Jesuit Church at Sevenhill Winery
Another quaint cottage
When you enlarge the centre pic you will see a lot of white dots it's not a crook image they are flying grasshoppers, they were everywhere and make a real mess of the car and van
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Click on Image to Enlarge
A row of miners cottages in Burra
A typical stone cottage Clare Valley
Wind generators on the hills a good indication of constant wind
Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas
We trust you all had an enjoyable Christmas Day where ever you were on this beautiful planet. We had a nice quiet one at Clare Caravan Park bacon and eggs for breakie, prawn salad for lunch, roast leg lamb for dinner and nibbly's in between plus just a few sensible drinks, couldn't have played football but probably needed it.
And while I was lazing back reading in the warm sun I thought how fortunate we are, we really hadn't over indulged but had plenty, I thought of our good friend Miriam freezing in cold London, our daughter on her own inundated by rain in Brisbane but I also thought about the many people less fortunate than us and hope never to experience such a situation.
And while I was lazing back reading in the warm sun I thought how fortunate we are, we really hadn't over indulged but had plenty, I thought of our good friend Miriam freezing in cold London, our daughter on her own inundated by rain in Brisbane but I also thought about the many people less fortunate than us and hope never to experience such a situation.
Xmas Eve
24th Dec 2010
A beautiful warm day in the Clare valley, leaving the caravan at the park we did an early last minute shop before Christmas in bustling Clare then returned to pick up our ordered cherries at the orchard only to discover half of Clare was talking about the large caravan that had got stuck up the orchard driveway the day before, hate to think how the story had grown by then but the lady gave us an extra couple of large handfuls of cherries to make up, little compensation for the damage but a lovely gesture and no ones fault but my own.
Following a self drive tour we travelled in a large loop through the scenic Clare Valley visiting a few of the numerous cellar doors of well known wineries two in particular were Sevenhill and Annie’s Lane. Annie’s Lane is a large and old established complex and here we were lucky enough to meet and chat with the current vineyard manager, being a tight arsed pom I didn’t purchase any of their wine as it was about $5 dearer than hotel outlets.
Sevenhill Winery was interesting, situated just east of the small township of Sevenhill it is the oldest established winery and vineyard in the Clare Valley, extremely picturesque the vineyard is centred around the huge and beautiful St Aloysius Church and has been owned and operated by Jesuit monks since 1851. The winery still produces alter wine plus many other award winning varieties. Public are welcome to Sevenhill cellar door where you can taste the wines, wander through underground cellars, watch a very interesting continuous video on the Sevenhill history or just peruse the tourist bric-a-brac, we purchased a small locally made fruit cake, heavy as lead and absolutely scrumptious.
Mintaro was another important stop, this is where we had lunch at the Magpie & Stump historic pub and is another one of those quaint villages. Established in 1849 it is something out of the English Dales and although now part of State Heritage and a tourist must, it is still very much a working area with abundant grain growing, grazing and vineyards. My lunch was a magnificent beef and Guinness pie.
Not far away and worth the $7:50 entry was a visit to Martindale Hall this stately manor built in 1879 was the home of Edmund Bowman, the son of a wealthy pastoralist who had it built in 1879 complete with a cricket pitch that hosted the English Xl, a boating lake, race course and polo field. Film director Peter Weir used the Hall as the ladies college in his 1975 film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. The place is still used as a B&B and hosts dinners and weddings so it retains is originality and is well worth a visit especially as you actually walk through the rooms looking at everything and reading an interesting description of each rooms items and their history, not just viewing each room from a door in a hallway like many similar places we have visited overseas.
Here’s a bit of trivia I’ve just dug up regarding Sevenhill.
In 1848, Jesuit Priests fled religious and political persecution in Silesia, migrated to Australia and established Sevenhill, 3 years later they planted Clare Valley’s first grapes and soon began making sacramental wine – although the priests were soon supplying settlers made thirsty by their labours in the field and copper mines. They are still making wines in the same cellar.
Later in the evening of Xmas eve we enjoyed an excellent meal at the popular Sevenhill pub.
A beautiful warm day in the Clare valley, leaving the caravan at the park we did an early last minute shop before Christmas in bustling Clare then returned to pick up our ordered cherries at the orchard only to discover half of Clare was talking about the large caravan that had got stuck up the orchard driveway the day before, hate to think how the story had grown by then but the lady gave us an extra couple of large handfuls of cherries to make up, little compensation for the damage but a lovely gesture and no ones fault but my own.
Following a self drive tour we travelled in a large loop through the scenic Clare Valley visiting a few of the numerous cellar doors of well known wineries two in particular were Sevenhill and Annie’s Lane. Annie’s Lane is a large and old established complex and here we were lucky enough to meet and chat with the current vineyard manager, being a tight arsed pom I didn’t purchase any of their wine as it was about $5 dearer than hotel outlets.
Sevenhill Winery was interesting, situated just east of the small township of Sevenhill it is the oldest established winery and vineyard in the Clare Valley, extremely picturesque the vineyard is centred around the huge and beautiful St Aloysius Church and has been owned and operated by Jesuit monks since 1851. The winery still produces alter wine plus many other award winning varieties. Public are welcome to Sevenhill cellar door where you can taste the wines, wander through underground cellars, watch a very interesting continuous video on the Sevenhill history or just peruse the tourist bric-a-brac, we purchased a small locally made fruit cake, heavy as lead and absolutely scrumptious.
Mintaro was another important stop, this is where we had lunch at the Magpie & Stump historic pub and is another one of those quaint villages. Established in 1849 it is something out of the English Dales and although now part of State Heritage and a tourist must, it is still very much a working area with abundant grain growing, grazing and vineyards. My lunch was a magnificent beef and Guinness pie.
Not far away and worth the $7:50 entry was a visit to Martindale Hall this stately manor built in 1879 was the home of Edmund Bowman, the son of a wealthy pastoralist who had it built in 1879 complete with a cricket pitch that hosted the English Xl, a boating lake, race course and polo field. Film director Peter Weir used the Hall as the ladies college in his 1975 film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. The place is still used as a B&B and hosts dinners and weddings so it retains is originality and is well worth a visit especially as you actually walk through the rooms looking at everything and reading an interesting description of each rooms items and their history, not just viewing each room from a door in a hallway like many similar places we have visited overseas.
Here’s a bit of trivia I’ve just dug up regarding Sevenhill.
In 1848, Jesuit Priests fled religious and political persecution in Silesia, migrated to Australia and established Sevenhill, 3 years later they planted Clare Valley’s first grapes and soon began making sacramental wine – although the priests were soon supplying settlers made thirsty by their labours in the field and copper mines. They are still making wines in the same cellar.
Later in the evening of Xmas eve we enjoyed an excellent meal at the popular Sevenhill pub.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Clare 23rd Dec
Thursday 23rd Dec
Burra, Clare and the Clare Valley
Today was one of those that you think to yourself “I shouldn’t have got up today”.
After leaving Burra for a leisurely scenic drive south through back country roads, I noticed the signal on our caravan electric brakes sensor was indicating that we didn’t have a connection, this meant no caravan brakes and we were travelling on steep winding roads dragging almost 3.5 tonne, not a good predicament. I carried out several basic checks suspecting a broken wire but had little success in locating anything and the problem had now become intermittent. Slowly we made Clare where we were fortunate enough to find an auto electrician available to have a look at the problem in 30 – 45 mins. About 2 hours later he was ready to help and then after another hour and half to two hours he finally located what turned out to be a very simple problem, a small screw had come loose and an earth wire just wasn’t earthing, simple but a nightmare to find, at least our caravan supplier said they were quite happy to reimburse us.
