Wilpena Pound to Arkaroo Rock

Arkaroo Rock aboriginal cave paintings

Arkaroo Rock is a short drive from Wilpena Pound about  17 km south of Wilpena on Hawker Road. We set out to do this walk on a sticky, overcast, humid day. It was much cooler than the previous days however the humidity made it feel sticky. We had plenty of water in a back pack for the 2 hour return walk up to the aboriginal rock paintings and back. We had no idea what to expect with the track however it wasn’t too bad.

The track was rocky in places and a couple of steep steps here and  there. The scenery on both the  way there and back was beautiful.

Arkaroo Rock Shock!

The return trip took us about 1 1/2 hours at an easy pace. It was one of the highlights of our Wilpena Pound stay. What I enjoyed most was the scenery in the background. Once we finally reached the cave paintings we could not believe the ugly cage wrapped around the area of the paintings. The cage around the aboriginal cave paintings is understandable but definitely made it look like there could be wild animals living in there. ( rather than keeping vandalists out). You can see a couple of photos below of the steps leading up to the paintings and David taking a photo through the gaps of the wire cage. You need to hang on tight to your camera if you take photos this way – it would be a long wait for any chance of help to get it back!


We sat on some bench seating opposite the aboriginal cave paintings and had a drink of water and rest before making our way back down the track to the car park. We only saw two other people on the day we were there and it was when we were going down the hill. The track is in a look and some how we had come up the hill opposite to where they had come from.

At one point David stepped on a trail of ants and one of them managed to bite him on his ankle  through his socks. His immediate reaction was to bend over and swipe at the ants on his leg and in doing so his iPhone slipped out of his pocket and hit the ground hard and broke the screen. His reaction to the phone hitting the ground was about the same as getting bitten by an ant. With it costing $300 to fix the screen he was a little bit angry. ( at himself !)

Arkaroo Rock Car park is located 17 km south of Wilpena on Hawker Road in the Flinders Ranges National Park. If you are staying in Wilpena Pound it is a short drive.

Lunch at Woolshed Restaurant Rawnsley Park Station

We had been told that the food and sunset at the Woolshed Restaurant was worth a visit. It was around lunchtime after our walk to see the cave paintings at Arkaroo Rock so decided to drop in for lunch. We were the only ones there, and it was the last day they were going to be open for lunch for a while because it was the low season. We ordered a beer while we waiting for our lunch relaxed after our energetic morning.

David had a lamb burger and I had an open chicken souvlaki. All was very yummy. The tomatoes were home grown and delicious!

Rawnsley Park Station is located on the Flinders Ranges Way, Hawker SA 5434

The Cazneaux Tree

David had seen the famous image of the “The Spirit of Endurance”solitary river red gum tree, near Wilpena Pound and wanted to check it out. On the day we visited it was hot, humid and overcast. We parked the car in the carpark and walked along the path towards “The Cazneaux Tree”. It was looking much different that the photos we had seen.

The Cazneaux Tree is located on the main Hawker to Blinman Road which goes through the Flinders Ranges National Park. The entrance to the tree is 1/2km north of the turn off into Wilpena Pound.

Stokes Hill lookout on an overcast day

On the way back to our Wilpena Pound campsite we stopped by Stokes Hill lookout again. Being an overcast day the countryside looked so different! I took a photo of a stack of rocks. We had seen these on our Pilbarra trip and noticed them a few times in South Australia. I asked at the Wilpena Pound information desk what these stacks of rock meant. I got a bit of a chuckle and apparently its as simple as a marker point for a turnoff or water is near. They are placed there to let friends, family or whoever know about where a turnoff is, or whatever. Simple as that!

We had a refreshing swim in the pool back at Wilpena Pound Resort, had a cool shower and then cooked dinner on our camp stove.

Bed and ready for another action packed day!


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