Left ‘The Hill’ this morning and had a leisurely drive (284 ks) through stunning scenery, ranges of varying characteristics on either size of the road.    We had taken the trouble to ensure that we did not have any fresh fruit and / or vegetables to take into South Australia but there were no checks, presumably the fruit flies were on holiday!

Peterborough (our night stop) was, historically, a significant railway junction and this history is reflected in the town and its surrounds, the Tourist Information Office is a railway carriage, there’s a steam engine in the main drag and a rail museum.   Unfortunately, the town no longer features largely in the rail system and is going the way of many country towns with its closed shops and empty houses.   There are however, several nice buildings, including this hotel building.

Tuesday 26 June

We leave Peterborough at around 1000 with an ominous looking mist to the south; is it coming this way?

In fact we have lovely run in the sunshine to Hawker, with the ranges on our left looking to rival the Flinders, in size and character.

We have already seen that the SA has the edge on other states when it comes to road signs and these two approaching Hawker certainly maintain the standard. 

 At Hawker we plan to raid the Tourist Information Office based in the service station, but we don’t really find what we need and decide to have lunch instead, I have an egg and bacon roll, which is really good – can’t remember the last time I had one.

The weather conditions get even better as we head towards Parachilna with the Flinders becoming more and more impressive as we head north.

At Parachilna we turn off the tar onto the dirt for a 17 k run into Angorichina, a 10 min stop to let the tyres down and we’re into bends and wet creek crossings as we climb a little way up into the Gorge.

By the time we reach our destination in the middle of the gorge it has clouded over but is not that cold, so I actually sit outside with my cup of tea –  a first since we left WA!

 We plan to stay here for three or four nights and explore the area.

Wednesday 2 June

So today we had a leisurely day touring around (without the van on the back) drove down to Parachilna and booked dinner at the Prairie Hotel (more later), before heading a few ks south to Brachina Gorge.   These gorges are less spectacular than those in the Pilbarra but have their own special character.   As we drive up the gorge there are storyboards that explain the geophysical characteristics and age of the rocks in each area and the fossils.

On our way out of the gorge there is a track off to Aroona, where there are the ruins of a sheep station building and huts.   On the way we see a couple of Euros (no you change them for dollars) they are small kangaroos or, if you prefer, large wallabies, which are very common.   We were looking for the yellow footed wallaby that also inhabit these parts but all we saw were emus.

At the top of the valley stands a homestead made of pine and pug with mud plastered walls inside, built in 1925, which has been given a new roof quite recently.  The main homestead at Aroona was built about 1853 with stone and pine which is now in ruins up the hill near the spring.  Conditions were harsh and the people prepared to live here weren’t necessarily the best people for the job.   Nevertheless, John Hayward came to Aroona having arrived in Australia with 40 pounds in his pocket and returned to the UK 11 years years later with 40,000 pounds, he was obviously a smart cookie with his sheep, as many others perished in the attempt to make any money at all!

We had lunch, ‘a sandwich with a view’ up near the ruins and then went on our way absorbing the beautiful scenery as we went.

Tonight we went out for dinner as mentioned previously, to the Prairie Hotel, which is famous for its excellent use of feral animals.   The Feral Antipasto and the Feral Mixed Grill are not to be missed, beautifully cooked and served in a hotel, which is almost the only building on the road between Hawker 100 ks to the south, Leigh Creek a similar distance to the north, virtually nothing for literally 100s of ks to west and only isolated small hamlets to the east, Blinman (population 23) being the nearest 32 ks away.  Tonight there are 8 diners, apparently last night the restaurant was full and there were people waiting in the bar for a table!

Pat to insert what we ate! 

In addition the wine cellar was very good and a very nice Shiraz Grenache went down rather well.   We might’ve been tempted to order a bit more but the thought of a 17k drive back up into the hills on a fairly rough track through 9 creek beds, moderated our thinking. This was certainly a meal we won’t forget –  very tasty.

Thursday 28 June

Today our objective was Wilpena Pound, a world famous geological formation, which looks like a crater (volcanic or meteoric?) but which was formed by movement in the earth’s crust.   Essentially the walls of the pound rise up out of the surrounding country, itself fairly mountainous, with a dish shape inside the walls.   The early settlers used it for containing animals, hence ‘pound’.

After enquiring at the Visitors Centre with regard to access to the pound and having discovered that there is none really apart from a fairly challenging walk to a lookout and then not particularly good views, we decided to treat ourselves to a flight over the Pound and surrounding ranges as the weather was very favourable.  

It was spectacular and helped us realise just how big this formation is (17ks x 12ks) and how it and the other ranges fit into the overall landscape of the Flinders.   These photos don’t do it justice but our own images will stay with us for a long time – we hope!

After that there was not much to say except, ‘it’s time for a glass of wine’.