There is an interesting yearly tradition in the country town of Strathlbyn, a short drive from Adelaide. It is called the Great Duck Race. I haven't never seen it before now, despite living in Adelaide since 1994!
I decided this year would be the year, especially since Steamranger has a special train from Mount Barker to Strathalbyn on December 1st to allow people to go to the race and return without having to drive there!
I pre-booked the tickets and turned up at Mt Barker station in the morning, ready to experience this event with my wife.
Given we are well into bushfire season, Steamranger doesn't use the steam locomotives for this journey. Instead we have the classic Red Hen train and consist, as used on the Adelaide Metro train network until the 1980's.
These carriages were infamous as they don't have air conditioning in them, which meant that when they were in active service, the doors used to be kept open to allow fresh air into the train while it was in motion!
Of course that would never be allowed today, and so we all open the windows in the carriages so we get some cool air!
As we set off, we are given a programme showing the Great duck race schedule and location in Strathalbyn.
They also give us all a numbered rubber duck. More on why shortly!
There is also a Christmas market running alongside the race itself, so it promises to be a great day.
As always, the train travels through beautiful countryside on the way to Strathlbyn.
Steamranger also runs a service that continues all the way to the coastal town of Victor Harbor, which I have been on several times before and it is very enjoyable.
Along the route we also spotted a few kangaroos:
We arrived in Strathlbyn on what is just such a beautiful day.
I love the train head board on the front of the train. Sets the mood nicely!
As we walk into Strathlbyn town centre from the railway station, I note these duck containers in the restaurants to hold the salt, pepper and sugar - very cool!
As we arrived at the event, we can see they have installed piping along the river banks that runs through the centre of Strathlbyn. This is the contain the racing ducks.
We arrived before the races started, so we took a look around at the Christmas market nearby, with lots of stalls and a local band playing Christmas music.
So, let's talk about the duck race.
The great duck race is a large pile of rubber ducks placed into the river, and they travel from the start line to the finish line within the river. Each duck has a number, and you can buy raffle tickets with one or more numbers allocated to you. The train trip included a number for each passenger, but you can buy additional numbers up to the maximum number of ducks in the race!
Since there is normally more people than ducks, they run several heats for lower prize money, to give everyone a chance to enter one of the races during the day.
As you can see, there are a lot of ducks! However, if we had to wait for the ducks to move down the river, under the bridge to the finish line beyond, we would only have one race in the day! So, behind the ducks is a man in a boat and a leaf blower, pushing the ducks along!
I had to laugh at this point, as the ducks on the edges blow around all over the place!
The piping on the river finishes at a narrow point, with a small finishing line at the end. The top three ducks are removed from the water and the numbers read out. If the number matches one you bought in the raffle, you win a cash prize!
The 1st place prize in the main race is $1000, so it is worth giving it a go! All money raised is for local charity work in Strathlbyn, so it is for a good cause also.
In between races, some interesting boats float along the river, made by the locals.
WE went to a local cafe for lunch and looked around the many very large antique shops, which is one of the things Strathlbyn is well known for. It is always fun to look through them.
Time for the Great Duck Race, the main event of the day.
There is a large number of ducks in the main race, and with $1000 on the line, plenty of attention!
Sadly we didn't win the race, or finish in the top three in any heats, but we had a great day out and it was really fun!
I highly recommend going to the Great Duck race in Strathlbyn if you get the chance to!
