Grant and Linda discover one of the Flinders Ranges' best kept secrets

After being on the road for a little over a week and taking some fabulous back roads to explore the state’s mid north, we pointed the 79 towards the Flinders Ranges. It had been a great trip so far, and we were particularly looking forward to this next leg and staying at Mount Little Station. As part of Station Stays SA (a collaboration of SA outback, Flinders and Gawler Ranges stations), Mount Little Station is one of nearly 30 in the group that runs tourism alongside pastoral interests. As is the case with most things, station stays vary with their offerings, but generally include a smorgasbord of experiences. Accommodation can be anything from bush camping through to five star glamping, and activities like 4WD tracks, walking and cycling trails. But when they throw in some spectacular natural attractions, bird and wildlife, plus tasty food options and plenty of history, well, they’ve really got a bit of everything. Arriving in the southern Flinders Ranges town of Wirrabara just on lunch time, a bakery lunch was on the cards. Julia’s Café and Bakery is a local institution here and renowned for serving up some of the best food in the district. So how were we supposed to go past that? Their pie of the month (beef chilli con carne) was full of flavour, and we finished off with a lip smacking banoffee donut. Real crowd pleasers for outback bakery die hards like us. From Wirrabara, we continued north along the Horrocks Highway for around

90 minutes to the Flinders Ranges hub of Hawker. Besides the roadhouse selling fuel, some groceries, and a few snacks (not that we had any room for anything after lunch anyway), we love how the roadhouse come information centre has a terrific historical book collection. This is one place where we never walk out empty handed and pick up something to add to our book collection each time we visit. As we left Hawker and continued north on the black top, the view to our east was spectacular to say the least. Along this section of the highway, we were flanking the western side of the very impressive Elder Range which was towering up almost 900 metres. We’d only been driving for 20 minutes once leaving Hawker before arriving at Mount Little Station’s entrance track. Those million-dollar views continued with the Elder Range being the station’s backdrop. How lucky we were, and with a view like that, we knew we were going to be in for a treat over the next few days. Following the entrance track in for a few kilometres, a quick look at the map showed we were parallel with Hookina Creek. While it might be called a creek, in reality it’s more comparable to a riverbed, when its width is more than four Olympic sized swimming pools. So it’s far from being an average creek! Along here we saw dozens of towering gums lining the creek too, and their massive girths gave a good indication that they weren’t young by any means. At a guess, they could even be older than when the first Europeans arrived in the district. We pulled up alongside the station homestead and were met by one of the station’s owners, Kellie Zadow. Alongside her husband, Peter, the Zadows have been at Mount Little Station since 2018. Their other interests lie further south in SA’s Riverland region, so you could say they’re relatively newcomers to the district. While talking with Kellie, she tells us about the property and hands us a folder that’s overflowing with all sorts of information about the

station and its surroundings. We learn that the land around this area of the Flinders was originally divided and offered to returning soldiers from WW1. Back then, Mount Little Station was initially set up for cropping, but the Flinders sporadic rainfall made that unviable. A decision was made a few years later to shift to farming sheep. As is often the case, modern stations are an amalgamation of neighbouring properties to help make them sustainable, and that’s also the same for Mount Little. The station today is around 24,000 hectares and runs 2,500 merino sheep and a small number of cattle, but these numbers can fluctuate when you’re at the mercy of mother nature and relying on rainfall. After leaving Kellie and getting back into the vehicle, we headed off to set up on our designated campsite using the mud map we’d been given as a guide. We soon gathered while driving the short distance to the camping area that there wasn’t going to be any bad spots to camp around here. All the campsites we passed were well spaced apart, with each having plenty of space and more than large enough for a few groups. On top of this, each had a fire pit included so you can BYO firewood or buy some directly from Kellie and Peter. Near the camping area are some amenities where some solar showers, toilets, and a well set up camp kitchen are available to all. We pulled up at our campsite next to Mount Little Gully and it was well and truly a ripper! We had picturepostcard views of the Elder Range from our doorstep and like the other station campsites, ours was also large enough to fit a few groups. We already knew we’d find it hard to drag ourselves away from this spot. The next few days we hit the tracks around the property to experience as much as we could. With the main track from the camping area cutting north through the station, we found many of the attractions peeled off to the east or west of this main track. When the station has such a long and interesting history, there was definitely no shortage of things to see. We started

The old Metters name for stoves has been around for years, especially in SA.

An old underground pantry with some bits and pieces of yesteryear.

