Hidden Gems on the Western Eyre Peninsula and the Nullabor Plain

The drive from Coober Pedy to Port Augusta on the tip of the Spencer Gulf is about 450km and took us about 6 hours including stops. It was so easy driving on bitumen again we forgot 100km takes an hour, not two, so we drove the whole way quite comfortably. The kids were great reading Kindles for most of the trip. They are all reading the Harry Potter series for the umpteenth time which really helps on long treks.

Port Augusta had everything we needed to restock and the 2 days there gave everyone the chance to catch up on emails, schoolwork and of course blogs. We also were finally able to arrange for a cover for our gas hot water system to be sent ahead of us to Fowlers Bay. It fell off somewhere between Wilpena and Arkaroola we think. The cornflakes packet and tape did the trick for travelling in the interim. We had to boil all of the water however as we didn't have enough tape.

Nutritional AND functional 

Big thanks to Peter at Caravan and RV Spares at Burpengary who organised everything and was only too happy to help. No thanks at all to our camper manufacturer Goldstream and SA distributor who didn't want to know really. So much for post sales service. Our original plan was to head over to Streaky Bay across the Eyre Peninsula from Port Augusta. However we came across a little known place that for some reason appealed to us. No offence to Streaky Bay which did seem really nice when we passed through, but we really wanted to get away from a town and do some camping away from the crowds. We found our answer in Sceale Bay (pronounced Scale) which is 17km south of Streaky Bay. It's a sleepy little fishing village that according to the locals is busy for about 2 weeks a year and that's just how they like it. Sceale Bay has some famous surfing breaks in particular, The Granites and many surfers hire holiday homes in search of the perfect wave. We stayed at the Sceale Bay Bush Camp. It's a very simple setup with big dirt sites, pit fires well secluded from each other with a single plumbed toilet and bore water cold shower. This is basic camping but it's just perfect and you wouldn't change a thing.

Point Labatt

Peter the host and Ben the caretaker were so friendly and warm, they made us feel right at home. Mention you are a fisherman to Pete and he will direct you to some of the most beautiful beaches, coves and fishing spots on the planet. He'll even sell you some bait from his personal store if you're polite. We got to bed early that night as we were tired from a long day on the road and were eager to explore some of the spots Peter had described to us. The next day dawned a little cloudy and a bit windy. Undeterred, we first picked up some bait from Pete. King George Whiting was the target species for the next few days so cockles were the bait of choice. Depending on which state you are from they are also known as Pippies or Ugaries. Initially we travelled 17km south to a sea lion colony at Point Labatt. We all loved looking down watching the sea lions. Massive males overlooking their harems, young pups swimming in the shallow pools and a couple of young males play-fighting in the surf. We counted about 50 all up. The road in was a bit corrugated but well worth the effort.

Shell Beach

Now for some fishing at a secret spot called Grunters.  Following some cryptic but detailed instructions drawn in the sand the previous night. We'd never seen anything quite like it. Turn left at the water tank, over the cattle grid to the left, take the left fork and follow your nose. We eventually came to a sort of parking lot with an overgrown walking track which we followed. After about 500m we came to a cliff, down a goat track and we were on the beach in a secluded cove looking out over the southern ocean. No KGW, but what a magic spot. The kids called it Shell Beach as the most perfect and intact shells of all shapes and sizes are on the beach. After a couple of hours we headed back to camp for a late lunch then onto secret spot number 2. Sceale Bay beach. This beach is on the calm bay side and goes for 15km in a crescent shape right up to Streaky Bay. You can take your vehicle onto the beach but only at low tide as the sand is extremely soft for about 12 of the 15km. As instructed I cast out right in front of the buoys and SUCCESS! Second cast, a 32cm King George Whiting.

Target species acquired!

Not a bad way to end the day. Sceale Bay Sunset.

Unfortunately that was it for a while as happens with fishing. I managed to get one more so no fish for dinner. We did clean them and put them straight in the Engel for safe keeping. What a wonderful day. We finished off with a glass of Barossa Semillion watching the sunset. Back at camp we promptly informed Pete we were staying another day as we hadn't caught a feed of KGW and we still had Heart Bay to explore.

