Arkaroola

Carmen Friend
Mar 15, 2018
2 min read

Leaving Rawnsley Park Station, we headed to Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary for the night prior to hitting the Strzelecki Track.

The drive to Arkaroola was slow, passing through many dry river bed crossings as you travelled up the northern part of the Flinders Ranges. We passed through the Vulkathuna Gammon Ranges National Park briefly and on the side of an Aboriginal community – Nantawarrinna.

The Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is situated on 610 square kilometers of land. There are 5 observatories here due to its darkness and ability to observe the night sky uninterrupted. Uranium exploration has occurred here with one of the local springs warmed by uranium. Back in the day it was thought to have had healing properties but sitting beside it and not in it was the healer!!

The Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary was created by a geologist Reg Spriggs in 1968 after he purchased the land. His son currently runs the sanctuary. Reg Spriggs was a trustee to the Would Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 1979 after his work in protecting the Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby. In 2011, The South Australian Premier banned mining in Arkaroola and enlisted legislation in late 2011 banning mining, mining exploration and grazing in the ranges. It has been nominated for a listing in the National Heritage (listed in 2012) and also World Heritage listing by the QLD government.

There is a caravan park here which is very dated – needs money spent to update the facilities but there is plenty to do if you wish to use it as a base. Many walking trails, wildlife and 4wd tours or self-drive tracks to be taken.

The area is extremely dry – they have the Australian record for the highest overnight temperature in Australia – 35.5 degrees with an average rainfall of 175ml or one glass of water per annum!