Some days ago I got lost because I missed a sign. Below is my third attempt to get it right.

I tried the newly opened walk at Leigh Creek this morning because I think I now have a clear idea on where the path goes. The sun was just beginning to shed light at the far end of the earth struggling to be seen behind the white grey mass of clouds. It seemed that yesterday was a rare occurrence and there was no sign of any red glow.

I could see the signs now and was moving swiftly as I was now comprehending the surveyors mind. When there wasn’t a steel post I could see small yellow wooden posts that I had to line up with my eye and there would be another sign all pointing to Aroona Dam, my destination. At this time of morning I could hear only the sounds of two birds chirping, one a beautiful olive green parrot with a range of colours on its breast.

Up the short steep side of this challenging hill, along its rocky ridge making my own track but always going back if I couldn’t find a new one, and then lining up sticks again. The fences here are to stop wild dogs so they are very high and they have a specially steep set of stairs to straddle this very high fence.

what looked like newly polished stones of all colours brought my eyes to the ground. Mounds seem to have been human made and rocks surrounded special trees. On my way up another hill I noticed leaves of shale poking out from the ground and continuing up the ridge.

When I returned to our room I noticed these same stones in nearly every garden, only one of hundreds had a lawn. The only plants were native, which is a good thing, a mirror image of the outer hills.

I had been following Aroona dam signs for a while now, but now they were saying my home name – Leigh Creek. I started back to see where I had gone wrong but I could not find it. Corrie would be wondering where I was and there was still no mobile connection.

So I thought I was never meant to see this dam and left a little sad that it wasn’t to be. At home we had our last struggle with our technical stuff and wifi, hoping for better luck at the southern end of the Flinders Ranges.

Before we left we were encouraged by seeing some life in the town. Kids were being dropped off at school, two of them raising the Australian Flag and the Torres Straight Islanders Flag. A teacher came out with another flag which advertised wifi in the community library so we may try that before we go.

Hawker is our next home, another unique place that I will spend time traversing in the next couple of days.