Ranger Tips – Ngarkat Conservation Park

Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park is locat­ed 34km south of Pin­na­roo, and fea­tures a mag­nif­i­cent mosa­ic of Mallee and heath land, extend­ing across 270,000ha of rem­nant coastal dunes.

If you’re a four wheel dri­ve (4WD) fanat­ic, then this is the park for you – it’s known for its remote 4WD tracks. 

One of the most enjoy­able is the icon­ic Bor­der Track, which fol­lows the bor­der that sep­a­rates South Aus­tralia and Victoria.

This nar­row, sandy track pass­es through a frag­ile envi­ron­ment and requires dri­vers to have a high lev­el of 4WD experience.

Don’t wor­ry. If two-wheel dri­ve (2WD) is more your thing, part of Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park is 2WD acces­si­ble, and it’s easy to get around.

Want some point­ers about what to do on your next vis­it? We’ve asked park ranger Ryan Hamood for some insid­er tips.

Note: Be sure to check any park alerts before enter­ing the park via the Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park or Clo­sure & Alerts pages.

What is Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park’s best kept secret?

I love the vast vari­ety of sea­son­al wild­flow­ers that put on a show in the park in August and Sep­tem­ber each year.

Wher­ev­er you go in the park you’ll find a dif­fer­ent flower emerg­ing from the sandy soil beneath, dis­play­ing mul­ti­ple colours off into the distance.

The same time of year, Mallee birds are active­ly bound­ing from one flower to the next or doing acro­bat­ics to chase down the agile inver­te­brate for their next meal.

What are some sea­son­al high­lights in Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park?

Hav­ing had an extreme­ly dry sea­son through­out the Mallee region, lots of peo­ple and the envi­ron­ment are feel­ing the effects. This has lead to the extend­ed clo­sure of the Bor­der Track — but don’t let this stop your Ngarkat adven­ture before it has begun!

Be sure to check out the often-for­got­ten west­ern side of the park, with many tracks to explore, spa­cious and relax­ing camp­grounds at Box Flat and Bucks Camp, and some of the best walk­ing trail and look­outs with stun­ning 360-degree views. The west is by far my favourite part of the park!

Get out and see the parched foot­print of a bush­fire start­ed by a light­ning strike in March of this year!

Observe the extreme resilience of the Mallee land­scape with the Xan­th­or­rhoea already emerg­ing with new growth from the dust and ash­es.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the Aus­tralian Bus­tard patrolling the burnt ground, these gra­cious birds were very sel­dom seen in the land­scape but pop­u­la­tions are now slow­ly on the return.

What is your favourite activ­i­ty to enjoy in the park?

I real­ly enjoy search­ing for the lit­tle native orchids in the under­growth – so frag­ile, yet so strong to be able to sur­vive in the Mallee environment.

Top tip: If you’re vis­it­ing the park in win­ter, orchids can be found across the park after win­ter rains.

What is the best view in the park?

The park offers so much vari­ety from dunal look­outs to clay swales.

As you dri­ve around the park, the veg­e­ta­tion changes so much that you find your­self always look­ing and watch­ing out the win­dow ador­ing this unique place.

I real­ly enjoy the Mt Res­cue area of the park for its banksia cov­ered flats, and tracks that trav­el east-west, pro­vid­ing a real sense of the dune pat­tern in the park.

How much time do I need to vis­it Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park?

Ngarkat is not just a des­ti­na­tion, it’s a jour­ney. You will need more than a day to explore this park. 

With more than six spec­tac­u­lar look­outs and 10 walk­ing trails, the park has so much to see that you may need to stay a night and camp in one of the many camp­sites.

This way you’ll be ful­ly immersed in your sur­round­ings and will have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to explore so much that this mag­nif­i­cent park has to offer.

Park of the Month

This May, Mur­ray­lands parks are being cel­e­brat­ed as Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice South Australia’s Park of the Month! Check the Park of the Month page for the full program. 

Be sure to check any park alerts before enter­ing the park via the Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park or Clo­sures & Alerts pages.