Day 46 – Hawker

We left Marree this morning and were immediately struck by the number of vehicles heading towards the Birdsville Track. We’ve spoken to a lot of people who are going to the Big Red Bash, I think someone said the organisers were expecting 7 000 people. It’s hard to imagine the area around Big Red housing that number of people. Our neighbours tonight have come from Penguin, in Tasmania, and they are on their way to The Bash.

Just out of Marree is a rock construction depicting a man, we stopped to take some photos and to have a little play around.

Stoneman

Now it’s a woman

We didn’t intend stopping at Farina but the signs advertising the Bakery were too hard for Alex to resist. They’re currently using the old Bakery and there is a concentrated effort at fundraising for the restoration of the town.

The old Bakery

Bakery info

Inside the Bakery

Wooden tools for getting bread out

Bikers always know where the good Bakeries are

Our next stop was Lyndhurst and a visit to Talc Alf. He’s a real character, being a geologist is incidental, we always admire him for his carving skills and are amazed at his rapid fire thinking and talking. After Lyndhurst the road is bitumen.

Talc Alf at home

Word interpretations

Alf’s work

Alf’s work

Since we’ve already stayed at Hawker we decided to go to Blinman instead. It meant driving through Parachilna Gorge which should have meant re-deflating the tyres but we went very slowly and carefully instead.

Old cottage made from wood slabs

Old mining cauldron

Grader – original

Personal account of Grader working

The restored Grader

The shops were busy and the Caravan Park basic so we decided to continue on to Hawker.