From Murray Mouth to Marree, South Australia

Roadside stop for lunch on the way to Port Wakefield

4 June 2017 - Clayton Bay was a great place to end our journey following the Murray River to its demise in the Great Australian Bight. It is also a great place to start the second part of this trip, to explore South Australia above Port Augusta to the Northern Territory border. So away we went on a crisp 3 degree morning pointing everything we have northwards along backroads towards Adelaide. After 15 minutes we stopped at a nice bakery in Milang and had a coffee and veggie pastie for Julie and a mushroom and steak pie for me - how decadent and totally out of the ordinary for us. 

We chatted for a while to a lovely elderly pushbike rider who had ridden 20 klm from his home in Strathalbyn to have a coffee in the sun with us.

Port Wakefield campsite (our van second on the left)

Quaint church - Port Wakefield

After saying farewell we headed for the backroads east of Adelaide and into the Adelaide Hills to avoid the 100's of traffic lights we hit last time we went this way. If anyone thinks that was a good idea, it wasn't. There is not a sharp corner, sheer rock cliff, hill, steep decline, gorge, single or narrow road or frightful blind intersection we missed on our way to Port Wakefield. I do not get headaches but I needed a couple of Panadols to ease the tension headache I had after we stopped for lunch north of Adelaide. 

Sunset from our campsite

We spent one night in the old port town of Port Wakefield on the banks of a weir. The night was clear and the red sunset spectacular. Port Wakefield or, as us "locals" call it, Port Wakefield, is a great place to stop for a night or two. All the old buildings have been retained in their original form with many seeing new uses different from yesteryear. Many have story boards out front explaining their history and the little town is a nice reminder of times gone by. Even in South Australia the sun sets in the west so we faced that way as it lost its footing in the sky and disappeared over Yorke Peninsula on the other side of the Gulf of St Vincent, leaving a fading red glow behind it.

Sunset from camp - Port Wakefield

Lunch stop at Port Broughton, SA

lunch spot, Port Broughton

Port Augusta is our planned staging point for our journey into central South Australia so we decided, after much deliberation, to set up for three nights at Spear Creek campground, 30 minutes out of Port Augusta, which is a fully operating sheep station. Two brothers own it with one doing the Dorpa sheep side and the other the tourist side.  The upcoming weekend is a long one in South Australia and every person in the State has decided to go away camping. So we can only stay until Thursday morning after which the campground is fully booked by a large group of shooters who meet here each year.  If we don't move, we may become target practice.

Port Broughton jetty

Day one at Spear Creek and the weather remains great, even a little warmer in the morning today at 4 degrees, clear skies, and up to 17 degrees. After a visit to the Tourist Information office in Port Augusta to collect the local maps and information we headed out of town to spend the morning at the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens and after about two hours wandering in and out of different plantings of native plants from arid regions in Australia we realised that it was just like watching plants grow. The coffee shop was far more appealing and had things in that actually moved, like waitresses that bring coffee and cheese platters to your table and things like that. The gardens were pretty good though.

A tree, how interesting

Ground plants growing on the ground, how interesting

Carnivorous plant, she was a vegetarian too

Arriving home for a late lunch we planned our next 5 - 6 days and, because of the long weekend coming up, we booked for three nights in the Flinders Ranges in a previously stayed at a bush campsite that is 4WD only accessible and then at another farm stay on the way up to Marree.

An afternoon walk around the Spear Creek campground again took us up to "Chardonnay Hill" were afternoon drinks are shared with other campers who sit on logs to watch the sun go down. We met a lovely couple from WA and spent a long time chatting to them about each others travels. It was dark and cold when we finally called it quits for the night and stumbled back down the road into the campground. 

"Chardonnay Hill"

Sunset on Chardy Hill

Day two at Spear Creek and we spent the day attending to the business of living - washing, banking, grocery shopping, emailing etc etc.  

Walk around Spear Creek

Spear Creek campground

We won't have phone or internet connection for at least 3 days as we head into Flinders Ranges National Park so everything has been done to prepare us for the next stage of our trip.

8 June 2017 – Spear Creek to Flinders Ranges. 

The three day long weekend is looming. We have to vacate our camp at Spear Creek because it is the 40^th anniversary pistol, rifle, and probably cannon shoot ‘em up competition and folks from all around there here parts are heading in to fire bullets at inert objects, and the best inert object shooter wins, you guessed it, their own Ned Kelly helmet trophy – aah such is life. Also, to the north of us around Alice Springs, is the Finke Desert rally with 40000 plus spectators. To the right of that up in Marree is a big horse thing featuring Jim Carner or someone who is supposed to be good at horsey stuff. So our dilemma is where can we go to avoid bullets, rally cars and Jim Carner and all those things associated with them.

