This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.

Author Archives: wendyviney


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1999 Travels May 9

SUNDAY 9 MAY     WILPENA

As we had arranged yesterday, J and U arrived at our camp about 9.30. They inspected the van and we had a cuppa.

We then went in their Nissan onto nearby Willow Springs property, to drive part of the Sky Trek track there. They had been unable to contact the owners, who are their friends, to get the keys to do the full track.

Sky Trek is a drive for 4WD vehicles that these people have developed on their property, following station tracks, those made in earlier times by miners, and goat shooters, and tracks they have formed to link them up. It has been open for about four years. It is something different and hence J and U wanted us to see it.

Although, without the gate key, we could not drive the full Skytrek circuit, we were still able to go a long way on the station tracks that J and U know.

05-09-1999 09 Skytrek track & Bunkers.jpg

Driving track on Willow Springs

The scenery was brilliant – creek lines, gorges, great old river red gum trees, and the rugged, photogenic Bunkers Range as backdrop.

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The Bunkers Range

05-09-1999 07 pinnacle range

Mt Chambers – driving track below

We had a BBQ lunch in a dry creek bed, near an old shepherd’s hut. Both the setting and the meal were great. My meal contributions were steaks and salad. J bought some home made bread, a cake, and red wine. It was quite a party, in a superb setting, and with only us there.

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This is the place for a picnic

 

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Old Moxon’s Hut – constructed of local logs

fter lunch we drove some more tracks, including up a hill that gave an excellent lookout over the ranges.

05-09-1999 08 Pinnacle Ranges Skytrek track

In the Bunkers

As a finale, they drove us to Skull Rock – up an old barites mine track, which was steep and rough, with some decent drops in places – not my favourite sort of road! We walked for ten minutes from where U parked, to get to where we could see the Skull. It was a very different landform – a “flow” of calcium carbonate through a narrow gap in the normal rocks of the area. It has been weathered and the colour and hollows on the surface do rather suggest a skull.

05-09-1999 10 skull rock.jpg

Skull Rock

It was dark by the time we got back to Wilpena, after a great day out.

We promised to stay in touch. U and I had done some reminiscing, while we were going along, about the Tasmanian trip we’d done in 1969/70, with J and B. U suggested we should have a reunion with them and a showing of all of our slides from that trip – sometime in the future – at Loxton, maybe, as it is central to us all.

After the substantial lunch, we only needed a light tea: a tin of soup, toasted cheese.

Today was such a great day that we decided to buy a Sky Trek pass and drive the full route, ourselves, before we leave here.


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1999 Travels May 8

SATURDAY 8 MAY     WILPENA

We left at 10.30 to drive in to Hawker, to meet my friends. We went to J and U’s home, where we received a warm welcome. U was still totally recognizable, even after all these years. Time has been kind to him.

We had coffee there and then went with them to the Sports Club, where they had duties. We chatted there, in between U serving at the bar and J organizing food.

We bought ourselves a pasty each at the Club, for lunch.

In the afternoon had a game of bowls with them – it was a fun game and we were soundly beaten! Competitive people, those! The green was not the greatest – it chopped the bowls about a bit.

J and U drove the Canning Stock Route in ’95 and are going to the Kimberley this year. They hope to go to Cape York next year. I mentioned that if they were looking for extra company for trips to remote areas – especially if they were doing the Canning again – that we would be interested. They have a Nissan Patrol and a new offroad camper trailer.

We drove back from Hawker in the dark, with our eyes straining for sheep and kangaroos on the road.

Tea was light: packet soup, toast with cheese and sardines.

In all, it was a very enjoyable day.


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1999 Travels May 7

FRIDAY 7 MAY     WILPENA

We slept late. I was a little stiff when I got up, but it wore off. John’s feet were sore.

After breakfast, I walked to the phone box and phoned U, at Hawker. He remembered me with no problem, even after about thirty years! He seemed pleased to hear from me. We will see them tomorrow.

