Parachilna. Population: 5 people and some temporary staff!

Managed to snatch a smidgen of a lie-in this morning (until 7am!) after a freezing cold night. Set off for Wilpena Pound soon after. This is a weird-looking mountainous area which looks like a giant crater. We opted for the 'long, easy' walk (6km) while all the lads went for the 'hard, short' walk! It was actually really easy, but the lookout at the end didn't really offer much of a view. We wandered back to the car park and looked in the visitors centre, then after dinner Me, Claire, Jenny, Becky, Paula and Celia decided to do a scenic flight around the Pound to get a good look at it. After giving the man behind the desk a bit of hassle we drove down to the airstrip, and our plane was tiny! I jumped in the front seat and there were 3 others in the back (Celia and Jenny went in a separate plane). It was good - you could see loads - and I got some good piccies hopefully. We could also see Rawnsley Park from up there! When our pilot was preparing to land he tilted the plane by 90 degrees, which made my head feel squashed and my belly a bit queasy!

The road to Parachilna was like a roller coaster in that minibus! We passed a kangaroo road sign too, and I persuaded Celia to stop so I could get a picture - I'm such a tourist! Once in Parachilna it was very, very small. There was the hostel, a pub, and a railway line. Apparently this was where some of the film 'Rabbit-Proof Fence' was filmed though. Discovered that we could've done a helicopter flight over the Flinders Ranges at sunset for the same price we paid for our flight that morning, so I probably would've saved my money if I'd have known cos I couldn't really afford both! Gutted.

In the evening we enjoyed some feral tucker (Parachilna's speciality), which consisted of Kangaroo Steak, Emu Burgers and Camel Sausages. Despite my guilty conscience I must say it was absolutely delicious. Especially the emu, it had a sweet taste to it. Lovely. After tea we sat on the railway platform and watched the sunset, then went to the pub for a few drinks and cards. Then me and Becky came back to the hostel to play pool, and at about 10:45 the nightly freight train honked it's horn and tore past on the railway line. We all flocked to the side of the line to watch it, and it was pretty impressive. At 2.8km long it took a fair few minutes to pass by!

Later on when everyone in my room had gone to bed I stayed up to play Truth or Dare with the others, and a Canadian guy called Greg got a dare to take down the kite from the ceiling, hang it on his back, and do laps of the pool table whilst making bird noises. It was hilarious! Donna had to drink a cup of water from the other side, Esther had to sing 'Tomorrow' from Annie, Peter had to moon at the window, and I had to lick the camel statue (from nose to ears). It was all good fun!

PS. Phrases of the Day:
1. "That's not a New Zealand name, is it?" - spoken by Claire on learning that Celia's last name was 'de Latour'
2. "Is this the shallow end? 9m? That's a bit deep isn't it?" - Christina standing by the pool and reading .9m wrong