Wilpenna Pound, FRNP

We had sunny but cold weather yesterday. Before we set off from Blinman Maria and I did some laundry at the towns only option; the hotel laundry. Meanwhile the men hosed yet another load of mud off the vehicles. This is especially useful for the camper as we are getting covered in red mud each time we set up otherwise. I have adopted a hint from Maria and bought some gardening gloves to wear when we are setting up and breaking camp. Just the same my hands are cracked and dry. I really feel for the early pioneers who didn't have the luxury of hand lotion though I suppose they had lanolin in the sheep country.
We drove into the Park from the north and headed for Branchina Gorge. Along the way there is interesting information about the different geological eras and the type of rocks that were formed. The whys and wherefores. The Gorge itself was stunnning and the cameras were getting a workout. We saw a Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby. He tried  to hide when I was pointing him out to M&R but then got impatient and dived out from behind the sreening bush and made a dash for more  substantial cover. There are kangaroos and euros everywhere there is new grass and that is over a lot of the country. About 3pm we decided to look for camping and stopped at a couple of advertised stations. The first was booked out and the second one had no one home. It is the beginning of the SA school holidays! With some trepedation we went  on to the Wilpenna Pound resort and found it was not overcrowded. We set ourselves up comfortably, cooked our lamb chops in the camp kitchen and went early to bed because it was bloody cold and we hadn't collected firewood in our anxiety to find somewhere to stay. That is the priortity for today along with finding some more beautiful scenery.

Blinman , Flinders Ranges

Would you believe after one sunny day it rained on us again last night. Bob and I woke to the pitter patter of raindrops at about 2am. It continued to rain until after we had breakfast and packed up. We all huddled under the annexe off the side of Martin and Lorraine's vehicle to eat our left over chicken curry on toast. I then had time to very quickly publish yesterdays blog. We set off from Arkaroola and drove back to the North /South Highway because I wanted to shop at Leigh Creek. Unfortunately Leigh Creek is a mining town (brown coal) with no interest in serving tourists. It was Sunday so the Foodland was closed. The only place open was the service station and I did manage to buy tomatoes and some packaged ham slices there. The only other thing in the towns favour was that it had a mobile service so I could interrupt Elise and Ingrid's screen printing workshop that was Ingrid's present to Elise for her birthday. They excused themselves to phone me back so Elise could check on our return date and thank us for her birthday presents as she had celebrated yesterday for convenience and so they could go bushwalking.
We left Leigh Creek and went down to Parachilna where we shortly later detoured to go to Glass Gorge the first of the attractions in this area. We are not sure where the name comes from but it was certainly a pretty drive with the country looking almost Alpine. There were native pines all along the way and barren hillsides reminiscent of areas where there is a snow line higher than the tree line. Maria and Roland commented on the similarity to Switzerland. The Glass Gorge itself was lovely. It is a slate valley and the gorge floor was littered with eroded slate. There were many different colours of slate. We think we also managed to identify some fossils within the surface of some pieces. Roland would have liked to put some in his suitcase.
Tonight we opted out of camping and are in a two bedroom apartment in Blinman which will give us ready access to  the Flinders Ranges National  Park tomorrow. Blinman is the highest town in South Australia and so we are expecting a cold night again. Our unit has reverse cycle airconditioning so we are quite comfortable which is a pleasant touch of luxury. Thankfully the weather forcast for tomorrow is for fine weather. We are looking forward to doing some walking in the gorges.

