Outback Odyssey Day 4 - The Flinders Ranges in all it's glory!

Sunrise

Rawnsley Park was definitely the coldest night, which didn't lend itself to sleeping in, but I tried. At breakfast I heard stories of ice on peoples tents, and we gathered round the heaters to warm up our tired bodies. But the mood was relaxed an jovial, for all we were freezing! Today was only 27 km. After the last couple of days it was a pleasant change.

Glorious singletrack!

The cold must have affected me more than I realised, as I found myself nursing a sore knee. I'm sure it wouldn't have had anything to do with the three days hard riding previously! Spinning was the order of the day. While it was disappointing not to be able to power through what would turn out to be mostly amazing singletrack, nursing the knee let me stop regularly for photos.

Fred

The scenery definitely encouraged regular photo breaks. The single track out of Rawnsley Park took us along the southern edge of Wilpena Pound. Everybody was enjoying themselves, we were rarely alone at our photostops. Fred in particular, made frequent use of his camera, so much so that we soon left him behind!

Creek crossings

The track undulated, dipping down to cross creeks then climbing back up. With my knee feeling tender, I was cautious and walked some of the rockier crossings. But I'd love to go back and ride that section, it was probably my favourite of the whole trip! It would be an amazing 24 hour endurance course if it looped back the entrance road of Rawnsley Park, but unfortunately it didn't and soon we were spat out onto the highway.

Watch for markers!

The highway section was a gentle rise and plenty of scenery to distract us. It ran along the eastern edge of Wilpena Pound and even here there were plenty of photo stops. However, we had been warned the night before to "watch for the red arrows" as the turn off from the highway was easy to miss, so we were paying close attention to our surroundings. 

Mr Carl -  "It's really big!"

When we passed the information centre, we knew the turn off was close. Sure enough, two red arrows attached to a Mawson marker pointed us in the right direction. If we hadn't been watching, it would have been easy to miss!

Old Telegraph Track

There was only a short bit of climbing left before the road turned downward, but there was still plenty of scenery. My knee had warmed up and I was feeling decidedly better the closer I got to Wilpena. We rode along the old telegraph track that still had some of the telegraph poles (or replicas) in place. This brought us out at the north eastern edge of Wilpena Pound and onto the road into the resort where we were staying.

Made it!

We cruised into camp and faced what would be our biggest dilemma of the day, where would we put the tent? We actually put it up in one location, but the ground was so hard that we had to pick it up and move it! Eventually we settled in, got changed and headed to lunch.

This also was more challenging than the ride, as the resort is actually a fairly big place when you're walking. After a few false starts we headed in the right direction and conveniently past the masseurs. Luck was all mine as I expected all the early arrivals to have filled up the available slots, but I managed to book a whole hour of being pampered/tortured! 

With a smile on my face, we headed to lunch. Food was plentiful and varied, and included cake and fruit salad for dessert! We caught up with friends and relaxed in very pleasant, sunlit surrounds. However, we did need to do some bike maintenance, so we headed back to the tent.

Mobile bike mechanic

The bikes had held up well given everything we'd thrown at them, but they were starting to sound a bit grindy. We went over our respective drive trains with wet ones then Carl lubed the chains as headed off for my massage. An hour of torture and a hot chocolate later and I was feeling more myself.

Happy Campers!

Tea was held in the marquee again and was a very boisterous affair. Music accompanied dinner, provided by "On ya Bike". Food was plentiful and tasty and the company was excellent. The main in particular was excellent, consisting of roast chicken, beef stroganoff with rice, pasta, wedges and a big serve of veggies steamed to perfection. How they managed that for over 200 people is beyond me, but I was glad to have such a filling and tasty meal. 

The evening wound up with the introduction of a new weather girl, Christina, as well as a warning about tomorrows trails. 'Beware the ruts and the washouts,' rang in my ears, louder than the music, as we headed back to the tent for a good night sleep.

Route for the day here