Hiking our way through the stunning Flinders Ranges - Part 1

Part 1 (as there is too much to fit in one blog post!).

Sunday 26th February - Wednesday 1st March

Quorn, SA

Sunday 26^th February

On our way to the Flinders Ranges we stopped for a night the historic bush town of Quorn. After wandering around town looking at the old buildings and learning about the 1800s Pichi Richi railway line that came through Quorn, we had an ice-cold beer at one of the original pubs, the Transcontinental. That night we all thoroughly enjoyed the Silo Art movies- an hour of short movies showcasing the area projected onto silos just near the historic railway station. It was such a great experience to sit under the stars watching the interesting and visually delightful short movies. The next morning the kids and I did the Bush Plants walk after we’d learnt the night before (from one of the movies) that Quorn (and the surrounding area) is known as the bush food capital of Australia. Our favourite was the bush curry plant – when you walked past it smelt like you’d just walked into an Indian restaurant! We were all keen to try some foods made with bush plants, and we thought we were on to a winner in Hawker, but unfortunately the café hadn’t re-opened for the season yet. It should be open when we leave Flinders Ranges though – fingers crossed.

One of the original pubs in Quorn- established in 1878. Daniel and I enjoyed a cold beer at the charming old pub.

Quorn Railway Station - once a bustling rail hub.

Nostalgic art on the side of the old Emporium.

Getting ready for the silo movies- front row seats😀

One of several short movies we got to enjoy that night.

Ikara- Flinders Ranges National Park- Part 1 (the first 3 days)

Monday 27^th February- Wednesday 1st March

Day 1 (27/2/23) –Wilpena Pound- After popping in to see the ruins of Kanyaka Homestead we rolled into Wilpena Pound around midday and settled into the lovely camp area. We spent the early afternoon relaxing, the kids rode their bikes around the campsite and we all went swimming in the pool (though we had to be careful as there were a lot of bees and wasps). We just did a short walk in the late afternoon and enjoyed seeing emus and kangaroos.

Walk No. 1  Boom or Bust walk: 2km loop- 1 hour

This walk gave us a taste of the stunning landscape of the Flinders Ranges whilst we learnt about the impact of boom times (lots of water) and bust times (drought) on the plants and animals that inhabit the Wilpena Pound area. We walked near a huge ants nest and we spent awhile marvelling at the large grasshopper legs some of them were carrying.

Kanyaka Homestead ruins - built in 1850s, Kanyaka was once a thriving cattle and sheep farm, however the unforgiving environment up here eventually got the better of the optimistic settlers who tried to make a go of it in Outback SA.

We enjoyed wandering through the ruins, imaging how challenging and different life would have been back then. 

Ant watch! There were some seriously big ant hills around, so, as well as watching the ants, we also watched our feet - if you stayed in one place too long you ended up with ants up your legs!

Day 2 (28/2/23)- Wilpena Pound- we had a great day, 2 walks and 1 lookout, and we got to enjoy the beautiful glowing light on the rocks at both sunrise and sunset. We relaxed at camp during the afternoon and watched the antics of the Magpies, Ravens and Apostle birds – they are all very bold and strutted confidently right through your campsite. We had to shoo several birds away as they tried to steal bits and pieces from camp, and we watched in amazement as a raven even tried to eat Jackson’s bike seat!!

Walk No. 2  Hill’s Homestead and Wangarra Lookouts: 7.8km return, 2hr 45mins

We left at 6.40am so we could complete the walk in the cool of the day as it was predicted to be 32deg. It was a lovely hike along the banks of Wilpena Creek and we got many glimpses of the rocky mountains glowing orange in the early morning light as we walked along. We stopped first at Hill’s Homestead, where we learnt about the first pioneering family that tried to maintain a farm within Wilpena Pound. After looking at the renovated homestead we started to climb up one of the rocky sides that make up Wilpena Pound. There were two different lookouts that gave us incredible views of Wilpena Pound and the surrounding mountain ranges. It was absolutely stunning up there.

Starting the walk in the early morning light- it was worth setting the alarm!

Crossing over the currently dry Wilpena Creek.

This tree reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera.

The restored Hill's Homestead- the first pioneering family to try to farm inside Wilpena Pound. Things went okay for a little while, but eventually the farm was wiped out by flood.

You can just see Daniel standing on the safety fence on the top Wangarra Lookout (he wanted an even higher view!).

Looking at the mountains of Wilpena Pound.

The mountains just seem to go on forever. Inside you can see some of the bare land that still hasn't recovered from early farming.

These spiders were all over the Flinders Ranges - they each had a huge web and had a treasure trove of insects wrapped up in their webs.

There were so many huge, old tree stumps around the campground - we thought this one looked like giant hands grabbing at the ground.

Walk No. 3  Arkaroo Rock (Adnyamathanha Rock Art): 3km loop, 1 hour

We all got hot and sweaty climbing up the rocky track ,but the Indigenous rock art was definitely worth it. We passed a group of wild goats on the way up, but that was the only wildlife we saw (all the smart animals were resting in the shade!). The view of the ranges on the way down was stunning, but we were all quite happy once we made it back to the air-conditioned comfort of the car!