Then I did a dumb thing. Underway again we detoured up a side road following a sign indicating freshly picked cherries and then drove up a driveway to the orchard where I managed to clip an overhanging tree limb with our roll out awning. Adding to the stress of almost tearing our awning away from the van, if I didn’t have low range in the cruiser I could never have turned around at the driveway end, as it turned out it took me about half an hour of tight manoeuvring held up a dozen customers coming in and in the process I ran over their wheel barrow, then discovered they had run out of cherries.
By this time I was quite stressed and very upset with my stupidity, especially as I couldn’t blame anyone else, (although David or Nancy was distracting me). So we drove out onto the highway and booked into the nearest caravan park for Christmas and then spent the next few hours carrying out temporary repairs so we could at least use the awing and there was also the added risk of the whole thing coming off as we drove if wasn’t secured, be interesting to see how we get on with insurance repairs in the new year.
Burra, Clare and the Clare Valley
Today was one of those that you think to yourself “I shouldn’t have got up today”.
After leaving Burra for a leisurely scenic drive south through back country roads, I noticed the signal on our caravan electric brakes sensor was indicating that we didn’t have a connection, this meant no caravan brakes and we were travelling on steep winding roads dragging almost 3.5 tonne, not a good predicament. I carried out several basic checks suspecting a broken wire but had little success in locating anything and the problem had now become intermittent. Slowly we made Clare where we were fortunate enough to find an auto electrician available to have a look at the problem in 30 – 45 mins. About 2 hours later he was ready to help and then after another hour and half to two hours he finally located what turned out to be a very simple problem, a small screw had come loose and an earth wire just wasn’t earthing, simple but a nightmare to find, at least our caravan supplier said they were quite happy to reimburse us.
Then I did a dumb thing. Underway again we detoured up a side road following a sign indicating freshly picked cherries and then drove up a driveway to the orchard where I managed to clip an overhanging tree limb with our roll out awning. Adding to the stress of almost tearing our awning away from the van, if I didn’t have low range in the cruiser I could never have turned around at the driveway end, as it turned out it took me about half an hour of tight manoeuvring held up a dozen customers coming in and in the process I ran over their wheel barrow, then discovered they had run out of cherries.
By this time I was quite stressed and very upset with my stupidity, especially as I couldn’t blame anyone else, (although David or Nancy was distracting me). So we drove out onto the highway and booked into the nearest caravan park for Christmas and then spent the next few hours carrying out temporary repairs so we could at least use the awing and there was also the added risk of the whole thing coming off as we drove if wasn’t secured, be interesting to see how we get on with insurance repairs in the new year.
18th – 22nd Dec 2010
With David engrossed in fishing from the local jetty for most of the day it was nice and peaceful at the camp and gave both Nancy and myself the opportunity to relax and take our time preparing everything for our move the next day, Sunday 19th.
Sunday 19th : Awoke to fickle weather again, strong cold winds and rain periods, at least once we were under way the wind was occasionally in our favour and pushed us along nicely, we eventually pulled up mid afternoon at Whyalla and set up for the night behind a high tin fence surrounding the caravan park rubbish tip in an attempt to shelter from the continuing icy blast from the south. I am in awe at the resilience of that little frail dome tent we have been putting up for David to sleep in, at times it flaps, rattles and cracks like an un-sheeted jib in a summer squall, quite expecting at any moment for it to take off like something out of Harry Potter, I wonder how we will manage to clamber over him after having taken refuge in the van during the night will be sleeping on the floor, as we undertake the nightly totter with eyes closed and half asleep to carry that, that seems apparent to all of us as we lengthen in the tooth. But resilient it is and so far has proven to be quite a satisfactory low cost investment.
Monday 20th: Eventually leaving Whyalla, after calling into the Westside Shopping Centre for 3 rolls and a loaf of bread during which time I read a third of a Bryce Courtenay novel, we arrived via Port Augusta for fuel, at the grain farming town of Melrose and set up camp at the local show grounds a nice peaceful location just out of town, 3 adults $20 per night all up power and water, showers and toilet – good value.
Melrose is a picturesque quiet sleepy settlement with traditional quaint old houses and is said to be the oldest town in the Flinders Ranges, I forgot to mention we were travelling back into the southern Flinders Range. Situated at the foot of Mt Remarkable Melrose is a starting point for several popular mountain bike trails and both the Mawson and Heyson hiking trails pass along this way. Melrose was settled by pastoralists in the 1840s but really took off when copper was found nearby in 1846 like a lot of SA towns. Now days grain growing and sheep farming is in a big way throughout the region, grain carry trucks busily thunder along in various directions carting grain to the numerous white painted silos situated throughout the countryside everywhere, once harvested large flocks of sheep are turned out into the stubble fields. With so much grain around there’s an abundance of loud pink and grey galahs and white cockatiels all having a field day and making a big noise about it.
During our two day stay at Melrose we also drove to Wilmington where we visited Alligator Gorge National Park and enjoyed a few hours bush walking.
Wednesday 22nd:
Moving on our journey south took us through small attractive farming towns some very small, just whistle stop hamlets and others such as the town of Laura a lot larger but probably still only a containing a couple of thousand local residents. Laura, south to Gladstone and then deviating east and south east through undulating grain country to Jamestown and Hallett , past hill tops covered with hundreds of power generating wind turbines that to me may reduce green house gases but boy they certain create visual pollution and I am led to believe, noise pollution. A few kilometres on was Burra one of the larger towns in this part of the country, after a brief walk around town a Cornish Pastie and a jumbo flat white the place looked interesting enough to book into the local caravan park for the night. It’s not a very large caravan park but it is only a two minute walk from town centre and adjacent to an attractive tree lined gully and billabong. No one was in attendance at the small reception office when we arrived, a contact phone number on the door went to message bank and an alternative number in a caravan park brochure also went to message bank, so we selected the site we wanted parked and secured the van and leaving a short contact note attached to the reception office door proceeded to follow a historical drive trail around town. Wow what a place take out a dozen or so near modern homes and you had a quaint English town straight out of Cornwall.
From ‘Explore Australia’, Burra region exploded into activity when copper was found by two shepherds in 1845. Settlements were established based on the miners country of origin areas were vcalled Aberdeen for the Scottish, Hampton for the English, Llwchwr for the Welsh and Redruth for the Cornish (the original Cornish Pasties we had in town were delicious, they obviously keep well) . This settlement grew to become the second largest in SA and apparently the rich copper produced over a number of years apparently propped up SA’s financial situation at a time when things weren’t looking so good, a bit like Qld’s situation and the Gympie gold fields.
If you like old places and things Burra is a classic steeped in mining history there is a lot of ruins and old sites to see and visit, there are more quaint miners cottages and old stone houses and buildings than modern ones some look like the are a bit derelict and others are well maintained with typical English like cottage gardens. A very fascinating place.
With David engrossed in fishing from the local jetty for most of the day it was nice and peaceful at the camp and gave both Nancy and myself the opportunity to relax and take our time preparing everything for our move the next day, Sunday 19th.
Sunday 19th : Awoke to fickle weather again, strong cold winds and rain periods, at least once we were under way the wind was occasionally in our favour and pushed us along nicely, we eventually pulled up mid afternoon at Whyalla and set up for the night behind a high tin fence surrounding the caravan park rubbish tip in an attempt to shelter from the continuing icy blast from the south. I am in awe at the resilience of that little frail dome tent we have been putting up for David to sleep in, at times it flaps, rattles and cracks like an un-sheeted jib in a summer squall, quite expecting at any moment for it to take off like something out of Harry Potter, I wonder how we will manage to clamber over him after having taken refuge in the van during the night will be sleeping on the floor, as we undertake the nightly totter with eyes closed and half asleep to carry that, that seems apparent to all of us as we lengthen in the tooth. But resilient it is and so far has proven to be quite a satisfactory low cost investment.
