Wilpena Pound Campground,
Driving 400km up here yesterday was worth the effort. Today’s adventures were well worth the long haul.
Yesterday began with a short visit to a winery/gourmet shop owned by a famous Aussie cook called Maggie Beer. We bought some goodies and started the long drive up north. Along the way, many pastures with cows and sheep. Interesting to note that the farther north we drove in the last few days, the warmer it has gotten. The predominant color has changed from green to yellow, and towards the last part of the drive yesterday, red.
As you may know most (70%) of
I knew we got to the right place when at the entrance to our campground we saw a few kangaroos picking at the grassy forest floor not 50 meters from our campsite. Later, when we sat outside for dinner (something we haven’t done since
I woke up early today, at 5am, to go on a hike. Unfortunately it was still dark, but I enjoyed watching the billions of stars before snoozing off. At 6am it was light enough to start walking and I began climbing a nearby peak called Ohlsen Bagge. On the way kangaroos jumped all around, and early morning birds flew overhead greeting each other. We now can identify magpies, ravens, cockatoos, ring neck parrots, and kookaburras.
The 7km hike was enjoyable with good views of Wilpena Pound a sort of bowl surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. The air had the early morning desert smell which I remember all too well from
When I got back at 8:30 the family was just getting up. We had a relaxed breakfast outside and then I took the kids to the visitor center to book a 4wd tour for the afternoon. The paved road ends at the campground and in order to really appreciate things, you need to get on the dirt tracks. We did not want to take the RV because it has a very low clearance.
When we got back to the campsite we saw and emu family. Mother and 5 chicks parading along. Later we would discover that the mother was actually a father. You see, in emu life, the mom’s job is over once she lays the eggs. Dad has to sit on them for 50 days till they hatch and then take care of the younglings for about a year.
We went on a hike along the trail from the campground but got so engrossed by things along the way that we didn’t get too far. First it was the bark of old gum trees that the kids could hide in. Then, we saw a kangaroo. Later, Ron decided to dig for dinosaur bones. Since all these activities were in the shade, we let the kids do as they please.
At 1:30 we got on a tour jeep for a 4 hour drive around the park. We were the only customers, so we had the driver/guide all to ourselves.
We drove around some gorges and learned about the geology of this area, 600 million years old. We saw some fossils of ancient multicell creatures. But the big highlight was the wildlife. Emus all over the place. Singles, double, families. Always busy looking for something. Very curious animals.
We also saw kangaroos. But the special animal of the day had to be the very rare yellow footed rock wallaby, which we were lucky enough to see. This species is in competition with introduced animals that have gone wild (goats, foxes) and its numbers have dwindled in the last few decades. Thanks to “Operation Bounceback†which lays poison for the feral goats and foxes, the yellow footed rock wallaby is starting to make a comeback. We also saw a shingleback lizard, weird animal about 25cm long with a stubby tail.
There were a few good vistas as well along the drive, and we could see endless red fields and mountains. Our guide agreed that for most tourists, this is outback. For someone like her, who has lived with aborigines in the real outback, this is still considered civilized.
In the evening, after supper, I took the kids to the woods right by our campsite and we observed 3 kangaroos eating their supper. We got very close and the threesome did not run away. It was very interesting to just watch them for 20 minutes.
A truly Australian day. Good night,
-Hemi