Flinders Ranges Trip 2025 - The Ride Day 4

 We weren't the first up for breakfast this morning so by the time we arrived all the milk was gone. Toast and black coffee it is then!

We packed up quickly and had the bikes loaded before the dew had time to evaporate off the seats, so it must have been early still. We were heading for Arkaroola today where we would be staying for the next two nights. This basing ourselves in one place for a few days and looping out of there was working well and I had some ideas for a ride out of Arkaroola.

Initially we headed west, out Parachilna Gorge road as we needed to fuel up and the only fuel around Blinman is 15km to the west at Angorachina Village. Those fifiteen kilometres were pretty twisty so we went slowly. 

Angorachina Village is a small fuel and convenience store that also has accomodation options for small to large groups in various cabins. I did initially look at accommodation here instead of Blinman but Blinman won out in the end. We filled up the bikes and as we did a group of ADV bikes rolled in.

 They had stayed at the Blinman Hotel last night as well (you can see them at a table in one of my beer garden photos from last night). We had a quick chat and were off heading west to find Glass Gorge road again.

We passed the northern trailhead for the 1200km Heysen Trail and stopped for a quick look. It was much fancier than it had been in 2022. 

A couple more stops to marvel at the huge red cliffs along the dry creekbed here were in order. I think Steve got some good photos along here as he had his real camera out.

We turned right into Glass Gorge road again and found that the initial sandy bit was just as loose as yesterday. I wanted to duck up to the little lookout again today but Steve wasn't interested in the steep climb. So, I left him to iron blouses* at the bottom and shot up for a morning light photo.

We continued on along Glass Gorge rd, passing the Mt Franklin track off to the left. I was keen to do this loop track as I had seen it on plenty of ADV ride You Tube videos and it looked spectacular. Steve wasn't keen so we kept going, turning left into Moolooloo Station road. This station has some Public Access Roads (P.A.R.) that seem to be a South Australian thing. We were going to do PAR 4 through the station to the old Artimore ruins, then out onto the Blinman/Arkaroola road. We had wanted to do the Nuccaleena Copper Mine PAR which branched off Moolooloo Station road but it was closed for some reason.

The track to Moolooloo Station was pretty well used but after we passed this sign it degenerated somewhat - which made it interesting. Nothing difficult, just interesting.

Moolooloo Station homestead. 

We tootled along for a while, taking in the scenery. We decided to stop on one of the many dry creek crossings to get off and stretch our legs. We munched museli bars as we strolled around and checked out the gorge. The first part of PAR 4 was all like this

It was just us out here. We didn't see another soul the whole PAR 4 ride.

But we did see plenty of Emus. They have big feet.

We traversed more creek beds, weaving in and out of the big old gum trees that lined them.

We even 'chased" a huge mob of Emu down one of them for quite a while as the track followed the dry creek bed. We only lost them when the track peeled off, up the bank.

Look closely and you can see the two straggling Emu from the flock further up the creekbed. 

Popping up onto the bank we stopped briefly at the old car wreck.

We next stopped at the old Artimore Station ruins. Established in the 1850s as a sheep grazing enterprise it lasted about fifty years before the dry conditions and hungry wildlife made it unprofitable to continue.

We stopped here for a good look around the three remaining ruins. It would have been a bloody tough existence out here nearly 170 years ago.

 

PAR 4 had quite a bit further to go and we really enjoyed riding along, side by side on the narrow track. I was pleased to see that Steve was starting to loosen up and trust his tyres. We were flowing along very nicely.

Even on some of the sketchier off camber stuff we kept the pace up.

When it opened right up I goaded him into really giving it some stick now that we could see what was in front of us for a ways. I was trying to help Steve grow his dirt confidence and it looked to be working.

Giving it some stick! 

All too soon we were back to the intersection on the Blinman-Arkaroola road. It was about 140km to Arkaroola and it was nearly lunch time. Knowing that there isn't much in the way of midday food up there I suggested we ride the 13km back into Blinman and have lunch at the little store. Steve reckoned it sounded ok, so back we went. Lunch consisted of a pie and a chocolate milk while we overlooked the busy goings on of downtown Blinman.

We hit the road again, heading for Arkaroola. The main road is like a well, a main road. It is wide and quite smooth for the most part. We did find a grader working his "magic" all through the Wearing Gorge section. This made the road loose and soft, which caused a few pucker moments, but we came through ok.