Monday 20th: Eventually leaving Whyalla, after calling into the Westside Shopping Centre for 3 rolls and a loaf of bread during which time I read a third of a Bryce Courtenay novel, we arrived via Port Augusta for fuel, at the grain farming town of Melrose and set up camp at the local show grounds a nice peaceful location just out of town, 3 adults $20 per night all up power and water, showers and toilet – good value.
Melrose is a picturesque quiet sleepy settlement with traditional quaint old houses and is said to be the oldest town in the Flinders Ranges, I forgot to mention we were travelling back into the southern Flinders Range. Situated at the foot of Mt Remarkable Melrose is a starting point for several popular mountain bike trails and both the Mawson and Heyson hiking trails pass along this way. Melrose was settled by pastoralists in the 1840s but really took off when copper was found nearby in 1846 like a lot of SA towns. Now days grain growing and sheep farming is in a big way throughout the region, grain carry trucks busily thunder along in various directions carting grain to the numerous white painted silos situated throughout the countryside everywhere, once harvested large flocks of sheep are turned out into the stubble fields. With so much grain around there’s an abundance of loud pink and grey galahs and white cockatiels all having a field day and making a big noise about it.
During our two day stay at Melrose we also drove to Wilmington where we visited Alligator Gorge National Park and enjoyed a few hours bush walking.
Wednesday 22nd:
Moving on our journey south took us through small attractive farming towns some very small, just whistle stop hamlets and others such as the town of Laura a lot larger but probably still only a containing a couple of thousand local residents. Laura, south to Gladstone and then deviating east and south east through undulating grain country to Jamestown and Hallett , past hill tops covered with hundreds of power generating wind turbines that to me may reduce green house gases but boy they certain create visual pollution and I am led to believe, noise pollution. A few kilometres on was Burra one of the larger towns in this part of the country, after a brief walk around town a Cornish Pastie and a jumbo flat white the place looked interesting enough to book into the local caravan park for the night. It’s not a very large caravan park but it is only a two minute walk from town centre and adjacent to an attractive tree lined gully and billabong. No one was in attendance at the small reception office when we arrived, a contact phone number on the door went to message bank and an alternative number in a caravan park brochure also went to message bank, so we selected the site we wanted parked and secured the van and leaving a short contact note attached to the reception office door proceeded to follow a historical drive trail around town. Wow what a place take out a dozen or so near modern homes and you had a quaint English town straight out of Cornwall.
From ‘Explore Australia’, Burra region exploded into activity when copper was found by two shepherds in 1845. Settlements were established based on the miners country of origin areas were vcalled Aberdeen for the Scottish, Hampton for the English, Llwchwr for the Welsh and Redruth for the Cornish (the original Cornish Pasties we had in town were delicious, they obviously keep well) . This settlement grew to become the second largest in SA and apparently the rich copper produced over a number of years apparently propped up SA’s financial situation at a time when things weren’t looking so good, a bit like Qld’s situation and the Gympie gold fields.
If you like old places and things Burra is a classic steeped in mining history there is a lot of ruins and old sites to see and visit, there are more quaint miners cottages and old stone houses and buildings than modern ones some look like the are a bit derelict and others are well maintained with typical English like cottage gardens. A very fascinating place.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Port Lincoln 11/12/2010
In my last post I mentioned how the weather had turned to poo, well it deteriated, we woke to clearing skies, plenty of blue and eventually bright sunshine with little wind. Nancy had asked me to make sure she got up by 7:00am so we could prepare a lunch and spend the day in Lincoln National Park a few kls away.
Note I only said bright sunshine not warm sunshine, according to Nancy it was still freezing, she always exagerates when it comes to getting up in the mornings, and by 7:45am I was starting to snarl at her. By the time I returned from a quick shower a grey blanket had covered the sky the wind was up again and it was "B" cold, blustery rain squalls persisted all day with the odd bit of sunshine in between. We did spend the day visiting Lincoln National Park that covers a huge area on a rugged peninsula, where wonderful views of rugged coastlines, azure seas and beutiful coves kept our shutters clicking constantly. Even taking photos was an ordeal the wind was so strong it was almost impossible to get a snap without movement and everything had to be done between rain squalls. When we arrived back at the caravan park, which would have to be one of the largest I've ever been in, the place was almost devoid of vans and campers, most people had had enough of the weather and moved on and tomorrow we join them.
Note I only said bright sunshine not warm sunshine, according to Nancy it was still freezing, she always exagerates when it comes to getting up in the mornings, and by 7:45am I was starting to snarl at her. By the time I returned from a quick shower a grey blanket had covered the sky the wind was up again and it was "B" cold, blustery rain squalls persisted all day with the odd bit of sunshine in between. We did spend the day visiting Lincoln National Park that covers a huge area on a rugged peninsula, where wonderful views of rugged coastlines, azure seas and beutiful coves kept our shutters clicking constantly. Even taking photos was an ordeal the wind was so strong it was almost impossible to get a snap without movement and everything had to be done between rain squalls. When we arrived back at the caravan park, which would have to be one of the largest I've ever been in, the place was almost devoid of vans and campers, most people had had enough of the weather and moved on and tomorrow we join them.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Adelaide to Port Lincoln
Adelaide 3/12/2010
Qantas delivered son David on Sunday 5th safe and sound although he was a bit indignant at having to get up so early to catch the plane which arrived at 11:35 am after a 2:20hr flight !!!
Shopping and site seeing over the next few days familiarised David with caravan life and Adelaide. We booked a tour through Haigh's Chocolate factory and entered assigned address into Gladys our trusty GPS, eventually after stopping at 400 traffic lights, travelling for numerous kls and winding our way up into the Adelaide hills, Gladys informed us we were at our destination on the right. Here we were in the bush a steep gully on our right and a few private houses to our left, a quick phone call to Haigh's and we were hurtling back down the range almost to the city centre fringe again, late of course but got the free hand out and made the tour that was also running late. The tour only took 20 minutes, didn’t exactly inspire, they don’t tell you or show you too much and it all seemed rather tedious and labour intensive, in fact they emphasise the fact that everything is hand made (as if hand made makes a better product ), it’s really a con to influence visitors to buy chocolate items from the factory shop and it works.
A lot of Adelaide’s roads are extremely long and apparently numbering re-starts at each suburb, a real trap and something everybody using a GPS gets caught with, ho hum.
Hahndorf:
Set in the Adelaide hills this distinctive town was settled by Prussian refugees in the 1830’s and to quote, “Its heritage is preserved in the village architecture and German style shops, museums, cafes and pubs”. It is a bit like visiting Montville in the Sunshine Coast hinterland only this is authentic on a larger scale and obviously caters well for the Sunday, holiday tourist trade, regardless of the tourist focus it is attractive enough not to be tacky. Hahndorf and other areas of the Adelaide Hills is a beautiful drive, for us northerners it is nice to see a variety of deciduous trees, the whole district must be a kaleidoscope of colour in autumn.
During our drive we managed to find Beerenberg Strawberry Farm where you pay to pick your own, Nancy and David were kept busy here for a short time while I listened to the Poms demolish our not so illustrious cricket team. Beerenberg strawberries are probably the nicest I have tasted, it is no wonder they are so famous. Just to add to the humour, when entering the picking fields a lady explains how to select ripe fruit and how to pick it. Apparently David wouldn’t have a bar of it and promptly told everyone (as usual), how his Grandpa had taught him what to look for and how to pick the fruit. The very first berry he endeavoured to pick, the whole plant came out of the ground and he spent the next 10 minutes trying to replant it, much to everyone’s amusement.
Hahndorf is somewhere we will visit again before leaving SA. Hans Heysen the famous artist mentioned in earlier posts lived and painted at his home and studio at the Cedars in Hahndorf. The Cedars now heritage listed is open to the public and is considered one of the must sees. Unfortunately it is closed on Mondays, trust us.
