Flinders Ranges Trip 2025 - The Ride Day 2

 We were up early again today,  well 7am anyway and loaded up to go.  We had decided to get rolling and just find some breakfast along the way today.  

The plan was to go from Melrose up to Wilmington, then west down the awesome little Horrocks Pass to Port Augusta,  then back north east to Quorn, Hawker and finally Blinman, our overnight stop.

 

Melrose MTB Trailhead art. 

The road north out of Melrose parallels the Mt Remarkable range (which is the southern spur of the Flinders) and is dotted with huge gnarled old gum trees. Their white bark glowed almost luminous in the morning sunlight prompting a quick about face to get some photos. 

Rolling into Wilmington we quickly scoured the main street for a likely breakfast spot but nothing jumped out at us so we continued on, turning left into the Horrocks Pass road.  

Steve was in for a little treat here as the Pass winds through a gap in the hills toward the Spencer Gulf that consists of a bunch of 35 and 45km/h bends with a great surface. 

We may have turned around and ridden it again... and again....😉

Once through the Pass the view over the Gulf and various wind farms is pretty spectacular. 

Then we hit the T intersection for the main highway. Being the main road between the east and west coasts of Australia,  it is BUSY. We rode the short distance into Port Augusta on the lookout for a likely breakfast spot as the worms were now biting pretty hard.  It took us a good thirty minutes of riding around before we finally found a cafe' in Port Augusta West. It turned out to be worth the search as the food and coffee really hit the spot.

Leaving Port Augusta we headed north east for Quorn. I had never ridden this road before and it proved to be quite the cracker. Well surveyed and surrounded by spectacular scenery.  With it being so dry there wasn't a blade of grass to be seen,  just lots of shades of red rock. There was an historic rail line, The Pitchi Ritchi Rail, that criss-crosses the road as it passes through the southern Flinders between Quorn and Port Augusta. We marvelled at hillside cuttings that looked so precisely cut and the stone bridges that carried the line over this twisting, turning section of road.  We even turned around and went back to do one section again!

We just cruised through Quorn itself,  as pretty as it was because we didn't have a reason to stop.

 

Another 66km up the road was Hawker, a place we did want to stop at. We fueled up here as there are only really three petrol stations in the Flinders.  This one, one at Wilpena Resort and one at Angorachina Resort. 

We also decided we needed a photo at another pub so the Hawker hotel was paid a visit.

That done we headed out the Flinders Ranges Way towards Wilpena Pound. The expanse of the plains along here was quite spectacular.  Screen grabs from a video don't do it justice. 

Looking at the map while in Hawker it looked like we could branch off the highway onto Moralana Scenic Drive, then cut back across to Rawnsley Park on the main road. As this was dirt (and probably more interesting) we decided to take a look. 

Almost immediately we had several emus try to commit suicide under our bikes.  How dumb are these birds?! All of this vast expanse of outback to run away to and they all decide they need to be on the other side of the track to where they are standing?!! Having helmet comms in these situations was a bonus as we could warn each other about wildlife.

Anyway,  we weren't going quickly so they were easily avoided.  Moralana Scenic Drive proved to be a very pleasant ride on a well graded road.  

We somehow missed the turn for Rawnsley Park. The first intersection we came to was for a track to Black Gap which caused us to look at the map and realise our mistake. Steve said "let's take a look" as it was only three kilometres to Black Gap. The track started out okay but VERY quickly turned into dirt bike territory.  We decided to turn around in the first sandy, rocky creek bed and head back to look for the Rawnsley turn. (If we had continued up Moralana Scenic Drive it would have dumped us out on the western side of the Flinders on the Outback Highway.)

Watching the GPS like a hawk,  we spotted the turn and saw why we missed it on the first pass.  It was a gate well off to the side of the road that opened onto a barely discernible track. Hmmmm, "that looks pretty challenging" (and possibly a private road) was the consensus so we just decided to keep heading back to the Hawker Wilpena road and continue north that way. On the way back we encountered the same silly emu just standing in the middle of the road at the exact same spot we saw it on the way in!

