Thread: Flinders Ranges - too many things to visit please help

Love the flinders, been going there since i was 4 or 5 when the old man had his xw gtho phase 2 falcon. The walk up St Mary's peak and down into and across the pound is excellent, we have camped at both Wilpena Pound and Rawnsley Station before. Will go back again when bubs is a bit older.

Thanks to everyone for their advice. I'm interested in the self drive stuff and there is a lot of it.

I certainly noticed rip-off prices in Wilpena Pound especially accommodation at around $200/night for a motel room . Willow Springs (as suggested by Defender200Tdi) looks like a place to stay and is still central. I'll be carrying as much as I can for the week bar fuel so I'll have to pay the big $ for diesel.

Back to reading the guide book with your suggestions in mind.

Thanks again.

Chris

I do about 4 trips a year to flinders. I would recommend the following.

For civilised camping.
1) Rawnsley park station - good bush or powered camping, pool for the kids, reasonably priced shop.

For eating out
1) Visit the Prairie Lodge hotel, and eat the feral mixed grill.
2) Wool shed restaurant – best food for 100Ks.

For 4 wheel driving. (All self drive)
1) Skytrek on willow springs station. Good days driving, and not too challenging, but fun, and great scenery. About $45, and 6 hours in the seat.
2) Arkepena Scenic Drive – 1st half pretty boring but pretty, second half steep rocky climbs, and very steep low range 1st descents. I would skip the first half, and do the second half twice in a loop. About $15, pretty 2 hours.
3) Chase Ranges. More of the same but longer, and a little more remote feeling to it than Arkepena. Can’t remember the $s, but about 4 hours.
4) Arden Hills – Track 1. Good climbs and descents and great scenery. Some fun to be had over about 4.5 hours of driving. Can’t remember price.
5) Artimore Track. (PAR - so it is free) Follow signs to Glass Gorge off of Blinman to Parachilna road, and head up to Moolooloo homestead. Keep the homestead on your left, and head off to the PAR. WARNING - this is zoned remote, and I wouldn't do it if rain is forecast unless you are very self sufficient and competent driver. There is some chassis twisting washouts, lots of creek crossing's, and fantastic scenery. You can camp up to 50ms from the track, but at least 1K from a stock watering point or homestead. I fully recommend this.
6) Up to Warraweena! This is between Leigh creek and Parachilna. It is about 32Ks off of the main road on an unsealed track, and there is no shop or fuel so bring it with you, or be prepared to drive 32Ks to the nearest road house and overpay for fuel and almost no-supplies. (burgers are good though), or drive 100K’s down to hawker, or up to Leigh creek. Bush or hut camping here IMHO is the best anywhere in the flinders, if you like remote get aways. 250Ks of 4 wheel drive tracks from “fun” to "watch out for panel damage" technical tracks. It is truly a magnificent place, with the kids enjoying the 5 days we spent there earlier this year more than any other vacation. We found cave's with mummified kangaroos, abandoned gold mines (complete with huts still standing), ghost villages, old copper mines, followed an old coach track, and did some of the toughest 4 wheel driving to be found anywhere is SA.

Can't speak highly enough about Warraweena, and Stony - the manager is a legend. Totally nice bloke.

Drop me a line if you want more info, I have extensively travelled the entire area from South to North, and done most of the tracks where high clearance and low range is required. I also have a good PDF listing all pay and PAR routes for flinders and outback…

Martin

I have visited the Flinders half a dozen times and found things last year that were quite different from things I had seen before.
Chambers Gorge is a good camp and has an interesting Aboriginal history.
I really enjoyed the Arden Hills 4WD track.
There are a few photos in the Australian Pics Gallery page 3 if you want a preview.
Warren Gorge is a goodplace to camp for free, especially if you do the Arden Hills Track.
Try this website.
www.flindersranges.com

I agree with Loanrangie. If you get time to do a walk, St Mary's peak is well worth the effort although it'll take most of a day. Can walk up the outside and return through the pound. Excellent views into the pound and to the west. Some of our group did the scenic flight and said that was really good too.
Tony

Originally Posted by Martin

I do about 4 trips a year to flinders. I would recommend the following.

For civilised camping.
1) Rawnsley park station - good bush or powered camping, pool for the kids, reasonably priced shop.

For eating out
1) Visit the Prairie Lodge hotel, and eat the feral mixed grill.
2) Wool shed restaurant – best food for 100Ks.

For 4 wheel driving. (All self drive)
1) Skytrek on willow springs station. Good days driving, and not too challenging, but fun, and great scenery. About $45, and 6 hours in the seat.
2) Arkepena Scenic Drive – 1st half pretty boring but pretty, second half steep rocky climbs, and very steep low range 1st descents. I would skip the first half, and do the second half twice in a loop. About $15, pretty 2 hours.
3) Chase Ranges. More of the same but longer, and a little more remote feeling to it than Arkepena. Can’t remember the $s, but about 4 hours.
4) Arden Hills – Track 1. Good climbs and descents and great scenery. Some fun to be had over about 4.5 hours of driving. Can’t remember price.
5) Artimore Track. (PAR - so it is free) Follow signs to Glass Gorge off of Blinman to Parachilna road, and head up to Moolooloo homestead. Keep the homestead on your left, and head off to the PAR. WARNING - this is zoned remote, and I wouldn't do it if rain is forecast unless you are very self sufficient and competent driver. There is some chassis twisting washouts, lots of creek crossing's, and fantastic scenery. You can camp up to 50ms from the track, but at least 1K from a stock watering point or homestead. I fully recommend this.
6) Up to Warraweena! This is between Leigh creek and Parachilna. It is about 32Ks off of the main road on an unsealed track, and there is no shop or fuel so bring it with you, or be prepared to drive 32Ks to the nearest road house and overpay for fuel and almost no-supplies. (burgers are good though), or drive 100K’s down to hawker, or up to Leigh creek. Bush or hut camping here IMHO is the best anywhere in the flinders, if you like remote get aways. 250Ks of 4 wheel drive tracks from “fun” to "watch out for panel damage" technical tracks. It is truly a magnificent place, with the kids enjoying the 5 days we spent there earlier this year more than any other vacation. We found cave's with mummified kangaroos, abandoned gold mines (complete with huts still standing), ghost villages, old copper mines, followed an old coach track, and did some of the toughest 4 wheel driving to be found anywhere is SA.

Can't speak highly enough about Warraweena, and Stony - the manager is a legend. Totally nice bloke.

Drop me a line if you want more info, I have extensively travelled the entire area from South to North, and done most of the tracks where high clearance and low range is required. I also have a good PDF listing all pay and PAR routes for flinders and outback…

Martin

Having met Stoney and his lovely wife i have to say the same, lovely people and i would recommend any of the drives on Warraweena albeit a tad pricey if you do all of them, Mt Gill and the Coach Rd being highlights, the showers are good too, not my favorite but still worth a visit.

Rawnsley looked pretty flash compared to Arkapena which we liked the best along with Mulga View Station, the self drive around it was great, very spectacular, we did the free stuff around Arkapena driving to the springs and Pugliest lookout which are on the property, again very good.

Chambers Gorge is very interesting and a very nice free camping area, along with Aboriginal engravings in the gorge.

Looking at Martins itinery i reckon you would have a very good time and enjoy your trip to the full, just a couple of the suggestions he has put up would probably do, but any of the places suggested sound good.

Baz.

Also BYO firewood, Wood is scarce in Sth Aussie , I got some at Rawsley station and paid Big $$ for a handfull of wood