There and Back Again

So we had some rain overnight and woke to an odd shower and cloudy skies. We naturally decided to take the longest walk on offer here. Here of course is Rawnsley Park. This is a working sheep station that does a side trade in tourism. Given it is right in the edge of the Wilpena Range I can understand their reasoning. Anyway their big signature walk is a 12k hike up the mountains to Rawnsley Bluff. Marjan had said that she wanted to start gently so this seemed the perfect hike. So after a breakfast of toast and jam (peach and ginger) from the Barossa off we set.

We were alone at the walk car park and set off with only the odd grumble from Marjan about her knees. Yes they are a bit nobbly I said, which got me sheoak nut to the nut. The walk wound around a dry country creek, that is a rocky depression in the ground, and eventually rose through some sandy hills covered in cypress pine. Slowly we elevated through lovely pink sandstone and some wildflowers. The walk was relatively mild for the first 2.5k. It then started to climb more precipitously over rocks and became quite a scramble for us both. Marjan reminded me of our first hike and how she hated me from that moment (The saddle to Wine Glass Bay in Tasmania). She did not point out that we could die on some of the cliffs but the teeth were clenched so tight I could see the throat muscles bunching up. Eventually we got above the rocky section and the walking again became relatively benign. We were walking on a saddle between two peaks on a slow decline into Wilpena Pound. We were heading for a view of Wilpena Pound rather than to the top of the bluff. A total saving of 400 yards. There were a number of wildflowers up here as well. The most striking was a callistemon. They seemed to like this sandy ridge.

Anyway after a final short rock scramble we were on a rock overlooking Wilpena Pound. As Marjan said, she hates me for making her do these walks, but she loves the places we go!

It was overcast so the views were not as spectacular as they could have been. Anyway we replenished our energy with some fruit and nuts.....and water thanks to the very handy 3 litre bladder.....thanks Katherine and Anna.

Time to head back down. The vertical rock scramble was worse on the way down. We had to concentrate to make sure we did not fall. Suffice to say I did not even bother to get the camera out for a coloured dragon (a type of lizard). We did finally make it, even though Marjan was sure the car was not getting any closer. In the final little stretch it began to rain. But we had had a terrific walk over the five hours so we were happy. W treated ourselves (an ice cream for Marjan, a pie for Raf), had some lunch and a rest......

…......and were off for a dive in the afternoon. We kept it pretty simple, a couple of look outs, some views of the ranges and a scenic drive through some open country that was teeming with emus, kangaroos, black kites and wedge tailed eagles. I suspect the last two were there because of the huge number of rabbits. Anyway some beautiful countryside that we will examine in more detail over the coming days.

We got back to our digs and enjoyed a hot shower and a glass of Kilikanoon Riesling. When we tasted it, on cue we both said Mmmmmmmmm with a smile on our faces. Not a bad drop.