South Australia

South Australia Holiday Planner & Guide 17 Big skies and space to breathe doesn’t get much bigger and more spacious than the outback. Australia’s most accessible outback is a five-hour drive north of Adelaide. There in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, sits Ikara (Wilpena Pound) – ‘meeting place’ in the traditional Adnyamathanha (‘hills or rock’) language – a great rocky amphitheatre spanning nearly 80km2 and dating back more than 650 million years. The first multicellular life on earth was found here, the rocks telling their own ancient story of a land that was once part of the sea. Aboriginal rock paintings and engravings can be found from the Adnyamathanha people in the park, dating back 40,000 years. The region teems with wildlife – kangaroos, emus, wedge-tailed eagles, and the elusive yellow-footed rock wallaby. When the vast inland Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre floods, the changing colours and renewed waters burst into life and welcome bird flocks numbering in the thousands. You can explore it all by car, by air, on bike or on foot. Join a guided tour or discover it at your own pace with hundreds of kilometres of walking and mountain bike tracks. Digital connectivity is significantly limited here, but that’s not a bad thing – far from it. Experience this wondrous, almost meditative place as it was meant to be experienced – with all your senses. M U S T - D O O U T B AC K E X P E R I E N C E S • Scenic flight over Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre • Wilpena Pound, Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park • Mine Tour and opal noodling in Coober Pedy • Feral Platter at the Prairie Hotel • Ridgetop Tour at Arkaroola