From Koalas to an outback Christmas

Marnie and I, wish all our interested readers a very merry    Christmas and a happy and healthy new year!

We are 40 km from Port Augusta at a place called Nuttbush retreat. It is a working cattle station with caravan park and some cabins. It has an excellent camp kitchen in which to cook our roast lamb for lunch tomorrow. At present, there is only one other camper here, a lone man . Hopefully he will join us for lunch tomorrow.
It was really sad to hear about all the homes burnt down in Port Lincoln. Thankfully we were a long way away by then, in Wuddina, 200km up north. The temperature is much cooler today so the bush fire threat is not so bad.
We left the beautiful Mikkira koala sanctuary and headed for Coffin Bay, lower down the peninsular. This is a magnificent series of waterways and beaches, blessed with aqua blue waters and fine white sand. The caravan park had vacancies up to the new year, so we were able to pay one day at a time till we felt ready to move on. We ended up having 3 nights and only left on the 4th day as the forecast temps were over 40C and our booked boat cruise (to see the dolfins and eat fresh oysters) was cancelled due to the gusty northerly winds.  While here, we drove into the National Park, as far as possible on the sealed roads. The bulk of it is only suitable for 4WDs . The beaches are stunning but dangerous for swimming.We also walked along the oyster track which goes around the bay for 12 km and is very scenic. (No we didnt do the whole track!) Coffin Bay is famous for it's oysters , but sadly I didnt get to try any.
On the drive up to Wudinna, it was getting hotter by the minute and by lunch time it was 43.6C and very windy with dust flying everywhere. Probably the most unpleasant day yet. The van park was attached to the Gawlers ranges Motel so in a flash of brilliance, we decided to take an airconditioned room to ride out the heat. What a blessing that was.
So this is as far west as we are going on this trip and it just about coincides with our half way date 20th Dec.
Now I suppose you could say, we are on our way home, all be it, slowly.
Wudinna is close to the Gawler Ranges, but again, mostly only good for 4WD. We were able to go 7km out of town the next  day (much cooler) to see the second biggest monolith in Australia called Mount Wudinna (second only to Ayres Rock) and quiet impressive.
Wudinna did not seem to be the ideal place to spend Christmas day, so, on we drove stopping at Kimba, a town that boasts that it is  half way accross Australia. Blind Freddy could see by the map that it is not, but apart from the big galah, it is probably its only claim to fame.
We ended up at the Nuttbush retreat and so, it is here that we will spend Christmas day 2009.
I forgot to mention we have to get the awning replace (on insurance) When we were in Cowell, on the East coast of the Eyre peninsular, on a hot windy day, the awning nearly took off, with the RV attached and us in it!!. Since then, we have been unable to retract it fully. We had it looked at in Port Lincoln, but they suggested we replace it. Now we need to find the right place to do the job. The insurance company has approved it, but it may be a while before everyone gets back to work.
Vicki

Sleaford beach, near the koala sanctuary

Coffin Bay

The wharf at Coffin Bay

More Coffin Bay

One of the beaches in the National Park

Kangaroos in the caravan park at dusk

The Big Farmer at Wudinna (it is 8 meters tall)

Marnie on her way up Mt Wudinna

Mt Wudinna from afar. It doesnt really show its huge size in this photo

Marnie being a bit of a Galah! At Kimba

Kimba's claim to fame.

