Final Revision Itinerary may be subject to minor changes Date issued 6 February 2017 Graham Rodger Tag-Along Tour Introduction.

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1 Graham Rodger Tag-Along Tour Introduction. It Doesn t matter how careful or how thorough in our preparation for the itinerary for the tag-along, changes are inevitable. Often these are not our doing. We think we have everything under control and a phone call from one of our host venues puts the cat amongst the pigeons. For whatever reason they wish to cancel Graham's concert. If this occurs in a bigger town with the choice of several other venues, it is usually not a problem. However, more often than not it will happen at a smaller town that has only one suitable venue. This type of thing happens more frequently than you might think. It has occurred two or three times on every tag-along to date. It has happened already for tag-along 4 and we have made changes as best we can. Whilst on tour will receive a copy of our news sheet "Living the Dream" on a regular basis. This will provide you with explicit details of times of shows, relevant activities, etc. Any changes to the itinerary that may occur will also be published in "Living the Dream". Artists on Tour. Graham Rodger Swan Hill to Lightning Ridge. Laurel Calvert (Vocalist) Swan Hill through Cobar. John O Dea (vocalist) Nuriootpa Melrose and Peterborough. Laura Downing (vocalist, comedienne and yodeller) Bourke to Lightning Ridge. Rob Hopkins (Bass player) Swan Hill to Lightning Ridge. Trevor Tolton (Lead guitar) Swan Hill to Lightning Ridge. Alan Percy (multi-instrumentalist) Swan Hill to Lightning Ridge. Page 1

2 G day, Graham Rodger Tag-Along Tour 2017 It seems like yesterday we were on tag-along no.3 but here we are uploading itinerary and registration form for tag-along no.4. For those of you who have travelled with us in the past, some of the information below will be old hat, but for those of you who will be joining our tag-along for the first time, this information is very important. Please appreciate the format of this tag-along is quite different to most. For a minimal $260 per head you will receive: A season ticket to all Tag Along Concerts, giving you the opportunity of being regularly entertained by some of Australia s leading country music artists. The concerts will be different, as we have booked other high profile artists for different venues guaranteeing variety, freshness and superb entertainment. You won t be bored with what we ve planned. Entry into the Pioneer Settlement at Swan Hill - valid for 19th and 20 th of April but the optional evening light show will incur an additional $20 charge. A special more formal dinner/concert at Peterborough. Two special evenings at the Meet and Greet and the Farewell. The opportunity to explore the most incredible country on this planet. Numerous smokos and happy hours. A regular issue of our news sheet, Living the Dream, with full details of the itinerary for the next few days. Should your circumstances change after making your booking and you need to cancel, your registration fee will be refunded. Once you have registered for the Tag-Along you will need to organise: - Accommodation - we have supplied the information on all the caravan parks so you can decide where you wish to stay and make your own bookings. The Caravan Park we are staying at is listed in BOLD PRINT. It is not necessary to stay at the same parks as us, you may wish to free camp or choose another Park. The main thing to remember is to make your bookings early. Many of the places we are visiting are small and facilities are limited. As you would realise our Tag-Along will not be the only people wishing to stay in most of these caravan parks however there should be ample unpowered sites available. Please ensure you book well in advance if you require a powered site. Be aware that the first three towns in particular on this tour are in a very popular tourist belt along the Murray River. You can be assured that powered sites will be in relatively short supply. Our strongest advice to you is to book as early as possible. On some days activities will be organised for us to do as a group, other days free time will be the name of the game. On these occasions you can organise activities that are on your bucket list. There is a considerable advantage in organising our tag-along in this fashion as it allows you to build in as much flexibility as possible into your itinerary. Concert venue information is printed in BOLD ITALIC. We recommend you print (or download) this document and take it on the tour with you to be used in conjunction with our periodic news sheet - "Living the Dream" Page 2