Everyone was keen to get going the next morning so we rose early, packed the Prado and headed off with more cryptic directions. Turn left at the phone box, through the paddock gate and follow the high track. Nervously we came to a headland with no apparent way forward and were greeted by Heart Bay. Oh my goodness, we all stood on the cliff top looking down speechless. The beach naturally meets in the middle forming a 'heart'. The locals I think prefer to call it bum beach so like the famous image of the old lady or young woman I guess it just comes down to your point of view. Pure turquoise water meeting cliff and sand dunes. Just insanely beautiful.

Heart Bay or Bum beach - you decide.

We fished, swam and the kids played in the dunes. Just a perfect morning. Lachie got his first King George which was awesome, he was thrilled, as was dad. 34cm which was the biggest so far. Dad caught another 32cm fish so we now had four and were pretty confident of catching a couple more back at Sceale Bay in the afternoon to complete the meal.

Whiting King does it again!

Heart Bay Rosie Castle

We reluctantly left Heart Bay to head back to camp for a late lunch. Tummies winning over beauty! We again headed back to Sceale Bay for a couple of hours in the afternoon but unfortunately the tides were only 20cm apart and with such little water movement the fish were just not biting. Oh well, four King George Whiting for entree with sausages and steamed veges for dinner would just have to do. A light crumbing, some lemon and the fish were just beautiful. While KGW was all I was after, the fishing is superb in the area, particularly offshore. Tuna, crayfish, snapper and all manner of pelagics are taken just offshore with warm and cold currents meeting which makes the fishing spectacular. Pete promised to take us out on his boat the next time we come over. I suspect he may say that to many of his campers but I'm going to hold him to it!

Our time at Sceale Bay was almost at an end but it had just one little surprise left for us the next morning. Some wild brumbies chose to join us as we awoke. A pure white with two young male horses. They were small and stocky with their toenails being so long and just snapping off eventually. They were timid at first but the white had no fear and walked right up. Peter later mentioned they actually capture the yearlings and auction them each year. From early days of going for $20 they now command over $4,000!

The loveliest of all was the unicorn...

Winners of the next Golden Slipper?

A magic finish to a magic spot. Completely unspoiled by commercialism, or urbanisation. We will be returning to Sceale Bay as it is truly one of those rare gems that are becoming more rare as the years go on. In fact Pete said there are more structures like the 12 Apostles and London Bridge than the actual 'Great Ocean Road'. The problem is, you can only see them by boat along the rugged coastline!

Our next stop is Fowlers Bay which is further along the beach through Ceduna and Penong. First stop though was Streaky Bay for supplies. As we weren't going too far we drove the Cape Bauer loop which took in Hallys Beach, Whistling Rocks and the Blowholes which were all great to look at. The southern Ocean had some mighty big swells so seeing them crash into the beaches or cliffs was pretty awesome. It was then a relatively short drive to Ceduna which is the official start of the Nullabor Plain. We then drove through Penong which had windmills everywhere and onto Fowlers Bay after another hour.

Fowlers Bay Jetty

Fowlers Bay is most famous during the months of June to November where the Southern Right Whales take up residence in the bay. Unfortunately we were a little early, but on the day we arrived at the caravan park, squid were biting out on the jetty. We didn't have any jigs so we watched with envy as bucket after bucket full of squid was carried back into the camp grounds. We went to the shop and picked up some gear in preparation for tomorrow. Fowlers Bay is literally at the end of a dirt road on the edge of Australia. Next stop Antarctica! It is nestled up against some extremely large sand dunes which stretch for miles. It's almost as if the town is defiantly holding back the sand wave, knowing inevitably it will be swallowed up as it slowly but steadily advances.

The sunrises weren't bad

As is often the case we didn't see the weather forecast for the 30 knot easterly for the next 3 days so no squid. Other than the fishing, Fowlers Bay also has a conservation park with some massive sand dunes, sea lion colony, Scots beach and rugged cliffs to explore in the 4WD.

Getting up the next morning the wind was still blowing strongly so we were hoping a 4WD trip over the other side of the sand dunes may prove a little more protected from the wind. We packed up the car for a full days touring, sand driving and fishing. The track into the conservation park was a little tricky to navigate. It was through a marshland and it was easy to see from some of the bog marks that if you stray too far off the track it could end up sticky. Thankfully we had the HEMA maps app which was brilliant and really helped on a couple of occasions to pick the right fork in the road. We arrived along some rocky headlands with the views east and west spectacular with some very rugged coastline and pristine beaches to see. 4WD tracks cris-crossed the whole area so it's clearly a very popular spot to explore.

