Flinders Ranges Tour Diary – May 2017
Flinders Ranges Tour Diary – May 2017
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From the 7th to the 13th May 2017, we ran our first ever Flinders Ranges tour.
Being an old hand in the Flinders, our Melbourne based Operations manager Rachelle completed the reconnaissance and designed the tour. What an amazing job she did! The tour was a real success with some stunning walks and everything organised to the T.
Having never been there before myself, I was especially excited to visit the Flinders Ranges.
7th May, 2017 – Alligator Gorge
After making our way from Adelaide to Melrose, it was straight up to Alligator Gorge in the Mt Remarkable National Park.
The first thing that surprised me was just how green everything was and how high the trees are. Here is a place with just 400mm each year and there are plenty of trees river gums 20m and bigger.
With a big set of stairs heading down, we were soon on the floor of the gorge, surrounded by sheer walls of red quartz.
We plucked our way along the gorge which was relatively easy going, but obviously rocky underfoot. The trail got very narrow at one particular point before opening up into a beautiful waterhole. Perfectly still and perfectly reflective, it was a great place to grab a few snaps.
We continued on, and in no time we were back up the top. Alligator Gorge was a great and very easy introduction into the Flinders Ranges.
We then headed back into Melrose for a lovely meal at the pub.
8th May 2017, 
Dutchmen’s Stern
We jumped into the bus and headed towards Quorn for our second walk of the tour.
Dutchmen’s stern is a 820m high mountain just outside Quorn and she gets her name from her resemblance to an 18th century Dutch ship. Matthew Flinders obviously had a very good imagination because we couldn’t pick out the shape of the sails. That may say more about our knowledge of 18th century Dutch ships than the state of our imaginations!
Whilst our maritime know is lacking, we were not lacking in 
enthusiasm for this walk. The trail has been built beautifully, with switch backs in all of the steeps sections. We completed the 10.5km loop with a wonderful morning tea stop, in time for a late lunch.
At this point the guests must have been thinking that every meal on this tour would be accompanied by a view!
After lunch, we headed to our home for the next 4 nights at Rawnsley Park.
9th May 2017, Black Gap to Wilpena Pound
Wilpena Pound is a name I have heard so many times. Many of our guests have visited the Flinders and it was always said, “you’ve got to visit the pound”.
Not content to drive there like normal people, our itinerary has us start at Black Gap and walk the 12km into the pound.
With the rocky terrain some of our guests found this to be a challenging walk. But everyone made it and with blue skies, there can’t have been a better day to be there. The views into the pound on this walk are really stunning.
What’s more the final decent was heavily wooded and green. A real treat for those (like me) who were expecting red rocks and arid inland only.
Finishing at the visitors centre, a couple of people opted for a coffee and cake, whilst others went for a beer to celebrate. This was definitely an achievement for some, but a pleasure for all.
10th May 2017, Wilcolo Circuit & Bunyeroo Gorge
One of the guides had to stay behind on this walk, and I got the short straw unfortunately. But the photos looked great!
The Wilcolo circuit and Bunyeroo Gorge walk are known for their interesting geology.
Now we know that not everyone is into geology but well done to Rachelle for her diligent study and her ability to get everyone interested in rocks.
The trails is marked out with signage in such a way that as we walked along, we were seeing older and older rocks. Like we were walking back in time. It is a really interesting concept and well done to parks SA for putting it together.
The drive back from Bunyeroo was a real highlight. We saw a number of wedge tailed eagles and a too many kangaroos and emus to count.
We also stopped in for a quick photo session at Razorback Ridge as the sun set. The weather was perfect, and the light sensational. The lookout was a real highlight for me, with some stunning views.
11th May 2017, Tanderra Saddle
There was a little bit of trepidation about the group regarding our assault on Mary’s Peak. Rachelle let the group know that those looking to get to the saddle, were in for a bit of a challenge.
Straight away, we split up into 2 groups. Those looking to get to the top, and those looking for a more relaxed walk.
The last bit to get up to the saddle required the skills of a mountain goat, but lucky our kids were up for the challenge.
Those who took the more relaxed option were still greeted with some amazing views back into Wilpena Pound. I was with that group and we were thoroughly impressed.
Talking about goats at one point we heard someone yelling out in anguish. We thought someone had fallen off the side of the mountain. On second inspection it was a friendly goat making its own way up the hill. For a moment though, we thought we were going to be involved in a rescue. We spent the afternoon dreaming of goat curry.
12th May 2017, Aroona to Parachilna
Our last big walk! Today’s walk was between the Hysen Range and the ABC, from Aroona to Parachilna.
The first hour of the walk was admittedly a bit repetitive, but from morning tea onwards, it got great. Having the range on either side of us while we walked was really cool. It is quite a narrow area and the water funnels between the ranges, so it was nice and green.
We were in and out of the creek bed often on this walk which meant for a few challenging step, but all up, despite the 17km distance, it was an easy and pleasant walk. Rachelle was there at the end to greet us, as the sun set red onto the surrounding range. From there we drove the short distance to Parachilna with the sun ablaze on the range behind us. That night we had a fabulous meal at the Prairie Hotel.
13th May 2017, Parachilna to Clare, to Adelaide
With the walking done, we opted for some wine tasting in the Clare Valley on the way back to Adelaide. We stopped in at the Sevenhills winery for a taste and a history lesson. The winery was established by Austrian Jesuits in 1851 who were escaping persecution in Europe. Of course the 130 parishioners needed sacramental wine, and soon enough one of Australia’s great wine regions was established.
With slightly glazed eyes we rolled on back into Adelaide. A wonderful and leisurely way to finish the week of walking in a very special place.
A big thank you to Rachelle Uhlmann, our Melbourne based operations manager, for putting the tour highly successful tour together.
Written By Simon Mendelawitz, Chief Adventurist at Inspiration Outdoors.
