Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary was one of the most Unique Outback Experiences.
Located 600km from Adelaide and just north of the Flinders Ranges. Arkaroola had plenty of 4WDing on offer. With their many unique monuments, rugged terrain, towering mountains, granite rocks, gorges and waterholes.
This Experience went for Nine days, what an adventure, travelling up to around 2000kms. We had a Thirteen hour drive to get to Arkaroola, so we broke the drive into two days, then four days in and around Arkaroola and three days travelling home via Lake Frome, Broken Hill, Silverton and Mungo National Park.
Day 1: Wednesday 21st September
The day we were heading off for this amazing adventure. The 10 vehicles that came on the trip, most of them making their own way up to Arkaroola, some encountering a lot of rain in and around Flinders Ranges, closing off the roads to Arkaroola, so some had to head to Leigh Creek for a extra night while they waited for the roads to re-open.
Three vehicles left Bridgewater at 8.00am, heading up the Calder highway towards Red Cliffs, we turned left on the Millawa road, stopping at Werrimul Hotel (Most Outback Pub), for lunch, meeting up with three other vehicles who travelled over from Swan Hill area. We then headed out to the Stuart highway towards Renmark and onto Burra, turning left onto to the World’s End highway and camped at Burra Creek Gorge Campground. After we lit the fire and a few beers, we started to get tired after a long drive, so we headed to bed around 10.30pm.
Day 2: Thursday 22nd
We woke up to a sunny morning, a little cold as we were camped in a gorge. The fire was stoked back up and we had coffees and breakfast around the fire before packing up camp. After we packed up camp we were ready to hit the road, we headed out of camp at 8.30am, on our way to Arkaroola. Out of camp we went left onto Worlds End highway then left again onto Goyder highway into the township of Burra to get fuel. We jumped back onto the Goyder highway and headed for Peterborough, passing through all these old towns that must have plenty of history as most of them were built back in the late 1800s. Then we headed to Hawker taking the R.M. Williams Way. On reaching Hawker around 11.30am, we topped up with fuel then went to the Hawker Pub for lunch. It was so nice sitting outside in the sun having a meal and a beer.
After lunch we headed out on the Flinders Ranges Way, heading up towards the Flinders Ranges. On the way up you could see the how much water came across the Floodways as you do cross quite a few on the way. We passed the entrance to Wilpena Pound, then we turned right onto Wirrealpa road and we were on dirt road now all the way to Arkaroola. The road was pretty good road, rough in sections and the floodways you had to slow right down as there was dirt and rocks built up through the bottom. You do have a lot intersections, and they are very well marked out. We then got onto the Arkaroola road, which a very good graded road all the way into Arkaroola. We made it into Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary township around 4.00pm. We went into the office and got our rooms or campsites and we set up having a few beers, before going to bed early after our long drive.
Day 3: Friday 23rd
The day to explore some of the great 4wd tracks Arkaroola had to offer. So we were going to tackle the Echo Camp Backtrack, there is a $45 fee to drive this track and a $50 deposit as there is two gates you must go through. The Echo Camp Backtrack had everything to offer as a 4wd track, steep inclines and declines, rocky terrain, dry creek beds, ruts and wombat holes. We met outside the Pub before 9.00am, had a briefing on the days events. We took off at 9.00am heading out of Arkaroola Village on a side track passing Greenwood Coral, Arkaroola Waterhole and the track for the Ridge Top Tour. And we got to the start of the Echo Camp Backtrack, just a little way in is the first gate, so I opened the gate and our last vehicle (Charlie) closed it as we all got through and then straight into a steep climb. We followed the Wywhyana creek and passed between Mt Oliphant and Mt Elva, having a quick look at Echo Camp Waterhole which didn’t really have much water in there. We continued along the rocky terrain until we got to Arkaroola Creek for a break and getting photos of the steep rugged embankments. We continued along then a right turn to Bararrana Gorge Waterhole, the track in is rough with short steep sections and rock steps, until we finally got to the car park area, we found a spot to park then a 100m walk to the Waterhole. The Gorge and Waterholes were Spectacular, so plenty of photos and I put the drone up to get those photos from the air. We headed back out of the Gorge and continued along the track going through dry creek beds and steep climbs along the Paralana Fault line, we came to the second gate and went through, closing it after us then coming to the end of the track.
From here we turned left and decided to drive to Paralana Hot Springs, it was a 11km drive on a very rough track in. We arrived at the Springs just on lunch time, so it was a nice spot for lunch. The Paralana Hot Springs is the World’s only Radioactive heated hot springs. The water was actually hot coming out of the ground, not much water was flowing so you couldn’t actually go for a swim. We then headed back along the track, the way we came passing Echo Camp Backtrack then kept on going as we had another 21km of fairly rough dirt road, going along Claudes Pass, Stubbs Waterhole where we stopped for a bit as the Gorge and the Cliffs were so tall and rugged. We then passed Welcome Mine, Jaspers Twins which was to big massive rocks that had rolled onto the track, and the track was built around them. Passing the Ochre Wall which was a wall carved out of the river bed by the water after years and years. We then came out on the Arkaroola road and headed back to Arkaroola. We got back around 3.00pm, so we had a well deserved swim and a few beers around the pool before cooking dinner, then we all headed off to bed at different times.
