Just another Bumpy Road

Flinders Rangers

I’ll start this post with an emotional, “You have got to be kidding me!”

And this is why: Peter has come down with a case of the flu, and I, with my stupid one-up-manship, just had to catch Covid. Now for those of you out there who would say,

“Maybe this is a sign love. Maybe it’s time for you to come home.” (You know who I’m talking about mammy).

This, I will say to you…NO! Never. We have a dream, a deep desire, nay… a desperate drive to continue our explorations of this great land. Besides…there are people in our house so we’ve got nowhere else to go. 😉 Anyway, we are having way too much fun to quit now.

When we left Port Augusta we were feeling pretty ordinary. We hadn’t driven very far when we found a lovely spot to spend the night in the shadow of the Flinders Ranges, so decided to call it for the day.

The next day we were determined to get back into the swing of exploring, we haven’t really been able to do that since last November so when we saw a sign to Kanyaka Homestead we thought, why not? So pleased we did, we spent a lovely hour exploring the extensive ruins of this once impressive station established in 1826. However, it was deserted in 1852 after a series of tragedies, drought and the expansion of wheat farming.

Later that day I was feeling quite unwell, and Peter wasn’t much better. So, when we stopped in the little town of Parachilna, we both took a RAT test. Mine came back positive, Peter’s, negative. We had just booked to stay at Mt Little Homestead, which sounded lovely, but self-isolation was to be our new destination.

Who can complain about self isolation when it’s in country like this? The Flinders Ranges almost defy description – Stunning, spectacular, beautiful. It really is quite unlike any country we’ve travelled through to date. Extraordinary and endless.

Parachilna is a blip on the map at a two-way junction. We turned off the main drag, the Outback Hwy, onto Parachilna Gorge Road heading toward the little town of Blinman, in the hope of finding somewhere half decent to stay for a few days. What is it they say about the roads less travelled? That right. DO IT! The scenery was stunning as the gorge rose around us, as for camping spots, we were spoiled for choice.

There is a section of the Parachilna Gorge which has been well used for bush camping.  There are heaps of spots to choose from, and the scenery…Wow! That’s all I’ve got to say about that (sadly, you all know that’s not true). Peter chose our spot and got us settled in for our stay while I went to bed.

I spent the first couple of days here in bed, while Peter took care of me, checking my temperature, making sure I drank enough water, and saying things like, “You’ll be ok in a couple of days.” Sometimes he didn’t sound so sure, so when I saw him walking past the window with his big shovel, I began to get worried, but no need, he was just clearing out some of the old ash from the fire pit. Whew! Peter made a few modifications and I think it’s safe to say we have the best fire pit in the Parachilna Gorge.

Ten days later, we’re ready to move on. We’re both feeling better, but as seems to be the case with Covid, it is taking a while to get my energy back  Don’t ask me how Peter managed to dodge it, but we are both pleased that he did.

I’ll finish on a super cute topic. Just have a look at these lovely wallabies. I haven’t seen these ones before, and I haven’t been unable to identify them (I sent an email to bushheritage.org to see if they can help) but they are the cutest things ever. They are so different from the Pretty Faced Wallabies we are used to seeing around home.  The next evening, we spent a very pleasant couple of hours “hunting” them to give you these photos.

I just received an email from bushheritage.org and what we saw are not actually wallabies. They are a Wallaroo, a Common Wallaroo to be exact. New to me too! Apparently, the main difference between wallabies and wallaroos is size. Wallaroos are smaller than kangaroos, larger than wallabies. Also, they have a squarer snout, almost canine, and their fur is quite shaggy. FYI the name ‘Wallaroo’ comes from the Aboriginal Dharug language ‘Walaru’, (thank you Wikipedia) and not a combination of the name’s wallaby and kangaroo. You learn something new every day.

After seeing these for the very first time it got me to thinking. How many different types of Kangaroos and Wallabies and Wallaroos are there? I don’t know. But, when we get into an area where we have internet connection, Peter has a new task. He is going to make us a Kangaroo and Wallaby Wallaroo Spotting Check List, (KWWSCL) so that we can check off each type we encounter. Hey, if it’s good enough for the Twitchers…

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!