Information on the South Australian Odyssey, 2012

Day 1 (26th Sept) Melbourne to Warrnambool via the Great Ocean Road

Day 2 (27th) Warrnambool to Mount Gambier via Port Fairy and Portland

Day 3 (28th) Mount Gambier to Murray Bridge via the Murray River

Day 4 (29th) Murray Bridge to Adelaide via the Fleurieu Peninsula

Day 5 (30th) Lay day - Adelaide opportunity to see the “Bay to Birdswood Run”

Day 6 (1st Oct) Lay day - Adelaide kick back & relax

Day 7 (2nd) Adelaide to Renmark via the so-called Riverlands

Day 8 (3rd) Renmark to Port Pirie via Snowtown

Day 9 (4th) Port Pirie to Port Augusta via the Flinders Ranges

Day 10 (5th) Port Augusta to Broken Hill leaving South Australia and into New South Wales

Day 11 (6th) Lay day - Broken Hill rest or recreate

Day 12 (7th) Broken Hill to Mildura via the Murray River again

Day 13 (8th) Mildura to Echuca (last day) via Kerang

The Route

(Subject to possible changes!)

Day ONE:  26th September

Starting on the north-western fringe of Melbourne, the route crosses the 1850’s gold trail going through notorious bushranger country at Bacchus Marsh and passing the extinct volcanic region near Colac, before joining the Great Ocean Road. Our destination is Warrnambool where we will sample the delights of one of the food basket’s of Australia.

Day TWO: 27th September

Today’s final destination is Mount Gambier, South Australia’s second largest city, based on the slopes of a (hopefully still) dormant volcano. Highlights on the way are the old whaling station of Port Fairy, now a rambling fishing port with more than 50 buildings classified by the National Trust, Portland, also with examples of colonial architecture, Mount Gambier’s famous Blue Lake and the magnificent Umpherston and Cave Gardens sinkholes. Well worth a visit is the Portland Powerhouse Motor & Car Museum.

Day THREE: 28th September

Our route passes Penola, the town prominent in the life of Mary McKillop (St Mary of the Cross) Australia’s first citizen to gain Roman Catholic sainthood and we farewell the coast at Meningie before discovering the old railway workshop town of Tailem Bend on the banks of the Murray River.  Final destination today is the largest Murray town in South Australia, Murray Bridge.  

Day FOUR: 29th September

The beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula is our focus today with much to explore in this historic area before reaching our destination of Adelaide where we will stay for 3 nights

Day FIVE: 30th September

This day provides the opportunity to see the famous “Bay to Birdswood Run”, the “2012 Bay to Birdswood Run” is for motor vehicles built prior to the 1st of January 1956 and will commence at the Barratt Reserve, Adelaide Shores.  More than 1,500 historic vehicles will cruise the 70 kilometre route finishing at the National Motor Museum, Birdswood, where we have included the entry fee in your tour costs . There is something for everyone at the finish from “Fashions in The Field”, the chance to dance the day away to 1920s - 1950s big band sounds and sampling regional food and wine.

Day SIX: 1st October

Today is your chance to kick back and relax or, if you prefer, explore the delights of Adelaide, South Australia’s capital and largest city.  

Day SEVEN: 2nd October

Back to touring, today our route follows the Murray River into the so-called Riverlands.  There are many points of interest including Mannum, known as the birthplace of river traffic where the very first Murray River paddle steamer was built, Swan Reach, where you can ride the Swan Reach Ferry and Blanchetown with the first of thirteen locks installed to control the flow of the Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee rivers. Barmera is the site of Donald Campbell’s 1964 water speed record attempt on Lake Bonney and Renmark is the chief town of the Riverland and centre of the state’s biggest and oldest irrigation scheme.

Day EIGHT: 3rd October

Morgan is one port of call today. Morgan’s claim to fame being it is the origin of a pipeline built during World War II that carries water 359km to Whyalla enabling the steel industry.  We pass through Snowtown before reaching our destination of Port Pirie.  Established in 1845, Port Pirie is South Australia’s sixth largest city and is the site of the world’s largest lead smelter, constructed in 1889. Currently it receives up to 1 million tonnes of concentrates from Broken Hill each year and is capable of turning out 230,000 tonnes of silver, lead and large quantities of sulphuric acid and zinc along with gold and antimony.  

