Hiking the Flinders Ranges

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The wind is blowing like hell from the front. We are walking the long straight road from Parachilna towards Angorichina. The backpacks are heavy, loaded with six litres of water per person, food for at least six days, camping gear, sunscreen, and a couple of spare clothes. Our first target is the northern head of the Heysen Trail which is 15 kilometres east of Parachilna – three kilometres further on is Angorichina. At least the strong wind gives us some cool off.

Two days ago I caught up with a German friend Kathrin in Adelaide. Kathrin has done lots of hiking in Europe before; I’m more into riding a mountain bike. We had two days in the capital of South Australia before the bus of Genesis Tours dropped us in Parachilna just after lunch time.

We thought about doing one or two sections of the Heysen Trail, we have the guide book with us but no idea what to expect. The first part will be from the northern head to Wilpena. The distance is 66 kilometres and it takes 4 to 5 days – according the guide book. We spend the first night at the Angorichina Tourist Village which is a really nice place. We rewarded ourselves with an ice-cold Coke – the last one for the next couple of days.

Aroona Valley was next on the list. We started just after 8 a clock, the way was easy, a few goats took off like a flash. Aroona has a campground, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. We met some campers, had one or two nice chats and checked out the ruin which is sheltered under a big roof. An emu family sneaked along the horizon. We had some great cool drinks from the rainwater tank. From Aroona you find two other walks (Yuluna & Youngoona Hike) which run partly on the same track as the Heysen Trail. We managed two steep climbs. The lookouts at the top were mostly rewarding and worth the effort.

Trezona is another national park campground in the Flinders Ranges, we spend the night there. The rainwater tank was quite empty; we found that situation also at other places. The Heysen Trail map shows the places with possible water supply but you can not rely on it. It is advised that you carry your water for the whole distance until you have reliable provision. So we decided to carry 10 litres for each person to get to Wilpena.

Just a few minutes after we left Trezona we saw our first and only snake which took off like a flash. The walk was easy because the Heysen Trail runs on the same track as the Mawson Trail which is actually for pushbikes. Lunch was at Yanyanna Hut before we head up a steep climb in Bunyeroo Valley. The view at the top was fantastic; you can see the road through the valley with all the cruising busses and four wheel drives. After another hill top we had a steep descent - ended up in a creek bed - and found ourselves climbing over some rocks. Sometimes we got a bit confused and followed some Kangaroo tracks. But you find out very quickly that you’re not on the Heysen Trail. One time we were on a hill and saw the trail sign way down on the other side of a creek. Anyway that happens, don’t panic, go back were you have seen the last trail mark and check out the right way.

In the first place we had the plan to walk from Wilpena to Hawker on the Heysen Trail. But the low levels in the water tanks and the high temperatures was reason enough to change our plans. It is not worth to take any risk. A nice couple gave us a lift to Hawker where we stayed at the BIG 4 Caravan Park – a truly great place. Jarvis Hill lookout is located 6 kilometres west from the township and was an easy hike for half a day. The Heysen Trail passes the lookout as well. We also checked out a few kilometres of the Mawson Trail in both directions.

Well, we had some great days walking in the Flinders Ranges, most of the time on the Heysen Trail. But the Flinders ranges have more hiking trails to offer. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) published a good brochure with an overview of all the hikes in the Flinders Ranges. You can download the brochure as a PDF file from the DENR homepage (scroll down to “Further information”)

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