Mystery Photography Tour

The Mystery Photography Tour
Of Historic Locations in the Adelaide Hills

Sunday 26^th October 2008

I awoke to the incessant barking of the neighbour’s dog, heralding the morn of the mystery tour that I had offered to plan way back at the start of the year. You know how it is, so far back that you almost forget about it. But not quite! Argh … I got all hot and bothered just thinking about it. I ran outside to the fence and politely called to the dog over the back fence to play nice, and keep the noise down while I have a cup of tea and contemplate the day. I was suddenly aware of the difference in temperature from the day before, and my boiling point instantly abated. From thirty six degrees Celsius to ten degrees or so less. Yes!!! The day was going to be a good one after all. Oh, and the dog had shut up!

We arrived at the Tea Tree Gully Hotel carpark at 10am to find it overflowing with old cars and hordes of people I didn’t recognize. Kevin (the hubby) commented that it seemed that all of Adelaide was having a car rally today. Hmmm … I immediately thought of the traffic jams ahead of us, caused by the grinding gears and the slow pace of the old Morris Minors and other ancient vehicles that we would be caught behind. That, however, was blown to the wind after watching their departure from the carpark, with the revving motors, and the herby way they were squealing away from the kerb. Well, almost squealing away!

Gathering my thoughts and instruction sheets, I welcomed the intrepid gang from the club and accepted their bribes for a look at the South Australian Coat of Arms and, by the law of alphabetical order, I sent them off at two minute intervals, starting with John and Jan, with Michael and Pat bringing up the rear.

Blanchtown or Bust

Some silly wag, who shall remain nameless had stuck a sign in the rear window of Sharon’s Commodore stating to the world, “Blanchtown or Bust”! The spelling mistake was duly photographed by Neil.

The first stop was the tribute to Charles Caust at the Chain of Ponds cemetery, and I was amazed to see the carpark full to overflowing, and some people I didn’t recognize scribbling away on bits of paper. How amazing to find that someone else had thought to include this cemetery on their car rally, but I hoped that this wouldn’t be the case throughout the day.

On the way to the Big Rocking Horse, I noted that John and Jan and Yvonne and David had stopped to photograph the bags of oranges for sale on the roadside – they, of course, were featured on the SA Coat of Arms. There were 14 set photographs to take, and 3 bonus ones, two being from the Coat of Arms.

Secret Happenings at the Circle of Oaks

The Ring of Oaks turned out to be another gathering spot for the gang, and I arrived to find a fully clothed Neil laying down atop of the memorial plaque. A sacrificial offering, I pondered? No, he was just being anointed with the contents from a bottle of drinking water by the delightful Kelly in her Chanel cap, for a self portrait. After a lot of laughter and candid photograph taking we moved on towards Lobethal.

Competition was Rife

After a short drive, we came across the group taking photos at the old brick kiln. Apparently, the lady who lived within was clearly miffed about the cluster cars parked about her acreage and was unhappily announcing to our fearless leader, Greg, the possibility of him moving us on without haste.

The stop at the old German Cottage on the outskirts of Lobethal was quick as we still had the Lutheran cemetery and the head stone of the two lovers to photograph and decipher. Kelly was on the ball when she discovered that the epitaph written in German was actually from the Bible, and made a mental note to read up on Petri 1-24 when she got home.

Lunch time!! John, Jan, Michael, Pat, Neil, Kelly, Kevin and I found our way to the Onkaparinga Rotary Park on Reserve Road. We found a picnic table with a roof to sit at for lunch however we were so cold we ate and immediately drove to the Lobethal Hotel to join Yvonne, David, Sharon and Greg, who were not so silly, in the cosy front room to warm up a little before getting back to the tour.

Everyone found the tall brick chimney at the rear of the Heart of the Hills Market and Jan excelled in finding the bicycle graffiti that was etched on the wall of the old woollen mill building. She made it way too easy for the rest of the gang who were looking on.

The self portrait with the soldier in the sentry box was quite amusing to observe, and there will be some very funny and imaginative images from that stop doing the rounds.

Flexing One's Rod at the Swinging Bridge

Somewhere between the soldier and the swing bridge we lost Yvonne and David. Kevin managed to flex his fishing rod and have a few casts in the Onkaparinga before they eventually turned up. They saw the sign for Melba’s Chocolate Factory at Woodside, and couldn’t resist temptation.

By the time we got to Johnston’s Cordial Factory at Oakbank, Yvonne was bemoaning the fact that David had left the chocolate almonds on the dash in the sun, and they had melted in the packet. They were very tasty and I highly recommend a visit to Melba’s. Somewhere along the route the sun had made an appearance and warmed things up a bit.

Then it was on to the old Balhannah bismuth mine buildings, which had been converted to a private residence a few years ago, for a quick photo over the fence before the drive to Uraidla and Swamp Road. The Lilliputian replica Mount Lofty Bible Christian Church was photographed every which way before driving up the road a short distance to the slab hut on the Brooks property. Sharon and Greg dallied about around some other interesting buildings in the vicinity and their tardiness at meeting at the Stirling Hotel was well noted.

A Stirling Bunch

All the group eventually showed up at the Hotel where we gathered at the outdoor settings and ordered coffee and chatted about the day’s events - Sharon and Greg being the last to arrive, as noted. While the rest of us were content with sipping coffee and nibbling on Bertie Beetles, Greg felt the need for a sumptuous Belgian Parfit - something from the desert menu with an $11 price tag. After a noteworthy period of time, someone suggested that the delivery of the delectable dessert had been diverted to another diner so Greg, not one to let a perfectly good dessert go amiss, set off in search for the said delicacy to the calls of “bring back eleven spoons”!

Meanwhile a waitress had appeared at our table to tell us the sad story of the chef burning the ordered dessert and that another would appear in 5 minutes’ time. Five minutes turned into twenty and we were all wondering at this stage what marvellous creation would eventually turn up. I finally spied a waiter walking towards us carrying a gigantic white platter aloft and, seeing but two tiny shot glasses on it, I was wondering how eleven people would be able to have a small ‘taste’ of what was promised.

The Shocking Truth of the Belgian Parfit

A delectable concoction of Belgian chocolate and coffee and cream? Hah! It turned out to be a little chocolate rough biscuit type thing that one tipped the contents of the two shot glasses over. The waiter placed the platter in front of Greg, and announced that there would be no charge and that he would return shortly with his refund. Greg graciously offered everyone a ‘taste’, and, with one of the two spoons provided (I thought that even two spoons was rather optimistic), I accepted a small titbit. Hmmm … the tasting was interesting, but I would have choked on that minute mouthful if I had had to pay for it! Oh … and after a considerable passing time, Greg had to go and chase up his refund.

After a great day of much fun and laughter and photo taking we all said our goodbyes and departed the delightful township of Stirling, resplendent in the freshness and colours of spring, and wound our way down the freeway back to the humdrum of suburbia.

Cheers
Heather