Melrose, Mt Remarkable, Southern Flinders Ranges.

 Just to put our trip into context.    We are currently about 300 km north of Aldinga Beach, which is not far really.   53 km of that was driving to the outskirts of the city, then driving through the city and out onto the northern expressway.

On this trip we are doing a circular trip, and Mt Remarkable is our northern point, and from there we will take a circular route back home.   

On Sunday we left the lovely camping ground in Crystal Brook and drove the short distance (69 km) to Melrose, which is a little settlement beside Mt Remarkable.    Now Mt Remarkable is the tallest hill in a range of high hills, and part of the lower Flinders Ranges.

Flinders Ranges stretches about 430 km, from Crystal Brook in the south to Mt Hopeless in the north.  The northern part being quite remote and often inaccessible to most vehicles.    This is where the 4WD vehicle comes into play!    A fair proportion of the Flinders Ranges is National Park, which limits access for us, with a dog.    Dogs (and cats) are not allowed in National Parks in Australia, although in some states and in some parks you may drive through with your pet in the car.   And even leave them in the carpark.   But not on a hot day of course.

Flinders Ranges are known for their cliff faces, peaks, ruggedness, the diverse colours, rock strata, flora and fauna.   They are the oldest landscapes in the world, formed over 600 million years ago.    I think they were once very high mountains which have become worn down over time.

Interestingly the first time I visited the Flinders Ranges I felt disappointed, as I was expecting high mountain peaks!    But after a few days I started to appreciate the sheer grandeur of the area.   The dramatic rock formations alone were breath taking.

We are camped in the showgrounds/football field/cricket field, which is much cheaper than the caravan park, and spacious too.    And not the rules and regulations that you find goes with a caravan park.   We are quite independent, although we appreciate the water and electricity laid on.   The amenity block is new, and spacious.    

The temperature during the day has been a consistent 32 degrees so a tad warm but luckily we also have air conditioning.  

                                         

We are right in front of the football/cricket field, which has been watered and lovely and green.   Piper's favourite place.    She is most definitely not an outback, bare dirt, dog even though she has cattle dog in her gene pool.   

                                         

A goanna making a dash up a tree.    This lizard is not to be messed about with, as it has very sharp teeth and claws.     Larger goannas can easily kill a small dog   They belong to the monitor lizard family.   I make sure that Piper is on a lead when in front of the caravan.   No doubt there are a few snakes around too.

The sun setting behind Mt Remarkable.

The road into Melrose, with Mt Remarkable in the background.   I must say it looks quite grand in this photograph.

Melrose reminds me of a mountain village, with an equal amount of atmosphere.   It is the centre of the mountain bike community, and people come here for that very purpose.    Bike tracks have been developed on Mt Remarkable and around the bottom as well.    Sounds all a bit dangerous to me, but people come here in droves in order to ride the tracks.    

We loved the cafe though, with excellent coffee and cakes.   The bike shop next door does repairs, sells bikes and I think you can hire bikes from them too.   I think I will give this one a miss.   

The entrance to the village has sculptures depicting a bike and a walker.    There are very good walking trails on Mt Remarkable too.

We went for a little drive this afternoon, to a place called Booleroo Centre.   I always wondered what was there, well now I know.   It is a rural service town for the surrounding wheat farmers.   It is quite an affluent little town, and even has its own hospital and emergency department. 

The road we took was a gravel one, and needed a grader to smooth it out.   The car handled it very well too.    No 4WD needed! 

There was plenty of large machinery for sale, all yellow.  I have forgotten the brand.   In Crystal Brook the large machinery was dark green, yet another brand.

Although there were many empty shops on the main street, it generally looked prosperous.   I think the photo below shows a pub on the corner.

I have now read two books and written three blogs.       Just loving the slow and restful lifestyle.