Pinnaroo to Wilpena Pound and first rookie mistake

Camping Rookie mistake number one

We had had a great sleep as we were so tired from all the driving, excitement and heat of the first day of our travels. We awoke at 7am to the sound of rain dripping on the tent. There had been a chance of shower late morning predicted in the weather forecast however we focused on the “chance” and didn’t take much notice. A thunderstorm came earlier than expected.

Put your gear away at night in case it rains overnight!

It rained very heavily for quite a while. When it stopped we got up and opened the zip to check out all the stuff we had left out in front of the tent. We had stuff on the table, our shoes and  socks, bags that had the tents, and our camp chairs. These were all really wet. Knowing that we were heading to over 40 degree heat in Wilpena Pound we knew it would dry out pretty quick.

Wrong way at the turnoff

Somehow I managed to get us going the wrong way by my dodgy navigational skills.


I was confidently referring to google maps and thought we were going the right way. When David realised we were going the wrong way we conveniently noticed a McDonald’s and stopped for a snack. We got back on track and continued on towards Wilpena Pound.

Wasn’t so bad after all. We eventually got back on track and continued the long drive towards Wilpena Pound.

Late lunch at Mount Bryan Hotel

We stopped for a toilet break at a park opposite the Mount Bryan Hotel. It was quite hot and we were hungry. We crossed the road and got a bit closer to see if they were open. We knocked on the door and were welcomed by one of the owners. We asked if they had anything available for lunch ( it was after 2pm) and were asked to wait while he located the chef.

We stood in the hallway and could see antiques and collectibles stretching towards the back of the old character filled home. A cat was ushered away and Kymm appeared with Simon. Instantly likable characters they said they could whip up a steak sandwich each. We were led through the lovely dining room into the bar. As we were the only ones there the lights were switched on, the music, and TV and coolers and were made to feel welcome at the bar while Kymm cooked up our lunch.

We both felt happy in this place. It was so full of antiques and interesting things to look at. In the dining room was some lovely photos by a local photographer. After hours and hours of boring driving and not much to look at this was so great!

There were some great signs in the place – one of my favorites was above the bar and it said…

Welcome to Kymm & Simon’s – Everyone who enters this place makes us happy – Some when they arrive , some when they leave. “

At one point a delightful little old lady came out from behind the bar and started chatting to us. We heard a few little stories and then Kymm came out with our steak sandwiches, as he went past the lady he said politely ” you right there mum”. This made me chuckle.

The steak sandwiches were delicious. Yummy toasted bread, with a tasty chutney and cheese. Lovely combination of flavors. We chatted to Kymm for a bit, thanked him for a lovely experience and headed back on our journey to Wilpena Pound.

Wilpena Pound and emus and Kangaroos

Once you get closer to Wilpena Pound you see the magnificent scenery. There are also emus and kangaroos to watch out for ( and goats). Driving slowly up to Wilpena Pound Camping Ground we checked in and were given a map with our powered site marked on it.

Finding the campsite was easy and next we had to work out the best place to put it. We could see where rain had made tracks in the ground a few weeks before and picked a higher bit so if it did rain it would bypass the tent. It was a hot 43 degrees and not really ideal temperature for putting up the tent.

Getting tent pegs in the hard ground

First part of putting up the tent was fine. Pop up tent and magically up. Out came the pegs and it wasn’t long before we knew we had a massive challenge on our hands. This site was perfect for trailers or vans but NOT putting up a tent.

We managed after lots of muscle power to get a minimal amount of pegs in enough to hold the tent down.

We also used a couple of nearby tree branches to tie the tent rope onto. These ropes also doubled as a clothes line to hang our  stuff on.

Dinner and bed

Once the sun went down it was quite pleasant sitting outside of our tent. We opened up all the zips so there was a bit of air movement  through the tent. I cooked up dinner and then we crashed after another event filled day.


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