Packed lunch, refuelled Truck – 81cpl here! Then went driving, which was all we felt up to.

Our first destination was Sacred Canyon, only about 10kms from Wilpena. We hadn’t been here before. Its main interest is aboriginal rock engravings, supposed to be quite old. The drive in was an attractive one – on an unsealed road.

05-07-1999 06 Sacred canyon track.jpg

The track to Sacred Canyon

Along the track we came across a very unusual red gum tree, which was growing in two parts. Somehow a split had developed in the base of the tree and that became quite a large gap between the two parts.

05-07-1999 04 split gum in sacred canyon

The split red gum on the track to Sacred Canyon

The short bit of walking we did there was enjoyable. We were not particularly impressed with the stone engravings. As the surroundings were so pleasant, we ate lunch there.

05-07-1999 05 john in sacred canyon

Walking in Sacred Canyon

05-07-1999 03 aboriginal intaglio rock sacred canyon.jpg

Aboriginal intaglio rock engravings at Sacred Canyon

Back to the main road and then north on the Blinman road to firstly, Hucks Lookout and then, a bit further on, Stokes Hill Lookout. The air here is so clear that the scenery really stands out. The scenery of the Flinders Ranges is all so spectacular that, after a while, only the extra special parts make an impression! One can certainly use up a lot of film here!

05-07-1999 09 Heysen Range with Wilpena entry centre.jpg

The Heysen Range from Hucks Lookout. The tallest peak is St Marys Peak. To the left of the photo , at the lowest part of the Range, is the dark shadow of Wilpena Gap

Another old red gum tree that made a great impression on us was the Cazneaux Tree, not far from Wilpena. It was pictured, in the 1930’s, by the photographer Cazneaux. He wrote about how, for him, it typified the Spirit of Endurance. The photograph became famous and, thus, so did the tree. It is now listed on the National Trust’s Significant Tree Registry. Qantas later used Cazneaux’s tree-inspired words as a slogan on its planes. The old tree has endured much more, since the 1930’s photo, and is now very much showing its age and the effects of drought and fire – but still endures on! With its superb backdrop of the ranges, it really is something special.

05-07-1999 02 another view of cazneux tree

The Cazneaux Tree, with its dramatic range backdrop

05-07-1999 01 cazneux tree spirit of endurance

The Spirit of Endurance – the Cazneaux Tree

From the lookouts, we continued on the Blinman road, past Oraparinna, then turned west and drove to Brachina Gorge . At its eastern end, where we stopped to look about, saw some elegant parrots and a yellow footed rock wallaby.

By now, it was too late to linger in the gorge, so we drove through it, much of the way actually in the dry creek bed, between the gorge walls. Followed the gravel road across the flat plains west of the range, to the Leigh Creek road, then came south on the bitumen to where the unsealed Moralana Scenic Route cuts through, south of Wilpena Pound, and meets the Wilpena road south of Rawnsley Park. And so back to camp.

The sunset over the Elder Range, as we came along the Moralana Route, was magnificent.

05-07-1999 10 sunset over elder range from moralana rd.jpg

Sunset over the Elder Range

It was well and truly dark by the time we got back to the van. We hadn’t really intended for this to turn into such a long day, but one thing led to another. We ended up driving 199kms.

Tea was late: fries with frozen “oven bake” fish – cooked in the electric frypan.

Another cold night; another early to bed, after another tiring but great day.


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1999 Travels May 6

THURSDAY 6 MAY      WILPENA

Slept in somewhat. The early morning was a bit chilly, and the campground was remarkably quiet.

It became a pleasant, warm, blue sky day.

To celebrate being back at Wilpena, we decided to tackle the walk to Bridle Gap, which traverses the floor of the Pound, to the rim that is its western edge. Although Wilpena Pound appears almost like a crater, from the air, it is actually a high valley between two ranges – geosynclines – that were pushed up by earth movements long ago. The southern end of the valley is blocked by another section of range – Rawnsley Bluff, thus creating the crater effect. At the northern end of the Pound, there is just a drop off to the levels below. Because a layer ofvolcanic debris was found between layers of sedimentary rock, it was at one time assumed that Wilpena was a crater. Recently, it has been discovered that the volcanic debris actually comes from the Gawler Ranges, a long way to the west, and was blown here by the force of the explosion when an asteroid or meteorite hit the Gawler Ranges, forming Lake Acraman in the process.

05-06-1999 geological Info.jpg

The geology of the Wilpena area

We set out on the walk at 10.30am. It is part of the Heysen Trail, a 1200km long walk trail that starts at the coast south of Adelaide, and ends at the Parachilna Gorge, just north of here.

Walked from the campground to the Pound entrance, following Wilpena Creek through the narrow Wilpena Gap that is the entrance. The only other ways into the Pound are via the walking track down from the flank of St Mary’s Peak, to the north, or through the Bridle Gap, which was supposed to be able to be accessed by a skilled horse rider – hence the name.

05-06-1999 Wilpena from Wangarra LO 92 pic to show.jpg

This photo I took in ’92 shows the Wilpena Creek and Gap, looking back towards Wilpena Resort, in the trees just through the Gap

It was about 2kms to walk from the campground to the end of the road, where the shuttle bus deposits those who take it. Then the track continues to follow the creek through the gap. It is a really pretty walk. A bit over a km from the road end, there is the Hills Homestead. For a few years from 1899, the Hill family attempted to grow wheat in the Pound. Their home has been restored from near derelict.

05-06-1999 02 The Hills homestead Wilpena Pound.jpg

The Hills Homestead by Wilpena Gap

The walk across the Pound floor is a fairly easy one, though one must watch their footing in places where there are rocks. Parts were open, with grass amidst small rocks, other parts were through scrub. Every so often there have been bushfires in the Pound, and scrubby regrowth results from  that. There was a bit of a climb up to the edge of the rim at Bridle Gap.

05-06-1999 The Pound from Wangarra LO. Dick Nob to left. 92 pic for contrast.jpg

Where we are walking to – the Pound floor with Bridle Gap and Dicks Nob in the left distance, and the Elder Range at the very back

We did some bird spotting along the way – white backed swallow, the Port Lincoln Ringneck parrot, and a red capped robin.

By 1.30pm, we were eating our lunch at Bridle Gap, with a superb view out over to the Elder Range.

05-06-1999 03 Elder Range from Bridle Gap.jpg

The Elder Range from Bridle Gap

After lunch and just relaxing high up on our perch, we retraced our way back across the Pound.

05-06-1999 05 bridle gap.jpg

Our very scenic lunch spot

05-06-1999 07 St Marys Pk from Bridle Gap track.jpg

St Marys Peak, across the Pound, from Bridle Gap

05-06-1999 08 going back there

Heading off on the long walk back across the Pound

05-06-1999 09 late afternoon inside the pound

Late afternoon in Wilpena Pound

On the way back, John developed blisters under the toes on both feet, so he was feeling rather miserable by the time we were back at the Hills Homestead. There were some people at the hut, who were walking back to catch the shuttle bus back to the resort, so we did that too. It cost us $2 each, for the one way trip, but saved the last 2kms of walking on the blisters. It was fortunate that John had taken a little money with him.

We walked about 20.8kms altogether and his hips managed it well. I certainly appreciated the long, warm shower I had. Walking back from the shower, I encountered some people who had been camped near us at Mildura. They are going up St Mary’s Peak tomorrow – it is a big walk and climb. John did it in ’92; I squibbed out of the final bit, due to not liking heights.

John threaded cotton through his blisters to dry them out. I had to help with some he couldn’t reach – yukky! They are certainly big blisters. He needs new walking boots, I think – a bit bigger.

Tea was the last of the vegie soup, creamy paprika chicken and rice, which was nice and easy to make – I was not feeling much like any effort by now!

It was another cold night, once the sun set.

We had a very early night!


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1999 Travels May 5

WEDNESDAY 5 MAY     BURRA TO WILPENA     301kms

Today was a superb day – clear blue sky, and warm.

I walked to the shops while John made breakfast. Bought a paper and posted S’s birthday card and cheque. It is a bit early but we may not have postal facilities again, for a while.

Left the caravan park at 9.15. Stopped to buy diesel – 74cpl – and while that was happening I raced off and bought some more grapefruit. We have taken to eating a half one of these each, for breakfast.

Today’s was another interesting drive, with the Flinders Ranges and, eventually, the rim of Wilpena Pound coming into view in the distance.

From Burra, we travelled north to Terowie, then cut through to Peterborough – a fair sized little town that looked worth exploring at some time. Then it was on to Orroroo, and Carrieton. To this point the country had been slightly undulating grazing and wheat land. After Carrieton there were more low hills, then, from Cradock there was a definite range ahead.

We had encountered gravel road each side of Cradock, but it was good quality.

The approach to Hawker was rather scenic. We stopped here to eat lunch, at a pleasant picnic area and well done Information Centre.  Then took the Wilpena turnoff. The main road continues on towards Leigh Creek and parts north, and we shall pick that up again later.

North of this little town, the ranges ahead became more defined, and around the turnoff to Rawnsley Park Station, we could see the ramparts of the Wilpena Pound, to the left, ahead.

We started to see some stands of cypress pine. I associate these, so much, with Wilpena – on a previous school holiday trip here, in 1992, cypress pine firewood was available, and the whole campground smelled aromatic from it. There were the occasional big old red gums too.

Initially, after Hawker, we’d been heading north through a wide flat valley between low ranges. This gradually narrowed and the ranges got higher. We turned west onto the Wilpena road and the jagged Pound rim was not far ahead.

Reached Wilpena mid afternoon. It has changed greatly in the seven years since our last visit. There is a new Visitor Centre, and shops, and a new powered caravan section in the camp ground. There are also new amenity blocks. It now seems very slanted towards eco tourism and being environmentally sensitive. They now run a shuttle bus to the Pound entrance – no more driving one self – and charge $3 each to ride it!

We took a powered caravan site at $17 a night. But the seventh night is free. Also bought a four-week National Park Pass for $15. Found I can buy a Desert Parks Pass here too, which we will need later in the year.

Our site is firm gravel, big, and well separated from neighbouring sites by treed areas and walkways. Despite it being the designated caravan section, it has more the feel of a bush camp. It has a water tap, too, and a ring of stones making a fireplace. There is no TV, though. Wonderful! The stay here is going to be so good! It is great to be back here again, with time to thoroughly explore, this visit. I am “owed” lots of bush walks, after John’s bowls indulgences – and there are lots of walks to choose from, in these parts!

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Wilpena camp – amongst cypress pines and with a mountain backdrop

After we’d set up for an extended stay, watched by a rather noisy Red Wattlebird, we walked around the “village” and visited the shop, to see what it offered. Basic groceries, tourist items, take away type food and the like. There is a distinct “bush” smell about the place.

We discovered whilst setting up, that there are plenty of mosquitoes here!

Tea was soup, rissoles and vegies.

The night got very cold. With no TV, it was a matter of reading, then getting a fairly early night.

05-05-1999 burra to wilpena


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1999 Travels May 4

TUESDAY 4 MAY   LOXTON TO BURRA   226kms

Today is K’s birthday – his 25th.

John got back after having the five new tyres fitted at 9.15, and we were away at 10.15. John and the tyre man decided to keep the existing tubes in the new tyres, because the tubes seemed in good condition.

We crossed the Murray at Barmera.

It was evident through this morning’s driving, that the new tyres make Truck handle very differently, seeming not to hold on the road so well, so that is something to get used to.

After Waikerie, we had a coffee stop and a bird watch, spotting a Pallid Cuckoo.

