Quorn to Alpana Station

Wednesday 12 August

                                                                       

Spoilt again last night with a nice meal cooked by the local women. We appreciated the shelter of the recreation building as it was blowing a gale and then it started to rain. It was a good opportunity to mix around and chat with the other convoy  members.

 

What a wild and woolly night it turned out to be. The strong wind blew all night coupled with heavy showers. This morning when we woke up we were surrounded by water.  I think temporarily our truck will be renamed "Venice International ".    

       

Our morning tea stop was at the Kanyaka ruins. It would have been a fine homestead in its day. That and the outbuildings were all built of stone.  The property would have been used to run sheep for wool around the mid to late 19th  century.  

 

The lunch stop was at Quorn where we drove to the local school and parked on the oval so that the children could look at the vehicles. The main industries in the area are the  pastoralists and tourism. Quorn is close to the Flinders Ranges and in particular Wilpena Pound so it's a good stopping off point to refuel and purchase groceries. The cafe in the town couldn't cope with us and the caravanners arriving at the same time. Just a husband and wife team trying to do everything.

 

Ás we left Quorn we took the scenic route of approximately 29kms through the valley. Very picturesque with lots of pine trees. The unsealed road was a bit muddy and slippery in places but presented no major problems to anyone. Afternoon tea was at the top of  Brachina Gorge.  The drive through the gorge  was spectacular. All different types of rock formations with signs stating that they dated back 600 million years. This was also an unsealed road which was a little slippery and muddy in places. It was then a short drive on a bitumen road to our campsite at Alpana Station. This station's history began iñ 1878 with 133 acres. The Irish immigrant made a living by growing fodder crops to provide supplementary feed for the bullock teams hauling copper ore from the Blinman Mine to  Port Augusta. With the introduction of the North-South railway in 1882 the trains carried the ore ex-Parachilna. The Irishman then expanded his holding to run sheep for wool. Alpana Station is now managed by the 5th  generation and spans 60,000 acres (20,600 hectares) and carries 3,000 merino sheep.