Wimmera to the Flinders Ranges

Wimmera to the Flinders Ranges 30th August - 10th September

We left home on a sunny morning and set up camp at Horseshoe Bend in the Little Desert National Park, Dimboola, on the Wimmera River. We took a walk along the river and checked out the next campground.  Part of the park was burnt by bushfires last year, which caused significant damage to the environment, but it is recovering, and you can see new banksias rising from the ashes.

Horseshoe Bend Campsite

Wimmera River.

On Monday, we spent the day walking around town, had a chat with a Pacific National employee about the freight trains at the Dimboola Station and then visited the painted Silos at Akona, about 10 km from town.

Farm machinery made by local Blacksmiths.

Would you trust Linda to drive a train?

Treasure.

Akona Silos

We stopped off at the Dimboola Hotel, had a couple of drinks, then returned to camp and cooked our tea over the campfire.  The sky was clear, and we did some stargazing.  

The Vic.

Ghost sign

Bush Telly.

Milky Way through the trees.

On Tuesday, we drove to Mount Pleasant in the Adelaide Hills, stopping off and walking around Kaniva, Bordertown and Tailem Bend on the way. Driving through the Canola.

We arrived in Mount Pleasant as soon as it started to rain. Not a BBQ tea tonight, just a meal at the local pub.

Canola.

On Wednesday we visited the National Motor Museum at Birdwood; they have a great collection of milestone and prototype Holdens. We took the scenic drive back to camp via Gumeracha, where we visited the Big Rocking Horse (a place to separate tourists from their money), then Cudlee Creek,  Lobethal, Mount Torrens and back to Mount Pleasant.

Bugatti's

Holden Hurricane.

Holden Efijy.

Birdwood Mill.

I don't think that surfboard will work.

Birdwood Primary School.

One for the families.

We left Mount Pleasant and the rain behind. On our way to Melrose, we stopped at our favourite bakery in Balaclava for what we consider the best Meat pie in Australia. A short stopover in Crystal Brook to stretch our legs, then on to the Melrose showgrounds. (The caravan park in town is on the Black List.) After setting up camp, we made a visit to the local Brewery. A lovely old building and atmosphere, but unfortunately the Beer quality was lacking and very expensive. 

Mount Pleasant campsite.

Crystal Brook Museum.

Crystal Brook.

Melrose Brewery.

Today dawned to the sound of rain on the roof. It's a bit like being inside a drum. We took our brollies for a walk into town for Brunch through the sheep paddocks. The water levels from the recent rain have dropped, but there's plenty of evidence of where it's been.

Three points of contact.

No wildflowers, but the Salvation Jane looks good.

Some great old gums on the walk to town.

The rain continued through the night with gale-force winds.  The caravan was jumping all over the place.

We packed up and moved on to Quorn, one of our favourite towns.  It was a day of washing, collecting firewood and getting ready to head to the Flinders Ranges.  It has stopped raining but still pretty windy.

Quorn Institute.

Old school.

Quorn Main drag.

Powel Garden

Digger.

We were up bright and early to catch the Pichi Richi Railway.  When we arrived at the station, they were loading the horses onto the train. The riders and horses travelled to Woolshed Flats, then rode back to Quorn via the old Ghan route through Devil's Peak.

It was a beautiful day with sunny blue skies and no wind. The scenery was perfect.  The gongoozalas were out and about following the train and taking pictures; even the ABC got involved, as the horses were a major attraction.

Horses on the train.

The Engine.

Let us Off.

A view out the window.

Gongoozlers.

Unloading at Woolshed Flat.

Ruins.

We returned to Quorn after a few hours and stayed in Hawker for the night before heading into the Flinders Ranges.

From Hawker, it's a short drive to our camp at Dingley Dell campground in the National Park. Unfortunately, many of the tracks and walks are closed after the recent rains.

We stopped off at the Wilson ruins and a few lookouts on the way. After making camp, we walked along the creek and wandered around the Aboriginal rock art trail.

Wilson Cemetery.

Salvation Jane.

The creek behind camp.

The creek behind camp.

The creek behind camp.

This means a good place to camp.

The weirdest sunset. It looked like an LED.

Wildflower Day. There are lots of wildflowers out at the moment. But a lot of them are introduced weeds.

They took a bit of finding.

The King of wildflowers. Sturt Desert Pea.

Blue Pimpernel (Weed)

Australian Holyhock

Rosy Dock (Weed)

Silverleaf Nightshade (Weed)

Great wall of china.

We went into Wilpena today hoping some of the walking trails had opened up. Unfortunately, most are still closed. All the creeks have turned back into a trickle, but looking at the amount of debris, they must have been raging torrents a few weeks ago. We managed to get halfway to the Homestead before we couldn't get across the creek.

Logs blocking the track.

It's hard to imagine how much water was flowing.

Stopped off at the Appealinna Ruins on the way back to camp. There is a natural spring that runs even during drought. The spring caused considerable conflict between the pastoralists and copper miners over the years.

The Salvation Jane is a spectacular weed.

Mine managers' house.

Homestead.