An Outback Adventure Tour to The Flinders Ranges

Touring Flinders Ranges on an Outback Safari

The Flinders Ranges was the destination of my trip to South Australia. As a first-timer, I was not keen to travel around by myself and for a few reasons.

First of all, I knew I would have needed to hire a 4WD car to drive through gorges and stony creek beds, secondly, the vastness of the Flinders Ranges discouraged me from going it solo.

So, I decided to go on a three-day Outback tour which turned out to be the best way, for me, to see much of this magnificent Outback destination in a relatively short time.

Where are the Flinders Ranges in South Australia

The Flinders Ranges are a spectacular huge mountain and Outback area, 450km north of Adelaide. This area is estimated to have formed over 500million years ago. A semi-arid vast area and home to a harsh and unforgiving environment with very impressive geological features that have no like it in Australia. Moreover, it’s one of Australia’s richest areas of Aboriginal heritage and the natural features of the Flinders Ranges still bear a strong significance to the various aboriginal groups.

The Highlights of the Flinders Ranges

The ancient river red gum trees with exposed roots and hollow barks. This is such a spectacular scenery that photos cannot bring it to live, because there are other elements playing a role like the depth of peacefulness and timelessness that you can feel while you walk through them and raise your eyes to the summit. This is something you cannot capture it into a photo, you can only experience it by being there.

The changing colours over the harsh backdrop of the Flinders Ranges. This is very impressive. While we have been driving through gorges, stony creeks beds, on sealed roads, through hills and slopes the perspective and the scenery kept changing all the times. A wonderful setting for taking photos!

From green, brown and blue and to ocre, red and gold colours.

The abundant birdlife and wildlife. We saw emus, kangaroos the grey, the red and Euro Kangaroo. And our treat was seeing this unique Australian animal: the yellow-footed rock wallaby that can be seen only in this region…what lovely creatures!

The sunset over the Flinders Ranges from Moralana Scenic Drive and Lookout

More sunset scenery from Moralana Scenic Drive Lookout

Sleeping in a swag under million stars sky at Rawnsely Park Station….(no photo of the starred sky sorry!)

The Flinders Ranges National Park

The Flinders Ranges National Park is the focal point in the heart of the Flinders Ranges. From here we started our walk to 2 lookouts from where you can enjoy a beautiful view over the Wilpena Pound, the majestic amphitheatre. A great way to appreciate the vastness of its formation is to take a scenic flight or take the walk to St. Mary Peak, (1300meter), the highest point on [do action=”bold-blue”]the Wilpena Pound[/do]. Within the Flinders Ranges National Park, there are 4 walks and 14hikes offering great scenic bushwalking. The park also includes a section of the Heysen Trail that extends for over 1200km from Cape Jervis to Parachilna Gorge. There is a caravan park at the Flinders Ranges NP and you can also stay overnight at Wilpena Pound when walking the trails.

How I visited the Flinders Ranges

As I said  I went on a tour with Heading Bush Outback Adventures. The main trigger for me it was the wish to take a break from long self-driving routes, sit back and enjoy a small group tour. Secondly, I was aware of the vastness of the area and as a first-time traveller to the Flinders Ranges, I thought it could be better for me to have my travel arranged by the locals who know the place well.
I really enjoyed my tour because I experienced the Flinders Ranges as I wanted and the quality of the tour was good value for money. Moreover, it saved me lots of energy and time which I would have spent while organizing it by myself.

As you know I am not a tour person, I advocate independent travel and am very critical when it comes to tours! On the other hand, going on a Flinders Ranges Tour can be a great way of seeing the place for the first time without having to worry much about all organisational aspect of the trip.

If you wish to visit the Flinders Ranges as a first-time traveller I can highly recommend this tour, as it caters for a small group only. They offer quality tours with local, experienced, and fun tour guides who will show you the secrets of this ancient and fascinating Outback landscape of the Flinders Ranges.

Book this Flinders Ranges Tour here

Now over to you: Have you ever been to the Flinders Ranges? Give us your tip or idea to make the most of this South Australia’s Outback destination.

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