Arkaroola

We knew that Roland and Maria were returning to Marree on Thursday so we packed up the camper in the morning and checked out of our room. Our host Ralph at the Oasis Caravan Park was kind enough to allow us to park our camper near the camp kitchen and we built a fire there to make the cloudy drisseling day more comfortable. Then donning our umbrellas we set off to walk from one road condition report at the north end of town to the other at the southern end to check on what rumour said and to get some exercise. This entailed about a 3 km walk and confirmed that the road from Birdsville was open to 4 WD and the road to the south was closed. This meant that Maria and Roland could get through from Birdsville but then we couldn't leave to go south.  We believed that the reason the southern road was closed was that a young man in a 4WD had left the sealed road from Lyndhurst in a bit of a hurry and rolled his cruiser. We spoke to people who had helped the poor damaged vehicle back onto it's wheels and they were very clear that his inexperience was a contributing  factor even though the road was slippery. This seemed to be the reason that this southern access to/from Marree was closed since the minor rainfall had been the same for both exits to the town.
Later on we spoke to the Oasis Caravan Park / Roadhouse owner who knew nothing of this and said he had put a flea in the ear of the Dept of Transport staff because of course it was holding up his supply trucks and customers. Hence we were fairly confident that the road would be reopened by 4pm. We spent the rest of the day chatting to fellow park occupants who were also delayed, pestering the roadhouse staff to check if the overdue fresh produce truck had arrived and visiting the local photograph studio.
Maria and Roland arrived at about 4pm and we informed them that we were moving on straight away to the ghost town of Farina which was just 40 kms down the road. They took this in good part because that they probably realised that after 5 days in Marree we were desperate for a change of scene. We had only recently heard of Farina when friends of ours from Walpole told us they were going there to help with the restoration work. We arrived at about 5-30pm having stopped on the way to scavenge wood for a fire. We found that there was a well organised though rustic camp ground and soon set up in a comfortable corner just far enough away from a camp with 8 vocal youngsters. The next morning we enquired of the rubbish collecting team as to whether Frank and Lorraine Cooper were still in residence. Shortly after Frank arrived to say  hello and told us Lorraine was at work in the underground bakery where they cooked all sorts of delicious goodies. This was enough for us to head out but we did visit the Anzac memorial and the cemetary first. Farina had once had a population of 500 and boasted two hotels. Because most of the buildings had been stone construction it was feasible to restore them to a condition that showed a good representation of what the town had been like. We found Lorraine just finishing her shift in the bakery with all the bread delivered to the cafe marquee. She showed us around this amazing bakery with a huge bread oven. We then went and chatted to Frank who was helping to excavate all the stones of the tumble down Police Station prior to a stonemason arriving to supervise reconstruction of the walls. Naturally we had to support the hard working team by buying some of the bakery products before we left.
We then set off for Arkaroola which is a privately owned Conserveration Park. It is located in extremely rugged terrain. They offer bush camping as well as the usual caravan park faciities and we chose the former so that we could have a fire. Bob and Roland are very good firewood gatherers and we were soon comfortably set up. It was a shock this morning however to wake up to - 2 C with ice over everything which had been left out overnight. We spent the day out exploring the area which involved some significant 4WDing. Maria and Roland tackled an "extreme 4WD" track and had some fun but Bob and I took the low road which still required slow and careful driving. We all ended up at the Paraluna Springs which were promoted as hot springs. Maria and I took our bathers envisaging a swim. Sadly when we arrived we discovered that the springs were "hot" in more than one sense of the word. There was a sign telling us that they are a heath hazard because the agent which makes the water warm is radon gas and it is effectively radioactive.
We came home having seen many Yellow footed Rock wallaby's and some beautiful creek beds with some interesting vegetation in amongst very rugged red stone bluffs. There was a collaborative effort to prepare a chicken curry cooked in the camp oven and it was delicious.

Bob,s say

Hi.
I am so very thankful Gail could carry me for the 3 days weve been here. Today at last I am alive and nearly ready to get going again albeit slowly. So sick .... no beer ....no wine for 3 days ,,,,,,,,, Now at last I can be of help but even so have still a bit to go.However they say the rain may now stop or at least ease up so we can keep going to nice places espec in the Flinders Rangers. We are waiting for the swiss contact to see where we get to next. Never thought getting a bit crook would flatten me but this did. Now up and on
Bob

Day 4 in Marree

Bob is much much better and we are looking forward to moving on. Day two we waved Maria and Roland off then moved into the unit they had vacated. Bob slept most of the day but went for a long walk around town to stretch him (and me) after so much lying around. Yesterday we took a drive out to Herrgott Springs, an artesian spring that is about 4 kms from town. This was the original name for the settlement but it was changed to Marree in the 1915 mood of anti German sentiment.  We have done some domestic chores so all is laundered. Yesterday and today we have tidied up the camper a bit more. Bob has attached the second new Anderson plug to the electrics for the cruiser. They keep getting damaged with the rough roads. He declined to pay the local mechanic $45 for it and then we found them at the store for $21 so he was well pleased. I have scraped more mud out of the mud guards and from every conceivable crevice around both cruiser and camper. Last night we walked down to the hotel for dinner and were amazed to see locals sitting outside in the cold drinking their beers. They told us we needed a name tag to get inside. When we opened the door we understood what they meant. The bar was jam packed with a few locals and a bus load of seniors. One woman  kindly informed us that they were due to go into dinner in 10 minutes. We squeezed through and went to enquire about dinner. We were informed we had to find a table and report back with the number. We were relieved when the barmaid told us there were several dining rooms. Sure enough the pub is in the grand old style with lots of space going back behind the bar. It has been nicely restored and we had no trouble finding a table. We were in the Tom Kruse  Room which is set up as a museum to the legendary mail man who drove the Birdville Track from 1936-40 before there was any track until 1975. There was a video playing about his exploits and we could have done without the repetition, repetition, reptition. The meal was very nice and they must have a well organised kitchen because it was served promptly despite the bus load of tourists.
We have heard that Maria and Roland were going out driving the dunes today and will head back tomorrow.
Bob wants to have a say so over and out.

