Flinders Ranges & Clare.

The Flinders Ranges.

The Flinders Ranges is an iconic Australian Outback destination. Unlike much of Australia's outback, this region is very accessible, being only 450 kms from Adelaide, on first class, sealed roads. It has been on our list for a number of years, but circumstances have stopped us on three earlier attempts, but not this time!! Our route took us along the Murray, through the lovely riverside town of Renmark, where we stopped for lunch at a lovely little riverfront café called Chill n Grill. It is true that I was attracted by the board out front which declared "Soup of the Day - Beer!!", but the food was equally as good. After lunch, we stopped at the local Woolies to top up our supplies for the week ahead, then continued along the river to Waikerie, where we spent the night.

Ferry Across the Murray.

The railway town.

In the morning, we hopped on a ferry to cross the Murray and drove through lots more vineyards before arriving at the quaint old riverside town of Morgan, where a gorgeous little bakery beckoned us to have morning tea beside the river. Another couple in a caravan had the same idea, and we struck up a conversation. They were from Paynesville in Victoria's lakes district, and were quite amazed by the fact that we were in our 6th year of travel around Australia! With true Aussie, the guy enquired "ïs there blood on the walls in there? There would be in ours!!" We assured him there wasn't, and returned to our travels. The next little town we passed through was Burra, which looked really quaint and begged a future visit. It was then onto Peterborough, another great little town, this one with railway history from years gone by, where the town was a key part of the rail network bringing minerals from Broken hill to Port Augusta.

Orrorro Pub.

Entry to Rawnsley Park.

Further along the road was Orroroo, another little village full of old homes. By now, we were well into sheep and wheat country, and far from the irrigated flats of the Murray. The rolling plains and hills were treeless with not a blade of green grass in sight. Hawker is the gateway to the Flinders Ranges, and from here it was on to Rawnsley Park Station, our destination for the next five days. For caravans and camping there are three options in the Flinders Ranges. Firstly you can stay at Wilpena Resort Caravan Park right in the National Park. This had been our first option, but to our surprise, it was full, or all large caravan sites were full. The second option was free camping within the national park, but that wasn't for us, so we took the third option which was staying  at the privately owned Rawnsley Park Station, about 20kms south of the national park. All the sites are gravel, and tiered into the rolling hills and down along the dry creek bed, but it is a great spot with excellent facilities. Our site was huge! I reckon it was the biggest site we've ever had! We gathered up all the brochures and spent happy hour planning the days ahead.

Welcome to Wilpena.

One of many lookouts.

Next morning we headed up to the national park and the Wilpena Visitor Centre. This is a first rate centre, with many indigenous guides and staff working there. It is set among lots of trees, so different to the surrounding area.There is the information centre plus a good café and gift shop. This is the destination from which most of the parks hiking trails start. It is also home to the Wilpena Pound Resort and caravan park. We took a drive through the caravan park, and it did look pretty full! Armed with some more brochures, we headed back out to the main road and turned north looking for the turnoff for the Brachina Gorge Scenic Drive. We found the turnoff and headed bush on a well graded dirt road. The Flinders ranges received good rain in February, but apart from a slightly green tinge in some paddocks and the healthy gum trees you would not know it. Much of the road follows dry creek beds and there is hardly a puddle to be found. We stopped at all the lookouts and took in the incredible vistas of this spectacular landscape. On the way back we drove up to the top of Stokes Lookout, one of the highest points around. The views from the lookout were amazing and oh so quiet. It was just us, a few sheep, an emu or two and an odd kangaroo!!

Lunch at the Prairie Hotel.

Kangaroo, Emu & Camel Yummo!

Next day we decided to have lunch at the iconic Prairie Hotel. We took another scenic route, the Moralana Scenic Drive, through the hills and across a sheep station, and it was a nice drive. We love our famous outback pubs!!! This one, has been serving drinks since 1876. The current clientele arrives in masses, driving the latest top end 4WD or alighting from their APT and Outback Spirit Luxury air conditioned coaches, resplendent in the latest R M Williams gear, a far cry from the dusty, smelly prospectors, drovers and stockmen of last century. The pub still oozes character, but now has luxury accommodation out the back, and a top class chef in the kitchen. The famous food is Feral, but there are lots of not so feral choices as well. I went Feral, with the Feral Mixed Grill, while Carol went safe with the King George Whiting. My mixed grill was Kangaroo Fillet, an Emu Mignon, and a Camel Sausage, and it was excellent, though at $38.00 it was pricey, given that the ingredients can be picked up along the road on the way in!! Only kidding, I hope!! They have their own beer on tap, who doesn't these days! It is Fargher (owner's name) Lager, and not bad. The place was packed, but there were two bus groups in, who just get a quick stop, with a Feral Tasting plate, a beer a quick run through the gift shop, and back on the bus!

Nicely restored building.

On the way to Blinman.