3 Big 4 Riverside Caravan Park (2-night stay). Caravan Park has river frontage and is close to Pioneer Settlement Village. Google search: Big 4 Riverside Swan Hill. Wed 19 April Swan Hill 2 Alternatives: Big 4 Swan Hill Google search: Big 4 Swan Hill or Swan Hill Holiday Park Wednesday evening at about 5pm we will get together near the camp kitchen. Graham will be organising BBQ sausage and onion sandwiches. You may wish to bring nibblies, whatever you wish to drink and a chair. This will be your first opportunity to meet the band (The Jolly Rodgers) and your fellow tag-alongers. If you are not staying with us at this park, the owners are happy to welcome you to our meet and greet. Thu 20 Apr Swan Hill You will receive a complimentary 2 day pass by mail valid for entry into the Pioneer Settlement on Wednesday and Thursday. If you think you would like two days to fully investigate the settlement you may wish to consider arriving some time on the Tuesday to give you two full days in the park. The choice is yours, just remember to book your accommodation accordingly. Remember to be back in time for the meet and greet at 5.00 pm. Enjoy a daytime concert at Pioneer Settlement. (time tba). Entry fee to the Pioneer Settlement is included with your registration. A voucher to obtain your 2-day pass valid for Wed 19 and Thu 20 April will be posted to you. Present this voucher at the gate for entry and you will receive a complementary pass to permit you entry on the Thursday. Settlement is open from 9.30 am until 4.30 pm. Investigate the incredible exhibitions the village has to offer. Attend the concert at time tba and for a few dollars extra you can take a one-hour PS PYAP paddle-boat ride on The Murray. Departure time is 2.30 pm and bookings are essential. An optional evening light show is available at the settlement. We recommend that you consider attending this on Thursday evening. This comes extremely highly recommended but incurs an additional cost. Graham has organised a discount entry price, so on presentation of your tag along season ticket at the gate you will obtain entry to the light show for only $20 (normally $25). The show is on every night at You should be there by 7.15 pm for the pre-show illuminations. The show is 30 minutes in duration. More information at Page 3

4 We travel 262 Km, taking approximately 3 hours to arrive at Wentworth in the afternoon. Fri 21 Apr Sat 22 Apr Wentworth Wentworth Willow Bend Caravan Park (2-night stay). Caravan Park has river frontage. Powered sites will be in short supply so ensure you mention Graham and the tag-along and book early. Alternative : Fort Courage Caravan Park visitwentworth.com.au/business/fort-courage-caravanpark Friday afternoon and Saturday - free time. Probably the main highlight is the beauty of the rivers. It is at Wentworth that the Darling and the Murray Rivers meet. On Saturday morning at 8am at the camp kitchen Graham and Deirdre are providing a yummy pancake breakfast. At ten o clock on Saturday morning Ken and Louise will be outside their van selling tickets for the meal on the Thursday night at White Cliffs. As we need to notify the school with correct numbers, well and truly in advance, this will be the only time the tickets will be on sale. Many of our concerts are at bowling or golf clubs, where if you wish to you will have the opportunity to front up to their Bistro and purchase a meal. The concert at White Cliffs is unique as far as this tour goes in that the meal is being supplied by a very experienced committee who will be fundraising for their school. It is nice that at the end of the tour, having had a thoroughly enjoyable time ourselves we can happily say that in some circumstances we made a real difference. The White Cliffs concert on Thursday 4 th of May will be such an opportunity, so we ask that you give serious thought to giving it your full support. (The menu is a baked dinner with apple crumble dessert for $25). We have a concert arranged for Saturday night at the Wentworth Sporting Club at 7.30 pm. Tourist information: Page 4

