Wilpena Pound - A natural wonder in the Outback

A trip to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia’s Outback would not be complete without visiting the 83 square kilometre rock amphitheatre that is Wilpena Pound.

As high as the Andes and situated 400 kms. north of Adelaide, this great natural showpiece was formed from sedimentary deposits under the sea 640 million years ago. The deposits were folded into mountains and 160 million years of erosion have resulted in the amazing chiselled formation that can be seen today.

When visiting Wilpena Pound, an ideal accommodation option is Wilpena Pound Resort. This background destination focus news release contains the following information:

• An introduction to Wilpena Pound Resort
• Activity, accommodation and touring options
• How to include Wilpena Pound Resort into a South Australia itinerary
• Green credentials

Wilpena Pound Resort – (wilpenapound.com.au)

Just four and a half hours drive north of Adelaide, Wilpena Pound Resort, is located in the dramatic Flinders Ranges National Park, close to the Old Wilpena Station, a pastoral settlement of great scenic beauty and a working station for 135 years.

Today Wilpena Pound provides travellers with a tranquil place to explore the region’s history and to take an intimate look at life on an Outback homestead. The land around Wilpena Pound and Wilpena Station are also important Aboriginal heritage sites of great cultural significance for the Adnyamathanha people who inhabited the region before the settlers arrived and who still live there.

Activities

The property offers guests a choice of activities ranging from easy to challenging bushwalks, picnics by river red gum lined creeks, drives to ancient gorges, Aboriginal rock art, horse riding or simply relaxing in the beautiful bush setting watching kangaroos graze and wedge tail eagles soar overhead.

Accommodation

There are a range of accommodation options to suit all budgets from the four-star Heysen or Edeowie suites, perfect for couples looking for a luxurious hideaway; the Aroona motel-style units, suitable for families with young children and the Wilpena Pound caravan park and campground, where guests can still make use of the all the facilities of the resort. Facilities include a swimming pool, bistro, bar and beer garden, licensed restaurant, general store and visitor information centre.

Tours

4 Wheel Drive and Tag Along
These tours are a great way to get a closer look at the Flinders Ranges’ more remote attractions and can either be taken as a fully guided tour or by ‘tagging along’ in one’s own 4WD vehicle.

Scenic Flights
The Resort has its own airstrip and offers flights from 20 minutes that give an eagle’s eye view of the stunning landscape to two hour fights to the famous Outback town of Andamooka.

Guided Walking Tours
Three hour walking tours with a local guide can be taken to the Old Wilpena Homestead, a heritage-listed site, Wilpena Creek and an exploration of Flinders Ranges ‘reds’ – red gum trees, red sandstone and red sunsets.

Bushwalking
There are three walks and fourteen hikes within Flinders Ranges National Park ranging from easy 30 minute walks to hard nine hour hikes over 23.2km. The Resort provides trail maps and advice for independent bushwalkers.

Itineraries

Flinders Ranges & Outback total experience – AU$375 (based on 4 sharing)
Ideal for self-drive guests who want to experience the region in a short period, this two-night package includes accommodation in the Aroona Units, breakfast, half day 4WD tour and a scenic flight.

Adelaide to Wilpena – AU$2,125 (approx. £945 pp, twinshare)
This fully escorted three-day tour includes return transfers from Adelaide (drive there, fly back), bed and breakfast accommodation, dinner, en route lunch at a local winery in the Clare Valley, 4WD tour with picnic lunch and guide.

Wilpena & Coober Pedy – AU$3,175 (approx. £1,413 pp, twinshare)
This fully escorted, full board five-day tour combines the above with two nights at the Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy, charter flights from Wilpena Pound to Coober Pedy, Desert Cave town tour, day tour of the region.

Flinders Ranges, Kangaroo Island and Coober Pedy – New
This new seven night tour showcases South Australia’s highlights in one trip. The itinerary starts with a flight from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island, Australia’s Galapagos, where two nights are spent at the Kangaroo Island Lodge (kilodge.com.au) seeking out the island’s koalas, wallabies, penguins, kangaroos and sea lions.

The tour then moves on to the Flinders Ranges and the chance to discover the region’s rich cultural heritage, spectacular scenery and native wildlife. Two nights accommodation is at Wilpena Pound Resort

On day five a private air charter takes guests over the arid mountain ranges and out across the desert to the underground opal mining town of Coober Pedy. Accommodation is at the renowned Desert Cave underground hotel (desertcave.com.au). Here visitors can learn about opal mining and how the town got its name as the ‘opal mining capital of the world’.

They can also explore the surrounding areas of Moon Plain, the Gibber Plain and Fossil Creek. The tour ends with a flight back to Adelaide or by joining the famous Ghan train for a wonderful overland journey to either Adelaide or Alice Springs.

Prices

This itinerary can either be done as part of a small group tour from AU$4,310 pp (approx. £1,918) or as an exclusive tailor-made tour for two passengers from AU$5,307 pp (approx. £2,362). Prices include return flights from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island, transport to Wilpena Pound and Coober Pedy from Adelaide, full board accommodation and detailed excursions with local guides.

International flights to Australia and onward flights to Adelaide from the Outback or the Ghan train are not included.

Wilpena Pound Resort – Green credentials

Wilpena Pound Resort works in partnership with the Department of Environment and Heritage to provide environmentally sustainable ecotourism services for the Flinders Ranges. The area attracts up to 150,000 visitors per year and in partnership with National Parks and Wildlife SA (NPWSA) and Flinders Ranges Tourism Services, Wilpena Pound Resort works hard to minimise the impact of tourism on the land.

The resort is committed to sustainable ecotourism practices and methods and is continually investigating and implementing new initiatives to ensure the environment can sustain visitors to this rich natural, cultural and heritage landscape for future generations.

Four key areas are focused upon: Waste Management, Power Supply, Water Supply and Fires. The resort uses a new waste facility operated by NPWSA that has set the bench mark for other outback regions and includes recycling initiatives, management of chemical toilet waste and recycling of waste oils and fats from the resort to be used as bio-diesel.

The power is supplied by one of Australia’s largest Hybrid Solar Power stations, reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses by at least 1/3 compared with their previous supplier. The resort buildings have been designed to make use of the sun, wind and weather to minimise the requirements for heating or cooling, low powered lighting methods are used throughout and natural gas is used for cooking and heating to reduce greenhouse gases.

The water supply comes from the Wilpena spring within the resort and new methods for filtering and supplying the area have been developed. Drought resistant plants in the resort gardens limit the amount of water used and low volume shower heads, water metering and careful use of watering dripper systems are used. In term of fires, leaflets have been produced to educate people about the damage of fires to the environment and management of firewood collection is practiced.

For further information on Wilpena Pound Resort: Wilpenapound.com.au

All the major UK tour operators brochure Wilpena Pound Resort including Austravel, Gold Medal Travel, Kuoni, Qantas Holidays and Tailor Made Travel.

For further information on Adelaide South Australia: Southaustralia.com