Thursday
24th Sept 2009 - Day
22 - Nutt Bush Retreat (Between 'The
Gutta & Iron Knob)
The
day started well with the sun out and sky
blue. First thing I noticed was that Joe & Pat Vella were
gone. Found out later they were headed to Adelaide for the
weekend and would catch up in Rawnsley Park. Today we will be travelling to Nutt Bush Retreat which is a
bush Caravan Park situated at Pandurra Station a working sheep
and cattle station about 40 kms west of Port Augusta on the Eyre
Highway. Our first stop this morning would be a rest area near
the Goyder Line, that line that separates agricultural farmland from
grazing country, as determined by the rainfall. Lunch time
saw us in Kimba ,the 'geographical halfway 'point between Sydney
and Perth. It is also the home of the 'Big Galah'. After
lunch some of the group walked through the Kimba and Gawler Ranges
Historical Museum near the Grain Silos. Others walked through
town and found the Craft Shop. Whilst we were waiting outside
the Museum, a horse carrier came along and stopped near us. The driver
got out and asked if any of us could help walk the ponies onboard
the truck. A few minutes later saw Malcolm, Sue, Geraldine
and myself walking ponies on the grass to give them a feed and time to
do ablutions. We all thought this was great and Helen took lots
of photos. At 2 pm we were off again heading to Iron Knob
about 80kms away. Chris & Rhonda's 'cruiser' wouldn't start.
Battery had gone flat due to equipment being left on whilst the
vehicle was stopped. We continued on our way whilst Chris
organised to get a boost start. He finally got his vehicle mobile and
caught up when we got to the rest area outside Iron Knob.
He continued on to the Retreat to get the best charge to
the batteries. We all lined up and drove through Iron Knob for a
Captain Cook before heading back on to the highway to Nutt Bush.
We finally arrived there around 4pm. After setting up camp
we had our Happy Hour in the Recreation Room. Veronica and Nell
led us in an Aussie Sing-along of old Aussie Ballads.
Afterwards we all headed back to the vans for dinner and a quiet night.
Out here the stars are bright and clear on a cloudless night.
Sue's Birthday in Wudinna!
Geraldine, Horse Whisperer!
Lunch break in Kimba
The Bakery, Kimba
Friday 25th Sept 2009 - Day 23 - Quorn
We
had a breakout early this morning. Malcolm, Helen, Sue & Gary
decided to make a dash for the 'Gutta' for some shopping. They
were followed by Ron & Beverly and ourselves shortly afterwards.
We made good time. Chris and Rhonda passed us on the way ,
charging the battery!! Then came Jack & Ann. By the
time the Tag a Long left Nut Bush the convoy had been halved. The
arrangement was that when we all were shopped out we would meet behind
the BP south of the causeway by 1130am when we would all head for
Quorn. I refuelled at the Coles Express and then showed Jack where
to park for the Shopping Mall. Did some quick purchases in Big W
and then made our way to the coffee shops for our morning cappuccino.
By 11am we were finished shopping and headed for the BP. We
all departed for Quorn on time, Malcolm & Helen , Tom & Nell
missed the BP and continued ahead of us spearheading the assault on the
CP. The drive through the Pitchi Ritchi Pass was pleasant
although the weather caught up with us and it started to rain. By
the time we reached Quorn it was squally. The winds were
increasing in strength but the sun broke out occasionally.
We were set up quickly and paid our fees. After lunch some
of the group went into town,.... someone had found a craft shop again!!
The weather got colder and windier towards evening. The
Happy Hour was a crowded affair in the open-air camp kitchen.
Another group was there having a BBQ. Everyone was rugged
up with warm clothing and some wearing beanies. Outside
temperature about 10c. The party broke up around 6pm and everyone
headed back to the warmth of their vans. We welcomed Theo,
Maureen & Lilly to the group as they join us for the next stage of
the Tag a Long. Theo is the Branch Secretary for the Southern
Cross Overlanders. Power overload tonight
as the heaters were switched on, no doubt! Watched the NRL semi
finals tonight, EELS v BULLDOGS, ... EELS won.
Electric blankets on tonight.......
Main Street, Quorn.
Building in Quorn.
Enjoying the coffee break!
The Coffee venue.
Quorn Railway Station.
Commonwealth Railways Diesel/Electric Train
Saturday 26th Sept 2009 - Day 24 - Quorn
This
morning the weather has only improved slightly. Temp around 7c
when we woke up. With the wind chill factor it's probably around
3c. Today we are having a quiet morning followed by our Pitchi
Ritchi Train ride to Pt Augusta. ($75 pp). At 10am we all
walked to the Quangdong Cafe Coffee Lounge in town for morning coffee
and cakes. Everyone enjoyed their lattes, cappuccinos, flat
whites, chai tea and assortment of cakes and pastries, Yumma!
