Rhonda, Brian, Renate (our support driver) and I were staying at Rawnsley Park in the Flinders Ranges. We planned to complete the Mawson Trail between Blinman and Rawnsley Park over three days. Our first day was the easiest of the three. The first twenty kilometres heading south from Blinman were along the smooth bitumen of the Flinders Ranges Way. There were few cars and it was mostly downhill.
Renate met us where the Mawson Trail turns off the Flinders Ranges Way at Bulls Gap Track. We had a cup of coffee and a snack together, then she drove off to meet us at Brachina Gorge Road. We headed west on Bulls Gap Track. I had read elsewhere that this section was extremely rough, and it was in places, but not as bad as we had expected. Maybe the track had been graded since.
The ABC Ranges rose ahead of us.
Trezona Track
The track became smoother as we turned south onto the Trezona Track.
After another fifteen kilometres we saw Renate walking out to meet us.
We crossed Brachina Creek to where the car had been parked.
We had cycled 35 kilometres, and climbed 161 metres. Because the bitumen section had been easy, we were still feeling quite fresh and were looking forward to tackling the next section of the trail between Brachina Gorge Road and Wilpena.
Other sections of the Mawson Trail that are in the Flinders Ranges are:
- Merna Mora Station to Rawnsley Park
- Brachina Gorge Road to Wilpena
- Mount Little to Hawker and
- Wilpena to Rawnsley Park .
