Driving over 400 kilometres to cycle only 40 kilometres! What was I thinking? Yes, it was the Mawson Trail again and I was keen to complete the section in the Flinders Ranges between Merna Mora Station and Rawnsley Park.
Anna, Lorraine and I had started out early from Adelaide. Sharing the driving, we managed to arrive at Merna Mora Station north of Hawker in the early afternoon.
It was mid-October and the daytime temperatures were already hot, but it would be comfortable to cycle in the early morning.
Although Lorraine was fit, she was not an experienced cyclist, so I planned to make the cycling as easy as possible by breaking the distance into three mostly flat to downhill rides. Anna had kindly agreed to come along as our support driver.
Ride 1 – Pine Flat (Arkaba Station) to Merna Mora Station along Moralana Scenic Drive
As we had daylight saving to give us an extra hour and the luxury of a support driver to check up on us, we decided to complete some of our ride that afternoon once the temperature had begun to fall.
We drove out along Moralana Scenic Drive to our start point at Pine Flat, the highest point of the Drive. It was quarter to five in the afternoon when we started cycling.
Lorraine was coping well with the occasional hill and the late spring views of Wilpena Pound Range were lovely.
Stopping to rest and take photos, we completed the ride by half past six.
After dinner we drove out to a lookout just off the Outback Highway and saw the sun set.
Ride 2 – Pine Flat (Arkaba Station) to Flinders Ranges Way along Moralana Scenic Drive
The forecast for the next day was very hot so we were up in the dark and began our drive out along Moralana Scenic Drive at dawn. We saw kangaroos, emus and even a dingo as we carefully made our way to Pine Flat.
As we unpacked our bikes, the early morning sun shone onto Wilpena Pound Range. Wildflowers bordered the road as we began cycling south.
Enjoying the early morning cool, we cycled with Red Range on our right and Wilpena Pound Range falling away behind us on our left. Soon we arrived to join Anna for morning tea. She complained that she hadn’t had time to get out her book!
We were still feeling fresh and it was not yet too hot, so we decided to try for the section between Rawnsley Park and Moralana Scenic Drive.
Ride 3 – Rawnsley Park to Moralana Scenic Drive
Anna dropped us in Rawnsley Park near the caravan park where the Mawson Trail comes in from Rawnsley Bluff. It was still before 9 o’clock as we headed off again. Soon we were on the Flinders Ranges Way and cycling steadily on the bitumen surface. We completed the 13.7 kilometres in under an hour and had plenty of time to return to our accommodation and change before going in to Hawker to relax at the Sightseers Cafe.
Soon the temperature climbed to 40 degrees and we were glad that we had got up so early. Thank you Anna for being our support driver.
Other short adventures on the Mawson Trail are
- Blinman to Brachina Gorge Road
- Wilpena to Rawnsley Park
- Spalding to Jamestown
- High Eden Road to Jacobs Creek
- Burra to Hallett
- Mount Little to Hawker
- Nuriootpa to Kapunda
- Brachina Gorge Road to Wilpena and
- Hallett to Spalding.
