Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park

If there's one place that many think of the South Australian Outback, it's Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, a South Australian national park best known for its iconic Wilpena Pound, a large naturally formed amphitheatre. On top of Wilpena Pound, the park contains some paleontological sites, hiking trails and lookouts. Since April 2021, it has been on the tentative list for world heritage for its rich fossil collection along with the two nearby parks of Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges and the relatively new Nilpena Ediacara (formerly Ediacara CP).

The Flinders Ranges have been a part of Australian culture and is the typical "Outback scene" that many associate Australia with. It is perhaps the best-known national park in the Outback (excluding Ulu r u-Kata Tju t a) and many travellers from all over the world come to see this park when road-tripping in South Australia or the west of New South Wales.

Until 2016, it was known as Flinders Ranges National Park.

History
The park was established in January 1, 1945, making it one of the earliest national parks in South Australia, named after the explorer Matthew Filnders who scaled Mount Broen in March 1802.

In the summer of 1839, Edward John Eyre with a party of five men further explored the Flinders Ranges. They left Adelaide on May 1, 1839 and the expedition set up a resupply point near Mount Arden, and from there they explored the surrounding region and upper Spencer Gulf, before heading up the Murray River and returning to Adelaide.

There are records of settlers living in the nearby Quorn District since at least 1845 and the first grazing licences were issued in 1851. William Pinkerton is considered the first settler to find a way through the Flinders Meadows via the Pichi Richi Pass. The surrounds of the Flinders Ranges continued to be farming areas, until the mid-20th century where the area's significance decreased with the Ghan's last run via Marree in the 1980s.

However, the Wilpena Pound was deemed a place not suitable for agriculture, and nearly all attempts of farming have failed. The potential for tourism quickly came to realisation and today, it has become one of the most iconic landscapes in South Australia.

Today, the park does not have many remnants of the pastoral and colonial times of the region, though there were former stations in the park, but today, all that remains of those stations are just ruins from early European settlement and Indigenous Adnyamathanha rock art sites.

Landscape
Most of the park is composed of folded and faulted sediments of the Adelaide Geosyncline which is of thick sequence of sediments were deposited in a large basin during the Neoproterozoic on the passive margin of the ancient continent of Rodinia.

About 540 million years ago, the area underwent the Delamerian orogeny where the geosynclinal sequence was folded and faulted into a large mountain range. The area has undergone erosion since then resulting in the relatively low ranges in what can be seen today.

Flora and fauna


The park is one of the last areas where the yellow-footed rock kangaroo can still be commonly found. Since dingoes disappeared from the park and permanent wells were built for livestock, numbers of the red kangaroo, the western grey kangaroo, and the wallaroo have increased and can be seen on hiking trails. The brush-tailed kangaroo rat was extinct in this national park for some time, but was reintroduced in the early 21st century. Other notable animal species in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park include the emu, the wedge-tailed eagle, and the Gould's monitor lizard.

Climate
As Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park is in the middle of the Outback, it gets hot especially during summer while it gets quite cold during the winter. However, unlike other Outback parks, the heat is somewhat tolerable in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, thanks to its altitude.

However, some trails are closed during the summer season (usually between Nov 30 and Mar 1). Check the SA Parks website for which ones are open and which are closed.

Generally, the ideal time to visit Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park is either during autumn (mid-March to May) or spring (late-August to late-November). The winter temperatures get cold, while summer temperatures can go up to 45°C.

Visitor information centre
There is a single visitor centre in the park, at the Wilpena Pound Resort. Otherwise, if you're looking to get park information or contact the park management, contact the Port Augusta National Parks Wildlife Service office by either calling or by emailing DEW.SAALOnlineBookings@sa.gov.au@undefined.

Get in
As with most other national parks in South Australia or even Australia as a whole, getting to Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park is best done by car, and only for those who are willing to put up with more than a four-hour drive – which is actually not that much when compared to other parks in the Flinders Ranges. While there is an airport at Hawker, it is only used as a Royal Flying Doctor Service base.

By car
From the South Australian capital of Adelaide, take it M2 North-South Motorway up north and then exit onto A1 Port Wakefield Highway. After about 2½ hours, just before Port Augusta, turn onto B83 Flinders Ranges Way and continue northeast up until Hawker. Once you're at Hawker, turn onto the unnumbered Flinders Ranges Way for an hour until you've arrived at the park.

From Broken Hill, head west onto A32 Barrier Highway for about 270 kilometres until B79. Once you're at the B79 turnoff, turn onto B79 Petersburg Road up until Peterborough. Once at Peterborough, turn right onto B56 and continue onto B56 up until B80. Once at B80, continue for about 140 kilometres up until B83. Once at B83, turn right and then continue northeast up until Hawker. Once you're at Hawker, turn onto the unnumbered Flinders Ranges Way for an hour until you've arrived at the park.

By plane
The closest airport is in Port Augusta, which has flights from Adelaide and Coober Pedy but few take the airport given that you will need to then end up driving from Pt. Augusta.

Fees and permits
You will need to pay a vehicle entry fee and needs to be paid prior to arrival. Bookings can be made at the SA Parks website and is usually the preferred method. Otherwise, emailing DEWDesertParks@sa.gov.au@undefined is another alternate way of making an online booking. As of 2022, the fees are usually $12 per vehicle and $10 for concession holders. The fees do not cover camping, and additional fees apply for camping.

If you would prefer to pay in person, you can get your pass at one of the South Australian Parks Office booking offices listed here.

