We really wanted to go to the
Southern Flinders ranges, particularly to see Wilpena Pound, but with the
predictions of it being mid to high 40s from tomorrow for a few days we
decided the best way about it was to make a day trip out of it. It was about
300km to the Wilpena Pound, and about 350 to Whyalla where we wanted to end up
so we were up and in the truck by 6:30am! It was a massive shock to the system
as we usually don’t get out of bed until 8 or 8:30! We dropped the van at a
servo just outside Port Augusta and headed to Hawker the closest town. Once in
Hawker I decided to only get enough diesel to get us back to Port Augusta as there
was a 20c/ litre difference in the price of diesel.
Due to the extreme temperature all
of the walks in the park were closed so we were resigned to sitting in the air
conditioned comfort of Izzy – Bugger! I am positive the views from the top of
the range, especially of Wilpenna Pound, would have been a lot more impressive
than the ones we looked at from the lookouts but I think it was a pretty good
compromise!
From Hawker we headed into the
town of Wilpena, which is just on the outside of the ‘pound’ or the circular
range that it is. While we didn’t do a
flight over it, I think it is probably the only way to truly appreciate it, so
I borrowed this picture so you know what I am talking about!
We then headed up to Hucks and the
Stokes Hill lookout. From Stokes Hill we calculated we were only 608 kms, as
the eagle flies, from Queensland, the closest we will be for about 4 months!
Soon we were off to Buneyroo Gorge
which is along some pretty rough dirt roads so we let the tyres down to 30 PSI,
making it a lot more bearable. It was quite different to other places I have
visited as you drive down the base of the gorge for the length of it. The base
is covered in rocks and I imagine when it rains, if it ever rains, the road
would be 2, 4 or 6 meters underwater.
We stopped for lunch in one of the
deserted camp grounds in the only shade we could find.
The seats were flat boulders that were almost too hot to sit on. I mentioned it would have been cool to have an egg to see if it would have cooked and Sam suggested we try a bit of cheese to see if it melted. We then set up an experiment with a piece on a rock and another on a metal BBQ plate. Thought the cheese on the rock would melt first as the rock’s mass was larger, Jack and Sam went for the BBQ plate. We didn’t have to wait long as a minute and a half later the cheese on the plate looked like it had been under and heavy duty griller for 10 minutes. It was bloody hot!
The seats were flat boulders that were almost too hot to sit on. I mentioned it would have been cool to have an egg to see if it would have cooked and Sam suggested we try a bit of cheese to see if it melted. We then set up an experiment with a piece on a rock and another on a metal BBQ plate. Thought the cheese on the rock would melt first as the rock’s mass was larger, Jack and Sam went for the BBQ plate. We didn’t have to wait long as a minute and a half later the cheese on the plate looked like it had been under and heavy duty griller for 10 minutes. It was bloody hot!
We wondered over to a funny
looking area where the rocks had disintegrated and looked like iron filings and
it felt like we were walking on the bouncy rubber stuff you find in kids
playgrounds. We followed the lead and found some small rocks and graffitied our
family initials!
Happliy back into Izzy we headed
onto Brachina Gorge, which you drive at the base of like Buneyroo, but has
massive sheer walls that tower over you. It was pretty awe inspiring and I had
a bit of fun climbing a rock face to catch a good picture. The small problem
was that the rocks were so hot they were burning my feet through my thongs and
on the way back down I couldn’t hold onto the edges with my hands so I had to
slide down it like a slippery slide!
I put a bit of a video together as a summary of the range and the surrounding area.
 |
| Taken by Sam! |
We had planned to do a couple of
walks so we were about 4 hours ahead of schedule when we got back to Hawker. I
threw another $15 worth of diesel to be sure we would get back to Port Augusta
and headed off. Now I am not sure if it was the head wind that had blown up,
that I was using cruise control or that I was driving at 110km (the speed
limit) but by the time we reached Quorm, 40ks from our destination, I knew we
would have to fill up. The only problem is that the servo closed at 2:30 (it
was Sunday) and the time was 3:30. Fortunately we had taken out the super
dooperest RACQ cover possible so we called the AAA and about an hour later the
nice bloke opened the station up for us. I had to laugh, as I was getting out
of the truck to put the diesel in I asked De whether I should put $10 or $15
in. I only wish I had the camera ready to capture the look on her face! So
after filling it to the brim, and the boys getting a free ice block to boot, we
headed off, picking up the van on the way to Whyalla on the Eyre Peninsula that
runs all the way to the WA border.
We camped at the local footy club
and got a hot chook and chips, from the “Bottle and Bird” a drive through
bottle shop that is also a drive through greasy spoon, serving burgers, fish
and hot chooks – now there is an idea whose time had come! (Kev - I think one of these would work a treat in Toowoomba)
It wasn’t long before we were in
bed after covering around 750km in today’s searing heat!
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