Day 1 ... Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges

Jarrod (Australian, 32, degree in Cultural Tourism) picked me up from my hotel at 6:30am and by 1pm we were lunching in Port Augusta.

The jeep encouraged familiarity with bench seats for 4 a-piece facing each other. I rapidly realised that the very rear seats were over the speakers and to be avoided like the plague.  The first day of anything is tenuous and this was no different. The average age was 30 - with me at 60 and Daphne from Canada at 21. They were a great bunch of people though and I felt very included and yet protected at the same time.

My first rude awakening was mid-afternoon when we walked the 20 minutes up to the Yourambulla Aboriginal cave painting site. I could not make it to the top. I think I could have - just not at the pace that they set. I waited just as the rise commenced.

Dusk was well upon us when we struck our first camp beside a dry creek bed festooned with Red River Gums not far south of Wilpena Pound. Here was my second rude awakening of the day - swags every night unless raining in which case we had swags in tents. The stars in the milky way were mind-blowing. No use trying to identify specific constellations - there were hundreds of thousands of the blighters swooshed across the heavens.

The camp fire was warm, the food was nutritious and tasty and I was the only one drinking red wine! My sleeping bag was warm as toast and I slept until 7am!

Comments

[Julie]

Oh yes - I CAN sleep in a bed. And, strangely for me, I am allowing my body time to recover. I will do a post on the swag over the weekend. I had not encountered one before either. I have searched for a more exact map than the HB one from their website. I have a very good one here right now - but it covers my dining room floor! I will keep hunting. THe HB version is rather broad-brush.

Thanks for the encouragement ...

[Claudia]

I decided to print your expedition map to follow you. Only got top of map from your site. Don't know why. I'm not very good at this sort of things. It was great that you put the website:HEADING BUSH. Got the whole map from there. Now I see Wilpena Pound. I knew that swags must mean tents/sleeping bags but I was wondering where the word came from. It's not even in my Webster's. Of course, Vikipedia has the answer. In Australia, it's a portable shelter. If I had remembered WALTZING MATILDA, I would have known instantly.If the average age is 30, you're NOT near 60. Keep going. I'm watching you...

I bet you can't sleep in a bed anymore!