Quorn to Mt Eba, SA

Friday 20th May 2022
Happy birthday Kez, hope you have had a lovely day.

Well today has been an amazing day.

After hearing all about Quorn at the Light Show last night we decided to go for a quick drive and have a look at the old buildings many of them have been restored. We did that on the speedy side as we have lots more planned for today. Forgot to mention it was only 3° overnight. Our second really chilly night in the tent.

Next stop, to hike to the top of Devil’s Peak which is near the Mt Brown summit hike we did yesterday. Devil’s Peak is a 276m climb in elevation over 1.2km so a big climb. We were as always hoping to set off before 9am so we didn’t do too bad today, start time was 9.16. As the statistics indicated we started a gradual slope which quickly escalated to a steep climb and then finally rock hopping and scaling. The view was soooo amazing, 360° of the most spectacular view from the top of Devil’s Peak. To give you and idea of the climb, it took about 40mins to walk/climb the 276m up over 1.2km. Boy was it worth it. David as always needed to get to the higher rock which had its name carved in the rock face as being Petro’s Peak. It was very chilly at the top and quite windy. We spent about half an hour enjoying the view and trying to capture it the best we could in some photos. As always, the photos never quite show the enormity and grandeur of the beautiful mountains and countryside we are surrounded by. It was incredible. Then for the trip back down which took just as long as the climb up, as we needed to take our time on some of the rocky bits. We got back to the car at about 11am so it was time to re-think the rest of today’s plan as we were hoping top be on our way again by 10am. We would really like to have made it to Mt Eba Station but it was about 5.5 hours drive. Oh well, we were never going to miss out on Devil’s Peak, so adjust we will. We saw a couple of emus on our way out, that along with the few kangaroos, goats and one ring-necked parrot from yesterday that is all we have really seen since we left home. Hopefully we are going to see a little more as we continue our travels.

We headed off to Port Augusta and then on to the Stuart Highway on our way north with no end destination decided. We just kept driving at 100km on the straight road through the picturesque countryside with no end in sight. At about 4pm we tried to contact Mt Eba Station but they were out working, so it was not meant to be. We decided we would just have to make do with a gravel pit on the side of the highway, hopefully one with a toilet. When we got to Bon Bon Rest Area I decided to give Mt Eba Station one more try as we had no service from the time I called them for them to be able to call me back. It is always good to test the satellite phone out. We lucked in and managed to contact them. We then drove the 45mins off track to the station. Lucky us. Margie was so friendly and welcoming, even offering us a tour of the station with another group coming in by plane tomorrow.

We were chasing the sunset today and finally got dinner in the dark today but that is okay, we have had a fun-filled day. As I sit by the fire, gazing up at the stars whilst writing my blog, I think I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. Hope you are all well at home. Take care and stay safe.

PS. I forgot to mention by the end of the day we had seen more emus, kangaroos, corellas, galahs and 3 of the biggest wedge-tailed eagles. Yay!

: Quorn Railway Station

: Some of the old buildings in the Main Street of Quorn

: A little history of Quorn.

: As we drive towards the Devil’s Peak trailhead you can see the peak we are going to climb on the right side of the road.

: A closer look at the rugged peak.

: As we head up the gradual incline at the start of the track. Looking up to the peak.

: As the terrain starts to change.

: Time to start climbing.

: Looking back at the beautiful view.

: Almost to the top..

: Just a scramble and a heave ho up to the top.

: Sitting atop Devil’s Peak with 360° views..

: David comfortably stands there as if we weren’t on top of the world.

: David working on our photography shoot. We don’t have to do timed danger shots anymore..

: Safe selfies with our bluetooth remote controlled bendy tripod..

: Looking into the distance..

: David heading back down so he can climb the higher peak..

: DB on the highest peak.

: Me standing back where our selfie was taken..

: ..and again..

: David sitting on top of the world, a little higher than me, of course.

: Just a little higher.

: A plaque on the peak David was standing on.

: A lone grass tree high on the peak. It is amazing how they grow in the crevices.

: Devil’s Peak

: Emus on the way out..

: They just kept walking beside the road, unperturbed by us. They stopped and eyeballed me.

: A salt lake on the Stuart Highway near Winnamirra

: The lake (Lake Hart) at a freebie gravel pit on the side of Stuart Hwy. Were were about 12 caravans all set up at about 3pm even without toilet facilities. No room for us!

: They are still working on the road damage from February all along the Stuart Hwy. This is at Glendambo. They had 120mm of rain in Feb and then another 40mm a few weeks ago. That is usually their annual rainfall.

: Driving in to Mt Eba the road was very well graded and David could drive quite quick until it got a bit later and he saw 4 or 5 roos, so he slowed right down. We were racing the clock.