Going Walkabout -
From Broken Hill to Flinders Ranges
| Leaving
Broken Hill. Curvature of
the earth, I can't see any curvature, sayeth the engineer
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Picnic lunch at the
reservoir not looking too promising
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Umberumberka
Reservoir Wow, there it is with water
and a bonus flock of White Corellas
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We saw our first free range emu and
a mob of big reds on the move while driving to our next walkabout in the
Flinders Ranges
Australian Trivia: Q) Why do the
Emu and Kangaroo feature on the Australian Coat of Arms? A) because
neither walk backwards and neither will Australia
| Home home on
the range where the emu and kangaroo roam
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Wilpena Pound
- Natures Amphitheatre With only one day to hike
in the Ranges we choose to come here. At the visitor center the
ladies raised their eyebrows when Tony selected the 4 hour, 5.6 km hike
up Mt. Ohlssen Bagge with a #4 degree of difficulty. He assured
them "she's a game old bird, she will make it", We headed out in
35 degree heat and unrelenting sun. Some days I wish someone would
just shoot the "old bird" but not this day
We left the visitor center, crossed the creek and
started tackling the chunks of red rock up to and around the pounds
'battlements'. We got our first view into the Pound via a 'ladder'
very thoughtfully provided by Mother Nature. A short climb later
and we were on top of the magnificent steeply sloping rim
It was quite a scramble but I really enjoyed it, and
the view from up there is spectacular.
I am probably fitter now than at any other time in my life.
How sad is that? |
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Going Up
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Almost There
- we hope
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Sitting On Top Of The World,
with
just lizards (and me) for company
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The word
pound goes back to England in the middle ages. It's an
enclosure, usually of stone in which to detain stray animals, hence the
modern term dog pound. When geologists use the term they are
referring to rock formations forming enclosures on a grand scale.
The floor of the pound, all 17 km in length and 8km in width being
comprised of softer rock, eroded creating what we see today
Was it a volcanic eruption, was it a meteor strike which gave us Wilpena
Pound? No just 500 million years worth of sediments being
compressed and folded into a mountain range or in this case two ranges. Now
if you ask an indigenous person you will get a much more satisfying
story of two snakes eating people attending a ceremony, they over
indulged and died, their bodies became the mountains with St. Mary's
Peak becoming the head of the female and Beatrice Hill the male |
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Time to head
down, as is often the case the descent was more taxing than the ascent, the salt flats of Lake Torrens
were visible through the gap in the
pound
Gazing and Grazing
and not a one of them walking backwards
With knees like jelly from the
descent we took a scenic route back to our campsite for some quality time with
a new friend
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Beluga
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Hawker Caravan Park
We were too late the night before to make it to the
National Park campsite so we stayed for two nights in Hawker, an hour
away. Although we like to stay in the national parks a private
campground is sometimes a better option and we have met some great
characters when using the communal kitchens
On our last night and for breakfast before departure
we can use their stoves, pans, plates and cutlery leaving us free to
pack up our travelling kitchen and make a quick getaway in the morning.
As it happened it rained heavily overnight so we were even more glad
most of the packing was done and we just had a very soggy outer tent to
deal with. Our Australian tent proved to be the
perfect choice, it has never let in water and great challenges lay ahead
in that regard |
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The meeter
and greeter at the campground was this delightful if inappropriately
named maggie. We were told he was named for the black and white
whale, so assumed he should have been called Orca. He loved to
hang around the campers, whether rolling on the ground to be
tickled, keeping you company while you read a magazine or his particular
favourite, helping to peg out the laundry.
Unfortunately he had a foot fetish, Tony didn't mind having his
feet nibbled but if I was sitting at our site it was usually with
my feet in a bucket. Owners/management were very nice too |
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Salt Flats
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We are on our way and once again the bits in
between don't disappoint
Including the welcome to our lunch stop in Glendambo,
a sense of humour must help out here |
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