Another day on an Australian safari

Not sure how or why but I was up early at 5.30am so I able to see some of the sunrise. I got go back to bed and read. Of course, I did fall back asleep again and didn’t wake until 8am. Which meant a quick shower and get dressed ready to meet and head off in the truck at 8.30am.

Yet another stunning day out around the property. We saw plenty of kangaroos, parrots, 3 wedge tail eagles, other smaller birds and, of course, more of the stunning scenery. I wasn’t feeling the best on the drive this morning, not sure if was because I hadn’t even had a cup of tea or just fibro related IBS.

Finally we stopped for morning tea (not quite sure why breakfast wasn’t first) and another pretty location. But there were quite a few flies around today (as you can see by Greg & Alice modelling their fly nets.

There wasn’t enough English Breakfast tea bags so I had a green jasmine tea – probably not the best choice since there was no vegan food (the others had a cookie) and I had NOTHING in my bag.

Patty picked up a blue tongue lizard that he spotted which was cool to see up close. We used to have them in our garden in Figtree but it’s quite some time since I saw one.

One part of the drive was a bit sketchy as we tried to get up a rather rocky path with a pretty steep cliff on one side. It took a few goes and engaging the hub locks before we made it up.

Finally at 11.30 breakfast was served – I had thankfully started to feel better. I had bircher muesli and some berries. The others also had a quiche.

We arrived back not long after 12pm and had a free afternoon ahead. I worked on a blog post and Kevin did some more work until lunch at 1.30.

Today with it being quite a bit warmer and more flies about, we had lunch indoors. There are so many lovely places to eat in this place – both inside and out.

Lunch today was a soba noodle salad for me and green curry & rice for the others. With some fresh fruit for dessert. There was some good conversation and we didn’t leave lunch until 3.30pm.

Kevin had a little more work to do, which he did while I worked on some blog posts, then we went up to have a swim in the pool.

The pool temp was lovely (though Kevin complained it was too cold until he got in) but there were a lot of wasps hovering over the water – which meant we didn’t use much of the pool. Luckily they didn’t try to land on us or anything. Kevin did manage to rescue 5 bees.

We only stayed in the pool for about 10mins because of the wasps, then sat on the sun lounges (which were nicely in the shade) and enjoyed the view for a bit before heading back to our room.

I finally caught up on writing blog posts before we went up to dinner at 6.30pm. Tonight we were back in the cool (& away from the flies) in the main house. Patty joined us again this evening.

Dinner was wonderful. Tonight I just had veggies, the roast potatoes being especially good. The rest also had salmon & kangaroo. There was lemon cake for my desert and white chocolate mud cake for the others.

After dinner we headed back out in the truck. We spotted lots of kangaroos our this evening.

Up on the hill we had post dinner drinks – just water for Kevin & myself and watched the day come to a close. Kevin flew the drone and got some very cool photos and video. We watched the stars come out again before heading back to the homestead.

I got a cup of tea, then it was off to bed to read for a bit before going to sleep.

Exploring Arkaba : 11th December, 2021

I had a bit of slow start to the day. Kevin headed off to do some more work. I read for a bit before getting ready and heading up for breakfast. Kevin joined us and we enjoyed our meal with a different view today. I had bircher muesli and some berries, followed by mushrooms on toast. ALL of it was amazing.

We then head out in the truck again (well except for Kevin who had more work to do). We explored a different area today.  I really enjoyed the dry river bed with the gum trees.

And of course, the stunning view of the ridge (edge of Wilpena Pound) showing the clear levels of soil.

We saw lots of kangaroos hanging out in the shade – though they all took off when they saw or heard us coming. Also quite a variety of birds and plants

We stopped for morning tea down by a water hole (which used to be the aboriginal womens watering hole). There were lots of dragon flies.

Again, it was a very elegant affair. I wasn’t really in the mood for a chocolate muffin but felt I needed to have it since it was made especially for me. Luckily it was light and fluffy and rather delicious.

We arrived back about 1.15pm.

Lunch was supposed to be at 2.30pm but it was after 3pm before we ate. Kevin was late so the chef might have been waiting for him (or she might have just been swamped since she’s just on her own when there is supposed to 3 of them).

