14th October 2014
What a miserable day! Huge drive, all of it in rain and the temperature never got above 10 degrees all day. I think this is the coldest day we have had the entire trip! Sad end to the journey really.
We will be home tomorrow calling in at Leura on the way to assess the work to be done to our tenanted property there in preparation for sale. We will be towing the van back up to the Blue Mountains next week so we can live in it whilst working on the Leura house.
That's it until the next trip!
Monday, 13 October 2014
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Renmark SA to Hay NSW
13th October 2014
Sad to leave Renmark this morning as we had such a lovely spot right on the riverbank.
An uneventful journey today except for the high winds. All of the journey through Victoria and then into NSW was on flat treeless plains so the wind really gets up some speed. Poor John was grappling with the steering wheel most of the time.
Hay was founded in the early 19th century as it was an excellent position for people travelling north, and south to the Victorian goldfields. The town is on the Murrumbidgee River so water was never a problem. Later the river was used for trade down to the confluence with the Murray but now the town just services the local livestock farming community and passing travellers like us. Unfortunately Hay is another country town that seems to be slowly dying. The caravan park is very good though.
Sad to leave Renmark this morning as we had such a lovely spot right on the riverbank.
An uneventful journey today except for the high winds. All of the journey through Victoria and then into NSW was on flat treeless plains so the wind really gets up some speed. Poor John was grappling with the steering wheel most of the time.
Hay was founded in the early 19th century as it was an excellent position for people travelling north, and south to the Victorian goldfields. The town is on the Murrumbidgee River so water was never a problem. Later the river was used for trade down to the confluence with the Murray but now the town just services the local livestock farming community and passing travellers like us. Unfortunately Hay is another country town that seems to be slowly dying. The caravan park is very good though.
Around Renmark and Paringa
12th October 2014
Another lovely day and this time we got out the bikes and followed the foreshore trail from the caravan park along the river for several kilometres. Renmark is a really nice town and was the first settlement on the Murray to have an irrigation scheme.
After lunch we cycled south of the town to a lovely rose garden which also houses a restaurant and a small classic car collection. So there was something for everyone there. Renmark seems to be a bit crazy for roses - there is a rose festival starting here in a few days and lots of the private homes have lovely rose gardens as do many of the public parks.
Later we drove upstream to a lookout in Paringa where the river bank is about 30 metres high. Renmark is very flat but the last big floods were in 1956 as the river is controlled by locks.
Another lovely day and this time we got out the bikes and followed the foreshore trail from the caravan park along the river for several kilometres. Renmark is a really nice town and was the first settlement on the Murray to have an irrigation scheme.
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| Water intake for the Renmark irrigation scheme |
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| Beautiful velvety rose at Ruston Roses |
Later we drove upstream to a lookout in Paringa where the river bank is about 30 metres high. Renmark is very flat but the last big floods were in 1956 as the river is controlled by locks.
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| Headings Cliffs, Paringa |
Saturday, 11 October 2014
Wilpena to Renmark via Peterborough and Burra
11th October 2014
We really are on our way home now, just inside the SA border tonight.
The journey was uneventful but we pulled up outside a 'tin sculpture garden for morning tea. Just a little nondescript settlement on our journey where someone with a quirky outlook lives.
Always great to be able to stop any old place and put the kettle on.
We are camped in a huge caravan park in Renmark, Actually the facilities are very good. We have a lovely spot right on the Murray River and were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset right from our door! Doesn't get better than that.
We really are on our way home now, just inside the SA border tonight.
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| Tin sculptures on the way to Burra |
Always great to be able to stop any old place and put the kettle on.
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| Lovely view of the Murray from our camp spot |
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| Sunset over the Murray, SA |
Thursday, 9 October 2014
Bunyeroo Gorge, Flinders Range
10th October 2014
Another hot day so we planned to be at our gorge walk nice and early as it was a 30 minute drive on a dirt road to get there.
Bunyeroo Gorge has similar rock formations to the Brachina Gorge and we did find some fossilised stromatilites. The gorge is probably not as picturesque as others but a pleasant walk along the [dry] creek bed nonetheless. The 4km return journey was quite taxing however due to the heat and the aridity so we spent the afternoon doing nothing in particular around the caravan.
Another hot day so we planned to be at our gorge walk nice and early as it was a 30 minute drive on a dirt road to get there.
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| Bunyeroo Gorge |
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| Bunyeroo Gorge resident. About 60cm long and brilliantly camoflauged |
Wilpena Pound and the Sacred Canyon
9th October 2014
Another really cold night followed by a beautiful day. Between sunrise at about 6:50am and 10:00am the temperature rises about 18 degrees.
