Rawnsley Park, Wilpena Pound - 11 to 15 July 2009

It was raining when we left Argadells giving us our first really challenging drive. Although the back road to Hawker is supposed to be all weather, in places the limestone topping wore through to the red soil below, which is like powder and when wet is sticky and very slippery. Even crawling along in low ratio 4wd at times the car and van were both sliding sideways.

We crossed Willochra Creek which was rising. It is unnerving to see how fast these dry creek beds fill.

The dangers are obvious, as shown by Hugh Probies grave near Willochra Creek. He was the 3rd son of an Earl who came out to take up the lease on Kanaka Station. He was only 23 when he drowned in Willochra Creek while chasing stampeding cattle. His grieving sisters shipped out one and a half tons of granite for his memorial. This must have challenged the bullock team who hauled it from the ship to this remote location. He is probably better known now than if he had lived. Kanaka Station was later abandoned and is now in ruins.

We also passed Simmonstown, a classic boom town which never was, with an hotel and shops built and land sold by property speculators for the boom which would come when it became a stop on the Ghan railroad. Perfect, except that the train went 18km to the east of the town. This is the remains of the hotel.

We stayed at Rawnsley Park Station which is just outside of Wilpena Pound. This is very well run, and set up for the many tourists who come to Wilpena, including an excellent Restaurant "The Woolshed".

We took a flight over Wilpena Pound, the Heysen Ranges and Chace Ranges, which is the only way to truly appreciate the spectacular geology.



The whole Flinders ranges was originally a 15km deep trench between two major tectonic plates, and when most of Australia was inundated by sea, sediment was laid down in the trench eventually forming layers of sedimentary rock. Then as the plates moved together the sedimentary layers were buckled and exposed to weathering.

This gives Geologists a chance to study rock sequentially over aeons of time. The sediment from the first 200 million years has weathered away, but the period 543 to 600 million revealed the fossil impressions of the first multicellular animals and the Ediacaran Period is now named after this area.

We moved into a camping area within Wilpena Pound, and took a guided tour through Bunyeroo and Brachina Gorges to really understand the geology of the area.

The next day it rained heavily so we delayed our walk into Wilpena Pound and lookouts until the following day. Wilpena Pound is a circle of mountains with a small gorge entry and a spring. Stock could easily be contained.












We saw the Hill homestead within the Wilpena Pound, more of an outstation really. The government of the era required them to carry too many sheep for this kind of country as a conditon of the lease and all the saltbush was eaten out in 15 years. They then tried wheat, the mantra being that "rains would follow the plough" which was quite successful in good years but the rains failed too often. Finally a storm on Christmas Day 1906 washed them out completely, including the road through the gorge they had taken years to build. After this the Hill family gave up wheat and ran stock until the lease expired.

It is best now as a National Park. Recent rains mean it is as green as many locals have ever seen it.