Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park – spectacular outback scenery

Located about 450km north of Adelaide in the heart of the Flinders Ranges, the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park offers a range of well-signposted bushwalks, off-track hiking (although this is not encouraged) and scenic drives. It’s known for its rugged beauty, with picturesque gorges, what appears like an endless series of saw-toothed mountain ranges, abandoned homesteads and relics of somewhat unsuccesful European colonisation and Adnyamathanha Aboriginal rock art. Established as a national park on 1 January 1945, the Federal Court recognised that the Adnyamathanha people hold Native Title over much of the ranges in 2009.

Ancient and rugged moun­tain land­scapes, peace­ful tree-lined gorges and a sea­son­al wealth of wildlife. The sense of space unique to the semi-arid zone com­bine to make Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park one of South Australia’s icon­ic destinations.

National Parks and Wildlife Service, South Australia

Wilpena Pound

The “jewel” of Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park is Wilpena Pound, a natural amphitheatre formed by a large syncline between two mountain ranges. It was “discovered” in 1850 by a stockman, William Chace (after whom the Chace Range is named) and taken up by as a pastoral lease by his employers, W.J. and J.H Browne. It was a culturally significant meeting place for the Indigenous Adnyamathanha people, who called it Ikara (meaning meeting place) with the walls of The Pound created by the bodies of two interlocking giant serpents (Akurra).

“The Adnyamathanha people call it ‘Ikara’,” says tour guide Haydyn Bromley. “Ikara is the name for the Pound itself – the space in the middle – and it means meeting place or the place where you sit.”

Sydney Morning Herald Traveller

Although the best way to see Wilpena Pound is from the air, multiple lookouts reached by bushwalking trails provide the next-best vantage point. (There is only one “pass” into the pound, an old vehicular track which is now closed to traffic, although some bushwalking trails cross lower points along the range.)

Bushwalking in the Ikara Flinders Ranges National Park

There are plenty of bushwalking trails in the Ikara Flinders Ranges National Park, from easy strolls to a 350km section of the long-distance Heysen Trail which traverses the central Flinders Ranges (the Moralana Drive – Wilpena Pound – Bunyeroo – Trezona – Aroona Hut sections of the Heysen Trail cross the national park from south to north).

Southern section

Bushwalk	Length	Grade	Description	Trailhead	AllTrails Map
Sacred Gorge	800m	Easy	Short walk to engraving site – can only be visited on commercial tour	Sacred Canyon Road
Boom & Bust Trail	3.2km	Easy	Easy and shaded loop walk with interpretive signs on local flora	Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre	Map
Arkaroo Rock	3.2km	Easy	Short loop walk to rock shelter with Aboriginal paintings	Arkaroo Rock Road	Map
Clems Corner	4.8km	Easy	Easy Rawnsley Park Station loop walk with views of Elder Range	Rawnsley Park Station	Map
Ferntree Falls	5.2km	Easy	Good track to (dry) waterfall in impressive gorge in Rawnsley Park Station	Rawnsley Park Station	Map
Hills Homestead	6.9km	Easy	Level walk through Pound Gap to historic homestead	Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre
Mount Ohlssen Bagge	7.1km	Easy/Moderate	Relatively short but steep ascent, with spectacular views from summit	Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre	Map
Rawnsley Bluff	10.8km	Easy/Moderate	Short but steep ascent to headland which offers sweeping views	Rawnsley Park Station	Map
St Mary Peak	15.4km	Moderate	Spectacular views from the peak; steep ascent & descent via Outside Trail	Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre	Map
St Mary Peak loop	22km	Moderate	Strenuous loop walk to highest peak; return via Hills Homestead	Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre	Map
Malloga Falls	23km	Moderate	Remote trail to (usually) dry waterfall in Edeowie Gorge	Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre	Map
Heyson Trail	62km	Moderate	Four day-length sections of Heysen Trail traverse the national park	Multiple	Map

