Rawnsley Park SA, Wilpena Pound SA, Flinders Ranges SA, Iron Knob SA

Rawnsley Park, Flinders Ranges SA. May 9, 2015

Another easy sort of drive today, still heading east. 

In a former life as a grot-nosed pre-pubescent teenager, the town of Iron Knob in SA always brought a ripple of tittering around the geography class when it got mentioned, along with Kolyaknobin in WA. Well here we are today driving right past the three run-down shacks and seedy hotel that consists the tow of Iron Knob, and the enormous hole-in-the-mountain that once used to be the aforementioned Knob. It’s iron ore country and some wit in days gone by decided that the go would be to dig out the whole mountain, take it tho Whyalla and turn it into pig-iron. Good on them. You just cant imagine anyone today looking at a bit of landscape and deciding to just obliterate it for the sake of a few dollars in their pocket. Or can you?

  

Took a tiny detour into Port Augusta to go to the ‘big shops’ for a few things like fresh bread and butter. Then we turned north-ish up through the ranges into Quorn, where we once again missed the running of the Pitchie Ritchie Railway (only running on Sunday - Mothers Day). Quorn looks quaint enough, must come back here another time. 

This is flat desolate looking scrub country, suitable only for sheep it seems, and almost entirely surrounded by a mountain range. Just had to take another look at the ruins of the Kanyaka Homestead (1840 - 1860) which was just a s good as the first time. Found the cemetery this time, one of the grave stones marked 1876 had a framed picture of a lady just sitting at the foot of the stone. side the frame with picture was a handkerchief embroidered with ‘God Bless You’. One can only assume that it was great-grandma.

Last time we stayed in Hawker, which is a lovely quaint near defunct town, and drove a further 45 km up toward the Wilpena Pound park, where we are staying at the Rawnsley Homestead caravan par. This place reminds us a bit of El Quester, except the road in isn't quite as bad. They have the eco lodges and camping and a proper caravan park with powered sites and everything.

Took the easy 800m walk to Kangaroo Flat Lookout, which is just a bit of a joke really, you can see Rawnsley Bluff just as well from the back of the van. We followed this up with a drive to the look out and wandered around the rest of the homestead. It’s a nice sort of place, certainly better than staying in town.

I’d add photos but the internet here is very limited, text might work, photos will not.