After lunch we drove out to Blinman, named after Robert "Peg Leg" Blinman, a one legged shepherd who found copper in the area in 1859. I guess he just pegged out his claim and hopped into the mining office to register it!! Seriously, don't you just love the characters who forged this land!! Today there isn't much left in Blinman, just a pub, a general store serving Quondong Pies and the world's most expensive Magnum ice creams - $6.00!! Who said all the bushrangers were dead!! You can also do a tour of the old mine site, which we declined. There are a couple of B&B's, I guess for people who want a true outback experience, whilst visiting the Flinders Ranges. The drive over was through some pretty rough sheep country, and we again saw quite a lot of emus and a couple of kangaroos. At one creek crossing, we even found a little water. We had been told that the Blinman Pools, which can be quite spectacular after rain, were currently dry, so we didn't head out there.

Walking the trails at Wilpena.

Made it to the top lookout.

On our third day we went back to the Wilpena Visitor Centre to do one of the main walks, and to get a good look at the famous Wilpena Pound, a huge natural amphitheatre. This walk was called the Wangara Lookout Walk totalled 7.8kms, but we shortened by 2 kms by timing our departure with a shuttle bus that takes walkers to the head of the walk departure point. First stop is the Old Homestead. It is hard to imagine that settlers once farmed Wilpena Pound, with sheep and wheat. Reading the excellent information boards, it is heart breaking to read of the hardships and struggles. Nature finally won, and now the land has been handed back to the traditional owners. From the Homestead, we started the climb up to the lookout points. The Lower Lookout was good, but it was at the Upper Lookout that we got to see the full extent of Wilpema Pound. It was truly worth the climb!!

Great drives around the Flinders,

Our last day, we just lazed around Rawnsley Park Station. The facilities are excellent except for the lousy WiFi. It was funny watching everyone huddle around the entrance to the camp kitchen, the only place where it worked, and then only spasmodically. We had also marveled at the group across from us, comprising an older couple, with a middle aged woman and a middle aged guy who was severely handicapped, and wheel chair bound. They were in tents, well equipped I might add, but they were making sure this handicapped guy got the full experience. I took my hat off to them. I love people who say we can, rather that we can't!!

So many stories to tell.

We hooked up next day and headed for Clare. We left with the temperature at a lovely 25 degrees, and stopped at Hawker for a pleasant morning tea. By the time we reached Jamestown, just 165kms south, the temperature had dropped to 13 degrees and we had some light rain. The drive down was through some drought ravaged lands badly in need of rain, but this wasn't even going to settle the dust. We passed the ruins of several old stone homesteads, and always wonder what life must have been like for these old settlers. We stopped in Jamestown and shared a delicious sweet curry for lunch at a lovely little café called Bindlestick, then were back in the saddle for the short run to Clare.

Staying at Steph & Darrin's.

The new extensions.

In Clare, we were staying with our friends Steph and Darrin, and their now 3 children, Matthew (6), Hayley (4) and Daniel (2). When last here, Hayley had just been born, with Down's Syndrome. All the kids took to us, and we had a great time getting to know this new little family. Steph was Carolyn's hairdresser when we lived in Balmain. She took her hairdressing to the high seas, working on the small luxury expedition cruise ship Orion, where she met Darrin, who was one of the expedition leaders. The rest as they say is history!. They live on 14 acres just outside Clare, and have recently completed a lovely extension to their old Australian Colonial farmhouse. They have olive trees and a few sheep. It is a delightful setting. Darrin now works for the SA Parks & Wildlife Service, and Steph still does some part time hairdressing, so Carolyn finally got her hair done!!

Steph, Carolyn & Darren.

John with Hayley & Daniel.

We had the most delightful stay, touring around this wonderful wine region by day, and sharing the evening with the family, helping cook meals and even do homework with Matthew. The kids all think our caravan is the best cubby house, and when they found the kids TV channels on Foxtel we had the perfect child minding centre. When the kids were bathed and into bed, we would just sit around and chat about our lives, and their challenges and opportunities. You can only admire how they have changed their lives to cater for the needs of little Hayley, who is doing really well with her learning skills.

Clare Valley Wine Country.

Long Lazy Lunch at Pauletts.

The Clare Valley Wine Region is high in quality and one of our favourites. The delicious crisp Rieslings are such a nice change to the sav blanc the Australian wine industry has undergone. On the red side, the shiraz is rich and full, and there are some great GSM blends. We visited a number of small wineries, plus my favourite, Greg Cooley Wines, where I picked up an absolute bargain. He had just released a Cleanskin made from the grapes that normally make up his premium shiraz. He felt that the fruit was not quite up to standard for his top line, so made this cleanskin instead. At $10.00 a bottle it is a beauty! I wish I had a bigger truck!! At Darrin's recommendation, we also headed out to Pauletts, where they have built a new winery, with a great café that looks out over the hills of Clare. We lingered over a lazy lunch and tasted a few wines and wondered how it can get any better than this!! Great food, great wines, great friends and the girl of my dreams. The journey just gets better and better.