We’d heard a lot about Wilpena, and the Flinders Ranges National Park. We were going to love it. Everyone said how beautiful it was. Again, it was one of those cases that we often find we like the places we’ve had no expectations of more.
As Jarrad drove along, I asked the kids “What book should we listen to? Fiction or non-fiction?” I after Lucy had done her phonogram quiz, and Peter and Susan had done their maths facts quizzes.
“I don’t care,” Peter shrugged, and Susan shouted, “Fiction!”
“OK,” I got ready to offer them two or three audio books to choose from, as usual. “Septemus Heape,” Susan requested.
“Harry Potter,” countered Peter. “The Otter Who Wanted To Know,” Lucy put in.
“Harry Potter,” Jarrad ruled, and put it on without entering in to further discussion. Travel with kids is a lot easier with an audiobook to listen to in the car.
As we headed on the road towards Wilpena, Jarrad pulled over suddenly, “There was an emu, with lots of little chicks!” We piled out of the car, walking along the side of the road looking for the emus. I held Edmund, who kept putting his finger to his lips saying “Shhh” very loudly. Wherever this emu and chicks had been, it was long gone and we couldn’t find it.
We reached Wilpena as the misty rain set in. A private business had set up a cafe and shop at Wilpena, within the national park, and also served as a point to pay park entry fee, bush camping or book in to the private campervan park.
We paid our $12 park entry fee, and asked about bush camp sites and walks. “Oh, there’s only really this one walk, or maybe this one that you’d want to do with kids.”
She highlighted them on the map. I groaned inwardly. I don’t usually see any reason not to do something because of the kids. Sure, Edmund and Lucy might need a little help sometimes, but they are just as capable as us. Probably more so, as they are fit and energetic. Travelling with a toddler is not the limiting experience some people imagine!
“And camping?” I asked.
“Oh, there are a few bush camp sites within the park. They’re here,” and she again highlighted them on the map. “It’s $12 a person for the bush camping.”
I choked, staring at her in disbelief. “A person? For bush camping?” She nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll stay somewhere out of the park.”
We left, deciding very quickly that Wilpena and the National Park there were definitely not worth $72 a night … to park somewhere without any facilities at all, not even water or a long drop toilet. We found out later that she’d probably given us the wrong information and it was $12 per vehicle, but we were really irritated about it and decided to leave anyway. We figure, though, that those sort of charges are designed to keep kids away.
We had lunch in a little picnic area within the Flinders Ranges National Park. Another emu dad and chicks came near to us while we ate lunch in the campervan, so we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves watching the not-so-little chicks scratch around in the bush after their father.
Following lunch, we headed down the Arkaba scenic route. It was the dirt road we’d tried the night before for somewhere to camp. It looked a lot prettier in the day time, with the rolling green hills around us, and still lots of emus, kangaroos, sheep and big gum creeks.
We had the Hema GPS on as we drove along, so that we knew more about the places we were passing. This time, the Hema didn’t label a lot of places. It pointed out a few abandoned copper mines. It labelled the names of the hills, including one that was labelled Dick-Nob.
We turned down a little dirt track that was signed as leading to a gorge. “The track looks good, maybe we can camp down here?” Jarrad said, as we turned down it. We’d headed down a few hundred meters when another sign said No Camping Allowed. “Ugh! Why do they always seem to put it just down the track, instead of at the start of the track before you’ve turned?” We complained bitterly.
As we turned the corner about a kilometre or two along the track, the track ran through another dry gum creek bed. The track suddenly narrowed around the corner, and the trees branches were low, and leaning toward the road. There was no way we could turn around, but we were concerned that if the road got any narrower, or branches any lower that it would damage our campervan. We had to turn around and leave. We really didn’t want to reverse a kilometre or two on a dirt track uphill.
I got out of the car and walked up the track. Despite Jarrad usually being reluctant to walk a track first, he got out and walked around, too. It turned out that if we could clear the next gum creek where a particularly low, huge gum tree over-hung the road, then we’d be right, because once we went up the next hill, there was a nice grassy part where we could turn around.
Luckily, that idea worked just fine, and despite it being on a bit of an angle to turn, it was fine. From there, we headed to the Wonoka ruins.
The kids searched for firewood for that night. Jarrad warned them all to be careful after he found a small legless lizard, or maybe a snake. Susan found a lizard that she caught and wanted to keep as a pet. Everyone sat around the campfire that night eating the casserole that we’d cooked in our dutch oven.
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