Today poor Greg awoke with a head cold. Not to let this derail our travel plans he armed himself with a box of tissues and dosed himself on cold and flu medication and set about preparing to travel north again. Our first challenge for the day was a nonstop 5km steady climb over the range. One of those times you can hear the engine guzzling the fuel. Taking a brief detour to see ‘The Great Wall of China’ we used the opportunity for a coffee break. This rocky outcrop sitting atop the range really did look like its namesake … only in miniature. Hoping for some fresh milk we stopped at the General Store in Blinman to be told they only stock ‘life-long’ milk. We already had some of that in the van, although it probably ... read more

It was another glorious day so why not another glorious walk? Following the Wilpena Creek to the Pound we walked beside the densely gum lined waterway. Large fallen trees wedged against the trunks of others were evidence of tougher times past. A bushfire in 1988 burnt many trees and weakened others. Followed by a flood in 1989 many of the weakened trees toppled and were washed down the creek. The incredible size of the wedged trunks could only leave us wondering about the power in the flood waters. After years of boom and bust, floods and drought the Smith family abandoned Wilpena for life on their other station, Bunyeroo where production was a little more reliable and conditions a lot easier. A narrow bridge allowing a small dray through the Pound entrance made the carting of ... read more

Breakfast done it was over to the camp kitchen to catch up on connectivity dependent activities … up loading our blog, down loading share market information, attending to emails and messages and finding out the latest world news. This seemed a popular activity at this time of day with at least a dozen others doing similar things. Next we headed out on the Kangaroo Gap and Pine Cave trail, some 6.5km. On our estimation we would be back for lunch at 2:00pm. A ‘spot on’ calculation as it turned out. Again we covered some awesome territory, much of it very different from the walk of the previous day. The first part of the trail seesawed between almost flat and long steady inclines taking us through pine tree thickets and flowering acacias. Of course no matter where ... read more

With a kitchen renovation underway at home and nothing much happening for 2 weeks while the bench tops are cut to size; we decided to head out in the caravan where at least we have a functioning kitchen. Knowing the Flinders Rangers is spectacular at this time of year and the days likely to be sunnier and warmer than at home, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. The van well stocked, we headed out of a chilly, gloomy Barossa early on Tuesday morning. We had the obligatory stop in Freeling to adjust the mirrors. Then on through fluorescent canola crops just beginning to flower, the richer gold acacias and the intense green of young grain crops full of harvest promise. Our first stops, fuel and Knappsteins in Clare to stock the cellar. Just a balmy ... read more

This day was Joan’s birthday! We headed to Burra to celebrate and this would also be our final night in the caravan before arriving back at the Barossa to store our van. Leaving Broken Hill feral goats were everywhere. Flocks were larger, closer to the road and showed little concern for the vehicles flying by. It is obvious the goats are more road savvy than many of the other animals that frequent the roadside as they just don’t appear as road kill. They are definitely smarter than kangaroos, which stupidly see fast moving vehicles as an invitation to race them, crossing the road before the vehicle gets there. We all know who generally wins. As the land became drier and more desolate so the number of goats decreased. Eventually emus became more prevalent, but thankfully stayed ... read more