Week 14: Adelaide SA - Flinders Ranges SA

 Stats Overview

Km's Travelled: 784

Km's Hiked: 18

No. of Campsites: 3

The Adventures

We have made it to the Flinders Ranges and what a beautiful part of Australia we have found ourselves in! And, in even better news, it appears we have finally made it to the sunny part of South Australia! We are both enjoying the warmish, sunny days although, the diesel heater has been getting a good work out as the overnight temperatures are a little on the chilly side. However, after a few weeks around the coast it has been a nice change to be in the outback.

We started our week in Adelaide where we got some work done on the caravan. The van has not had a proper service yet and, as we will be hitting some dirt roads and remote areas in the coming months, we thought it would be best to have it looked at. Fortunately, the van is in good condition so hopefully we won't have to wear too many repair costs in the coming weeks! While we were in Adelaide we didn't do too much sightseeing as we spent a lot of time doing mundane tasks such as planning, preparing and buying supplies for the next chapter of our adventure. We spent a lot of time on these jobs as we won't be seeing any major retail stores until we arrive in Alice Springs, which will not be for a few more weeks. Although we did take some time our to visit Will's family and to see the city and Glenelg beach. 

Our first point of interest after leaving Adelaide was to visit the small town of Laura (I couldn't not go!). It is quite a small town with its drawcard being it's the home of the Golden North ice cream factory, which has just celebrated its centenary. After doing the tough job of sampling their ice cream, it did not surprise either of us how long they have been in business, as their product was very creamy and delicious! Unfortunately we seem to have lost our self-control as we are now buying their ice creams every time we see them...which seems to be quite regularly!  After Laura, we headed a little further north to the small community of Murray Town where we based ourselves for a few days. We spent some time exploring Mount Remarkable National Park with the highlight being the hike through Alligator Gorge. We also visited the Wirabarra Range Conservation Park, where we ended up on a greater adventure than we had originally planned, as Google Maps got us lost on all the back roads through the park. Will has now learned the lesson to follow the signs in country areas rather than Google Maps, as it isn't always right! Although we did see a lot of animals on our adventure, especially deer, which was fun! Wirabarra Range is also home to the King Tree which is a giant River Red Gum believed to be around 400 years old. As you will see in the photos below, it is certainly a very large tree! We also visited Quorn and completed the Dutchman's Stern Hike which has some incredible views across the Flinders Ranges and the Spencer Gulf. We have also gotten a lot fitter on the road as we completed this 10km hike in just over 2.5 hours! (The recommended time to complete it was 4-5 hours so obviously we can now eat all the ice cream we want!)

We are now staying at Merna Mora which is a large scale sheep and cattle station located nearby to Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges. We will spend the next few days here exploring the area before we make a move towards tackling our first off-road adventure along the Oodnadatta Track.

Kodak Moments

Playing the tourist - Glenelg Beach

My kinda place - Laura

Beautiful silo art - Wirabarra

Not quite tall enough to see over the top - Alligator Gorge

Will making sure he would fit through "The Narrows" - Alligator Gorge

Trying out the local watering hole - Melrose

Really cool wood carving - Wirabarra Conservation Park

The King Tree (can you see me at the bottom?) - Wirabarra Conservation Park

Sunset over the Spencer Gulf - Wirabarra Conservation Park

These views make the hikes worth it - Dutchmans Stern

It will be a tough few days waking up to this view - Merna Mora Station