McCulloch Family Giant Leap: Flinders Ranges

The fruit salad man - that is what Hamish calls himself when he is hungry. Apparently he just eats and eats and eats. I only just had enough snacks in the car to get us there as being only a little over a 100km drive I didn’t bother packing too much. Lucky really as we didn’t get away from Port August until 11:30am so it was nice to not have to go too far for the day and set up. When we first looked at going to the Flinders Rangers we thought we might camp at Wilpena Pound, though we quickly changed our minds after talking to Bert and Eli in Port Augusta. We had to agree with them that Hawker seemed like a more central point to base ourselves and go and explore.

The view from the caravan park.

We were met by the friendly Manager of the park and he just let us pick whatever site we had. The only other people there were Bert and Eli so we parked a few sites down from them to give them a bit more space from the kids instead of being stuck next door like we were in Port Augusta. As it was the middle of the day I got a little bit sunburnt from the packing up and setting up which I was not happy about. With my skin I know it isn’t good and was frustrated. As we were setting up Eli came down and said hi and invited us down to their van for coffee. We jumped at the opportunity and made our way down there once we were all settled in. The best bit was that Eli also had homemade chocolates that were delicious and in the scheme of chocolate wasn’t too bad for you.

That has to be one of the great things about being on the road - the people you meet. Everyone has been so friendly so far and we have really enjoyed talking to everyone and finding out where they come from and their tips of places to see and tricks in regards to caravanning. Some people have been on the road for years whilst others are at the end of a few months. It varies, but the one that is the same is how happy everyone is and there are no regrets for taking the time to travel.

The rest of our afternoon was spent walking around the park and then going for a drive to check out the town itself. It isn’t very big, but it has great character with lots of old buildings around to admire, yet also a very modern sporting complex. As it slowly got dark we were even treated to some beautiful Christmas lights, especially one heritage house that was just stunning. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of that one.

Dedication is when you give up your carport for decorations.

Friendly bunch of characters.

The next morning we headed off to start exploring the Flinders Ranges National Park. Jason had spoken to the Manager of the caravan park the day before and he had given some very helpful advice as to what were the best drives to see and do with two young kids. His advice was spot on, and it truly meant a lot to us that someone could guide us this way, as we know the view is best from the top of the mountains but there is no way we are going to get the kids up there. So we headed off first to stop in and see Wilpena Pound and buy our park pass. Whilst we were there we also checked out their camping area. It was actually more crowded than where we were and quite tight with all the trees around. No regrets choosing to stay in Hawker.

Driving out and about for the day.

Saw so many of these, some even had eleven chicks.

The birds were drinking the water out of the buckets.

Once we had our pass we continued north along the main road before taking a tourist drive that took us Bunyeroo Valley and Brachina Gorge. The road was fantastic and the views that we got from the road were just stunning. I am glad that we did it this way as you really got to take it all in driving downhill. Through the Brachina Gorge it did get a bit rocky and due to clearance I wondered how lower cars would handle it, but we came across Ford Falcon (hire car!) that had just come through so obviously it was possible. They did admit though that we had the better car for it.

Nice spot for a picnic morning tea.

Taking in the views.

Just so impressive.

It just goes on and on.

Down in the gorge.

Making our way out.

By now we were all getting hungry for lunch so we continued onto the Priarie Pub which is located in Parachilna. This pub is renowned for the famous feral animal meals and there is a wide selection but we opted for the tasting plate which had Kangaroo meat, emu pate, goat’s cheese, camel salami and of course a few other olives etc that weren’t animal. For those who don’t want to eat the feral animals there are plenty of other choices on the menu and the kids enjoyed some chips as they weren’t willing to try much. It was actually really yummy, though for me the pate was a bit strong but then I am not really a fan of any pate to start with. They had a lot of pictures and artwork around the pub and I believe they also have accommodation there too.

Beautiful pub.

From Parachilna we headed across to Blinman taking the easier of the two routes. After what we had seen in the morning we decided that it really wasn’t going to top that and we were right. By the time we got to Blinman, Hamish was asleep so we opted to just head back to Hawker, taking the sights as we went. One place I was looking forward to was the Wall of China. Pretty self-explanatory as they believe it resembles the Great Wall of China. Unfortunately we didn’t see the sign for it until we were driving past, so I just took a photo from the window. It did partially look like it but I was a little disappointed so didn’t bother turning around to go back.

Great wall of China.

Taking in the views.

Jason and I were both exhausted as we drove back. Kayla had also fell asleep by now so we just knew that as soon as we got home they would both be awake and full of energy. We were spot on. Two very energetic kids and two very worn out parents! Lucky for me, Jason took the kids off for a swim so I could have a break. Then whilst Hamish was happy having a play on the iPad, I took Kayla for a walk around Hawker. I had picked up a book on the heritage buildings from the local service station and decided to get some exercise whilst reading about the history of the town.

I found a lovely old church and walked up around it before coming to the door. I found it odd that just inside the doorway was a big tv (I was still outside), so I referred to my little book and found out it is now a private residence. So needless to say I quickly hot footed it off their land and decided to read about each place from the street before going in for a closer look! Lucky I didn’t just walk on into someone’s home – that wouldn’t have been good at all. Back in the park we swapped exploring stories with Eli and Bert. They had done a massive walk which took quite a few hours but said the view was really worth it. Eli also kindly gave me her chocolate recipe so I am going to have to make them one day.

As the next day was our last full day in the region we decided to do the last scenic drive which is just before the national park and through one of the local properties. It was again another easy drive and the views were really lovely. We were very grateful that the property owners allow for the road to be built through their properties so as to let the general public see the natural beauty of the area. We even finally saw some sheep as I was starting to wonder what they ran out here. Other than a million emus and their 5 million chicks, we hadn’t seen much wildlife at all. I remember being told as a kid that if there are a lot of emu chicks that it was going to be a good year. If that is the case, I would be very worried about how much rain they are going to get out there, as I have never in my life seen so many emus and emu chicks. Once back in town we headed out to see some old ruins, one of them being Kanyaka Homestead. Just thinking back to the days, they would have been very impressive buildings and the homestead was quite large, but the woolshed was ever larger. By now it was a lovely overcast day with a few scattered showers around. So as we had left the caravan vents open, we hot footed it back into town so we could shut them up before any rain.

Jason and Kayla checking the place out.

The old stationmasters house.

The old Kanyaka homestead.

Another beautiful shot with the car.

Nicely framed picture of Jason and Kayla.

We did drive up to do the lookout over town but when we got to the parking area Kayla was asleep so we just took photos from there and headed back into town so that today we could also have a rest. That afternoon we went to the Jeff Morgan gallery which is mind blowing amazing. You should definitely visit this if you are in the area, but best to leave the kids behind to take it all in. Our two really aren’t into artwork and got over it very fast which didn’t really allow us sit down and just admire the paintings that took up an entire wall. It was amazing to think that this guy had previously painted houses and turned his attention to painting landscapes. His panorama painting of Wilpena Pound makes you feel as though you are at the top of a lookout and Wilpena Pound is all around you – purely amazing!

View from lookout carpark.

The picture at the gallery.

To give you an idea, but it is a 360 degree picture.

The rest of our day was spent having a quick swim before retreating to the van as a storm went by. Once it had passed over we put the kids in their gumboots and raincoats and sent them out to play. We thought that would keep them clean as they had already had showers. I don’t know what we were thinking but no, they had so much fun that I couldn’t care less if I had to give them another shower and wash their pjs. Just reminded me of my childhood and playing out in the rain.