The bushland calls
Of my childhood dreams
Amongst the wild
My soul it, sings

The gentle breeze
light upon the skin
Sun upon my face
it welcomes me in

To the lands of summers
Though now long gone

Memories of the heats haze
With a white juvenile horse
Within a closed off field it lay
But young and free it was born

Birds flying high above
Shielding the rays of the sky
Perfectly clear a crystal bright blue
Not a single cloud in sight

Fields filled with nothing
But the dirt beneath our feet
Dull patches of green and yellow
Amongst cattle it feeds

A rooster it crows loud
The chooks begin to run
As bruce, a little staffy
Chases them about

Work shed full of tools
Covered by a rusted tin roof
Parked beside it old barrols
And a broken down ute

Stone walls of the house
To keep it cool inside
Spread across the cold floors
A reddish brown cowhide

Worn down leather couch
Out upon the front porch
An eski filled with stubbies
Where the boys had their "talks"

I feel the memories flooding back
This peacefulness, this sense of home
Hours pass by within seconds
Losing myself in the zone

My footsteps have long faded with time
As has my name once carved upon the gumtrees
The white stallion no longer grazes near by
Nor do the same cattle dwell in that field

Worn down by time and way of the land
Though I do intend to return again
To share the beauty of this place
Drawn back by the old fate

The day melts away like the snow
And I hear my parent calling my name
This place will forever be my second home
Because I know here, I'll never be alone

Abruptly rearing up a thousand feet out of a thousand miles of flat South Australian desert, a massive plateau with near vertical flanks. Rich red coloration of the abrupt cliffs which separate it as a different world from the surrounding terrain and topped with a mantle of dense, pale green eucalyptus gumtrees.

Unbelievable to approach, seemingly impossible to perceive, like a rearing giant brontosaurus amid the sands of a vast hot flat swamp.

A part of the Flinders ranges in South Australia, it is populated by huge, solitary grey kangaroos, screaming flocks of pink breasted galah's and a *** pouri of rapacious and venomous snakes and spiders plus clouds of ******* blowflies the like of which you would never wish to encounter again.

Hike on the narrow switchback trails and you will sweat a river of perspiration, the incessant heat of a burning overhead sun will have you running from sparse shade to shade. Precious little cover afforded by the spindly gum trees, the ascent is steep and the reflected glare and heat off the burning red earth will have you visualizing the instantaneous relief of a tankard of chilled frothy ale in no time flat!

The Wilpena Pound is a genuine wonder to behold. In a country of scores of vast geographical and geological wonders, Wilpena is unique in that it is a complete surprise to come upon and spectacular, beyond words. Not to be approached lightly or ill equipped it is reminiscent of Arthur Conan Doyle's fabulous  "Lost World". This giant uplifted plateau is uncomprehendingly isolated, challenging and massive.
A truely incredibly monolith, this vast structure is indeed unique and brutally rewarding to those few who venture forth seeking adventure in the challenge that is WILPENA.
One of a multitude of wild wonders of inland Australia.

M.
December 1998