The Flinders Ranges to The Eyre peninsular

We are now in the Eyre Peninsular, towards to pointy bottom end, at a place called Mikkira Station. It feels beautifully like the ends of the earth, tho it is only 23 km from Port Lincoln, but far enough to be out of Next G Telstra range and of course our phones are out of range too .
But I digress… Back to our last day in the Flinders Ranges .We had a wonderful 5 hour 4WD tour of the area.. There were just the 2 of us and the driver. It gave us a great overview of the gorges and ranges, taking us in, around, over and through them. It was very informative and enjoyable, though a little rough at times. We got to see the rare yellow footed rock wallaby, Emus a plenty, Euro roos, Big reds and Southern Greys. The next day, after packing up to leave, we drove the short distance to the airport and took a 30 minute flight over Wilpena Pound and the surrounding area. What a treat to see it from the air.
After much deliberation about going to Parachilna, because of the 32km of dirt road, we decided to bite the dust and go. TMH is not too fond of rough roads, but we are so glad we went. The urge to see a tiny outback town with a population of only 5 and one building, the Prarie Pub, was almost overwhelming. It was tarmac all the way to Blinman, ( Population 40) then dirt the rest of the way. It was pretty bone shaking stuff, narrow , winding and fantastically scenic, and well worth it . The bikes on the back , had to be seen to be believed . Heavily laden in red dust. This town was definitely one of the highlights of out trip. The pub does get busy at times, we are told, but for this visit, we were the only ones there, apart from the barman, his 4 other staff (chef, cleaner, and bed maker, should there be any guests staying) and there were 3 drillers occupying a demountable across from the pub, where we were able to park and connect to power. Don’t ask what the drillers were drilling for. We happened ask the barman and his response was, he would probably have to kill us if he told us! All very mysterious . One of the Pub’s main claim to fame, is its Feral dinner menu which offers Emu Pate , Camel sausages, curried goat, Kangaroo steaks and rabbit stew amongst other things. They also have a great range of wines, so we indulged ourselves with some goat curry, haloumi with rocket and wild bush tomato and olive sauce, all served elegantly on blue enamelled tin dishes . It was fantastic . The barman was quiet droll but entertaining. The chef was a lady who looked about 21. We were told famous people come here regularly to get away from everything. In fact, David Attenborough had stayed the week before, for 4 days. Probably the only downside were the myriad of tiny flies outside, fully intent on darting into any open orifice or taking refuge from the heat by hiding under your sunglasses. Thankfully, they disappeared around sunset, which allowed us to watch the spectacular, lighting up of the Flinders Ranges. And then the stars came out and the heavens declared the glory of God! (Psalm 19)
About the only other pastime in this town, apart from eating and drinking is to watch the 10pm coal train from Leigh Creek pass through. It may sound like a nothing event, but let me tell you, it must be 10km long, it just kept coming and coming. It took at least 10 minutes to complete its passage through Parachilna.
Our journey then took us through Quorn, Port Augusta and Wyalla on our way to Cowell in the Eyre Peninsular. The next 2 days there are better forgotten as it was windy and insufferably hot. We drove on to Arno Bay then Tumby Bay, but decided to continue to Port Lincoln as it looked more attractive, and indeed it was. While in the info centre , we picked up a brochure on this place we are now at called Mikkira Station and thought it sounded just what we were looking for. You can camp here for a fee, with no power or water, but there is a hot shower and a loo. The big attraction is the Manna trees, a type of eucalyptus which happens to be the favourite of Koalas. The other attraction is, that hardly anyone seems to come here. There is 8 km of dirt road, slightly corrugated but passable. We did find a family of 4 here, but they were a distance from us and left this morning, so now we are all alone with the koalas and kangaroos. Just heavenly. There are koalas in almost every tree (mostly only one to a tree), lots of babies too. The Manna eucalypt is fairly short and these ones are very old, so they are thick, gnarled and twisted. The koalas are low enough to see up close. We will stay 2 nights here then go to Coffin Bay.

Vicki

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Interesting rock art in Wilpena Pound
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Emus

In Brachina gorge

on our 4WD tour

the 4 seater plane for our flight

Brachina gorge, we drove through the day before.

with the pilot

the Prarie Pub at Parachilna (thats Marnie in the trough...it was a hot day)

Our feral dinner in progress

the waterfront at Port Lincoln

The cows have a great view in these parts....the Eyre Peninsular

Cute Koala at Mikkira station.