As we approached Rawnsley Park the terrain began to change with the huge range of Wilpena Pound dominating the skyline and scruffy looking pine trees dotting the landscape.  There is a viewing point in the eastern side of the road here so we pulled in and rode to the top of the hill (as you do when on a bike😁). The view from this slightly elevated position was impressive.  I don't think I got any good photos but Steve had his DSLR camera out and should have got a couple of crackers. 

From here we took the turn off into Wilpena Resort. Again we stopped for more photos of The Pound, this time from a different angle. 

We faffed around here for a while with Steve wanting to get some DSLR photos of me riding around. Doing a few laps of the entrance road I kept spooking a huge flock of Galahs into flight, which I managed to capture on the "chin cam" on one of the passes.

I have never seen so many kangaroos by the roadside, especially in the middle of the day! They were everywhere!

Rolling into the resort we filled the bikes up before wandering into the shop to grab a cold ice cream and a snack to enjoy later on. Wilpena Resort has a chilled vibe that we soaked in a we sat on the verandah outside the shop/visitors centre.  

I decided that I WILL be back here and do some of the walks one day. 

Mounting up again we retaced our steps out to the highway and turned left to head north again.  The next few kilometres are some of the most fun and uniquely scenic sealed road kilometres you will find anywhere. 

We blasted these 35, 45 and 55km/h bends as we climbed up to Huck's Lookout. Here we spent some time just taking in the stunning view back towards Wilpena Pound.

 

Wilpena Pound from Huck's Loout. 

Looking back at Huck's lookout, north towards Stokes Hill Lookout. 

As we pulled up at Huck's lookout Steve spied a track snaking up a hill to the north of us. "That must be Stokes Hill Lookout" I said. "Let's check it out next".

At the bottom of Stokes hill I told Steve to turn his traction control off as the hill was steep and looked rough and loose.  "Nah, I'll be right" he said...... clearly basing his decision on his vast off roading experience. 

To say he almost ate shit as the back wheel lost traction, then cut the power,  then gripped, then spun and cut power,  then gripped again - all while he kept rolling more throttle on to make up for the lack of power to the ground and subsequent forward motion - all happened in a few split seconds and saw him roosting wildly up the hill! 😆 This became the running joke for the rest of the trip - me "is your traction control off ", him "nah, I'll be right". 

Unfortunately I don't have footage of that little incident. But the view from this bald knob of a hill was breathtaking as well.  The sun was getting a little lower in the sky by now and it was really bringing the colours of the landscape out. We tooled around here for quite a while taking photos, video and just generally soaking in the ambience.  

We weren't right at the top of the climb here. There was a large communications tower up there and I didn't want it to spoil the vastness of the otherwise empty landscape.

The colours of the landscape here just don't show in my photos. The deep red of the earth isn't correct here but its the best I can do with the equipment I have.

There wasn't a breath of wind. It was just a perfect, cool afternoon. So we then took it up a notch by breaking out the red wine, cheese and crackers to complement the views. Very decadent.

Looking back to the ever present Wilpena Pound. 

We did scoot up to the top of the hill where there were view across the plains to the east but I think our initial choice was better.

Steve going back down Stoke Hill climb. It is steeper than it looks. 

Getting back on the road it was getting a bit late in the afternoon and the kangaroos were making an appearance along the roadsides.  Even going slowly we came up behind a car and decided to sit there, using it as a shield to potentially fend off errant wildlife.

Luckily we did too as not five minutes later a small kangaroo came charging out of the brush on the side of the road and went straight under the car! They didn't even have time to brake until it was under their car! 

Look closely for the Kangaroo checking the cars sump plug! 

And a few seconds later, deceased on the side of the road. It happens quickly!! 

Yep, good call. 

Even though it was getting late we decided we needed to turn off again to take a look at a feature called Great Wall Of China. 

It was on the eastern side of the highway,  facing west so we figured that as it was getting closer to Golden Hour the chance of amazing photography was increased somewhat.

No doubt Steve got some good shots but my screen grabs and phone camera stuff wasn't very inspiring, so I went a bit "arty".  It was a nice spot to stop nonetheless. 

Back out to the highway and it wasn't far to our overnight stop in Blinman. Just thirteen kilometres of suicidal kangaroos to negotiate!  We managed unscathed but the sheer volume of kangaroos on the side of the road was mind numbing!

Get that one up ya Geoffrey! Steve getting photo bombed by some random meat bag. 

Keeping up the theme,  we grabbed a beer straight up and sat out the front of the pub watching the setting sun paint the hill opposite town varying shades of red until it disappeared in darkness.  

Nice. 😎

The Blinman pub was to be our home for the next couple of days so we checked in and unloaded the bikes into the spacious room.  A quick shower then back to the bar for a pre dinner drink and a look at the vast night sky.  Not much light pollution out here. (Of course I see the irony of us sitting here in this blinding light....but one couldn't see ten feet in the dark and we weren't risking getting ten feet away from our beers!)

Dinner was a chicken schnitzel washed down with a questionable bottle of red. The food was actually pretty good and the foreign girls staffing the bar were quite friendly.  The lady who seemed to be in charge/the owner,  not so much.  I got the impression she did not want to be there. Oh well,  another beer or two from the foreigners and we were off to bed. 

Another amazing day of riding.  Only 330 kilometres and nothing challenging at all but the Flinders just kept giving stunning views around virtually every bend.  They really are like nowhere else in Australia. 

Cheers and stay tuned for Day 3.

Day 3 here.

Sneaking Orff

Work can go hang….. its time to go ride……

Where oh where are we off to……?

Stay tuned….😉

April Fools ADV Ride - Part 2

 

Thankfully when I rose the following morning the skies had cleared and it looked like I would get a great days riding in. I had a fair amount of dirt track planned so was a bit worried how wet/slippery it might be.

Wandering down for the "all-included-in-the-room-cost-breakfast" I chatted to the publican and two of his mates who were on kitchen duties. They reckoned that we had only had about 4mm (16 points in the old scale) of rain and the route through Barry and Glenrock stations would be fine. More importantly, the 20 creek crossings on this route would still be at a low level.

I was sceptical but decided I could take a look and if the first crossing was up, I could just turn around and backtrack. The last thing I wanted to do was drown my bike out there on my own.

Loading up I eventually got going at about 9am. The publican and his mates were a chatty bunch and I really had to tear myself away. I could probably still be there talking to them! Yes, I highly recommend the Peel Inn Hotel.

The climb out of town is on smooth, twisty tarmac and a fun way to warm up...but that soon ends at the intersection with Forest Way. Then it is dirt to the east or south. It was going to be south for me today where I would tackle the famous 20 creek crossings track through Barry and Glenrock stations.

I was apprehensive about the creeks, especially the two most southerly ones. Those last two crossings were the only two to be improved by being fully concrete constructions - which one would think is a huge improvement over the other 18 natural rock crossings. 

Not so!

I have seen numerous videos on YouTube of riders binning it while riding these crossings. Due to the slime build up with the crossings constantly being wet, they are as slippery as ice. Riders go down so fast while just crawling across that it looks almost impossible to get across unscathed. This was playing on my mind big time, seeing that I was alone on a heavily loaded bike. I rationalised that I would just deal with it when I got to the problem area and so, pressed on....

The road was actually quite dry this morning. I mean, I could see that it was moist but it wasn't wet or muddy. Moisture laden dirt is grippy which equals Awesome! The road out of Nundle very pleasantly winds through farmland and isn't very high speed at all. Still, someone managed to clean this poor bugger up last night. It must have been like hitting a buffalo! They are SOLID critters.

Unfortunately Wombats don't seem to be very road-wise.

Pressing on I really enjoyed the ride along here. There was a bit of everything. Open countryside and tree covered twisty stuff. I had a couple of slides on the western side of tree covered hillsides as I hit some wet clay patches. That got my attention and while I wasn't riding quickly at all, it further reduced my pace.