5 Sun 23 Apr Nuriootpa Drive to Nuriootpa. 340 Km approximately 3 hrs 45 mins. This is our longest day trip on tour but we will be travelling through some beautiful country so sit back and enjoy. Expect delays in passing through fruit fly exclusion checkpoint. The fruit fly inspections are very important and very strictly supervised by representatives of the SA government. Apparently heavy fines exist for noncompliance. We will have full information on no go items available at Swan Hill. In the meantime, the details are available at We strongly recommend you do not do a big shop of fruit and veges before entering South Australia. Whilst in Nuriootpa Graham is staying at the Barossa Tourist Park (3-night stay) barossatouristpark.com.au (This caravan park has detailed visitor s information available) You will receive 5% discount on your camping fees if Graham's name is mentioned at time of booking. Nuriootpa itself was the first South Australian town established outside the bounds of Adelaide in the early colonial days. There are some very impressive examples of early colonial architecture. Mon 24 Apr Tue 25 Apr Nuriootpa Nuriootpa Activities you may wish to consider during our stay at Nuriootpa could include a visit to a winery on Monday. There are many local vineyards which offer wine tasting or conduct guided tours of the winery. Graham Smith, in conjunction with Graham Rodger will be organising a trip to Kapunda (about a ten-minute drive) on Monday. This town was the home of the great 'Cattle King', Sir Sidney Kidman, the man behind the story of Graham's Golden Guitar winning ballad "Looking Back". Apart from Sir Sidney, there are a stack of other interesting, historical locations to explore throughout the day. You may wish to incorporate all or part of the sightseeing at Kapunda with other personal preferences such as a visit to the wineries. These are just a few of the examples of the things you may wish to consider for your free Monday. You may even be interested in an R&R day, allowing your body to catch up with your caravan, or catching up on your washing or shopping. Tuesday morning there will be a local Anzac Day dawn service and march available for anyone wishing to attend. Marshalling to take place at the top of Murray St, marching down the main street to the RSL Hall. As you are a visitor to town and relatively unsure, it may be a good idea to arrive minutes early After our 2 pm concert at the Soldiers Memorial Hall at Nuriootpa it will be back to caravan park, a quick bite to eat or bring dinner with you as we celebrate one of the privileges of being an Aussie as our larrikin side comes to the fore and we get a game of 2 Up going. Page 5

6 Travel to Melrose 225 Km and about 2hrs 45 min. (This is a 1 or 2-night stay refer to notes on Thursday) Read all the information on Melrose before you make any bookings. Wed 26 Apr Thu 27 Apr Melrose Melrose The Melrose Caravan Park is at the foot of Mount Remarkable (at the southern end of the Flinders Ranges). Powered sites are limited to 38. Unlimited non-powered sites. They are prepared to put all 38 powered sites aside for us until February 2017 when any remaining will be open to the public. If you are to have any chance of securing a powered site you will need to mention Graham s tag-along when you book. Note: This is the only caravan park in town. Website: parks-sa.com.au/caravan_park/250 We are having an evening concert in the Melrose Hall at 7.30 pm. A free day to sightsee. Here are some suggestions for your consideration There are some brilliant hikes available up Mount Remarkable from Melrose but you will need to be quite fit. You might consider a drive through parts of the National Park; Alligator Lookout and Gorge Lookout as well as the Blue Gum Flats picnic area come highly recommended. There is an entry fee of $10/8 per vehicle payable at the council office in Melrose. If you are a train enthusiast, you may wish to consider travelling to Peterborough Thursday morning to give you the opportunity to take in the train exhibits and/or shows at Steamtown. This is complicated, but we will do our best to explain it. (Things you may wish to consider) Spend 2 nights at Melrose taking in the National Park at length on the second day. Spend Wednesday at Melrose, first thing Thursday morning head for Peterborough where you may consider a guided tour through Steamtown ($17.50) followed by the daytime Sound and Light feature movie ($15) and at night the star attraction is the Sound and Light Show ($20). See a 90 second promo video of the Sound and light show by going to Steamtown bookings are essential and can be made on Graham is trying to arrange an increase in the number of night shows and the possibility of obtaining a price cut. At this stage, this information is unavailable. The night light and sound show holds a maximum of 38 people per session. One session has been reserved exclusively for our tag-along so make sure you identify yourself as part of the tag-along when you make your reservation. There are possibilities of a second session should the need exist. The earlier you book, the less likely you will be disappointed. Page 6

