Thursday, 14 August 2025
We were on the road again today, but only travelling about 200 kilometres to Parachilna. Before heading off, Bernie topped up the truck with with Mogas diesel … eventually. There was some trouble with getting a staff member to ‘release the flow’ because Kosta was on reception, dealing with a booking on the phone and the only staff member to deal with fuel sales too.
While Bernie filled the tank, I washed the windows with the two squeegees sitting in a bucket of water that had muddy sediment on the bottom. I needed both squeegees because one had a spongy scrubber thing but a stiff as a board rubber squeegee. The other one had nothing to wash with, but it did have a squishier squeegee for wiping the water off. Even though it was dirty water, it did wash of the dusty rain spots on the front and rear windscreens from Tuesday’s shower of rain.
So, we were on the road just before 10.00am. Driving back out the Arkaroola Road we had only reached the old homestead when we spied a daddy emu with his chicks. So cute, but nearly impossible to photograph because those stripy chicks blend right into the landscape. But still, we tried.
Reaching the T-intersection, Syri told us to turn right onto Gammon Ranges Road for 99 kilometres. Once again she wasn’t agreeing with our atlas, which showed the road as Copley Road. Just after Italowie Creek, we stopped in a lay-by for a leg stretch and took a couple of photos looking west towards the ranges and east towards Lake Frome. We could still see the white strip on the horizon of the sun reflecting of the salt surface of the lake.
As we made our way into Italowie Gorge there were signs warning us to watch for yellow-footed rock-wallabies but we didn’t see any about at this time of the day. We stopped at the Italowie Gap Trail Head and read an interpretative board about the native orange tree and how they represent ‘travelling’ members of the Iga people who lived in and around Italowie Gorge. A second board told the story of R. M. Williams making his first pair of boots in 1932 at a remote bush camp just over a kilometre south-west from the trailhead.
We crossed McKinley Creek at The John Crossing before arriving in Nepabunna at about quarter past eleven. We were able to stretch our legs again and take a comfort stop at their well kept public toilet. Continuing on Copley Road we passed through the small Adnyamathanha settlement of Iga Warta and the Angepena Homestead. We spotted a stock sign that featured a cow but … all we saw was sheep. Other stock signs have shown cows and sheep but, we’ve only seen sheep south of the dingo fence. When were on our flight on Tuesday, Cameron told us that it’s cattle north of the fence and sheep south of the fence. Apparently, calves can hold their own against dingoes but lambs cannot.
We were driving alongside pointy hills that made us think of the plates on the back of a stegosaurus or the spine of a sleeping dragon. When I noted a Camel Gap in the atlas, we decided that the person who surveyed the range must have been reminded of camel humps and therefore called the gap between humps Camel Gap??
When it rains there must be a lot of water shed from the hills into the many creeks because we were crossing over floodways that were a kilometre wide. Aside from the sheep in the long paddock we had also seen a few feral goats, which is not unusual, but it was more unexpected to spot half a dozen feral horses on a hillside.
Just after noon we stopped for lunch at the Copley Bush Bakery & Quandong Café. Oh, no, not pies again! We had heard good things about the pies here so we pretty much HAD to try them. Bernie ordered a goat curry pie and a sausage roll while I opted for the meat pastie. The sausage roll was the BIGGEST sausage roll we have ever seen. I helped Bernie out by having a couple of bites from the sausage roll. All the items were delish with the lightest, flakiest pastry encasing their fillings.
Back on the road, it was only now that we saw a sign warning us about horses. Just a kilometre or so from Copley, we reached The Outback Highway, where we turned left towards Parachilna with Bernie spotting more horses crossing the highway behind us. There seems to be a sizable population of feral horses around this area. Hence the yellow sign with the horse on it I suppose, ha, ha.
We stopped in at Leigh Creek to visit the IGA because we urgently needed to re-stock our chocolate stash. We ate the last of our fun-size chocolate bars yesterday! While we were there, we visited the Post Office. We had a card to post that we had hoped to post on Monday BUT there have been no Post Offices where we have been. The envelope only had a $1.50 stamp on it (because that was the only denomination stamp we could purchase in Hawker on Saturday) so we were able to buy two ten cent stamps to bring the postage up to the current required amount. We were assured that the post will be collected tomorrow and the card will be on its way.
