As we had planned to catch the 11:00am shuttle bus into Wilpenda Pound, we elected to spend a little longer in bed than normal. Rather than a 6:00am rise when we are driving, our day started at 7:00am.
Our first stop on the way to Wilpena was to explore a gravel road that led to Arkaroo Rock. After travelling a couple of kilometres from the main road, we arrived at a car park where we learnt that a one hour walk was involved to visit Arkaroo Rock. We didn’t have time for the walk but we did have time to take photographs of the walls surrounding Wilpena Pound. For those who have travelled to the USA and visited Yosemite National Park, the view from the car park of the hills seen through pine trees made one question where we really were. The answer is easy, in the Flinders Ranges in Australia. We are finding it very difficult to find the superlatives to describe this part of Australia. We have been spoilt with recent rain falls and the colours we are seeing are remarkable. We have seen green in fields that we would be accused of using Photoshop or the like to create in our photos. The Flinders are magnificent.
Reluctantly we left this site and headed towards the Wilpena turnoff which we passed to allow us to photograph some of the pine trees with the vivid green ground cover. We discovered a little lake (cannot recall the name) that allowed us to capture some reflections of the surrounding gum trees. This lake was a couple of k’s past the Wilpena turnoff heading north on the right side off the road to Blinman.
We eventually parked our car in the Wilpena car park and purchased tickets for the 11:00am shuttle.
There were eleven of us on the shuttle. The purpose of the shuttle bus is to take you about 2.5k’s from the visitor centre into Wilpena Pound. From the drop off point, you have several options for walks but the suggested walk if you intend returning on the next shuttle is the Old Wilpena Homestead and the Wangara Lookout.
With another two couples, we headed down a walking track adjacent to the Wilpena Creek to the Old Wilpenda Homestead. There are toilets at this site. We next headed up the track to the Wangara Lookout that has two viewing areas. Expansive views are seen from both the lower and upper lookout and you can see the entry to Wilpena Pound from a point slight higher than the upper lookout. You cannot imagine how large the pound is until you are inside.
There was thought a long time ago that Wilpena Pound was the result of a meteor strike or it was an ancient volcano but this is not the case. Wilpena Pound is a natural amphitheatre of mountains.
The climb to the lookouts is not easy (at our age) but well worth the energy.
We made it back to the collection point for the shuttle bus just before 1:15pm.
We left Wilpena Pound and returned to Rawnsley Park for a late lunch. We later met one of the couples we had walked with and shared some photos. Before we knew it, it was 5:30pm and we all headed in our own directions for an evening meal.
Later in the evening, “He” took the camera and a tripod and headed away from the camp site to take some photographs of the sky. Unfortunately camera shake (he forgot to take the cable release) blurred he photographs, however, give a clear night before we return home, we should be able to capture some pictures of the Milky Way high and very clear in the sky over this part of Australia now that the moon rises late in the night.