What a weekend.

The initial set back for the organisers, Marie and Brian, was the cancellation of the convenient 1pm ferry from Wallaroo to Cowell. The 7am option was an extreme disincentive for those having to drive from Adelaide that same morning. However, Marie demonstrated her powerful negotiation skills and had a 9am ferry put on.

One or two of the members less enamoured with early morning starts launched to Kadina on Friday afternoon and took advantage of the additional sleep on Saturday morning.

The rendezvous was at the ferry terminal at Wallaroo and there was only one temporary casualty enroute.

Twelve MX5s boarded the ferry and we all enjoyed (well nearly all!) a relaxing and uneventful ferry ride to Cowell. Docking took an inordinate time as the P-plate ferry pilot appeared to be learning on the job.

Our first stop was the Jade Outlet. Nice jade but the males were clearly interested in protecting their credit ratings. Look and admire but no buying was the tacit message.

Onwards into the 'city' of Cowell - the local 'big smoke'. With orderly chaos we all managed to enjoy a snack lunch at the water side park where such niceties as the 'no crapping dogs' sign (see the pics) was the backdrop.

It was then off to the oyster farm. This was both and interesting and rewarding tour. The reward was the 'free' oysters. Now for an oyster lover they were genuinely special - top notch! Even some of the non-oyster eaters showed exceptional daring and sampled these gems. Judging by the reaction on their respective faces there were no converts to the fruit of the sea that day.

Onwards then to Whyalla and Port Augusta. Brian gave us a short guided tour of Whyalla and its high spots. At one point there was a period of silence on the radio and one could almost see the question marks appearing above individual cars. Just what was Brian up to? Where were we going? We later learned Brian had inadvertently knocked his radio off channel 24 and was busily offering his impressive insight of the region to anyone in the world who was tuned to channel 25!

We arrived at the motel at Port Augusta at the planned time. Great place right on the water. Looked comfortable. Only one problem, they were otherwise booked out by a wedding party and good luck if you could find a car park. After airing our gripes at reception (against any odds of the problem be rectified) it was off to park the chariots somewhere on site. The very fact that the motel had a surrounding fence reminiscent of that around the Baxter Detention Centre, and entry through the gate required a strip search (only kidding), we concluded the area must be hostile at night. If there was any desire to drive home the following day, it seemed essential to park inside the 'compound'.

As it turned out the only pests we were confronted with was the thirsty and loud wedding guests who took until 2am to finish the evening's conversations.

The feature of our evening was dinner at the pub. While the food was quite reasonable, the service and style fitted the image of old fashioned country service to a tee.

Marie and Brian still had an excess of energy post-dinner and gathered the group in their digs for the odd board game.

Next morning was the self-service BBQ at the motel. This turned out extremely well given the casual arrangements made the previous evening. One group had the 7am shift and them walked over for the boat trip and guided tour upstream. The second group had the more acceptable 9am boat ride. As promised the dolphins swam alongside the boat, almost within reach. A very relaxing morning and not too cold.

On return we went through the logistics of fuelling up and then on the road home via the Clare instead of direct.

The forecast rain for Sunday afternoon arrived on time but Susan and I were home and garaged by them

All in all it was a most enjoyable and easy going weekend that went off as planned.

Our thanks go to Brian and Marie Steinke who planned the trip, made all of the logistic arrangements and provided the guided tours of the area enroute. Marie deserve a special Mention in Dispatches for getting that extra ferry service for us. I for one truly appreciate my sleep!

Des Long