Day 10 - Gawler Ranges National Park - Chillunie Campground to Burra
Back to the Burra
The sad thing about any trip is that there is a time to head home, And today was the start of a two day trek from the Gawler Ranges in South Australia to our respective homes scattered across
Victoria.
Our aim for the day was to get to Loxton, stopping on the way at Burra where we had left Rohman’s Navara and Leighto’s bike trailer. However, these plans got fingered early as Ferg’s bee stung finger had swollen further overnight and needed some medical attention; the team made this the first priority of the day.
We came out of the Park and went down to Kimba (click here), going across the Pinkawillinie Conservation Park, on the Buckleboo Road. Buckleboo is a sister city with Buckrabunyule, the hom town of our Rohan. At Kimba (actually aboriginal for fire! click here) we went up to the local hospital and surprised the
Emergency Department. As a town of 700 people they don’t get many clients, and we were surprised that they had an ED. After a check by the nurse who hadn’t seen anything like this before the local doctor was called in. He hadn’t seen any like it either, but in true country doctor style he dealt with it, prescribing some antibiotics and a visit to the surgeon at Port Augusta in case it needed a clean-up. It was looking pretty ugly at this point (both finger and travel plans)
Out of Kimba e turned left on old mate Eddie Eyre’s Highway, going back past Iron Knob and into Port Augusta.
A longish wait at Port Augusta eventually saw us on our way again. Old mate surgeon’s theories were more
antibiotics, either intravenously with an overnight stay in the hospital, or on your way with lots of tablets and see how it goes. We took the second option.
Time was running out and accommodation options were getting low also; being the start of the weekend, weddings and festivals were filling up the riverland towns. Burra was still strategic to our plans and had seemed like a nice town, so we tried the tourist info centre. They hooked us up in some nice historic cottages (Paxton Square Cottages) near the centre of town. We all had a good shower, shave (most of us shaved) and clean-up after three nights camping out in various parks. The water was great, although we all think we still had some dirt somewhere on us (yes ladies, we washed behind our ears!).
Our final dinner together was held at the Burra Hotel, were we looked back on our time and travels together and the experiences that have made us must richer. We had seen the salt of Lake Gairdner, and the orange sand at Goog’s Track had taken our sweat and blood. The white coastal sand around Streaky Bay had been blowing freely in the wind as we do on our rides, and the red iron rock and dust of the Gawler’s Ranges
symbolised the strength of our group.
Finally bed, although many reported funny dreams overnight, all involving Mr Incredible. West End
Draught sure does funny things.
Back to the Burra
The sad thing about any trip is that there is a time to head home, And today was the start of a two day trek from the Gawler Ranges in South Australia to our respective homes scattered across
Victoria.
Our aim for the day was to get to Loxton, stopping on the way at Burra where we had left Rohman’s Navara and Leighto’s bike trailer. However, these plans got fingered early as Ferg’s bee stung finger had swollen further overnight and needed some medical attention; the team made this the first priority of the day.
We came out of the Park and went down to Kimba (click here), going across the Pinkawillinie Conservation Park, on the Buckleboo Road. Buckleboo is a sister city with Buckrabunyule, the hom town of our Rohan. At Kimba (actually aboriginal for fire! click here) we went up to the local hospital and surprised the
Emergency Department. As a town of 700 people they don’t get many clients, and we were surprised that they had an ED. After a check by the nurse who hadn’t seen anything like this before the local doctor was called in. He hadn’t seen any like it either, but in true country doctor style he dealt with it, prescribing some antibiotics and a visit to the surgeon at Port Augusta in case it needed a clean-up. It was looking pretty ugly at this point (both finger and travel plans)
Out of Kimba e turned left on old mate Eddie Eyre’s Highway, going back past Iron Knob and into Port Augusta.
A longish wait at Port Augusta eventually saw us on our way again. Old mate surgeon’s theories were more
antibiotics, either intravenously with an overnight stay in the hospital, or on your way with lots of tablets and see how it goes. We took the second option.
Time was running out and accommodation options were getting low also; being the start of the weekend, weddings and festivals were filling up the riverland towns. Burra was still strategic to our plans and had seemed like a nice town, so we tried the tourist info centre. They hooked us up in some nice historic cottages (Paxton Square Cottages) near the centre of town. We all had a good shower, shave (most of us shaved) and clean-up after three nights camping out in various parks. The water was great, although we all think we still had some dirt somewhere on us (yes ladies, we washed behind our ears!).
Our final dinner together was held at the Burra Hotel, were we looked back on our time and travels together and the experiences that have made us must richer. We had seen the salt of Lake Gairdner, and the orange sand at Goog’s Track had taken our sweat and blood. The white coastal sand around Streaky Bay had been blowing freely in the wind as we do on our rides, and the red iron rock and dust of the Gawler’s Ranges
symbolised the strength of our group.
Finally bed, although many reported funny dreams overnight, all involving Mr Incredible. West End
Draught sure does funny things.
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