Leaving Adelaide for a final destination Coffin Bay at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula and home to the famous Coffin Bay oysters (thought I’d throw that in), we punched a strong head wind all the way to Port Augusta using 23 litres per hundred kilometres of fuel and decided that was quite long enough travelling for one day. Previous nights David had slept in the annexe but while we were travelling it was decided to use the 4 man dome tent we had brought with us for that purpose. With a black ominous sky and wind increasing it was going to be a race against time to erect and secure David’s dwelling for the night before the pending storm struck. These dome tents are so easy to put up they don’t need to supply instructions with them, yea right, well I don’t know if anyone was watching but it must have looked like a trio of drunks dancing around a maypole. Setting out the floor, flexible dome rods and inner lining was a piece of cake and very straight forward, other than the fact an F111 was parked alongside of us with it’s jets blowing across us, we had six arms between us and needed twenty, finally stabilised we threw the outer shell over the frame and proceeded to anchor it down only to realise it was the wrong way round so we moved it around 90 degrees and it still wasn’t right and so it went on accompanied by a lot of instructions from those that have never put up a tent in their life, eventually we got it all together and anchored down, rain had just started and then all hell broke loose, rain bucketed down and the wind was ferocious but by daylight it was all over and David and the tent had survived, it was certainly a baptism of fire but nice to know how effective the tent is and the next time we put it up it only took a short time, (now we are experts).
From Port Augusta we turned the corner to head down the Eyre Peninsula and expecting a tail wind after our run up the previous day, you wouldn’t believe it Murphy again, a weather change and we were punching a headwind once more. Enroute at Whyalla we visited a maritime museum that included a conducted tour of a corvette named and built in Whyalla during the second world war , this added a bit of interest to our journey, especially as we were able to look up the record of a past friend of Nancy’s family who served on corvettes during the war.
Port Lincoln became our destination for the day and we decided to stay for a few days giving a chance to have a look around before travelling the 40 kls to Coffin Bay on Sunday.
Port Lincoln
Hair cuts all round were the order of the day, amazing how woolly you get in what seems a short time. The car also needs a service and that will be taken care of today, weather has turned to poo, occasional showers which are really only misty rain but horribly overcast and an extremely cold blustery wind blowing, back into jeans and a flannelette shirt – look like something out of Ipswich but no Ugg boots.
Surely this un-seasonal weather we are all experiencing will improve.
Don't forget if you want to make a comment or ask a question you are most welcome to by just following the prompts.
Qantas delivered son David on Sunday 5th safe and sound although he was a bit indignant at having to get up so early to catch the plane which arrived at 11:35 am after a 2:20hr flight !!!
Shopping and site seeing over the next few days familiarised David with caravan life and Adelaide. We booked a tour through Haigh's Chocolate factory and entered assigned address into Gladys our trusty GPS, eventually after stopping at 400 traffic lights, travelling for numerous kls and winding our way up into the Adelaide hills, Gladys informed us we were at our destination on the right. Here we were in the bush a steep gully on our right and a few private houses to our left, a quick phone call to Haigh's and we were hurtling back down the range almost to the city centre fringe again, late of course but got the free hand out and made the tour that was also running late. The tour only took 20 minutes, didn’t exactly inspire, they don’t tell you or show you too much and it all seemed rather tedious and labour intensive, in fact they emphasise the fact that everything is hand made (as if hand made makes a better product ), it’s really a con to influence visitors to buy chocolate items from the factory shop and it works.
A lot of Adelaide’s roads are extremely long and apparently numbering re-starts at each suburb, a real trap and something everybody using a GPS gets caught with, ho hum.
Hahndorf:
Set in the Adelaide hills this distinctive town was settled by Prussian refugees in the 1830’s and to quote, “Its heritage is preserved in the village architecture and German style shops, museums, cafes and pubs”. It is a bit like visiting Montville in the Sunshine Coast hinterland only this is authentic on a larger scale and obviously caters well for the Sunday, holiday tourist trade, regardless of the tourist focus it is attractive enough not to be tacky. Hahndorf and other areas of the Adelaide Hills is a beautiful drive, for us northerners it is nice to see a variety of deciduous trees, the whole district must be a kaleidoscope of colour in autumn.
During our drive we managed to find Beerenberg Strawberry Farm where you pay to pick your own, Nancy and David were kept busy here for a short time while I listened to the Poms demolish our not so illustrious cricket team. Beerenberg strawberries are probably the nicest I have tasted, it is no wonder they are so famous. Just to add to the humour, when entering the picking fields a lady explains how to select ripe fruit and how to pick it. Apparently David wouldn’t have a bar of it and promptly told everyone (as usual), how his Grandpa had taught him what to look for and how to pick the fruit. The very first berry he endeavoured to pick, the whole plant came out of the ground and he spent the next 10 minutes trying to replant it, much to everyone’s amusement.
Hahndorf is somewhere we will visit again before leaving SA. Hans Heysen the famous artist mentioned in earlier posts lived and painted at his home and studio at the Cedars in Hahndorf. The Cedars now heritage listed is open to the public and is considered one of the must sees. Unfortunately it is closed on Mondays, trust us.
Leaving Adelaide for a final destination Coffin Bay at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula and home to the famous Coffin Bay oysters (thought I’d throw that in), we punched a strong head wind all the way to Port Augusta using 23 litres per hundred kilometres of fuel and decided that was quite long enough travelling for one day. Previous nights David had slept in the annexe but while we were travelling it was decided to use the 4 man dome tent we had brought with us for that purpose. With a black ominous sky and wind increasing it was going to be a race against time to erect and secure David’s dwelling for the night before the pending storm struck. These dome tents are so easy to put up they don’t need to supply instructions with them, yea right, well I don’t know if anyone was watching but it must have looked like a trio of drunks dancing around a maypole. Setting out the floor, flexible dome rods and inner lining was a piece of cake and very straight forward, other than the fact an F111 was parked alongside of us with it’s jets blowing across us, we had six arms between us and needed twenty, finally stabilised we threw the outer shell over the frame and proceeded to anchor it down only to realise it was the wrong way round so we moved it around 90 degrees and it still wasn’t right and so it went on accompanied by a lot of instructions from those that have never put up a tent in their life, eventually we got it all together and anchored down, rain had just started and then all hell broke loose, rain bucketed down and the wind was ferocious but by daylight it was all over and David and the tent had survived, it was certainly a baptism of fire but nice to know how effective the tent is and the next time we put it up it only took a short time, (now we are experts).
From Port Augusta we turned the corner to head down the Eyre Peninsula and expecting a tail wind after our run up the previous day, you wouldn’t believe it Murphy again, a weather change and we were punching a headwind once more. Enroute at Whyalla we visited a maritime museum that included a conducted tour of a corvette named and built in Whyalla during the second world war , this added a bit of interest to our journey, especially as we were able to look up the record of a past friend of Nancy’s family who served on corvettes during the war.
Port Lincoln became our destination for the day and we decided to stay for a few days giving a chance to have a look around before travelling the 40 kls to Coffin Bay on Sunday.
Port Lincoln
Hair cuts all round were the order of the day, amazing how woolly you get in what seems a short time. The car also needs a service and that will be taken care of today, weather has turned to poo, occasional showers which are really only misty rain but horribly overcast and an extremely cold blustery wind blowing, back into jeans and a flannelette shirt – look like something out of Ipswich but no Ugg boots.
Surely this un-seasonal weather we are all experiencing will improve.
Don't forget if you want to make a comment or ask a question you are most welcome to by just following the prompts.
Hahndorf Adelaide Hills
1839 I don't know if that's when it was established or the street number.
Adelaide Museum
Street in Adelaide
Enroute to Port Augusta
Murray River water is piped everywhere from Adelaide and endless grain fields
Corvette Whyalla at Whyalla
The Barren desert !!!!
