Nick Squires takes a trip to South Australia’s ancient wonder.
Among the series of rust-red mountain chains which stretch for 500 kms deep into the South Australian desert, the Flinders Ranges’ best known feature is Wilpena Pound. A massive crater, it looks as though it was formed by a meteorite but is in fact the eroded remains of ancient mountain peaks. Shaped like a huge soap dish, it is 17kms long and seven wide and looks like a giant has smashed his fist into the earth.
The local Adnyamathanha people believe the Pound was created by two enormous Dreamtime snakes, or Akurra. Clambering around on day one of my trip, it was easy to see a serpentine quality to the steeply-sided sandstone ridges which enclose the Pound.
The wind blows hard and the sky is a flawless blue as I pick my way along the saw-toothed rim of the crater-like depression, careful not to tread on the lizards scurrying across the path.
Quartzite rocks sparkle in the sunshine. Below, the floor of the Pound is covered in acacia and mallee bushes and, beyond, the tawny brown hills of the Flinders Ranges look as if they go on forever.
The nearby Wilpena Pound Resort, a low-key affair, is owned by twin brothers Keith and Dean Rasheed, descendants of Lebanese settlers who came to Australia in the 19th century to raise horses for the Indian Army. The brothers can often be seen zipping around the grounds in a bright pink Land Rover.
The resort occupies a shady spot outside the entrance to the Pound. There’s a restaurant, visitors centre, cabins, backpacker accommodation and camping grounds.
The resort’s manager, Bevan Roberts, shows me around the old Orapirina homestead, where the Hunt family ran sheep up until 1985, when the station was declared a national park. A classic outback farmhouse, mulberry, fig and almond trees surround it. The garden contains the gravestones of much loved pets, including Stumpy, “a mighty sheepdog, 1938–1953”.
“The early settlers were amazing people. There’s not a flowing river between here and Adelaide and drought hit them every few years. Their courage was incredible,” says Bevan as we gaze at the ABC Range — so named because it consists of 26 hills, one for each letter of the alphabet. The native pines which dot the hillsides give this part of Australia a hint of New Mexico.
Lizards skitter across the path and red-rumped parrots chatter in mulga trees as we climb to the top of Mt Ohlssen Bagge, one of the bluffs overlooking the Pound.
In the distance you can see the forbidding-looking Elder Range. “There are peaks which you could name after yourself if you could be bothered to climb them,” says Bevan. “The place is choc-a-bloc with Aboriginal engravings which have yet to
be discovered.”
From Wilpena I drive north, along white gravel roads, to a series of gorges for which the Flinders are famous. Parachilna Gorge’s distinctive craggy red cliffs are splashed with the tell-tale white droppings of kestrels and ospreys. At Brachina Gorge, swallows swoop over green-blue waterholes, where yellow-footed rock wallabies can sometimes be seen.
From the tiny village of Angorichina, I follow a 12 km return walk up a lovely creek to Blinman Pools, an oasis of life in the middle of the desert.
North of here lies Blinman, a picturesque old copper mining town. Copper was discovered here in 1859 by a one-legged shepherd, Robert ‘Pegleg’ Blinman, who stumbled — literally one would think — over a lump of ore.
Today Blinman consists of a handful of attractive stone buildings dating from the 1860s, a pub and a village store offering pies and cold drinks.
It’s a good place for a break before pressing on north to another one of the Flinders’ highlights, Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.
Once a huge sheep station, the property was bought in 1968 by a renowned geologist, Reg Sprigg, and his Scottish-born wife Griselda, who was the first white woman to cross the Simpson Desert.
They cleared out huge numbers of feral goats, camels and donkeys and turned Arkaroola’s 61,000 hectares of cinnamon-red mountains, water holes and twisting gorges into a private wildlife reserve.
The reserve’s name recalls the mythical Dreamtime figure Arkaroo, a giant snake which, legend has it, drank nearby Lake Frome dry, became bloated with all the water, then gouged out gorges and ravines as he slithered north to the Gammon Ranges.
The reserve also consists of a 20-room lodge, self-contained cottages, pool and caravan and camping grounds.
The atmospheric Pick and Shovel Bar is decorated with black and white pictures of camels being used to cart supplies around the region in the early 1900s. Old rifles and rabbit traps adorn the solid timber bar.
The highlight is the Ridgetop Tour. I am bundled into a 4WD truck with eight other visitors and taken on a 42 km, bone-jangling tour of Arkaroola’s spectacular hills and ravines, along tracks which were hacked out of the mountainsides by miners prospecting for uranium 40 years ago.
From Coulthard Lookout, named after a local Aboriginal elder, we can see the distant smudge of Lake Frome, “the whitest and driest salt lake in Australia,” says ranger Paul Mellor. “It’s only flooded three times in the last century — the last time was 1974.”
