Quorn - BOG Muster - 29th Sept 2011

We have been camped at the Quorn Race Track with 60 other Bushtracker Owners for the past week attending the annual muster, each year it is held in a different part of Australia. We went to Jeparit in 2009 and just made the end of the Muster held at Herberton last year. This year Quorn and the Flinders Rangers was to be the site and an excellent choice it is.

We have caught up with many people we have met before and made many new acquaintances, most day's something has been organized but we all have plenty of time to do our own thing and explore the area surrounding Quorn. A few days ago G and V and ourselves drove to Hawker stopping along the way at Kanyacka Ruins. We had visited here previously but completely forgot that we had until arriving at the turn off, it certainly made us feel foolish but as things turn out there was the 'old shearing yards' that we didn't see last time which we did now, it also proves that we often explore over 'old' ground and always find something new.

Kanyacka Ruins







We drove on to Hawker where had lunch in the park and then headed back stopping in at a small old cemetery that was overgrown but still interesting. Back at Quorn Base the weather has been a mix of very cold days to stinking hot, two nights ago many were entertained by a Thunder & Lightening show, i missed it after putting in a late night and when the head hit the pillow i heard and saw nothing. One day G&V and ourselves drove to Dutchmans Stern which is on the road to Warren Gorge, it is renowned for having a great walk trail and spectacular views from the top. Vickie gave it her best effort and managed 2klms up the trail but her hay fever and difficulty breathing forced her to stop and rest and she decided to take her time and walk back down. G&V and myself continued on and effort was rewarded with the beautiful view. Of course going up meant coming back down so it was another 5klm walk back to the cars, my hip & body in general has been paying for the exercise since.

Dutchmans Stern





Yesterday the winds have picked up, a severe wind warning was put out with winds around 100kph expected so it was batten down the camp's. It was also the day for the demonstrations and Geoff & my Window screen replacement demo being last for the day was forgotten as BOG members ran around helping take down awnings. Unfortunately a large willy willy ripped through the camp damaging a few awnings and even blew one member over who was slightly hurt. Happy hour last night was held in the hall with entertainment provided by Nadine a local publican who gave us an insight into a person with split personalities, she needed an assistant and her eyes locked on me, i was quite relieved when someone called out Richards name who was sitting next to me and he foolishly got up ........ what happened after that was very funny as Richard was subjected to a cake making exercise with sexual overtones and the sticky flour eggs and liquid mixed up plastered over his thinning hair.

Storm Approaching



We awoke this morning after a windy blustery night, we are faced away from the direction of the wind and still have our awning out but tightly secured with many ropes. Laying in bed last night it sounded like everything was coming adrift but checking a few times all was secure and undamaged. With the Camp Oven Cook Off Day cancelled we went for a drive to Wilmington where we found the only cafe in town and had a coffee and morning tea, from there we visited an interesting shop that specialized in puppets and the more unusual of toys and gifts. A couple of small purchases for our Granddaughters later we drove onto Alligator Gorge which is part of the Mt Remarkable National Park, we chose to do two of the shorter walks one to the valley of the gorge which consisted of 227 steep steeps down and 227 back up plus a shorter walk to the look out. Both were interesting but to be honest we have seen far nicer.

Alligator Gorge