9 Days: Saturday 3rd to Sunday 11th September 2011

4 Nights: Camping in Wilpena Pound

2 Nights: Greenwood Lodge, Arkaroola

2 Nights: Gum Creek Station, Blinman

Drought breaking rains of the past twelve months make Park Treks walking holiday into the Flinders Ranges this September a unique opportunity to see the area come to life. One day you find yourself having lunch in a narrow gorge surrounded by 150 metre high cliffs and the next you’re gazing over the wave like ranges of the Flinders from the peak of St Mary’s. Park Trek's walking holiday in the Flinders Ranges offers you a tremendous diversity in scenery and a great variety of experiences awaiting you on our trip into the Flinders Ranges. We explore the southern, central sections as well as going all the way to Arkaroola. It’s also one of our most sociable trips with the evenings spent sitting around an open fire taking in the atmosphere and enjoying excellent food after a day of stimulating activity.

DAY 1

Our journey begins at the Keswick Railway Station at 8:00am, a central location in Adelaide where we pick everyone up from before departing for morning tea in the quaint town of Redhill. Then it’s on to one of the best features of the Southern Flinders Ranges-Mambray Creek Reserve. Here we do a short walk of two hours enjoying lunch on the tree-lined banks of this most picturesque location. We arrive into Wilpena Pound late in the afternoon where we’ll set up camp in a well-shaded area, enjoying excellent shower and full bathroom facilities very close at hand.

Approx 5 kilometres walking

DAY 2

A gentle start on our first full day in the Flinders Ranges. Today we’ll depart for a very scenic outing beginning with a drive along part of the Morolana Scenic Drive. This is followed by a fantastic walk following the Heysen Trail up to Blacks Gap and onto our campsite via the Pound. The walk up through Blacks Gap is delightful and straightforward. It gets a little more challenging as we climb up to the gap that takes us through to Wilpena Pound. Here we sit for lunch with spectacular views.

The walking after lunch is a lot easier as we head down through the Pound and back to our campsite.

Approx 12 kilometres walking

DAY 3

The Flinders is full of many hidden gems and today we reveal one of them, the walk to Bathtub Gorge and the beautiful Aroona Valley. This is where the famous artist Hans Heysen painted many of his iconic works of art. Our days walk follows the gentle path of the Heysen Trail before we follow what at the start begins as a small creek and soon becomes a deep dramatic gorge. This is classic day of Flinders ranges walk. The walking for the best part is quite straightforward but in the gorge it requires a more careful approach. But the rewards are there as we sit and lunch below 200 metre high cliffs towering above us. We return to a delicious BBQ dinner around the campfire.

Approx 14 kilometres walking

DAY 4

For some today’s walk is the trip highlight. Today we walk from camp to Tanderra Saddle, from where we can look straight into the heart of Wilpena Pound. For those seeking a more challenging walk there is the option of walking all the way to St Mary’s Peak and then returning via the green and gentle interior of The Pound itself and back to camp. We’ll be tired souls after the days adventure but delighted by what has been seen and achieved. This evening we eat out at the local restaurant OE.

Between 17 and 22 kilometres walking

DAY 5

Time to depart Wilpena and enjoy a day with a different pace and feel. We make our first port of call the small town of Parachilna where we have morning tea in the Prairie Hotel OE. Then it’s on to the mining town of Leigh Creek where we do some reprovisioning before making our way to lunch at one of the landmark establishments of the Flinders, The Quandong Café at Copley. Lunch here is OE. After lunch it will be time to join a local Aboriginal guide who can reveal to us some of his people’s traditional stories and strategies for surviving in this seemingly harsh landscape. By late afternoon we’ll be settling into dinner and two nights accommodation at the highly acclaimed Arkaroola Nature Sanctuary.

DAY 6

Today begins with a walk into the areas best gorge – Bararana. This most impressive waterhole is where we’ll have lunch before a short walk back to the coach and an afternoon return to Arkaroola. If you decide you’d like to extend your days outing we’ll drop you off at the start of the Acacia Ridge walk where a 5 kilometre trek will bring right back into the Arkaroola Village. This evening you may care to book one of the astronomy tours at Arkaroola.

Approx 10 - 15 kilometres walking

DAY 7

A once in a lifetime experience awaits you today with the world famous Ridgetop 4WD tour from Arkaroola OE. Alternatively you may instead prefer to relax until we return at lunchtime. After lunch we make tracks for the warmth and charm of Gum Creek Station and accommodation beside the giant Red Gums that line the creek. This will be our place of stay for the next two nights. Gum Creek Station has a very warm and welcoming feel and you’ll enjoy the twin share comforts of this once bustling shearers quarters with clean and simple amenities.

DAY 8

Again we find ourselves somewhere different today as we journey from our place of stay to the delightful Blinman Pools. This is a very easy straightforward walk through rolling countryside when suddenly we are stopping alongside deep blue pools of clear fresh water. It’s a relaxing pace finishing at the small village of Angorichina. Then it’s time for a decent cappuccino in the small outback town of Blinman. Usually we are here when the local arts society runs a terrific display of works by local artisits. Our final nights dinner back at the Gum Creek Station allows us to enjoy each others company with plenty of Park Trek hospitality.

14 kilometres walking

DAY 9

In the cool light of early morning we’ll depart driving past the beautiful rocky escarpments that are such a feature of this area before stopping to visit the aboriginal art site of Yourambulla Caves (here we can break from the journey and enjoy a three kilometre walk) before a short coffee stop in Quorn OE. Then it’s onto our lunch stop at the Stone Hut Bakery OE before returning via the Clare wine making region. We expect to be dropping people back into Adelaide’s CBD around 6:30pm. Those catching flights out that evening can be dropped off at the airport.

Between 17 and 22 kilometres walking 

Return flights back home booked on the last day of the trip need to have an 8.00pm onwards departure time.

Price: $1,970.00 (ex-Adelaide) (incl. GST)