Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary

Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary has rugged peaks, outback plains, waterholes, gorges and an unmistakable landscape. In 2012, most of the 60,000 hectare pastoral property was made a Protected Area by the South Australian Government. It contains the oldest part of the Flinders Ranges, granite and sedimentary rock that was laid down in an ancient sea nearly 1600 million years ago.
Located in the North Flinders Ranges, the Ridgetop (Sillers Lookout overlooks a 1000m deep Yudnamutana Gorge, Lake Frome salt lake and plains) and Waterhole tours are world renowned. We went on the Ridge Top tour turning around at Sillers Lookout. Rick, our guide, was passionate, knowledgeable and a skilled 4WD driver. He drove us 4.5hours along the track pointing out rocks, fauna and flora as well as giving us the abridged version of the history of Arkaroola and the area surrounding it. Fascinating!
Arkaroola contains some plants unknown elsewhere, the rare Menzel's Wattle and the endangered yellow-footed rock wallaby. We saw dozens during our tour. :) There are five main walking trails which highlight different terrains and a range of vegetation. I walked the Acacia Ridge trail which is made up of Blue Mine Conglomerate (coarse crystals containing quartz, a mineral found in granite, and igneous rock). The summit was 566m and the ridge walk was 5.6klms. Views were great!
Within the NP are hot springs formed from an enormous geyser explosion...a phenomenon not find anywhere else in the world...amazing. You can't swim in them though as they are radio active.
They have two observatories with computer aided telescopes. It is supposed to be one of the best places in the Southern Hemisphere to gaze at the night sky with over 300 clear nights per year together with the elevation and location within Australia. I took the opportunity to go stargazing and it was mind boggling.Read more