On our way to the Port Pirie regional council this morning, we met Dylan who eagerly held the peace touch and wanted to know all about the run.
Then we met with Port Pirie Mayor Brenton Vanstone. He graciously welcomed us to the city and we talked about the values of peace and his concerns for the world.
Then off down the road we ran to Solomontown Primary School where we were greeted by two of the school captains ...
... who ran with us into the assembly hall where the whole school cheered us in.
Everyone happily sang with us ...
... and then held the Peace Torch, joining millions of others all around the world.
After the school we headed out of town, with Baigal, our newest recruit from Mongolia, leading the way ...
... followed by Oyungerel, our other Mongolian who is now a one-week veteran of the team.
Our girls team ran in two shifts today: our morning run out of Port Pirie was all smooth sailing.
While our girls team had been attending meetings in Port Pirie, our first boys van had been warming up ...
... and leaving a sign so the girls team knew where they could stop running.
Then it was down to business ...
... the serious business of mileage.
The top of the Spencer Gulf is the gateway to one of Australia's richest mining regions. Servicing this booming industry, the roads abound with trucks of varying shapes and sizes – anywhere from huge to enormous.
Steve reflects on the journey ahead ...
As we rounded the top of the Spencer Gulf, we left the Flinders Ranges behind and finally started to head westward ...
This pipeline ran alongside the road for most of today's journey. Steve thought there might be fewer trucks this way ...
While waiting for our runner, Adrien found a soccer ball, and started what any self-respecting French boy would do ...
... though he was about to learn an important lesson ...
... better to practise your skills further away from the 'unusual smelling' estuary alongside the huge smelter ...
... he paid the price, but got to keep the ball!
Our runner arrived, oblivious to the drama which had unfolded while he was out ...
Only last week, the town of Port Augusta was saddened by the death of their beloved Mayor of 30 years, Joy Balluch AM. Already the main bridge through the town has been named in Mayor Balluch's honour, and we were privileged to carry the Peace Torch across here today.
Deputy Mayor of Port Augusta, Cr Phil Greagan met us in front of the Council Chambers, where he was overseeing preparations for Joy's funeral to be held tomorrow, for which several streets will be closed and many dignitaries visiting from Canberra and interstate.
Cr Greagan was fulsome in his appreciation of the Peace Run, and gave us a letter to take with us to Canberra on our return.
Attending the meeting was Ryan, reporting for the "Transcontinental" newspaper of Port Augusta.
By now our second boys van, who had been waylaid for the morning with lunch preparations, had joined us.
We regretted that our time in Port Augusta was so brief, as we would have loved to have spent more time to fully appreciate this welcoming community.
We did have time after our meeting with the Deputy Mayor however, to visit Augusta Park Primary School ...
... where we would find a new way to present the 'continents' game.
Our meeting started inside the gymnasium ...
The children here were full of eager energy ...
... and intensity.
The Certificate of Appreciation was accepted by several members of the SRC (Student Representative Council).
After our presentation indoors, the Torch was brought outside and the flags for the various continents were set out around the oval. The object of this game is for the children to have their "passports" stamped at each continent so they can prove they have run around the whole world.
There was quite a queue at "Europe" today ...
This game is a lot of fun, it also burns off a lot of energy!
Heading towards Whyalla, with our first boys team having finished their kms for the day, our second boys team finally got to run!
It was perfect running weather and for the first time we had a slight tail wind for our evening kilometres. We even noticed a sign pointing out and mentioning Perth, which seems such a long way away still.
As well as trucks, there are plenty of trains, long trains in these parts ...
Our first boys team now had time to indulge in some photography. Here's Steve lining up ...
... Antara-Prabhat. Here he comes ...
... and there he goes!
The roads are tending to become straighter now.
Here's Steve again ...
... lining up ...
... The road ahead.
While the boys were attending to meetings in Port Augusta, the girls had leap-frogged ahead and were forging towards Whyalla.
We were warmly greeted at our evening's accommodation spot, Whyalla Caravan Park, by proprietor Kerry and her sons Jesse and Jonothan. Thanks very much to them for offering us space in their Park for the night, your generosity is much appreciated!
After we had set up our tents ...
... there was time for a visit to Whyalla's beautiful waterfront.
Some of our team are staying at the Whyalla Foreshore Discovery Holiday Park, where Hannah could not have been a nicer hostess!
The New Whyalla Hotel has kindly sponsored our stay for some of our girls team in Whyalla tonight. A big thank you to Bobbi and the team.
