:
Drive the Arkapena Track in South Australia
Words Isabelle Kranhold Pics Isabelle Kranhold and Jeremy Wilson
Join us as we explore the Flinders Ranges’ Arkapena Yellow and Red Tracks with Hema Alpha Team Members #009 Isabelle Kranhold and Jeremy Wilson.
The breathtaking Flinders Ranges serve as a backdrop to this incredible drive
The Flinders Ranges in South Australia offer far more that meets the eye. There are many scenic 4WD routes within the area along public access routes (PAR) to discover. With national park occupying only a portion of the area, many stations in the Flinders cater to tourism, offering remote and caravan park-style camping, as well as opening their 4WD tracks for a fee. The stations not only offer tracks, but a self-drive tour experience.
Arkapena Yellow Track
Here at Rawnsley Park Station, we begin our adventure early to get the most out of the day to come. We pay our access fee, receive two keys for both the Arkapena Yellow and Red Tracks and are given a self-guided 4WD tour booklet. Out of the caravan park and onto the tar, we head south until we reach the start of the one-way Arkapena Yellow Track. A locked gate, soon unlocked, is closed behind our tyre tracks. Here is where we drop the tyre pressures to 14psi. It is steep, sharp rocky country here, so we want the ultimate traction and no tyre problems!
Two tyre tracks stretch towards the dramatic Chace Range, rising broken and jagged. Mobs of emus roam the wide dry riverbeds where huge red river gums grow. This is marker 1. We follow the tour booklet, learning about the native flora and how the formation of the landscape came to be how it is today.
We pass tall green native pine trees with their wood used for fence posts and for the dog fence running brittle alongside the track. The pine is favoured as the wood contains a resin, resistant to termites. We soon reach a spectacular lookout on the ridge, at marker 4, overlooking the Chace and Elder Ranges, layered with the different colourful ochres. The different coloured strata within the ranges are a sediment built up over millions of years, from an ancient sea covering the area 550–850 million years ago. Reminders of ancient sea life lay fossilised on the ridges of these ranges, claiming to be the oldest known animal fossils in the world, dating back to the Ediacaran period 542–635 million years ago.
The track continues to meander closer towards the foothills of Chace Range, dissecting dry creek beds, and suddenly snakes alongside the range, crossing dry gullies often, some sharp and steep. The tour continues to point out different trees such as a lonely native Quandong (Santalum acuminatum) and the Bullock Bush (Alectryon oleifolius).
A shady picnic table beside an ancient giant red river gum is a great spot for lunch, at Jim Gehling Camp. Jim and other scientists regularly camp here, searching for Ediacaran fossils on the Chace Range, only a stone’s throw away. We engage low range, continue up a rugged hill and follow the rocky ridge. The track descends steeply into another creek crossing and soon meets Martins Well Road to complete the Arkapena Yellow Track.
We were given the keys for both tracks, and with the day still young we follow the road to Pugilist Hill Lookout, which climbs a short, steep hill, providing fantastic views of Wilpena Pound and the Chace Range we just drove beside. The lookout was given its name after two station hands had a fist fight (pugilist) at the top of this hill in the early 1930s. Back down the hill, we cross back over the grid to begin the Arkapena Red Track, another fantastic self-drive track.
Arkapena Red Track
The track meanders around native pines until we reach the gate, where we engage low range for the steep ascent to Prelinna Lookout. We pass orange lichen growing on the pine trees, only found on the shaded southern hill slope. The lichen breaks down the wood and bark of the pine trees, replenishing the topsoil with nutrients.
At the top of the steep hill, we reach Prelinna Lookout at approximately 680 metres above sea level, with picnic tables and a visitor book inside a letter box to sign. Up here, there are incredible 360-degree views of the Central Flinders Ranges, including Wilpena Pound, the ABC Range, Heysen Range, The Bunkers, Druid, Chace, Yourambulla and Elder Ranges.
After soaking in these spectacular views, we descend in low range, first gear, winding down the steep range. Steep gullies intersect the track, all the way down to Baldoura Creek, before the final exit gate takes us back to Martins Well Road.
We turned right at Martins Well Road and returned to Rawnsley Park to hand back the keys and pay for a night’s camp. We found a secluded spot in their spacious bush camp, overlooking Rawnsley Bluff, where our fire crackled through the night — a great way to wind down. As the ancient landscape faded into silhouette, a breathtaking chandelier of stars illuminated the night sky.
If you’re thinking of taking a trip out to the Flinders Ranges, and want to avoid the extremes of the outback, we recommend planning your trip for autumn, winter or early spring to experience comfortable temperatures. And remember, when out on the tracks, always drive to the road conditions.
Related articles
Join the Hema Alpha Team and explore with purpose
0 comments