quiet. We had coffee and raisin toast, then repaired to the library where we lounged on the comfy chairs for awhile.

We took the Copper Trail to Wallaroo, a rail trail that now extends all the way from Kadina to Moonta.

This old corrugated iron grandstand is a remnant of earlier years when the racecourse was located here, halfway between Kadina and Wallaroo. It is now the home of pigeons who are providing their plentiful droppings in return.

There was a Psychic Fair in progress on the lawns adjacent to the Wallaroo Town Hall. The woman on the Echo of the Soul stall tried unsuccessfully to catch my eye.

The smelter stack in Wallaroo is inscribed WWH 1861, referring to  Sir Walter Watson Hughes who owned the land at that time. This town is really on the go with a new housing development about to be built near here. They already have the Copper Cove Marina. The new houses are enormous in comparison to the tiny miners cottages in the old part of Wallaroo, most of them consisting of two rooms with a skillion.

We missed the rail trail turn off back to Moonta and spent quite a while squinting at our phones and mis-reading the map before getting back on track. The Wallaroo-Moonta section runs beside the Spencer Highway. We saw a couple of these old water tanks by the trail.

Back in Moonta the bowling club was running hot with dozens of players in their coloured uniforms, intent on their game. Pine trees have been attached to verandah posts in the commercial area of Moonta to add to the Christmas atmosphere. The pageant and carols night are taking place tomorrow.

Moonta Bay is a short distance away with a bike track provided beside the road. The tide was out exposing a huge expanse of sand. The brisk breeze blowing off the sea made swimming unappealing, so this has been deferred until tomorrow morning when the tide will be high. There is a netted swimming enclosure attached to the jetty so we probably won’t get eaten by a shark.