Back in the truck and heading south, I noted on the map a point of interest, the Beltana Historic Town. Hmmn, if we take the detour will there be anything there?? Sometimes the features highlighted in the atlas are very disappointing. We had pretty much decided that we would not drive into Beltana when we saw a very bright and shiny sign on the highway inviting travellers to visit the historic township of Beltana. With time to spare before we needed to check-in at the Prairie Hotel at Parachilna we decided, why not, let’s drive in to have a look at Beltana.
The traditional lands of the Adnyamathanha people, European settlers began arriving in the area in the 1850s and 60s. Beltana was surveyed in 1873 and quickly grew to a township of 70 houses and a population of 390. Although a State Heritage listed town, it is still home to a permanent population of 30 and an active community of 55. For those who live here, something like owning a home in a living museum? Beltana was important in the development of the Overland Telegraph and copper ore was discovered nearby at Sliding Rock. It enjoyed its heyday in the 1880s when the railway line came through. It is also where the Reverend John Flynn (founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service) was based from 1911 and many outback expeditions set out from Beltana.
Things started to change for the town in 1941 when coal production began at Leigh Creek. In 1956 the railway was realigned to run more directly to Leigh Creek and in 1983 the road bypassed the town. Despite these changes the town refused to die and in 1987 it was declared a State Heritage Area in recognition of its place in South Australia’s history. After strolling around the township, we drove out to the old railway station before returning to the highway.
As we drove back to the highway we made one more stop at the Afghan Memorial (also a point of interest in our atlas!) that commemorates the Afghan men and their camels who helped to open up this vast area from 1866 to 1936. Nearby we found the Afghan Tank, a historic stone structure associated with the Afghan cameleers. It is believed to have been built to provide water for the camels brought to the area by Thomas Elder in 1866.
Back out on the highway we approached Green Wall Creek with a sign saying that the floodway was flood damaged. Bernie slowed down and could see a dark spot on the road that he initially thought was a pothole. But, the pothole was moving and we could soon see that it was ANOTHER echidna, walking purposefully along the creek and across the road. We slowed down enough to make sure it continued all the way across the road but didn’t distract it by stopping to take photos. On this holiday we have just about doubled our lifetime sightings of echidnas!!
We soon arrived at the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna. As we parked the car we spotted two women getting out of a vehicle emblazoned with Total Span Steel Buildings Warragul and Wonthaggi. Bernie leapt out of the car to say, I see you’re from Warragul, I’m from Drouin and my wife’s from Warragul. The women were initially a bit taken aback before recalling that their vehicle advertises to the world where they are from. Bernie mentioned that he’s a Gaffney as in Gaffney’s Fruit and Vegetables. One of the women said she knew Gaffney’s and thought that her aunty used to work there. Small world. Much younger than us, though, she said she did VCE at Drouin High School in 1993. Hmmn, that’s about 15 years after Bernie was at Drouin High School.
We checked in and we were shown to our room for tonight. Very nice. So it should be as it’s the most expensive room for our whole holiday! The rooms are in an annex at the back of the hotel and our ground floor room is partially sunken into the ground which means that we enter from the corridor but then have steps down to a sunken bedroom/sitting area … complete with cowhide on the floor at the end of the bed.
After downloading today’s photos from the digital SLRs, Bernie picked up his phone and announced that he was going to head out to take a photo of the front of the hotel and then sample one of their house brewed beers. He was back soon though, exhorting me to grab my camera and come outside for the sunset. We headed outside and enjoyed a glorious sunset with a strategically placed sculpture of a stockman on his horse to silhouette against the spectacular tangerine sky. I think we are voting it the best sunset of this holiday.
Dinner tonight in the Prairie Hotel’s dining room. Bernie has been telling me all holiday that it’s a themed ‘roadkill café’ sort of a restaurant. Close, it actually features feral meats on its menu along with native and regional produce and, importantly, non-feral options. Hmmn, for entree we could have opted for the feral antipasto. Camel metwurst, roo pastrami, emu pate, goat chèvre anyone? I said no, so we sampled the grilled halloumi with quandong emulsion, saltbush dukkah and sweet pickled quandongs.
For main course Bernie decided on the feral goat Rogan josh with Kashmiri rice, sunrise lime pickle, raita and a couple of papadums. Honestly, that’s goat curry twice today, he’s going to start bleating like a goat??! No feral meat for me thank you! I chose the saltbush pesto pasta featuring cavatelli, winter greens and Parmesan. Bernie would have LOVED my pasta with the winter greens featuring Brussels sprouts, kalettes (cross between spouts and kale) and broccoli.
Steps: 7,286 (4.95kms)
