Blogs from Parachilna, South Australia, Australia, Oceania

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Parachilna August 18th 2008

A totally different proposition from our previous excursions into the world. Life has come to a crossroads with a redundancy, after 15 years of corporate existence and the next 8 months was the result. I’d had a lot of time “gardening” to hatch a plan. I don’t think we were looking to "find ourselves" or necessarily running away from anything - it was just an opportunity that presented itself and there was a desire to see if we could pull it off. There was no desire to discover a missing tribe (although we did encounter a long lost relation, that we didn't know about before we set off) and I didn’t want to spend the next few months worrying about getting robbed or worse. We settled on starting in Australia - it had been 11 years ... read more

Alice to Adelaide

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Parachilna November 17th 2007

This Sunrise is Just Ducky!

swissmaple

So it turns out that my flooded-out tour ended up being my last tour for Adventure Tours. I had one more week in Alice Springs, which I used to party and say some good-byes. Then I hopped on a 6-day tour to Adelaide. Yvette and I had arranged it so we'd go down together...yay! We had a great group, even if they didn't all appreciate our choice of cheesy oldies and Aussie music. The first two days were devoted to King's Canyon and Uluru / Kata Tjuta. I was excited to go back to King's Canyon after a week, and even more excited to see that there was still water in the area, including in King's Creek (but thankfully not on the road!) and in the canyon. We even saw waterfalls at the canyon! A few ... read more

Longest train in the world

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Parachilna June 29th 2007

Train track at sunset

Berb

Up bright and early for the start of our outback safari from Adelaide to Alice Springs...3000 KM!! ...glad someone else is driving especially since we are driving NE right into the sun. We were also pleased that only 10 people signed up rather than the typical 24, so we have plenty of room in the bus to spread out and relax. We are headed to Parachilna by way of the Flinders Ranges National Park. Our first stop was for some wine testing in the a little pub. There signage best represents the Aussies sense of humor and speak frankily about the most practical issues of life. Lunch at a public picnic area at the side of the road. In AUS they provide a gas grill which is coin operated and make cooking easy. We are ... read more

Heysen trail - Parachilna gorge

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Parachilna October 8th 2005

The first marker of the Heysen trail

SA hiker

A personal highlight of the trip for me was to walk (however briefly) the first part of the Heysen trail at the Parachilna Gorga. Since turning 40 I have had a plan in the back of my mind - to do as much walking of the Heysen trail (1200 km long!) where and when I can. This long range trail goes from Parachilna Gorge in the Flinders Ranges to Cape Jervis in the South. More information .... We had a break in the 'all day grazing' at the Parachila Pub, renowned for its feral animal menu, before heading east into the Ranges. When we arrived at the Parachilna Gorge and the start of the trail, the weather was still bad - very windy - Peter and Dan didn't even get out of the car! No matter, ... read more

Oodnadatta track to the Flinders Ranges

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Parachilna September 8th 2005

Sunrise on the Flinders Ranges

On Thursday morning, we joined the Oodnadatta track which follows the old Ghan railway. We stopped at the Coward Springs for a dip in a spring caused by a leaky pipe from an artesian bore (there's loads of water in the outback it's just a long way down and very old). We also saw Lake Eyre South (a huge saltlake) and some very strange junk sculptures in the middle of nowhere. We travelled through Lyndhurst (start of the Strzelecki track), visited an open cast mine at Leigh Creek Coalfield and stopped at Copley Creek for a Quandong pie. From there the terrain started changing as we entered the greener region of Flinders Ranges. We stayed the night in bunkhouse accomodation (the temperature had started to drop pretty much as soon as we left the Oodnadatta track ... read more

Parachilna. Population: 2

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Parachilna June 12th 2005

Parachilna.

Bon Bon on the Go Go

Climbing Mt. Ohlssen. Cardio system tested. Big trek up and down. Wow! We got to sleep in ‘til 7 this morning since our departure time was set for 8AM. This morning’s task was to trek up Mt. Ohlssen of the Flinders Ranges. It was a bit of a steep trek up but worth it once we made it to the top. We encountered a couple of poisonous snakes in the bush and upon closer inspection there was also an echidna in the bush as well. Stupid Mr. Sleep-in decided to throw a rock at the snakes so we had to hightail it out of there pretty quick just incase they got irritated at "us" and decided to strike...what an idiot... By the time we got to the top, rested and took in the views and made ... read more

Brief history of Australia

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name...more history

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