Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part fifteen"

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To finish this trip off I thought a panorama view of our last stop would be the way to go, which was Ranges View Rest Area, 62 kilometres NW of Port Augusta in South Australia. For those on dial-up please be aware this is a large file.

I do hope this image gives you an idea of the expanse of the landscape because so often a single photo will not do this. I did not use any automatic panorama software when stitching three photos together for this image because I just could not get the desired results that I was after. Instead time was spent with layers using Photoshop to get the best results.

I had mention in past posts of this trip that my brother and his wife also participated. In fact the original idea to make this trip was my brothers who also has a photo blog with photos of this same trip here. He kindly offered to be chauffeur with his own vehicle although I think I had him scratching his head where he was going to put our camping gear in the 4WD when he saw the pile of stuff that Malcolm and I were taking. I could have left the red wine home but I don't think anyone thought that was an option.


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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part fourteen"

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Lake Hart is located approximately two hundred kilometres North West of Port Augusta, South Australia. I believe this would be a spectacular spot to take photos early in the morning or as the sun goes down.




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Island Lagoon is 153 kilometres North West of Port Augusta, South Australia. The island jutting out from the salt lake was without a doubt the focal point when lining up me camera.

There will be one more post from this journey so please join me for that entry, as I close what was for me a very memorable trip down memory lane.

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part thirteen"

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If you have been following this Gawler Ranges trip you will then realise that this is our second camp for the two nights that this little traveling party made.

After a long day on the road, an area was spotted to make camp not all that far off the main Kingoonya to Glendambo road. By the time we had our tents up and a fire going to cook our meal the night air was quickly cooling down.


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The landscape is truly beautiful in this area as the sun goes down with warm light streaking across the flat plains.






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The next morning as the sky awakens I can hear birds going about their business and cheering with chatter and song; a celebration of a new day for all living things.

Yes a new day where this traveling party must break camp and move on and head down the road towards home but first there is more to see before this journey is completed. I do hope you come back to see what this day had on offer.

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South Australias floral emblem; the Sturt's Desert Pea

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part twelve"

I have titled this post differently from my past Gawler Ranges Trip entry because I really did want to bring attention to this Sturt's Desert Pea flower, Swainsona formosa.

The first image gives an indication of how these plants grow. At the time this photo was taken these specimens were very healthy in the early stages of flowering. I would have loved to had been there a week later as I can image a carpet of red would have covered this area. As it was I was nearly breaking my neck to get out of the 4WD before it stopped to investigate these little beauties.


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The Sturt's Desert Pea plant is not prickly but there were certainly plenty of vegetation that sank their thorns into my skin when down on hands and knees trying to get that perfect shot.






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There is more that you can read about these plants by clicking here and here.

I do hope you enjoy viewing this native plant of Australia. It is a favourite of mine; one that I have wanted to paint for a very long time. Now that I have images to work from this will happen in the very near future and will be posted on my Arts and Stuff blog, as a Work in Progress that you can follow along with me.


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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part eleven"

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I don't know what this area is called with the sand dunes but it was a pleasant surprise when my eyes set upon them.






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The light once in awhile did streak across the dunes in patches although fleetingly.






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This image will give you a bit more perspective of the area. As you can see my brothers patrol is laden with all our camping gear, food and water for our two nights on the road. When traveling 'out bush' it is an idiot that would not take extra food and water in case there are circumstances where we are unable to return to civilization in a time frame that we ourselves had planned. Survival in the bush means taking extra supplies or you may perish and this also means making sure family and friends know when to expect you home and if that time frame passes they then can alert the authorities, so that a search can be put into action.

There will be more snapshots of this trip later in the week. Tomorrow I will post something different from photos that were taken last Monday. Until then, happy snapping!

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part ten"

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There were numerous salt lakes on this camping trip. Some were small and others large. Several without water and fewer with water.





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This photo and the one below are the same lake. It was a lovely surprise to come across this water with us looking for a way to drive in off the main gravel road so that we could investigate the area closer at the same time take many photos. Spotting a track our little party was soon travelling deeper into the bush until we came to a clearing where evidence of a fire had been made in the past by campers that must have enjoyed this little oasis. The light with the first image wasn't going to be the best but all in all it didn't turn out bad either.


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Just like being at the beach isn't it? It would have been a lovely spot to camp but we had to travel a few more kilometres yet before we set up our tents for our last night of this trip.


I won't be posting for the next few days. Malcolm (hubby) and I are heading to the city tomorrow to catch up with family & friends plus I do have a meeting to attend in the Big Smoke. Oh and shopping as well!

Until my return, please don't forget me.

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part nine"

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Yesterday when our little touring party left the Southern Flinders Ranges we did wonder if we were doing the right thing with wet weather constantly cropping up in our path, especially around the Iron Knob area. Thankfully we pushed ahead down the road with weather improving as we headed further into the Gawler Ranges.



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The Bluebush (Pearl Bluebush Maireana sedifolia) has always been my favourite native shrub in the Australian bush. In a good season the Bluebush will grow to a hight of one metre.






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When viewing buildings such as these out in the bush I can't help but wonder about the people that lived in these places and the yarns that they could tell. Maybe now it is only the spirits that can tell these stories of what must have been a very hard and difficult life.

