Outback and Flinders Ranges II

This article relates to Outback and Flinders Ranges, SA as I'm gonna write what I have experienced and visited in this area that I missed in my other articles.

I've written full articles about Coober Pedy - see link

http://viaggioandfreedom.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/coober-pedy-south-australia-outback.html?m=1

about the Southern Flinders Ranges - see link
http://viaggioandfreedom.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/outback-and-flinders-ranges-sa.html

about the Flinders Ranges National Park and Central Flinders - see link
http://viaggioandfreedom.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/central-flinders-and-flinders-national.html

On my travelling around South Australia I could stop and visit (from a north-south direction after Coober Pedy):

- Woomera, that is where the largest land-based missile and rocket range of the western world is located: it was at first a joint project between Britain and Australia and nowadays the site still hosts space activities for Australian and even international defence and aerospace organisations. In town there is the museum that goes back to the early days of the settlement and has a lot of information about the missiles and rockets launched from Woomera.

- Port Augusta, that is one of the biggest city of this section and it's exactly where the outback meets the ocean at the northern tip of Spenser Gulf and it's known as the "crossroads of Australia" as roads from Sydney to Perth and Adelaide to Darwin pass through it. Plenty of attraction are there to please the travellers: Port Augusta is home to the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden which is not just a garden but a tourism attraction in the region, with educational facility for understanding the arid-zone environment and follow the steps of the first explorers and botanists: home to a beautiful café shop with homemade ice cream, made with native seeds and herbs and the centre encourage researches, offering conference facilities and the conservation of the environment; the visitor centre and shop sales some native plants too. It's a beautiful spot to see, it's possible to take some pictures of the area from some lookout overlooking the Flinders Ranges and when I was there, someone decided to have its own refreshment after the wedding. It's a place to see ;)

Other attractions are the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Military Memorabilia Museum, Pichi Richi Railway (see below) and the Wadlata Outback Centre that has "the tunnel of time" and go through all the history of the region and hosts some fossils. Aboriginal cultural experience are possible too, listening to the Adnyamathanha guides.

(north-east of Port Augusta)

- Quorn, that is in the heart of the Flinders and is a town that retains a lot of its old characteristic, with charing heritage buildings, handmade dry stone wall embankments and bridge. The Pichi Richi Pass starts from Port Augusta and follows a scenic journey through the Old Ghan line to Quorn Railway Station: it could be a beautiful way of experiencing this section of the Flinders. The place has been the backdrop for some films too, one yet to be released about the camel lady Robyn Davidson, titled Tracks. So it should definitely be an interesting place to wander around.

(north-east of Port Augusta through Quorn)

- Hawker, that is an ideal base for day trips, offers some lookout points, a visitor centre and heritage walk. 11 km south of town there are the Yourambulla caves with aboriginal paintings and etchings, that I've cited on the article about Central Flinders Ranges and Flinders Ranges National Park.

(in-land route to Clare Valley)

- Melrose, that is the oldest town in the Flinders Ranges, was established in the 1840's cut to a copper deposit find and now is mountain bike central with kilometres of trails at the base of Mount Remarkable. In fact town is home to the Fat Tyre Festival, an annual celebration of off-road, two-wheeled cycling fun. It's a paradise for cycling, but for bushwalking, birdwatching as well.

(in-land route to Clare Valley, see article about Wirrabra Forest at few kilometres away, second link posted on top)

- Laura sits on the banks of Rocky River and Kurrajong tree line on its main street. A huge cooper statue in the main street commemorates C.J. Dennis, Australian writer and poem, that wrote Sentimental Bloke and spent his childhood in Laura.

The Laura Folk Fair is held in April and attracts thousands of people for a two-day celebration of music, food and art. Furthermore Laura is the home of the famed Golden North ice cream, proudly made in this picturesque town and supplied to all SA.

(south of Port Augusta)

- Port Pirie, that is an industrial city and has the world's largest primary lead smelter that offers guided tours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, called Nyrstar; lead and zinc are the main products of the smelter, but gold, copper and silver are treated in there as well, on a tour you can learn more about the process to extract and refine all these metals.

The Port Pirie Regional Tourism and Arts Centre is a must do for all visitors, it deals with all the region and it's the mainly visitor information centre. Here a fibreglass model of the longest White Pointer shark ever landed in SA waters is conserved; it's called Shakka the Shark and is a 23 year-old female shark that drowned after being entangles in an anchor rope, a contribution of $3 is requested to see the exhibition and the shark's model, while the Regional Art Gallery is free and focuses on regional South Australian artists works.

- Crystal Brook, that is a thriving agricultural hub, is the southern gateway to the Flinders Ranges, before entering the Clare Valley region.

All the region could be explored following either the walking Heysen Trail or the cycling Mawson Trail.