Self Guided Flinders Ranges Walk
A 7-day Pack-Free walk
The Flinders Ranges rugged landscape is 800 million years in the making, with an epic geological story that attracts Geologists from around the globe. The Earth’s earliest life forms emerged here, the evidence of which continues to be uncovered today. For the next 7 days, you will be able to immerse yourself in this spectacular environment, enjoying many of the renowned walking trails in the Ranges and some of the lesser-known ones as well. You will walk along sections of the iconic Heysen Trail and climb summits offering the most spectacular views, as well as crossing the natural amphitheatre of Wilpena Pound. Outback towns beckon to be explored, as does the history of the people who have called this region home; firstly the Adnyamathanha People (“of the hills”), traditional Custodians of this Country, and also the early settlers who tried to tame this harsh environment for grazing, farming and mining. With an abundance of wildlife and striking landscapes that boast a plethora of flora, the Flinders Ranges is a photographer’s paradise, set in the Australian outback.
Follow our Walking App
Exclusive to Life's An Adventure
Exclusively designed by Life’s an Adventure, your Self-Guided walk will be more than just a set of track notes on your smartphone. This fully interactive Self-Guided Walking App includes easy-to-follow walking notes with GPS tracking, photos at track junctions and points of interest en-route, as well as information about the natural environment. The App will give average walking times, distances for each section, and even optional side-trips as well as short and long options for each day’s walk.
As well as having the walking app on their phone, customers will be given the information on the google map platform, so each waypoint on each walk will be triggered when they arrive at that point, whether it be a fork in the track or point of interest. This gives real-time feedback, so customers know they are where they think they are! On top of this, customers receive a good, old-fashioned hard copy of each day’s track notes.
Pack Free Self Guided Walk
Carry as little as your water, camera, and lunch
Our self-guided walks are Pack-Free. We take care of all your transfers to the trail as well as the transport of your luggage between accommodation each day, allowing you to walk with just a day pack.
Personal Emergency Beacon
For extra safety
Our guests have the option of hiring an emergency personal locator beacon to take with you when walking. This extra safety feature will be a peace of mind.
Flexibility and Freedom
Discover on your own
Self-guided walking holidays offer flexibility and freedom. Customers can discover places at their own pace. They walk independently but follow detailed walk notes, knowing that the notes have been compiled by one of our experienced guides. The beauty of this is our guides know these tracks inside out. They know the best lookouts, scenic lunch stops, and where to get great photos.
During your walk, you also have the choice of taking shorter walking days to suit your preference.
Outback Accommodation
close to the trail
We have carefully chosen comfortable accommodation in a variety of locations to best support convenient access to your walks as well as the opportunity to experience the many different facets of the Flinders Ranges. Basing in the hamlets of Quorn and Blinman, the award-winning Rawnsley Park Station, and also at Wilpena Pound Resort, your immersion into this region will be enhanced by your experiences of each. Enjoy ensuited rooms with choice of king/queen beds or twin beds.
Superb meals included
featuring South Australian produce
Your dining experiences will vary during your tour, from an iconic outback “pub” in Quorn, to the charming Woolshed Restaurant at Rawnsley Park Station, which features lamb from the property. The restaurant at Wilpena Pound Resort utilises native bushfoods to enhance the dining experience they offer, as well as providing a traditional ‘Adnyamathanha’ Welcome to Country. A hearty breakfast and a packed lunch for you to carry while walking will be provided for each hiking day.
Special dietary requirements can be accounted for with advance notice; please provide as much detail as possible when booking
To find out more click on any of the below links:
Why should you choose us?
Tour Itinerary
- Pack Free walk – carry as little as your water, lunch, and camera each day.
- A walking App with GPS coordinates on your walk
- Detailed maps and trail notes
- 6 x dinners
- 6 x packed walker’s lunches
- 6 x breakfasts
- 6 nights’ Accommodation including Rawnsley Park Station & Wilpena Pound
- National Park Pass
Optional hire of an EPIRB/PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) is available if required at an additional cost.
WALK GRADE: 5.3km circuit; 2 -3 hours with breaks; easy grade.
TERRAIN: Well-maintained trail, with one gentle incline.
