In The Flinders Ranges

What a great trip we had to the Flinders Ranges in May 2024. The group made their own way across the great divide to meet up in Quorn and assemble for the start of a fantastic trip taking us through the Flinders and staying in several places, some in caravans, camper trailers or just in tents. The make up of the group was 5 discovery 4's, 1 discovery 3, a Landcruiser and troopy vehicles. Starting out from Quorn on the weekend we watch the steam train come in and pick many passengers up for a sedate trip down the line.

Early In the Morning, waiting for the sun to rise on the Nullarbor

The train line in Quorn with train coming into hookup to carriages

Flinders Ranges 12th May  

Quorn was a great place to start a voyage of exploration of the Flinders Ranges.  Its also a train enthusiasts’ hub so we were out bright and early to beat the queues at the Information Office and book our camp spots at Warren Gorge for three nights.   The Gorge offered several large camping areas, so we grabbed one that accommodated the whole group before departing in the afternoon for what was an epic opening encounter.

The Argadelles is an extensive, diverse and beautiful property full of peaks, ridges and gorges where the owners have installed a network of 4 WD tracks to showcase the natural beauty of the area, made available on a fee per vehicle basis.  A couple of people doubled up, so we were about 8 cars setting out on our first venture.

As we gained height we started to see the North-South structure of the ridges. The arid conditions meant that much of the rock formations were visible and splendid. There was talk about the local Southern Cyprus Pine trees that were so uniform in distribution they looked like they had been planted. The trees are apparently pest resistant and historically sought after for local construction.

The highlight of the day was our journey up to the top of Mount Arden. Steep ascending roads were traversed skillfully, and I noted the inclinometer was at 18 degrees though it felt like double!  The reward at the top was a magnificent 360 Degree view from Mount Ardern (884m).

In the afternoon some members ventured off to explore more of the ridges and views of this delightful property.  The kangaroos, sheep and goats were living harmoniously, blissfully unaware of our conversations of how feral goats could be most effectively culled !

Flinders Ranges 13th May

Left Warren Gorge 8.30am Ivor and I tail-end Charlie today!. Peter & Jo group leaders, Checking we don’t go astray!🙏Driving through town of Quorn. Horseshoe top end up ahead, fully working sheep station. Accommodation to rest your head 🥱Greeted by owner Theresa, morning tea outside the homestead. Been in the family since eighteen hundreds, certainly a family of thoroughbreds 4x4 Self driving tracks. Scenery took your breath away! Cottage ruins for our lunch break. Top of the world lookout made the day, heading back to homestead. There’s gates to open and close, Jo certainly got the brunt of opening the gates. Kept everyone on their toes, Back via Carrieton. Population fifty-plus in the town, a mural of sculptured painted tiles. Certainly a winner all round and back to the gorge. Barry’s turn very pasty, Local bakery closed today. No go for his Danish pastry. Thanks Peter and Jo for another Great day!!

Flinders Ranges 14th May

Another beautiful day the skies blue no threat of rain   We camped at the foot of Warren Gorge remaining here for the next three days heading out daily to the various destinations.

An early visitor removed our rubbish not the garbo as our two trackers traced a hungry fox who consumed the spoils and left us to clean up the campsite.

We left Warren Gorge 8 am drove to Dyacca Pioneer Monument then to Simmonspon ruins, Youram bulla caves to look at Aboriginal rock art then on to Hawker township from there we went to Wilsons historic site returning to Warren Gorge via Quorn

Flinders Ranges 15th May

We packed up and left Warren Glen about 9am on a warm morning with the sun coming through the clouds.  We had an uneventful drive through Quorn to Hawker. We stopped at Hawker for wood, coffee and cake.  We travelled via Ulowdna Range to our west and Chase Range to the east. As throughout the Flinders all very scenic but very dry. We turned to Arkaroo Rock (Akurra Adnya), a significant Adnyamathanha painting site. Some of us trekked 3 km to view the paintings in a cave.  There were good views of the surrounding ranges along the walk including Rawnsley Bluff.  On return we joined the others for lunch.

We continued to Willow Springs where we booked in for 2 nights and were made welcome by the Reynolds family who purchased the property in 1952.  Willow Springs has been an operating cattle and sheep station since the 1860’s. The property, a pastoral lease of 283 sq km has a maximum carrying capacity of 4,500 sheep and up to 40 breeding cows.  Informative notes were given out as we booked to drive Skytrek the next day.  Skytrek is a self-drive experience, about 79km in length.  Some drove to Wilpena Pound in the late afternoon.  We enjoyed the usual happy chat round the fire into the evening.