Trezona campsite - Flinders Ranges

We take a punt and head to the Flinders Ranges and our favourite campground, Trezona with our favourite site, number 7. A quick look on the new South Australian Parks and Wildlife site confirms our site is available for three nights and only one other, of 13, is booked. So we book our site and stuff all the wash and drinking water we can into our tanks and fill the car and a couple of jerry cans with diesel and head north through Quorn, pronounced “corn”, then Hawker (pronounced hawker), bypass Wilpena Pound because  we don't know how to pronounce it and that’s where people are, and arrive along the fairly tame 4WD track at Trezona campground. Our site is empty and so are all the others except for a two-man tent and a single hiker who we never saw.

Trezona campsite

We have been to the Flinders Ranges  before but that didn’t stop us doing the rounds of all the lookouts, walks and generally going “oh wow” as we go around every corner. This is a place to visit for everyone if ever there is an opportunity to. The landscape is just magnificent and geologically it is fascinating and quite unique. Around 560 million years ago the earth was doing its thing, blowing itself up with volcanoes, having a cooling off period with glaciers and being bombarded with meteors. The first signs of life were scratching around in the mud and dirt, oceans were being formed and then they weren’t – it was a busy time and each period of time formed a layer. After a while Mother Earth tipped all these layers up at around 20 to 30 degrees and then eroded away 1000’s of feet of soil. Today, all those layers of history can be driven through and over in a 50 kilometre stretch most of which are in the Flinders Ranges. The extraordinary range of soil colours and desert plants are lit up by the sun giving the Flinders the stunning scenery for which they are renowned. Lots of photos below show how we spent our time sight seeing in the National Park.

Speeding emu

For three nights we stayed beside a dry river bed with not a neighbour within 100 metres  of us. Emus and kangaroos popped up from time to time over the other side of the river bed, white cockatoos and coloured parrots festooned the trees. Even the moon was full. The red orb rose each night at sunset in the eastern sky to then change to yellow and then silver as it continued to rise. At midnight the moon lit up the landscape so brightly that the trees cast their shadows.

Great Wall of China just north of  Flinders Ranges NP

Razorback lookout

It is very cold each morning at around 0 degrees but the days were warm enough at 14 degrees. Our gas heater works a treat warming up the van so we are not suffering at all. Unlike last time we were here in early summer, there are no flies or any bugs to annoy us. We had a campfire each night and stayed outside until the cooling coefficient of the evening was far stronger than the heating coefficient offered by the campfire.

10 June - Some running repairs were required today. I think Julie was playing soccer in the van at one stage and did a great sliding tackle on the table leg – breaking it off. Five sturdy screws later and I think it should be okay. Next the drinking water pump started rattling loudly. Close inspection of it where it is located in a little awkward cupboard under the fridge showed that all its eight bolts had vibrated loose and the pump was almost split in half. After removing it (that was fun) and finding three of the bolts had fully come out I was able to put it back together and reinstall it and, to my absolute surprise and relief, it worked! Next a tell tail drip patch in the dry dirt under the van led to a loose fitting on the drinking water tank. A temporary fix was done with further work to be carried out when we get to a place with water so I can drain the tank and hopefully do a permanent fix and refill it. It looks like a rock has hit the outlet hose, which is actually well protected, and broken the seal a little bit.

Sunday, 11 June – still enjoying perfect weather of clear skies, light winds, cold mornings and warm days (only if you’re in the sun) we packed up camp in the Flinders Ranges and headed west along a mostly dry creek bed through Brachina Gorge. This drive is a highlight of the Flinders. The gorge ends in the flat desolate plains that roll into Lake Torrens about 50klms further west. A trip along a pretty rough dirt road led us out of the Flinders and onto the Outback Highway.

Lookout at west end of Brachina Gorge drive, Flinders Ranges

Feral menu  pub at Parachilna

Turning north towards Marree we pass through Parachilna with its pub that is famous for its feral food menu. It serves feral pig, feral goat, feral camel and the coat of arms (emu and kangaroo) as well as Quondong pies all, hopefully, washed down with a glass of water and a double dose of Combantrin. It was very busy, being the Sunday of a three day long weekend, so I said to Julie that I wasn’t keen to go in because of the crowds – Julie was upset because she was looking forward to the Combantrin.

A little further north is the deserted Beltana roadhouse. Turning east along a dusty dirt road is the working sheep station of Beltana which is three kilometres before the historic, and near deserted, town of Beltana. The station takes in caravans (about 4 would be comfortable) and parks them beside the shearers shed, also riverside bush camps are available and accommodation is offered in the shearers' shed as well. We were checked in by the cook who pointed out the general direction of the campsites and said to just set up where and how we like. She doesn’t do the money side of things and said to come back later as there might be someone around then. Two other vans were already set up who were friends on a 4 – 5 month trip similar to ours.

Our Beltana camp

Stayin' Alive

"Art" at Beltana Station

Beltana cemetery

Historic Beltana

An old shearing shed has been converted by the owners into a kitchen, dining and shop in the front and in the back is an excellent museum following the history of the property from around 1860. Two days prior to our arrival the shearing season started and the property is abuzz with sheep, shearers, handymen and women with cars and trucks going everywhere. Dinner is offered to guests so we booked in and had a great night dining with the other two couples in the caravans, talking to the shearers, the cook and a couple living here who are on a three month working holiday on the property. Dinner was an outstanding country feast with roast saltbush lamb (Julie had salmon) potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cauliflower in white sauce, cabbage with bacon, wild mint sauce and gravy followed by Quondong crumble pie and cream – all for $25 a head. The cook came round and offered seconds which included everything again as well barbequed T-bone steaks that the shearers didn’t eat. Guess what we are having for dinner tomorrow night!

After dinner we retired back to our van. The power supply to the property is best described as only fairly reliable and of course it went out. Backup generators were being organised but after an hour it came back on. Last time it was out for four days. Being only single phase power, the power board easily trips so when all the heaters etc. are turned on the board trips. On one such occasion I got out of bed around 10pm and stumbled over to the power board in the dark to be confronted by an alpaca that was busy raiding the rubbish bin beside it.

Ruins

Up the next morning at a reasonable hour, we set off along dirt roads to explore the historic town of Beltana, its old cemetery, and disused Ghan railway station – the current Ghan Railway moved further west and that was the end of Beltana. Next we travelled further east into the Northern Flinders Ranges then back out and up to Leigh Creek and Copley. Copley has great meat pies according to the two couples we had dinner with last night so we headed there for lunch and saw them driving away from the bakery as we drove in – and yes the pies were good. A quick trip out to Aroona Dam that supplies water to Leigh Creek and then back home to starve ourselves in readiness for dinner in the shearers' shed tonight. So that was our day.

Aroona Dam

Dinner again didn’t disappoint and we spent the night chatting to our new and only caravan neighbours, Steve and Jane from Adelaide. The sunsets remain amazing as is the weather. The staff of Beltana Station are very friendly and welcoming and quite quickly we have come to really enjoy our stay here in what really is a harsh, dry and dusty landscape and a basic but adequate campsite.

Tomorrow we leave to head further north towards Marree and it looks like Farina 60klm to the north will be our morning tea/lunch stop. 

In the underground bakery with the bread we purchased

Farina it was for brunch. The deserted town comes alive each year for around six weeks when a group of volunteers activate the old underground bakery built in 1882. With only ruins for buildings, a temporary tent structure is set up and that becomes the bakery shop, dining hall and souvenir shop for all things Farina. As we travelled along the dirt roads north to Farina we passed, and were passed, by a couple of motorbikes. We ended up at the bakery together and sat and had brunch with them. As there were no non-meat savoury options, Julie had a cream bun and I a sausage roll. Julie was so impressed by her cream bun she insisted she buy another for me later - we went halves.

Farina Underground Bakery

Farina temporary bakery shop

After a wander around Farina's old buildings the dirt road to the north ends at Marree, an isolated historic town where the Ghan Railway used to go to, but no longer does, so it is struggling somewhat. Our camp was just on the southern outskirts of town in what really is a dirt paddock with limited power to sites and no water except for bore water to the amenities block - all this for $35 a night. The new owners of the van park make up for the limited and basic facilities by putting a campfire on each night with damper cooked on the coals. At 5pm or 4.30pm or 3.55pm the bell is rung by the dry and grumpy owner and everyone flocks like cows to the campfire for a drink and a chat. It was a great place to stay.  

Camp at Marree

Marree

Tom Kruse's old truck

Lake Eyre Yacht Club

Marree convertible

On our full day here we drove the 1.5 hours on dirt and sandy roads to visit both South and North Lake Eyre. Both salt lakes are around 10 metres below sea level and are currently dry. The experience was just fantastic. Sir Donald Campbell set the land speed record on Lake Eyre North at 649kph on 17 July 1964. A walk out onto the lake for a kilometre was followed by a picnic lunch overlooking the vast expanse of salt that stretches over the horizon.

Back at Marree we visited the town centre and the local pub where the famous outback mailman, Tom Kruse, has a museum dedicated to him with one of his old trucks on display on the disused Ghan Railway Station. Look up Tom's story on Google and read about the man, he was/is an absolute legend.

Lake Eyre South

Morning tea spot - note the corrugations on the dirt road

Lunch overlooking Lake Eyre North

Well that about concludes this chapter of this trip on 14 June. We plan to go to Roxby Downs, Woomera then onto Coober Pedy next. The way we wanted to go was west from Marree along the Oodnadatta Track and down the Borefield track but all advice to date suggests the Borefield is in horrible condition and not to go that way. Around last night's campfire Julie started talking to a couple in a camper trailer who pulled in beside us. They had come along those tracks today to Marree and said they were fine, so we have decided to stick to our original plans and head west.

Let's see how we go.

The car is going great and the van with its repairs has settled down - the drinking pump is still in one piece and working and the drinking water tank drip caused by a stray rock has successfully been repaired. We still don't have a rear driver's stabilizer leg (it fell off along some dusty dirt road in the Flinders I think) but I have an interim workaround using blocks of wood etc. 

We are both going well and really enjoying the outback travel.

So bye for now from the "Grey Gonads"

JeffnJulie
18 June 2017