There was no need for a super early start today as we were going to be looping out of Blinman and would never be too far away from home so to speak.
The Blinman pub provides a complimentary continental breakfast in the dining room for guests staying in the pub. Utensils and plates are left on a tray with your room number on it and you just help yourself to whatever cereal or toast and jam that you feel like. Simple but effective!
We had decided for today to head 27km south along the sealed road to the Brachina Gorge turn off, follow that track to the Bunyeroo Gorge turn that branched off left, then follow Bunyeroo Gorge track all the way until it re-intercepts the main highway back up to Blinman, far to the south. From there we weren't sure what to do but no doubt we could come up with a cunning plan.
Riding carefully because of the kangaroo problem we were soon turning into the Brachina Gorge road. It has had a lot of traffic lately and so was very dusty. Riding side by side mitigated the dust but when a car came past we were blind for a bit afterwards as there was no wind to blow it away. #advriderproblems
Just a ho-hum view on Brachina Gorge rd.
Ten kilometres later we turned into Bunyeroo Gorge road. We took a minute here to chat about the amazing views so far. Little did Steve know but it was about to ratchet the awesomeness up the "views" scale!
But first we had to traverse Bunyeroo Gorge road which was an undulating red ribbon flanked by pine covered hillsides. Not lush pines but those grizzled, knargled little shrubby ones that cling to life in the driest State of the driest continent...and it WAS dry!
Bunyeroo gorge itself isn't huge. It is simply where the water has cut through the low lying hills on it's way to lower ground. The "cutting" of the gorge is lined with big old gum trees. We stopped here for a while for Steve to get his camera out.
After sitting there for five minutes I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. Focusing in on it I realised that these rock wallabies had been sitting quietly, not twenty metres from us the whole time. There was some water seeping down the rock and they were slowly getting a drink by licking the rock. See if you can spot them...
How that massive gum tree grew there and is still standing is a miracle!
Pressing on along the sandy creek bed the road opened out onto solid ground again and we began climbing. We climbed up to arguably one of the best lookouts in South Australia, The Razorback Lookout.
We spent quite a bit of time here this morning taking photos and video ( which I will hopefully figure out how to edit in the future...).
Steve and the big AT cruising up to the lookout.
From the lookout we kept heading south along Bunyeroo Gorge rd back to the main Flinders road. The riding was mostly open, fast riding but we were in no hurry so took it pretty slowly. There was just so much to look at, so why rush?
GoPro Hero 6 still.
Southern Bunyeroo rd.
Once at the sealed road I mentioned to Steve that we were only ten kilometres from Wilpena resort. Why not go there, fuel up, grab a coffee and morning tea then?
So we did.
Coming back north we stopped at the National Park border for a photo with Wilpena Pound's imposing presence dominating the skyline.
Then it was back along Bunyeroo Gorge rd to get back to the intersection of Brachina Gorge rd, where we would turn left and head west.
Yeah, it was a tough morning on the bikes....
Whereas Bunyeroo was small and narrow, Brachina Gorge is a huge wide opening in the ranges with a dry river bed that is almost the complete width of the gorge - perhaps 100 metres in places.
When it does rain enough here the flow must be incredible. The damage to the upstream side of the gum trees from the flotsam that gets washed along was two to three metres up the tree trunks.
The sandy road/river bed is quite easy riding as it is compacted on the main line. It is a bit more beach like off that line but nothing too terrible to ride on - especially if one sticks to the rocky bits.
Every direction one looked, there was another stunning view. We stopped so many times through this gorge to take photos that I was beginning to worry about wearing my side stand pivot out!
So we got mobile with the DJI Action 4.
Climbing slightly above the river bed we could see the road curved around to the left at the base of a huge red cliff.
A few cars were stopped and the occupants were out taking photos of the imposing wall. We were marveling at the view that they had their backs toward. Like I said, everywhere you look here there is a stunning view!!
The western side of the gorge became much more rocky and we bounced along this roughly graded track for a kilometre or so before climbing out and over the western edge of the Flinders.
Once you exit the narrow north/south band of ranges that are the Flinders, the plains are dead flat either side. It is quite spectacular how it goes from dinner table to rugged outcrops instantly.
I had a plan to head north via the main Outback Highway for twenty kilometres to check out the tiny hamlet of Parachilna (Para-Kill-Na), where if we were lucky, the pub would be open.
Turning into Parachilna the little place was buzzing with tourists. A very different sight to when I was here in 2022. And the best thing was that the Prairie hotel was open.
Walking in I must say I expected a pub with a lot of outback "character" ie dirty and run down looking but I was gobsmacked when it was sparkling brand new! It could have been a brew pub in any capital city! (which is not a bad thing IMHO)
The Parachilna Brew Project integrates micro brewery beer brewed on site, great food, accomodation and local tourist attractions into one humble little pub. Good on 'em!
The original reason for being for Parachilna was as a railway stop on the Ghan Railway that ran from Adelaide to Alice Springs. The old railway station is open with information boards erected on it's walls. There is also some old railway kit outside with various information signs.
We tested a few of their beers to wash down the sandwiches we had bought back in Wilpena Resort this morning. They were pretty tasty beers actually!
We then headed back into The Flinders to complete our big loop back to Blinman via Parachilna Gorge road - YES, another gorge!!
We dispatched the ten kilometres of tabletop road without much ado and were back into the Flinders, soon crossing the dry river bed of Oratunga Creek. But we didn't go far along the road, turning left into Glass Gorge road, which would take us back into Blinman from the north side of town.
Glass Gorge road starts out very narrow and windy. The sandy surface was also very soft with both of us having front end moments as we tried to navigate the tight bends. An oncoming car didn't help the pucker factor here either as the road is only just wide enough for two cars to pass, with rocky walls on either side. It certainly didn't help that I still had my steering damper wound up and could barely turn the bars. Lets just say that was quickly backed right off!
Just four kilometres along Glass Gorge rd is a little lookout perched on top of a steep little climb. I didn't give Steve a chance to say no, just blazing up there and telling him to do the same. The short effort was so very worth it with great views across to Mt Falkland.
We had trucked a couple of cans of the Parachilna beer for the very purpose of enjoying them here as we soaked in the view.
Cheers!
4K image from the drone.
We didn't have far to go back to Blinman now so we loitered at this lookout for quite a while. Once on the road again Glass Gorge road proved to be a little bit of everything, going from undulating twists and turns to more open, fast sections. We were a bit careful along here though. Yesterday at the pub we got talking to a guy who rode up on a mountain bike. He and some mates were doing a supported tour of the Flinders and he had just ridden in Glass Gorge road where he said a kangaroo had (I kid you not) jumped into his mate's head, knocking him off his bike. Looking at some of the faster downhill sections that had raised earth on the sides of the road, I could see how it was completely possible.
Bloody stupid Aussie wildlife!!
We rolled back into Blinman around mid afternoon. Taking a short stroll around town we checked out some historical information on what was where when this was a mining town.
We then retired to the beer garden at the North Blinman Hotel to watch the sky change colour with the setting sun.
Ahhh, the serenity!
Another awesome day, fooling around on bikes and enjoying the odd beer with my little Bro.
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.
Unauthorised use and /or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given with appropriate and specific direction to the A View From Above website.
Aeroplanes, Mountain Bikes and Motorcycles are the toys that make me tick. If you have an interest in any of these things feel free to have a nose around in here. I hope you find something of interest.
