Flinders Ranges

Getting there…………

August 2025

Here we go again. Ready for adventures, awesome scenery, friends, campfires and lots of driving. Because the weather in southern Australia has been so unpredictable lately, we are not sure of our itinerary, except we’re aiming for the majestic Flinders Ranges in South Australia. The rain has caused havoc with the gravel roads, flooding them and washing away edges. The positives are that we’re expecting a “green” desert with lots of wildflowers. We’ve set aside up to a month to be away.

We set off on 20th August 2025 in the middle of a rain bomb from the East Coast of NSW. By the time we reached Lismore the rain had passed, but it wasn’t the last of rain for us that day. Tenterfield for morning tea is a normal indulgence, but we couldn’t loiter as we had more than 550 kms to cover that first day. Rain it did, heavily at times.

Arriving at Nindigully Pub close to dusk, we had planned a campsite in the Council grounds surrounding the pub, but mud and slosh drowned out any chance of finding  a dry site. In Neil’s usual fashion, he parked beside the telephone box near the pub fence on “dry” grass and we wedged our 2 vans in close to his Penguin. In the morning, an irate owner of the pub informed us we were camped on private property, her’s in fact. We apologised profusely and left. St George was not too far away, so off we drove in the cold and thick fog.

Wildflowers were beginning to appear on the sides of the road, vast carpets of yellow, then white, all with a background of deep russet red earth. Again we loaded the kms onto the car, pushing hard to reach our destination, Charlotte Plains Station just out of Cunnamulla. What a gem this place was compared to the barren landscapes we had travelled past for hours that day. The 27,000 hectare sheep property is one of the few stations that did not cap their bore. They have developed a unique unpowered campsite complete with a dozen or so bathtubs you can freely wallow in at 31C or hotter, until you are fully saturated. There are some large pools as well, heated to about 48C, which is a bit too hot. The mornings with steam rising in the glow of sunrise are really atmospheric. We spent 2 days here. There was a video show at sunset with Robyn Russell, the current owner, giving us a good overview of the history of the farm and family; she was a bit long winded however.

Day 4 we headed to Thargomindah, the visitor centre first, as we still didn’t know if the road down to the Flinders Ranges was open. There have been vast floods affecting roads, bridges and creating driver hazards, but the Strezlecki Track had just opened and we could follow our desired route. Poor Thargomindah had been awash the previous weeks, but looked like they were back to normal.

This night we made it to Noccundra, a one pub town and nothing else. The 1882 sandstone pub was a nice place for a lazy afternoon beer, but we had chosen a terrific campsite on the bank of the Wilson River. Peaceful, quiet, no wind or rain, we loved relaxing into this spot. The little campfire kept us warm, the stars were spectacular, although I need more practise to get my astrophotography working.

The next day we aimed for Cameron’s Corner, the historic border intersection of SA, QLD & NSW. The roads were now a mix of corrugations to rattle your false teeth, smooth red earth and grey dusty gravel. At a morning tea stop, we met a twitcher, carrying his very long-lensed camera. He showed us some excellent images of various birds including a red chat which is very rare. His wife wandered up from a walking path, didn’t engage with us, probably knowing her husband loved showing off his pictures whenever the opportunity arose. The wildflowers at this stop were lovely, some very small, others more showy but all contributing to the floral display. 

Cameron’s Corner now has a pub, unlike the first time we came here in the 1990’s. We took the mandatory photos, read the information boards and then set off in search of a campsite. A clay pan tucked out of view of the road was ideal. A magical camp.

Car Report

Car-wise, it’s not been all plain sailing. Mechanically, no worries. However the extremely bumpy roads and endless corrugations finally shook a little spring loose in the bonnet catch. Without a spare parts store down the road, we’ve gone for the old tried and true remedy, tie down strap across the front of the bonnet, a nice rosette was added for presentation. We do now get weird looks in the towns, people wondering why we’ve got our bonnet held down. It’s rare to see cars nowadays being held together with simple devices and still driving about.

Also, for no obvious reason, the heater/aircon fan began to make a loud insistent whizzing noise. It was just another noise to add to an already rattly racket that we drive with all the time, but this one was next level! So I cracked it and turned it off and went for the old fashioned air con and opened the window. Ahh, the serenity. That afternoon Nick was under the front dashboard unscrewing the culprit. It was full of leaves like a birds nest. Years and years of debris. Now the fan is completely silent and actually pumps air.

This road from Cameron’s corner camp was a multiple series of up and over sand dunes, with crests and falls, possibly 50 or more of them, with some badly churned up on the blind side over the crest. Our two-way radios proved useful to warn each other of the dangers. For the whole day we saw about 4 cars, 4 motorbikes and a couple of cattle trucks. The Strezlecki Track was sealed more than we expected but it was still primarily corrugations on white gravel. The landscape was dotted with small pale yellow dunes with scrub on top, hides for bush creatures no doubt. We only saw a few emus, no kangaroos and surprisingly a group of huge camels.

Flinders Ranges

Pulling in to Arkaroola mid afternoon, we had around 2000km on the clock already. The day was warmer than expected. We set up camp amongst the gums on a dry riverbed. We did a communal dinner of marinated pork, stir fried vegetables and rice. We retired early, everyone was tired and 3 of us were carrying a bit of a cold. The wind came up, slowly at first, rattling the awning, shaking the van a bit. The next thing we knew we were living in a full scale gale, with wind howling down the gullies like a train, first one direction then the other. Just when you thought it was over, off it went again. No-one slept. It’s just one of those camping moments when you ask “why are we doing this?” But we survived and I thanked all the big trees we were camped under for holding onto all their limbs throughout the night.

Suffice to say, the next day was at zombie pace, weary, just soaking up all that is on offer around the Arkaroola homestead . It was warm, sunny and calm, for a change. Neil and Erica did a walk on the Barraranna track for 8km, I admire their fortitude but the rest of us were not feeling that fit after a rough night. The next morning Neil & Erica departed Arkaroola while we stayed another day to do the Echo Camp Backtrack drive. I’ll leave this blog here. There are lots of adventures to come as we thoroughly explored the Flinders Ranges.

The next blog is written so will follow soon, provided I can get an internet signal.

Cheers for now

Jenny & Nick & Co.