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Northern section

Bushwalk	Length	Grade	Description	Trailhead	AllTrails Map
Trezona Circuit	8km	Easy	Loop walk past old huts, with some nice views	Trezona Campground	Map
Bunyeroo Gorge Geology Walk	8km	Easy	Follows Bunyeroo Creek through gorges with interpretive	Bunyeroo Road	Map
Wilcolo Circuit	9.3km	Easy	Loop walk following sections of Mawson & Heysen Trails	Bunyeroo Road	Map
Yuluna Circuit	11km	Easy	Loop walk along creeks & past historic homestead	Aroona Valley Road	Map
Blinman Pools	11.6km	Easy	Shaded walk along creek & gorge	Angorichina Village	Map
Wilkawillina Gorge Hike	13km	Easy/Moderate	Follow Ten Mile Creek through gorge past waterhole	Bunkers Range	Map
Aroona to Yoongona	15.5km	Easy/Moderate	One-way walk along Heywards Hut network. Nice scenery.	Aroona Valley Road / Bunyeroo Road	Map
Aroona to Paralchina	18.1km	Easy/Moderate	One-way section of Heysen Trail mostly along creekbed	Aroona Valley Road / Paralchina Gorge	Map

Mountain ranges of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park

Within and adjoining the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park are a number of mountain ranges, which create the interesting landscape of the Central Flinders Ranges. The largest and most prominent ranges include:

Wilpena Pound Range (Akurra Ngami Range) forms the western, south and south-east “wall” of Wilpena Pound Range, and stretches from Pound Gap south to the Moonarie Gap, and then north-west to Edoewie Gorge. The exact extent of the Wilpena Pound Range is somewhat contentious and is not officially defined; according to the Geographical Names Board is is “Assumed to start at the centre of Moonarie Gap and head north-west, end point yet to be determined, which may vary from the extent of Akurra Ngami which has been assumed to start at Rawnsley Bluff – further investigation required.”

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The highest peaks of the Wilpena Pound Range arguably include those between Pound Gap and Moonarie Gap – from north to south these include Mount Ohlssen-Bagge (942m), Binya Peak (984m) and Point Bonney (1,132m). From Moonarie Gap there are a series of peaks named by surveyor William Greig Evans after relatives and members of the survey party – Rawnsley Bluff, Fred Nob, Walter Hill, Snave Hill, Greig Peak, Harold Hill, Pompey Pillar (1,165m) and Beatrice Hill.

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Heyson Range (Akurra Yardli) extends from Pound Gap north to Paralchina Gorge, with the lower part of of the range forming part of the Wilpena Pound’s walls. The name was officially approved in 1970 by the Geographical Names Board when the Heysen Range was described as “that range from St Mary Peak to the vicinity of Parachilna Road”.

The highest peaks of the Heysen Range include from south to north include: Wangara Hill, Mount Boorong, St Mary Peak / Ngarri Mudlanha (the highest peak of the Flinders Ranges at 1,168m), Mount Abrupt (861m), Mt Sinnett, Mt Rupert, South Mt Hayward, Mt Hayward, Mt Barbara, Mt Barloo, Iralbo Peak, Kankana Peak, Mingari Peak, Bulara Peak, Mt Bell and Mt Falkland.

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ABC Range is a long mountain range that stretches along the eastern section of the park, named after the fact its “Said to have as many seperate hills as letters in the alphabet”. Ironically, while the ABC Range has many peaks, it has very few named peaks – those peaks which have a name include The Three Sisters (548m), Spider Hill and Aroona Hill.

There is a great view of the curved Heyson Range and ABC Range from St Mary Peak, which also shows the long Aroona Valley – the “Garden of the North” – between these two ranges.

Chace Range (Vada Wildya Yurdu, which means “Dead Finish Range” after the extremely hardy Prickly wattle tree). The Chace range is south-west of the national park, and very few of its peaks have a name. The highest peak of the Chance Range is Captains Head (797m) at the northern end of the range, and the other named peaks are Mount Havelock (791m), Ned Knob (749m) and Yaltaordla Hill (580m).

The Druid Range is parallel to the Chace Range, and it too has very few named peaks – Mount Neville at the northern end and Toby Hill near the middle of the range. Near the southern end are three gaps or passes through the range – Black Gap, Red Gap and White Gap.

