Day 18: Flinders Ranges National Park (day 2)

This morning Darren and I woke before any of the kids but stayed in bed allowing them to have a much needed sleep in.
After breakfast and showers we did another drive through the Flinders Ranges National Park. Our first stop was Sacred Canyon.
Our drive took us past a flock of emus which of course we had to stop and get some photos.
To get to Sacred canyon we had to walk through a relatively dry creek bed. This involved a small water crossing and lots of rocks to climb, so the kids loved it. On the other side of Sacred Canyon, Darren re-lived his youth by climbing a tree. It was slightly harder getting down than he remembers.
After Sacred Canyon we continued on to Stokes lookout. The road to the lookout was up a very steep unsealed road. The 4wd is coming in very handy! The view at the top was beautiful, though a bit cold due to the height of it.
Next we travelled to see the Appealinna ruins. The story behind the ruins is basically; Joseph Wills acquired the land with the intention of farming it. When mining hit, a group of miners set up camp across the creek which Wills claimed was still his land. All involved wanted access to the water source. After a great deal of litigation, land re-zoning and even gaol time, the Wills family finally succumb to the drought and were forced to abandon the land. Like so many of the water sources in the Flinders Ranges, the once flourishing creek is now dry.
The next feature we visited was the Great Wall of China. This is a naturally formed rock formation atop a set of hills that look remarkably like the Great Wall, hence the reason for it's name.
We were all starting to get a bit hungry by this stage so we went to Blinman for lunch. This once bustling mining town is reduced to a single street that relies on tourism for income. The cafe we ate lunch in was originally the school house built in 1868 and had 110 students enrolled. The population of Blinman would now struggle to reach that figure in total.
After Blinman it was back onto the unsealed roads through Parachlina gorge. The gorges are absolutely spectacular and show the uniqueness of this part of the country really well.
We re-visited Brachina gorge after Parachlina gorge and once again got to see some yellow footed rock wallabies.
Finally we went to see the Aroona ruins. The story behind these ruins was not as interesting as Appealinna ruins. This one had a happy ending. The man who farmed this land was very successful. He farmed sheep for 15 years then sold the land before the drought and returned to England a rich man.
By the time we finished viewing these ruins it was about 5pm which meant a slow drive back to the park to avoid hitting a kangaroo.
Whilst driving, Darren spotted a couple of big red kangaroos fighting. He stopped the car so we could watch them. The cheeky kangaroos stopped and watched us then as soon as we started driving again they started fighting again.
Dinner was pizza we picked up from the restaurant on-site and took it back to the van to eat.
Tomorrow we are making our way to Woomera with a detour to Port Augusta for supplies and a visit to the Wadlata centre.