Things to do in  Flinders Ranges National Park

A vast natural stadium framed by 800-million-year-old mountains, Wilpena Pound is one of South Australia’s most recognizable landmarks. Positioned where scrub meets red desert, it’s a highlight of the Flinders Ranges. In the mythology of the Adnyamathanha people— the traditional owners of the land—two giant serpents formed its sinuous outline.

A low-lying valley in the Flinders Ranges, with gum trees where yellow-footed rock wallabies hop, the Brachina Gorge carries a map of geological time in its striated rock formations. Travelers driving the Brachina Gorge Geological Trail can see the mark of a meteorite impact, fossilized early life forms, and layers of rock from 500–800 million years ago.

A low red canyon formed by a creek that’s usually dry, Sacred Canyon (Yura Mulka) is, as its name implies, a site sacred to the Indigenous Adnyamathanha people. A walk down the riverbed, where red gums provide a little shade, reveals ancient Aboriginal engravings, sadly intermingled with more recent vandalism.