Flinders Range 16th May

Skytrek ….  Willow Springs Station an operating station and a tourism destination

With temp at 6C and well documented trip information in hand (supplied at a briefing by Willow Springs)  and after cold night 8 vehicles left camping area at 7.30am.  At the trek start odometers were set to 0km so that we could locate ourselves relative to the map and notes provides. The 1st stop was an unassuming large rock probably weighing around 15 tonnes. According to the notes in 2010 staff at the homestead heard a very loud noise during the night but no one was able to identify its source … several days later  staff commented that a rock had appeared near a track deduction led them to realise the loud noise heard several nights ago was in fact this boulder falling from the cliffs above ... a dramatic example seismic activity (quite common in the Flinders) altering landscape in the modern era.

The rest of the trip saw us using well defined 4wd only tracks to pass tree lined creek beds, a swamp with water running from a spring, open plains, rolling hills, ochre river cliffs, steep rocky climbs and descents and a very challenging loose rocky climb looking straight into the sun. We also saw some historic buildings and machinery that had been used during the stations development.

A very enjoyable, interesting and at times drive challenging day coming with high recommendation to be on any Flinders Range bucket list.

Flinders Ranges 17th May

We had a leisurely departure from Willow Springs today, leaving at 9.30am.  We enjoyed a very scenic drive to Blinman, spotting emus and kangaroos on the way.  At Blinman we all indulged in morning tea in the café and an exploratory walk around the town.  Behind the post office there was a yard full of pre-loved Land Rovers and Range Rovers – probably about 25 – 30 of them though I didn’t count.   We then had a dusty but scenic drive to Angorichina arriving in time for lunch.  In the afternoon, several of the group went back to Blinman for a tour of the old copper mine, which was reported to be very interesting.  The evening was spent around the campfire, swapping nibbles, port, chocolate and, of course, yarns!  And looking forward to the next day’s adventures.

Flinders Ranges 18th May

Leaving the campsite and the Lycra clad cyclists we headed towards Parachilna. On the radio was an announcement Barry had another puncture. Unfortunately for him this was his second, as he had bought a tyre the day before. Once we had Barry’s wheel changed, we set off to catch up with the rest of the convoy who were waiting at the main road to Hawker. Further down the road we all turned in towards the Brachina Gorge, when John Sellars announced he had a puncture. Again, I stopped along with Jim and Mim and lent a hand to change the wheel as it was past it. We all regrouped at the Brachina lookout to a splendid view and information boards of the surrounding area. We decided to move on as it was very windy and had morning tea at the start of the gorge. A Toyota Camry appeared and drove on through the gorge and rocky road to my amazement. Driving through Bunyeroo gorge we encountered a fair amount of traffic going their various ways. We also came across our Camry who had been game enough to drive through the creek bed and had stopped, I think to rethink the rest of the route. Lunch was at Yanyanna Hut on the heysen trail. From there we started to make our way back to camp to prepare our evening community meal. Again, came the call of a puncture, this time being Hugh. He had got a slither of flint through his brand-new looking tyre, in the thick of the tread.  I stopped to assist, after some time people drifted off leaving Hugh and myself to plug the tyre and make our way back. Going through Blinman heading for the campsite we came across Peter by the side of the road with another puncture. This time we stopped and after accessing there was enough help, we headed for camp. The fire was lit in readiness for all the camp ovens, and to get some coals for them. I got out some LED strip lights and hung them on the fence. Jo asked me to make some damper rolls for dinner. I was supplying a dessert initially but took on the challenge. Making up the mixture, I thought of Phil, the master baker, and what he would have done. Getting the camp oven ready I carefully put the mix in and put it by the fire to warm a little, turning every few minutes. There were so many lovely smells coming from the fire, we were all getting hungry. Tereasa and Ivor supplied a lovely pre dinner nibbles, with some lovely cheese and biscuits, grapes etc. That went down very nicely with a glass of red. The meat was then carved, and all the veggies laid out and last of all the rolls were removed from the fire. The rolls turned out to be good, the second layer was not as brown but very edible. The lights were switched on and dinner was served. At the end there was hardly anything left, which is a sign of a great dinner. Port, chocolate and much laughter were had into the night….

Flinders Ranges 19th May

After an early rise we all gathered together for the run to Glass Gorge.

First stop Ferguson Gorge. These gorges all have their own features and point of beauty.