To the left, amid a jumble of peaks, is a hill known as The Armchair. “A lot of people reckon it looks more like a beanbag,” says Paul. “Personally I think it’s a dead ringer for Jabba the Hutt out of Star Wars. Use your imagination.”
We thump past magnificent ghost gums and along stony creek beds, rattling from side to side.
“This is a freeway compared with what’s coming up,” says our driver, a relentlessly cheery bloke called Dave Eason. “The next bit of the track goes over bedrock.”
Chunks of pink rock resembling Turkish Delight pokes above spiky-looking porcupine bushes, home to rarely-seen hopping mice and other marsupials.
Another 15 minutes brings us to the 610 metre-high Siller’s Lookout, a flat-topped mountain overlooking a vast plain. The track leading up to it is so steep that the vehicles have to pause and then race up at top speed.
It feels as though we are about to take off until Dave eases off on the accelerator and squeezes into a space no bigger than a ping-pong table at the last minute. Fifteen centimetres more and we’d have plunged down the side of the crumbling red cliff.
After gazing out over more crumpled hills and the distant Gammon Ranges National Park, it is time to head back down the track to the resort for a much-needed beer. With studied nonchalance, Dave inches the truck off the summit and down the pitted track.
“Don’t worry if I missed any of the potholes on the way up,” he yells over the wheezing engine. “We’ll make sure we get them second time round.” He is as good as his word.
Wielding a pair of tongs, Hardy Weyrauch grills chunks of meat on a sizzling barbecue at the Prairie Hotel, a 19th century pub in Parachilna.
The Prairie’s specialty, the ‘Flinders feral mixed grill’, is a winner. Along with emu patties and camel sausages, it consists of goat chops and kangaroo steaks, smothered in a tasty rich sauce.
Surrounded by scrub, and guarded by the distant peaks of the Flinders, the Prairie is an unlikely place to find gourmet dining. But after a long dusty drive on dirt roads such delicacies as pumpkin and walnut ravioli and emu liver pate are a welcome relief.
Built in 1876, Parachilna was a stop on The Great Northern Railway (The Ghan) from Adelaide to Alice Springs. But the track was frequently flooded and in 1980 it was re-routed, taking with it Parachilna’s whole raison d’etre.
The village now boasts a population of six, including pub owners Jane Fargher and her husband Ross, who bought the Praire in 1991 and also run nearby Nilpena cattle station. The 800 square km property offers quad and mountain biking and scenic flights.
“The Prairie was very run down,” says Jane. “Just a shabby watering hole for railway workers.” Today the pub also offers award-winning accommodation (Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet stayed there while filming Holy Smoke).
The Prairie is an attractive spot, notwithstanding the occasional dust storms, venomous brown snakes and the sign on a nearby gate which reads, “The owner is a vicious foul-tempered [so and so] — keep out.”
Some of Australia’s best outback bushwalking is found in the Flinders Ranges. Meandering trails lead to gorges, waterholes and rugged peaks. There are a range of tracks, from gentle strolls to extremely tough walks. The toughest of them all is the 1500 km-long Heysen Trail, from Parachilna Gorge in the central Flinders to Cape Jervis at the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is rated as one of the world’s finest long-distance walks.
The Flinders Ranges’ quiet, unpaved roads are ideal for cyclists, particularly those with mountain bikes. The biggest challenge — the Mawson Trail — is an 800 km cycling trail stretching from Athelstone, in Adelaide’s northeast, to Blinman, in the heart of the Flinders.
The Flinders Ranges is the gateway to some of the country’s most famous 4WD routes, including the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks, which start in Marree, and the Strzelecki Track, which begins in Lyndhurst.
There are also numerous 4WD tracks on properties in the region, including Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, Arkaba Station and Nilpena Station.
Bushwalking and cycling is best in the cooler period from May–Oct. Summer temps can reach 45 degrees Celsius, making outdoor sports uncomfortable, even dangerous.
Wilpena Pound is 450 kms north of Adelaide. Arkaroola is 150 kms further north.
From Sydney: West to Broken Hill, then down the Barrier Highway where a number of alternative routes lead to the Flinders.
From Melbourne: Mildura, then along the Murray Valley to Waikerie and Morgan, then up through Burra to Peterborough. Or take the main highway to Adelaide then head north.
From Adelaide: North to Port Pirie and Port Augusta.
From Brisbane: Due west through St George to Thargomindah, then onto Innamincka to join the Strzelecki Track.
From Darwin and Alice Springs: South down the Stuart Highway via Coober Pedy.
More information
For more details on Flinders Ranges, visit www.southaustralia.com. To contact the Prairie Hotel, call (08) 8648 4844 or visit www.prairiehotel.com.au
4WD