After a few kilometres of exploring the cliff top lookouts we picked a rocky track down to Scotts beach which offers about 10km of beach driving down to the large sand dunes with Fowlers Bay on the other side. The sand was soft but the high track in amongst the dunes was relatively easy going. We tried to find a spot out of the wind back in the dunes only to be greeted by the other residents, the flies! Fishing was impossible in the strong breeze. After a couple of hours we'd had enough however just as we were starting to pack up a sea lion popped it's head out of the water only metres from the waters edge so we stared in wonder as it frolicked amongst the waves. Funnily enough as we were driving back along the beach with the tide going out, the sun came out and the wind died down so much we were able to stop for a swim and another fish. The water was still quite warm so it was nice to be able to finish with a swim.

Scotts Beach turned it on in the arvo!

Crystal clear water

Tess hoping a little bit of bacon will come her way...it did

One of the nicer aspects of the park were the resident canine friends that adopt campers during their stay. Tess and Brutus seemed to take a particular liking to the Kearneys. They actually live across the road from the caravan park but spend most of the day in it. Every morning one of them would be curled up at the door to the camper. Or they would accompany us on a trip out onto the jetty to fish. One afternoon Brutus spent the whole time lying at my feet while Lachie and I fished. Apparently they receive birthday cards and the like as they have such a postive impact on campers who stop by.It was nice as we are all still missing Kaspa.

On our last night we met up with a nice couple we originally met in Broken Hill, Chris and Jill. It was nice catching up and hearing about their adventures. We are starting to bump into many familiar faces along the way as you start to move forward in your chosen direction. We had a drink and some nibblies with them that evening while Maria was preparing bolognaise in the Thermomick.  Our final night was again, a bit windy, so we hit the road for our trip across the Nullabor!

We were planning to make the trek in one night but not being too phased if it took two. Everything was going fine until about 40km out of Nundroo when BANG. The right back tyre blew and it was quite an effort to bring the car and camper back under control. Tough at 100km/hr and more than a little scary. Thankfully I was able to do so and pull the car over to survey the damage. Wow, the tyre had completely schredded, blown and was nearly off the rim, smoking heavily. We've never seen anything like it.

Blowout! As we found out in Esperence a knife like incision did the damage.

To cut a long story short it took 2 hours to change the tyre. Now I can hear the sniggers from some of you from here but there is a reasonable answer to the time delay. Thank god for the head nets by the way as the flies were the worst we'd experienced. The main reason was that we had a spare Cooper put on the back of the car before we left and the guys that attached it tightened the locking nut on so hard, we couldn't get it off, to the extent that I bent the whole thing. Over to plan B, which was the other spare strapped to the roof. With some effort we got it down, worked out the silly Toyota jack and had it sorted. Anyhow given the delay there was no way we were doing the trip in one night. We still managed to stop at the Head of Bight to see if there were any whales but unfortunately the guide there said they still hadn't started but it could be any day. Not to worry, it was great seeing where the start of those massive cliffs begin. The water is so clear and turquoise here it's just stunning. The Nullabor is in fact quite pretty and very green at the moment. I'm not sure quite what I was expecting, maybe some sort of desolate wasteland with the Nullabor Nymph lurking behind every rock.

Head of Bight

One of the locals checking us out.

At the end was the SA/WA border. WA has some very strict fruit and veg restrictions coming into the state. There is a border patrol and they check every vehicle and made us put up the camper. Luckily we were prepared and had either given away things at Fowlers Bay, turned it into a processed meal (like potato salad) or were ready to declare it at the station. Even the jar of honey had to go!

Another 70km west and we stopped at the roadhouse at Mundrabilla which was empty and looked pretty creepy. After walking inside however we couldn't have been more wrong. Restaurant, bar, beer garden and the owners kids running around it was very nice and at only $20 for the night a bargain. We even had dinner at the restaurant which was very tasty honest food. It was Friday night and locals from all around were descending on the place. The local cray fisherman were celebrating the end of the season. Mundrabilla is also home to one of the 18 holes of the Nullabor Links Golf Course with holes spread over the whole length. The Watering Hole was a nice little 330m par 4 with a slight dogleg left. Not sure where the water bit comes from but we took a couple of snaps anyhow!

Looks just like the picture.

Four!!!

