After thanking the mechanic for his input to my tyre solution, I headed off along the Port Wakefield Road/Princes Highway towards Kadina, on the northern Yorke Peninsula. After a few kms I turned off onto the Copper Coast Highway. Copper mining boomed in the 1860s in Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo, after a shepherd noticed traces of copper on a wombat burrow. Skilled Cornish miners worked the mines and the area became known as 'Australia's Little Cornwall', and is home to the largest Cornish festival in the world.
There were a lot of trucks and not much shoulder to ride on, until the Yorke Highway turnoff, then there was a decent shoulder and the trucks reduced sigificantly. David from Moonta who I'd met during my tyre quest the day before stopped to have a chat.
The Hummocks Range which was a steady climb to 176 mtrs, provided great views over the wheat fields (the other export that helped to develop the region's riches). The weather was cool and the climb seemed effortless compared to my Mawson Trail attempt. The Yorke Peninsula is still one of the richest wheat and barley regions in the world.
I had lunch in the tiny township of Kulpara at the top of the range and another chat with David from Moonta, before continuing onto Paskerville and Kadina where I stopped to get a new tyre. Then I headed off to Wallaroo, where I got a bargain room at the Weeroona Hotel for $30 including breakfast (the same price as an unpowered tent site at the caravan park!)
Had dinner at the bar and met Charlie a grain truck driver and learned about the problems in delays in delivering grain to the Wallaroo silos and queues of sometimes 4 hours.
