Day 188 – Flinders Ranges – Thierings on Tour

It was a glorious and sunny start to the day and we decided that it would probably be best to move camps so that we could be closer to all the sites we wanted to visit today. So we packed up and headed into Blinman for a quick visit. Unfortunately the mine was closed as they don’t have the staff to run tours, so we settled for a quick coffee and a look around the tiny town. The girls loved the corrugated animal statues…

Then we went to visit an Aboriginal art centre, Wadna, to also ask about their guided tours, but it turned out the owners were in Adelaide receiving a tourism award, how cool! So after having a look and a chat to the local lady who was holding fort, we headed back and south into the Flinders.

We were intrigued by the Tourist sign for “Great Wall of China” and it really was impressive! The rock formations very true to their name and towered over the Flinders. Chris shocked a few fellow drivers by driving the van up the hill towards them, but it really wasn’t that bad. Even the big girls looked up from their game of Barbies for once and gasped in amazement at the beauty of it.

Our stop for the night was Willow Springs and they luckily let us drop the van early so that we could head out and explore in the car. It was a gorgeous camp spot and I couldn’t wait to get back to the serenity already.

First stop was Wilpena Pound, where we had a nice walk in the forest. Jazzy was keen on trying to climb to the top of the mountain, but sadly we wouldn’t have enough time and it was getting too warm anyway! There was plenty to see around us and we found some cool trees with hollow trunks, similar to what we had seen in south WA.

From there it was back on the road to Razorback Lookout, an incredible viewing spot of the winding roads through the Flinders and every kind of mountain range you can imagine. It was stunning!

I honestly didn’t have any expectations for the Flinders, but it has been a very pleasant surprise. The road continued to undulate through the ranges with many a lookout and gorgeous spot. The best thing for the kids was that you could see so much without having to walk anywhere – you could either see the sites straight from the car or it was a case of hopping out and seeing it from the lookout. No trekking required!

My favourite spot for the day was the Yellow Rock Footed Wallaby Colony spot. A number of benches and lookouts where you are in the valley of the ranges, surrounded by nature and barely any other cars passing through with these cute wallabies jumping all around.

Earlier that day we learned that the yellow footed rock wallaby had disappeared from the area for over 120 years and that these days there are only 2 regions in Australia where you can spot the species in the wild. Very cool indeed!

We enjoyed a drink & a chat before heading back to camp. We had grand plans to also visit another lookout nearby for sunset, but decided that our campsite was in fact all that we needed and so we stayed and enjoyed it. I think it was so serene and beautiful that it would have to be in my top 5 from the trip. Big call, I know!