ITINERARY: Arrive in the Flinders Ranges. Your walking adventure begins at the quaint outback town of Quorn, which was a stop-over for The Ghan when travelling between Adelaide and Alice Springs up until the 1950s. It is also famous for providing the backdrop for Australian and international movies, as well as being considered the home of the ‘Quandong’ – a traditional native bushfood, now harvested for use in pies and conserves. Your first walk is at Warren Gorge, known for its stunning rugged orange rocks and gorges, and viewpoints that offer broad vistas across this beautiful region. This is a nice induction into your Flinders Ranges walking experience, and you will see native vegetation including Northern Cypress Pine, Spinifex, and Red Gums. You may also be lucky enough to see the “vulnerable” Yellow Footed Wallabies, which are sometimes witnessed in late afternoons. After your walk arrive at your accommodation in Quorn and put your feet up while dinner is prepared for your enjoyment.
TRANSFER TIMES: Morning: 15 minute drive to start of the walk.
WALK GRADE: 10.6 km circuit; 4.5-5.5 hours with breaks. Grade: easy-medium.
TERRAIN: Well-maintained trail; a consistent but mostly gentle incline for almost 50% of the hike. Optional extra 600m return walk can be added to your walk.
FLEXIBLE WALKING: Shorter walking options available today.
WALK ITINERARY: After breakfast, you will drive to the start of your walk. Today’s walk takes us to Dutchman’s Stern which was named by Matthew Flinders when he spotted the high-point from the Spencer Gulf in 1802, as he thought its shape resembled that of a Dutch sailing ship. This trail offers an insight into our geological history, referencing significant points along the journey. The climb to the summit is consistent but gentle, and your efforts are rewarded with spectacular views of the surrounding landscape, north toward the more central Flinders Ranges and west to Spencer Gulf. You will see Native Cranberry, Ruby Saltbush, and Porcupine Grass (spinifex), and again, may be fortunate in spotting some of the local Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby colony. After your walk, you will drive back to your accommodation.
TRANSFER TIMES: Morning:1 hour 15 minute drive to start of the walk.
WALK GRADE: 17km return (14km Rawnsley Bluff Hike + 3km trailhead to accommodation); 6.5-7.5 hours with breaks. Grade: medium-hard grade.
TERRAIN: Mostly compact surfaces, with a consistent but mostly gentle incline to the top, levelling off in parts but has some steep sections that require rock-scrambling. Other than the two steep climbs, most of the route is fairly gentle in terms of gradient changes.
FLEXIBLE WALKING: Shorter walking options available today.
ITINERARY: After breakfast, you will drive to the start of your walk. Today’s walk explores traverses Rawnsley Park Station, before making its way to Flinders Ranges National Park. Reaching Wilpena Lookout you’ll be able to see a spectacular overview of the interior aspect of Wilpena Pound. Be rewarded with stunning uninterrupted views of the surrounding ancient landscape as you climb the imposing Rawnsley Bluff. Ironically, the dry-stone cairn at the summit is a trigonometrical survey marker honouring H.C. Rawnsley, who falsely presented as a surveyor to the SA Governor in 1850 and was soon discharged due to incompetency. Afterwards make your way to your new accommodation for the evening at Rawnsley Park Station. Tonight enjoy dinner in the charming Woolshed Restaurant.
TRANSFER TIMES: Morning: 30 minute drive to start of the walk.
WALK GRADE: 18.8km return; 6.5-7.5 hrs with breaks; easy-medium grade.
TERRAIN: Mostly flat compact surfaces, with a short, steady incline on a loose, rocky trail to take you up to the half-way point on the wall of the Pound.
FLEXIBLE WALKING: Shorter walking options available today.
