Parachilna to Arkaroola

 After another sumptuous breakfast, we loaded up the car, checked tyre pressures and headed off to our next stop in the Northern Flinders Ranges, Arkaroola. A short drive to Leigh Creek where we refueled and then set out to the IGA Supermarket to get a few essentials. At Arkaroola we are staying at a self contained cottage, and there is a restaurant on site, so we have choices regarding meals.

Breakfast in the cottage is the plan, so we need to get a few items, mainly eggs. You guessed it, the supermarket is sold out of eggs and the next delivery is on Tuesday. The hens must have Monday off.

Having enjoyed our 60 or so km of bitumen, we turn off onto the 135 km rocky dirt road that will take us to Akaroola. Very careful after our tyre shredding incident, we drive at moderate speed looking out closely for sharp rocks. After 2 hrs we are only a few km out of Akaroola village and notice a bit of a change in the sound of rocks flicking up under the guard on the passenger side. Yep, this time a flat tyre on arrival. The mechanic is already in the car park to greet us, assuring us he will sort it out. He told us to just go in to reception and register and they will take care of the tyre. 


Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary Main Building

Of course nothing is simple and on closer investigation there is a small fracture in the sidewall of the tyre. Another tyre off to the tip. I have had enough by now and asked the mechanic what tyres the locals use. Apparently Maxxis Razr All terrain tyres are the local favourite (and as it turned out, that was what I got as a spare in Hawker). It seems there is limited choice of brands anyway, so fingers crossed. Despite a reasonable range of tyres in stock here, my size was not one of them, so I have to order them from a tyre shop in Copley, and they will ship them up here on the mail run on Thursday, the day we leave.


The mechanics shed, well stocked with tyres


We watched the pile of discarded tyres grow in real time 

None of this is ideal. I have had enough of the Good Year tyres that came with the car, which might be called all terrain, but the piles of tyres at the repairers around here have stacks of them that have had to be replaced, mainly from Ford Rangers. I bite the bullet and order 4 Maxxis Razr's from Copley and it turns out that one of the resort guys is going to Copley tomorrow and he will pick them up, bring them back here and they will be fitted Wednesday morning.

Hopefully I will have a better experience with them, but with long stretches of rocky dirt ahead of us, it was not worth the risk of continuing with the current tyres.

We settled into our cottage, which is very comfortable, and booked a tour for Wednesday afternoon as tomorrow is fully booked out. Naturally the most scenic part is only available through a booked tour, no public access. There are a few good walks that start from the resort which should keep us occupied tomorrow.


Our Comfy 2 bedroom cabin


There is an electric car charging facility (unused)

There is a lot of motel type accommodation here and it seems reasonably full. Late in the afternoon an AT Kings Tour Bus arrived and now it is very full. It is probably the reason the Ridge Top tours are booked out tomorrow.


There are 2 types of "motel" accommodation, ideal for tour groups




Similarly with the restaurant, we were told they were very busy, but we managed to get a dinner booking for 7.30 pm.

  At 5.30 pm they have a viewing area  where the yellow footed wallabies come close to the resort, obviously attracted by food and water they must put out. There are lots of people there when we arrive ( it looks like the whole bus tour is there), but so are a small number of wallabies as promised.




The tyre man is still busy at 5.45pm

When we arrrive for dinner, the restaurant is packed. Whilst waiting to be seated I met up with the guy from Perth whom I was speaking to at Skytrek Willow Springs. He was part of a group of 8 members of the Landrover Club of Perth, who had done the Skytrek 4wd trail whilst we were there. He asked how our trip was going and I told him of my tyre woes. It seems they have also had 7 damaged tyres in their group. 

Dinner was basic but good, and service surprisingly quick given the number of people in the restaurant.

Internet availability here is OK, but you have to go to the public area of the main building to access it. Early in the morning the access speed is quite good. 

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