After three days of Outback adventure, we learned that not everyone in our merry band of glampers signed up for the full six day trip to Adelaide. In fact, only seven of us would continue the journey with a new guide. We were sad to leave Claire, Leah and some of our other new friends behind, but excited to continue our adventure with five young women from Europe who we had gotten to know.
On December 3, 2017, we left Coober Pedy and headed south toward Quorn and the Flinders Ranges. We made a rest stop along the way at a huge salt flat that was once used by NASA, and later Japan, for their space programs.
Upon arriving in Quorn, we settled into the the Flinders Ranges Motel, which is an old mill building which was converted into lodgings. As we were the only tour that day, we had the run of the place. After lunch, we packed our day packs and set out on a hike to The Dutchman's Stern. Located in a conservation park, The Dutchman's Stern is a mountain located at the northern end of a long ridge. It was named after a ship, The Dutchman. Pictured below, we began our slow steady ascent of the ridge.
About halfway to the top, we stopped to enjoy the views.
As we hiked along, we saw movement along the side of the trail. There was a momma roo enjoying an afternoon snack. Unfortunately, her young joey found himself on the other side of the trail. Momma was very concerned that we were between her and her baby. With one call, the young joey bounded around us and took refuge in Momma's pouch!
When you start a hike someplace you've never been before, you never know what you'll get. Our efforts were amply rewarded with some spectacular view of the Flinders Ranges.
We had to include this photo because it is so cool!
Our guide is to the left, the ladies surrounding Dave make up the rest of our Magnificant Seven (a/k/a Dave's Darlings!). We each took turns leaving notes in the trail journal in the canister in front of Dave. It was so beautiful that afternoon, we didn't want to leave.
Here is a video of our view from the summit of The Dutchman's Stern.
After the hike, we returned to Quorn. Some of us went out for happy hour while others stayed back and checked their emails. Our guide made us a delicious dinner. With full bellies after an afternoon of hiking, it was lights out early.
The next day dawned bright and cheery. Breakfast was quick and we were on the road again. Before we left the Quorn area, we stopped to do one more hike - Alligator Gorge in the Mount Remarkable National Park.
The drive into the National Park was up a narrow winding road. We had to hike down into the gorge. Along the way, we ran into this mamma roo with her joey hiding in her pouch.
Layers and layers of sandstone line the walls of the gorge.
Every twist and turn explosed new and different rock formations.
The large pools in the gorge made for some fun photos.
After the recent rains, getting through the narrowest part of the gorge was a challenge for most of us, but Dave just danced right through.
Having conquered the gorge, we rewarded ourselves with a barbeque lunch and a visit to a local winery.
Cheers!
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