Woke to a crisp, clear morning after the rain and gale force winds of yesterday. Our camp site faces east with excellent views of the surrounding hills and mountains as they are touched by the early morning sun. After breakfast and some chores that included backing up photos and having a monthly shave (just me, not Wendy), we went exploring one of the many tracks that criss-cross Arkaroola.
We followed one that took us to the ruins of an old copper smelter with a side trip to a permanent spring deep in a narrow gorge carved into the rocks. We should still feel we are in a remote part of Australia but it’s easy to forget when you stop for a bit of a bush walk and 4 other vehicles arrive while we were putting our walking shoes on.
A coffee and lunch preceded an afternoon ridgetop tour that took us deep into the northern reaches of Arkaroola. Transportation was in the form of a semi opened-back 4WD – it had a roof over our heads but no side or rear windows. The tour guide / driver sat in the comfort of the cabin and provided a running commentary as we wound our way deeper into the hills.
The tracks we followed had originally been carved out by a minerals exploration company back in the 1960s with little consideration for the tourists who would follow 50 years later. Needless to say, the tracks were rough, steep and bumpy. To compensate for this, the views around every corner or over every rise were quite spectacular. The tour took in 3 lookouts that provided views over different aspects of the local geology.
We learnt about the original inland sea that deposited layers and layers of sand and silt that was subsequently uplifted by movement in the tectonic plates millions of years ago. We heard of the rift valley that ran from Marree to Kangaroo Island that also filled with sediment from the nearby mountains. We also heard about the volcanic activity that turned parts of Arkaroola into an earlier version of Rotorua with bubbling mud and super hot geysers.
To conclude the tour we scaled Stiller’s Lookout in our 4WD and took in the 360 degree views including Lake Frome to the east. It has to be said that Stiller’s Lookup is at the top of a very steep and rough track with barely enough flat ground at the top to turn the 4WD around for the descent. White knuckle stuff just trying to hang on as we bounced our way to the top!
We have retreated to our camp site for a warming soup on what is going to be a cold, clear night. Tomorrow we’re off to Wilpena Pound – hopefully we find a supermarket open along the way as supplies are running low.