A coach load of excited members departed the Grovedale Community Centre and embarked on a 12-day adventure starting in Geelong and journeying through South Australia and the Flinders Ranges. 

Highlights included the quirky Nhill Pinball Museum, vibrant Kaniva Silo Art, and scenic Dublin Lookout. Moonta Mines Museum, Kadina Farm Museum, and Wallaroo’s heritage sites. They travelled through Port Augusta to Quorn, experiencing the Arid Gardens and historic old Ghan Railway. They also enjoyed a ride on the Pichi Richi Railway and an evening sound and light show.

One of the final ports of call was to the Star Spanner Sculpture Garden in Boort. Boort is a town in Victoria, located next to Lake Boort, in the Shire of Loddon. Displayed in a beautiful country garden are over 25 unique life size and larger than life sculptures, including an iconic shearer, a family of deer, a pair of fighting stallions, a mallee bull, intricate garden seats and many more. The late John Piccoli made the sculptures by welding together antique through to modern day spanners. The tallest sculpture, “ The Marlin”, is over 7 m tall, weighs 1200 kgs and is made from 3500 spanners.

Dollton Abbey – a Doll Museum with more than 2000 preloved and new dolls collected over 25 years by local resident and 2020 citizen of the year Lucy Dacey.