Time to do some sightseeing , today we’re off to Rainbow Valley - about 70 klms south .
The drive down was different , as we left town it seemed like we were on a big flat plain for about 15 - 20 klms , before a ridge appeared on our right , then it felt like we were in a large valley surrounded by hills . Traffic was light , with several caravans coming towards us - probably for the games , they start on Sunday .
After about 70 klms , we turned off the highway onto a dirt road and were pleasantly surprised by wildflowers - white & yellow everlasting daisies . They lined the orange sand of the road , and made a nice picture . It was the same for the next 24klms in to Rainbow Valley - very scenic !!
Arriving at Rainbow Valley , we put some shoes on and looked at the information boards . There are 2 walks to do here - one is 1klm return through the sand dunes to Mushroom Rock , and the other is 1.6 klms return to the claypans . Again the wildflowers were out in bloom , here is a selection of them .
We wandered off toward Mushroom rock through the sand dunes , the walkway is a plastic mesh that helps stop any erosion of the dunes . Flowers were growing along the sides of the track and almost everywhere you could see - beautiful !!
Mushroom Rock is at the end of the track and is sandstone - like the rest of the ridges around here. The red layer at the top is harder and more resilient and has a higher iron and silica content , then there is the yellow & orange layer which has less iron & silica . It is sifter and has been washed away to form the dunes . Then there is the white bleached section caused by the iron & silica being leached out and deposited in the red capping . The white layers are soft and easily eroded , this also undermines the hard capping causing it to fall away in large chunks , it also leaves wonderful patterns in the rock from wind erosion . Under the cap of Mushroom Rock are swallows nests made of mud . There’s also evidence that aboriginies used here for grinding seeds etc .
The main feature of Rainbow Valley is a multi colour ridge in various states of erosion - a very impressive sight !!
There is a large clay pan in front of the ridge , it stretches back about 1klm and would be very impressive to see with water in it !!
There were a few tracks for an alternate way home , but we forgot to put in our extra water, and were down to quarter of a tank of diesel ( it would have been plenty - 250 klms worth there ) , but it was also 35 degrees and 2pm , so we headed for home . The other tracks may happen another day .
Here’s a map link :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QMWAhSpKVy4fw73VM-ch8qyug1E&usp=sharing
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