March 12 -13 Koolaman camping ground Ikara- Flinders Ranges National Park

March 16, 2018 - Reading time: 2 minutes

A lovely drive from Quorn via Craddock, where we visited the original home town of the Fitzgerald family In South Australia. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the actual paddocks but it was a lovely drive along the Dirt road to Hawker. We booked into Koolaman on the advice of the Hawker Information centre and set up camp. Like Speeds point it is a wild place but in a n entirely different environment. Located between the Heysen and ABC Ranges, on the Aroona creek with beautiful river gums and in a very arid environment it gives a feeling of isolation and insignificance.

Thankfully, the nighttime relief from both the flies and the warm day! The stars here are breathtaking – never knew there is a large hole in the Milky Way ( just below the Southern Cross)Sometime during the night the doona even came out as a cool change arrived. The breeze is now out of the east and and the temperature appears to be 5/6 degrees cooler than yesterday. However, the flies are back!

Drove from camp down the Aroona Valley and through Brachina Gorge following the creek bed, stopping to look for the elusive yellow footed rock wallaby but to no avail. We continued our drive to Parachilna and a beer at the Prairie hotel, through Parachilna gorge to Blinman and then back to camp. Cradock the birth place of my grandmother The mighty Heysen Ranges the self sufficient Aussie swag doing it in style