Day 4: Saturday 24th
Today was going to be our relaxation day, where we could just do what we wanted to do. Some went for drives and walks in the morning, then in the afternoon was the AFL Grand Final between Geelong and Sydney, so most of us sat in the Pub and watched the game.
Day 5: Sunday 25th
We had another day planned to go on a big drive, so we all met outside the Pub at 9.00am. We were doing Mt Jacob Backtrack and Station Backtrack. So we headed out of Arkaroola on the Arkaroola road for 6kms, then turned left onto Claudes Pass and headed down the track for a bit, then just passed the Jasper Twins we turned right onto the start of Mt Jacob Backtrack. The track at the start was easy, then we had to put it into Low Range, as the track got a bit rougher, wasn’t a very hard track to drive just slow going. The track went for 13km passing through copper deposits near Tillite Gorge, slate hilltops that overlooked Munyallina Valley and hematite outcrops with green copper coloration. We stopped along the way for a break in a dried up river bed for about 20mins, and on one of the hills that you could climb, then the view into the Valley and looking across to the Flinders Ranges.
We got out of the Mt Jacob Backtrack onto the Arkaroola road, turning left, headed down the dirt road for a couple of kilometres and turned right towards Nudlamutana Hut, we headed up here passing the Hut, which had people staying there, so we kept on going then we got into Low Range, with a very steep rutted hill climb, we all made it up easy, so we kept on going for a little bit then we stopped for lunch on top of a hill, overlooking the valleys below. After lunch we continued along then went up to a lookout, squeezing all the vehicles in up there, overlooking the Old Station Homestead. We continued along the track which just wound its self back to Arkaroola. We got back around 2.00pm, then some went back to do some more tracks, while some swam and had beers at the pool. Later that night we were booked into the Pub for a meal, which was roast night, a choice of Lamb or Chicken. After dinner we lit the fire and sat around for a couple of hours before going to bed.
Day 6: Monday 26th
This morning a lot had to move out of there rooms and move to another room, so we didn’t get started on today’s trip until 10.00am. We met down at the Pub and a quick briefing on where we were heading for the day. We were heading into the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park, so we took off passing the caravan park, then onto the Bolla Bollana Nooldoonooldoona road leading out of Arkaroola. About 4km up the track we turned right into see The Pinnacles, which was a big outcrop of rocks, like they had been pushed up out from the Earth’s surface. We then got back on the track and then turned right down into Bolla Bollana Springs, which was fairly dry, so didn’t get to see much water down there. We then traveled along the track and turned left into have a look at the Smelter and it’s ruins, and it’s underground chimney still lies there rotting away. We left there getting onto the track, going through a lot of dry creek beds, then we turned left into a place called The Needles, which was another place where two mounds of rock had been pushed up out of the Earth, we had lunch here and I set the drone up to get some good photos over the top of The Needles. After lunch we headed back into the track, then headed straight across the track onto a Dry Weather track passing the Wheat Turner Mine and it’s ruins. We then wound around and through a gate and onto the track that took us to Yudamutana Mine and it’s ruins, this track went for roughly 10km of pretty rough, rocky terrain. When we got there you could see the remains of the Old Township that was there, like the Old Boilers and chimneys.
After we had a good look around we had the Two and a half hour trip back the exact same way back to Arkaroola. Getting back to Arkaroola Village around 5.00pm. Being our last night in Arkaroola we actually did our own things, some staying in and some went to the Pub for our last meal down there, later heading to bed.
Day 7: Tuesday 27th
Today we were leaving Arkaroola, so we were up really early to pack up the vehicles. We left Arkaroola at 8.00am, saying goodbye to the staff at Arkaroola and some members who decided to stay on for a couple of days. We headed out on the Arkaroola road for roughly 30km to Balcanoona and turned right, this is where Steve, Jayne, Dan and Lucas left us and headed to Blinman. We then turned left a had the 280km drive on dirt road to Yunta. The road to Yunta is a very good graded road, there is a lot of washouts, which you have to take it a bit easy as they were washed out after the rain the week before. On the way down you pass places like Frome Downs, which is the Airport halfway along and you pass Lake Frome to the left but you don’t see any water as it is to far in, plenty of tracks heading in towards the lake if you had time to investigate and explore. We passed the Old township of Waukaringa, which now is just in ruins, you can see the old Pub still standing and a couple of buildings built out of sandstone.
We reached Yunta about 12.00pm, we topped up with fuel and decided to go to the Pub for lunch and they had no meals on as they didn’t have the staff on to do meals. So we went to the Roadhouse for lunch and we had Hamburgers and Steak Sandwiches.
