This national park is situated in the northern Flinders ranges and we'd never even heard of it till about a week ago when we decided to head into South Australia. We knew that it has some camping and hikes but not a lot more as we didn't have time to figure it out. We had heard of Arkaroola Wildlife Sanctuary so had some notion it would be interesting. Decided to camp in the national park for a couple of nights then move to Arkaroola.
Stocked up at Leigh creek which is a purpose built town that was moved out of an area that being mined. It's a bit strange cos Copley is literally 5kms away so not sure why they didn't just upgrade that place. Copley has a great little cafe that sells really good quandong (native bush plum) pies and sausage rolls.
The drive in from Copley to Balcanoona was really interesting as the landscape changed from flat desert scape to much more undulating and then steeper and steeper hills and mountains with plateaus and gorges in between. Huge vistas again and loads of very very large river gums. Camped at Grindels Hut campground which is accessed via a single lane 4wd track which was in good condition but very slow as it was very twisty, steep, narrow and plenty rocks to avoid. The campground is set in the Wortupo pound valley and is very beautiful, nestled down under some gigantic gum trees on the creek. No-one around so we had the choice of places to camp. Fantastic! There's also a 2 bed little hiking hut and a much nicer, more recently built stone walled cottage that you can stay at. Both have immense views. We met the couple staying at the cottage and they gave us some fire wood which was really great as we didn't have room to bring any with us.
Was very cold the first couple of nights so we even had the thermals on plus all our jackets. It's really dry here thou and someone said that it hasn't rained here properly in 5 years. There are many areas with whole hillsides of dead mulga, coolibahs and pines. We don't know if this is a climate change or just the way things work in here.
First day we walked down the Weetootla creek and gorge which has a heap of geological and mining information and very scenic. We saw some yellow footed rock wallabies which are endangered plus an emu with his 7 chicks foraging down the creek. We've since seen the same family 3-4 times around the creek and campground. The wallabies are just the prettiest macropod ever, such a beautiful creature and unbelievably agile. It literally bounces around the steep and craggy slopes and mountains.. There are also wild goats which can't be doing anything good for the area. Very sparse amounts of water along the creek. Joined up to the Monarch Mine trail on the way back which passes the Weetootla spring. This was a brilliant walk up and around the ridges looking down over huge views. The hills vary in colour from yellow (magnesite), red, brown and even occasional black bits. There are also heaps of flowering wattles but very sparse vegetation in between creeks really.
Combined the 2 walks were nearly 16km so next day was an easier one where we just went back down a bit of the creek. Me and dunk climbed up the hill behind the campground for expansive 360 views. Incredible. The SA walking and trail system is really fantastic and it seems like a lot of it is volunteer run. There are markers every 200m telling you exactly how far you've gone and got to go, plus local information signs and paper brochures with very comprehensive information. We didn't bother moving camp that evening as it's such a great location.
Next day we decided we'd better head up to Arkaroola to get some internet to do QLD border passes. Reckoned we couldn't get a better campsite so just booked in another couple of nights at the national park which proved wise as it's much nicer camping then in the village. Arkaroola is set up like a kind of mini alpine chalet with a series of huts/motel style accommodation plus a very bleak looking caravan park. The bar is lovely thou, and they are super helpful. It's also set in a beautiful location so hopefully we'll get back and stay some time in the future but I wouldn't camp here. Did the Mawson-Spriggina hike which was 8kms and very interesting. Hotter day so ice-cream and coffees in the bar were very welcome. From there drove down to the Balcanoona Rangers station where got some very welcome showers and enough water to wash a few clothes. Water is very much at premium out here so laundry is becoming an issue. Oh oh!!
Dunk found a walk description of Bunyip Chasm which is very near the campsite so set off for that on Saturday morning. Quite a cool morning so perfect for hiking. Followed the creek up into some hills which narrowed into a gorge of red walls and beautiful old gum trees. Fascinating and the chasm was very spectacular but we couldn't get into the upper bit safely so decided to park that for another day.
In summary, this is a hikers Mecca with loads of formed tracks and over night options plus also heaps of options and potential for exploring. Could easily chew up a week using national park campgrounds and Arkaroola as bases plus it's pretty near the much better known Wilpena pound in the Southern Flinders (which is what we thought of as the Flinders up until now!!). Plenty options for tours and scenic flights as well from Arkaroola and seem to be very well priced compared to most places we have seen. Can't wait to plan our next trip down here!!!
PS I should mention that the flies were pretty annoying on the hotter days so saw plenty people with those fly hats that look even more annoying then the flies!!
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