We made an early start the next day and had an event free day thank goodness. We set off early and stopped at Caiguna for lunch then hit the longest stretch of straight road in Australia - 145.6 km. It actually wasn't too bad. We eventually arrived at Balladonia which has a fairly tough 4WD track directly through to Esperance but it had been raining heavily in the area so we really didn't feel like risking the 180km plus track in wet conditions. Thank goodness as we met a couple in Esperance who had heard several vehicles needed to be towed out!



That night we stopped at a rest stop about 70km east of Norseman which is the end of the Nullabor. A quiet and peaceful night and we were headed for Esperance. This is the start of our WA adventure and our home for the next 2.5 months!

Lake Eyre, Coward Springs and Coober Pedy

Lake Eyre is one of those iconic places in Australian fokelore that commands attention. When you mention to other travellers you are heading there next you either receive a knowing nod and a sparkle in the eye from those who have seen it, or envy from those who have not yet made the journey. The southern tip is the start of some very remote tracks. Marree is the hub of the Birdsville, Strezlecki and Oonadatta tracks.

The first question always is, “Is there any water in it?” The answer as of April 2013 is currently no. In 1974 both Lake Eyre North and South both filled with water however in 2010/11 it did not in fact reach Lake Eyre south. There is water however in Lake Harry which is to the southeast of Lake Eyre South as it is fed by a natural spring and still has an abundance of birdlife which we would soon discover.

The drive from Copley to Marree is interesting as you follow the old Ghan railway line. Ruined stations  and tracks dot the landscape along the old line. We stopped in at the ruins of Farina. A town finally abandoned in 1980 by it’s last remaining resident. For a brief period it was a major location on the line. Again reading about the lives people led was truly fascinating. Bathing occurred once a week. It was children, then women then the men, all in the same water! There is a fairly eccentric character called Talc Alf who although not there we were visited, has some very unique sculptures carved out of talc stone.

Talc Alf's Republic

Old Hospital

We setup camp at the local caravan park as we needed power for a very important event. Gracie’s 9^th birthday. Mum was making a cake in the thermomick to be ready for her birthday. As the sun set Maria and I were enjoying a cold beer when the caretaker came over and asked if we were interested in a flight over Lake Eyre. As we were seriously considering doing one, but not until William Creek we said that we were. A quick conversation on the phone with the boss and a nice rate was agreed.  A 5 seater would be flown down in the morning for us to leave about 7.30am. What swayed us was the fact that we would see water in Lake Harry with flocks of Black Swans which you wouldn’t normally see when flying out of William Creek further to the north.

We were all obviously very excited, particularly Grace who would now be flying over Lake Eyre on her birthday. The day dawned cool and clear and not very windy which are the best conditions for a flight over the lake. We arrived at the airstrip a little early only to find not a soul around. We were starting to get a little worried when the sound of an airplane in the distance eased our concerns. Our pilot Shane was a Queenslander from Redlands, so we struck up an instant rapport. After compulsory safety checks we hopped into the plane. Dad in front, mum and Grace next, with Lachie and Caitlin in the rear. Shane was asking us to check our headsets and to make sure all worked when Lachlan proceeded to burp massively into his microphone. Shane without a hint of a smile went, “Lachie’s is working – check”. We all then of course got the giggles and off we went. We leveled out at 1000 feet, which is quite low and flew over Lake Harry up along the Birdsville track. There were many different species of birds but the highlight for me was the black swans, which even from the height we were, looked massive. We then flew on to Lake Eyre South, then up to Lake Eyre North before heading back along the Oodnadatta track to Marree. I’m probably going to say this a lot but words are failing me on just how beautiful it is. White as far as the eye can see. Gracie coined it best I think. It was a partly cloudy day so to Grace it seemed like we were flying both under and over clouds. The high cloud above us caused ripple effects on the lake surface like a shimmering swimming pool does on a wall. Our flight lasted a little over an hour and will be forever etched in our memories.

The birthday girl wired for sound!

All set.

Lake Harry

We arrived back at camp for a quick breakfast and packup. The next part of Graces birthday would be at Coward Springs, which is home to a little camp ground about halfway between Marree and William Creek. We popped into the Marree General Store on our way out, which I have to say is the best stocked store we have come a cross to date. It has everything you could want. The lady serving was very helpful and even came out to us as we were leaving with some candles for Graces cake. Gracie was thrilled of course.

Lake Eyre from the ground overlooking Lake Eyre North.

