Akurra Adnya (Arkaroo Rock) is the the only signposted and publicly-accessible Aboriginal rock art site in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park (Sacred Canyon can also be visited, but since 2020, access to Sacred Canyon is only allowed through commercial tour operators). The rock art site is reached by a relatively short bushwalk, with the rock shelter fenced off to protect the Aboriginal paintings, which are considered one of the best examples of Adnyamathanha rock art.
Arkaroo Rock (Akurra Adyna) was a place of great cultural significance for the Adnyamathanha people and the ochre and charcoal figures tell the creation story of Wilpena Pound:
…see they heard the Akurru [snake] was coming. See there was no Wilpena Pound, but they heard the two Akurrus were coming and the kingfisher come along and tried to warn the people. All the people they were having a ceremony in the flat there…he flew over and warned the people…at night time they were having the ceremony and Akurru went right around and made Wilpena Pound and there’s a little gap there, where Arkaroo Rock is, where the woman is, the Akurru woman is and – St. Mary’s Peak, that’s the man see.
Rock Art and Yura Malka
The shelter was not “discovered” by Europeans until 1957, and an archaeological excavation in the late 1980s uncovered fireplaces, debris from tool making and fragments of pigment that showed Aboriginal people first camped in the shelter of Arkaroo Rock more than 6,000 years ago.
According to the Yura Muda, powerful Creation serpents known as Akurra created many features of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges landscape. The bodies of two Akurra form the walls of Ikara-Wilpena Pound and and are drawn in double lines of black.
Radiating white lines represent the people the Arkurras encircle (image below is enhanced).
Two men escape and are depicted as stick figures.
Individual lines (often referred to as ‘tally marks’ and found across Australia) are thought to represent the number of boys going through initiation.
There are also many paintings of bird tracks, snake lines, waterholes and plants painted in red, yellow and white ochre and charcoal.
While there is no interpretative signage at Akurra Adnya (Arkaroo Rock) – this may change during an upgrade to the site in 2025 – the signboard on Stokes Hill Lookout explains some of the motifs you see here.
The images below show both the “natural” photo and enhanced version, which makes some of the motifs easier to see – and shows the complexity of the rock art, with its superimposed figures.
The ochre used at Akurra Adnya (Arkaroo Rock) likely came from the nearby Heysen Range:
On the western slopes of the Heysen Range lies the Pukardu ochre mine which for generations untold has yielded dark pink ochre of a fine texture and metallic sheen. It was traded across the country, with Aboriginal people travelling from southern Queensland and was used in the most important ceremonies.
Flinders Ranges Landscape Assessment
Getting to Akurra Adnya (Arkaroo Rock)
The signposted loop bushwalk starts at the end of Arkaroo Rock Road, which is 1.6km detour off the Flinders Range Way. The road is unsealed but suitable for all cars. The trail ascends gently from the carpark – the first half of the bushwalk is mostly uphill.
After a few hundred metres there is an informal lookout with interpretive signage, which provides a view to the east over the Chace Range – or Vada Wildya Yurdu, which means “Dead Finish Range” after the extremely hardy Prickly wattle tree.
The loop starts after 600m, and signs request that you complete the Arkaroo Rock bushwalk in an anti-clockwise direction. The trail heads directly to the foothills of Illuka Hill.
Just before the halfway mark the track crosses a (usually dry) creek and passes an unusual cupola-shaped rock formation.
Just after this rock formation is Arkaroo Rock, with a large streel mesh across the front of the large overhang.
The return leg of the loop descends gently, with frequent glimpses of the Chance Range.
Near the end – especially in the late afternoon – are some great views of the Chace Range, which picks up the setting sun.
The entire Arkaroo Rock bushwalk is just over three kilometres, so it can be easily done in under an hour – but allow time to view the incredible rock art.
More information
- Walking SA – Arkaroo Rock (AkurÂra Adnya) Hike
- Jacinta Koolmatrie – Rock Art and Yura Malka [PDF]
- Dr Andrew Lothian, Scenic Solutions – Flinders Ranges Landscape Assessment [PDF]
0 Comments