Elder Range (Urdlu Warlpunha, meaning kangaroo bones, apparently after a Dreaming story where a witch doctor was singing a song on top of the range while sorting out his kangaroo bones in the moonlight) is to the south-west of Wilpena PoThere are very few named peaks along the Elder Range – Mount Aleck (1,095m is the highest peak) and George Nob / Georges Knob (924m asl). The Arkaba Hills with the Elder Range behind it was a favourite subject for artist Sir Hans Heysen. You can get a great view of the Elder Range from Mount Ohlsse Bagge (below), Rawnsley Bluff as well as the Hucks Lookout and Elder Range Lookout along Flinders Ranges Way

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The Red Range is parallel to the Elder Range; the Heysen Trail follows the base of this low mountain range on the western side (between the Red Range and Elder Range). There are no named peaks.

Highest peaks of the Central Flinders Ranges

The highest peaks of the Central Flinders Ranges are listed below – most (but not all) are within the Ikara-Flinders Ranges.

	Name	Elevation	Location	Access
1	St Mary Peak	1171m	-31.503432, 138.552210	Signposted track from Wilpena Pound
2	Pompey Pillar	1160m	-31.532897, 138.516859	Off-track from Heysen Trail
3	Point Bonney	1130m	-31.582850, 138.628730	Off-track from the west
4	Mt Sawtooth (Great Wall)	1111m	-31.494417, 138.539486
5	Mount Karawarra	1100m	-31.567090, 138.622396
6	Mt Aleck	1095m	-31.649561, 138.463306	Off-track from Morala Scenic Drive
7	Mt Boorong	1080m	-31.513098, 138.564741
8	Binya Peak	980m	-31.551048, 138.612214
9	Rawnsley Bluff	964m	-31.61672, 138.61632	Signposted track from Rawnsley Park Station
10	Plantagenet	940m	-31.882845, 138.681874	Highest driveable Flinders peak (on Worumba Station)
18	Mount Abrupt	860m	-31.464092, 138.524920

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There are lots of off-track bushwalking options in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges – including many of the peaks above – but you need good navigation skills and if camping, there are are very few reliable water sources. Some useful blogs and articles on off-track routes include:

• Wild Magazine (Jul/Sep 2008) – Respecting your Eldsers describes a 3-day Mt Aleck route). PDF.
• Adelaide Bushwalkers – Wildya Ngulhindanha aka Pompey Pillar Walk Report

Aboriginal history of Ikara-Flinders Ranges

Adnyamathanha, meaning ‘hill people’ or ‘rock people’ is a collective name given to four language groups who lived in the Central Flinders Ranges – the Wailpi, Guyani, Jadliaura, and Pilatapa. Evidence of the Adnyamathanha people include many indigenous rock sites in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges, of which include two can be publicly accessed.

Additional rock art sites in the central Flinders Ranges, but outside the national park include:

• Glass Gorge Cultural Art Site – accessed from Wadna Shop (near Blinman) via the commercial Yura Mulka Private Tour. Petroglyphs and scarred trees.
• Dingley Dell – petroglyphs on boulders near the campground. Can also be visited on a Wadna private tour.
• Red Gorge – engraving site along Deception Creek
• Yourambulla Caves Aboriginal Painting Site – multiple rock shelters just outside Hawker, with significant Adnyamathanha rock art. They have been closed since 2014.

When to visit

Many of the more challenging bushwalks are closed over summer (1 December to 28 Feb), but even the few months before and after summer can be unbearably hot – and most trails have very little shade. The winter months are best for bushwalking with cooler days, and while there is a higher chance of rainfall, this means you can visit some of the waterholes and waterfalls which are dry most of the year.

Where to Stay

There are eleven campground within the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, which can be booked online. They range from walk-in and 4WD-accessible sites to ones accessible by all vehicles; none have powered sites and while all have water tanks, the supply and quality of water can’t be guaranteed.

For cabins, guestroom and motel-style accommodation, Wilpena Pound Resort is within the national park, while Rawnsley Park Station and Arkaba are nearby.

References and More Information

• Sydney Morning Herald – Traveller – Charms of the Serpent
• FarmOnline Weather – Wilpena Pound
• Wilpena Pound map [PDF] – 1959 map produced by Adelaide Bushwalkers (ABW)