We walked into the pound and climbed Wangarra Lookout for a great view of the surrounding mountains.
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The pound is an interesting geological feature, an oval shape ringed by mountains with only two passes through them. The floor of the pound is almost level and prone to big floods. The name pound was given by European pastoralists because the mountains made a natural fence to keep in livestock. The indigenous name, Ikara, is far better. It means meeting place and every year the tribes for huge distances around would meet for corroborrees, trade and initiation ceremonies so it is of huge cultural significance.
Unfortunately the pastoralists over grazed and introduced weeds one of which, Pattison's curse, does look very pretty. The land is making a slow comeback.
Later we visited Sacred Canyon, a place of great spiritual significance to the local Aborigine.
It is a narrow gorge through which water gushes when the rains come leaving behind several waterholes.
Animals that come to drink at the waterholes could be easily ambushed as they have no escape. The rock art, in the form of engravings, depicts the animals that visit. The place is starkly beautiful and so peaceful.
Another really cold night followed by a beautiful day. Between sunrise at about 6:50am and 10:00am the temperature rises about 18 degrees.
We walked into the pound and climbed Wangarra Lookout for a great view of the surrounding mountains.
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| Wilpena Pound |
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| Floor of pound with Pattison's curse |
Later we visited Sacred Canyon, a place of great spiritual significance to the local Aborigine.
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| Rock engravings, sacred canyon |
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| Sacred canyon |
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| Sacred canyon |
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Down the mine in Blinman
8th October 2014
We went north to the edge of the Flinders Ranges to the little settlement of Blinman which claims to be the town with the highest elevation in SA. Hardly a town, the current population is 20. In it's heyday there were 1,500.
The town sprung up because copper was found in the area and mined extensively between 1862 and 1907 when the mine was abandoned.
The local people have formed a co-operative and restored parts of the mine to a level of safety that allows tours. The mine reaches a total depth of 165 metres with 8 sets of tunnels. The original miners were lured from Cornwall, England and they had a very hard life, The area is very dry, hot in summer, cold in winter and after they had chopped down every tree in a 200km radius they only made it worse.
The original discovery of copper on the surface was made by a one legged shepherd, Robert [peg leg] Blinman. He was smart. Unable to afford the 10 shillings required to take a lease on the land he formed a syndicate with 3 others. They sat on the claim for 3 years then sold the lease to a mining company for 70,000 pounds. Good to hear of the ordinary bloke winning for a change.
From here we drove to Parachilna, a town that only existed for maintenance crew on the Ghan railway line. The place is desolate, dead flat, surrounded by low scrub and desert not far away. All that remains now is the old railway station and the pub, which is brilliant inside. The pub is famous for it's 'feral food' menu.
After this we drove back to Wilpena via the Brachina Gorge which is very narrow and at times has a raging torrent flowing through. Rain is either all or nothing around here. Today it was totally dry except a few tiny waterholes on the river bed. The road is rough and follows the river bed in places.
The gorge is famous for it's geology with millions of years worth of rock layers which have been uplifted to about a 45 degree angle then eroded.
We went north to the edge of the Flinders Ranges to the little settlement of Blinman which claims to be the town with the highest elevation in SA. Hardly a town, the current population is 20. In it's heyday there were 1,500.
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| Blinman hospital circa 1860's. For all the non survivors the cemetery was handily right opposite. |
The local people have formed a co-operative and restored parts of the mine to a level of safety that allows tours. The mine reaches a total depth of 165 metres with 8 sets of tunnels. The original miners were lured from Cornwall, England and they had a very hard life, The area is very dry, hot in summer, cold in winter and after they had chopped down every tree in a 200km radius they only made it worse.
The original discovery of copper on the surface was made by a one legged shepherd, Robert [peg leg] Blinman. He was smart. Unable to afford the 10 shillings required to take a lease on the land he formed a syndicate with 3 others. They sat on the claim for 3 years then sold the lease to a mining company for 70,000 pounds. Good to hear of the ordinary bloke winning for a change.
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| Feral Food advert on road to Parachilna |
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| Prarie Hotel, Parachilna |
After this we drove back to Wilpena via the Brachina Gorge which is very narrow and at times has a raging torrent flowing through. Rain is either all or nothing around here. Today it was totally dry except a few tiny waterholes on the river bed. The road is rough and follows the river bed in places.
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| Many different rocks in Brachina Gorge |
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