Popping out of Wearing Gorge we were on the flat plains, heading toward Lake Frome. This is where Andy and I got our dusty drone shot in 2022. I decided to try to replicate it today with Steve but the drone wasn't playing nicely and even though the road seemed dusty it didn't produce as good of a shot. Maybe the ludicrous speed we did in 2022 helped?

Yeah, its flat out here!

Stopping to launch the drone I couldn't get my beast off it's side stand with the slope of the road. The little drone captured my hero saving me.....😄

It was another 39km to the next turn near Balcanoona Station, where we turn in for Arkaroola. 

Behind us is the way to Arkaroola, to the left of photo is the way we would be coming back tomorrow.

There is an amazing rock outcrop called Balcanoona Bluff with Balcanoona Creek (dry. of course) running in front of it immediately as you take the turn into Arkaroola. Pictures don't do it justice...and we didn't stop to try harder to make it better. This is off the chin mount DJI Action 4.

Arriving in Arkaroola Village we went straight for a fuel top - up. It has always been our policy to fuel up immediately in case something goes pear shaped over night. Prices were in line with what you would expect in such a remote location and honestly, not that much more than we pay in Brisbane when fuel is at the top of the price cycle.

We found our room and got changed for a walk around the resort village. There are some stunning rock formations and perhaps we could have done a tour to learn more about what we were seeing.

But we sort of gravitated to the bar after a bit of a stroll around. Here we found friendly backpackers staffing the place and one older gent watching HJC helmet reviews via You Tube on the big screen television. Once he left I snavelled the remote and tuned in a couple of Moto GP races to watch while we had a cold one. 😎

It turns out Adam, they guy watching the reviews, was a fellow adventure rider on a BMW 1250GS and had come off doing about 80km/h in the only bit of deepish sand on the whole road from Blinman to here. It was in a creek bed and Steve and I slowed for it but it wasn't too bad. Unfortunately Adam was going the other way and didn't see it coming as it was over a slight rise into the creek bed. It seems his head took the brunt of the crash and he now needed a new helmet. Luckily, he was otherwise unhurt but was stuck in Arkaroola for a few days until the new helmet arrived. 

Heading back to our room to clean up for dinner we spied the lads from Angorachina this morning. They were in the room around the corner from us!

Dinner was booked for six thirty and lucky we did book. The restaurant was busy and while the menu was sparse, the food was gourmet!

"Bugger the garlic bread" I told Steve, "lets get the cob loaf".

It came out hot, crusty and accomapnied by olive oil and dukkah. 

Delicious!

For the main I decided on the "beef". It didn't specify what beef the cut was but I took a leap of faith. I was rewarded with the best piece of steak I think I have eaten in years!! It was cooked to my specification exactly AND it was sooo tender. I can't believe I could get such an awesome meal at what was actually normal city prices waaay out here in the actual outback. Steve was pretty chuffed with his T-bone staek too....or was it the Pepperjack....? 😋

We were having such an unexpectedly good time that we decided on some desert - rare for me. I asked Steve to trust me on the affogato order. The waitress had to go check to see if they had Frangellico as our spirit of choice, which they did, so we polished off the night with this little number.

This was a fantastic (and unexpected) end to another great day on the bikes. The Flinders just keeps getting better and better!

As we were staying two nights we were planning a loop ride for tomorrow. It didn't need a crazy early start but the light is better for photography if one gets away early. Either way, we were stuffed and hit the hay quite early. Like a kid at Christmas, we couldn't wait for tomorrows riding!

Cheers.

Day 5 here.

*"Ironing blouses" is the piss take expression used by the group Steve rides with in Sydney to describe when someone is being soft or not riding.

Flinders Ranges Trip 2025 - The Ride Day 1

 

We were up early this morning to get a jump on today as it was going to be one of the bigger days on this ride at just on 450 kilometres. Not a huge day but with some dirt roads and plenty of stops for photos it would take long enough.

We departed under gloomy skies that threatened rain but thankfully it held out. There was a strong, cold wind blowing from the south that made the first few hours riding a little less enjoyable, especially as the first three hundred kilometres was straight sealed road. The boredom let one's mind exaggerate the cold so we stopped a few times to take photos. The first was at the New South Wales/South Australia border crossing in the little hamlet of  Cockburn. This was probably once an important railway/border crossing town but now the world simply blows by it.

