Flinders Ranges: The land before time
It’s hard to say exactly when the landscape changes on the drive north from Adelaide, but once you’re in heart of the Flinders Ranges, there’s no escaping it.
Expanses of rich red soil traversed by emus and kangaroos, scenic hills harbouring the oldest evidence of life on Earth, imposing mountain ranges looming over the sparse plains – everything about this land feels primal, almost alien. Here, it’s easy to see why so many people call South Australia the gateway to the outback. The first English settlers in this region were working against the elements, as evidenced by the highly photogenic ruins of the long abandoned Kanyaka cattle and sheep station north of Quorn, the well-preserved buildings at the Old Wilpena Homestead, and the pitch-black passageways of Blinman’s copper mine. The highest town in South Australia, Blinman is now home to just 18 people, but was once a huge tented community with a population of about 2000. This was due to a huge copper deposit discovered in the hills in 1859, dug out over the next 60 years or so by Cornish migrants. Visitors can be transported back to those days by booking the Blinman Underground Mine tour, which is run by locals and takes you into the heart of the mine.
If you’re looking to go even further back in time – say 570 million years – Flinders is the place for that too. Long before dinosaurs roamed the earth, the mountain rang-es were hidden under an inland sea full of weird and wonderful creatures, which left their mark on the land in a spectacular fashion. Today, the Ediacaran-era fossils dotted through the Flinders are believed to tell the story of the very first life on Earth. One place you can learn a little more about them is the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna, a classy outback joint famed for its innovative and delicious menu with a ‘feral food’ twist (think camel, emu and kangaroo), and the perfect place to rest your head as you start your Flinders journey. If you’re lucky you might meet owners Jane and Ross Fargher, who discovered a pristine Ediacaran fossil site on their own property in the 1980s, which became the focus of ground-breaking research. It was even featured in David Attenborough’s program First Life in 2009.
Deeper into the Ikara-Flinders National Park, you’ll find accommodation for all budgets, from gorgeous eco-villas and homestead-for-rent at Rawnsley Park Station to the rooms and picturesque camping spots at Wilpena Pound Resort. If you’re looking for something a bit more unique, how does waking up in a king bed to the laugh of kookaburras and shuffling of kangaroos sound? Wilpena Pound Resort’s Ikara Safari Camp is home to a circle of glamping tents, which have all the creature comforts of a hotel room while retaining the sense of adventure camping brings. There’s even a fire pit to roast your own marshmallows, and a front porch from which to take in the bright stars of the Milky Way. A peaceful night in a safari camp tent is enough to have you waking up invigorated and ready to take on a six-hour hike. That’s if you don’t get stuck in bed admiring the view.
There’s a heap of bushwalking trails that wind their way through Wilpena Pound – all of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty. Search for the elusive yellow-footed rock wallaby on the WilkawillinaGorge hike, or take a short stroll through the gum-lined creek at Sacred Canyon, where you can find ancient Aboriginal rock engravings of the Adnyamathanha people. If you’re up for a bigger challenge, why not tackle St Mary Peak – the highest point in the Flinders Ranges, which offers stunning views of the ranges, surrounding plains and salt lakes further afield. If that’s not high enough, there’s another, immensely easy, way to see Wilpena Pound and the surrounding mountain ranges of the Flinders in all their glory – from the sky. Honestly, if there’s one thing you splash out on during your trip through the Flinders Ranges, make it a scenic flight. They take off several times a day from the Wilpena airstrip, and once you’re in the air it’s easy to see why. Like a jigsaw puzzle, everything just falls into place when you look at it from a new perspective. And it’s breathtaking.