We drove back to the station to see the sheep shearing. They have about 2000 sheep and shear them in the autumn. A team of 4 shearers come around and each man can shear 150 to 200 sheep each day. Each sheep produces about 15 pounds of wool.
He demonstrated on 3 sheep, just sat the sheep down and started. There was a pattern to it, belly first, then over to the side and around. The belly and leg wool comes off separately, but the rest is one big piece of fleece. The sheep didn't seem to mind any of it.
Then he classed the fleece by putting it on a table and separating the really dirty, matted parts into one bin. He checked the rest, testing it for strength and put it in the wool press. It took about 50 fleece or around 770 pounds. Most Australian wool is exported to China, but some also to Italy and the US.
They also offered us morning tea with scones, jam and cream - an unexpected treat.
South of Hawker we came across the Yourambulla Cave. This was another hike up a hill, then up a couple of ladders to the cave drawings. The paintings tell stories, but its difficult to decipher them.
We've had a change of plans. We have many miles to go and our time is getting short, so instead of driving to the Eyre Peninsula, we're going to head north. So we headed for Port Augusta to prepare for the trip. I got a haircut, the first one since we've been gone. We had our tires and fluid levels checked, got groceries and did laundry.
We're at the town motorhome park. We arrived after dark and the caravans and motorhomes are packed in, so we squeezed between 2 of them for the night.
Pictures - Hot air balloon, Sunrise over the Flinders Range, Dog working sheep, Sheep shearing, Sheared sheep, Classing fleece, Youranbulla Cave painting
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