Outback Odyssey Day 2 - Ruins of the past

Misty morning

Unexpectedly, Quorn had a reasonably temperate night, which gave us the opportunity for a good night sleep. However, any thoughts of sleeping in were soon destroyed as we received an impressive wake up call from the local kookaburras! While the morning was overcast, the tent was dry and we were looking forward to having a dry pack up.

Overcast

Of course the weather had other ideas, with a light, misty rain settling in over breakfast, enough to dampen the tent, but not the enthusiasm. It was actually quite pleasant riding out in the light drizzle, the wind at our backs. The ride started out with mostly flat or downhill gravel roads, nice terrain to ease the legs into the day.

Yarrah Vale Gorge

Soon we faced our first challenge for the day, Yarrah Vale Gorge. A steady, steep climb, not particularly long, with lots of opportunities for photos. A group of us had gathered near the top, enjoying the view and resting, when our friendly sag wagon approached.

Checking out photo opportunities

One of the good things about being at the back is you often get to have a chat with Ray, the driver, who has an amazing amount of knowledge about the Mawson Trail and the best sites to see in the Flinders Ranges. 

Mr Carl at the top

The night before he had recommended that a detour to see Warren Gorge was to be recommended, but due to our back of pack position we decided to head straight to morning tea. Warren Gorge would have to wait for another trip.

Commemorating Hugh Proby

From morning tea it was all sweeping downhills (though I'm sure I remember a few minor uphills), keeping an eye out for important landmarks. The ride briefing the night before had made mention of Proby's Grave, the grave of a Scottish nobleman who was an early settler in the region. We were actually worried we'd missed it when we spotted a pile of riders gathered at the top of a small hill. As it turns out, it would have been fairly difficult to miss, at least by bike. 

Hugh Proby fell victim to the ephemeral creeks that are common in the Flinders Ranges, drowning as he tried to cross one after a particularly violent storm. His lease for the area had been granted barely a  year before his untimely death. The grave was fenced off and a dead tree stood prominently next to the slab. The view was spectacular, Hugh watching over in death, what he had so little time to see in life.

Big Country

The road continued onward, through a landscape that just seemed to get bigger and bigger. It's always interesting heading out bush because you do realise how narrow your view becomes in the city, crowded in by buildings and people. In the country, especially somewhere like the Flinders Ranges, you can see so far, with so few people. You can tell I'm a country girl at heart!  

Fred and Carl

That being said, we weren't actually alone. A local, intrigued by all the passing traffic, came to investigate. As it turns out in addition to being a farmer, she was also a reporter for the local paper and Mr Carl and I happily posed for a picture with our shiny steeds!

Photo stop!

With the sag wagon hunting us once again, we decided to ride on. Thankfully we weren't the only ones at the back, our friend Fred kept us company, and was always happy to stop for a photo. Likewise, Conrad and Judy, from Melbourne who had started the same time as us, were also happily enjoying the view. 

Our next challenge was Willochra Creek. The storm that had gone through Monday night had left its mark and we had to cross actual flowing water! Thankfully it wasn't at the level that caused so much grief to the early settlers (and still catches people unaware to this day). For us the the challenge would be not getting our feet wet! It was a close call, but with a bit of skill, most of us crossed unscathed.

The view from Simmonston

From there it was uphill to the town that never was, Simmonston. Planned, laid out and in part built, but never settled due to the railway line changing direction. Anyone living there would have been treated to some spectacular views, but I suspect the remoteness would have proved quite challenging. It certainly offered up opportunities for some impressive photos.

Simmonston - still standing

Alas, this was the last interesting stop for a while, as we headed across Willochra Plain, towards lunch. The Willochra Plain is big country, flat, open, endless. And the road across it is straight. Straight and corrugated, though not as bad as other roads I've encountered. Still, it taught me one important lesson, I'm not suited to long, flat, straight rides, I get bored too easy,

 Conrad and Judy with Carl

Finally we reached lunch, not quite the last, but close to it. The official route of the day continued east toward Craddock, however there was an option to go up the highway and cut 10 km off (and probably a lot more time). While part of me was keen to crack 100 km on Maretta, I knew we would struggle to get in at a reasonable time if we took the long option. We decided to take the highway option, which was a brave call after the previous day. It did however have an advantage, we would get to see the ruins of Kanyaka Homestead.

The Brooding Ruins

This had been mentioned in passing in the ride briefing the night before, but it turned out to be one of the most impressive ruins that we would see on the entire trip. The homestead wasn't a single building, but a collection of buildings covering quite a large area. 

Views from the ruins

At its peak it held up to 70 men and their family's, so it's likely it would have resembled a small town. It was an amazing place to take photos and the dark and brooding sky lent an atmosphere to the pictures that helped capture the feeling of the site. We also had fun playing amateur archaeologists, trying to imagine what the site had looked like in it's heyday.

Ruins of the past

From the ruins we had about 25 km of highway before we reached Hawker. The lack of headwind made the ride quick pleasant and I was surprised when we rolled into Hawker a little after 3 pm. I was having a lucky day as there was a massage spot free at 4 pm, and after a quick tent assembly and a shower, I treated myself to a well earned pamper session. Well, that's probably not quite the right term, as it hurt like hell, but it did make me feel better!

Made it!

Tea was filling and delicious, vegetable noodle soup then barbecue and salads, followed by apple crumble slice. Tomorrow, we were told, would bring some serious riding!

Day 2 route here.