Australia is the smallest of the world's continents. It is also the lowest, the flattest and (apart from Antarctica) the driest.
Recent severe weather and abnormally high rainfall in South Australia had resulted in the Flinders Ranges transforming from an arid desert landscape, to being carpeted in grass and wildflowers.
A mate and I couldn’t resist the temptation to go take a look at this rare event, even though this would require at least a 1000K ride to the SA border and most of the dirt roads we had intended to ride being closed due to flooding.
After a 5000K round trip, and encountering some truly diabolical riding weather, we are back home from one of the most magical Adventure rides I have ever done.
Adventure Riding is what you make it. My motto being, “Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an Adventure”. We encountered closed roads, flooded rivers and streams, slippery orange clay and all manner of wildlife including roos, emu, goats, goats, goats and an encounter with a venemous snake, that saw me riding with both feet on the bars and an elevated heart rate.
We rode from Yunta to Arkaroola and criss crossed The Flinders from North to South and East to West, trying to cram in as much of the majestic landscape in the limited time we had.
To be quite honest, words fail me when it comes to trying to describe South Australias’s Flinders Ranges…Best I let the pics do the talking.
As we got closer to The Flinders, and finally on dirt we started to encounter red clay and standing water. I cannot begin to describe how slippery this stuff is
Fortunately some of the recently opened roads had begun to dry out
Along the way we visited some great “outback” pubs and towns
Finally the Ranges came into sight
But still had to be alert for emu!!
This is what we came for..
Visited some early settlers graves….It was a hard life!!
Finally.... the orange clay got me!!
An iconic station
Washing the wheels before heading home
