Blogs from Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges National Park, South Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 2

We have blown our accommodation budget here in Hawker, staying in the Big4 Caravan Park (Hawker Caravan Park), but have enjoyed the time of rest. The kids have been focused on their project and math books and enjoy dipping in the pool and playing in the playground (especially Cody, who is addicted to slides). We were unsure as to whether to tour the Flinders at the start of our trip or at the end, and figured that there is no time like the present. We were concerned that after seeing the wonders of the Alice and the Pilbara we would figure nothing else would compare and would skip it in favour of a quicker return home. We are so glad we decided to see this land now, as we have really enjoyed seeing it and spending ... read more

The first place we stayed at was Ouyen. We left in the morning to go to Mildura. When we got to Mildura we had a look around and then we went up to Renmark. We stayed in Burra Creek Gorge Campground for the night. We had a campfire. We left in the morning to go to Flinders Ranges, and we stayed there for a night. In the morning we left to go to Wilpena Pound. We had a massive walk to it and there were a lot of interesting things there. Stayed at Rawnsley Park for the second night. We are going to leave to go through Flinders Ranges and go up.... read more

Adelaide will always be special to me, as that's where we met Bruce, our first camperoo. And so you all heard it here first folks, five months of mostly only talking to one another and we've finally cracked and begun to anthropomorphise our vehicles. But to Bruce, a mere five years old and already travelled over 275,000 kilometres carrying tourists of all shapes and sizes the length and breadth of Australia. Bruce is a 'cheapa campa', in other words the poor man's campervan, but don't think that he's cheap, no, his mosquito nets may be broken and his paintwork slightly worn, but he was a trouper and when we discussed our itinerary with him - 2,600 kms in a week - his engine purred and he obliged. First off we navigated the city traffic, which to ... read more

The main attraction in the area is the Flinders Ranges National Park, in particular Wilpena Pound, a natural rock amphitheatre formed by a giant serpent in Aboriginal legend. My first day there was overcast, and the walk to Waranga Lookout resulted in a fine view over the Pound but, creaturewise, only a solitary roo, an emu, and a few small birds. The trip to Sacred Canyon was quite different. It was along an unsealed road, which left the (red) car covered in orange dust, and almost shook the filling out of my sandwiches. This is precisely the sort of road that's specifically forbidden in the rental contract, given the risk of the paintwork being chipped. I passed any number of kangaroos, bouncing around in their peculiar fashion. They also have an endearing way of shaking their ... read more

We did a lot in the past week. Probably as much in one week as Les and I did in our first month here. As a result, and since this blog is first and foremost my way of recording our time down here, these will be some LONG blogs. I’ll be posting three in all, but I’ll caption them. So if you feel like you’d like to read about Flinders Ranges, you can skip to that section, or you can skip it altogether. I hope this way those of you who read in five minute breaks here and there will have some nice ‘break length’ snippets. Adelaide Our flight to Adelaide took place in two parts, and both went about as you’d expect given we were flying with a toddler. The only exception was that on ... read more