Ranger tips: Gawler Ranges National Park

Gawler Ranges Nation­al Park is a spe­cial place where his­to­ry, con­ser­va­tion and Abo­rig­i­nal cul­ture come together.

Locat­ed about a 7 hour dri­ve north of Ade­laide, the park swarms with wildlife and pro­tects rare and threat­ened plants and ani­mals, includ­ing crim­son mallee and the yel­low-foot­ed rock-wallaby.

The park is well known for the mag­nif­i­cent Organ Pipes, formed more than 1500 mil­lion years ago as a result of vol­canic erup­tions. You can find equal­ly stun­ning rocky out­crops at Yandin­ga Falls and Kolay Mir­i­ca Falls.

Want to expe­ri­ence it for your­self? We’ve asked Ranger Lind­say Brown for some tips for your next vis­it. Here’s what he had to say:

What is the park’s best kept secret?

The park’s best kept secret is per­haps in the landscape.

The Gawler Ranges formed as the result of an ancient lava flow. The super­vol­cano event took place over mil­lions of years and is regard­ed as one of the biggest lava flows on the planet.

The Gawler Ranges have been recog­nised as one of the old­est geo­log­i­cal for­ma­tions in the world. Over time, they have erod­ed into the gen­tle land­scape we see today with round­ed hills and wide valleys.

The Gawler Ranges are sit­u­at­ed at an eco­log­i­cal cross­road where the arid deserts of the north meet with the tem­per­ate zone of south­ern Australia.

The Gawler Ranges is a fas­ci­nat­ing place to explore, with more than 650 species of plants and some very reward­ing ani­mal encounters.

Vis­i­tors can observe big red kan­ga­roos, wom­bats, yel­low-foot­ed rock-wal­la­bies, wedge-tailed eagles and much more.

What are some sea­son­al highlights?

In late win­ter and spring, orchids can be found on the hill­tops along with a mag­nif­i­cent array of flow­er­ing plants.

Take a look at these beau­ti­ful plants by head­ing out on one of the walk­ing trails in the park.

There are two trails, both scaled at a mod­er­ate lev­el, which should take you just over an hour to complete.

Feel free to wan­der through the open land­scape of the Gawler Ranges, as it lends itself to infor­mal walk­ing through the true wilder­ness of this grandiose landscape.

What is your favourite activ­i­ty to do in the park?

My favourite thing to do in the park is get out amongst the hills and explore some of the park’s unique nat­ur­al history.

Even after work­ing in this park for many years, I’m often still sur­prised at what can be observed when you take the time to relax and walk across the hilltops.

The park’s walk­ing trails lead you onto Scrub­by Peak, Mount Allalone, Mount Fairview and Shear­ers Hill, giv­ing vis­i­tors the oppor­tu­ni­ty to dis­cov­er some of the park’s nat­ur­al wonders.

Undoubt­ed­ly, some of the best views in the park are seen from the hill­tops. Views extend­ing across the ranges pro­vide for a trea­sured expe­ri­ence of how beau­ti­ful­ly remote and expan­sive the Gawler Ranges land­scape is.

For more things to see and do in Gawler Ranges Nation­al Park, check out our blog Top five things to see in Gawler Ranges Nation­al Park.