South Australia (Flinders Ranges)
Wilpena Pound
Wilpena Pound is arguably the Flinders Ranges' single greatest natural asset, certainly its best-known. The Pound's upturned hand and gnarled fingers are a part of the Flinders Ranges National Park and offer the visitor magnificent scenery, bushwalking trails aplenty, Aboriginal and white history, abundant wildlife and dense native vegetation. There are no cars in the Pound and entry is through a narrow gorge above Sliding Rock while walking trails crisscross its floor, slopes and ridge-tops.

Out from Wilpena, there are numerous scenic drives to other natural features in the national park - including Sacred Canyon with its Aboriginal carvings, Stokes Hill Lookout, Aroona Valley, Brachina Gorge, Bunyerxo Valley, Wilkwillana Gorge and the Aboriginal carvings at Arkaroo Rock.

WILPENA is a good place to orient yourself: it has a motel, campsite and an expensive store and NPWS information centre (daily 8am–6pm) situated at the end of the bitumen and at the start of the main routes into Wilpena Pound. Wilder places further into the park to set up camp for a few days include the national park campsites at Bunyeroo and Brachina Gorge in the west, Trezona and Oraparinna in the centre, and Wilkawillana Gorge in the extreme northeast, all accessible on unsealed roads. 

Even the more formal lodgings tend to be basic; for a longer stay you might consider renting a holiday cottage, which can be a bargain during the summer. Back in town, the Wilpena Pound Motel is a comfortable but overpriced base: there’s a good, surprisingly exotic restaurant – the chalet-like bar makes an atmospheric setting for an après-hike drink, and 4WD tours and flights over the pound can be arranged. Wilpena Campsite, next door, is wooded and well-equipped. 

Other places nearby include Rawnsley Park – 35km north of Hawker on the edge of the national park, in a beautiful setting with Rawnsley Bluff and Wilpena Pound rising behind – which has fuel, a store and mountain bike rental and organizes 4WD trips and horse-riding; Willow Springs, 17km north of Wilpena before the Wilkawillana Gorge junction, a working sheep station with blockhouse dormitories; and Oraparinna Homestead, in the centre of the park off the Blinman Road, 24km north of Wilpena, with self-contained shearers’ quarters and cabins.

Most walking tracks lead into Wilpena Pound, though you can also pick up the Heysen Trail and follow it north from Wilpena for a couple of days around the ABC Range to Aroona Ruins on the northern edge of the park. The Wilpena NPWS offers booklets, maps (sometimes the 1:50,000 topographical series) and the latest information on the routes; you’re required to log out and back with them on any walk exceeding three hours. Realistically, hiking is restricted to the cooler winter months between May and October, as scant shade and reflective rocks raise summer temperatures well above 40°C. Don’t underestimate conditions: even on short excursions, you’ll need good footwear, a hat, sunscreen and water – at least half a litre per hour is recommended. Camping out, a waterproof tent, groundmat and fuel stove are essential, and note that the weather is very changeable; wind-driven rain can be a menace along the ridges and heavy downpours make tracks dangerous.

Attractions
  • TALC ALF RINK OUTBACK GALLERY This gallery features an open air talc stone carving display of about sixty permanent works of art depicting the thoughts of Cornelius (Talc ALf) Alf-Rink. His work records the modern history of the district and country and emphasises a revitalised look at the stone age origins of the English alphabet.
  • OLD COURTHOUSE AND POLICE STATION MUSEUM This complex consists of the stone courthouse, police station, police horse stables and original lock-up, exercise yard and cells. Many of the items on display were used in the old pug and pine cottages and have been collected from local identities. The cells contain antique tools of trade.
  • OUTDOOR AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS MUSEUM This outdoor agricultural museum is located on the Pichi Richi Pass road and displays a large range of historical agricultural machinery and equipment.
  • RAWNSLEY PARK Twenty kilometres south of Wilpena on the Hawker to Wilpena road, Rawnsley Park sits in a beautiful setting at the foot of Rawnsley Bluff. Points of interest include:
  1. Sheep shearing demonstrations, with wide and narrow combs, yarding with dogs, wool classing.
  2. Conducted horse riding through the magnificent scenery of Rawnsley Park Station.
  3. walking trails.

For more regional information on Wilpena Pound, go to: