Flinders Ranges, South Australia, 14-15 August 2016

.

This is my first post of a workshop in the Flinder’s Ranges, South Australia in 2016 organised by Keith Seidel and his wife Barbara, who I met on the South West Canyonlands Tour two years earlier.

After the Flinder’s Ranges, I will post on the trip to Cuba and the Caribbean, which directly followed.  You can see itinerary and maps here, including links to old temporary posts that I will update as I post.

.

I left a day early and stayed overnight at the resort in the middle of the National Park.  This is a view from near there.  Over those hills is Wilpena Pound, a huge natural amphitheatre created by uplift rather than vulcanism.  I could have walked there but it’s more likely to be a sunrise shot than a sunset shot.  Perhaps I should have walked there next morning in the dark for dawn but I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get to an appropriate viewpoint.  Instead I decided to drive to Wilkawillina Gorge because I thought its opening might have a good aspect for the dying of the light, and to scout an easier place for the sunrise.

.

I didn’t quite make the gorge though, so I stopped to take this photo before I ran out of light.

.

Next morning I rose early to take some photographs at dawn.  This is probably from Huck’s lookout.

.

Seven minutes later.

.

After breakfast I headed off to a rendezvous with the workshop group.  I needed to go west but there was no road so I initially went north.  This is Yanyanna Hut.

.

As you can see, not the most salubrious of accommodation, especially in the summer which would get very hot.

.

The track to a lookout.  Razorback lookout, I think.

.

This is a view from the lookout.

.

And this is nearby.

.

Next stop was Aroona Hut, constructed in 1925.  Artist Hans Heyson stayed here in 1927 and visited many times subsequently.  Here is a news item of a painting of his and some background.

.

No doubt he saw this view many times from inside the hut and watched the changing light.

.

This is the view from nearby Aroona lookout, looking towards the Heysen Range.  There was a small sheep station nearby.  It was founded in 1851 and was moderately profitable for a few years.  But overstocking and droughts in 1864 to 1866 led to its abandonment.

.

The view back to the hut from near the lookout.

.

Further north, I drove through the small town of Blinman and found this old house.

.

.

.

The front door was locked so it was not possible to enter …

.

.

.

… except through the back door.

.

The sparse interior gives a hint of what it must have been like to live here years ago.

.

.

.

I met up with the workshop group in the middle of the day and in the late afternoon we headed off to photograph the Edeowie ruin at sunset.

.

There will be some more images from here in later posts.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.