Campsite breakfast with a view. by visiting around a dozen scattered ruins that consisted of old houses, woolsheds, and numerous farming relics. Roy’s Ruins and its surrounding area is one spot where we spent considerable time as there was lots to look at. The Stone family was one of the district’s original settlers, and Roy Stone lived in the old house for many years that’s located here. The settlement of his family was a stone’s throw away and where the original homestead ruins plus an underground cellar still stand. Not far from Roy’s Ruins we made a beeline for Woolyana homestead to take another look around. We found the house here was far more substantial than the one by Roy’s place and currently undergoing some reno work. While talking with Kellie when we arrived, she explained the old stone building was going to be brought back to life and into

the 21st century. They’ve got a plan in place to use the restored homestead as another accommodation option at Mount Little in the future. Another building that’s not so old is the Goat & Goon Saloon that sits on a hill backing onto the Elder Range. With a name like that, we weren’t quite sure what to expect when we got there. However, as it turns out, the structure was built by the previous owner and used as a base for boys’ trips while hunting goats up in the range. Not a bad looking place to camp if you ask us! As far as natural attractions go, there’s plenty to visit along the Elder Range. One of the station’s highlights is Mayo Gorge, and it’s quite close to the camping area. The walk from the car park into the gorge turned about to be an easy one and only took us just on 15 minutes. As we got closer to the gorge’s permanent waterhole, we loved how the gorge walls increased in height until towering well above the waterhole several metres below. We can understand why this is such a station

favourite with visitors (and the wildlife) as it’s a little oasis. Besides these attractions, we found there was plenty more to experience. The Heysen and Mawson Trails are iconic in South Australia, and both run through Mount Little Station. Bringing a couple of bikes here wouldn’t go astray and hiking one of the many trails around the place is something we’d like to do next time. We’ve already mentioned how good the views are here, and whether exploring the place on two or four wheels, or simply on foot, those views can be captured at a few designated lookouts. Although in reality, we found we couldn’t go wrong anywhere at the station. Simply perching ourselves on a bit of a hill near the Elder Range, we found the surrounding views were pretty good in every direction and the perfect spot to have a sundowner. Alongside Mount Little Station’s own pastoral history, there’s railway history as well. The ruins of the old Hookina township are located just by the station’s entrance track out on the highway, while the original Ghan line runs smack through Mount Little itself. Hookina came about around 160 years ago, when it was found to be located next to near-permanent water. A pub kicked off in the early 1860s, and some stables, stockyards, smithy, and a hut or two later followed. Back in the day, Hookina was used as a resting point for bullock wagons carrying things like food and building materials north, and for taking wool south down to Port Augusta. This all happened before the Ghan was built. After the bullock wagons were replaced by the old Ghan railway, a railway bridge was constructed over Hookina Creek near the original townsite. That was an achievement in itself, as the bridge needed to span a whopping 250 metres. After a torrential downpour in early 1955 caused major flooding of the creek, the bridge was washed away. Although that incident wasn’t the first time flooding had caused problems at that location, and it was a culmination of Hookina’s flooding problems that contributed to another Ghan line being

built further west. Unfortunately, that flood in 1955 didn’t help the new railway line either. An unfinished bridge on that broad gauge line being constructed further west also washed away on the same day! When we walked across the creek where the railway bridge once stood, the creek bed was stone dry. However, the heavily eroded banks and the overturned mammoth gums soon divulged the secrets of the damaging floodwaters of the past. A little further up the main highway, we looked around the Hookina cemetery that sits on the edge of Mount Little Station’s land. It was a small outback cemetery that had a similar story to others we’d visited, and another reminder of the difficult times faced by those early pioneering families. Our last night coincided (or as we like to call it, well planned!) with one of Mount Little Station’s pizza nights. Wood-fired pizza in the bush and I don’t have to cook? Yes please! We arrived at the station’s tavern about 30 minutes before sunset and the place was already in full swing with guests. That’s little wonder when the tavern is located at another cracking spot to take in those views and right beside the refurbished woolshed. We also saw the original Mount Little homestead near here that today is one of the station’s luxury accommodation options in conjunction with a couple of sunset retreats. Walking towards the tavern, we found chef John was already whipping up a range of pizzas in the station’s woodfired oven (which he also built).

Station guests were all rugged up and getting cosy around the nearby campfire which was no surprise when evening temperatures were dropping quickly. With great pizzas, a few laughs and good conversation, plus something to wet the whistle, it was a fabulous night all round. We could have easily stayed much longer at Mount Little Station, especially when Peter and Kellie made visitors like us feel so welcomed in their big backyard. While time may have got the better of us this visit, we’ll be back to further explore and enjoy this fabulous station that’s a highlight of the Flinders Ranges.

Ancient river red gums don’t stand a chance when torrential rain soaks the ground.

INFORMATION BAY

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Call Peter & Kelli Zadow on (08) 8648 4206 or 0411167259 mtlittlestation@outlook.com www.mtlittlestation.com.au