The Gawler Ranges are a range of mountains in South Australia to the north of Eyre Peninsula. The ranges were named by Edward John Eyre after the Governor of South Australia, George Gawler in 1839. This was on one of Eyre's earlier expeditions before his famous crossing of the Nullarbor Plain further west.
This trek note starts at Port Augusta and heads towards the town of Iron Knob, through the Gawler Ranges to Mount Ive Station. The trek continues west through the heart of the ranges until it heads back down to meet the Eyre Highway at Wirrulla and then finally ending at Ceduna.
This trek is generally fairly reasonable and should take about 2 days with maybe a stop over at Mt Ive Station. This station is one of the few places open to travellers in this region. They have a camping area and access to land bordering Lake Gairdner.
How to Use this Trek Note
- To download this information and the route file for offline use on a phone, tablet, headunit or laptop, go to the app store and purchase ExplorOz Traveller. This app enables offline navigation and mapping and will show where you are as you travel along the route. For more info see the ExplorOz Traveller webpage and the EOTopo webpage.
Environment
During spring, the Gawler Ranges offers a pretty trip especially when the wildflowers are in bloom. The area is an interface between the Eyre Peninsula mallee country and the drier arid zone to the north of the ranges. Plants and animals from both zones occur in the Gawler Ranges. There are over 970 flora species and around 162 fauna species, including birds such as Major Mitchell (Pink Cockatoo), Rufous Treecreeper, Malleefowl, Scarlet-breasted Parrot, Gilbert’s Whistler, and mammal species such as Hairy-nosed Wombat, Greater Long-eared Bat and Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby, Red and Grey Kangaroos and Euros.
TrekID: 32