Marree Day 2

The flight over Lake Eyre yesterday was fantastic and I only felt a little bit guilty about leaving Bob on the ground. The fact that the nurse had said he was not well enough to fly and he certainly looked too sick eased my concience. We paid for the 2 hour flight right up over the North Lake in a "hang the expense we will only do this once mood" and it was well worth it. The South Lake and the southern part of the North Lake have water in them from the rainfall over the past five weeks but the northern part of the main lake have floodwaters coming in from the Cooper Creek, the Warburton River and a couple of others with names I can't remember just now. So it was up in this northern area that we saw quite a few black swans and flocks of pelicans. Maria couldn't get over the fact that the area of the lake system is larger than Switzerland. We flew 150 kms up the length of the lake and it is 65 kms wide. The pilot was very informative telling us  the names of the inlets and rivers as we flew over them. We flew in at 2500 metres but he dropped down to 500 metres when we were over the area most likely to see birdlife. Then we came home at 3500 metres to get a broader perspective and also to avoid  another plane in the area  I suspect. He also took us over a very beautiful creek system adjacent to the lake on the bordering station which he said was his favourite area. It was beautiful with the system forming a delta of meandering creeks. Lush and green among red sand dunes.
We cooked dinner in the camp kitchen of the caravan park with Maria and Roland doing the honours.  It is a well set up kitchen and we took our own table and chairs over to get the corner most protected from the wicked little wind that blows around here.
This morning we encouraged Maria and Roland to go on to Birdsville without us. Although the antibiotics are starting to work for Bob he is not well enough to drive on sealed roads let alone these ones. Tomorrow if he is well enough we may follow but I think we will be waiting here for them to come back in three days to give hime a chance to really get over this infection. Innaminka is completely flood bound so that part of the plan must be abandoned anyway. From here we will go down to the Flinders Ranges National Park.
The weather is cloudy here so it is no hardship for Bob to curl up under a blanket and sleep. Today we will move into the "donger" that Maria and Roland had and he will be more comfortable still. Besides it means we can plug in the Engel and recharge all the batteries. That is the update for today. I  will probably walk down to the Telcentre to chat and compare notes while Bob sleeps.

Marree, Junction of 2 Tracks

Yesterday was smooth running. Still had patches of mud but we just take the cleanest route through following others tracks and scrape the mud off with the spade in the evening. We were  still close to the old Ghan line and stopped in at a couple of sidings. Coward Springs was a beautiful spot and if we had been stopping overnight we would certainly had a "spa" in the warm artesian water. We had a look through the small museum which was well set up. I particularly enjoyed the verbatim stories of the old drovers who used camels in the early days. Also a couple of biologists who told of driving along the Ghan railway track to avoid flooded tracks only to have the Ghan come up behind them. They took off to the side and the Ghan driver stopped the train for a chat.
From there we went on to Curdimurka which John Mcdouall Stuart used as a base for his explorations in 1861 and 1862 because it had reliable water. It had the best preserved site including a Railway "trains cross here "sign which amused us. There was also a long bridge over a large body of water which had ducks, dab chicks and 3 black swans paddling around.
At Alberrie Creek there was some very creative sculptures made from scavenged materials including a dog fashioned from one of the old square tanks with a car suspended  as the head and which nodded with the wind. We were in to Marree quite early but had been watching a large storm which was dumping rain off to the south of us. After discussion with the knowledgeable locals ( not the burnt out woman on the counter) we decided it was best to stay overnight rather than be trapped somewhere up the track.
We selected the better of the two caravan parks and it was a good choice. The manager is very helpful and they have WiFi here which the one attached to the hotel did not. It is fortunate for Bob as well. Overnight his cold developed into a chest infection and he could not have driven today. We have obtained antibiotics from the helpful and competent nurse at the medical centre operated by the Flying Doctor. We made a suitable donation for the service which only cost us $10 for antibiotics, soluble panadol and nasal spray.
This afternoon Maria, Roland and I are going on a flight over Lake Eyre while Bob sleeps. I will tell you all about it later.