At least the sun was shining in South Australia. 

A little further into South Australia we stopped at the next railway platform town, Manna Hill. Where the hill was, we were not sure but there was a cute little railway station that we took a quick look at.

A further 44km down the road was our first fuel stop at Yunta. There isn't much at Yunta but it is bigger than any other town we had ridden through so far. We stopped for fuel, a sandwich and a pretty average coffee. Thats two for two shit coffees in Yunta - three years apart - even though we were at the other service station this time!

After a break in Yunta we pushed on westwards to Peterborough. The countryside slowly began to change from the flat plains to some rolling hills.

Arriving in Peterborough we were just too early for the pub to be open. So we had a look at the steam train in the park, then pressed on. Rail was obviously a big part of the lifeline to these small towns a century or so ago.

The pub with no beer (for us 'cause we were too early!)

Gladstone was the next stop on our journey. 

We skirted the edge of Jamestown, well, we were going to but the main street looked so inviting we took a quick ride down one side and back out the other, onto the Gladstone road. Rolling into Gladstone we noticed the very imposing Gladstone Goal off to our right and had to take a look. It's huge compound walls were all made out of sandstone - very well made in fact, but the goal itself had been closed for decades. It would have been interesting to have a walk around inside but unfortunately it was closed.

A quick scoot around the town centre and we ascertained that there was only one pub open, so we parked up for beer. Probably not a well earned one for we hadn't done anything to earn it but stuff it - we were on holidays!

It was nice to sit in the sun for a while as it was still blowing a stiff, cold wind from the south. Watching the numpties negotiate the roundabout/monument in front of us was good entertainment as well! We wondered how many times it had been knocked over in the past....

We crossed the very southern end of the Flinders Ranges now to get across to the Spencer Gulf, bypassing Port Pirie and calling into the little seaside town of Port Germain for a look around. There wasn't much happening here so after a quick look at the old lighthouse and pier we were off again.

We would be hitting our first bit of dirt just out of Port Germain as we made our way to the Bridle Track. I had ridden this fun little bit of dirt a couple of times in 2022 and now I wanted Steve to enjoy the challenge and the views.

Steve hasn't done much off road riding so he was a bit nervous as we hit the dirt (not literally!) but having the helmet comms I was able to annoy the shit out of him errr.....coach him along but it wasn't really necessary as this entrance track was in much better condition than it was three years ago. The trickier bit was about to come.

We stopped part way up the climb as I wanted to get a couple of drone shots as the view slowly expanded and to give Steve some time to adjust to the slightly more challenging riding.

There is a short, steep rocky pinch climb that goes for maybe eighty metres that I worded Steve up for. He waited at the base while I climbed it and with the comms I was able to let him know it was in excellent condition. He shouldn't have any problem....and he didn't because as you can see in the next photo he was strolling around at the top taking photos in no time at all! 

The steep pinch pops up where you can see the track above Steve's head. 

We stopped at the top for quite a while, taking in the three hundred and sixty degree views over the Spencer Gulf and the farm lands to the north, east and south. (I apologise for the quality of some of these photos - they are screen grabs from the drone video that I hope to edit into something in the future)

One thing that was abundantly clear this trip was how dry it was. South Australia is in the grip of drought. It was a very different scene when I was here with Andy three years ago....it is hard to beleive this is the same spot as the three photos above!

Time to get going again. It wasn't very far to our overnight stay though so we rode quite slowly, taking in the views.

There were a few gates to open so we took it in turns.

All too soon we were at our accommodation for the night, the Mt Remarkable Hotel in Melrose. It was only around 3pm and our rooms weren't ready so the publican shouted us a beer and we sat in the afternoon sun letting the awesome day's riding soak in.

Pirate Life Stout on tap here.....mmmmmm

Once we were able to get into our rooms and get changed we went for a stroll around Melrose which is a very pretty little town, nestled under the imposing shadow of Mt Remarkable.

We had the first of several chicken parmigana dinners for the trip and turned in pretty early. It had been a great first day on the bikes and it was only going to get betttererer!

Cheers.

Day 2 here.