Travelling Worm

In this post: Spring flowers in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia.

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 40-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC went back to the Flinders Ranges for another dip into the magnificent landscape. We were last there just a couple of months ago, in July. At that time, there’d been significant rainfall in the region. The hills were cloaked in various shades of green. Since then, there’s been even more rainfall and spring has arrived. As well as the greens, there were the yellows, purples, reds, whites of flowers, both native and introduced.

The book I’m in

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. A fascinating tale based on the author’s own life.

Travel tips

If you can schedule a trip to the area in spring time after rain, it’s well worth it. The green vegetation and flowers make for gorgeous scenery. Though I do admit that I’d like to see it when it’s dry too.

Recommended restaurant

Flinders Food Co in Hawker. Great food and friendly service. In our two trips to the Flinders Ranges, we visited this restaurant five times.

The photos

Approaching the Flinders Ranges, we had our first glimpses of the flowers through the Jeep window:

The deep pink flowers on the hills are Wild Hops. The theory is that they were introduced by the camel trains that used to transport goods between the cattle stations, towns, and railway stations. The Afghans who operated the camel trains used to pad their saddle bags with the hops. Since then, the plant has spread far and wide.

A gallery of colours:

That’s all for today, folks.