Blogs from Flinders Ranges, South Australia, Australia, Oceania

Driving the tracks today. Arkaroola has constructed over 100km of internal tracks. They are definitely rougher and windier … very few ‘smooth’ sections, many rocky sections, dry creek crossings, dips, steep rocky, uneven inclines, declines of a similar ilk, rutted sections, crests and blind crest corners. Fortunately, we didn’t sight another vehicle until the final hour of our 6 hr jaunt, as passing would have been impossible in many parts. The Prado continually shook as did the passengers. Speed varied between 1kph to a max of 40kph. Coming to a complete stop was also common. Making up for the track conditions was the magnificent scenery featuring high granite outcrops rich in colour, mountain ranges blue in the distance, Sturt Desert Peas and the occasional emu. During our exploration we stopped at the Ochre Wall with its ... read more

As promised, it was an early departure. Headed to the Arkaroola dirt turn-off just before Blinman and headed out on the 60 odd kms for Chambers Gorge. The dirt road throughout the day was reasonably smooth, windy and with many dips, but extremely enjoyable to drive. We encountered many wild goats, emus, birdlife, sheep and station homesteads. Mount Chambers or Wadna Yaldha dominated the landscape. It has a round mesa sitting on top of the range like a giant flat pimple. The Indigenous people say it sits like a wise old man, keeping a close watch over country … a country alive with ancestors and dreaming spirits. A spiritual place. The signs explain how this is an engraving site and give lots of interesting detail on how to interpret the meaning of these engravings. Most of ... read more

On Friday night I set my alarm for 6am to make sure I wasn’t late for my 7am booking. Awake in the morning and ready with plenty of time to spare, I headed out to the airstrip for my scenic flight. There was a minimum of 2 people on the flights, so I had booked onto a flight that already had someone booked in. However, when I got there the other person (or people) never showed, so I was left with the option of missing out or paying for 2 seats. I opted for the latter – expensive, yes, but I hoped it would be worth it. The pilot Hugh was a pleasant chap and he said it was a perfect morning for a flight. A couple of clouds over Wilpena Pound, but no wind. And ... read more

Tuesday 9th August 2016 This morning we awoke to gray skies and the threat of a shower but we were not to be deterred from our morning plan which was to walk the easy Hills Homestead walk which took us for an easy stroll from the camp along the creek to the Hill’s Homestead. This building was restored in 1995 and with the interpretive signage tells the story of the first pioneer family to live there from the point of view of Jessie Hill the daughter of this family. From there we walked up to the Wangara lookouts from where you can actually see the “pound”, a huge valley surrounded by the ranges with the only exit along the river to the opening where we are camping. The 8kms walk and climb gave us all a ... read more

Well here we are on the road again! Welcome to our Travel Blog - it’s here for you to read if you so desire and we love to receive feedback and comments. This trip is for about 3-4 months, and we are travelling with two other couples, the Whitfields and the Baileys. We all have caravans capable of doing some rough roads and free camping i.e. we have solar panel/battery systems enabling us to stay off the grid for periods of time, shower/toilet facilities and reasonable fridges, our only limitation is water really. Our proposed route is the Flinders Ranges in Sth Australia, then on to Streaky Bay and across the Nullarbor. Then heading down to Cape Le Grand National Park and on to Albany for Anzac Day on April 25. We then plan to head ... read more