Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park (SA) Guide

About Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park

The park covers nearly 100,000 hectares of the central Flinders Ranges, about 450 km north of Adelaide. The centrepiece is Wilpena Pound, the huge natural amphitheatre of ridges that the Adnyamathanha people call Ikara, with the Heysen Range, the ABC Range and the Bunyeroo and Brachina gorges to the north. The park sign calls it a refuge for the yellow-footed rock-wallaby, and we saw emus and kangaroos everywhere on the flats around Wilpena.

The resort and campground at Wilpena Pound sit inside the park at the foot of the Pound, with the visitor centre, a store and fuel. Park entry is $14.40 per vehicle, and you buy it online before you arrive, because reception in the park is patchy. Dogs and drones aren’t allowed.

Best time to go

We went in late December, and the days were very hot, with almost no shade at the lookouts, so we did our stops early and spent the middle of the day at the pool. The St Mary Peak trail closes from December to February for the heat, and all walking trails close on days of Catastrophic fire danger. Autumn and spring are the seasons the park is known for.

• AutumnBest timeMarch–MayMild daysThe best season for the walks
• SpringBest timeSeptember–NovemberWildflowers and cool walking weather
• WinterFairJune–AugustClear daysCold nightsQuiet campgrounds
• SummerTake careDecember–FebruaryVery hot; St Mary Peak closed, walk early

Getting There and Accessibility

We came from Broken Hill on the Barrier Highway to Yunta, then south-west to Peterborough and north again through Hawker, a full day on sealed roads with long, empty stretches and not much in between. Stock up at the Woolworths in Broken Hill, but don’t buy fruit: there’s a quarantine bin at the South Australian border and fruit can’t cross it.

From Hawker the last 50-odd km to Wilpena are sealed, across the flats with the walls of the Pound growing in front of you and kangaroo signs along the road for good reason at dusk. The Flinders Ranges Way north from Wilpena towards Blinman is sealed too. The gorge drives and the tracks to the bush camps are unsealed, and the park lists them as fine for a high-clearance 2WD, caravans and trailers in dry weather. Check the Outback Road Report on 1300 361 033 after rain.

Map of the Park and Our Stops

The sealed Flinders Ranges Way runs up the middle of the park from Hawker through Wilpena to Blinman, with the two lookouts off it to the north. The gorge loop leaves it a few kilometres north of Wilpena, drops west through Bunyeroo and Brachina gorges to the Outback Highway, and comes back round through Parachilna and Blinman. Here’s how it fits together.

Campgrounds in the Flinders Ranges National Park

We stayed at Wilpena Pound, the big campground with everything, and at Acraman, a four-site bush camp off the Bunyeroo road that puts you ten minutes from Razorback Lookout at sunrise. Along the gorge roads we also drove through Trezona, Youngoona, Brachina East, Cambrian and Teamsters, all bush camps with fire pits and a long-drop; Teamsters, inside the gorge, is the one we wished we’d booked. Rawnsley Park Station, just outside the park on the Hawker road, is the comfortable alternative to Wilpena.

Lookouts

Our first full day was a loop up the Flinders Ranges Way to the two lookouts, Hucks and Stokes Hill, both free and right off the sealed road, with the Great Wall of China a roadside stop near Blinman. The Razorback and Bunyeroo Valley lookouts sit on the gorge drive, and after a night at Acraman we were back on the Razorback for sunrise, the best thing we’ve done in Australia so far. Aroona Valley Lookout on the Brachina road tells the Adnyamathanha story of the track to Ikara.

Sights

The gorge day is the one to plan around: the Bunyeroo Gorge Scenic Drive over the Razorback and the Brachina Gorge Geological Trail out to the Outback Highway, back round by Parachilna and Blinman. The walks into the Pound start at the campground: the Hills Homestead walk is 6.6 km and two hours return, Wangara Lookout adds another half hour each way, and St Mary Peak is a full day at 14.6 km direct or 21.5 km for the loop. Arkaroo Rock, 17 km south of Wilpena, has a 3 km walk to Adnyamathanha rock paintings, and the Brachina Gorge Geological Trail is a 20 km self-drive through the gorge. On the way south, Alligator Gorge in Mount Remarkable National Park near Wilmington is worth the detour for the Narrows walk, and after that the Yorke Peninsula was our beach leg, with bush camps on the sand and 4WD beach drives.

Practical Tips

Reception in the park is patchy, there’s no shade at the lookouts and fires are banned through summer, so it pays to sort the basics before you arrive. Here’s what we’d plan for.

Summary

The Flinders Ranges deliver on the postcards: a comfortable base at Wilpena Pound, lookouts that put the whole landscape in front of you, and gorges and walks to fill as many days as you have. Buy your pass online, bring water and a hat, and come in autumn or spring if you can.

Recommended Gear for the Flinders Ranges

The Hema Flinders Ranges Atlas & Guide covers every track, camp and walk in the park and was open on the dash all week. Carry plenty of water in good water containers, as the tap water at Wilpena isn’t drinkable. A camping fridge keeps food safe in the heat, and a tyre pressure gauge helps you drop pressures for the gorge drives and bring them back up for the sealed road.