Flinders Ranges #1

Carmen Friend
Mar 6, 2018
2 min read

Leaving Adelaide we headed through the Clare Valley stopping in at a very small town – Brinkworth a $6 per night unpowered with shower - for the night. Leaving here we headed towards the Flinders Ranges making a lunch stop at Quorn (quick drink in the pub too), travelled through Hawker for our home for 4 nights, Rawnsley Park Station.

Rawnsley Park Station offers a variety of accommodation from eco lodges, a stay in the homestead or camping. The facilities are a little tired, there is a small pool (more than 5 in it and it would be crowded), a restaurant at the Woolshed and if you wish to do a helicopter or plane tour over Wilpena Pond or further afield it is also offered here.

Rawnsley Park Station is about 20kms outside the Flinders Ranges National Park. As we had not placed Georgia into boarding we decided not to go into Wilpena Pound this time around but will do it on our return next year. We were however able to take her to a few places as we were passing through the park.

We took the suggested scenic tour drive. First photo stop was the Cazneaux Tree – a kiwi named Harold Cazneaux photographed this particular tree in May 1937 with the Flinders Ranges in the back ground. The photo known as the ‘Spirit of Endurance’ won many Australian and International Awards.

We stopped at 2 lookouts which gave amazing views across Wilpena Pound, The Chance and Druid Ranges and the Bunkers. Photo’s just can not really capture the colour or the ranges, plus they change colour depending on the light and time of day.

Stopping at the Appealinna Homestead Ruins, we came across an old garden wall and the homestead ruins. This is where John Wills lived and farmed goats and cattle. Just outside Blinman (a very small historic copper mining town (c1860’s) where we had lunch at the pub), is Mount Emily or ‘The Great Wall of China’. This is the highest peak in the range, which has a stone pile 707m above sea level. The wall is made up of horizontal limestone.

Leaving Blinman, we passed through Glass Gorge – a narrow and winding route that passes through a gorge which would typically be raging with water in the wetter times. The gorge has huge walls of rock, with us being at the bottom of the gorge following the dry river bed. Whilst we have spent days following red dirt and rocks, we did come across a small spring which was flowing.

Leaving the gorge, we headed to Parachilna – a small stop which has a famous pub and some accommodation. In the hay day this would have been a stop for the Ghan. Today the pub is famous for its feral food menu – camel, kangaroo, rabbit, goat and emu! We then took the Moralana Scenic Drive back to the Station.