Friday 12 July 2013 - Travel Flinders Ranges to Arkaroola

Friday 12 July 2013 - Travel Flinders Ranges to Arkaroola

A day spent travelling along good gravel/dirt roads that wound through the beautiful country side of the Flinders Ranges, becoming more and more arid as we traveled to the North.

Sites along the way included "the Great Wall of China"

Emus crossing the road 

A sign for camels - but no camels in sight

An Ochre Wall

Rodger went searching for an old bat mine on a map along a dirt track and finally found it up the side of a steep hill - it was mined for bat droppings for fertilizer in the 1920s. The mine dropped down 275 feet vertically so he wasn’t able to climb down.

Arrived at the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary about 4pm – what a wonderful place where Reg and Grizelda Sprigg have set up an area where people can come and see the amazing geology and where this fragile environment can be preserved for future generations.  They have been able to restore many endangered species by removing feral pests such as goats and dingos, and not running stock or planting anything non-native on their property. Their son Doug and daughter Margaret now run the sanctuary continuing their parents’ vision.

Camped down by the creek with a camp fire to keep us warm – although it is noticeably warmer here than the 0 degrees at Wilpena Pound.   The land is incredibly arid – all red cliffs and shale everywhere underfoot.  Some hardy eucalypts lined the creeks and there is some scrub - the result of three good years of rain.