Flinders Ranges?

Hi Odog
We have just come back from 10 days in the Flinders and had a ball. Really spectacular scenery and some great walking & 4WDriving if that interests you.
We stayed at a few different stations such as Rawnsley Park, Willow Springs, Warraweena, and Merna Mora. For us the stations were great as we don't need power and love to have a campfire and like some peace & quiet. Merna mora was the cheapest at $15 pn, others were around $25 pn.
We only touched the surface of the Flinders and would love to come back again soon.
Enjoy your trip, cheers Geoff

Love the flinders and there is so much to see. Arkaroola you have mentioned. Gammon Ranges, Willow Springs Skytrek, Climb St Marys Peak at Wilpena Pound, stay at Rawnsley Park and do the walk to the top of Rawnsley Bluff.

Have a great trip

Tjilpi

We were in the Flinders ranges and Arkaroola a few years ago and unfortunately have to admit we were a little disappointed. The scenery is spectacular but unfortunately its very touristy and crowded. There were a few tracks we wanted to drive but to do them was going to cost $80 to drive myself or we could jump in their 4WD (which was the same as theirs) and pay a bucket load of money to do their trip.
The kick in the pants was that my wife had been there as a youngster and had all these great places to show me but they were all now MVO tracks.
We did happen to find a place Called Beltana station that's just south of Leigh creek. We stayed there for a few nights and got talking to the owners, They supplied us with a map of the station with some good driving routes. We did 3 days of driving returning back to base camp every night and it was amazing.

Owen

Did two trips to the Flinders last year. There are many parts you can see without paying money. Arkaroola is a must see and there are some good drives out and around the village.
In the Flinders itself all of the gorges are worth a drive and I agree with others about Rawnsley Park.

When are you planning on going? My May trip with my brother experienced some cold nights but nice around a campfire. The Sept/Oct with Annie and daughter it got quite hot - unseasonal in fact and was up to 42 at Arkaroola.

It's probably been 15 years since we drove from Innamincka to Arkaroola, but we easily did it in a day with plenty of daylight hours to set up and a bit of stopping on the way.
Depending on your requirements, have a look at remote camping at Arkaroola rather than the desolate looking camping area (or it was 15 years ago)
We enjoyed our too short a time there.

Mark

Last July drove Arkaroola to Innamincka in about 6-7 hours with kids in tow - so not pushing it at all. In 2010 - after being stuck out at Cullymurra for 6 days we were one of the first to leave Innamincka and the Strez was a much slower, slippery proposition on that ocassion!

Hi Odog,
I would suggest the 20 hours travel time quoted would be a trip around the 'main' roads down through Lyndhurst, Copely and back through Nepabunna to Arkaroola. You will turn off the Strzelecki track near Mt Hopless and as above will take you around 7 hours.
I would suggest after you leave Arkaroola you travel to Blinman then through Parachilna Gorge to Parachilna then south to Brachina Gorge and Bunyeroo Drive then enter Wilpena pound, from there travel via Moralanna scenic drive through to the Hawker-Leigh Creek road to Hawker. The travel time for all that would only be about 6 to 8 hours but I'm sure you could enjoy a couple of nights camping and sight seeing along the way, there is also plenty of short walks and even the odd meal at either the Blinman or Parachilna pubs (Blinman would be my pick).
I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Cheers
Graham

A quick look on my map suggests that it's about 350k from Moomba to Arkaroola (down the Strzelecki to the Mt Hopeless corner, left to Moolawatana, on to Balcanoona and a right up to Arkaroola)*. For me it would be a leisurely day's drive...I take it easy and enjoy the drive (usually). As for the Flinders / Gammons Nat Parks.....we have been there many times and never tire of the region....if you are interested in the natural environment, the geology is astounding and the wildlife can be impressive too. I'm not into paying silly dollars to 4WD the ridges - much happier enjoying national park campgrounds and trekking here and there. As for the locations....Arkaroola is great, with plenty to see....the staff there will provide first class info on activities...it's $25 unpowered for 2 people in the caravan park / campground. Next door in the Gammon Ranges NP we have enjoyed Grindle's Hut and Weetootla camp grounds....quality walking around there. As for your possible run home via Broken Hill and Mungo - the run from Balcanoona to Yunta via Frome Downs offers nothing but driving* (I venture to say :-)...then more 'just driving' to the Hill and Mungo. Maybe Broken Hill and Mungo might suit another trip better and on this one you could drift over to the Brachina Gorge precinct in the Flinders Ranges National Park ?....more astounding scenery and geology (and heaps of interpretive signage). And.... Wilpena Pound is only just down the road. But then...I'm a Flinders tragic...where else can you see 550MYO stromatolites, 700MYO glacial mud....debris from the Lake Acraman asteroid impact, (ploughed into Eyre Peninsula 580 MY ago) ? ....and then (there's more :-)....at night you can look up and see other galaxies (I'll stop selling now :-).
As for driving times....rain aside of course, the roads out there can be very good 'gravel cruising'....maybe allow an average of 60kph, which allows for a few short stops, a bit of lunch and a look at this n that.
*Some of those outback runs in the region seem to be literally in the 'middle of nowhere'....a proper assessment of weather, road conditions, supplies and distance communications in case of breakdown is a necessity in my view (sorry, if you already right into that).....have a great time.

We were at Arkaroola last month. We were initially hesitant about paying $155 a head for the Ridgetop Tour (yep it's that expensive) but it really was a highlight. At Arkaroola I bought a copy of Reg Sprigg's book "Geology Is Fun" which I thought looked more like a kids book, but it has been an entertaining read with parts of it way beyond me. I now realise how much we missed seeing in the area and will return before long. I suggest you do some reading before you go (Ediacaran fossils for a start). Try to get Doug Sprigg as your driver/guide and get him talking, as he is a mine of information about so many things (uranium, radium, thorium, uranium lifecycle politics, the increased safety of single engine aircraft over twin engines, why females are safer pilots, the natural nuclear reactor lake in Africa, the use of Lake Frome as the standard white colour for satellite imaging, then the trees, animals, mines and minerals in the area (and we had only a couple of hours with him). For a bit of after-dark entertainment go with him to the observatory and take a look at the Sombrero Galaxy, 20 million light-years away. He can also put a bit of long-term perspective on global warming for you.
Do the copper mine tour at Blinman, and try to get to Farina where there is excellent camping close to the ruins. Plenty of good camping in the Brachina and Parachilna Gorges - Wilpena was a bit touristy and we didn't get to the other stations this trip. For a laugh, drop in on Talc Alf near Copley, and have a quandong pie for me at the Copley caravan park.

Hi Odog,

It does not matter how many times you go to the Flinders, you will never get sick of visiting the area, as there is just so much to see.

Just do not rush the drive, and give yourself lots of time to explore.


Enjoy the fantastic Flinders.



Cheers




Stephen

Thank you all so much, plenty of info amoungst all that, I'm sure we will sort through it, and figure out our plan of attack..
Sue and I both love history, and how nature creates her master pieces... Just hope Sue doesn't collect to many rocks.. Usually sea shells, but can be like a bower bird, check her pockets before she gets back in the car.. Ha..
I'm sure we will both be in awe of the intire area.. Thank you again for all your help.. Cheers Owen n Sue

We spent almost two weeks on just a brief drive through, because we were on our way home from Tasmania. Some highlights included:

The scenic folds of endless and soft coloured ranges around Wilpena Pound.

Brachina Gorge drive with the geology trail of any different geological formations marked.

Paralana Radioactive Hot Springs on Arkaroola. Paralana is one of the three most radioactive naturally occurring places in the world and the only radioactive spring found in Australia.