Day 4 – Saturday 15 August

We left Thackaringa Rest Area to continue our caravan odyssey.  The last time Deb and I travelled this way there were quarantine checkpoints where our vehicle was checked for fruit etc. before we were allowed through.  It seems that the checks are a thing of the past with honesty bins placed at the checkpoints and a sign saying that there would be spot checks throughout the State of South Australia.

An emu just having a wander

Today we have done a little geocaching.  We found five today, they were all different and some were harder than others to find.  Some people used their imagination when placing the caches.  One we found was inside a pipe that was made to look like a support for a strainer post.

After our conversation with Paul on Thursday we have decided to head for the Flinders Ranges.  It seems that a good place to start our exploration is a town called Hawker so we have booked ourselves in for two nights at the Big 4 Caravan Park there.  It will give us an opportunity to do some washing and have a good clean up ourselves.

The road to Hawker goes through a town called Peterborough, originally Petersburgh but changed in 1917 because of anti-German sentiment.  This was a railway town and has a steam museum.  I have noted this and will return to visit it.  We had lunch in Queen Victoria Park which was really nice.

It is good travelling with Jan and Bernie.  Good conversation and because they are more experienced than us we are able to pick their brains.

Day 5 – Sunday 16 August

Today we went through the Flinders Ranges.  We did a fairly circuitous route covering nearly 300 km for the day.  We went in the Donchi’s car which is a Series 90 Landcruiser. A large portion of the trip was dirt and a bit rough in places.  The scenery was spectacular.  The whole place would be a geologist’s delight.

The road approaching Bunyeroo Gorge

Had morning tea at Wilpena Pound Visitors area.  This is part of the Flinders Ranges National Park.  We then went through the Bunyeroo Gorge.  There was some spectacular scenery leading up to the gorge and then through the gorge.  Once through the gorge we headed for a little town called Parachilina to have lunch at the pub that has had a licence since 1876.

For lunch we had feral burgers.  Deb and Jan had kangaroo, Bernie had camel and I had goat.  There was emu on offer as well.  We all enjoyed our lunch and after a suitable interval we headed back east through Parachilina Gorge and then to the Great Wall of China, another spectacular rock formation.

Great Wall of China

Off to Port Augusta tomorrow.