7 The drive to Peterborough is 110 Km and should take about 1 hr and 20 minutes. Staying at Peterborough Caravan Park Website: kuiparks.com.au/parks/sa/item/peterborough-caravan-park. Fri 28 Apr Sat 29 Apr Sun 30 Apr Peterborough Broken Hill Broken Hill and Silverton An alternative: - The FREE Peterborough RV Park is now open for use. Located at the western end of town, opposite Steamtown is a fenced, 1.5-acre generous parking area. According to the council website you must be fully self-contained. No water or power available but at our request the council is looking at the possibility of providing portable toilets In the evening we will have our one-and-only more formal night for the tour. Graham and Deirdre have arranged a special dinner/show in the evening. Gentlemen please, collar and tie, coat optional. Ladies to dress accordingly. Peterborough is a very historic town and is renowned for its train museum which is considered to be one of the best in the country. See their website at The trip to Broken Hill is 280 Km and will take about 3 hrs. Graham is booked in Broken Hill Tourist Park (This will be a 4-night stay). Alternative: Lakeview Caravan Park Tourist Information Centre Our evening concert will be held at the Musicians Club at 7.30 pm on Saturday night. Great news folks! The show at the Silverton Hotel is back on the agenda. It is just a 25km drive of about 20 minutes on a sealed road from Broken Hill. It is our understanding that unless the coffee shop has re-opened, the pub is the only place you can buy lunch, so it will need to be a counter lunch or bring your own for a picnic lunch. I am so pleased that the show is back on the agenda, it promises to be a fabulous day. The show will be early pm exact time in "Living the Dream". More information on Silverton can be found at Page 7

8 Mon 1 May & Tue 2 May Wed 3 May Broken Hill White Cliffs We now have two days to discover how fascinating a town Broken Hill can be. You will fill in two days very easily. It will also be an ideal opportunity to catch up with some domestic chores. Some of the things offered at Broken Hill; if you are into art in a big way, there are more than a dozen art galleries to keep you entertained. If, however art does not rank highly on your bucket list, we still strongly recommend a visit to the Pro Hart Gallery and Jack Absalom Gallery. In any case don t miss taking in The Big Picture in The Silver City Mint and Art Centre located at 66 Chloride Street. A visit to the Slag Heap Lookout is well worth the time. All sorts of things can be discovered at the top including unbelievable views and a memorial to those who have died in the mines. Meals or refreshments are available, but last time we were there they were quite expensive. Another interesting place to visit is the Flying Doctor Base. Probably on the Monday evening we will have a happy hour get-together at the Tourist Park camp kitchen area. Right throughout the tour, specific details as regards things like happy hours will be brought to you via an issue of Living the Dream, a short publication which we will produce approximately twice weekly to ensure you are always up-to-date. For more information on things that might interest you, refer to Some of the more adventurous members of the tag-along may wish to use these two days for a quick trip up to the remote towns of Tibooburra and Milparinka, travel through some picturesque country where the dinosaurs once roamed, discover some history on people like Charles Sturt and Sidney Kidman. Then you would meet up with the rest of the group as you travel down and we travel up to White Cliffs. This trip could be a bit of a challenge as a fair amount of dirt road travel is involved. It will not be everybody s first preference, but if it is for you go for it There is a lot of flexibility being offered here, just remember all bookings, especially accommodation are your responsibility. Keep in mind that if you change your itinerary it may require you to cancel reservations already made is the phone number for the caravan park at Tibooburra. Today we move on the White Cliffs. 270 Km and about 3 hrs on a sealed road. Staying at the one and only White Cliffs Caravan Park. (2-night stay) Contact Rob and Shirley Dyson (limited power allocated for medical requirements). No bookings accepted unless you require power for medical reasons. Page 8

9 Alternative: - Free camp with long drop toilet at the opal fields (about 2 Km from town). No showers. An interesting offer as an alternative to towing your van all the way to White Cliffs would be to take the Warrawong on the Darling (Wilcannia) people up on a special offer. They also own the underground motel at White Cliffs and are offering us the opportunity to travel from Broken Hill to Warrawong, unhook your caravan, leaving it at their park for two nights free of charge, then you can continue up to White Cliffs for a 2 night stay in an underground motel. The first ten caravan owners to take up this offer will be given the opportunity to leave their van hooked up to power for those 2 days. Unfortunately, due to minimal powered sites only 10 vans can be guaranteed power. If you wish to empty your fridge, or leave it running on gas, then the offer is unlimited. They are also offering the opportunity for 10 more vans to be hooked up to power at the motel if you wish to take your van up to White Cliffs and still have the experience of staying in the underground motel. There is no charge for leaving your van at either location if you are staying in the motel. On the Wednesday evening a mixed pizza, pasta and salad buffet will be available at the motel for $22 per head prior to the concert. Food will be available from 5.45pm allowing plenty of time to be ready for the concert at 7.30pm in the motel grounds. To book for dinner contact the motel on If you are staying at the motel on Wednesday night, rooms are $149 per couple which includes bed, continental buffet breakfast and includes the buffet dinner above. Room rate on the Thursday night is $127 per couple and includes bed and continental breakfast. Bookings for a room at the motel are essential Page 9

10 Thu 4 May Fri 5 May White Cliffs Wilcannia This is a fascinating little town that we are sure you will enjoy poking around. It is an opal mining area offering plenty of opportunity for you to fossick if you so desire. If you are looking for opal jewellery, this could be your opportunity to pick up a bargain at one of the galleries. This is a town renowned for its beautiful clear nights, providing an opportunity for incredible star-gazing For more information, refer to the website White Cliffs will be the only opportunity we have to be hosted by the locals for a meal. Baked dinner with apple crumble dessert for $25. Saturday morning at Wentworth at 10 am at the Louise and Ken s caravan will be your only opportunity to purchase tickets for this meal. This is a small struggling town and this is our opportunity to help out the local school with a fund-raiser. Please note that we can accept cash only and your support will be greatly appreciated. Tonight s concert will at the rear of the White Cliffs Pub at 7.30 pm. The meal will be served before the show Drive south to Warrawong on the Darling Caravan Park (3 km east of Wilcannia). 70 Km and 50 minutes Warrawong on the Darling. 40 powered sites and unlimited unpowered sites Please advise the office if you are taking up the offer to leave your van at this caravan park for the two nights we will be at White Cliffs so that arrangements can be made. Concert in the evening at the caravan park. A camp oven dinner plus dessert will be available for $25/head. Bookings essential and can be made at reception on arrival. This is promising to be a real highlight of the tour. We have spoken to so many people who have stayed there personally and have given absolutely rave revues on the park. For further information on this town contact Dale at the council on Page 10

