Places to Visit
Arkaroo Rock
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Arkaroo Rock Walk |
Arkaroo Rock, an important Aboriginal art site in the Flinders Ranges features ochre and charcoal images depicting the creation of Wilpena Pound. Located on the southern boundary of the park, this spot requires a short walk, which offers spectacular views of the Chace Range. Please obtain a Bushwalking in the Flinders Ranges National Park brochure from the Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre.
Sacred Canyon
Sacred Canyon, a small chasm where ancient Aboriginal rock engravings are found on sandstone walls is located 19 km from Wilpena off the main Hawker-Blinman road. The rock engravings representing animal tracks, people, waterholes and other symbols are best seen in soft morning or afternoon light. Out of respect for the Adnyamathanha culture, visitors are asked not to touch the engravings.
Wilpena Pound
Wilpena Pound is a natural rock formation resulting from millions of years of erosion. This spectacular landform is a must see when visiting the central Flinders Ranges and is best seen by bushwalking along one of the many well established walking trails. Obtain a Bushwalking in the Flinders Ranges National Park brochure from the Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre.
Old Wilpena Station
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Old Wilpena Station |
Old Wilpena Station lies within the park only a few kilometres from the Wilpena Pound Resort. An important pioneering pastoral run, Wilpena Station was established in 1851 and had a working life of 135 years, before it slipped into retirement. The station finally ceased operations in 1985 when the Hunt family's (they were the last pastoral lessees) lease expired. It was purchased by the government and in 1988 dedicated as an addition to the park.
Today the Old Wilpena Station Historic Precinct is one of South Australia's most significant pastoral settlement sites due to its fine condition, wealth of heritage and spectacular setting. Preserved at Old Wilpena Station is the most complete group of early station buildings surviving in South Australia in an authentic pastoral landscape.
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Restored Pug and Pine Hut |
The Heritage listed site is a valuable archive of pastoral history in the Flinders Ranges and is culturally significant for both indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. The site holds a continued cultural significance for the Adnyamathanha people today.
The park Headquarters were moved from the Wilpena Resort precinct into the Old Wilpena Station Homestead in September 2003. The site was launched and officially opened to the public in March 2004.
Old Wilpena Station offers self-guided and guided tours. The site is open everyday of the year from 8 am to 5 pm. The 'Living With Land' Interpretive Trail is an easy walk and takes around two hours to complete.
Aroona Valley and Ruins
Framed by the Heysen and ABC ranges, the Aroona Valley is one of the most scenic locations in the park. An Adnyamathanha word meaning 'place of the frogs', Aroona was settled on a permanent spring. Above the spring are the remains of Haywards head station for the Aroona run of the 1850s. Right is a restored pug and pine hut, first built in 1925 as an outstation of the expanded Oraparinna run. The site is deeply associated with the renowned Australian landscape painter Sir Hans Heysen. A number of rewarding bushwalks commence from this site.
Wilpena Eating House and the Cazneaux Tree
A mound of stone is all that remains of the Wilpena Eating House, ½ km north of the Wilpena turn-off on the Hawker-Blinman road. Built in 1862 of native pine slabs with a thatched grass roof, it served the passing trade until it dwindled in the 1880s and the eating house was abandoned. The magnificent River Red Gum nearby was photographed by a renowned Sydney photographer Harold Cazneaux in 1937. The photograph, titled 'Spirit of Endurance', gained international recognition.
Blinman
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the historic township of Blinman, 50 km north of Wilpena, was a thriving copper mining centre with some 1,000 residents. Some of the pug and pine huts and stone buildings erected close to the old mines remain today. The population dwindled when the cost of transporting copper ore by cart and dray to Port Augusta made the mining venture unprofitable. Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the mine site all year round.
Appealinna Ruins
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Appealinna Ruins |
These impressive ruins are reached by a track about 1kilometre north of the Wirrealpa turn-off on the Blinman road. Joseph Wills, a local pastoralist in the 1850s, built the homestead and stockyards on the southern side of the creek, while the ruins on the north side were once a busy mining settlement. The flat stone quarried on-site and used in the construction of these buildings is a unique feature of Appealinna.
Bunyeroo Valley
The scenic Bunyeroo Valley road with its impressive razorback ridge and lookouts starts 4 km north of the Wilpena junction on the main Hawker-Blinman road. Visit the Yanyanna hut and stockyards before entering Bunyeroo Gorge where you follow the creekbed to pass through the gorge. Yanyanna was the central point in the Aroona pastoral run and is now the site of a ruined pug and pine shepherd's hut from the 1850s and a still standing iron shelter from 1937.
Brachina Gorge
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River Red Gum, Brachina Gorge |
Brachina Gorge is one of the park's most popular and spectacular tourist attractions. The gorge is an important refuge for the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby as well as many species of birds and reptiles. The Brachina Gorge Geological Tour is a 20 km self-guided trail that passes through 130 million years of earth history. Trail signage provides an insight into past climates, the formation of the ranges and the evolution of early life forms. The trail is best travelled from east to west, commencing at the Brachina Gorge/Blinman Road junction. A geological map and more detailed information on the Brachina Gorge Geological Trail is available from the Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre.
Glass Gorge and Parachilna Gorge
On your way to Blinman and Glass Gorge, look out for the Great Wall of China, a striking bluff along the Trezona Range. It is located some 7 km north of the park boundary. The track to Glass Gorge runs north from Blinman and is the original route for drays delivering copper to the railway at Parachilna. Parachilna Gorge links Blinman to the small township of Parachilna on the 30 km Leigh Creek scenic route.
Moralana Scenic Drive
This 28 km picturesque route is best done as a link with a longer drive. The road follows Moralana Valley, which lies between the south-western wall of Wilpena Pound and the dramatic Elder Range. The drive is especially colourful during spring and late afternoon. The scenic drive passes through private property and camping is not permitted. The road is a good gravel road joined at each end by bitumen.
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