Pannawonica or "Panna" is a small town with basic shopping but well stocked with all your needs, fuel is also available. If you don't own a 4wd, or an off road camper there is a small area near the oval where you can set up camp and stay a couple of days while exploring the river and surrounding areas. The library handles all the payments and is a good source of information. Pannawonica Hill lies about 5km south of the town and there is several variation of the Aboriginal dream time legend of how the hill came to rest where it is. But there is one thing for certain it is truly magical and spiritual place. In the summer when the rains come the Robe River flows past with such force and is an awe inspiring sight. In the cooler months the pools can be a wonderful place to swim. Unfortunately later in the winter / spring the pools do go off but are still a beautiful place to visit. Many different birds live in the area including Little Eagles and the Blue Winged King Fishers. Kangaroos abound and if you’re lucky the odd dingo can be heard in the night off in the distance calling.
I originally intended hiding the cache on the hill but that just didn’t seem respectful to the hill. So we hid it with a good view especially in the afternoon when the sun sets. In the dawn the hill comes alive also as the sun shows the changing colour of the rock.
The name was chosen because as we explored the hill we found a large, 6ft plus snake skin shed on the rocks belonging to an Olive Python. As we checked the crevices around the skin we found the owner. A beautiful large Olive Python curled up just snoozing, but keeping one eye on us. We were truly excited at our find as these pythons are listed as vulnerable and rarely seen.
The cache is hidden in a clump of rocks east of Pannawonica Hill, Just a word of warning, this area is well inhabited by other reptiles, suck as Mulga Snakes and Death Adders, usually not seen but just have a look carefully when moving rocks.
****FTF**** Congratulations Matthew Supertramp on FTF...