Wilmington, South Australia (Easter weekend 2001)
Wilmington is situated in the Southern Flinders Ranges and was once known as Beautiful Valley. The hotel dates from the 1850's and the first land was taken up by John Howard Angus in 1851.
Hancock's
Lookout overlooking Spencer Gulf. From this vantage point you can see the
BHP plant at Whyalla, the Middleback Ranges (source of the iron ore for the
Whyalla steel works) and alos Dutchmans Stern Ranges to the north.
We
stayed at the Beautiful Valley Caravan Park where you can either have a powered
site or take up the option of bush camping and still avail yourself of pool, spa
and clean shower/toilet amenities. The picture to the left shows two young
campers with Ebony Eyes, the Park's pony.
The
park abounds with possums who emerge from hollow trees in the evening.
Even though wild, you can hand feed them with pieces of fruit and vegetables.
This possum was one of 2 in a tree just by our caravan.
There are a number of National Parks nearby and we visited Alligator Gorge within the Mt Remarkable National Park. You can either descend into the gorge via the steps (250 of them) or enter from the Blue Gum Flat area and take in a more leisurely hike. This Autumn of 2001 allowed us to walk up the river bed as there has not been a good rainfall yet. The following thumbnails show some of the beautiful rock and tree formations along the walk.
View from lookout above Gorge |
Layered rock formations |
Black Boys (Xanthorrhoea preissii) |
dry creek bed entering the narrows |
grasses clinging to rock face |
gum tree growing into rock face |
burnt out Gum tree |
The Narrows |
The walk into Alligator Gorge is approximately 2 kms and you will find many different types of birds and flora. When we visited, the Garland Lily was just finishing flowering. The best time to visit the Flinders Ranges is from Autumn to Spring when the days are cooler. The nights can get very cold during the winter months.
After
the hike, it was good to return to our caravan and enjoy a cool drink. The
picture to the left shows Roy and Jack (The Wonder Dog). Dogs are not
permitted into National Parks in Australia, however you can obtain a booklet
from the RAA (Royal Automobile Association) listing the caravan parks that
permit pets.
One of the pleasures of travelling is meeting new friends. This is
Shirley and Peter who joined us for a glass of red after dinner one evening.
Quorn
The township of Quorn sits at the northern end of the Pichi Richi Pass and the railway line was built to Port Augusta to carry ore from the mines in the north. The line has the distinction of being one of the oldest intact railway systems in the world.
The Railway Preservation Society issues a detailed timetable listing the dates when their historic, narrow-guage engines and rolling stock travel the return trip Quorn to Woolshed Flat. The Easter weekend is one of the busiest times for steam train enthusiasts to enjoy these trips.
The 934 shunting at Quorn |
All the members of the Railway Preservation Society are volunteers |
Closeup of the 934 |
Quorn Railway Station c. 1814 |
Typical of the beautiful architecture of quorn |
Copper was mined at Spring Creek in 1860 and worked until 1874. Another great walk is in the valley of Spring Creek where you are afforded great photographic opportunities of wild life. Kangaroos graze and the hills are a blaze of colour in the spring when the golden wattle is in flower.
a mighty gum tree - still surviving after bushfires |
A dry riverbed crossing the Heysen Trail |
View from Mt Remarkable overlooking Wilmington |
Ruins of one of the cottages from the copper mining day |
a thumbnail map of the area mentioned on this page.