We tried to leave the hotel at 8am but there was no one around for us to settle up with.We knew breakfasts were served from 8.30 so there should be someone around. We told a cleaner we'd leave and pay on our way back but thankfully the barman showed up and he said that would be fine. So we set off north to the edge of the outback to have breakfast in Copley,a typical little australian outback township that appears to have no purpose. However it does have a big open cast mine to the north and coal trains trundle down to the power station in port augusta on the updated Ghan line. It also has the famous Quandong cafe and bakery where we had our first full english breakfast since we don't know when. Sacha had their quandong pie too! The road was a bit rough even though it was still a sealed road as the recent rains had brought rocks and debris onto the bitumen at the many floodways that cross the highway. On our return south we took a side turn onto the old road which passed through Beltane,a place that describes itself as the town that refuses to die. For over a 100 years this was the most important town in the area as it was the railhead for the original Ghan railway and the home base for the camel trains North to Alice Springs and Darwin. We stopped off at the well built by the Afghani cameleers to provide their camels with water. The trough is still in use today and full. A new railway line was built to the coal mine near Copley on a more direct route in the 1950's replacing the ghan line and the new highway bypassed the town. The town has mainly fallen into ruin apart from a few remaining residents including the old station now a private residence.
We duly stopped at the Prairie hotel to settle our bill and proceeded to re enter the Flinders Ranges via the Parachilna gorge towards Bliman which was another spectacular drive along dirt tracks and through rocky river crossings . We even saw some feral goats and the cactus that is also an unwelcome resident here and subject to an eradication programme. We were now retracing our steps somewhat to Hawker where Sacha was able to buy a stamp as it possessed a post office,a rarity here just as it is at home in rural areas. Our route now took us towards Quorn. On the way we passed many derelict and abandoned homesteads from the glory days of the sheep runs in the mid 1800's,none more so than the Kanyaka station. We stopped to view the extensive ruins of the homestead and the shearing sheds. It seem incredible that 100 000 sheep and 150 men and their families lived here. By the 1880's drought and overstocking forced its abandonment just as the new Ghan railway was passing through. Its own ruins are visible as you cross small creeks as brickwork has lasted longer than the trackbed which has mostly eroded in the harsh weather conditions out here. Close by is the Kanyaka waterhole,an important aboriginal site with its Death Rock,where they used to leave the dying . It is still in use as a watering hole for the few farm animals one can see roaming the bush. We saw just as many emus too. Arriving in Quorn we found the cafe with wifi and a delicious Quandong slice. The town is remarkably unchanged since its heyday as a major railway town with the original Ghan and there is a preserved line down to Port Augusta, the Pichi Richi railway (next time). The town has been used extensively in films including Gallipoli.
It was now a 3 1/2 hour drive back to Angaston. The countryside was now all agricultural and we passed through many small townships,all full of colonial buildings with their lovely verandas. Sadly most of the shops seemed to have closed down but those that remained seemed to be reliant on tourism ( cafe/bakeries and galleries). As soon as we passed the sign welcome to the Clare Valley the first field we saw was a vineyard and there was even one field being harvested mechanically in the dark. That wine will presumably be available to you at Aldi in a month or two! We arrived home at 7 o'clock so there was time to unload the land cruiser and walk to the local pizza parlour where enjoyed the best pizza in Australia ( smoked local meats) and South Australia ( brie and avocado). We've never seen pizzas so full of toppings,they were delicious.
We even had time to watch Hunt for the Wilder People that kate has been wanting to see for some time before we all went to bed tired after a very long day.