Eyre Peninsula – Inland

The Gawler Ranges

There are a few walking tracks near our camp area and we did a couple. The Organ Pipes…

…and Little Yandinga Falls. But that wasn’t good enough for Peter. “I want to go to the top of the falls. I think if we just follow that line and…blah, blah, blah.” So, we did.

We clambered up Yandinga Falls, over rocks, around boulders and across rock walls. I was happy enough to have made it to the top but still he kept on walking. We zig-zagged across the hill until the escarpment stopped us then skirted around the rocky hillside until we reached the top of Little Yandinga Falls.

It was much the same going down Little Yandinga as it was going up Yandinga. It was all very rough and steep and made more interesting as we crossed the hill by unavoidable clumps of spinifex. But we were careful and we took our time.

Adventurous or stupid? It’s a line-ball if you ask me, but it was fun.

There were pockets of water in the otherwise dry waterfalls, and the combination of water and the warm rocks made a wonderful home for lizards. I counted four different types, it made my day.

The next day, while Peter found another hill to climb, (there’s no shortage in the Ranges) I went stalking wildlife.

The first bird I saw I initially thought was another Rock Parrot, but when I examined the photos, it turns out that it is an Elegant Parrot. There are a few subtle differences but the most obvious difference (in layman’s terms) is that, under the blue “headband” the Rock Parrot has a slightly lighter shade of blue, whereas the Elegant Parrot has yellow.

There were also wrens and Australian Ringnecks, and a few other birds around our camp area.

I’m no bird expert, so if I ID any wrong, please let me know. 🙂

We went for a drive to the Old Pondanna Homestead, and there were heaps of emus in the area.

While I was off stalking them, Peter prepared the picnic lunch he had packed for us. There’s a couple of Mandarins, some biscuits, chocolate and a half eaten cold sausage; A very nutritious meal, no? At least he brought stuff to make tea and coffee but…can you see a flask anywhere? Me neither. 😉

On the way home we saw a lot of kangaroos too. Once more I am amazed at the Variety of colours and sizes. But now, I have my favourite. This guy, Chunky Roo. I don’t think that’s his Latin name, but it suits him.

I decided to go with Peter on his next hill climb and we almost made it to the top, but the light was fading, and we’d come up against dense scrub and a rocky escarpment. The view was still pretty amazing though.

The Gawler Ranges is a pretty cool place to visit, we only had five nights there, but if we had not had a plan (yes, I know that’s a four letter word) we would have stayed longer.

On our last day in the Gawler Ranges, we hoped to spot a Yellow Footed Wallaby, our favourite wallaby. We’d bumped into a park Ranger the day before, and he suggested the Organ Pipes at sunrise. So, that’s what we did. We saw this little lady in the Flinders Ranges, isn’t she gorgeous?

We’d done the Organ Pipes walk already so knew what to expect, an easy walk, with some boulders to navigate near the Organ Pipes. It was here, not waterfall climbing, or vertical bush bashing, that I fell and damaged my finger. Go figure? Peter was giving me space to do my hunting thing but luckily we had taken the two-ways with us so I was able to call him and he came to help.

Seriously though, if you fellow travelers don’t have two-way radios, you should get them. They’ve gotten us out of trouble more than once. And take them with you! They will do you no good sitting at home. I can’t speak for other brands, but the Oricom handsets are tough, (they’ve been dropped a few times) and have a great range. Oh, and we didn’t see the Wallaby.

Later that day we drove to Streaky Bay and visited the local hospital. I needed an Xray and ultrasound, but they didn’t have the facilities for the latter, so they referred me to Ceduna hospital for both. After the scans, Streaky Bay followed up wanting to see me again. When I said I was still in Ceduna, they organised a physio appointment in Ceduna for me. The physio told me that I had dislocated my finger, and partially tore the tendons. She then told me what I needed to do to care for it, as well as giving me a general referral, including imaging, for follow up visits in Perth.

Now this all sounds like a messy runaround, but considering our nomadic lifestyle, and the fact that the doctor, radiologist, and physio were all fly in for a few days, then back to Adelaide or Port Lincoln, the healthcare given was excellent.

I take my hat off to these people who are working with limited resources, and often with people who show no gratitude or who are downright rude. I guess what I’m getting at is, if you’re ever unfortunate enough to need healthcare in a rural hospital, just show the staff a little kindness, because they are doing it tough.

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!