The Arkapena Track - Self Guided 4WD Tour.

                                              The Arkapena Track – Self Guided 4WD Tour.



The entrance to the track. Our adventure begins.

Rawnsley Park Station has put together a private 4WD experience that transverses part of its property as well as the neighbouring Arkapena Station. At the cost of $40 registration, you are given a key to enter the property plus a map and information pamphlet and you are assured that you will have an unforgettable adventure through the Central Flinders Ranges.



A kangaroo wonders what we are doing in his domain.

The Arkapena Track is approximately 25 klms in length and then we will go out onto Martins Well Road for the return to Rawnsley Park. The whole journey will take 3.5 hours to complete. The brochure told us that we would see unique rock formations, steep gorges and the beautiful Australian landscape – what it didn’t tell us was quite how difficult the track actually is. The day before we drove 28 klms along a 4WD track to see the ruins at Nuccaleena and we thought that several sections on that track were quite testing, but todays track proves a lot more challenging  and it was a real test for the car and  Allan’s 4WD experience. It proved to be a great experience and also a lot of fun.



Wild Flowers line the track.

The track goes up and over many hills and through several valleys.

The track started out by traveling across open paddocks that were covered in white and lilac wildflowers and crossing many gently undulating wide river beds with many beautiful Red River Gums with stunning white trunks along their banks . Most of these river beds only see water once or twice a year. We also travelled through areas thick with Native Pine Trees and under these were several sheep. The views of the Ranges are just fantastic and every turn we make just frames another magnificent picture. The Mountain Ranges we can see are the Elders Range, the Wilpena Sound Range and the Chace Range and they are composed predominantly of rock over 560 million years old - the red brown Bonne Sandstone and the orange red Rawnsley Quartzite. The different colours within the ranges are as a result of the different sedimentary layers that were deposited when this region was covered by a shallow ocean 550 – 850 million years ago.



Some parts of the 4WD track were just so pretty.

Our information pamphlet points out the major viewing points and lookouts, the different vegetation we pass through and the dog fence.



A view of The Elder Range.

Some of the country we passed through.

                                                Wire and old fences along the way.


The Track takes us up and over very steep hills, along very rough narrow tracks, down sandy paths and across many open areas. The further we travel the creek beds get more frequent- a lot narrower and the decent into and accent out of the creek bed becomes very steep and rocky. We have to pass over several grids and through 5 gates. It was quite an adventure.



The Rocky part of the drive.

Nearing the end of the track and beside a creek with an ancient river gum was a small table and seat -this area was named Jim Gehling Camp. This is where Dr. Jim Gehling and other scientists regularly camp when searching the ridges of the Chase Range for Ediacaran fossils. We stop here for our morning tea and to take in the colours and rock formations of the Chase Range and to admire the huge old Gum Tree in the creek bed.



The Majestic Old Red Gum Tree.



Our morning tea stop.



One of the many Birds we saw.

The Arkapena Track showed us totally different country and the scenery that we saw was quite different to any other we has seen in other parts of the Flinders Ranges. We felt safe and secure knowing that if anything went wrong, we would be missed and someone would come looking for us. We think that we were the only folk to undertake this adventure that day.

Some of The great views we saw and the track we drove on this adventure.