Get around
There are two main important roads in the park that you will need to know when visiting the park. The main road is Flinders Ranges Way, the only sealed (paved) road crossing the park from north-south with mostly 110 km/h speed limits but you may have to slow down to or  on bends. The second road is the road to the resort. It too is sealed, but a very short road, and the only place with supplies.

Both roads are well-signposted, and if you do happen to somehow get lost driving, if you are on a sealed road, you're likely on one of these two, most likely on Flinders Ranges Way.

Other smaller roads – including scenic drives are often just gravel roads. The default speed limit in the absence of a sign saying otherwise in national parks is 40 km/h.

Roads can close in the park without any notice due to extreme fire danger. Check the CFS website for up-to-date information on fire danger.

Do
There are numerous trails in the park, as well as some scenic drives, mostly on gravel roads.

Scenic drives

 * The Brachina Gorge Geological Trail (coloured  on map) is a 20-kilometre trail on gravel roads passing numerous geological formations and with numerous stops to learn about the different parts of the trail. The trail is also home to several Cambrian fossils. Similar to neighbouring Nilpena Ediacara National Park, it holds some of the world's oldest Ediacaran fossils.
 * Bunyeroo Gorge Scenic Trail (coloured  on map) is a 30-kilometre trail only suitable for SUVs or 4WDs. The scenic trail passes through some of the higher peaks of the park on top of the Bunyeroo Gorge as the trail name says.

Walks
If you are walking or doing any of the hikes inside the park, it is advisable to download the Flinders Ranges Walks apps before you do one of them. The app has detailed walk information about six walks inside the park, along with some other walks in Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park and two nearby conservation parks. The app is available on both iOS and Android.
 * The 7.9-km trail inside Wilpena Pound is a must for those wanting to get inside Wilpena Pound.
 * For a much shorter walk, the Arkaroo Rock walking trail (coloured  on map) is the only trail you can use to get to Arkaroo Rock.
 * If you're looking to get a glimpse of the pastoral times of the park, the Hills Homestead Walk which takes and takes two hours return southwest from the resort will give you some of the most preserved pioneering heritage sites one could find in the Flinders Ranges.
 * A popular walk is the St Mary's saddle - Wilpena Pound circuit. This walk is done anticlockwise taking a track outside the pound you then have a steep scramble to the saddle and return via the pound and the old homestead. There are great views from the saddle, easy walking through the dry forest in the pound and the track passes the old homestead and creek. It's 18km and takes 5-6 hours. Park administration likes you to sign in and out of the walk and start before 10am. In years gone by people used to camp inside the pound: that is no longer permitted but this walk is well designed and arguably the best in the area.
 * The Living with Land Walk is a walk that takes you to the solar farm near the resort, which is a 1-kilometre talk with several information signs on how Europeans and the Indigenous Adnyamathanha learned to survive in such the hot and harsh unforgiving climates of the Flinders Ranges.
 * For a bit of a more moderate hike, the Trezona Hike is a which is one of the few trails that pass through the Heysen Range. An ideal base to start this walk is the Trezona Campground, where the walk starts. The hike takes about 4 hours to do. An interesting geological feature along the way is the Trezona geological formation, which contains some of the earliest life forms on earth dating from the Ediacaran era.
 * The Boom and Bust Hike is an easy to moderate 2-kilometre hike to one of the park's most colourful flora and fauna which is a very unusual sight for the outback. It is near the visitor centre.

Buy
There is only a single convenience store in the park, and that's an IGA Xpress. You can expect to find what you'd find in a normal IGA and unusually, the park also has a small service station, so you don't have to go out of the park to fill up.

Eat
There is only one restaurant within the park, managed by the Wilpena Pound Resort. There is also a small cafe next to the IGA (see &sect; Buy).

Sleep
The sky during night is pretty clear – so clear, that it's probably much clearer than many of the Dark Sky Parks in the United States. Sometimes you might not be able to see the Milky Way in summer, but it's almost always visible during winter. However, it may be a little difficult to see in Wilpena Pound Resort area, but once you drive two or three kilometres out on either direction, it's pretty visible.

For space enthusiasts, two particularly visible constellations include the Orion and the Pleiades, both which have great significance to the Adnyamathanha. Orion represents the dreaming sacred law for men and the Pleiades represents the same but for women.

Camping
There is only one private accommodation in the park, managed by the Wilpena Pound resort. The rest are all managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia. All of them will require bookings in advance, for $17 a night. Bookings can be made here. Most of the campgrounds will require you to drive on unsealed roads and far from the resort – make sure you have enough supplies with you.

Backcountry
Camping is only permitted in designated campgrounds.

Stay safe
Most roads in the park have a speed limit, similar to most other parts of the state. However, the roads in the Flinders Ranges are more windy, with more bends, and as this is a national park, there's more wildlife crossing the road, especially during dawn and dusk. Speed limits can drop heavily – you could be going and then suddenly have to slow down to  on a bend.

Mobile reception in the park is generally poor, and Telstra only has coverage in Wilpena and some nearby lookouts while Optus or Vodafone do not have any coverage at all. If that's the case, let someone know that you're coming here.

For cases requiring regional duty officers, for the Flinders Ranges region, phone. The listed reasons to call can be found at the SA Parks website.

Go next

 * Nilpena Ediacara National Park is a very new national park, which opened to the public in early 2023, home to fossils over 500 million years old – which is older than dinosaurs