Friday 30 November 2018
Today we got another slow start to the day as I have had about 4 nights in a row with poor sleep. Not a good day to start slow as we were expecting temperatures of 30° today. Oh well, DB would have like to hike Rawnsley Bluff but it was about a 5 hour hike and we need to set off at about 7. Not happening today as we set off about 10am. Oh well, maybe next time.
We went on a short walk to the Twidale Top – a mesa on the Rawnsley Park Station. It was only a 2km return walk up a hill but gave some lovely views. We then set off on the Rawnsley Park mountain bike trail, hoping it was a better track than the other day. Luckily for me it was. I also had improved my skills from the other day. We thought this would be about an hour ride but it ended up 1 hr 50 minutes over about 16.5km. The ride went up and down hill, through rocky creek beds, past the Bluff, the airstrip and along the road. It was quite an enjoyable ride. By the end of the ride we were quite hot and sweaty so we had a sit under the tree for lunch.
Next stop – Arkaroo Rock to see some Aboriginal rock art. We set out on this hike at about 2pm, it was really quite hot by then. The walk was only a 3km loop trail but started with a climb most of the way up, the rock art wasn’t that impressive but the views were quite good. Luckily for us the return was all down hill.
By the end of the walk it was about 3.30pm. Where to now?
We started heading south and decided to head towards Coffin Bay on the Eyre Peninsula. Our destination for tonight is Whyalla. About 2 hours south of Hawker where we tried to visit a Gallery. Unfortunately it was closed. The drive was quite pleasant, the scenery was very nice and the traffic wasn’t too bad.
After a stop at the shops in Port Augusta we arrived at Whyalla Discovery Park on the water at about 7pm. A bit late for us these days, but with sunset not till after 8pm we had plenty of time to get dinner before it was dark.
All in all, we had a lovely day today.
- View from Twidale Top..
- ..the colours were quite amazing.
- Looking from Twidale Top to Rawnsley Bluff
- Heading back down from Twidale Top
- The start of the Rawnsley Park Mountain Bike trail was quite a good track..
- ..DB heading down through the trees.
- It got a little rocky in some places.
- We took a wrong turn and ended up on some rocky single trails..
- ..but it wasn’t long before we went back to the right track.
- Riding past Rawnsley Bluff
- The view for most of the ride was very beautiful
- We disturbed some sheep and emus at the watering trough
- Waiting to see if the sheep and emus would come back..
- The last stage of the track..
- ..went past the airstrip for the flights over the Flinders Ranges..
- Back on the road but unfortunately this next 5km was up hill and into the wind. Not quite the ride you want after 75mins of riding on the trails.
- Lucky for us there was a shady table for our lunch at the end of the ride.
- Start of the Arkaroo Rock hike..
- Love the shape of this rock
- The Aboriginal art was behind a caged fence.
- Some of the Aboriginal Artwork..
- ..and some more.
- The top of the rock face where the art was beautiful colours.
- View from the top out of the National Park
- Whyalla Campground. Dinner time.
- Sunset at Whyalla Caravan Park
- Rawnsley Park, Flinders Ranges to Whyalla, Eyre Peninsula – 148km