Our morning is taken up spent in the Wadlata Outback Centre. Wadlata is a discovery centre that provided information about the incredible diversity and history of how the Flinders Ranges and the Outback evolved. Some of the interpretive stations included geological formations of the region; early explorers Eyre, Sturt, Stuart and Giles. We sat in an early picture theatre, an old Ghan railway carriage, peddled a Traeger pedal radio at the replica RFDS base to be taught via "School of the Air". We watched the story of Tom Kruse and the famous outback Marree to Birdsville mail run through the back of beyond, an amazing man. Once again, BHP Billiton provided insight into coal, gas and oilfields inthe areas we are about to travel.
With our brains well saturated, we move on through Quorn which is the home to the Pichi Richi Railway, a treasured steam journey which chugs it's way through glorious rugged countryside of the Pichi Richi Pass to Port Augusta. Dedicated volunteers breathed life into the abandoned railway in 1973, almost 20 years after the line closed. Alas, it only runs on Sundays. Quorn retains much of it's old world character with wide streetscapes and charming heritage buildings including the iconic Flour Mill building.
Also once a thriving railway town, Hawker not only has 1880 charm but the information centre has a seismograph that monitors regular activity.
Enroute to Wilpena Pound resort, we encounter numerous old homestead remains, a stark reminder that in the end - the land rules!
According to science, the geological forces which caused the formation of the Flinders Ranges warped and wrinkled the Earth 's crust in this area. Wilpena Pound is those wrinkles left after thousands of years of weathering. It is a natural basin, called a "Pound" because it looks like an animal enclosure. According to the Adnyamathanha story, two giant snakes ate up all of the people at a special corroboree and then coiled together to form Wilpena Pound.
We also realise that driving at night would not be a good choice as we encounter a considerable number of emus and kangaroos well before dusk.
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