We wandered back through the town looking at buildings
that were familiar to us through Aussie Films made here. Films
such as 'Robbery under Arms', 'The Shiralee', 'The
Sundowners', 'Sunday to Far Away' and 'Gallipoli' are just a few of the
films that were made in the town or the area. About
1:30pm we who were booked on the train ride, wandered over to the
Railway Station to wait for the boarding call. The train left Quorn at 2:30 pm. The Pitchi Ritchi
Train ride is a great way to see the beauty of the Flinders Ranges as
it meanders through the hills and valleys crossing dry creek beds over
old latticework bridges . The journey took two hours and we
enjoyed the scenery and took photos at various locations.
The train finally arrived in Pt Augusta around 4:45pm, where a bus was waiting for us
to take us back to Quorn. We arrived back at the CP around 5:15pm
just in time for the nightly briefing and Happy Hour. A BBQ
dinner finished off the night. Geraldine and I headed back
to the van to watch the BRONCOS v STORM game. The STORM
unfortunately, obliterated the BRONCOS knocking them out of
the finals. Oh well, maybe next year!! :-( Sadly also, some of the
group are leaving at the end of the weekend and heading back home.
Veronica and the Tardis head back to Victoria in the morning. Malcolm,
Helen and Jack the dog head back to Adelaide on Monday morning. Happy trails
folks!!
The Pitchi Ritchi Train
Boarding time!
View from the train
The Flinders Ranges.
Cosy train carriage!
Dennis & Therese missed the train! :-(
Sunday 27th Sept 2009 - Day 25 - Quorn This
morning we bid farewell to Veronica and her Tardis 'A' Van. A sad
occasion which brought tears to our eyes. We lined up in a Guard
of Honour and waved goodbye with the net bags that were a gift from her
after our sing-along in Nutt bush Retreat.. Safe travels, Veronica!! Mid-morning
and it was time to visit the Coffee Lounge again. Very busy this
morning, with the start of the school holidays. Geraldine, Sue,
Gary and I decided to go for a drive after coffee so that we would be
back before the STURT v GLENELG preliminary final game in the
afternoon. We decided to do the Warren Gorge/Buckaringa Gorge
Tourist route out of Quorn. The road was graded gravel and in
good condition. First stop was the Dutchmans Stern
Conservation Park which is one of the most popular walks in the
Flinders Ranges. The rain interrupted our quest for the walk so we
headed back to the vehicle and drove on to Warren Gorge. Warren
Gorge is home to a family of Yellow-footed rock wallabies. It is
also a fantastic camping spot, and if you are careful you should be
able to get your van in. No power or water. We drove up to
a lookout after passing through the Gorge and took some photos of the
surrounding landscape. We saw no wallabies but the other group
who came after us saw a couple of them in the rocks. We then
drove on to the Buckaringa Gorge Lookout and visited Hugh Proby's
grave. Proby was a son of an Earl who came out from England
to run a station. He was drowned in a flooded Willochra
Creek in 1852 after attempting to round up a mob of stampeding
cattle. Willochra Creek is one of many gost streams in the
Flinders ranges that materialises very quickly after heavy rain
and floods sometimes for kilometres over the Willochra
Plains. Next stop was the Simmonston ruins, a couple of
buildings that were commenced when the railway was moving north but
which failed to develop because the rail line went in another
direction. Abandoned before it even started. On to the
Kanyaka Ruins, the remains of the Kanyaka Station Homestead part of a
large sheep station totalling 945 square kilometres in 1856. Only
a few stone walls remain now. After a tea break there we headed
back to Quorn along the Quorn/Hawker road. We arrived back in
time for Sue
to watch the SAFL game. In the
evening we had a happy hour and Geraldine and I hosted a Trivia
Night that was won by Geoff & Nancy. Veronica also called in
by phone to let us know she was in Renmark and missed the group.
The Happy Hour was followed by a
BBQ dinner for some and a home cooked meal for others. Tomorrow we pack up and head for Rawnsley Park CP.
Warren Gorge
Geraldine, Sue & the Prado
Mourning at Proby's Grave
Scenery from Buckaringa Lookout
Kanyaka Ruins Homestead
Kanyaka Ruins
Panorama of outback near Simmonston Ruins.
Warren Gorge.
Monday 28th Sept 2009 - Day 26 - Rawnsley Park CP
Departure
day for Rawnsley Park Station CP. We were all ready by 9:45am.
We said farewell to Malcolm & Helen as they departed for
Adelaide. We gave them a guard of honour with fly spray cans, as
a reminder of the incident in Elliston where Malcolm thought he was
spraying cooking oil on the bacon and eggs he was cooking, but instead
was spraying fly spray on to them. Helen had given him the wrong can!!
