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National park in South Australia
Photo: Iain Whyte (Iainwhyte), CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
If there's one place that many think of the South Australian Outback, it's Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, a South Australian national park best known for its iconic Wilpena Pound, a large naturally formed amphitheatre. On top of Wilpena Pound, the park contains some paleontological sites, hiking trails and lookouts. Since April 2021, it has been on the tentative list for world heritage for its rich fossil collection along with the two nearby parks of Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges and the relatively new Nilpena Ediacara (formerly Ediacara CP).
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
A group of rock art with drawings of different things including ochre and charcoal images and have been carbon dated to be around six thousand years old and is a culturally significant site to the Indigenous Adnyamathanha people.
Named after Harold Cazneaux, an Australian photographer who believed that all images should be a piece of art. Unfortunately, outside South Australia, Harold Cazneaux is not very well known. There's nothing so special about this tree, but it's the most prominent tree for kilometres on end.
A canyon as the name says, a sacred one. Unlike most canyons where you would rather be looking down, in this one, you go down through the canyon and look up instead. There are regular tours run by the Wilpena Pound Resort with an Indigenous Adnyamathanha tour guide and details can be found here.
Old Wilpena Station Precinct
An old station used in the early colonial period by the Europeans. Today, only some of what was originally there in the 19th century remains but with many interpretive signs installed.
Ngarri Mudlanha
The eighth highest peak in South Australia with a height of 1,189 metres, this peak gives views of the natural amphitheatre and of the park that are quite not what you expect of the South Australian Outback. The peak and its surroundings may be accessed via a walking trail from Wilpena Resort along the northeast edge of the range outside of Wilpena Pound, or via a longer trail through the middle of the pound. However, keep in mind that the Adnyamathanha people find this mountain sacred and ask not for it to be climbed – however, the choice of whether you'd like to climb up or not is up to you.
The only golden spike site in the southern hemisphere. In mid-2022, there will be a new carpark built for easy access to the spike.
If you want to see inside one of the finest gorges of the Flinders Ranges, this lookout along the geological trail is an excellent midway stop.
A lookout overlooking rocks that were deposited as sediments between a billion and 500 million years ago. Has a carpark nearby as well as a picnic area.
Has information about the fossil sites in the park, as well as the time when the park was once underwater as well as a general overview of the Flinders Ranges as a whole.
Stand in the right spot and you'll get a photo of a track that leads smoothly into the amphitheatre of Wilpena Pound.
Learn about the numerous indigenous symbols and meanings found in the art sites as well as how the local indigenous group used their land in the surrounding regions on top of the easterly view of the Flinders Ranges.
Requires a 7-kilometre hike to do, taking about three hours to do. It might seem a lot, and you do need to have prior hiking experience, but the views of the Wilpena Pound amphitheatre are quite worth the trek.
A lookout overlooking the Wilpena Solar Site, which is a fairly sizable solar farm. There's a walking trail from the lookout to get to the solar farm close up. A convenient distance from the Wilpena Pound resort.
Blinman is a small interesting town lying just north of the park. You can visit some of the old miners cottages and there are tours of the old mine. The hotel has great counter meals. You can camp at the back of the hotel for $20-$30 per night. The camp site is not as charming as other sites in the area but has hot showers and a small kitchen area. It is convenient if you have had a few drinks with your meal at the hotel. The drive east from Blinman to Parachilna takes you through the Parachilna Gorge with plenty of free camping areas amongst the trees near the road. As you approach Parachilna the Flinders ranges disappear in quite a dramatic fashion and the flat dry outback country stretches out to the horizon.
Beltana is an historic township off the Parachilna to Leigh Creek road to the north east of the National Park. There is a water tank made by/for the Afghan camel handlers. The town itself has many interesting buildings including a police station, school, hotel, local store and many private dwellings built in the days when Beltana serviced a number of copper mines in the area. Beltana still has a few inhabitants and the hotel opens sometimes. Before the arrival of European settlers the creek running through Beltana had reliable water and supported a sizeable indigenous population but after the copper mines opened up the water supply in the creek became unreliable and the local people moved away. Now that the miners have left some indigenous people have moved back but the creek is still unreliable.
You can easily spend a couple of hours poking about in the town. You can also camp at Beltana for a small fee but it is on the flat fairly featureless plains which lie to the west of the National Park - there are more pleasant camp sites at Parachilna Gorge or back in the Park itself.
Chambers Gorge lies to the north east of the park. It is down on the flat country and the gorge lies on a small creek. The chief attractions are the marvellous petroglyphs. To reach them drive all the way along the road until you reach a sign telling you not to take your vehicle any further. Walk from there along the creek bed. There are a couple of tracks higher up but ignore those. The first petroglyphs are reached after about 15 minutes walk. The best of them are a little further on as the gorge is petering out.
The gorge is only 70 km from Blinman but there is a lot of dirt. The road is graded but has many corrugations so the going is slow. It takes well over an hour to drive from Blinman and maybe closer to two hours. The gorge does not receive many visitors. Camping here is first rate with great views of the small creek but there are no facilities.
Outback dining with the usuals of Australian cuisine including bush tucker but minus the ethnic cuisines. It's the only restaurant in the park, though there is a cafe at the IGA.
A bar and bistro again part of the Wilpena Pound Resort. It's also the only bar and bistro in the entire park.
The only lodging of any kind in the park. Prices are about mid-range, and you can generally expect to find what you would normally find in any mid-range accommodation.
The only private accommodation in the park, with options ranging from a safari tent, a family safari tent and a main tent. Not all options come with dining options; only the "main tent" option has dining as part of the package.
A small campground with only four campsites in it. It is convenient for those wanting to explore Bunyeroo Gorge. Suitable for tents and camper trailers and includes toilets.
A medium sized campground with 13 campsites which includes toilets but all the campsites are unpowered. However, it is a reasonable distance from other campsites and the Wilpena Pound Resort, so you will need to be self-sufficient.
A good base to explore the Trezona Hike, one of the only trails to pass the Heysen Range which is 8 kilometres and takes 4 hours to do.
Includes a cafe and some meat, fruit and veg, liquor, dairy and groceries are sold here, just like in every other IGA albeit so remove. However, unlike other IGAs, Wilpena Pound IGA has fuel, and is the only place where you can fill up in the close proximity to the park.
By car
From the South Australian capital of Adelaide, take it M2 North-South Motorway up north and then exit onto A1 Port Wakefield Highway.
By plane
The closest airport is in Port Augusta (PUG), which has flights from Adelaide and Coober Pedy but few take the airport given that you will need to then end up driving from Pt. Augusta.
There are two main important roads in the park that you will need to know when visiting the park.
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