On the way we stopped at Mound Springs, which are naturally occurring artesian springs bubbling up from the Artesian basin. They have created mounds of mineral deposits over thousands of  years where the water flows out of the top and then creates little oasis in the desert. The first one is called “The bubbler” with the second Blanche Cup. In one direction you have marshes, tree life, birds and in the other three barren sand, rock and scrub.

The Bubbler

We soon arrived at our destination and quite literally hadn’t seen a vehicle all day in either direction, yet had to give way to a car coming the other way to turn into the campground. Quite ironic when you think about it. One word of warning about Coward Springs – there are flies - millions of them. They are everywhere and thick. Without head nets we would have gone insane so be warned if you are in this neck of the woods. Coward Springs was also a station stop on the old Ghan and is now home to another bubbling spring, which feeds a beautiful wetland, home to too many bird species to mention. They have actually built, using old railway sleepers a “spa bath” about 2 metres square. As there was no-one else around we stayed in there for about 1.5 hrs. The great thing was, the flies stayed in the air and not on us. Grace declared this was the best pool party she’d ever had. It was hard to argue with her.

Coward Springs Pool Party!!

A couple of friendly flies offered to take this shot for us:-)

Coward Springs Sunset

That night we had her favourite dinner, chicken tacos and of course chocolate happy birthday cake for dessert. What a birthday for Grace! One I don’t think she’ll forget too soon.

Happy Birthday to Grace

We packed up early the next day, had a quick dip in the spa and headed off for Coober Pedy. The roads were in reasonably good shape so all up it took us about 3.5 hours to travel the 230km on dirt to get there. We arrived in the early afternoon and after some previous advice from a couple at Arkaroola, stayed at the Stuart Range Caravan Park. For where you are, it’s a great place to stop, with full amenities, big sites and has recently had a full renovation. The showers and toilets were outstanding. The best on the trip so far. After a trip to the information centre we decided to do the 70km loop road out of town to the Breakaways. The Breakaways are large hills, which have been eroded by wind and rain over millions of years to form really impressive ochre and limestone structures. The aborigines have names for all of them including the white and dark dogs, goanna and frilled lizard, it was great to be there at sun set as it showed some wonderful colours.

The Breakways

White and Black Dogs

The Dog Fence

Coober Pedy is a bizarre looking place. It is literally mounds of dirt everywhere. Some of these mounds are mines, some are homes (or both) and some are churches. We visited underground churches including the Serbian ‘Cathedral’ and Catholic Church where we met Father Paul Bourke. He was a character and showed us around the church, where he lived, all with a joke. He even asked Grace to take a couple of Taiwanese students on the little tour we’d just done as he had a bad back. She did a great job. He then showed us his garden of Sturt desert peas he has been growing.

The kids went ‘noodling’ in the free area in the middle of town to try and find a rare opal but alas the trip will have to be funded by mum and dad. Unfortunately the Big Miner was closed but we visited a very informative free display in the Umoona Museum on the inland sea and fossils from hundreds of millions of years ago. The Desert Cave hotel also has a free museum self-guided tour of the history of Coober Pedy which is a must see if you have an interest in the area. We also took a tour of Faye’s Cottage for $15 for the family. The delightful caretakers Missy and Michael showed us around her old home, how it was constructed and a little history on Faye. She was quite a lady roughing it and making a success back in the early 70’s, which was some effort given it really was the wild west. For another $15, Michael then took us on a tour of her old opal mine next to the house, which still had streams of opal in it which you can really see under ultraviolet light. Missy then gave the kids fossilized shells of mussels and snails which was pretty cool.

Noodling for Opal

At the bar in Faye's House

Opal Mine

Coober Pedy is definitely somewhere you should visit at least once, if anything to see the lengths people will go to and endure, to ‘strike it rich’ in some of the toughest conditions in Australia. CB marks the end of dirt roads and red dust for us for a while. Just quietly I think we are all looking forward to seeing the ocean again. Next stop is Port Augusta for supplies, water and an attempt to clean out some of the red dust!