Reminiscent of the Beatles
Friday, December 03, 2010
Semaphore - Adelaide
29th Nov – 2nd Dec
A couple more days in the Stansbury caravan park, we had driven and site seen everything within a substantial radius of this fishing village, on one day we drove a circuit that included a town called Minlaton and known as the “Barley Capital of the World”, understandably so when you see the grain fields extending forever in all directions, we enjoyed coffee and cake at the information centre that also housed a nice little art gallery. Minlaton’s other claim to fame is the “Red Devil” this is a vintage Bristol monoplane painted brilliant red and housed in a glass display on the outskirts of town, Captain Harry Butler flew this ex-RAF, oversize toy from Adelaide across the gulf to Minlaton with the Royal Mail in 1919.
Wednesday 1st Dec we’d had enough of the constant blast of cold wind at Stansbury, fishing was out of the question and although the intermittent sun was trying valiantly to pacify us, it wasn’t enough to entice us to delay our departure. We weren’t due in to Adelaide until Friday but once on the road a quick phone call confirmed availability for an early arrival so direct to Adelaide we went. Great no sooner had we arrived at the caravan park (when we eventually found it) a series of thunderstorms struck. A wet set up followed, then rain having stopped decided to go for a short site seeing drive, didn’t get far and the sky turned black again so the site seeing was cut short to batten down and it bucketed down, water every where but at least not in the van thank goodness.
Thursday, awoke to the promise of a better day the wind had dropped and there was at least a watery blue sky making an effort. About mid-morning by car and tram we ended up in the CBD for a look around and a visit to the city central markets (produce). Thursday’s weather turned out to be perfect, clear sky, warm and no humidity and without the promised thunderstorm. Later in the day we drove to the seaside suburb of Glenelg with its blend of modern well to do residences and early settler’s homes and cottages, most of them built in stone and very attractive. Similarly the churches are all attractively built in stone and look so old, some very small and others huge suggesting the local wealth at the time they were constructed.
Beaches on this side of Adelaide are beautiful, long wide stretches of white sand with the occasional jetty poking out into a clear water sea, no surf so when the wind drops the sea is flat like a lake.
Huge Norfolk Pines line an esplanade that runs along Glenelg beachfront, no doubt there are other areas to Glenelg but in this locality where we were the tram terminates at the end of the main street in what has now become a paved mall abutting the esplanade. A citizens band was playing Xmas carols in the very popular mall, entertaining numerous people eating out, relaxing with an ice cream like us or just casually wandering around looking at various small shops and listening to the music, 7:00 pm broad daylight and a warm barmy breeze drifting in from the sea.
Walking out on the jetty we watched locals catching Garfish and people walking their poodles, looking back towards the esplanade the beach on one side was being used by swimmers while on the other were dozens of people playing volley ball on numerous beach courts. Many people obviously enjoy daylight savings in this part of the country, a place where English settlers have certainly put their stamp.
A couple more days in the Stansbury caravan park, we had driven and site seen everything within a substantial radius of this fishing village, on one day we drove a circuit that included a town called Minlaton and known as the “Barley Capital of the World”, understandably so when you see the grain fields extending forever in all directions, we enjoyed coffee and cake at the information centre that also housed a nice little art gallery. Minlaton’s other claim to fame is the “Red Devil” this is a vintage Bristol monoplane painted brilliant red and housed in a glass display on the outskirts of town, Captain Harry Butler flew this ex-RAF, oversize toy from Adelaide across the gulf to Minlaton with the Royal Mail in 1919.
Wednesday 1st Dec we’d had enough of the constant blast of cold wind at Stansbury, fishing was out of the question and although the intermittent sun was trying valiantly to pacify us, it wasn’t enough to entice us to delay our departure. We weren’t due in to Adelaide until Friday but once on the road a quick phone call confirmed availability for an early arrival so direct to Adelaide we went. Great no sooner had we arrived at the caravan park (when we eventually found it) a series of thunderstorms struck. A wet set up followed, then rain having stopped decided to go for a short site seeing drive, didn’t get far and the sky turned black again so the site seeing was cut short to batten down and it bucketed down, water every where but at least not in the van thank goodness.
Thursday, awoke to the promise of a better day the wind had dropped and there was at least a watery blue sky making an effort. About mid-morning by car and tram we ended up in the CBD for a look around and a visit to the city central markets (produce). Thursday’s weather turned out to be perfect, clear sky, warm and no humidity and without the promised thunderstorm. Later in the day we drove to the seaside suburb of Glenelg with its blend of modern well to do residences and early settler’s homes and cottages, most of them built in stone and very attractive. Similarly the churches are all attractively built in stone and look so old, some very small and others huge suggesting the local wealth at the time they were constructed.
Beaches on this side of Adelaide are beautiful, long wide stretches of white sand with the occasional jetty poking out into a clear water sea, no surf so when the wind drops the sea is flat like a lake.
Huge Norfolk Pines line an esplanade that runs along Glenelg beachfront, no doubt there are other areas to Glenelg but in this locality where we were the tram terminates at the end of the main street in what has now become a paved mall abutting the esplanade. A citizens band was playing Xmas carols in the very popular mall, entertaining numerous people eating out, relaxing with an ice cream like us or just casually wandering around looking at various small shops and listening to the music, 7:00 pm broad daylight and a warm barmy breeze drifting in from the sea.
Walking out on the jetty we watched locals catching Garfish and people walking their poodles, looking back towards the esplanade the beach on one side was being used by swimmers while on the other were dozens of people playing volley ball on numerous beach courts. Many people obviously enjoy daylight savings in this part of the country, a place where English settlers have certainly put their stamp.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Flinders Range to York Peninsula 21st - 28th Nov
Wilpena to Marion Bay: 23rd -
We ended up spending 8 days at Wilpena doing several walks and the big one of 19 kls that smartened us up, it was a very restful and peaceful time and I managed to knock out a couple of paintings. It felt good to take up arms again although one day I was parked 6metres off the roadway amongst the weeds that had recently been tractor slashed, painting a magnificent gum tree (on canvas not the tree Brett), a young Parks Ranger pulled up in his 4wd and informed me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t allowed to drive off road other people would follow and damage the flora (slashed weeds), although I felt that I was probably doing more good than harm, I kept my thoughts to myself and obligingly relocated. Unfortunately before I was completely re-organised the wind got up and my easel blew over, the palette of fresh paint splatting onto the gravel naturally wet side down, I caught the easel so ended with plenty of paint on myself. Perhaps I wouldn’t have been so polite if the young w***er had driven up then.
Heading for the York Peninsula:
Departure day from Wilpena was 23rd Nov, we had a good run to Port Augusta enjoying a tail wind for a change and stopping for a look around in the quaint old town of Quorn (corn) on the way down and where Nancy picked up a couple of the best Tee bone steaks I have ever eaten (she’s got a thing about butchers shops). Port Augusta we picked up new Visa cards, replacing the ones cancelled after someone lost hers last time we were in the city. Then of course the obligatory shopping to replace depleting stocks.
Our stop over for the night was Port Broughton on the York Peninsula, the temp when we arrived was 37C. The drive to Port Broughton was quite scenic alongside the southern Flinders Ranges through kilometres of fields of barley being harvested quaint old towns with beautiful old cottages and homes.
Wednesday 24th we awoke to rain, overcast conditions and quite cold, our destination was Marion Bay at the base of the York Peninsula and once again we travelled through grain growing areas where harvesting was in top gear and a continuous stream of grain trucks raced back and forth to Wallaroo where a large bulk carrier was being loaded for export.. Stops were made at several of the small towns enroute to Marion Bay most of these towns were established in the late 1850’s when rich copper ore deposits were discovered, a result of this was a large influx of Cornish miners and their families and this is revealed today in the heritage architecture of the region and the famous Cornish Pasties, which I can assure you tasted great.
