Appila Springs, South Australia — The First Place

Appila Springs, South Australia

Couple of dead freshwater crayfish or yabbies as they're known.
Probably dead due to hypoxia of the water. I'm speculating.
This was taken back in late January 2024, during summer here.
Not much flow could be seen during my visit.
This combined with the hot weather could be the cause of low
dissolved oxygen levels in the water (hypoxia) of this pool.

Also visible toward the end of the video is the beautiful rock outcropping that overlooks the camping ground.

This is a beautiful little spot in Mid-North South Australia.
It's been at least 5 years since I had the opportunity to visit.
You can camp here gratis and there's a whole gully and creek system to explore.
They're called Appila Creek and Appila Gorge, respectively, and unsurprisingly.
The creek meanders it's way North roughly 20 kilometres to just shy of the town of Pekina.
The gorge extends less than a kilometer.
The town of Appila is about 7 kilometres to the South East of this place.

Appila was intitially established in 1872 as Yarrowie, an Aboriginal word meaning 'hunting place.'
The Yarrowie Hotel in town, privately owned and no longer operating commercially, reflects this.
Later in the town's history, the name was changed to Appila-Yarrowie.
Then Yarrowie was dropped completely to avoid confusion with the many surrounding towns whose names also end with the '-owie' suffix.
The town can be seen within a half-hour walk if you're so inclined.

Personally, the draw for me is the beautiful gully and creek. If you ever find yourself in this region, take the time to have a look and maybe even pitch a tent or roll out the swag for a night.