What you need to enjoy this unique driving experience:

• A well maintained 4WD
• Competent off road driving skills
• A sense of adventure.

Arden hills is a working sheep property so we would ask that no dogs be taken onto the property. We would also ask that sheep watering points be treated with respect. The sheep water at natural springs on the property. Fire wood may be collected for use in existing fire places but not removed from the property. If your vehicle is equipped with a UHF radio please use channel 17 while on the track, this will enable other track users to monitor your progress. Please follow the track markers and drive in a fashion that respects the track and other track users. There are no prizes for being first finished, take your time and enjoy the experience. Use Low Range, it was put in your vehicle just for tracks like this.

It is vital that you travel in an anti clockwise direction because there is limited room for passing. The middle section of the track, from the sheep yards back to the highest range that runs north and south and is visible from the front, is the only area you should encounter two way traffic, so be ever alert and wait at the tops of hills so traffic can flow safely. If you are travelling with other vehicles give them plenty of space while they are climbing or descending hills. The track can become hazardous after rain so be prepared to let it dry out if you happen to get caught out there during rain.

All bookings must be made through the AUSTRAL INN Quorn 86486017. Keys are available at the Austral.

THE TOUR BEGINS.

Just before you enter the locked gate that takes you out of the camping area behind Warren’s Gorge you will notice an old marble mine on your left, this was mined spasmodically until mining was halted because the blasting was making the cliffs in Warren’s Gorge unstable.

After passing through the gate you leave the native pine (Callitris columellaris) stands that that colonise the shallow slaty type soils on the front portion of the block. You now enter the Spinifex (Triodia irritans). This low spiny bush form a major part of the vegetation in this area. Dotted amongst the Spinifex are Yakkas (Xanthorrhoea quadrangulata), these grass trees have a large stem supporting a seed head that many of the small birds feed off of. Down trough the creek passed the huge old River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), many of which bare the scars of a devastating fire that burned this area in 1987. Now you start your climb over the ridge and through the same creek again and then on towards the high country.

Keep an eye out and you will see the ever present Euros, these Macropods are far more solid than their red Kangaroo cousins and tend not to migrate over vast distances as the reds will in search of food. Scan the sky and you will probably see Wedge Tailed eagles on the look out for a meal. Travelling higher you will notice the strata on some of the hills has a twisted appearance. These hills were actually laid down as silt under the sea and then there was tremendous pressure applied buckling and twisting and pushing up the mountains that you see now.

About half way through your climb towards the high ridges you will come across a monument in the form of a chunk of marble with a small plaque fixed to it. This monument is to an old mate of ours called Stretch. Stretch began his working life as a school teacher and ended up as an opal miner. He was so touched by the beauty of these hills that when he was stricken with cancer one of his last requests was to have his ashes spread near where the monument stands. We would ask that you respect his final resting place, by all means pull up and take time to ponder the effect that this environment can have on a person, then move on leaving Stretch’s final home intact.

When you reach the high spots stop and look behind, there are numerous opportunities for photography. From the highest points you can look east across the Willochra Plain towards the Horseshoe Range. If you look to the north on a good day you can see Wilpena Pound. West lies Lake Torrens and to the south are the Dutchman’s Stern, Devil’s Peak and Mount Brown.

Travelling north along the ridge line then down into the creek you will come across Quentin’s BBQ, built by a previous tour operator. The BBQ is available for use; all fire regulations must be observed. After leaving the BBQ you will climb another ridge line and enter yet another vegetation type, low mallee, almost coastal in appearance. This track follows the fence line, the original reason for bulldozing the track. My generation had it a little easier fencing out here than my grandfather. He only had a team of men and pack horses, no 4WDs, eskies and ice water. About half way along this track you will come to $1000.00 Dollar Hill, the cost of the largest cutting on the track. Just spare a thought for the dozer operator’s bravery, or stupidity, as you traverse this section. The dozer drivers name was John Swears and he did quite often. This area is home to several unique species of Correa and other plants which are quite rare in this area.

When you re enter the creek line you head north again crossing the same creek several times, this creek actually drains the western half of the block, running into Depot Creek, where Edward John Eyre had a depot, then the water eventually ends up in Lake Torrens. During major wet years (eg1973, 74) this water runs into Spencers Gulf near Port Augusta, unfortunately these events are few and far between.

Before you start climbing up towards the ridge again you will drive through a stand of native Hibiscus, these spindly looking plants have a very attractive mauve flower during the spring to early summer and are sometimes confused with Sturt’s Desert Rose. When you resume the ridge line again take the time to travel south a short distance up to a lookout that will give you a panoramic view of the area. There is limited room at this lookout so large groups may want to limit the number of vehicles that try to park there at once. Quentin used to turn a Hino around on this point during his tour so you will have no problems with the average 4WD.

From this lookout you travel back down to the track you came in on until you are nearly back to the sheep yards then you can head south to complete the ring route. This track will take you to the south boundary of the block then you follow the fence east once again experiencing some spectacular views of this part of the Flinders Ranges. This track was put in for fire prevention, some of it actually during fires. The last pull heading east is quite steep but easily traversed with care, a definite low range area, then you head north again dropping down to Warren’s Gorge to finish your tour through Arden Hills. If you come through this section towards evening keep an eye out for the Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies that frequent this area.

We hope you enjoyed your trip through Arden Hills. We would like others that follow you to enjoy it also, so please leave the place clean and tidy. When you drop the keys back to the Austral be sure to have a drink and maybe a meal, you won’t be disappointed.

Graham & Inge Stokes: