Flinders Ranges

The Flinders Ranges are old — so old they make conversation difficult. The folded quartzite ridges you're looking at formed from sediments laid down over 540 million years ago, buckled, eroded, and worn to their bones over geological time. Wilpena Pound, the natural amphitheatre at the centre of Flinders Ranges National Park, is the result of two ranges that curl together like a great stone bowl. From the rim at St Mary's Peak on a clear morning, the horizon disappears into ancient space.

The ochre palette out here — rust red ridges, dusty cream plains, the silver-grey of river gums — has been inspiring Australian artists since Hans Heysen first camped here in the early 1900s. Golden eagles ride the thermals. Euros graze in the creek flats at dusk. The night sky above Rawnsley Park Station, well away from any city light, is among the finest stargazing in the southern hemisphere.

The Heysen Trail — Australia's longest walking trail — passes through this country, but shorter day walks from Wilpena Pound Resort give a powerful taste of the Pound's interior. Remote station stays at Blinman and Parachilna put you deep in the ranges with campfire cooking and zero light pollution.