Theo calls out , flat battery. We tried the thumper but
not enough power. The big V8 Holden Statesman's engine would not
fire up. Geoff said he would get the jumper cables. I said
no worries, I'll bring my Ford Falcon Forte sedan along and we would
kick that engine into life. And we did, the Ford Falcon had
no problem starting the big V8. So, suffice to say the old
Ford v Holden jokes were flying!! Theo went looking for a new
battery in town. After Theo refuelled and had a new battery
put in we were on our way. The trip to Hawker was uneventful and
we all drove into the rest area by morning tea time. We had a look
around Hawker and had lunch in the local cafe. Around 1:30pm ,
Joe & Pat turned up and rejoined the group. They had spent
the night in Nut Bush retreat and driven up that morning after
spending the weekend in Adelaide. By 2pm we were on our way
again. The landscape changed as we came closer to Rawnsley
Park from open pastoral lands to rugged hills and bushland.
Rawnsley Park CP is a couple of kilometres off the main road and
requires access via a gravel road. We all turned up at the same time
and the entry road was blocked till the fees were paid and we
were allocated a site. We soon had the van parked and set up.
I helped Sue set up her annex and then it was time for the
Happy Hour. Entertainment tonight was from John & Margaret.
They conducted a true or false session where each couple
told a story and then the others guessed whether it was true or false.
Afterwards we had a roast dinner provided by all the women of the
group who did an excellent job of cooking all the meat, vegetables and
potatoes. This was all organised by Nancy who planned it
all. Thanks to all for a wonderful dinner. Evening was
spent relaxing in the van.
Brachina Valley
Morning Tea Bunyeroo Valley
Emu in Flinders Ranges
Bunyeroo Valley
en-route
Afternoon Tea in Blinman.
Bunyaroo Valley.
Tuesday 29th Sept 2009 - Day 27 - Rawnsley Park Up
early this morning so that we could get ready for the big tour of the
Wilpena Resort, Bunyeroo Valley/Gorge, Aroona Valley/ruins, Brachina
Gorge, Parachilna and Blinman circuit. Also, we
needed to do the washing before all this. So we were busy little
bees getting all our chores done. We finished the wash just in
time and hung it out to dry for the day. We left around 9:30am
and travelled all day, with morning coffee at a rest area in the
Bunyeroo Valley at the Yanyanna Huts. Lunch was in the
middle of the Brachina Gorge. The scenery was breathtaking and
we took lots of photos at various lookouts. We stopped at the
Parachilna Pub for a break and Gary & I and a couple of others had a cold beer to wash
away the dust. Onwards to Blinman where we stopped for Devonshire
Teas at the local Coffee Lounge/Cafe. There were lots of campers
in the various gorges that we went through. Just when we were
ready to depart for home we found that we had a flat tyre on Sue's
Prado (which I was driving, so I got the blame) which had to be
replaced. A number of us got stuck in and we had the tyre changed
in record time. Then on to Wilpena Resort to top up with LPG
before making it back to Rawnsley Park in time for a briefing at
6pm. Geraldine and I were invited to dinner at Sue & Gary's
van for the evening. Some enquiries found the nearest repair
facility for the tyre is Hawker 40kms down the track. If we can't
get it repaired tomorrow at the CP we will probably get it done
on the way to Oororoo on Thursday.
Aroona Valley, Flinders
Ranges.
Dust Storm in Rawnsley Park CP
Waiting for the Storm to pass.
Leaving Rawnsley Park CP
Rolling clouds over the Ranges.
Wednesday 30th Sept 2009 - Day 28 - Rawnsley Park It
remained warm overnight so no need for the electric blankets. A
lazy start to the day, with most of us sleeping in. We had a
cooked breakfast from the BBQ which was very filling but nice, Yumma!!
Sam had the tyre repair kit out early and fixed the puncture but
when Geoff tried pumping it up it soon became evident that there
must be another puncture somewhere as it would not hold the pressure.
Sam found another hole that he plugged but that one would not
hold under pressure if the wheel had to be used. So, it looks
like another tyre or a look see by professional tyre repair people who
may be able to patch it. Mid morning word had got around to
expect strong winds and dust in the area and a recommendation to put
rollout awnings away. Geraldine & I had the awning
stowed in record time. Tom & Nell went on a flight this
morning over the Pound and said on their return that there was lots of
dust and wind between here and Hawker. Morning coffee in the BBQ
area. The rest of the day was DIY as the dust storm settled
in for the afternoon and blocked out much of the ranges.
Geraldine & I had a nanna nap in the afternoon with the A/C
on to keep us cool and to keep the dust out of the van. The dust storm persisted till the
evening, then the winds died down. The 5pm Happy Hour was in the CP
Camp Kitchen. We had an early dinner cooked on the BBQ. In
the evening Pat & Joe cooked pancakes for everyone
which was very much enjoyed and appreciated by the group.
After the desserts, some people played cards whilst others played
board games. We headed back to the van to relax before bed
time.
