Parachilna - Clare (beer into wine)

A great night in outback luxury of the Prairie Hotel/Brewery of Parachilna, the Ediacara Fossil Capital of the World. Chilly weather, but a warm greeting in the dining room for a wonderful breakfast before checking out some history of the town. Here, we found out that the owner of the hotel and nearby property 'Nilpena', Ross Fargher, has a fossil named after him, the Nilpena Rossi, because he found it on his property. Pretty cool.

We headed off to the Flinders Ranges via the Brachina Gorge, where we travelled through a majestic section of dirt road, passing through a number of layers of geological formations millions of years old. Along here, we were forced into Emu races, not once, but twice, and lost both times. The track was how we thought the Birdsville Track would be.

We made our way to Wilpena, which is right next to the Pound. There are a number of scenic lookouts into Wilpena Pound, but only accessible by walks. We didn't have enough time, so we checked out what is on offer in the Flinders. It's an amazing place. You'll need a week or two to get right into it.

So, we ventured south, destination Adelaide....perhaps! What the driver and navigator forgot was the 'wine trap'. A roadside lunch between Wipena and Hawker. We passed through Hawker and then on to Orroroo through which the landscape was barren, desert-like. Shortly after, still on a southerly journey the landscape quickly became lush improved fields, through a ghost town with just one double-storey building, a former hotel, a plush one at that, in a place called Yatina. For reasons unknown, we decided to 'google' this place. Nothing unusual except for the fact that Hollywood has recently finished filming a movie here called Royal Hotel, due for release this year sometime, starring Hugo Weaving and Julia Garner. We then came upon Jamestown, birthplace of R. M. Williams. We were on a roll now, feeling pretty chuffed we were stumbling upon all this info. When we got to the next town, Spalding, we were super-cocky we'd find something about sporting goods on google search....no, nothing happened in Spalding, just named after a village in England by one of the early settlers, that's it.

Next stop, the trap. Clare, the township, the centrepoint to the famous wine region, The Clare Valley. Absolutely no hope of passing right through, eh! Jen. We found our non-descript lodgings at the Clare Valley Motel. Right outside our rooms, 4 Tesla Re-charge points. The first one's seen since leaving Toowoomba. Tomorrow, Brett will attempt the improbable....getting out of Clare without hitting the wineries.Read more