Voyage of Discovery: Flinders Ranges

As a kid I spent hours in front of the TV watching the likes of Malcolm Douglas, the Leyland Brothers and even Alby Mangels traverse outback Australia. Watching these small-screen pioneers explore the vastness of our country’s dusty red centre captivated me in a way I can’t quite explain, and it would seem I’m not alone.

Every year hundreds of ‘grey nomads’ take to the long, flat and often dusty trails inland to experience first-hand what many of us have only seen on television, and quite often don’t get to see until we’re old enough to have the time to do it justice – which is a bit of a shame I reckon.

But rather than wait until retirement or silver flecks, I decided my week-and-a-bit off over the Easter break was as good a chance as any to catch a real-life glimpse of our country’s red heart. But with my time off being as limited as it was, I decided upon South Australia’s Flinders Ranges as my introduction to the outback.

The Flinders Ranges is a tasting platter of sorts for what lies in store beyond the regional fringe. It’s a remarkable part of the world literally almost as old as time itself, and is fascinating as much for its scenery as for its history and geology.

Fortunately, there are guides throughout the Flinders that do a far better job than I ever could of explaining the how-and-why of the rock formations, ridges and ranges that make up this nearly 500km long mountain stretch. Most are happy to pass along their wealth of knowledge to anyone showing interest, and are engaging speakers who do a terrific job of elucidating the plethora of history into an easy to swallow dose.

Flanked by salt lakes (Gairdner and Torrens to the west, Frome and Callabonna to the east), the Flinders Ranges jut sharply from the flatness of the desert that surrounds it, hiding a plethora of mineral wealth below. There’s evidence of mining activity dating back 150 years, but look harder and you’ll see signs of the Aboriginal ochre trade dating thousands of years prior (Aboriginal guides at Nepabunna and Nantawarrina can provide in-depth tours of culturally important sites).

Luckily for us, the Flinders Ranges is now accessible by good roads, even better camping grounds and a limited supply of clean running water. It’s a massive contrast from what the land’s original inhabitants would have experienced, and is, comparatively speaking, easy going.

Hawker is a great place to grab any last-minute supplies, and is one of the region’s bigger centres, meaning that fuel here is as cheap as it’s going to get for quite some time.

Until now, our journey had consisted of sealed roads and 110km/h speed limits. Indeed the road from Hawker through to Blinman is also sealed. But it’s the dirt roads around and in-between the black-top that provide access to the most stunning scenery, and a little offroad adventure.

Until reaching the Wilpena Pound Resort 'our' Land Rover Discovery 4 (from $69,200 plus on-road costs) had seemed almost excess to requirement. It had towed the Track Trailer Tour Mate Plus camper trailer comfortably – and rather efficiently – on sealed roads, the average fuel use rising only in the climb through the undulating high hills along Goyder’s climate line.

The entry-level TDV6 variant of the recently revised Discovery 4 range is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine making an ample 155kW at 4000rpm and 520Nm from 1500-2500rpm. The figures make towing a breeze and, in spite of the almost 1500kg load behind us, the Disco still had plenty in reserve to comfortably pull out and pass.

The Discovery 4 will tow up to 3500kg with a ball weight of up to 350kg, but all told the Tour Mate ($32,500 plus on-road costs) together with offroad recovery gear, extra fuel, water and food tallied just over one-third of that. We did notice a little turbo lag when accelerating from standstill, and when pulling out of the many floodways and cattle grids that punctuated our route, but for the most part the Disco was an enthusiastic performer that made light work of towing.

We also found the restaurant to be a welcome, if unexpected pit-stop. I say unexpected not because I didn’t know it was there, but because I’d left the gas bottle turned on and managed to run it dry, and had to make a late booking at the restaurant to grab a warm dinner. The second bottle (the Tour Mate carries two 4kg gas bottles) was also empty, and our late arrival in the compound meant there was no one around to fill 'em up.

But Wilpena Pound Resort does have facilities to fill up on all manner of fossil fuels and, once that dilemma was sorted, we spent the remainder of the day exploring the ‘Pound’ and its surrounds.

The southern end of the Flinders Ranges is quite picturesque and, because of its accessibility, well patronised, especially over the school holiday period. We took in the scenic Bunyeroo Drive across the centre of the Range’s lower end, visiting the Cazneaux Tree and Brachina Gorge before arriving at the old copper mining town of Blinman. It was discovered in 1859, I kid you not, by a one-legged sheep farmer.

After a burger at the pub we took in the slightly longer but impressive route through Glass Gorge to Parachilna Gorge, through to Parachilna and its legendary Prairie Hotel before heading back to Wilpena Pound via the must-do Moralana Scenic Drive – a particular highlight just on sunset.

Overall, the route isn’t particularly hard going, though ground clearance is certainly something you’ll want on your side. It astounds me just how many people you see in the gorges driving what I call TIVs (Terrain-Inappropriate Vehicles). Fortunately for us this wasn’t an issue, and between the Land Rover’s quick-acting Electronic Air Suspension, and the Track Trailer’s 250mm of wheel travel, the loop was a walk in the park.

We spent the next day climbing over the Loves Mine Range, The Bunkers and alongside the Grindstone Range towards the Gammon Ranges in the Flinders’ northern end. The route was easier to negotiate than the map might suggest with adequate signage and a decent surface... provided it’s dry.

It was obvious the road had been a bit of a slip-and-slide park in recent weeks with deep ruts evident after unseasonal rain – and hail – just a fortnight before our arrival. Further north the road was still closed and in Coober Pedy, the shire council was struggling with a multi-million dollar repair bill to its roads and infrastructure after heavy flash flooding.

