Taplan Railway Centenary Celebrations part 6
Click to enlarge
This interpretive sign was placed in position near the plaque celebrating the centenary of the opening of the railway line through Taplan, south east of Loxton in eastern South Australia. (Click to enlarge the image.)
The Taplan area in the Murray Mallee region of my state is a predominantly cereal growing area, supplemented by sheep and cattle. The opening of the railway line in 1913 accelerated the growth of the town and the surrounding farms. Its introduction meant quick access to markets for the products produced, as well as easy transport of farming supplies needed.
When I was growing up on my father’s farm in the 1950s and 60s, the town was still a busy community. Every day on my way to school and home again I would walk past this very spot where these signs now stand. The school was a one room, one teacher rural school with about 30 children attending. It closed many years ago and the few children left in the community now go to school in Loxton by bus.
The interpretive sign shown in the photo below shows an aerial photo of Taplan taken in the 1960s. It shows my father’s farm homestead in the lower right hand corner of the photo. Our farm is shown as the cleared land in the lower part of the photo – of course, this was only a small portion of the whole farm which stretched several miles in either direction east and west of the town, and about a mile to the south, some 2000 acres in all.
Aerial photo of the town of Taplan
An encounter with a local in Morocco
A local boy and his donkey
At one point as we were traversing the Atlas Mountains our guide asked our driver to stop on the side of the road so that we could get out and take a few photos of the scenery. As soon as we stopped one of the local boys rode quickly up to us on his donkey. Because he had a number of large plastic containers strapped to his animal, I assumed he was on his way to fetch some water for his family.
It turned out that he an entrepreneurial streak in his character. As soon as he arrived he insisted on being paid so that we could take his photo. I think some of the touring party obliged. We also gave him some dates we had bought the day before.
Negotiating with a local boy and his donkey
Our tour bus and the tour group in Morocco
Rural scenes in Morocco
Rural scene in mid-eastern Morocco
As we journeyed through mid-eastern Morocco I took what photographic opportunities I could manage through the window of our mini-bus. Sometimes this was not successful and occasionally I managed to get reflections from the glass, but most of the time I took reasonable shots of the rural landscape.
As we travelled in a generally south easterly direction from Fes we went through some mountainous areas as well as flat plateau farming areas. The further east we travelled the less that the land was actually cultivated. Instead we saw numerous examples of people living a semi-nomadic lifestyle, tending to their large flocks of goats and sheep.
Sometimes we saw farmhouses and shedding like those shown in the photo above. On other occasions we saw extensive dwellings which looked like tents. Frequently we saw people tending their animals like shepherds in centuries gone by. They seemed to wander far from their dwellings and certainly in some quite remote localities. Like shepherds have done for millennia, they have to wander from one food source to the next.
Rural scene in mid-eastern Morocco
White Storks in Sefrou in Morocco
White Stork in Sefrou, Morocco
I don’t normally post photos of birds and write about them here on this site. I usually do that on another of my sites, Trevor’s Birding. (I’d love you to visit – and even leave some comments too. Click here to go to that site.)
Despite that general rule I sometimes write about birds here and this time I couldn’t resist showing these photos of a pair of White Storks (I assume they are a breeding pair) on their nest on top of the local mosque in the town of Sefrou near Fes in Morocco. It is quite a magnificent nest an so photogenic, especially against such a beautiful blue sky.
White Stork in Sefrou, Morocco
Children in Sefrou near Fes, Morocco
Children in Sefrou near Fes in Morocco
On our wanderings through the town of Sefrou near the city of Fes in Morocco, I came across these children playing in the street. I thought they might be like all children and eager to pose for a photograph. This group was a little different and were somewhat reluctant.
Eventually they did line up for a photo.
Perhaps the language barrier had something to do with their reluctance, but I eventually communicated what I wanted them to do.