Marion Bay is on the foot of the Yorke Peninsula and approximately 6 kls from the famous Innes National Park, the region is well known for its mining of Gypsum in earlier days, now days it is just a popular holiday fishing village (only the fish don’t know that).
Gypsum or hydrated calcium sulphate (CaSO4.2H2O) in other words calcium with water is used in the manufacture of plaster, plaster of paris, plaster board, ceiling board, mouldings, fertiliser a soil conditioner (as in breaking up clay ground) and even as an agent in Chinese medicine.
following are extracts from SA Government Gazette;
Like many towns, the population of the Marion Bay area developed in response to economic opportunity. Gypsum, a mineral used as an ingredient for plaster, was discovered in the area, and William Innes (after whom the mining village and the National Park are named) formed the Australian Gypsum and Whiting Company in the 1880s, to mine the gypsum leases in the area. As a substantial jetty was necessary to support the export of the large quantities of gypsum being mined, the Marion Bay jetty was built in 1889. Unlike other jetties on the Yorke Peninsula which were built for the export of primary produce, Marion Bay jetty was constructed with wooden tramway tracks, along which the gypsum was transported from the Inneston mining operations, located in what is now known as Innes National Park.
When operations were taken over by Mr A.A. Hassell in 1898, the original wooden tramway tracks were replaced with steel rails, and steam locomotives and side tipping trucks were installed to carry the gypsum down to the jetty. By the 1920s grain, wool and salt were also being shipped from Marion Bay. In 1930 nearby Stenhouse Bay took over the shipment of gypsum from lower Yorke Peninsula.
By 1970 Inneston had become a ghost town as mining operations ceased. Today the partially restored Inneston village and the stately heritage-listed Stenhouse Bay jetty provide excellent insights into the mining history of the region.
Other mining that has taken place on the Peninsula includes copper (Moonta Mines), lime (near Stansbury), dolomite (Ardrossan), and salt (Edithburgh and Price). Marion Bay has now developed into another popular holiday town on the Yorke Peninsula, offering swimming, surfing, fishing, boating, and bushwalking in Innes National Park.
During our 3 day stay at Marion Bay Nancy and I drove and walk numerous kls through the Innes National Park, the coastline around the park is quite rugged with steep high cliffs several of which have important lighthouses built on them to warn shipping of the local dangers, from these great vantage points fantastic views are had of the coastline, one in particular gives a 360 degree view and is quite sensational all of these locations are easily accessed by short relatively easy walks of a couple of kls at most and well worth the effort. We were very fortunate that the 2 days we decided to carry out our park sojourn the weather was kind to us and we were able to check out all of the important historical sites and most of the walking trails.
I walked down to a jetty to check out the fishing in this famous fishing place and chatted to a family who told me the only thing around was Tommy Ruffs and they’re good eating. Tommy Ruffs? So I waited and watched for a while, they use light gear and floats and suspend a bait above the bottom to avoid weed, then one excited member of the family pulled in what I was told was large Tommy Ruff or in other words Herring about the size of a gold fish and they eat the bloody things. I haven’t been fishing yet.
The weather changed piddled down all night and blew like hell, the morning was wet, windy and very cold. We chose to move on and took our time driving from one side of the York Peninsula to the other and back checking out the small villages enroute to Stansbury on the east coast of the York Peninsula, once again a renowned and popular fishing village with a very shallow bay beach right in front of the caravan park, once we were set up I wandered down the beach to chat to a couple of blokes fishing. The wind was howling overhead and it was freezing, these guys were local SA people and had heavy jackets and balaclavas on and they were cold as well, very un-seasonal they told me and it was obviously affecting the fishing. I haven’t been fishing yet.
To the north of the bay by about 750metres is a large jetty built for the old days of sailing ships but still in great condition and a mecca for fishing, apparently they catch blue swimmer crabs off the jetty and all sorts of fish according to another caravan occupier who had caught 17 blue swimmers just the other night, (their description sound like our sand crabs). At the other end of the bay is a groin and past this the beach is very flat so the tide goes out for ever and here they use a rake similar in appearance to a grass rake to wander through shallow clear water and rake up the blue swimmers (apparently), of course the weather has an effect on the results you don’t want any wind other wise you can’t see for ripples and of course it’s blowing its guts out now isn’t it, at least I’ve seen the rakes and had the method described. I haven’t been fishing yet.
We ended up spending 8 days at Wilpena doing several walks and the big one of 19 kls that smartened us up, it was a very restful and peaceful time and I managed to knock out a couple of paintings. It felt good to take up arms again although one day I was parked 6metres off the roadway amongst the weeds that had recently been tractor slashed, painting a magnificent gum tree (on canvas not the tree Brett), a young Parks Ranger pulled up in his 4wd and informed me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t allowed to drive off road other people would follow and damage the flora (slashed weeds), although I felt that I was probably doing more good than harm, I kept my thoughts to myself and obligingly relocated. Unfortunately before I was completely re-organised the wind got up and my easel blew over, the palette of fresh paint splatting onto the gravel naturally wet side down, I caught the easel so ended with plenty of paint on myself. Perhaps I wouldn’t have been so polite if the young w***er had driven up then.
Heading for the York Peninsula:
Departure day from Wilpena was 23rd Nov, we had a good run to Port Augusta enjoying a tail wind for a change and stopping for a look around in the quaint old town of Quorn (corn) on the way down and where Nancy picked up a couple of the best Tee bone steaks I have ever eaten (she’s got a thing about butchers shops). Port Augusta we picked up new Visa cards, replacing the ones cancelled after someone lost hers last time we were in the city. Then of course the obligatory shopping to replace depleting stocks.
Our stop over for the night was Port Broughton on the York Peninsula, the temp when we arrived was 37C. The drive to Port Broughton was quite scenic alongside the southern Flinders Ranges through kilometres of fields of barley being harvested quaint old towns with beautiful old cottages and homes.
Wednesday 24th we awoke to rain, overcast conditions and quite cold, our destination was Marion Bay at the base of the York Peninsula and once again we travelled through grain growing areas where harvesting was in top gear and a continuous stream of grain trucks raced back and forth to Wallaroo where a large bulk carrier was being loaded for export.. Stops were made at several of the small towns enroute to Marion Bay most of these towns were established in the late 1850’s when rich copper ore deposits were discovered, a result of this was a large influx of Cornish miners and their families and this is revealed today in the heritage architecture of the region and the famous Cornish Pasties, which I can assure you tasted great.
Marion Bay is on the foot of the Yorke Peninsula and approximately 6 kls from the famous Innes National Park, the region is well known for its mining of Gypsum in earlier days, now days it is just a popular holiday fishing village (only the fish don’t know that).
Gypsum or hydrated calcium sulphate (CaSO4.2H2O) in other words calcium with water is used in the manufacture of plaster, plaster of paris, plaster board, ceiling board, mouldings, fertiliser a soil conditioner (as in breaking up clay ground) and even as an agent in Chinese medicine.
following are extracts from SA Government Gazette;
Like many towns, the population of the Marion Bay area developed in response to economic opportunity. Gypsum, a mineral used as an ingredient for plaster, was discovered in the area, and William Innes (after whom the mining village and the National Park are named) formed the Australian Gypsum and Whiting Company in the 1880s, to mine the gypsum leases in the area. As a substantial jetty was necessary to support the export of the large quantities of gypsum being mined, the Marion Bay jetty was built in 1889. Unlike other jetties on the Yorke Peninsula which were built for the export of primary produce, Marion Bay jetty was constructed with wooden tramway tracks, along which the gypsum was transported from the Inneston mining operations, located in what is now known as Innes National Park.
