Welcome to the second edition of Meet The Flinders, a series where I hope to showcase the people who live and work in the Flinders and whatever it is they offer – whether it be accommodation, food, drink or all of the above.
This time, it’s the turn of Moolooloo Station and owner Tarina Warren.
Moolooloo Station
Owners – Reece and Tarina Warren.
Accommodation – Shearers’ Quarters, Blinman Hut and unpowered campsites.
Attractions – Ferguson Gorge, Gap Creek, Hannigan’s Gap, Patawarta Lookout, Nuccaleena copper mine (ruins).
Location – 636 Moolooloo Road, Moolooloo SA 5730.
Phone – 0417 828 722
Website – moolooloo.com.au
Email – info[at]moolooloo.com.au
Pets – permitted.
Accessibility – Moolooloo Station and some campsites can be accessed by 2WD. However, other campsites and points of interest are 4WD only.
Let’s now get on with the interview.
Moolooloo Station Shearers’ Quarters
Hello! To start, could you tell me a little about yourself?
Reece and I bought Moolooloo and Moorillah stations nearly 3 years ago. This has been quite an exciting adventure as an expansion of our broad acre cropping farm on the Yorke Peninsula.
Reece has always been interested in Merino sheep and wool and was a shearer for about 18 years when we first met at Yorketown 25 years ago. I had moved to Yorketown to work as a physiotherapist on a one year contract and met Reece and we have now been married for over 20 years.
We now have 3 children, two girls away at uni and our son at high school. We feel very lucky to have the opportunity to spend time in two such amazing parts of the world. We are lucky to have the support of a great team and also our parents who love to help out on the station.
We usually have a full time team member up at Moolooloo to take care of the day to day livestock care and to look after the many guests we have come and stay with us.
It is such a vast area to care for, 609 square kilometres (60,000 Ha) with around 5000 sheep so there is always something going on.
We really enjoy the time we spend at Moolooloo and have found the local Blinman community to be very welcoming and friendly. We have made some good friends in the area and like nothing more than head in to the Blinman pub for pizza night on a Friday.
You’re on an elevator and your floor is fast approaching. How would you explain the station stay to the person next to you? Moolooloo is a vast and stunning property in the northern Flinders Ranges where you can come and stay to have a truly remote and private holiday experience.
All campsites and accommodation are booked exclusively to one group at a time. The options of how to spend your time are limitless.
Ferguson Gorge – Moolooloo Station Enjoy our walks and scenic drives, visit the various historic and cultural sites, watch the birds and wildlife, photograph or paint the stunning ranges, or just sit and relax by the campfire.
There is so much to do for all ages and dogs are welcome.
What is the best part of running station stay accommodation?
We love talking to the visitors and hearing about their time with us. It is like being on holiday every day.
They are having such a great time, and they are so grateful to be able to share such a pristine and remote part of the outback. Best of all are the photos that people send us after their visits.
What makes your station stay unique compared to other options in the Flinders Ranges?
That all accommodation and camping areas are secluded and private.
No shared areas.
Are there any plans for the station that future guests should be excited about?
In the future we would like to develop an amenities block to enable visitors to shower when camping with us.
We also plan to set up some powered sites in the same area. So far progress towards this is around stepping up the power capabilities as we do not have network power so depend on solar and batteries plus generator.
We are also looking in to ways to use the ground water as limited rain water is also a limiting factor here.
