The Flinders Ranges

For the end of this mid-semester break, I have decided to go to the Flinders Ranges, eight hours far from Adelaide, straight directly to the interior land. 

Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in SA. Its most famous place is Wilpena Pound, a large natural amphitheatre, which contains the highest peak:St Mary's.

There is a lot of national parks in that area. Nature is really impressive, as you drive hours and hours on the road without seeing any town. Actually, there is something like one town per hour drive, but most of them or really small (the center corresponds to an oil station). You can find some typicals coffees on the road, selling hot chocolate and hot cross buns, the typical "brioche" of australia, flavoured with raisins and cinnamon. When you enter the interior land, you have the impression of coming back decades ago. In the Bush, everything is just like it was in the eighties and sometimes it is preserved to look like the beginning of the 19th century. 

   

My first stop was at Burra, well know for its mines. It is the stop of every driver, that is why there is "cartain activity": a few coffees, a bakery, three oil stations ... The Burra mines used to supply 89% of Australia's copper. But the mines first closed in 1877. Nowadays, there is a large pastoral activity, notably with sheeps. 

     

* This house is situated in Burra and is well known because it is on the album of one Australia singer. 

 *Hot cross buns.

From this point, you have to know two things:  the four wheels drive is compulsory and there is no network, that is why it is well advised to have a talky walky on your four wheel drive. I far as I am concerned, my trip was with a Defender, an army four wheel drive,which allowed us to go everywhere. 

We stayed four days at Arkaroola wilderness sanctuary, in the north of the Flinders Ranges (700km from Adelaide). Since a few years, this region is threaten by mining, that is why you can find a lot of people wearing tee-shirts with "no mining in Arkaroola". The principal activities are beautiful walks and four wheels drive tracks. We did that all day long. During the night, you can go to one of the observatorium too see stars and planets. I have seen the most beautiful stars of my life, perfectly drawn in the sky. I saw the milkyway and saturn. I was amazing. 

 

Finally, I wanted to say that I have seen this landscape differently than everybody, as it is the first year that it is raining like this in Australia. So the landscapes where mostly green, which is impressive, as they used to be brown, red and yellow.