We're just back from four nights at Mern Merna Station in the Flinders Ranges.

It was really fabulous.

We stayed in "Johnson's Cottage".  It is one of the original "two room" cottages that has been resurrected but not modernised too much. Cosy, comfortable and quiet with vistas to die for.

The hosts (Amanda and Adam) could not be more accommodating or helpful.

They also have a big homestead (Mt Aleck HS) available as well as a number of isolated campsites with long drops.

The homestead and cottage were one of the stops on the old Ghan rail line, so there is plenty of history around the place!

https://mernmernastation.com.au/

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One of the views from the cottage:

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Had a look at all the photos on the website.  What an amazing place.

The outback of South Australia has a difference to anywhere else I reckon.  We haven’t been up in that part of the State, yet.   :)

Some great looking campsites out there as well I see.

Derek wrote on May 13^th, 2026 at 9:17am:

Some great looking campsites out there as well I see.

There are a few station stay places around there - some are quite busy and cater to large groups, such as Mt Little Station or (confusingly) Merna Mora Station next door, where Mern Merna is about smaller groups and more isolation and seclusion.

We were originally going to take our camper trailer but I've got two bung hands, a bung foot and a bung elbow at the moment, so chose the cottage instead.

We spent a few days in the Flinders Ranges on our Big Lap.
Must agree with Derek, it's so different from other parts of the country.
So many homestead ruins about the place. The loop from Blinman to Parachilna to Brachina Gorge and back to Wilpena was a highlight of our Lap.  Would do it again.

On my birthday we did a loop from the station (just north of Hawker) to Parachilna town then down through Parachilna Gorge to Angorichina for fuel at @$3.40 a litre.

Then to Blinman to the North Blinman Pub for lunch. We then headed around past Wilpena and onto Hawker and then back to the cottage.

It is a spectacular drive through the gorge.  We stopped for a photo at the Heysen Trailhead as the trail goes by our street at home.

What I will never understand is that the gorge road is a well maintained dirt road (apart from some recent flood related damage that has been temporarily repaired).  It is easily and safely an 80kmh road.  But the grey nomads in their $150k top of the line land cruisers with all the assist technology can't do more than 40kmh and never bother checking their mirrors.  We ended up stopping several times to let them get ahead enough that we were out of the dust.  >:(

A lot of the grey nomads are just as bad on good bitumen roads.  Many a time we have pulled over and taken a break just to let them get out of the way.   :)

Sounds like you had a great weekend.

Not sure of they still do but the Blinman Pub used to have quite a big Camp Oven Cook-off.  I never got there but helped them get going quite a few years ago.