GET AWAY TO FLINDERS RANGES!
The Flinders Ranges is perhaps the last thing you would think of when you wish to rekindle your romance. But for the Australian soul, there is a lot of romance in the rugged outback. In this piece, we will show you how to discover yourself in the natural beauty of Flinders.
If you’re a person that loves to camp, then Flinders Ranges is the place for you. They are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately 366 kilometres from Adelaide. While travelling to this place and back could be a problem if you live in Melbourne or Sydney, there indeed is a lot to see here, and if you can get away for a four-day trip, then Flinders Ranges will look after you well, and you can get back to your daily grind with your mind refreshed and soul stirred.
The land is a country of thick, gnarled gum trees, growing alongside stony creeks. There are ruins of farms left by pioneers, beaten back by the harsh landscape. The Flinders Ranges is a ancient and unique part of the world.
Wilpena Pound
Wilpena Pound is a large, sickle-shaped, natural amphitheatre covering nearly 80 square kilometres (31 sq mi), containing the range’s highest peak, St Mary Peak (1,170 m (3,840 ft)) and adjoining the Flinders Ranges National Park. It is the region’s most famous landmark. Millions of years of erosion have created the natural ampitheatre, surrounded by ancient mountain ranges. It provides insight through exposure – layers, colours, vastness – an almost intimidating reminder that we are only on this earth for a short time.
Outback Australia
You must have heard the stories of Australian outback where each person lives hundreds of kilometres away from his nearest neighbour, where a farmer owns hundreds of acres of land and breeds horses and poultry and dairy, drives a massive four-wheeler and wields an air-gun or two.
There are magnificent mountains, glowing red in the sunset, with caps of lichen covered rocks and razored edges. Feel part of nature with emus and kangaroos passing by your campsite. Experience the peace and darkness at night in the bush.
Desert Eyes
Wedge-tailed eagles soar above the horizon as you tackle the deep, red sand and spinifex of the Simpson Desert or Strzelecki Track. The eyes of the desert lizards will watch, as you stop to see the beauty of Lake Eyre in flood. Feel the burr of the cattle grids under the wheels of your car and mark your journey across this wilderness.
Waterholes and narrow gorges of red rock hide yellow-footed rock wallabies and tiny Lake Eyre dragons. Walk, explore and watch. Listen to Dreamtime stories under the shade of gumtrees.
All in all, a spell in the Flinders Ranges will take you into a different world, far removed from the skyscrapers of Melbourne and Sydney, even Adelaide, and where you get back in touch with nature, whether it is at the man-made sanctuary of Flinders National Park or in the hard, rugged Australian outback. Go on, you owe it to yourself to discover the true Australian spirit that burns deep within you.
