Argadells, Hill Style We were very happy to be able to finally get away on some sort of holiday. We had organised for a dog-sitter for a whole week, so we headed off to Andrews Farm to drop off Sammy. All was going well. The plan was to head off to camp mid-way between Clare and Quorn. Laura looked good., head up to Argadells for the Wanderers trip, then Wilpena for a few days. Should have realised that when things go well for us, that was a bad omen. Got just past Tarlee on the return trip, when a strange noise, had us stop the car quickly. Bugger, as we stopped the temperature gauge hit the roof! Only thing to do was to wait until things stopped gurgling, then check under the hood. Since we were carrying plenty of water, we decided that we would top up the radiator, and after testing that the car would cope, to travel 15km at 60kph, heading home to Clare. When we finally checked, it was evident that the radiator was stuffed. With the public holiday on Friday, the car place could only get us a new one on Saturday morning. So we settled in for the duration. I think sulked was probably a good definition of the mood. Everything we needed was in the car, and if we unpacked then we would need to do a full check before leaving again, so we lived very frugally for 2 days. Word around Clare, being a rural town, is that parcels can go missing for days, so we were extremely grateful when the radiator actually arrived, as promised, first thing Saturday morning. After checking with Tony on details, we headed off. Thankful that all was well as we went. On arriving at Argadells, we finally found our way to camp, where we were greeted by numerous members, who were on their way off for a drive. We set up quickly and John joined the group, while Kym stayed and caught her breath. It was very nice to sit around a campfire, (Clare area was still in Fire Ban), and enjoy the banter of our wonderful group. The rain dampened the meal preparation somewhat, but I can vouch for the size of Tony and Sandra’s awning. If rain is predicted and Garry is going on your trip, make sure that he brings a jacket. He had insisted it wouldn’t rain, so he left his jacket home. He was blamed for the rain. We all stood and ate damper until most of us had been flooded with water by various members of the group who were worried about the water pooling on the top of the awning. In the morning we were woken by people preparing to leave. They had decided that they would make the most of the break in rain, to get ready and head back home. We had decided to stay on a couple of days more, and after saying goodbye, settled by the campfire. Maybe I shouldn’t say so, but the weather fined up then and stayed fine for the rest of our trip. If we brought the rain with us, then the rest of the group took it home with them! At one stage while filling the billy for tea, the water ran out. We had used so much getting home from our storage that there was none left, and there isn’t enough to fill up from the tank at home yet. We had intended filling up at Laura, but of course that never eventuated. So we decided that we could make do with what we had, especially as is was nearly Happy Hour, and would head off in the morning. Due to being without power for several days, we needed to recharge the batteries. We had decided that since we had never camped at the Wilpena Caravan Park, that would be good, so off we went. As luck would have it, Wilpena didn’t have any powered sited left, and we had seen the Rawnsley Park sign, just a few km’s back, so that was our plan now. I don’t know why we had always gone past this place. I think that we had thought it was not for camping, but we were wrong. They cater for every style of accommodation. While booking in, John picked up some brochures of the area, including walks that you could do from the camp. One would take us to the Rawnsley Bluff, a mere 12km (or 5 hours). We set off at 10am the next day, me with my walking stick, thinking that if it got too difficult or late then we would head back, having enjoyed the walk. Well, I don’t think I would like to walk the trail again, but we made it to the top. Fortunately there were another couple there to take our photo, so we have proof as well. It was an exhilarating feeling, making it to the top of a 1.2km steep climb. We enjoyed it a lot. Coming back down was a little awkward, though, and by the time we reached our car at 5pm, we couldn’t move. Needless to say tea was very easy that night, and the next day we spent in some sort of exhausted, but elated haze. We enjoyed our trip, and thank Tony for his support while we were annoyed at the car misbehaving. Kym and John Disclaimer : please note Home Page