After lunch we headed to Broken Hill on the Barrier highway with another 200km drive, with roadworks after roadworks we got to Broken Hill about 4.00pm. Karl and Sally had a Motel room pre-booked so they headed there and the rest of us pulled up outside the Broken Hill Tourist park and we managed to get 3 unpowered sites for 5 vehicles. So we got to our sites, set up camp and settled in for the afternoon. Most of us had food to cook so we went to the camp kitchen to cook dinner with a few beers. After dinner we had some music playing, so we started dancing and we had a really good night getting to bed about 11.00pm.
Day 8: Wednesday 28th
Today was going to be a sight seeing day, so we had a fairly busy day ahead of us. We decided to head to Silverton first up, so we left the Tourist park at 9.00am, then headed along the the Silverton road for 27km, as you drive into town you pass the Silverton sign, we drove around to the famous Silverton hotel and pulled up out front. We had a really good look around the hotel, having a beer at 10.00am as you just have to have a beer at the hotel and a photo out the front and inside. Then we had a look at the Mad Max museum.
We then headed back towards Broken Hill going to see Pro Hart art museum, he did die back in 2006, but you get to see his art and paintings. It was around 12.00pm so we headed back into for lunch, going for a kebab, then went for a walk through town to Silver City jewellery. We walked back to the vehicles then headed up to The Sculptures, these rocks were massive pieces of sandstone hand carved into different sculptures. One had a circle in it and when the sunsets the sun goes through the circle, but you have to plan going there at the perfect time. We left there then headed over the other side of town to the lookout above the mine, looking down on the Broken Hill township. After spending a bit of time up there we went back to the tourist park for a beer then we went to the Broken Hill Pub for dinner, having a good night there getting home about 12.00am.
Day 9: Thursday 29th
Today we were leaving Broken Hill around 12.00pm, so in the morning everyone did what they had to do, seeing more sights of Broken Hill that they didn’t get a chance to do the day before. We met up at the Lookout at 12.00pm up having a bite to eat before headed towards Mungo National Park. We took off just after 12.00pm, as we got back into town we caught the Train crossing with a train coming through with about 80-90 carriages. We headed off down the Menindee road for the 112 km drive to Menindee. Just out of Broken Hill we caught the same train again at another train crossing and had to wait for ages again. As we got to Menindee passing Lake Menindee on both sides of the road, then getting into town we turned right to go and have a look at the Lake, the Lakes were flooded with water lapping at the sides of the road, we got to the information area and that’s as far as you could get in. So we turned around and headed back out. Getting back onto the Pooncarrie road and the 123km drive to Pooncarrie which nearly the whole road had roadworks the whole way. On reaching Pooncarrie the GPS sent us around the top of Mungo National park bringing us down through Garnpung Lake and we were able to drive straight through the middle of the Lake. We came out to Top Hut road, going on a little more going to the Visitor Centre. Th Visitor Centre was closed as we got there about 4.30pm and they close at 4.00pm. We had a quick look at the Mungo Woolshed, then we needed to find a campsite, so we headed to the Main campground and it was completely full, so we needed to find a campsite. I went for a drive down the road looking for one, then I came across the Mungo Lodge and. I went in and asked them if we could camp for the night. We got a campsite for the night for $29 per person with showers and toilets and a camp kitchen, we set up camp cooked up dinner then some of us went up to The Lodge and sat in front of the fire place having a few beers. The Lodge closed up for the night so we went back to camp and sat in front of the fire pit for a bit, before heading to bed.
Day 10: Friday 30th
Today we were heading home, so we packed up camp and drove out from the Mungo Lodge at 9.00am. Before headed home straight away we went back to the Visitor Centre and kept going to do the loop drive, we got to the Red Top Lookout, walking out on the boardwalk looking at the sand formations. The gate was locked to get around to Great Wall of China due to roadworks. So we turned around and headed back to the Visitor Centre, we spent some time here looking at the Visitor Centre and the history behind Mungo National park. You could spend a couple of days here just exploring and looking around at everything in the area.
We then headed towards Balranald, taking the Balranald road which was dirt road nearly the whole way, the road was washed out in places and a bit of water across the road in places. We got into Balranald at 12.00pm, some had to fuel up and we also had lunch here as well. Before we headed home we said our goodbyes and we took off still following each other through to Swan Hill, Kerang then everyone split up making our way through to Bridgewater and Bendigo. To end another great 10 day epic adventure..
Participants
Russell. 105 LandCruiser
Geoff and Leanne. Isuzu
Karl and Sally. 105 LandCruiser
Dave and Ang. Nissan Patrol
Steven and Jayne. 100 LandCruiser
Dave and Jack. Jackaroo
Allan and Marilyn. Triton
Rob and Adriana. Nissan Patrol
Wayne. Hilux
Dan and Lucas. Nissan Navara
