Farina was surveyed in 1878 although people had been living here by the Government Gums waterhole before that. It was named “Farina”, which means “flour” as it was imagined that the area would become the “granary of the north. The famous Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks saw their beginnings as the drovers and cameleers worked northwards from Farina. Farina was at the end of the first stage of the narrow gauge “Great Northern” or “Port Augusta to Government Gums” railway line which became best known as the “Ghan”.
A number of scenic gaps pierce the West MacDonnell Ranges. One of these is Simpsons Gap, site of one of the most prominent waterholes in the region. The area is an important spiritual site to the Arrarnta Aboriginal people, where several dreaming trails and stories cross. At dawn or dusk Simpsons gap it is renowned as a place to see Black-footed Rock-wallabies along the gap's short walking track.
An amazing sunrise a few mornings ago.