When operations were taken over by Mr A.A. Hassell in 1898, the original wooden tramway tracks were replaced with steel rails, and steam locomotives and side tipping trucks were installed to carry the gypsum down to the jetty. By the 1920s grain, wool and salt were also being shipped from Marion Bay. In 1930 nearby Stenhouse Bay took over the shipment of gypsum from lower Yorke Peninsula.
By 1970 Inneston had become a ghost town as mining operations ceased. Today the partially restored Inneston village and the stately heritage-listed Stenhouse Bay jetty provide excellent insights into the mining history of the region.
Other mining that has taken place on the Peninsula includes copper (Moonta Mines), lime (near Stansbury), dolomite (Ardrossan), and salt (Edithburgh and Price). Marion Bay has now developed into another popular holiday town on the Yorke Peninsula, offering swimming, surfing, fishing, boating, and bushwalking in Innes National Park.
During our 3 day stay at Marion Bay Nancy and I drove and walk numerous kls through the Innes National Park, the coastline around the park is quite rugged with steep high cliffs several of which have important lighthouses built on them to warn shipping of the local dangers, from these great vantage points fantastic views are had of the coastline, one in particular gives a 360 degree view and is quite sensational all of these locations are easily accessed by short relatively easy walks of a couple of kls at most and well worth the effort. We were very fortunate that the 2 days we decided to carry out our park sojourn the weather was kind to us and we were able to check out all of the important historical sites and most of the walking trails.
I walked down to a jetty to check out the fishing in this famous fishing place and chatted to a family who told me the only thing around was Tommy Ruffs and they’re good eating. Tommy Ruffs? So I waited and watched for a while, they use light gear and floats and suspend a bait above the bottom to avoid weed, then one excited member of the family pulled in what I was told was large Tommy Ruff or in other words Herring about the size of a gold fish and they eat the bloody things. I haven’t been fishing yet.
The weather changed piddled down all night and blew like hell, the morning was wet, windy and very cold. We chose to move on and took our time driving from one side of the York Peninsula to the other and back checking out the small villages enroute to Stansbury on the east coast of the York Peninsula, once again a renowned and popular fishing village with a very shallow bay beach right in front of the caravan park, once we were set up I wandered down the beach to chat to a couple of blokes fishing. The wind was howling overhead and it was freezing, these guys were local SA people and had heavy jackets and balaclavas on and they were cold as well, very un-seasonal they told me and it was obviously affecting the fishing. I haven’t been fishing yet.
To the north of the bay by about 750metres is a large jetty built for the old days of sailing ships but still in great condition and a mecca for fishing, apparently they catch blue swimmer crabs off the jetty and all sorts of fish according to another caravan occupier who had caught 17 blue swimmers just the other night, (their description sound like our sand crabs). At the other end of the bay is a groin and past this the beach is very flat so the tide goes out for ever and here they use a rake similar in appearance to a grass rake to wander through shallow clear water and rake up the blue swimmers (apparently), of course the weather has an effect on the results you don’t want any wind other wise you can’t see for ripples and of course it’s blowing its guts out now isn’t it, at least I’ve seen the rakes and had the method described. I haven’t been fishing yet.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Click Photos to Enlarge
Wilpena Caravan Park locals
the little parrots are Port Lincoln Parrots
Flinders Ranges in the vicinity of Wilpena Pound
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Still at Wilpena 19th and 20th
Wilpena 19th-20th Nov:
Yesterday 19th we spent several hours wandering around the remnants of ‘Old Wilpena Station Precinct’ and reading about its history; this was a working station for 135 years and slipped into retirement in 1985. It is a fascinating place.
Today 20th we hiked across Wilpena Pound itself heading off at the early hour of 9:15am (some people just will not get out of bed). Bridle Gap Hike is 19kls return, by midday I was hearing plenty of complaints about the heat, the walk across the pound is very easy and basically flat, once pastures it is now a thin forest of small pines and gums gradually taking it back to its original self, grazing areas are still apparent and everywhere wild flowers create carpets of blue, yellow and white.
Trudging up the final kilometre was testing, the track weaving through stunted scrub wasn’t easy to walk on, resembling a dry creek bed of loose cobbles ranging from golf ball to rock melon size and climbing all the time it would have been quite easy to turn an ankle. We made the top of what is called the Bridal Gap this was and probably still is the only other way into the pound besides the main access area near where the caravan park is situated. This is also the track that Hans Heysen the famous South Australian artist used to follow. It was on discovery of these two openings in what can be described as steep rising escarpments, that the original pastoralists’ pioneered the pound.
From a vantage point under a shady tree we ate our vegemite sandwiches and awed at the view, resting and hiding from the sun for an hour Nancy was soon snoring while I explored the surrounding rock formations. Looking over the edge of this escarpment I could see Heysen’s track dropping away and winding down the escarpment which drops away quite steeply, almost vertically. It may have been considered as the other access to the pound but I couldn’t imagine anything other than a person on foot and perhaps tough sheep making it up to the pass. On our hike (ordeal) apart from the late variety of wild flowers we encountered the obligatory roos, a couple of broods of emus and a mob of wild goats looking very fearsome with their long horns. A long hot shower was sensational when we got back, we were both a little leg weary but I think the heat didn’t help, today as it turned out was the hottest we’d had since being at Wilpena, and Nancy agrees you need to start early. Regardless we both thoroughly enjoyed it and felt as if we had achieved something.
Yesterday 19th we spent several hours wandering around the remnants of ‘Old Wilpena Station Precinct’ and reading about its history; this was a working station for 135 years and slipped into retirement in 1985. It is a fascinating place.
Today 20th we hiked across Wilpena Pound itself heading off at the early hour of 9:15am (some people just will not get out of bed). Bridle Gap Hike is 19kls return, by midday I was hearing plenty of complaints about the heat, the walk across the pound is very easy and basically flat, once pastures it is now a thin forest of small pines and gums gradually taking it back to its original self, grazing areas are still apparent and everywhere wild flowers create carpets of blue, yellow and white.
Trudging up the final kilometre was testing, the track weaving through stunted scrub wasn’t easy to walk on, resembling a dry creek bed of loose cobbles ranging from golf ball to rock melon size and climbing all the time it would have been quite easy to turn an ankle. We made the top of what is called the Bridal Gap this was and probably still is the only other way into the pound besides the main access area near where the caravan park is situated. This is also the track that Hans Heysen the famous South Australian artist used to follow. It was on discovery of these two openings in what can be described as steep rising escarpments, that the original pastoralists’ pioneered the pound.
From a vantage point under a shady tree we ate our vegemite sandwiches and awed at the view, resting and hiding from the sun for an hour Nancy was soon snoring while I explored the surrounding rock formations. Looking over the edge of this escarpment I could see Heysen’s track dropping away and winding down the escarpment which drops away quite steeply, almost vertically. It may have been considered as the other access to the pound but I couldn’t imagine anything other than a person on foot and perhaps tough sheep making it up to the pass. On our hike (ordeal) apart from the late variety of wild flowers we encountered the obligatory roos, a couple of broods of emus and a mob of wild goats looking very fearsome with their long horns. A long hot shower was sensational when we got back, we were both a little leg weary but I think the heat didn’t help, today as it turned out was the hottest we’d had since being at Wilpena, and Nancy agrees you need to start early. Regardless we both thoroughly enjoyed it and felt as if we had achieved something.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wilpena Flinders Ranges
Wilpena 15th – 19th Nov 2010
We will end up staying here for a week it is quiet and restful with plenty to see and do, the caravan park is quite large and obviously caters for large numbers of tourists; fortunately it is very quiet at this time so the park only has a few caravans and hire camper vans. The ground is hard packed red shaley gravel, I don’t know how it would be if it rained but we won’t think of that, the gravel is not rocky so people are still able to drive tent pegs into it. Each parking bay although not drive through has plenty of room to reverse in and park with the van still attached if you so choose, set amongst small pine trees and gums it is a lovely atmosphere and the flies are not as troublesome as they were at Arkaroola and other places. There are several grassy gullies throughout the park with huge river red gums standing defiant against any force of nature to wash them away, sunlight filters through the trees, the abundant birdlife sets up a chorus of competing sounds and wallabies graze casually amongst the happy campers. Yesterday 18th while talking to our Canadian neighbours and cooking breakfast outside, a large wallaby or small Kangaroo (I never know the difference) came right up the table and had a look at the food deciding bacon and eggs wasn’t the go, a little later a single Emu wandered past our van casually pecking away at fresh shoots, and it’s so peaceful.