Flinders Ranges, Wilpena and Arkaroola

I will never truly be able to do our next week justice in words. The Flinders Ranges is a very special place. Ancient hills nearly 1 billion years old weathered away into spectacular panoramic ranges and deep gorges snaking their way through. In the aboriginal dreamtime the ranges were created by the powerful dreaming serpent Akurra. We will treasure our time here. We drove up from the Barossa through the Clare Valley arriving at the Wilpena Eco Resort inside the national park just on dusk. This is starting to become a bit of a worrying trend. The Kearneys are becoming very poor risers in the mornings. Henschke was a pretty good excuse for our delayed start thoughJ

It was the eve of Maria’s birthday so we decided to treat ourselves and stay in an apartment for the next 3 nights. Immediately we were greeted by the resident young male kangaroo, which the kids named Charlie. Charlie was quite tame and took pieces of apple out of the kids hands which was cool until we unpacked inside and read in bold – “DON’T FEED THE KANGAROOS” in the welcome information sheet. Oops.

Morning Charlie

After a restful night in a big bed we were eager to explore Wilpena. We went down to the visitors’ centre which is excellent and decided to go on a 7km walk into Wilpena Pound and up to the Wangara lookout. Wilpena Pound is a huge natural oval bowl surrounded by hills for most its circumference. It was so named as it appeared to early pastoralists to be a natural place to hold livestock, like a pound. Wilpena being the aboriginal name for…How wrong they were. The walk in was very peaceful following a creek bed, through large red gums and pine trees. As we came into the pound itself we arrived at Hills Homestead which was home to the family who tried to raise cattle and grow wheat inside. While the tale is not unfamiliar, looked good when they arrived, then famine, drought, sickness, failure (in 15 years they turned a forest into a dust bowl) the history of the settlement was written from one of the daughter’s perspective, which made it seem more human and tragic.

Wilpena Pound is nothing short of incredible. The view from the lookout was jaw dropping but our photos just don’t give it justice I’m afraid.

Intrepid Explorers

View from the lookout

In the afternoon we drove around the national park on a loop road through several of the gorges, Brachina (bratch-na) and Bunyeroo as well as heading home through the Aroona Valley and some pretty cool lookouts. It was a step back in time viewing 800 million year old rock formations. Seabeds which had been turned on their ear by a fault line over the eons. You drive along some fun dirt roads and basically drive through the signed geological history of the area 800 million, 750 million, 560 million etc. Along the way we all received a thorough lesson in geology as well, which was really interesting and useful for the kids. We passed a couple in a Mazda 3 who didn’t seem like they were having any fun. What possessed them to drive this road is beyond me as I was in 4WD at the time!!

Our final day in Wilpena dawned with some excitement as we were tackling Skytrek! Skytrek is a 76km track created by the owners of Willow Springs station, a working sheep property about 20km NE of Wilpena just outside of the national park. It has everything a 4WD enthusiast could want. Steep tracks, bull dust, open plains, beautiful gorges, ancient aboriginal art, pastoral history of the station and some of the best views in the Flinders Ranges particularly of Wilpena Pound. I could rant for sometime but will hopefully let a few photos tell the tale. The trip took us a touch over 6 hours on the one-way track. I have to say I was extremely proud of the Prado particularly going up one of the steep tracks in low range to Prominent Hill. I think Maria and Grace were a little worried but we came through safe and sound. We took a video of the section of bull dust. It was a hoot. Bull dust is extremely fine, almost powdery soft sand, which can suck your wheels and bog you in an instant if you are caught by surprise.

video to come...

Thankfully we were behind another group on this section of the track so were ready.

They don't rate all of the campsites it seems

The reward after a very steep low range hill climb

Oh What a Feeling!!!

What a birthday treat this was for Maria. I’m so pleased I could share this present with herJ Very satisfied we headed back to the resort for a birthday dinner in the restaurant.

Happy Birthday Mia!!

Buzzing from our stay at Wilpena it was time to head up to Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary. After getting a tip from our waitress we decided to head to Arkaroola via Blinman, through the Parachilna Gorge road and stop at the Prairie Hotel for lunch. Then continuing up to Leigh Creek for fuel then across to Copley and 130km dirt track to Arkaroola.

The drive through Parachilna Gorge was delightful so we took our time. We were even treated to see a whole family of baby emus drinking and feeding in the creek. We arrived at the Prairie Hotel for lunch bang on time and were greeted by the flies. We had to hold onto Grace as she was in danger of being carried away. I’ll try to get this next bit right but as we entered the pub it was almost as if we entered a Star Trek teleporter and were back in the Rocks in Sydney. Outside literally dessert, dust and flies, inside - cultured, inviting, warm and funky. Maria read it is actually classed as one of the hippest hotels in the world. We met the owner Jane Fargher who was great and did up a special Feral Antipasto for us (with a bit of chicken and ham for the girls). Kangaroo Metwurst, salami and pastrami as well as emu pate and feral goats cheese with sundried wild tomato and roasted veges and olives. For desert some homemade gelato.

