At the edge of the southern Flinders Ranges, Wirrabara at a little over two and a half hours north of Adelaide, is a welcoming starting point for explorations further north.

Staying at the Wirrabara Community Caravan Park located just off the main street, behind Wongabirrie Park, you can easily walk to all areas of town to discover what it has to offer.

The caravan park has an onsite caretaker who greets us with some cheeky banter then allows us to park wherever we want in any of the 31 powered sites. The cost is $30 per night but for this we have power, water and no need to unhitch.

There is an amenities block with 5 impressive ensuite bathrooms and a laundry and there are even fire containers you can borrow to use with your own wood.

To get to town you can walk through Wongabirrie Park which has playground equipment, a rotunda and open space for kids to play. There’s also a colourful mosaic of a bullock team hauling logs, just one of a couple of mosaics to find in town and part of the story telling about this town.

Crossing a footbridge to the main road you walk past an old railway maintenance car that sits on some old rail line, and is typical of what was used when this line from Gladstone to Wilmington was in use from 1910 to the late 1980s.

A little further along is a steam engine that was once used in the Wirrabara forest in the 1880s for cutting timber. The engine drove a circular saw that was used for cutting sleepers during the days of the railway expansion.

In town you’ll find a supermarket, bakery, craft shop and tourist information centre as well as the Wirrabara Hotel a very cosy and welcoming hotel that serves good hearty meals as only a comfortable country pub can with friendly hospitality.

In town you’ll find another lovely tiled mural, which can be found on the façade of the library building, and across the road, another sign grabs my attention but as it was closed on the day we were there, I will have to stay intrigued until our next visit. The Book Brothel sign advises that for travellers there is a free book swap, but they also buy and sell books as well as old wares and antiques. They are only open on weekends so that’s noted for next time.

A short walk further will lead you to signage to follow to see the Wirrabara silo, which has one of my all-time favourite painted silos, created by the amazing Sam Bates (Smug). It depicts a forestry worker as well as subtle trees and local birdlife. The painting pays homage to Wirrabara’s forestry origins which were established in 1877 as one of the state’s first forest reserves.

Today the forest is managed by the Department of Environment and Water and has heritage buildings, forestry history, picnic grounds and mountain bike and walking trails to explore as well as Ippinitchie campground to stay in.

Just a sort walk past the silos you’ll find the start of a rail trail for cyclists and walkers which you can take from Wirrabara all the way to the town of Laura, a distance of 19 kilometres. This is just a section of the Southern Flinders Rail Trail that follows the former railway corridor from Laura to Wilmington, a total of 80 kilometres.

The trail is split into smaller sections and being mostly flat it’s perfect for all skill levels. There’s an intriguing section near the start of the Wirrabara section that draws you in to a tree tunnel, the remnants of an old pine forest planted back in 1877. This section is around 300 metres long but an incredible sight and feeling as you pass through.

Behind the silos you can also walk through an arboretum and sculpture trail, which the Rocky River runs through. This peaceful park walk amongst the trees also features a number of clever metal and wire sculptures, created by various artists, which are fun to find.

To find some of the sculptures you have to look up into the trees with bats hanging above and Joanna the goana in a gum tree. At the end of the sculpture walk you’ll be back at the caravan park, having just had a good walk of around 2 kilometres.

Next time you’re on your way to the Flinders Ranges, consider Wirrabara as a stopover, I know we will.

Cheers

Glenys