Hawker is the next town on the trek north from Quorn. Once an old railway town, it retains much of its 1800s charm. A small yet busy place, being a popular spot for day trippers and a staging point for venturing further into the Flinders. From here there are two possible routes that one can take. One continues on the main B83 through Parachilna, the iron ore company town of Leigh Creek, then on to Lyndhurst and the end of the bitumen. Then there is dirt all the way to Maree before either taking the Birdsville or the Oodnadatta tracks which are out of my league. The alternative route travels on a minor bitumen road via Wilpena Pound to Blinman. After that your on your own in real 4x4 desert country.
I wanted to visit Beltana Station and Farina both heritage ghost towns so my initial route will be to take the first option via Parachilna up to Lyndhurst from where I intend to brave the 25 km Maree Road, dirt, trip to Farina. I will then back track to Parachilna and its Gorge before cutting across to Blinman on a 35 km gravel road. From there it will be south to Wilpena Pound and finally back to Hawker. Phew did you get all that?
I forgot to mention that the country from Quorn to Hawker had many examples of beautiful old deserted Homesteads of 1800s vintage that I mentioned in a previous post. I suspect that I will find many more in around Beltana and Farina.
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