Parachilna Gorge

Prairie Hotel Parachilna

Feral Antipasto

Arkaroola was founded by Reg and Griselda Spriggs, who, amongst many geological and conservationist achievements, were the first people to cross the Simpson Dessert in a vehicle (4WD – it was a Nissan Patrol as apparently they wanted a challenge thinking a landcruiser would be too easy) They had their 2 young children with them, Doug and Marg. To our delight Doug and Marg still run and work at the sanctuary and have continued on where their parents left off. It was a real thrill to receive information about the park from Marg and Doug. Their passion for the area is quite infectious and it had us itching to see it. After setting up, yet again late in the afternoon we were met by the most beautiful moonrise over the hills.

Moonrise

Our campsite

The park has powered sites, pit fires and you can collect wood anywhere on the property. The only rarity is water so we used bore water where possible to conserve the tanks. We decided to go on a 7km walk through Barraranna Gorge. It was beautiful and we found it challenging in parts. Not so much physically, but trusting the mud map we were given was tough as you at times seemed to follow a very loose direction. At one stage we actually second guessed ourselves and in true Burke and Wills fashion, had we just continued on over the hill we would have saved 30 minutes of backtracking, head scratching and dirty looks. We did see an Echidna on the trail (no serious!), which was a thrill. Barraranna Gorge itself was quite eerie as it was deathly quiet with only our voices echoing off the walls of 750 million year old upside down inland seabeds. Made you feel a little insignificant. After an uphill hike out we headed home a little puffed and ready for a hot shower and roast lamb dinner. It was a full moon that night and so bright you’d almost be forgiven for thinking they had floodlights allover the campground.

Gracie discovering...

Barraranna Gorge

You can't see me

The next day dawned a little overcast and instead of doing the famous Echo Camp Backtrack 4WD track we decided on Marg’s advice to head out to Lake Frome, a salt lake about 50km from Arkaroola back in the Gammon Ranges NP. Apparently NASA satellites and spaceships use Lake Frome to calibrate the colour white. It is perfect white from space, very cool. The drive out took 1.5hrs through all dirt track which was quite fun in patches and we had a few emus and kangaroos to avoid as well. We were the only people out there and you really felt isolated. We walked out onto the crunchy, salty lake surface viewing the shimmery whiteness in the distance. We then stumbled upon lots of emu tracks so we decided to follow one in particular back to a low range of sand dunes. At this point the flies were becoming an issue so we started to head back to the car. If this was a ‘smaller’ salt lake then we couldn’t wait to see Lake Eyre.

Lake Frome

we're hunting emu!

The hitchhikers were a little rude

That evening we attended an observatory tour with the resident astronomer Phil. We attended a 6pm powerpoint presentation which was really informative and fun. Things like, what is a star, a lightyear or a galaxy, were covered in simple terms which we all benefited from later on. Arkaroola has 3 fully functional observatories so at 8pm we headed up to one overlooking the main centre. Unfortunately it was about the worst night for stargazing due to the brightness of the moon. Still, from what we saw on the worst night I guess a new moon night would be mind blowing. We saw Saturn with its rings and 6 of its moons. We joked that it just looked like Phil put a sticker on the end of the lens it was so lifelike. Alpha centauri was very bright and is actually 2 stars in orbit around each other. We also saw Eta Carina which is a star in the final stages of dying. It is 120 times the size of our sun which has scientists worried as usually they only get up to 75 times so they don’t know quite what will happen when it explodes, which it already has, but given it is thousands of lightyears away, we are looking at it thousands of years in the past. Such are the vast distances of space, it’s quite a challenging concept to get your head around.

What a great night. The next morning as we were leaving we mentioned to the lady at the desk to make sure and thank Phil again. This lady happened to be Phil’s wife and she said he came home raving about how attentive, interested and well behaved the kids were so that was nice.

Arkaroola is a very unique and one of the places I will never forget and will be returning to. If you’re in the neighbourhood I suggest you pop in for a visit. Next stop is Maree via Lyndhurst.