Your guide to discovering the Flinders Ranges this winter

In the cool­er months, the Flinders Ranges comes into its own — per­fect for hik­ing by day, camp­fire cook­ing by night, and enjoy­ing the peace of wide, open spaces with­out the crowds.

Here are some ideas to help you plan a short escape into Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park and beyond.

Day 1: Arrive at Ikara-Flinders Ranges and walk deep into time

After a scenic road trip north from Ade­laide, make your first stop the Wilpe­na Pound Vis­i­tor Infor­ma­tion Cen­tre where you can grab your park entry pass. 

With tem­per­a­tures sit­ting com­fort­ably in the mid to high teens, it’s ide­al weath­er for walk­ing. Check out these 7 fam­i­ly-friend­ly walks, per­fect for win­ter outings. 

Win­ter tip: The days are made for hik­ing, but nights can be icy. Pack a beanie and ther­mals, and check out these top tips for vis­it­ing parks in winter.

• Plan­ning to camp? Book your camp site ear­ly – spots fill quick­ly. Check out our guide to camp­ing at Ikara-Flinders Ranges.
• If you’re lucky, your camp­ing trip might go to the next lev­el in terms of spot­ting endan­gered wildlife, like west­ern quolls or brush-tailed possums.

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Day 2: Gor­geous gorges and fos­sil frontiers 

Kick off day two with a vis­it to Nilpe­na Edi­acara Nation­al Park, home to some of the old­est known ani­mal fos­sils on Earth. Book a guid­ed tour in advance to be immersed in this ancient world with an audio-visu­al dis­play that brings Edi­acaran ani­mals to life.

On the way, explore Brachi­na and Bun­yeroo Gorges — a breath­tak­ing dri­ve through 600 mil­lion years of geo­log­i­cal his­to­ry. Find the Gold­en Spike in Brachi­na Gorge – the best place in the world to recog­nise the start of the Edi­acaran period.

Stop at the his­toric town­ship of Beltana or Parachilna for a drink or a bite to eat, where you can feast on fer­al, native and region­al pro­duce (along with non-fer­al options too!). 

Top tip: If you’re head­ing to the Flinders Ranges towards the end of win­ter, take a look out for the wild­flow­ers that begin to bloom near spring.

Day 3: Dis­cov­er Blinman’s charm and walk to hid­den pools

Start the day explor­ing the his­toric town of Blin­man — the high­est town in South Aus­tralia and rich in cop­per min­ing history. 

Take a her­itage walk through town or book a Blin­man Mine tour. Enjoy a tra­di­tion­al Cor­nish pasty or quan­dong pie from the local café — true out­back treats!

Then dri­ve to Angorichi­na Vil­lage and set off on the Blin­man Pools Walk — a 12 km return hike on pas­toral land that fol­lows a creek line to two pic­turesque spring-fed pools. Keep an eye out for emus and red kan­ga­roos along the way. The walk can be rocky in sec­tions but offers scenic views and bird­watch­ing in a peace­ful gorge set­ting — well worth the effort in cool win­ter weather.

End the day with a sun­set stop at Stokes Hill Look­out. Pack a chair and cheese plat­ter and soak up the panoram­ic views across Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park – a per­fect fin­ish to your day!

Top tip: The stargaz­ing in the Flinders Ranges is spec­tac­u­lar when you’re so far from city lights.

Be pre­pared, stay safe

• Vis­it the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife ​‘Know Before You Go’ page to help you plan, pack and pre­pare for your trip.
• Car­ry enough water — there’s no guar­an­tee there will be qual­i­ty drink­ing water available.
• Wear com­fort­able enclosed shoes.
• Check for Park Alerts.
• Talk to Nation­al Parks and Wildlife staff with­in the park — they will be able to help you with the most up-to-date infor­ma­tion and per­son­al recommendations.

The Flinders Ranges: World Her­itage worthy

It’s hard to wrap your mind around, but as you walk in the Flinders Ranges, the land under your feet is over 600 mil­lion years old. It’s one of Australia’s tru­ly mag­nif­i­cent land­scapes. South Aus­tralia is edg­ing clos­er to final­is­ing the nom­i­na­tion of fea­tures of the Flinders Ranges for World Her­itage listing.

The Flinders Ranges is the only place on Earth where 350 mil­lion years of near-con­tin­u­ous geo­log­i­cal sequence can be seen, demon­strat­ing the rise of a hab­it­able plan­et and the dawn of ani­mal life.

The Adnya­math­anha Peo­ple (mean­ing hills or rock peo­ple) are the tra­di­tion­al cus­to­di­ans of this diverse land­scape, which is world-renowned for its wealth of nat­ur­al, cul­tur­al sig­nif­i­cance, his­toric and scenic values.

You can learn more about what makes this region wor­thy of nom­i­na­tion, the ben­e­fits of a World Her­itage list­ing and more over here: Flinders Ranges World Her­itage nomination.

Want to explore further?

• Head­ing north? Now’s a rare chance to see Kati Than­da – Lake Eyre with water — here’s how to make the most of it.
• Got a 4WD? Con­sid­er a side trip to Vulkathun­ha – Gam­mon Ranges Nation­al Park, where dra­mat­ic gorges and remote tracks await.