Driving up to do the walk - the mountains are all so stunning.

I loved the contrast of the green scrub and the red rocks on this section of the mountain range.

Jackson remembered his walking stick from Carvarvon Gorge (way back in QLD) and decided to bust it out again!

Taking a breather in the shade - how incredible is this rock!

The Indigenous rock art at Arkaroo- the art is under a rock shelter and depicts images that tell the story of the creation of Wilpena Pound (Ikara) by 2 rainbow serpents (Akurra). According to the Dreamtime Creation story, the bodies of these 2 serpents form the walls of Wilpena Pound (Ikara).

Glowing (with sweat) after the hot walk up to see the rock art.

It was an incredible view on the way back down.

On the way down I kept turning around as the mountain just looked so spectacular- photos don't even come close to showing how beautiful this place is.

Stokes Hill Lookout: no walking, just a platter for dinner, an aerial show by two wedge-tailed eagles and spectacular views followed by a multi-coloured sunset.

With the rock cairn they made - the wind kept blowing the tiny rock off the top!

The clouds had us feeling very hopeful for a spectacular sunset.

We had dinner at the back of the car- what a view!

As you can tell it was quite windy up at Stokes Hill Lookout.

The mountain range to the east glowed in the light from the setting sun.

You can just see one of the wedge-tailed eagles that kept flying back and forth over the lookout.

The colours just got better and better.

Day 3 (1/3/23)- Trezona Campground (northern Flinders Ranges)- we had a late checkout from Wilpena Pound so we were able to have breakfast and a much needed shower after our early morning walk, before we moved north to one of the National Park campsites.

Walk No. 4  Mt Ohlssen Bagge (941m above sea level): 6.4km return, 3 hours *This walk is closed from 1^st Dec to 1^st March- luckily our last day at Wilpena Pound was the 1^st March!

We had another early morning and were starting to walk by 6.15am. As we walked from the campground with head torches we were surprised (and delighted) to see two yellow-footed rock wallabies, we certainly didn’t expect to see them so close to camp considering how elusive they usually are. It was a reasonably challenging climb up the rocky mountain but gosh the views were worth it. We had incredible views the whole way up and, as we’d started the walk well before sunrise, we got to see the mountains glow and change colour as the sun light hit them. The views from the top were spectacular. We could see the mountain range that makes up Wilpena Pound, as well as St Mary’s Peak- the highest point in the Ikara Flinders Ranges. We didn’t stay up the top too long though as there was an icy wind blowing. The climb down still took awhile as there were loose rocks and some very steep parts (that mine and Daniel’s knees did not appreciate!). We made it back to camp by 9.15am- our coffee and breakfast tasted extra good that morning!!

It was only just starting to get light when we began our ascent to the peak of Mt Ohlssen Bagge (directly above Jackson's head).

It was a steep and rocky climb.

We were about halfway up when the sun poked through the cloudy horizon.

Some of the many interesting and unique rocks we walked past.

Admiring the view on our way up.

The first rays of sun lighting up the mountains- I don't think I could ever get sick of watching the spectacular sunrises here.

Looking out towards the peak: 'Are we nearly there yet!!'

Looking out at the some of the mountains that make up Wilpena Pound.

The view (from near the top)- you can see St Mary's Peak (highest peak in the Flinders Ranges) to the right.

Taking a breather (and a selfie) before the final climb to the top.

We were rewarded with 360 degrees of stunningness!

I only just made it back for this photo. After setting the timer on my camera I realised I had to climb down a rock, scramble over another, then climb up to sit next to Daniel (all in 10 seconds!!).

St Mary's Peak is in the background (as you can tell the sun was quite bright and Daniel was the only one who remembered his sunglasses).

The wind was blowing so hard I had trouble balancing on the edge of this rock for the photo.

Final selfie before we started our descent- it was a very rewarding hike.

The kids found a dead mountain goat and Jackson decided he wanted the horns- he managed to break them off with a rock and now I have 2 goat horns under my seat in the car...lovely!!

We left Wilpena Pound about 11.30am and headed north to Trezona Campground. That afternoon we did part of the Bunyeroo scenic drive- checking out a few of the other campgrounds and taking in the views from the Twin Gums lookout and the Razorback lookout.

It was late afternoon by the time we were driving back to camp so we saw lots of kangaroos, euros (a smaller, fluffier species of kangaroo- also called wallaroos) and emus. We also saw quite a few baby euros in one of the campgrounds – they are so cute as their ears look too big for the bodies!

Twin Gums lookout on the Bunyeroo scenic drive.

Two of the many Euros (also know as Wallaroos) that we saw in the Flinders Ranges.

I loved these 2 River Red Gums at the Trezona campground- the Australian outback scenery is just stunning.

Jackson and I climbed a small hill in front of our camp to enjoy the sunset - he found an even better spot to relax and enjoy the ambiance.

Jackson took this shot from his vantage point in the tree.

A selfie before we headed back to camp- we're both glowing from the warm dusk light.