TMH at Mikkira Station

An old Manna tree (dead)

View from TMH

Cute Mum and baby...Mikkira station

Silverton to Wiplena Pound

Broken Hill has many churches, so we decided to visit the Church of Christ before going to Silverton.We were invited to lunch by a very friendly couple and had a wonderful afternoon with them learning all about the hidden hierarchy of the local culture...A graders, those who were born there...B graders, those who marry A graders, Blow ins, and Aways (from elsewhere) All very interesting. We felt very Blessed by our afternoon of fellowship.
We arrived in Silverton to find the van park closed for repairs and were advised by locals not to just camp anywhere. Not sure why, as this was about as big an open space as you could get this side of the black stump. We had been told to go to the Mundi Mundi lookout not far from Silverton and a few km further, to Umberumberka resevoir, where there was a small shaded picnic area. That sounded like a good place to camp, so off we went and it was indeed ideal. No one around for miles....or so we thought. An hour after arriving, 4 car loads of teenage doof doofers arrived to spoil the serenity. We headed down the hill to a clearing with a great view of the Mundi Mundi Plains and left them to it. The teenagersDeparted 40 minutes later,and  we settled in with a glass of wine to watch the sunset. It was a very special experience. So quiet, red earth and scrub as far as the eye could see and then the stars came out. Just stunning. Wanting more, we rose at 5.50am to watch the sun come up.
We spent the morning looking round Silverton, where many movies have been made. Its a bit of a ghost town, with only 40 people now living there and not many buildings left standing. The pub is a real attraction, with the car used in Mad Max, sitting out the front. We  overnighted back in Broken Hill  and in the morning, left for Peterborough, about 280km with little in between. As we headed out, a dust storm was gathering in the distance. We looked to be driving straight into it, but within half an hour, we had changed direction to the south and it was going east to Broken Hill , so we missed the worst of it . Stopping for lunch, at Mannahill ( a tiny one horse town with a railway station) we realised that we were soon to enter a fruit fly exclusion zone and we had just that morning, stocked up on Fruit and vegetables. So, the choice was toss it all in the bins provided, eat it or cook it, so the obvious one was cooking.We steamed all the vegies and we are still eating them in the big pot of curry. The fruit was stewed and as we drove through the check point, we passed their inspection with no probs. They only had a quick look in the fridge, thankfully, because I found a stray banana later, that must have fallen out of the bowl and into the back of the cupboard. Peterborough was only an over night stop off on our way to the Flinders Ranges, but was an interesting town. The info centre was in an old railway carriage.
We drove on to Hawkers, a beautiful scenic drive and hardly a car on the road and were the only people in the caravan park. It had a magnificent view of the Ranges and with storm clouds gathering, the sunset was beautiful. We saw the biggest rainbow ever, accompanied by at least 50 drops of rain!
We finally arrived in Wilpena on Thursday and it is  impressivly stunning. The weather is very mild for this time of the year. Perfect for walks into Wilpena Pound. There were a few other vans in this huge park yesterday but now, we are almost the only ones here. It is so peaceful.The surroundings are beautiful, the vibe very pleasant. A couple of friendly kangaroos joined us yesterday afternoon and I saw several emus and more kangaroos as I walked around the resort. This morning we went into Wilpena Pound . A shuttle bus takes you to the entrance (saves you 4 extra km of walking) then you can choose any number of different walks. We went to the Hills Homestead and Wangara lookout, about the shortest and easiest , only taking about 1 and a half hours. The the shuttle bus picked us up again. The mild weather (about 24C ) made it very pleasant.
We are staying 3 nights here before going to Parachilna via Blinman., driving through the middle of the ranges. Next week is forecast to be much hotter, so we will head south after Parachilna.

Vicki


Silverton

Marnie and TMH at the top of Mundi Mundi lookout.

Sunset over Mundi Mundi Plains

And a short time later.

Mad Max car outside the Silverton Hotel.

A church in Silverton

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Silverton

Dust storm heading our way.

On route to Hawkers, a glimpse of the Flinders Ranges.

Impossible to capture the grandure of the Ranges

And the size of this rainbow at Hawker

Sunset at Hawker

Curious Kangaroo. Watcha painting Moo?

Very friendly roo.

And also very thirsty. The one on the left drank non stop for 5 minutes.

He just couldnt get enough!