Day Nine - Sunday 28th April - Melrose to Wilpena Pound Resort Campground (Ikara Flinders National Park) Mountain ranges at last!

Our packing up skills are improving every day! There's less hanging around not knowing what to do and a bit more action. Liz and I have completed some more modules to achieve our certificate. One of my tasks is to use a drill to stabilise the legs of the caravan - all very exciting. And today, for the first time I had to do a module on pulling out the awning. No end to the new experiences when you're camping! We set off early headed for Wilpena Pound resort and a four night stay in one place! Hooray!

Our first stop was Alligator Gorge, a truly lovely deep gorge with bright ochre cliffs (Yesterday Ewan was having a chat with a guy who told him about Crocodile Gorge so Ewan was confused!)

Some very nice lookouts so you could appreciate the cliffs, the enormous trees, the native grasstrees and lots of lichen and moss in the cooler spots. The others decided to climb down 252 steep and rocky steps whilst I wandered across to a Gorge Lookout. I could hear them chatting as they descended the steps and then suddenly there was no sound. It took me a while to realise that ascending the steps required a lot of effort so there was no chatting! Then we paused at a springwater (?) tap in Wilmington to replenish our tanks with good quality water.

Next stop was Quorn and after some discussion we headed for the Quandong cafe for lunch. However we did need a few items from the IGA supermarket and I discovered that it was due to close at 2.00pm. Our estimated time for arrival was 1.53pm so Ewan stopped at the front door I jumped out and dashed in and swiftly went up and down aisles grabbing some essentials. There was not a huge range and we were all looking forward to some decent bread. Well..... the only bread on offer was gluten free, frozen Wonder white sliced and one packet of hamburger rolls. Not quite what we had in mind but better than nothing!!! The Quandong cafe was quaint and about to close so it was a very quick bite to eat. We bought some Quandong pies and some Quandong jam so that'll be interesting. It was Sunday so - note to self- next time don't expect anything to be open late in the day. Upon arriving at the Camping ground at Wilpene Pound we entertained a large number of campers already ensconced in their tents and vans as we tried to work out the best way to position the caravans and a tent. It was even more entertaining I'm sure, to see the maneouvring and yelling required to get all of our abodes in place and completely set up. We're better than television I think! There's lots of options for great things to do here so a few days will be fabulous! But the cold has set in so it will be desert temperatures: freezing at night and warm during the days. Lovely! Your well set-up correspondent