Looking forward.....

Looking back......to where I had some slips under the trees, dropping off that hill.

I was soon at the entrance to Barry station and was yet to encounter a creek crossing. It was actually going to be quite a way back if I got there and decided to turn back.

The road along here was very pretty as I followed the creek along, sometime climbing away from it then descending back down to it's level. I was soon at the Glenrock Station gate and if you didn't know it was a public access road, one might turn around and go back. I think the intent of the sign is to suggest that you don't venture off the road. Fair enough too I reckon.

A few hundred metres past the gate the road winds it way down another hill into the valley. The view down the valley from here was breathtaking. The rain yesterday had scrubbed the sky clean and it was so crisp and clear.

It felt so isolated as well. There hadn't been another vehicle along here since yesterday and looking at the bark litter on the trail, it didn't look like it got much traffic at the best of times. Yep, I was on my own out here!

Once I dropped off the hill I finally came to the first creek crossing. It was a loooong way from Nundle so I was hoping I wouldn't have to backtrack out of here. This first one was pleasingly very shallow and gave me confidence to continue. Sorry for the hazy GoPro image. My lens has a small crack and it had let moisture in yesterday and the sun was playing on that weakness this morning.

And then the crossings came thick and fast! The track would climb out of one crossing, rise over the bank, maybe twist around a bend and then very quickly drop into another......

....then another.

Thankfully none were very deep. Most were less than six inches (15cm) but a couple were closer to 12 inches(30cm). All of them were easily ridden across. I think the number of 4WDs that the track sees keep the rocks pretty well compacted in the crossings making for predictable riding. It might not be the same after a large downpour where the creek gets a decent flush. That would certainly roll the rocks around and might be a bit more exciting. 

I bumped into three guys on dirt bikes about mid way along and had a quick chat. They said they could hear me coming for ages. They also warned me that the last (the paved one) crossing was very slippery.  And to post a photo on the Shithouse ADV Riders page on Facebook when I dropped the bike.

Great!!

Here is a super short video of what the last couple of rocky crossings looked like.

And a still of the second crossing from the above video. Totally doable by this creek crossing numpty!

The road opened out again and I made some decent progress. Unless, I was stopping to take photos of shearing sheds or shearer's quarters in the middle of nowhere that is.

Passing Glenrock Station homestead I encountered the first concrete creek crossing. It only had a small amount of water flowing over it and the total width was only about two metres (6ft) so I managed to cross without issue....but I did feel the tyres lose some traction. How would that last crossing go?!

Before getting there however, I passed though Ellerston. Now, I'm not sure if this was originally just a property or if it was a locality or even a very small town. Ellerston's claim to fame is that Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer made it his country getaway in the '80s or '90s. He was a mad keen polo player so turned the area into a huge equestrian complex. It is even said that he had the polo fields heated so that they didn't brown off during the winter frosts.

Anyway, I have looked down on Ellerston on many a flight between Brisbane and Sydney and wondered what it looked like from the ground. Well, today I got to see it and it is a vast expanse of buildings, polo fields, equestrian fields etc etc. I stopped at the main entrance to get a photo and the security guard was straight out of his office to see what I was doing. I said g'day and told him the story above and once he could see I wasn't up to any mischief we had a good chat. I asked if it was ok to get a photo. He said "be quick", so I was.

I thanked him and he wished me a safe ride. He looked like he might actually be a rider himself.

Riding out of Ellerston there was a very shiny looking helicopter taking off from the side of the road. Yes, there is some money here still even though Kerry is long gone!(he was actually buried here when he passed on)

I stopped at the top of the first hill out of town to get a photo back over Ellerston. What a picturesque valley! If only I had the billions that Kerry had. It could all be mine!

Just south of Ellerston I came to the Tomalla road on the left. This is where Shane and I turned back east during the inaugural Thunderbolts Adventure mountain bike ride. 

Read about that EPIC day here.

