Barossa Valley & Flinders Ranges

We met some friends and family in the Barossa Valley and spent a few days with great company, good food and excellent wine. Thanks everybody for making it so much fun!

"Life is too short to drink bad wine." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. How true!

In 2012 we rode our bicycles from Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges and loved it. From the Barossa, the southern part of the Flinders is only a 200 km detour, so we decided to head north instead of west. Here's our camp for 3 nights in Wilpena.

The creeks are lined with very old River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). Their bark is so beautiful with all the different colours and patterns!

On arrival we rode our bikes into Wilpena Pound and climbed a lookout. The inside of the pound is not as spectacular as the outside walls and the sign below explains why.

On day two we climbed Mount Ohlssen Bagge (the name of the surveyor's business partner). What a great view of the surrounding areas!

The vegetation on top is amazing ......

.... and the Tawny Dragons (Ctenophorus decresii) are very cheeky.

By early afternoon the temperature reached 36 degrees and it was time for a cold beer! 

On day three we rode our bicycles along the Mawson Trail to Bunyeroo Gorge and back. This was our favourite part of the trail, all downhill along the spectacular Heysen Range (except that now we had to ride back up to Wilpena!).

It's easy to understand why Sir Hans Heysen was so inspired by this landscape!

Before turning back we decided to do an 8 km walk into the Bunyeroo Gorge and back. It was another 36 degree day and riding the bikes up the hill was pretty tough!

On the way to the Gammon Ranges we camped in Mount Chambers Gorge. Just us and 2 million flies! 

The gorge has aboriginal art, which we inspected during an early morning walk.

Guess what this string across the road is?

An army of caterpillars marching single-file!

Heading West

We are off again! This time heading west as far as possible without getting wet and then north.

Cocoparra National Park near Griffith was our first National Park along the way. It is very small and dominated by goats, but nevertheless a nice change from agriculture and grazing land.

In Yanga National Park we camped on the Murrumbidgee River. When we came through in 2012, there was floodwater everywhere, now it seems to have returned to normal and the River Red Gums look healthy.

Yanga Wool Shed - they used to bring paddle steamers all the way up here to transport the wool to the market.

Hattah - Kulkyne National Park in Victoria: much of it is still flooded and with blue-green algae levels above the recreation alert level, we decided not to camp there.

What a gorgeous Eucalyptus! Bright red operculums and yellow flowers. If it's what I think it is (i.e. Eucalyptus erythrocorys) it is not supposed to be here, it's endemic to WA. But then again, I'm not a botanist.

The pink lakes at the southern end of Murray-Sunset National Park were used for salt mining until 1979. The pink colour is apparently caused by a beta-carotene producing algae.

My first beer after a month off the grog! Just in time with 42 degrees at 7pm! 

What a gorgeous spot and all to ourselves!

Kirsten thought over 40 degrees was too hot for camping, so we dropped south to the coast, i.e. the Coorong National Park. Night-time temperature now 17 degrees!

The size of the ants here is scary and check out the mandibles! Lucky they were not very aggressive!

This is a water well built by the Chinese when they walked 800 km from Port Augusta to the Victorian Gold fields in 1850!

The wild Southern Ocean! Too cold and too rough to swim!

The Coorong is a 130 km long saltwater lagoon/wetland at the mouth of the Murray River. It is protected under the Ramsar convention due to its environmental significance such as breeding habitat for threatened species and migratory birds. Last time we were here it was at the brink of environmental collapse, due to a lack of water coming down the Murray, which lead to very low water levels, acidification and high salinity. It seems in much better condition now!

Is this where Mr Percival lives? For our international readers: there was a famous book/movie produced here, called Storm Boy, with one of the main characters being Mr Percival, a pelican.

At the northern end of the Coorong, there is a small aboriginal settlement. See if you can find this church on a 50 dollar note!