11 Travelling to Cobar. 260 Km and 2 hrs 40 mins. Sat 6 May Sun 7 May Cobar Bourke Staying at Cobar Caravan Park You will receive a 10% discount if you mention Graham and the tag-along. There are 100 powered sites, so as long as you don t leave it too late, there should be no problem securing one. Remember however, some of these will be taken by other people travelling, so book asap. An evening concert at the Bowling and Golf Club at 7.30 pm. Travelling 168 Km to North Bourke, taking approximately 1 hr and 45 mins. (3-night stay) Staying at Kidman s Camp (at North Bourke, 8 Km north of Bourke itself). Refer to Please note that this park does not accept bookings. Caravans are accepted in the order they arrive. Alternative: Mitchell Caravan Park (1.5 Km out of town back towards Cobar). Website: Bourke Information Centre The evening concert at Diggers on the Darling from 6 pm then a break and concert to resume from 7.45 until 9 pm. This restaurant comes extremely highly recommended by locals. We have had a detailed look at the menu and it looks very impressive. Prices vary from $30 for a steak to a Smoked Salmon and Avocado Salad for $15.90 or Wild Barramundi, Chicken Schnitzel, Pasta of the Day, and several other things in between. Mon 8 May Bourke A free day. Things for your consideration: Back O Bourke Centre. You may purchase a 2-day pass including a boat trip on the PV Jandra (9.30 am or 3.30 pm) on the Darling for a discounted price of $30 when mentioning Graham and the tag-along. We have heard rave reviews about the Back O Bourke Centre and highly recommend it to you. Page 11

12 Tue 9 May Bourke Tuesday morning free time followed by Games in Bourke s Backyard concluding with some entertainment from our Ukulele group. Further information of when and where will be published in the issue of Living the Dream. Wed 10 May Thu 11 May Mt Oxley Station Brewarrina A short 40-minute drive towards Brewarrina to our next night s stay on a working property - Mt Oxley Station. During the day check out the property. Mid-afternoon Graham and the Jolly Rodgers will entertain us with a concert at the base camp. After the concert you can head up to the top of Mt Oxley to watch the sunset. You may wish to bring some nibblies, a beverage and a chair. If nature turns on its charm at sunset, this will be one of the most memorable nights of the tour. More specific details will come to you through Living the Dream. A drive of approximately 100 Km will get you to Brewarrina and you should be there by lunch time. Staying at Beds on the Barwon at Barwon Waters (2-night stay) Alternative: 4 Mile Camping Area. Free camp with toilet and cold shower. (internet search for 4 Mile Camping).Town officials recommend that you be very vigilant if you decide to free camp. For information on things to see and do refer to the council website: The grounds highlighted by the river at Beds on the Barwon Caravan Park look so impressive that we doubt you will wish to go anywhere. Brewarrina Information Centre Information Centre highly recommend visiting the ancient fish traps and the Aboriginal Museum. Fri 12 May Brewarrina After doing our own thing during the day we will meet up at the local RSL Club for a concert Page 12

13 Today we travel north to Lightning Ridge. 212 Km 2 hrs and 20 mins. Graham is booked into the Opal Caravan Park (3-night stay) Sat 13 May Sun 14 May Mon 15 May Lightning Ridge Lightning Ridge Lightning Ridge Our final formal concert will be at the Bowling Club at 7.30 in the evening. Things to see and do: Chamber of the Black Hand. An opal mine and art carvings tour - John Murray s Art Gallery - johnmurrayart.com.au Make sure you pack some swimmers so you can enjoy a visit to the Artesian Bore Baths (free admission and open 24 hrs a day). Your body will be forever grateful. More info at the Information Centre lightningridgeinfo.com.au If you don t do anything else whilst in Lightning Ridge, don t miss the Chamber of the Black Hand. These last two days you will have free time in the morning to enjoy Lightning Ridge, doing your own thing. Midafternoon and evenings for both days are not yet fully finalised but they will be organised around fun and friendship. Refer to your copy of Living the Dream for detailed information. Monday evening will take the format of a farewell as we get-together to relive many of the memories we have created on our tour. At the end of the tour, probably on the Tuesday, Graham will be heading off to south-west Queensland to Eulo for the wonderful festival Music in the Mulga. If you think you might like to join him all the information you require can be found at This information is accurate to date. However, the exact itinerary is not always in our hands. We will be doing our best to limit any chances. However, we cannot guarantee there will be none. It is very important that you keep your eye on Graham's website on a reasonable regular basis as that is where any changes that do occur will be posted. In the meantime, if you wish to join us on what is promising to be a fabulous tag-along tour in 2017 you may register by following the instructions on Graham's website. Page 13