The Gawler Ranges

Pleased that the weather had ‘fined up’ again, we drove north from Port Lincoln to Wudinna, one of the gateways to the remote Gawler Ranges National Park. At the information centre they told us the park was now open after the recent heavy rain, but only to 4WD vehicles as the dirt roads were in poor condition. We planned to go deep into the park the next day, but had time that afternoon to visit some monolithic rocks in the Wudinna region, notably Polda Rock and Mt. Wudinna, which is the second largest monolith in Australia after Uluru. Climbing onto the rocks in the heat was tough but rewarding – the views were spectacular, and there were rock pools all over the place, holding the remains of the recent downpours. There was plenty of evidence of how the water had rushed down in torrents, and by the clever device of a simple wall at the bottom of the rock, all the water was funnelled into a dam.

We had been teased by Aussie friends about planning to stay in Wudinna (also Kimba – see later) – lots of jokes about there being nothing there and the very basic standard of accommodation. These are small country towns on the Eyre Highway – very welcome oases on the road where you may see a car every 15 minutes if you are lucky. Because this environment is so different from what we experience at home we love it, and the people are invariably helpful and friendly.

The next day we set off early into the Gawler Ranges. The whole day was spent driving on dirt roads of varying quality – about 250km in total. Pindappa rock was the first stop – SA’s own version of the better known Wave Rock in Western Australia. The early morning light showed the rock (like a giant surf wave) at its best, and we had it all to ourselves.

The next destination was the Organ Pipes, the most well-known rock formations in the park, but 10 km off the dirt road on a rough track, mainly sand and rock. This was a challenging drive (we kept wondering what the rental car company would think if they could see the vehicle totally covered in red dirt!) but it was worth every pothole and puddle when at the end we found a small colony of rare yellow-footed rock wallabies playing amongst the organ pipes. There were five of them, incredibly agile, leaping around amongst the rocks and making strange little growling noises. It felt as if they had put on a show for us (nobody else was there of course) and we could have watched them for hours.

We then followed the scenic driving route through the park and had our picnic lunch sitting on the verandah at the Old Paney Homestead, now abandoned. A pioneering family had raised 11 children there. The place was very atmospheric, surrounded by beautiful country and utterly peaceful – yes, nobody else there again!

Throughout our day in the Gawler Ranges we saw only five cars. The small town of Kimba, where we spent the night, seemed like a bustling metropolis when we arrived there. Kimba’s two claims to fame are the fact that it is ‘half way across Australia’ and the home of the Giant Galah (an Aussie bird). This is one of the many Big Things in Australia (such as the Big Banana, Big Pineapple, Giant Prawn, Giant Ram.....)

Next day we drove from Kimba back to Adelaide, had time for a brief farewell drink with Joan and Don at lovely Glenelg, and then off to the airport for our evening flight to Perth and the last leg of the holiday in Western Australia.