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part eight"

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You do need to click on these thumbnails to see some of the lovely colours in the shadows of the morning light.

This first photo was taken as the cold air was hitting me after crawling out of my snug as a bug sleeping bag with a heavy dew covered over our tents. The sun wasn't even out of bed itself but it had the promise of wonderful light to come. In the background I could hear the wakening of birds twittering and snapping of timber for the fire as it was stoked up for our early breakfast.


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With the first rays of the morning light streaking across the landscape it was full on excitement trying to catch that magical moment in time.





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By this time the cold air against my skin was long forgotten while watching the warming light on such a beautiful morning making me wish we could stay a few more days in this area. An artist paradise!




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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part seven"

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In the creek near the Siam Station homestead there are hops flowering. These are not native to Australia and only flower after good rains, which the area did have. As much as these hops are not native to my country they can put on a magical show in the Flinders Ranges although this does not happen very often due to lack of rain.






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Of the two nights on this trip that my brother and his wife and Malcolm and I bush camped, this was our first night. Everybody instinctively found a job to do and it wasn't long before we had our tents up, chairs out and a fire going to cook our evening meal. You can see Malcolm surveying all our handy work or was that the cask of red wine he was looking for!


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Our bellies were fed and watered by the time the sun was setting on our first night and it was hands on deck to grab a few snapshots as the sun was disappearing down beyond the horizon.

If you didn't get an update of SnapShots in your RSS Reader yesterday there was a post. I did some extra pinging but to no avail as my copy did not turn up in my own RSS Reader. This is why it is worth subscribing to your own feed if you have a blog so that you are made aware that there maybe a problem. If you did miss out here is a quick link to that post.


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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part six"

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This image of the Siam Station homestead has been taken from a rise in the landscape that was always referred to as the 'Little Hill'. After having children of my own I asked my mum did she ever worry about my siblings and myself traipsing for miles away from the homestead. In a matter of fact voice her reply was "No, you always came home!". It was in the later years that I also found out that mum used to watch us kids up in the hills through the scope of a gun.

Just a little about the homestead:

• When my dad took on the job of overseer, we lived in the house on the far right.
• Second building from right is the mens quarters.
• Third building from right used to be the 'Siam Rural School'. The school was housed in the mens quarters until this building was ready but prior to all of this my mum taught correspondence lessons to me.
• Moving across to the left is a very large iron shed. This shed wasn't part of the station at the time I lived on Siam Station.
• Top of that very large shed is the main homestead. I never lived in this house although some of my family did when my dad became manager of Siam Station.
• There are other various small buildings as part of the main house that have had different uses over the years.
• Shed near main homestead is the workshop for Siam Station where many jobs are done on the stations equipment. It also used to house the main engine for the power supply although not sure if it is still the case.
• The stone shed was always nicknamed 'The Top Shed', not sure if that stuck after we left. There are various rooms to this building that include stables, blacksmith, feed room and so forth. These yards were also used for the time that work needed to be done with cattle.

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Walking around on the top of the 'Little Hill' memories came flooding back when I saw this bulb flower. As a child it wasn't unusual for me to pick flowers to take home but this time a snapshot is a much more lasting memory leaving the flower in its own environment.


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This is the crutching shed and if you take a look at the first image you will see this building and yards at the top of the trees. When it was time for crutching the sheep I couldn't wait for school to be finished for the day so that I could rush down to the yards and be part of what was happening. Oh memories...... life was so simple back then!




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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part five"

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Still traveling on Siam Station, it was time for a morning cuppa and when out bush the best way to do this is start a fire and put the stainless steel kettle on, which my brother had packed for this trip. As you can see from the blackened kettle it has been used on a number of occasions in the past. We didn't have billy tea this trip as we all were wanting coffee. If you ever get the chance to try billy tea, do so because it is a very nice way to drink tea. I do cringe though after the tea leaves have been dropped in the boiling water and then the billy swung around at the end of an arm like a windmill gone crazy so that the solid matter drops to the bottom of the container. Never seen anyone burnt 'yet' so who needs a tea strainer when out bush!!!


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before moving on from our morning break a few photos were taken. Even a piece of weather worn grey timber makes an interesting snapshot against the red earth along with some native vegetation for complimentary colour.



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I bet this tree has provided shade for many a kangaroo over the years. The landscape isn't all like this because the scrubby areas can be quite dense with Mulga trees and Salt Bush.

If you haven't done so my now I encourage you to click on each image so that you truly get the atmosphere of the area, which the thumbnails do not really portray.

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Gawler Ranges Trip, South Australia "part four"

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Yesterdays post was about the inside of this shearing shed and now it is time to show you what the building and surrounding area is like.




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If you are wondering what the tall pole is used for at the right of the shearing shed, its purpose is to hoist bales of wool onto the back of trucks.




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Accommodation and a cook is provided for the shearing and Rouseabout team. The 'smoko' is delivered to the shearing shed by the cooks 'helper' morning and afternoon. The team would return to the building on the right of this image for three meals per day. The building to the far left is the sleeping quarters for the workers. behind the kitchen and dining room (building on the right) there is an amenities block. The small shed to the front is the engine room for the power supply for all the buildings.

Some of you may have heard of Henry Lawson. He wrote "The Boss's Boots"; which has a number of humorous verses about working in a shearing shed.

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