ITINERARY: After breakfast, you will drive to the start of your walk. Today’s walk, which is part of the Heysen Trail, takes you through the heart of Wilpena Pound, crossing its floor, and then climbing a section of the interior wall to Bridle Gap. Wilpena translates traditionally to ‘meeting place’ and is significant in the Creation stories of the Traditional Custodians. The track follows the picturesque Wilpena Creek to Hills Homestead, then crosses the Pound floor which boasts an array of diverse vegetation and usually the company of some wildlife. As you ascend the interior wall of the Pound to Bridle Gap, the track becomes loose and rocky underfoot, and you need to be mindful for the markers to keep you on track, as the vegetation becomes denser. Your arrival at Bridle Gap marks the boundary of the National Park and is heralded by expansive views of the ancient mountain landscape to the south; the Gap was used by stockmen to shift livestock in and out of the Pound. Afterwards walk directly into your accommodation for tonight at Wilpena Pound Resort, whilst you have been walking your luggage has been delivered. Tonight enjoy a relaxing dinner in the Resort’s restaurant.
WALK GRADE: 12km return; 5.5-6.5 hours with breaks. Grade: medium-hard grade.
TERRAIN: Compact surfaces with gentle undulations to half-way, shifting to consistent climbing with some steeper terrain that requires some rock-scrambling.
FLEXIBLE WALKING: Shorter walking options available today.
ITINERARY: Enjoy breakfast in the restaurant before setting out on your walking adventure. Today you tackle a section of the external wall of Wilpena Pound, aiming for Tanderra Saddle which sits just below St Mary Peak, the highest point of the ranges. One of the most iconic walks in the Flinders Ranges, you will begin by skirting the base of the more northerly aspect of Wilpena Pound before climbing steadily on less-compact surfaces to reach the escarpment of this massive natural amphitheatre. Spectacular vistas emerge to the north as you gain elevation, and upon reaching the Saddle, at 944m above sea-level, you are rewarded with more views both into and beyond the Pound walls. St Mary Peak is particularly significant to the Creation stories of the Adnyamathanha People (the traditional Custodians of this Country), and as such, you are discouraged from climbing to the summit. After your walk return to your accommodation at Wilpena Pound Resort with dinner served in the restaurant.
TRANSFER TIMES: Morning: 1 hour drive to start of the walk.
WALK GRADE: 6km one-way; 3-4 hours with breaks. Grade: medium grade on an informal route which follows the creek-bed and is guided by regular trail markers; the surface varies from loose and rocky underfoot, to sandy, to traversing large boulders, with occasional significant but short variations in gradient. Some rock-hopping and rock scrambling required.
ITINERARY: After breakfast, you will drive to the start of your walk in Blinman. Following a short 4WD experience on the privately-owned Alpana Station, you will begin your walk at the “Second Pool” and follow the majestic Blinman Creek downstream. The “First Pool” and the creek itself, are spring-fed, which attracts native wildlife and birds, regardless of the season. Stunningly rugged cliffs tower above creating a spectacular backdrop as you meander along the creek. Afterwards meet your driver for the transfer to your new accommodation in Blinman. On your arrival in Blinman, you will have time to explore this tiny “township” that boasts as the highest township in South Australia, and is named after a one-legged shepherd who was the first to discover copper in the area. Tonight enjoy a relaxing dinner before retiring for the night.
Tour Prices
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FIRST TIME TRAVELLER FROM
$
2199
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First time traveller with Life's An Adventure |
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SELF DRIVE: |
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PAST PASSENGER FROM
$
2099
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Travelled with Life's An Adventure previously |
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SELF DRIVE: |
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OPTIONAL
$
Xtras
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SOLO TRAVELLERS |
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Additional Information
- Prices are per person in Australian dollars and include GST.
- A non-refundable deposit of $300 per person is required to secure your booking.
- Note: If you are booking within 90 days of your departure date – we will require full payment at the time of booking
- Prices are based on twin share of rooms.
- Payments must be made online via our NAB (National Australia Bank) secure payment page via credit card (Visa or Mastercard) or over the phone.
- Your detailed self-guided kit will be sent to you in the post 6 weeks prior to your walk.
- Use of a Personal Emergency Beacon (EPIRB) is complementary however a $250 holding deposit will be charged at the time of booking which will be refunded to you after your tour. This deposit will be forfeited if the EPIRB is lost or returned damaged.
- We advise taking our Travel Insurance to cover items such as cancellation of tour due to adverse weather conditions, injury, evacuation, delayed flights, lost luggage, illness, etc.
Booking Terms and Conditions
Before you book please read our Booking Terms and Conditions. Click here.
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