I had missed three Saturdays at the beach so was very glad to be back....it was an overcast day but no rain...the colours of the sky and water were beautiful and the water was crystal clear.

A successful dinner, starting from my empty chair and going clockwise...Steve, Julie, Laura, Brian, Geoff, Hannah, Jeff, Christine and Pete...yummy food and great conversation.

 

I'm happy to be back at golf....was the perfect day today...played with Lynette, Majella and Kay...in the photo Lynette is hitting off the 7th tee. The course was looking terrific due to WAGC hosting the WA Open last weekend.

 

This is a photo of the three boys and Rusty watching TV that Tash posted on Tiny Beans. I saw them today but only through the screen door as Will, Flynn and Tash have or are recovering from Covid. It's such a delightful photo.

 

Jan's fascinating collection of rocks and shells....I loved having a good look at them.

I might pinch this marvellous idea...Jan's display of natural objects.

The weather was miserable today so spent the day indoors. There was never a shortage of conversation.

It was a most enjoyable two days that we spent with Jan and George, a perfect way to finish our holiday.

Chris kindly gave us a couple of passes into the Qantas lounge in Adelaide, which Pete and I looked as though it had just been renovated. Nice to just chill before the flight.

 

Isn't this the most glorious tree? Such stunning coloured leaves. Pete, Jan and I enjoyed a lovely long walk   his morning around the suburb of St George.

The variety of flowers in both the gardens and laneways amazed me, so many that I had never seen in Perth.

Jan and George have a beautiful front garden too...their colourful roses.

A dove in her nest ...just outside Jan and George's back door.

 

Our final day in the van...the Laura caravan park was so clean and tidy and the owners so friendly.

The Laura post office ....loved the kelpie in the ute.

C.J.Dennis in the Main Street in Laura.

The old court house in Laura....

On our way to Adelaide....

Canola ...so pretty by the highway.

So many stunning bushes full of flowers in all the little towns that we drove through.

We are staying with Jan and George in Adelaide and were thrilled that Anne was also visiting from Melbourne. We had a fabulous night catching up and remembering our years together at UDM.

 

Setting off on our walk up Mt Remarkable in the Mt Remarkable National Park....961m and 14km.

Rocks, rocks everywhere...

Fabulous views as we climbed....

So many grass trees ...they are quite different to ours in WA.

Honestly there were more than 30 different flowers along the trail...

The summit...lots of trees...not a great view...

It is a fabulous walk....you go up on the northern side of the mountain and then descend on the southern side. The views and vegetation were quite different.

Just stunning views...and constantly changing sky.... what an enjoyable walk..we did it in just over 4 hours.

On our way to Laura...we stopped in Wirrabara to see this fabulous silo art...

Arrived in Laura in the late afternoon...having dinner at the pub....our final night in the van.

 

Not a good morning...it had been drizzling for most of the night and early morning. Despite the number of roads in red, which means closed due to flooding, we decided to head south away from the rain.

An emu crossing the road...we have seen quite a few...this is not long after we left Wilpena...it was still raining.

The mountains were hidden behind the clouds this morning...looked amazing.

Still stormy as we travelled south....so many wattles....I love these flat plains between the mountains. You get to see so much of the sky (which you can't in the city)...the clouds today were amazing.

When we drove to Wilpena, all the creeks were dry....today there were some that flooded the road.

The sun came out in the late morning and we started to really enjoy the drive.

We decided to stay overnight in the Melrose caravan park. Melrose was one of the first settlements in the Flinders Ranges. We have stayed in Melrose before and knew it was a pretty town and good caravan park. That is Mt Remarkable in the photo, which is behind the town. We hope to climb it tomorrow.

When we stayed here a few years ago this creek bed was dry....now it looks beautiful and sounds delightful...we have camped right next to it.

So happy to see the blue sky and sunshine....and a cold beer!

One of the old pubs in Melrose....

This building was once a brewery and it is again now....it and surrounding buildings have been restored and it is now a popular brewery in the area. We might have time tomorrow to sample some beers.

Pete took this photo to show you our lovely view of the trees and creek.

 

Some good views of the south eastern mountains of Wilpena Pound. On our way to stay in Wilpena Pound camp ground.

We stopped at this lookout to see more of the mountains of the Pound.

More mountains, not part of the Pound. The Cypress pine on the right are very common in the area around the Pound.

Our luck has run out, the weather bureau is predicting high winds, rain and thunderstorms. We thought we might get a short walk in...to Arkaroo Rock.

Rocks again...

...more wildflowers and views of the mountains...

Arkaroo Rock is a significant cultural site for the local indigenous people. The hike goes to a rock shelter with indigenous rock paintings.

Rain! on the walk back to the car park....the trail became a small creek.

Our golf wet weather jackets kept us reasonably dry....we had a cup of coffee and snacks while we watched the rain.

The name of the lookout attracted us...

It was worth taking a small detour to the lookout..a great view of the Wilpena Pound.

The view in the other direction...

We saw emus on our way to the Wilpena Caravan Park.

Our spot for the night....lots of trees and bush in the area.

Some of the surrounding trees of the caravan park.