DAY 8 CEDUNA-WILPENA POUND (FLINDERS RANGES)

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DAY 8 CEDUNA-WILPENA POUND (FLINDERS RANGES)

“The Eagles” and “Dire Straits” helped us cross the Eyre Peninsula today. We did not sleep well. It resulted in early rising and early departure; however, the overnight dew was extremely heavy resulting in the canvas being totally wet. We wiped down what we could reach and knew that packing a wet canvas would have repercussions on arrival. Our hands were freezing from the wiping.

The fog was thick and stayed with us for the first 200 odd kms until we reached Kimba to refuel ($2.25/L). Kimba is a rural service town on the Eyre Highway at the top of Eyre Peninsula in the state of South Australia. There is an 8-metre tall statue of a galah beside the highway, marking halfway between the east and west coasts of Australia. Disappointingly, the feet of the galah were in maintenance. The word "kimba" is derived from the local Aboriginal word for "bushfire", and the District Council of Kimba's emblem reflects this in the form of a burning bush.

It was pleasant driving conditions weather wise right through to our destination, Wilpena Pound, also known by its Adnyamathanha name of Ikara, meaning "meeting place". It is a natural amphitheatre of mountains located in the heart of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. The area is part of the Adelaide Geosyncline. The highest peak in the Pound, also the highest of the Flinders Ranges, is St Mary Peak (1171m). We plan to complete a hike tomorrow … which one we’ll decide once we see how we feel. Driving in we could see that the wall of mountains almost completely encircles the gently-sloping interior of the Pound.

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