Anyway, stopping for a photo I suddenly had the idea that I would like to see what that second half of the ride was like again. On that day back in 2017 we had covered about 110 kilometres already and Shane was about to have a nasty crash, so everything was kind of blurred in my mind. Today could be the day to refresh my memory....

Yeah, great idea, so I turned east. In doing so I think I missed that last greasy creek crossing which must be closer to Moonan Flat which meant no sketchy moment and my yet-to-be-dropped Desert X survived to be dropped another day!

Tomalla road sure had some elevation changes right off the bat! I had forgotten how much climbing we did on our mountain bikes that day! Quite quickly I came to the spot where Shane had his off and broke his elbow while crossing a small causeway. It was such an idyllic little spot today but back then it was a huuuge "oh shit" moment because we were on bicycles, in the middle of nowhere with 98 kilometres (and MUCH climbing) still to ride to get back to Gloucester. To think he powered on and completed that ride shows mind blowing determination and grit

And we did climb some BIG hills. You can actually see the green speck of Ellerston in the far distance.

The blackboys grow in abundance along here too. (I think they are technically called Grasstrees these days.)

They covered both side of the slope along here.

I stopped briefly at the intersection of Pheasants Creek rd and Tomalla road and contemplated going up onto The Tops as I had never done that road. In the end I decided to stick to the route we did during Thunderbolt's. I wanted to see what the bit looked like after it got dark on us that day.

Interestingly, there is a wildlife sanctuary along here that is dedicated to breeding Tasmanian Devils. A few decades back a facial disease was afflicting and killing Tassie Devils in Tasmania and there were grave fears that the little terrors might actually go extinct. So, they set up an "Arc" here on the north side of Barrington Tops. I guess it does look a bit like Tassie around here with the elevation changing the climate somewhat, so is conducive to Tassie Devils feeling right at home..

I didn't stop for photos for quite a while now. The road was narrow and windy and there wasn't much to see. I eventually dropped off the hills and wound my way through more open countryside. I can't believe Shane rode all of this with a busted elbow. Even on the motorcycle it seemed to go on and on and on.

I didn't see another soul for hours and there wasn't any evidence of recent traffic either. It was slow going.

Up, then down, then up again. 

Did we really pedal all this?!

Yeah, it was dark but I do remember relentless hills. 

I remember stopping at this corner, just after dark and trying to talk Shane into getting into a car. I was shattered, he was physically busted but he wasn't going to quit. At the time I didn't see the sign but seeing it today - fcuk me! - it was still 58 kilometres to Gloucester! With a shite load of climbing to come too.

I was wanting it to be over on the moto today. I had been crawling along for hours! I decided not to go all the way into Gloucester, instead stopping at Barrington for fuel and something to eat. The forecast for tomorrow was for heavy rain so I didn't want to go any further east nor to ride up the coast as it was supposed to get the worst of the rain.

While sitting here a flight of four F-18s or F-35s went over, heading north in finger formation at high altitude. Too high to make out the model but definitely military.

So, I decided to follow them and head back north, well north west, up the Thunderbolt Way to Walcha then on as far as I could go toward home. The forecast for rain seemed to be weakest in northern NSW.

This was the first time I had ever ridden up the Thunderbolt Way and it is an interesting road. It is quite unpredictable, with potholed, fast sections broken up with random slooow (like 25km/h) corners here and there that could really catch you out! The climb up the range on new, smooth hotmix is pretty sweet and I had the DX singing along here!

I stopped for fuel in Glenn Innes but that was it. Oh, I did stop briefly in Deepwater as the sun was getting low and I liked the way the light played on the old theatre.

I made Tenterfield just on dark and found it to be very booked up, accomdation wise. No luck at the Bowling Club nor the Tavern. I eventually found a room at the Tenterfield motel. I just had to wait until they put a bed into it, put a new shower rose on the outlet, put a t.v. into it etc etc. They hadn't used the room for a couple of years and I get they were doing me a favour but it was frustratingly slow. I just wanted to get out of my riding gear, have a shower, get a feed and then sleep. I was shagged after a long day of hard concentration in the saddle.