Arkaroola might be a little rustic, but it’s clean and comfortable with decent amenities – and even a repair shop for a flat tyre we’d scored along the way. Our campsite sat flat on a tiered hillside with views to Griselda’s Hill, named after Reg’s second wife.

The gibber-strewn campground made for tough going when pegging down the Tour Mate’s soft floor, though with level ground the remainder of the process was comparatively easy. Squaring up the Tour Mate’s tent was definitely easier with flat ground and made the entire structure look much neater when raised.

The Tour Mate (or Multiple Application Tactical Equipment) had plenty of room to spread out. Even without the awning set up over the kitchen at the rear, there was plenty of room for our supplies, table and chair, and Waeco CDF-35 fridge/freezer, which connected conveniently to a 12V outlet placed adjacent to the double bed’s light switches.

A side note to this is that the 240V outlet was placed externally on the opposite side of the trailer with the 240V inlet. An additional 240V outlet, which ran off an inverter in the trailer’s rear storage compartment, is also placed on the wrong side for internal access.

This issue aside, the remainder of the Tour Mate was pretty easy to deal with. Setting up took around 25 minutes (we got quicker as the trip progressed) with the kitchen/cooker/sink swinging out to the rear and the two tent-side compartments accessible via zip-down flaps through the tent’s inner wall.

Three LED strip lights (and two LED reading lamps), powered via a 105Ah battery charged on-the-go via an Anderson plug, offered heaps of light, and four large netted windows, two doors and a full-length tropical roof provided maximum ventilation with zero bugs.

The flies in April were syrup-thick at Arkaroola and will get on your nerves if you don’t have a netted hat. Cooking seemed to send them into a frenzy although after snagging the flexible gas line from the trailer to the cooker on our second night in camp, it was an issue we no longer had to worry about. Thankfully, Arkaroola had a pretty decent little restaurant.

Arkaroola’s guided 4WD tour to Siller’s lookout was well worth five hours of our time, though at $145 per person was a little pricey. There are no toilets along the way so you’ll need to think ahead... ladies may find this even more of a challenge.

But if the budget is tight, there are plenty of free, self-guided two- and four-wheel drive tracks around the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary worth a look.

We tackled the adventurous four-wheel drive-only trail through Welcome Pound to the radioactive Paralana hot springs (uranium was discovered in Arkaroola by Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson in 1910), making good use of the Discovery’s hill climbing, rock-crawling and hill-descent capabilities en route.

A dual-range transfer case, electronic driver aids (Hill Descent Control, Hill Start Assist, and optional Active Rear Locking Differential) and high-lift air suspension with Terrain Response made even the gnarliest sections of track a cinch. But even in a vehicle as capable as the Discovery 4 the old mining road was slow going.

Many of the roads that cut through Arkaroola date back to mining exploration ventures in the early 1940s when uranium exploration for the Manhattan project took place, and in some cases, little or no maintenance has occurred since.

Sensibly, Arkaroola’s management has closed off many of the well-worn paths in a bid to keep punters safe. But a sagacious attitude and a capable vehicle will allow access to some pretty remote and remarkably picturesque sections of the sanctuary. In my opinion, they’re all worth a look.

Not deterred, we used a small step-ladder to get the tent packed neatly away. The ladder then slotted tidily into the off-road camper’s full-length slide-out rear drawer, which also carried our 4WD recovery gear, extra spare wheel (now repaired), tools, duffel bag and the camper’s stow-away two-burner stainless steel kitchen.

Getting the Tour Mate hitched up to the Discovery 4 was an equally easy feat, the Hitchmaster DO35 (Drop-On 3.5 tonne, available separately for around $400) coupling lines up easily through the Land Rover’s built-in reverse camera.

The popular off-road hitch proved a Godsend on rough roads. The double swivel arrangement isolated the vehicle from harsh feedback and, in addition to being easy to hitch, featured 360-degree articulation to help minimise carnage in the event of a roll-over.

With everything in place the tow vehicle and trailer proved a pleasure to drive. The Discovery’s quiet but gutsy turbo-diesel engine and silky eight-speed automatic made light work of the 1500-odd kilograms behind, while the self-levelling function of the air suspension meant the vehicle’s steering and braking could do what it was meant to regardless of terrain. The Discovery’s brakes were amazingly strong and, considering the mass being brought to rest each time, impressively progressive.

The Melbourne-built Tour Mate was fitted with 10-inch electric drum brakes and MC2 (Mobility Category 2) military-grade suspension with an asymmetric link, steel coils and shockers which kept the trailer flatter than expected. In spite of its clearance height and significant weight for its size the unit didn’t feel heavy, even under hard braking, though some of the credit has to be handed to the Redarc remote-head trailer brake controller fitted.

Returning to Melbourne via the Waukaringa Ruins, Silverton and Broken Hill from Arkaroola took two days. Overall, we tallied almost 3300km and used just over 484 litres of fuel. On average that’s 14.7L/100km – not bad considering the 80 litres of extra fuel, 70 litres of extra water (in additional to the 70 litres in the internal tank) and recovery gear we carried.

The Flinders Ranges is a jewel in the Australian outback; and the all-terrain-conquering combination of Land Rover Discovery 4 TDV6 and Track Trailer Tour Mate made it all the more enjoyable. It’s a remarkable part of the world well worth any amount of time you can afford to give it – and one that more than lived up to the promises made by those Aussie television adventurers so many years before.

2014 Land Rover Discovery 4 TDV6 pricing and specifications:
Price: $69,200 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel