Our next destination after the Flinders Ranges was Leigh Creek.  We travelled to Leigh Creek via Blinman then the gravel through the Parachilna Gorge to Parachilna then up to Leigh Creek.  We were leaving the van at Leigh Creek and going out to the Gammon Ranges National Park.  This is where Arkaroola is as most people would know of.  We were told that this wasn’t as good as it used to be and was a bit run down now.  But we didn’t let that deter us and we still planned to go.

Leigh Creek was a mining town that was built for the coal mine nearby.  The coal from here was sent to the Port Augusta Power Station and when that was closed it meant the end of Leigh Creek.  To their credit the locals have got together and are putting in a huge effort to keep the town going and making it very welcome for visitors, and I think it will pay off for them.  Just a few kilometres down the road is the town of Copley that has a great bakery that sells yummy pies and delicious quondong tarts.  Definitely worth a short detour to sample these.

The drive out to the Gammon Ranges is on an excellent gravel road and it didn’t take us long to get out there.  We really liked the Gammon Ranges and thought they were probably a bit better than the Flinders Ranges.  On our drive out we did a circle drive through the heart of the park that took us through some spectacular and diverse scenery.  This was a great three hour drive that I would recommend to anyone planning to come this way.  Not really good if your towing a van or trailer but also not very challenging  with just your car.  We picked the Weetootla Campground for our two night stay.  There were a few camped here when we arrived and later that afternoon we found out they were from the Tweed Heads 4WD Club.  They invited us over to there camp fire both nights and we had a good yarn with them.  One of the team read a short story each night about the area and it was a great way to hear some of the yarns regarding the history of the place.  The walk up through the Weetootla Gorge was also pretty good and we managed to make it all the way to the spring and see the water coming out.  Also on this walk we were lucky to see quite a few Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies as they had almost been hunted out at one stage due to their fur being very sought after at one stage.  It was good to see that they seem to be recovering so well

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Leigh Creek it was a little further north towards Maree.  We had about 50 kilometres of bitumen then it was the start of a few gravel roads for us.  We had heard different reports on the condition of the gravel road from Lyndhurst to Maree, but we thought it was fine after doing it.  That’s one of the things you realise after travelling for a while is all the different perceptions people have of gravel roads.  I think they should all go and live in the Pilbara for a while and see what gravel roads are really like.  The ones over here that we have travelled on are nearly all smoother that most bitumen roads.  We also passed through Farina which is an abandoned small town that is known now for the bakery that opens for about six weeks each year and is run by volunteers.  We were about three weeks to early and definitely were not going to hang around and wait.  It was a bit windy the day we were there and the dust was just terrible.  At Maree we stayed at the caravan park and they have a great deal for a meal at night.  $15.00 for two courses and you serve yourself.  The meals were excellent and the sweets even better.  Great value if you stay there.

We had booked a flight from Maree to fly over Lake Eyre.  This was a 2.5 hour flight that took us over the Maree Man, Lake Eyre South and onto Lake Eyre North.  A bit expensive but it was worth seeing form the air just the expanse of it.  No water in it when we flew over but apparently in the last couple of days water has started to enter the very north of the lake.  We also drove out to Lake Eyre from Maree and stayed the night at the campground on Muloorina Station.  This drive out to Lake Eyre takes you to Level Post Bay and it wasn’t far from this site that Donald Campbell broke the land speed record back in 1964.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Maree we started our trip along the Oodnadatta Track.  We had wanted to do this as part of our trip up from the Flinders Ranges and were really looking forward to it.  Same as before with all gravel roads we had heard differing comments about this road with people blowing tyres and all the corrugations and so forth.  We stopped for the night at Coward Springs Campground.  The road so far on the Oodnadatta Track was really pretty good and with all the cars that travel on it now you could nearly call it a highway.  There are a couple of springs you can look at near Coward springs as well as a spring at the campground.  You could only swim at the campground spring, they have made a small boarded up section for you to hop in.  It’s only big enough for about 5 people at one time but still worth going in for a dip.  The Coward Springs campground is a great little stopover and does fill up late in the day with travellers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Coward Springs it was on again along the Oodnadatta Track and onto William Creek.  Our plan from here was to stay two nights and drive out to Lake Eyre from here as well.  As we arrived in William Creek at about 11.00 am we decided to only stay the one night and drive out to Lake Eyre that afternoon.  Lake Eyre was only a 65 kilometre drive so we dropped the van off at the campground, packed a picnic lunch and drove out to Lake Eyre.  Our destination was Halligan Bay.  This it at the lowest point in Australia.  According to our map it is 15.2 metre’s below sea level.  The difference at Lake Eyre from Halligan Bay and Level Post Bay was remarkable.  Where as the surface was very white at Halligan Bay it was dirtier looking at Level Post Bay.  Quite a contrast between the two. The drive out and back from William Creek was also worth it just for the difference in how the country changes as you get close to Lake Eyre, parts almost look like from another world.  We also saw  our first dingo on this trip so far on our way back from the lake.  We were expecting to see quite a few more than we have.  Well worth the drive out to have a look at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

William Creek was the end of our trip along the Oodnadatta Track.  Not sure if it gets any worse from William Creek onwards but if it stays the same as what we have just done then it really isn’t that much of a track.  Pretty sure they still call it a track so that it still has some feeling of a sense of adventure.

From William Creek we cut across to Coober Pedy on the William Creek Road.  The road was excellent and the drive to Coober Pedy was very easy.  At Coober Pedy we stayed at the Oasis Caravan Park.  Water seems to be the main issue in Coober Pedy and for an extra $6.00 we hooked up to water for the three days.  Well worth it for the convenience and it is drinking water.  Driving into Coober Pedy you see a lot of the mining activity going on.  They have mounds of dirt everywhere.  Bit of an eyesore I thought but it adds to the character I suppose.  Besides the opals, Cooper Pedy is also known for the underground houses and other buildings it has, and once you have visited a couple there really isn’t much else to do in the town.  Very popular place for the grey nomads, there were caravans everywhere.  I would say from about June onwards you might find most places all booked out for a couple of months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Coober Pedy our original plan was to keep heading north towards Alice Springs.  After giving it some thought we decided to head south and have a look at Roxby Downs and Woomera and then come back north towards Alice Springs.  We will come back through Coober Pedy again but we have plenty of time so why not……just hope we can get somewhere to stay next time through.

 

I think we need to do these updates a little bit more regularly.  Trying to remember what we have seen and where it was is to much work on the brain.   From Kingston on Murray we drove, with the Flinders Ranges being our destination.  First stopover was the small town of Burra at the showgrounds for a couple of nights.  What an amazing little town with a lot copper mining history.  We got what they call a Burra Heritage Passport where they give you a key for a small deposit and you can then do a self guided drive around the town and access some great sites that includes the Redruth Goal, this is where they filmed some of the Breaker Morant movie, the cellars of the Unicorn Brewery which were really good to walk around in and a few other sites as well.  In Redruth Gaol there was also a George Rundle who had been gaoled twice in the 1870’s for assault and abandoning wife and family.  Good to see there is some infamy in our family.  They have also managed to retain a lot of older buildings in the town and this gives the whole place an extra special feel.  Just out of Burra is one of the most photographed ruins around, its an old house in a paddock that was on the cover of Midnight Oil’s Diesel and Dust album.  Burra was well worth the stopover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Burra we drove to Wilmington the start of the Flinders ranges (Southern End) and stayed just out of town at the Stoney Creek Bush Camp.  For some reason we ended up staying here for five nights, but it was a nice place and relaxing as well.  We did a couple of small drives around the local area, walked up the Mount Maria Walking Trail and drove over to Quorn for the day and took a ride on the Pichi Richi Railway.  This was a 2.5 hour round trip aboard a heritage train from Quorn to Woolshed Flat and back.  This was a lot of fun and the carriages and locomotive were definitely heritage.  Not overly suitable if you have any mobility issues.  Hancock’s Lookout also gave you a good view over to Spencer Gulf and the drive to Alligator Gorge was also very interesting, though no water in the gorge.  They also had a really good toy museum in Wilmington that was worth a look.  Its starting to get a bit run down though which is a pity as the display was very extensive.  He also collects Jeeps, Landover’s and Valliant’s but only has a couple of Landover’s on display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Wilmington we drove to Willow Springs Homestead Campground which is a station stay at the middle part of the Flinders Range and not to far from Wilpena Pound.  It was good to think that we had finally made into Flinders as we seemed to be trying to get here for a long time.  We were very lucky to get into Willow Springs, we got the last camp place available when we arrived.  Probably would pay to ring and book if ever coming back this way. There were a couple of things to do around Willow springs itself with some small walks, a drive out to Stokes Hill Lookout where you get some great views and sunsets.  They also had a Skytrek which was a 80 kilometre self drive journey around the station for $60.00.  Needless to say we didn’t do that one.  From Willow Springs it was only a short drive to look at Wilpena Pound.  At Wilpena we did the Mount Ohlssen Bagge walk.  It wasn’t very far but it was pretty bloody steep and certainly made us work hard.  Worth it though when you got to the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wilpena Pound is at the southern end of the Flinders National park and after three nights at Willow springs we drove a short distance up the road and  stayed in the northern end at Trezona Campground.  When we first arrived we were the only ones here but that only lasted one night.  From this point we drove for the day up the Brachina Gorge.  From here there were also some short to medium day walks that you could do as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This pretty much completed our trip to the Flinders Ranges National Park.  It was good to finally get here and overall we weren’t disappointed.  One thing about this area is the amount of kangaroos and goats you see.  They definitely need to look at culling more goats than they do.  The kangaroos were also very active during the day so I wouldn’t be very keen on driving at night around here.