Flinders Ranges National Park

As mentioned in the last update we had some time to use whilst waiting for some mail to arrive, looking at the maps not too far away the Flinders Ranges took our interest. In winter 2013 we did a trip into Central Australia and passed through this area but did not get to have a look, by doing a big days drive we would be able to spend a couple of days exploring then get back on track heading west.

And so we left Alford heading north towards our destination, passing through Port Pirie and turning off the highway at Stirling North we made our way inland. Quorn and Hawker were the next towns we passed through, Hawker being the last major town before the remote regions of the Flinders Ranges for semi reasonably priced fuel.

When we passed by the area last year we thought the ranges looked very impressive and approaching again we were not to be disappointed. We decided our destination would be Wilpena Pound, access is good for caravans and it puts you central to what the area has to offer, they also have a resort with rooms and pool along with camping areas for tents so everyone is covered. There are a couple of other private campsites at Rawnsley Station and Willow Springs so be sure to research both if heading this way. Throughout the Flinders Ranges you can do many walks both long and short, one of the bigger walks is the Heysen Trail at 1200km starting in the south of the state at Cape Jervis and finishing Parachilna Gorge and there is also plenty of wildlife and Aboriginal art to be seen.

Although not looking to do any of the walking trails during our two days here we did have a couple of wants on the list, Skytrek which is 4x4 track on a private property which takes a day to complete and then a quick loop though Bunyeroo Gorge which takes in some impressive rock formations and joins with the geological trail which is another driving route through the park.

Our first adventure was to be Skytrek, as mentioned this is a track on Willow Springs which is a private farming property of some 70,000 acres. They ask that you start the track before 10am as it takes 6hrs to complete the 80km and they do not allow camping along the route so this gets you to the end around 4pm. The price is $65 per car, you get a slight discount if camping on the property, this gets you an information booklet with all the interesting sights and km reference points so you know how far around the track you are at any given point. Some points we found interesting were the Aboriginal engravings (Petro-glyphs) into the rocks which they believe were carved by a race of Aboriginals who inhabited the region before the current Adnyamathanha people.

Old Moxans Hut, built around the turn of the century the hut was permanently occupied by a station employee until the early 1960's!, quite a place to live that's for sure.

At the lunch spot there was information given of some new fossils having been discovered up the creek bed so we went to look and found this.

  Coming near to the end of the track your drive up some quite steep tracks of loose gravel, for those unused to 4x4 driving it comes as quite a challenge but the views from the top are reward with 360 degree vista of the surrounding ranges.

 I had read that the track had been modified in 2012 due to a dispute between the station owners and the owners on a section of conservation park bordering the property that the track ran through, how much I did not realise until we finished the track. The old track used to take you into the The Bunkers Reserve and up to the peak of Mt Caernarvon which we could see throughout the track, to me this has spoilt the Skytrek adventure enough for me not to want to return, for the money you pay you are just travelling around a station on tracks with similar views to what can be seen in other parts of the ranges.

Bunyeroo Valley scenic drive is just that, only 24km long it takes you through some pretty areas, Razorback is of note with a great view into the valley, Bunyeroo Gorge with its rock formations, it really is a photographers paradise. At the end of the track you can take a quick side track to Aroona, these are the ruins of an old sheep station and also an area were the artist Heysen spent a lot of time capturing the scenes around him and who the walking trail through the region was named after.

Razorback

And so that was it for our short but enjoyable trip to a most beautiful part of the country, from here we headed south towards Port Augusta and our eagerly awaited mail.