Moving on we visited the Nuccaleena copper mine on Moolooloo Station. The 14km trip to the mine wound through varying country with none of the trip too demanding. At the mine we viewed the remains of the buildings. A chimney stack was intact and showed the willingness of the owners to succeed. Unfortunately the ore ran out and the mine closed with great financial losses to the owners.

Our lunch stop was at Hannangans gap. With the sun shining we marvelled at the towering walls of the gap and the healthy gum trees. As this is a creek, it was evident that camping here in wet times would not be advisable due to the height of the debris around trees.

Three springs required a stop and water was to be found, although green there was evidence of animals visiting the water. Along the way we spotted goats, kangaroos and sheep.

Glass gorge proved to be another majestic stop with us wandering around enjoying the size and the areas beauty.

We then headed back to Blinman hoping for a coffee but being Sunday only the pub was open so a beer had to be sampled by Barry and myself.

Only one puncture today so the good roads we encountered were very much appreciated.

Heading back to camp for happy hour we passed cyclists who were overnighting with us. They were riding from Port Agusta to Kurumba, 30 days in the saddle. A good day, thanks Peter and Jo.

Flinders Ranges 20th May

After several campfire discussions of the life and times of Reg Sprigg, it was great to finally venture North east from the Parachilna Gorge to Arkaroola, one of the most significant geological sites and Australia, and the Arkaroola  Resort created there by Reg .    However, between us was more stunning scenery, 300 km of road and some dodgy bus driving.

Never let it be said that the LROCWA drives past an opportunity to enjoy a wonderous site and some fruit cake and this spirit lead us to Chambers Gorge and some hard to find but magnificent petroglyphs 

Whilst the road was graded, sharp rocks were always a hazard in this part of the world and we had our fair share of sharp encounters that we coped with collectively and in wonderful spirit.  Later in the evening we witnessed the arrival at the resort of a lovely white BMW, on the back of a flatbed,  as a result of the ‘ run  flat ‘ tyres not living up to their name .

Arkaroola lived up to its reputation as a geological emporium.  Rocks were folded and faulted, contorted and folded due to much ancient activity.  On a self drive tour we later discovered volcanic pipes that had joined the party. Lovely red based colours of ancient rocks contrasted the washed green of the flora and the morning ice on my tent.

Staff at the resort were warm, friendly and knowledgeable. Reg’s book ‘Rockstar’ was readily available so grabbed some bedtime reading and swatted up on the life of this enigma of a man.

Flinders Ranges 21st May

With Hugh our leader, Simon, Barry, Jeannie and Danny, Jim and I headed out on one of Arkaroola’s self-drive tracks, Bolla Bollana – Nooldoonooldoona. 

We passed the Last Chance Bore, currently in use and Copper Creek Bore, the early water supply for the village, but very saline.  We stopped at the The Pinnacles in the Mawson Valley, which are massive granites that are the solidified remains of the 460-million-year-old conduits to explosive volcanoes.   We continued past Bolla Bollana Springs.  At the Bolla Bollana smelter site Cornish miners set up smelters, at least two generations of smelters were constructed but the new more obvious ones were never fired. Copper ores were bought in from Yudnamutana and Daly Mining fields.  Gartcraig bricks came from the English midlands.

We stopped for lunch at Nooldonooldoona Waterhole, it was a short walk to the beautiful waterhole.  We passed The Needles on our way to the Wheal Turner Mine ruins on the edge of the Arkaroola Sanctuary, this was a copper mine which sits halfway up a steep bluff of red quartzite.  Even though some of the tracks were very rocky it was an enjoyable scenic run on a sunny day.

Flinders Ranges 22nd May

Our convoy set out from the camping ground, back southwards on the road we had come in along, before turning left onto the “self drive” track.

Our first point of interest was Livelys Gold Find, where we bailed out of the vehicles for a scramble up a slippery gravel slope to view the old workings that pre-dated the modern tourism era for the region. After some dare-devil pranks by the more agile of our group, we made it safely back to the cars to move on.

Next on our itinerary was the Ochre Cliffs which we “oohed and aahed” over as our convoy drove slowly past.

Beyond the cliffs we picked our way down into Welcome Pound where we marveled at the surrounding ring of hills and cliffs and stopped for coffee and cake before walking around to explore the creek beds and precipitous rocks.

Moving on, we crawled up the track out of the Pound and onto tracks leading us down into a significant river bed which eventually led us to the Arkaroola Spring. The location, at least, because despite being a very pretty river gorge, full of lovely trees, we could find no sign of an actual spring. Nonetheless, no one revolted and we all joined in a pleasant lunch spot and general “wander about”.