Then it was back out in the truck for more exploring. Luckily Kevin had finished most of his work and was able to come with us. 

This time we drove out to the old wool shed (Arkaba used to be a sheep station). The shed was built around 1840 so was a pretty fascinating place and pretty cool to explore and photograph it.

We also got to try a wild berry – which was pretty delicious.

Kevin spotted an emu up on the Ridgeline which was pretty cool. 

At 6.30pm we stopped for appetifs (??) with yet another awesome view – I mean I don’t think there is anywhere on this property that doesn’t have a nice view. As expected the food was amazing. I think I had 3 !!

From here Greg & Alice walked back to the lodge while we rode with the guide in training. She stopped a number of times to give us some info. We also saw more emus and found a bee hive (just like the one Winnie the Pooh likes to steal honey from). Kevin also chatted books with her recommending a few of his favourites on evolution.

We were back abut 8pm, not long before the walkers. Since dinner wasn’t until 8.30pm Kevin went to fly the drone while I sat outside for a bit with a cup tea and enjoying the sunset.

Dinner ended up being quite late (speaking the chef later she did not know we were there and waiting – no-one had told her). I had a tofu for an entree (the others had blue fin tuna) and I had celeriac root with other veg for dinner (the others had duck). Everyone seems to love what they had. I didn’t have dessert since it was so late (almost 10pm) the others had stewed pear.

Another fabulous day. I can’t believe we’ve only been here for 1.5 days. Back in our room I read for a bit before going to sleep.

First time staying in wild bush luxury in the Flinders Ranges

After a good nights sleep we were awake about 6am and on the road by 7am. It was so good we had been able to charge overnight since, like yesterday, the drive ended up taking longer than expected.

The drive was through lots of farming country – wheat and sheep mainly.

And then into the vineyards of the Barossa Valley and it’s cute little towns. Today it’s all about getting to our destination though so no time to stop.

We arrived into the Keith charging point around 9.30. It was at a cute little hotel. We went and used the restrooms with lavender toilets and sink (which we were invited to do, plus we could use the lounge) and walked back to the car, where we sat and enjoyed breakfast – leftovers from last night. I think my salad was even nicer today – or maybe I was just more in the mood to eat.

There were no other stops, except for toilet stops. The landscape started to change as we entered the Flinders Ranges with more red dirt, trees and hills.

At 1pm we were pulling up to Akarba. The reason for our journey out here was for Kevin to install another Starlink.

After being shown to the Coach cabin, where we are staying (there are also 4 rooms in the main house), we were shown up to main house, introduced to some of the staff and presented with an ice cold towel and iced raspberry tea (which was delicious).

We were then shown into the cabin, which is lovely, and private. The only thing I didn’t like was the roo skins on the floor – so I rolled them up and put them under the bed. The bed heads were also made of sheep skins but they did feel like Koda :-). Besides the skins (not ideal for a vegan) the room was beautifully decorated.

View from the bed

Kevin and I got the car unpacked and then he headed off to get started on his work. I sorted out some stuff in the room. I did a bit of stuff on the computer, then went and sat outside by the big house and read. Then returned back to the room for a bit before dinner.

Dinner was supposed to be 6.30pm and we aren’t sure if they were waiting for Kevin or what. There is one other couple staying here and we were joined by our Guide, Paddy ??, for dinner, which was eventually served. (Dinner was Fresh Asparagus and then veggie risotto – both delicious) Kevin turned up a short time into dinner – pretty hot and tired from being on the room. The other couple,  Greg & Alice, seem very nice. They work in the travel industry so have plenty of stories to share.

After dinner we grabbed our jackets and headed out in the safari truck to watch the sunset and have dessert.

The views were spectacular from the top of the ridge where we stopped.

Talk about a very decadent experience. It was a full service desert. I had a pouched pear which was pretty tasty. 

We watched as the stars started to appear – so bright and clear in this sky – and then drove back to the station. At one point Paddy stopped the truck and we all just sat and listened to the quiet of the night and looked up at ALL the stars. It was definitely a wonderful start to our stay here at Arkaba.

We were surprised to find our room had been turned down and our lights put on. Such a nice welcome back.