Day 8-9 Wilpena Pound, SA

After one of the camp cook's wonderful meals (by AKA Joel Johnson), we slumbered well and Mandy cooked up a father's day breakfast in the Wilpena Pound campground. We rode our bikes halfway up to St Mary's Lookout, walk the rest when it became too rugged and the whinging grew to a crescendo. Then we fanged it down on our bikes, through a creek and loved the adrenaline rush.

We walked up to Wilpena Pound to see spectacular views of the crater-like landscape. In 1855 English doctors William and John Browne financed a doomed sheep station on Wilpena and surrounds. The Manager Henry Strong Price put 120,000 sheep in the crater, many of which perished in the drought of 1864/6. Floods also washed away the road built to transport stock and equipment into the pound. They realised only 20,000 sheep could reasonably be housed in this area. The local first peoples thought they were pretty dumb.

In the afternoon we took a cultural tour to Wilpena Homestead. Our tour guide was an Aboriginal Elder Mick McKenzie from the local Adnyamathanha peoples. He pointed out the many trees and plants first peoples used for cooking, eating and making perfume. He then led us to the Ikara meeting place and told us the dreamtime story of how Wilpena Pound was formed. The bodies of two serpents (akurras) form the walls of Wilpena Pound. This information is not on any sign, you need to speak to the local indigenous peoples to receive this insight due to many reasons.

To continue the Father's Day celebrations we feasted on our national symbols at the resort restaurant. We were lucky to be involved in the welcome to country that night. Terence Senior, Junior and Josephine Coulthard performed the ceremony and asked Ava and Jack to hold up the flag of the Adnyamathanha peoples. This was a great honour.

The following day we visited a local art exhibition in the old wool shed. Realistic landscapes are not my bag but one of the artist in residence, Trevor Hancox, painted two books marks for the kids and wrote a little message- ahhh how cute.

Wilpena was a wonderful experience- I highly recommend it.

On the Stuart Highway before Glendambo SA (Sth of Coober Pedy), kids thought it was Uluru

Wilpena Pound

Elder Mick McKenzie told us the local dreamtime stories- what a privilege to hear him speak in language and translate histories.

You mean we have to do jobs on holidays?

Wilpena Homestead

The Famous Sturt desert pea- you can't pick them but the Council gardeners can mow them down.

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