Stopped for lunch between Morgan and Burra. Quite a bit of that section was unsealed, but was in pretty good condition.

Overall, it was quite an interesting a varied drive, from the irrigation areas of the Riverland, along the Murray – getting glimpses of it every so often, then through a drier area of saltbush and Mallee scrub; closer to Burra we were into grazing country, with areas of low hills in the distance.

The Army was on the move, as we encountered about twenty big vehicles between Barmera and Burra.

We were amused by a sign – home made – attached to a fence on a sweeping corner on the road between Morgan and Burra – on a newly sealed section. Obviously, the farmer’s fence had been demolished, probably more than once, by drivers failing to take the corner, so he had put up his own warning sign. It read something like “Save my Fence”  “Steady up, you barstards”.

05-04-1999 sign Morgan Burra rd.jpg

Plain language signs on the fence

We arrived in Burra mid-afternoon. Booked into the Burra Caravan Park for $13. It is a very pleasant little park on the banks of Burra Creek, where there were Mallard ducks swimming about.

We only did the minimal set up for an overnight stop.

It is only a short walk to the shops. We are surrounded by all these brilliant old buildings – what a great place!

Burra began when copper was discovered here, in 1845 – only nine years after SA was settled at all. The development of the colony was greatly aided by the wealth generated from Burra copper, mined from 1845-1877. The mines attracted mostly Cornish workers, expert in this type of mining. Initially, the ore was even shipped to Cornwall for smelting, until smelters were built locally.

After the mine closed, the town became a service centre for the wool and wheat farms of the surrounding area.

We went to the art gallery because I’d seen some tourist information that there was a big exhibition of quilts made by SA quilters – wonderful items, and so much work in them. One day I would like to try that. It was an excellent display of high quality quilts.

Walked around and looked at some of the many old buildings. I was particularly impressed by the row of Cornish miners’ cottages near the caravan park – initially built by a mining company for its workers. Of course, because we initially set out to walk to the Post Office, I had not taken my camera!

We must come back here, in future travel and spend some time exploring the town and the district.

Collected our mail from the PO, where we had asked K to send it. There were Mothers Day cards from my offspring, but nothing else of note.

Tea was soup, cold lamb, mashed potato.

I phoned K from a phone box and wished him happy birthday. He has bought a computer from our friend R.

John phoned daughter R.

It turned into a really chilly night, after a beautiful sunny day.

05-04-1999 loxton to burra


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1999 Travels May 3

MONDAY 3 MAY     LOXTON

It was a lovely sunny day, much warmer than it had been at Mildura.

John decided this morning that he really did not want to worry about the state of the tyres any longer. They are the original Michelins that Truck came with, and are getting quite worn. They have covered 63,000kms – some of this towing, and some on the poor roads and tracks of Cape York, so we are happy with the performance. Back in Melbourne, we had thought they would last until we got to Alice Springs, but given the route there that we are planning, it is prudent to have them replaced now. We think a different type of tyre might now be in order for the desert and outback work we plan. I had done research in 4WD magazines, in 1997, before we started travelling, and from that we selected a tyre that reviews said performed very well on all surfaces except snow and ice – and we did not anticipate needing that! We’d had those tyres fitted to the van wheels when it was built – Olympic Overlanders.

John had gotten a quote for these when we were in Melbourne, but decided against changing over then. He went down the street here and got a local quote. This was better than the one in Lilydale! With a trade-in allowance, he could get five new tyres fitted, balanced and the like, for $790. So the change over was arranged for 8am tomorrow.

We drove to Berri, where there is a Coles and did a big fruit and veg stock up. As well, I bought some nibbly items, for our drinks session this afternoon – dips, olives.

We had a quick drive around Berri, to get an idea of what it is like.

After lunch back at the van, John went to the river to try to catch some yabbies. The yabbies had other ideas.

I cleaned up the van and organized our roast lamb dinner, ready to cook.

J and B arrived about 5.30. J is still teaching, and B has a casual job making wine storage tanks at a local winery.

We had to sit outside with our drinks and nibbles, after they had inspected the rig. They stayed a couple of hours – it eventually got a bit chilly, sitting out there.

Our roast lamb dinner was a late one – it was nearly 8pm when we sat down to eat it.

Another very pleasant day.


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1999 Travels May 2

SUNDAY 2 MAY   MILDURA TO LOXTON   182kms

We were up in reasonable time, and the packing up and departure were routine. There was no great sense of urgency because we were not going that far. I made us a packed lunch of avocado sandwiches, to use up the last of that.

It was a very pleasant day for driving.

All the new fruit and vine developments to the west of Mildura were interesting to see – the whole irrigation area seems to be fast expanding.

We stopped and had a final fruit eat-up, just before the border. The inspector at the Yamba check point was very pleasant. I asked him if I could take garlic into SA – and had to hand it over! He checked inside the van – but only a visual check over what he could see, and inside the fridge. I’d hoped they would not want to go through every storage area, because we carry all the loose stuff, including the TV, on the bed when we travel – and moving all of that off to access the big storage area under the bed would have been a real pest!

While we were stopped at the checkpoint, another traveller came up to ask John about the Trakmaster, as he is considering buying one. They are still very much an unusual van to see out and about, with still less than a hundred having been made, to date.

We did not go as far as Renmark, but turned off the highway, onto a road that runs direct to Loxton.

We reached Loxton about lunch time. Booked into the Riverfront Caravan Park – $13.50 a night. The caravan park has, as the name suggests, a frontage to the Murray River, but with a public camping area next to it, so it is a bit open and “public”. But the sites are nice and grassy. We were told not to drink the local water – there are rainwater tanks for drinking water.

We did not put up the awning roof, as we are only staying a couple of nights, and the weather forecast is for fine weather.

We drove to J and B’s about 4.30pm. We’d changed time zones at the border, so it felt a bit later, to us.

We enjoyed an excellent meal with them, and a really good catching up session, as it is years since I have seen them. J is still really fit and active – though she is no longer teaching Phys Ed. B is on long service leave but will not return to teaching. They suggested we look up other former colleagues – J and U – who live at Hawker. Apparently, they are very involved in the life of the town and also do lots of outback travel – and play bowls! So that sounds like a good idea.

We made arrangements for J and B to come round tomorrow afternoon and see the rig.

A most pleasant evening – it is good to meet up with old friends again.

05-02-1999 mildura to loxton 2


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1999 Travels May 1

SATURDAY 1 MAY      MILDURA

I went to the shops for the papers while John had some sleep in time.

Today was a day of organizing travel stuff.

John changed a wheel on Truck. The tyre on it was quite worn, so he switched it with the spare. He did assorted other Truck things. He was very pleased that he was able to fix the dead switches on the back spotlight we have mounted there, and on the air compressor. He painted up some of the black bits too.

I did some oddments of washing, including the most recently used bowls gear.

Read the papers for a while. Cooked up a vegie soup and stewed apple and rhubarb, to use up the remaining stocks, since we will go through the quarantine check point tomorrow.

We did a final short walk along the river at dusk and admired the sunset colours on the water.

04-25-1999 03 Murray R sunset Mildura.jpg

Sunset light, Murray River

Tea was smoked fish, salads and fruit.


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1999 Travels April 30

FRIDAY 30 APRIL     MILDURA

More bowls. We went through the same morning transport routine.

Today was triples games.

I planned the meals for a month and then went and bought much of the requirements for same – all except the fresh produce that can’t be taken over the border. I spent $230! Packed it all away and now have the little freezebox full of meats.

I bought a Keno ticket for a month.

I filled Truck – 68cpl.

Collected John from bowls. He came home happy because they won the Triples! He collected another $30. He is not going to play any more – has actually had enough of bowling for the time being! I didn’t think it could happen!

Tea was fish and chips.