Flinders Ranges trip ... Days 5 / 6 / 7

15, 16 & 17/9/14

Day 5

It took a while to pack up and we got going at 11 am.  We checked into Wilpena Pound Resort

http://www.wilpenapound.com.au/resort/

We had a nice lunch of fish and chips then relaxed the afternoon away.

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Day 6 

First thing we did today was some laundry.  Then we took a drive out and did the Moralana Scenic Drive.  

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this took us through Rawnsley Park Station then Arkaba Station then through to Mera Mora Station.  

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We packed sandwiches from the kiosk for our lunch so we back tracked to a nice open creekbed...

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A lovely spot...

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so peaceful, we sat for about an hour, just listening to the birds...

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Back on the road, we headed back to the resort.

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We thought these were wild flowers, growing in abundance but it turns out that it is noxious weeds,  Salvation Jane (echium plantagineum) and onion weed (asphodelus fistulosus)!

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Saw this cute mail box!  Then it was back to the resort to regroup before heading out to do a sunset tour.

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Our guide, Michael drove 8 of us out about 20kms to Stokes Hill Lookout, the highest point in the area.  It was very chilly and silly me, didn't take a jacket! Brrr!

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Beautiful colours and well worth nearly freezing to death!

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Michael explained a lot about the Pound to us, using the scale model that is set up there (pictured below).

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we enjoyed drinks and nibbles while watching the sun set.

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then it was back to the resort for dinner in the Poddy Dodgers Bar.  This was Gus' grilled chicken salad in a tortilla basket.  I had soup. I was in bed by 9.30pm - it's tiring doing nothing!

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Day 7

We were up bright and early to join our Four Wheel Drive half day tour, again with Michael as our guide.

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Michael took us through the Time Travel and Gorgeous Gorges tour, giving us a fascinating geological history of the Ranges, taking us through the 'Corridor of Time'.  Can you believe that the rock formations are 650 million years old?

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We drove through Brachina and Bunyeroo Gorges...

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Here we are trying to spot the yellow footed rock wallaby...

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Can you see the one on top of the rock?

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Such beautiful scenery...

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We arrived back at the resort at 1pm, just in time to grab lunch then get ready for our plane flight over the Pound at 3pm... 

We took off in a ricketty old Cessna aircraft, ably piloted by young Kane.

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Spectacular views over Wilpena Pound. 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilpena_Pound

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Another early night after dinner in Captain Starlight's restarant.

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 Joolz xx