Day NINE: 4th October

Again Australia’s iron ore and steel industries feature today but first there is a detour through to Wilmington, originally called Beautiful Valley due to the magnificent scenery of the surrounding Flinders Ranges.  Port Augusta, the fifth most populous city in South Australia, features as a seaport, railway junction and  service centre for freight trucks and travellers crossing the Nullarbor and is followed by stops at Hummocky now known as Whyalla and the source of the iron ore, Iron Knob.

Day TEN: 5th October

Our last day in South Australia provides a closer look at the Flinders Ranges as we travel first to Quorn and then Orroroo. Quorn is home to the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society Inc.  Today offers the chance to capture that baffling video footage as your car rolls up “Magnetic Hill” then we move on to Peterborough with its Round House Exchange, housing a unique railway turntable and other railway equipment. Broken Hill is our destination and this isolated mining city in the far west outback of New South Wales has much to offer.

Day ELEVEN: 6th October

Discover Broken River on this “rest” day. It has developed as a vibrant Mecca for artists and filmmakers, a long way from its roots as the site of the richest deposit of silver, lead and zinc the world has ever seen.  The town is also known for its input into the formation of the labour movement in Australia, and has a rich trade union history. Aside from the mining history there are many attractions with town history walking trails, many resident artists and galleries, the Sculpture Symposium and vast landscapes.

Day TWELVE: 7th October

Today it is time to be drawn southwards to the waters of the Murray River again. Specifically Wentworth, an historic town at the junction of the Murray and Darling rivers. The drive to Wentworth is around 270kms, with the only retail premises being the Coombah Roadhouse approximately half way between Broken Hill and Wentworth. Crossing the Murray we reach what was a drought-ravaged, rabbit-strewn sheep station in 1886 and now transformed, through the miracle of the Chaffey brothers’ irrigation scheme,  town of Mildura.

Day THIRTEEN: 8th October (last day)

We begin by contrasting Mildura with Nyah, a utopian socialist community originally formed in the 1890s, then cross the path of Major Thomas Mitchell before reaching Kerang where there is an opportunity to inspect relics of local history, including farm machinery and cars, at the Kerang Historical Museum. Our final destination of the tour is Echuca, located at the junction of the Murray and Campaspe rivers. Echuca was the second largest port on the Murray and, being the closest point of the Murray River to Melbourne, was both a key river port and railway junction, Melbourne is just a three hour drive away but there are plenty of attractions to make Echuca an ideal stop-over for a day or two.

Vehicles

This is a Classic Motoring Society event but obviously, most entrants will not be transporting their classic car to Australia for the event. We anticipate that most entrants will be driving hire vehicles and will be providing some information on what’s available with the acceptance of your entry.

Accommodation

We have had to pre-book, and in many instances, pre-pay for all the accommodation on the tour. Once you have paid your deposit, your accommodation will be secured and you will be notified of all the details.

Fees

It is the policy of CMSNZ that all tours will be financially neutral with the tour costs being met in total from entry fees. It should be noted that the organisers also pay a full entry fee.

The entry fee is

Per car (based on two people): NZ$2300

• All accommodation from the 26th of September to the 8th October
• A pre-tour breakfast
• A mid-tour dinner and a final night dinner

A non refundable deposit of  NZ$500 is required by the 29th of February 2012.

General

The South Australian Odyssey is not a competitive event in any sense.  You are encouraged to fully participate, interact and enjoy yourselves. A route book will guide you if you choose to follow the plotted route, but the navigation is not designed to get you lost! It is designed to get you, without too many arguments or matrimonials, to the next comfortable meal and accommodation.

The tour has been plotted in full and a comprehensive route book will be provided for each car. By far the majority of roads are tarmac.

The CMSNZ requires entrants to make their own arrangements for vehicles but will provide some rental car option details with the confirmation of your entry.

Entrants should arrange to be in Melbourne the day before and after the tour. Accommodation for these days is the entrants' responsibility.

Drinking and driving do not mix.

Drivers are required to uphold a high standard of driving skill, courtesy and compliance at all times.

The event will not include a “Tail End Charlie” (TEC).  We expect all entrants to provide assistance to any other entrant where they can.

We trust that you will find this event challenging and enjoyable and we look forward to having you with us.

We welcome any suggestions or comments that will enhance everyone’s enjoyment on this and future overseas events.

Tour Organisers

Graeme Sharp 021 395 944

Robin Fletcher

Stephanie Royds  021 341 315 or club contact details

Download the entry form (includes all this information in a pdf file)