Settled in, I walked down to the Telegraph Hotel for a pretty average (if I'm honest) chicken parmy dinner. Walking back I stopped briefly to read some plaques on the buildings. Tenterfield holds a special place in Australian political history as it was the location of much debate about how to form this rag tag collection of states into a united Commonwealth. The seeds of Federation were sown here.

Yeah, it was a big day today with all of that slow dirt.

Day 4 

I woke to the sound of rain on the roof. Bugger. The BOM actually got it right for a change! I wandered down to the United petrol station for a breakfast of champions meat pie and coffee. As I was packed light I only had thongs to wear which are possibly not the best choice in wet, hilly terrain...but I wasn't going to put up with the squeaking of my Tech 7 boots. They are great boots on the bike but deafening when off the bike!

I was in no rush this morning. I only had to retrace day 1's route to get home and I had all day. I would wait for the rain to ease before heading out. At this point I was right under some of the heaviest on the radar. I needed to get to a point just slightly north of the "G" in Logan, near the centre of the crosshair.

 

Add to that my next door neighbour last night was another motorcyclist, from Cairns, who was on a ride back there from Tassie. He said he had waited 52 years to get this, his first bike and was loving the experience. I nodded knowingly as he told me about the mistakes/discoveries he had made of what not to do when touring by bike and I felt a little sad that it had taken him half a century to experience these occurrances that I had the pleasure of learning about in the early '90s. Better late than never, I guess!

We finally decided to hit the road around 9am. I wished old mate a safe ride and watched as he tried to coax that old BMW into life. It sounded very much in need of mechanical attention. I wonder if he made it back to Cairns before it totally let him down?

No such issue with the might DX! She fired straight up and I splashed my way down to the United servo to put some air into my slowly leaking front Motoz Rallz. I had started with 25 psi in the front which was fine as I planned on doing plenty of dirt roads. Checking the pressure each morning it seemed to be losing about 2psi per day. This morning it was down at 19psi. As I was going to be doing all sealed road today, I put it back to 27 psi so as to generate a bit of heat in the wet. Normally it'd be 30psi.

Of course I had all my rain liners in today. It was going to be wet.......and it was! I took it steady, not knowing how hard to push in the wet on a knobby front tyre. I only had what felt like one front end slip which was strangely on a positively cambered right hand bend. Maybe there was something on the surface there? Either way, I took it easy and enjoyed the challenging conditions. Light rain, heavy rain, low cloud and fog. I had it all. 

I had never seen so much water in the creeks around Koreelah either. In fact, I had never even noticed these creeks along here before. It turns out that we had had a massive amount of rain the previous evening on the coast side of the ranges. So much so that people had lost homes and we had lost people!

On the twisty section from Woodenbong to Palen Creek it absolutely HOSED down! The water was running in huge, deep sheets across the road as I negotiated the bumpy mess that is the Mt Lindsay highway as it passes in front of Mt Lindsay. I could feel the water infiltrate my suit but I was thankfully nice and warm. Possibly what peeing your pants feels like?

I decided to stop at Rathdowny for a bite to eat and a rest from the concentration. 

The little store is always a great place to stop.

Back on the bike and the last bit to home is always the bit I hate. That first hour away or towards home simply sucks. The down side to living in a city I guess.

I was extra surprised today by how aggressively people were driving in this weather. No wonder we have so many accidents when the roads get wet. People drive like total tools with no regard for anyone else OR even themselves. Are cars too safe today? Hmmmm....

Anyway, another awesome trip away on the Desert X. I am loving this bike and while I didn't get to camp and stare blankly into a campfire for hours on end, I still had a great time exploring some more new-to-me roads. The beauty of these ADV bikes isn't the rugged good looks or trying to ride them like a motocross bike. It is the new country they allow access to due to their versatility. Tapping into people's inquisitive nature, the bike manufacturers have slightly changed the formula of the drug they have always been pedalling...... and it is keeping us hooked.

Cheers and thanks for reading.