Jim very generously shared his lunch and coffee with a free-loading (native?) bee, which drank a little of what was on offer before “buzzing” off.

After lunch we retraced our steps back to the Arkaroola access road, where some made their way straight back to camp, while the rest of us did a “left and right” to drive home via a very impressive Back Track and seriously steep climb to a look out giving views right over Arkaroola. The actual lookout had a very small stop-and-turnaround space so it was a one-car-at-a-time exercise to give everyone a chance to take in the sights.

Following this bit of thrill seeking, we wound further along the back track to arrive at the camp site via the back gate. A good day all round.

Flinders Ranges 23rd May

We left Arkaroola for Leigh Creek.  After a short time we stopped to assist Hugh who had to change a wheel. We stopped for morning tea at Italowie Gorge in the Gammon Ranges National Park.  It was in this area that RM Williams had been camped, a site just outside the newly established Nepabunna mission, where he had been hired to sink wells in the early 1930s, when into his camp rode a travelling stockman by the name of Michael George Smith, more often known as “Dollar Mick”.  Smith shared his knowledge of leatherwork, and through trial and error the pair developed the “one piece of leather” design – a variation on the Chelsea boot.

As we were heading to southern NSW Jim and I said our farewells as the others turned into Leigh Creek for fuel, shops, lunch etc.

Thank you to Peter and Jo for their work creating a wonderful trip in the beautiful Flinders Ranges.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the good company of our fellow travellers.

Flinders Ranges May 23rd

After Jim and Mim left us to head for a family gathering in NSW, the rest of the convoy made its way into the town of Leigh Creek, where we did a little shopping, had lunch, refueled, topped up water tanks and used the official Dump Point.

It’s an unusual little town initially built a short distance away as a mining services and accommodation town for the nearby Coal Mine. Some years ago the town was relocated to its existing site, so that the old site could be excavated for the coal which was underneath it. While it appears a bit “ghost-townish” it’s all there and functioning, albeit with some empty shops, offices and very quiet workers’ quarters. I understand its currently being negotiated to become a tourist centre for the surrounding attractions.

After lunch we progressed further north, stopping at the tiny outpost of Lyndhurst to visit the quaint gallery of Talc Alf. It was easy to get in, but Alf wanted to yarn and promote his “manifesto”, we did eventually make our escape and move to the next attraction, which was a vast Ochre Cliff formation. Following that, we finally arrived at Farina.

Farina, they tell us, is Italian for Flour. This site was planned to become a huge Food Bowl with lots of agriculture intended. The distance north of the Goyder Line (limit of viable agriculture) proved to bring about the failure of those plans. It did become an important stopping point on the Old Ghan Line, before the railway was shifted.

What remains is a comprehensive “town” laid out in neat streetscapes, and populated with an array of ruins, which are now being stabilised (not rebuilt), and due to the efforts of an amazing group of volunteers, the place comes back to life for 8 weeks every year. During this time the famous “Scotch Oven” is fired up, producing an amazing array of breads, pastries and cakes. A very ”sympathetic” looking new building has been constructed as the working base for these volunteers and as the shop for the sale of the baked goods and souvenirs.

We moved in and took up sites in the camping ground which is part of the operating station which Farina is located on. The Station Folk do a great job in running a pleasant, clean and equipped camping ground.

Flinders Ranges May 24th

This was a “lay day” everyone did their own thing, which included a station tracks drive, sign posted walk trails, Old Railway relics, and of course, exploring the old town where the various standing ruins were sign posted to describe their original purposes and functions.

During this time we watched a great influx of tourers’ vehicles, from all over Australia, occupying camp sites in anticipation of tomorrow’s (25/04) opening of the “Season” and especially the shop selling all those amazing foods and drinks.

Flinders Ranges May 25th

This was the last official day of our club trip. Everyone was up early and packed for departure, then descended on the bakehouse/shop to make our purchases before hitting the road. The way home presented a variety of options. Some went north to Maree on the Oodnadatta Track, then westward to Lake Eyre-South, then south down the “Bore Field Road” to Roxby Downs and Woomera, to see the memorial to Len and Anne Beadell, before more “southwards” to the Eyre Highway for the journey home. Those of us with more pressing schedules made more direct departures down the bitumen to Port Augusta and all points west towards home.

It’s been a great trip in wonderful company amongst some amazing and scenic bits of Australia.