On the 16th, day after we arrived, we established what bush walks were attemptable and undertook a couple of relatively easy ones for a warm up to walking again. These trails involved walking through a forest of massive Gums with a carpet undergrowth of purpley blue Salvation Jane (Patterson’s Curse) wild flowers, it was absolutely beautiful and photos just don’t do it justice (ours don’t anyway). One of the trails involved a fairly steep rocky climb up a hill to a look out where we could see right into the pound one way and out out the other to the surrounding country side. Looking into the pound is similar to looking into an oval volcano crater 5 kls wide and 11 kls long only it is lushly covered in forest and pastures where early settlers actually grew wheat and grazed sheep although the forest has grown back substantially now.
Wilpena is thought to have meant cupped hand in the local dialect, pound was a term early settlers used to describe an animal enclosure.
17th Nov:
Spent the day driving all the scenic roads around the National Park and beyond. Bitumen road now takes you all the way to Blinman approximately 60 kls north from Wilpena, with little diversions off here and there on gravel roads to look outs or some heritage sites. Blinman is an old established village with quaint cottages and about 64 residents, one pub, one store, a post office and a café, but it caters for a few travellers and tourists with historical walks and old mine visits and is the only town between Hawker and Arkaroola 150 odd kls further north. After Devonshire tea we crossed country on a gravel road through beautiful gorges and undulating countryside along river beds splashing through clear running mountain streams, no wonder the roads close quickly when it rains we seemed to spend a lot of time bouncing along creek beds that form part of the road, everywhere the massive River Gums of all shapes and configuration. Reaching the bitumen road Hawker to Lyndhurst on the western side of the Flinders Range we turned south for 20 or 30 kls then back into the gorge systems striking similar views and road conditions, cobbled creeks, plenty of shallow water crossings and very corrugated roads, just glad I don’t have false teeth, thought the Toyo was going to fall apart. We arrived back at Wilpena just before 7:00pm, (sun doesn’t go down until about 8:30pm here). A full day but most enjoyable.
18th Nov: Rest day neither of us felt like doing much, it was one of those warm balmy days a lot of campers moved out, it was peaceful and quiet, Nancy wandered up to the park reception (shop) for some information (shop), I washed the caravan and made it look respectable again, did some maintenance in the car, read my book and even did a little painting. Nancy decided to ‘have a little lay down at 11:45 am before we have lunch’, at 3:30 pm she disputed the time. But it was one of those days nice and relaxing and you need them now and then.
Weather here has been beautiful so far with no rain, quite cool nights and lovely warm days, no draining humidity. It’s the 19th Nov: we are going to do a substantial walk today starting early, but as I sit here typing this blog at 8:50 am, listening to Nancy snore, I wonder. And there’s a cold breeze coming through the vent in the door even though I’m sitting here with a flannelette shirt on, our plans may change.
We will end up staying here for a week it is quiet and restful with plenty to see and do, the caravan park is quite large and obviously caters for large numbers of tourists; fortunately it is very quiet at this time so the park only has a few caravans and hire camper vans. The ground is hard packed red shaley gravel, I don’t know how it would be if it rained but we won’t think of that, the gravel is not rocky so people are still able to drive tent pegs into it. Each parking bay although not drive through has plenty of room to reverse in and park with the van still attached if you so choose, set amongst small pine trees and gums it is a lovely atmosphere and the flies are not as troublesome as they were at Arkaroola and other places. There are several grassy gullies throughout the park with huge river red gums standing defiant against any force of nature to wash them away, sunlight filters through the trees, the abundant birdlife sets up a chorus of competing sounds and wallabies graze casually amongst the happy campers. Yesterday 18th while talking to our Canadian neighbours and cooking breakfast outside, a large wallaby or small Kangaroo (I never know the difference) came right up the table and had a look at the food deciding bacon and eggs wasn’t the go, a little later a single Emu wandered past our van casually pecking away at fresh shoots, and it’s so peaceful.
On the 16th, day after we arrived, we established what bush walks were attemptable and undertook a couple of relatively easy ones for a warm up to walking again. These trails involved walking through a forest of massive Gums with a carpet undergrowth of purpley blue Salvation Jane (Patterson’s Curse) wild flowers, it was absolutely beautiful and photos just don’t do it justice (ours don’t anyway). One of the trails involved a fairly steep rocky climb up a hill to a look out where we could see right into the pound one way and out out the other to the surrounding country side. Looking into the pound is similar to looking into an oval volcano crater 5 kls wide and 11 kls long only it is lushly covered in forest and pastures where early settlers actually grew wheat and grazed sheep although the forest has grown back substantially now.
Wilpena is thought to have meant cupped hand in the local dialect, pound was a term early settlers used to describe an animal enclosure.
17th Nov:
Spent the day driving all the scenic roads around the National Park and beyond. Bitumen road now takes you all the way to Blinman approximately 60 kls north from Wilpena, with little diversions off here and there on gravel roads to look outs or some heritage sites. Blinman is an old established village with quaint cottages and about 64 residents, one pub, one store, a post office and a café, but it caters for a few travellers and tourists with historical walks and old mine visits and is the only town between Hawker and Arkaroola 150 odd kls further north. After Devonshire tea we crossed country on a gravel road through beautiful gorges and undulating countryside along river beds splashing through clear running mountain streams, no wonder the roads close quickly when it rains we seemed to spend a lot of time bouncing along creek beds that form part of the road, everywhere the massive River Gums of all shapes and configuration. Reaching the bitumen road Hawker to Lyndhurst on the western side of the Flinders Range we turned south for 20 or 30 kls then back into the gorge systems striking similar views and road conditions, cobbled creeks, plenty of shallow water crossings and very corrugated roads, just glad I don’t have false teeth, thought the Toyo was going to fall apart. We arrived back at Wilpena just before 7:00pm, (sun doesn’t go down until about 8:30pm here). A full day but most enjoyable.
18th Nov: Rest day neither of us felt like doing much, it was one of those warm balmy days a lot of campers moved out, it was peaceful and quiet, Nancy wandered up to the park reception (shop) for some information (shop), I washed the caravan and made it look respectable again, did some maintenance in the car, read my book and even did a little painting. Nancy decided to ‘have a little lay down at 11:45 am before we have lunch’, at 3:30 pm she disputed the time. But it was one of those days nice and relaxing and you need them now and then.
Weather here has been beautiful so far with no rain, quite cool nights and lovely warm days, no draining humidity. It’s the 19th Nov: we are going to do a substantial walk today starting early, but as I sit here typing this blog at 8:50 am, listening to Nancy snore, I wonder. And there’s a cold breeze coming through the vent in the door even though I’m sitting here with a flannelette shirt on, our plans may change.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Click Photos To Enlarge
On the road to Arkaroola in the Flinders Ranges including 100's of creek crossings like these, emus, and roos and our camp site at Arkaroola Caravan Park
Click to enlarge
Nancy eating Lamingtons
Young local kids after a chopper ride
Keeping out of the sun behind Marree Airport
Some wags up here
Flooded Cooper Creek and Birdsville Track
Punt or Ferry at the Cooper
Salt edge and start of Lake Eyre
Half way across Lake Eyre
Southern end
Dingoe fence and harsh country at its best
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