Flinders Ranges – A Long Weekend Exploring South Australia’s Outback

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South Australia’s Flinders Ranges are the perfect locale for a long weekend out of the city. Hike around Wilpena Pound, drive through 580 million-year-old rock formations, and explore the Outback.

We Are Explorers acknowledges that this adventure is located on the traditional Country of the Adnyamathanha people, who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

First Time in the Flinders Ranges

The Flinders Ranges is the heart of South Australia’s Outback and a place I’d always thrown in the too-hard basket. Will I need extra jerry cans of fuel? A tonne of water? A 4WD? How much food? Too hard, we’ll do another weekend camping on the coast.

I’d always thought I’d need at least a week to make it worthwhile. Turns out I was wrong; an (extra) long weekend is the perfect chance to get an Outback fix that’ll leave you itching for another. 

So if you can talk the boss into a couple of days off, here’s how to spend four days in the Flinders Ranges. Load up the car, throw on a podcast, and head out back. 

Grab a guidebook: Best Walks of the Flinders Ranges (Enter WAE15 at checkout for 15% off!)

Where to Stay on a Flinders Ranges Road Trip

For a quick and easy trip like this, the Wilpena Pound Resort Campground is ideal. There are unpowered or powered sites, you’re surrounded by gum trees, plus there are hot showers and flushing loos. Enticing enough to turn your non-camping mates into Outback adventurers.

Skill Level

Intermediate 

The hiking can be hot and steep, and much of the driving around the ranges is on dirt, corrugated roads.

Essential Gear for the Flinders Ranges

• Camping gear
• Firewood (can’t collect in the park, but can buy) 
• Backpack, water, and snacks (hiking essentials) 
• Camera 
• 4WD for comfort, but not essential

Flinders Ranges Road Trip Itinerary

Day 1 – Adelaide to Wilpena Pound

Distance: 460km
Duration: 5 hours

Day one is about getting your shit together! Once you’ve loaded up the car, swung through a servo, and circled back home for the forgotten camp oven, it’s time to head north from Adelaide. 

The drive’s long and straight, as you follow the signs to Port Augusta before turning off to Hawker. It’s all signed, and once you turn off the main highway away from the coast, the drive becomes incredible. Winding through water-worn mounds and hills of dirt that become redder and redder as the odometer clicks over. 

Read more: Remember to leave no trace

If you’re in a rush, you could book up at night after work while keeping an eye out for kangaroos. Dedicating day one to preparing and travelling means you get to take it slow, pit-stopping for photos, and gawking at the changing landscape as the flat arid paddocks begin to turn to ranges.

All up, it’s about a five-hour drive from Adelaide. Once checked in at the national park’s visitor centre, we claimed our temporary home among the gum trees, prepped the fire, and headed for the small hill behind the campground.

This is the perfect spot to watch the setting sun paint the towering walls of Wilpena Pound different shades of red and orange.

Day 2 – Hiking St Marys Peak

Direct Route

Distance: 14.6km
Duration: 6 hours return

Loop route

Distance: 9 hours
Duration: 21.5km

Day two is what all the hype’s about – the loop hike to St Marys Peak, the top of Wilpena Pound and the highest point of the Flinders Ranges. 

This peak of the range is at the heart of the Adnyamathanha Dreaming, and the Traditional Owners, the Adnyamathanha people, ask that you don’t climb to its very top. But there’s no need to – the views from Tanderra Saddle of the winding desert ranges to the horizon are like nothing I’ve seen before. 

The loop hike is roughly 18km to the top of the pound and back, and begins at the Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre. It ventures through the pound’s walls and winds through its centre, where the landscape and vegetation change drastically. Giant creekside gum trees turn into a thin, plantation-like bush as you enter the pound. 

Steadily, you begin to climb the rocky pound walls before reaching the top and Tanderra Saddle. It’s the first time on the hike that the other side of the pound reveals itself and the arid wilderness that stretches to the horizon’s haze.

It was the perfect spot to rest the pins, tuck into the snacks, and take in the view. From here, the loop track ventures down the other side of the escarpment. 

Alternatively, there’s a more direct version of the track that’s shorter, but a lot steeper than going through the pound. 

At the end of day two, a night at the Wilpena Pound Resort Campground is ideal. After the hike, you can jump in a hot shower, buy more firewood, and sit back, reliving the day with humming legs.

Day 3 – Driving through Bunyeroo Gorge

Distance: Approx. 100km round trip

After the big hike the day before, day three is ideal for getting behind the wheel and steering through one of the scenic drives. It’s going to be more comfortable in a 4WD, but if you keep your wits about you, a 2WD won’t stop you bouncing down the corrugated roads.

We drove through Bunyeroo Gorge, Brachina Gorge, and Aaroona Valley, which ventures through 580 million-year-old rocks, slowly getting older and older, as you wind along.

The drive takes you through rocky mountainous terrain and close to some incredible cliffs. As you make your way back to camp, see how grand the ranges are amongst the flat and arid land.

Day 4 – Wilpena Pound to Adelaide (via the bakery)

Distance: 460km
Duration: 5 hours (plus a stop-off for bakery treats)

Day four means it’s time to mosey back to Adelaide. Sure, you could tack this onto the end of day three if you’re short on time, but you’d miss out on an extra night by the campfire and daytime rubbernecking at the ranges as they disappear into the distance.  

The trip isn’t over without a pop in at Flinders Food Co, which makes the best veggie pastie I’ve ever had – a claim not taken lightly. Is it the highlight of the trip? Maybe, but there’s plenty to choose from. I can’t wait to see more of the Flinders Ranges, and it won’t be without a pastie.

Flinders Ranges Road Trip FAQs

Do I need a 4WD for the Flinders Ranges?

No, you don’t need a 4WD for the Flinders Ranges, however many of the roads are unsealed and corrugated, so drivers need to take care in a 2WD. There are some more adventurous 4WD routes drivers can take, but they’re additional to the main roads through the region.

What’s the best time to visit the Flinders Ranges?

The best times to visit the Flinders Ranges are during autumn and spring, when the temperature isn’t too hot during the day or drops too low at night.

How many days do you need in Flinders Ranges?

If you’re driving from Adelaide, it’s best to plan to stay at least two nights in the Flinders Ranges, ideally more if you have time so you can walk more trails and not have to rush the drive.