Destinations > The Gawler Ranges

Issue: March 2009

Words and photos by Vic Widman

G'Day, Vic Widman here, this month I am taking you to a place that despite my 30+ years of 4WDing around Australia I only visited for the first time in the last 12 months.

Having been there, I am now wondering why it took me so long to see such a magnificent area. From the rugged mountain range to the brilliant white salt lakes, this place has everything the keen four wheel drive tourer would want. Idyllic and peaceful campsites deep in seldom visited gorges to station accommodation that offers you everything in the way of facilities and comfort, the Gawler Ranges in South Australia has it all.
The Gawler Ranges are located in South Australia about 100 kilometres west of Port Augusta and just to the north of the Eyre Highway. I am sure that anyone who has either driven up the Stuart Hwy from Port Augusta or west across the Eyre Highway towards Ceduna would agree that the surrounding country is less than inspiring. It is flat and rather featureless, covered in sparse vegetation which barely rises above knee height. The area is certainly not inviting for a pleasant campsite or some wonderful scenery. But look a little further than the land around that strip of bitumen and you will be surprised, I know I was.
Port Augusts is a great spot and a worthy start point for this journey. We have to trace its European history all the way back to a fellow we first heard off in Primary school, Matthew Flinders. He sailed up Spencers Gulf in 1802 when he was out mapping the coastline of the new land Australia. He reached close to where Port Augusta township now sits. Today Port Augusta is a major transport hub, in fact, it is the crossroads between Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin and Perth. If you are a truckie doing this run, you will pass through PA. If you are a tourist heading across the Nullarbor or up to the Red Centre and beyond, you will pass through PA. The city has all the services our modern traveller would wish for and is an ideal spot to restock after coming through the quarantine areas to the east. I also found one of the best tourist information centres and exhibitions I have ever visited. The Wadlata Outback Centre in the centre of town is a place that every four wheeler should visit, you need at least two hours to take in the full exhibit. If you enjoy Australian history you will love the Wadlata Centre.
After stocking up the Engel head west young man. The Eyre Hwy is busy with grey nomads and big rigs, but it is a good sealed road with plenty of width. The seventy odd kilometres to Iron Knob will pass quickly. Iron Knob, once a huge mining town, is now dying, mining actually ceased here in 1998. Although there is mining still taking place at Iron Monarch about 50 kilometres to the south. One hundred years of mining has left its mark with the prominent Iron Knob Hill now sitting 150 metres lower than it did in the 1890's.
Opposite the turn to Iron Knob is an unsealed road signposted to Corunna, this is your front door to adventure. The road is good gravel, but make sure you reduce speed as it soon leaves the flat plain country and ducks and dives through dry creek beds. No need to rush as all of a sudden the scenery has become quite interesting. Whilst this is still dry and harsh land, the rolling hills and dry creeks make it a scenic wonderland, similar to the Flinders Ranges.
As you trek west towards the stations of Siam and Nonning you will see the occasional road side monument. Stopping to inspect these will first reveal sad stories of young shearers that have lost their lives on the road and a little of the history of this area. Edward John Eyre is credited for exploring the coastline between Port Augusta and Esperance in Western Australia. In fact, the overland telegraph line that ran along this rugged coast roughly followed the route taken by Eyre. In 1839 he left the seaside location of Streaky Bay and trekked north east crossing the low ranges that he named after the Governor of the colony at the time, hence the name Gawler Ranges. On the road to Mt Ive Station there are two plaques marking his camps six and seven.
This is sheep country and you will see many of the woolly jumpers as you travel west. In drier times they become red woolly jumpers as their thick coat of wool becomes impregnated with the constant red dust that swirls in the ever present wind. History records that when the land was first settled the Land Regulations required pastoralists to stock their runs with 50 sheep per square mile! No wonder the land looks so arid these days. In the 1860's over 90,000 sheep were shorn on the properties along this road.
It is hard to prepare you for the entrance to Mt Ive Station which is marked by a half submerged submarine! Mt Ive Station is a jewel in the Gawler Ranges. It is the only station that has opened its doors to tourists and it is a must visit location. On your way into the station load up the roof rack with firewood, there is plenty along the last 30 kilometres before Mt Ive. The station lies in a long valley, as you drive past the homestead you will see signs asking you to continue straight on to the shop. Here the friendly owners greet you as if you are long lost relatives and guide you to your camp site or lodgings. The campsite is scattered around the buildings that also house either the shearers quarters or the stone cottage which can also be hired for the night. The camping is on level ground with ladies and gents toilets and showers just a short walk away. For a small fee you can even use the communal kitchen and if the weather is unpleasant there is a games room and sitting area for your comfort. Mt Ive is a working sheep station, and the boys and girls that make this their workplace are happy to join you around your campfire in the evening for a yarn.
Mt Ive offers a variety of four wheel drive tracks for you to explore. Similar to the properties found in the Flinders Ranges, a small fee applies to make it worth their while, but the $20 per vehicle won't break your bank. If Mt Ive is the jewel in the Gawler Ranges then Lake Gairdner is definitely the diamond.
Nothing can really prepare you for the fantastic sight of Lake Gairdner. The friendly folk at Mt Ive Station will arm you with the appropriate maps and a key to the locked gate. This is a place where land speed records have been set. There is even a Dry Lakes Racers Association who hold speed trials each year on the salt lake, weather permitting. The lake stretches for over 150 kilometres and is up to 50 kilometres wide in places. You can drive right up to its edge and then walk out onto the metre thick layer of white salt. This is an awe inspiring place and one worth visiting for sunrise, sunset and in the middle of the day.

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On the way to the lake there are numerous landforms marked on your mud map also worth inspecting. Kath's Castle and the old embankment built in 1892 are both worth a little time. The organ pipe rock formations at Kath's Castle are quite amazing although they do require some rock hopping to get up close and personal. Don't worry if the thought of expending all that energy is too much, there are many more opportunities for shorter and easier walks to organ pipe formations throughout the Station and the National Park.
There are several other drives you can take on Mt Ive Station and the mud maps supplied will help you find your way around this fascinating station. Some tracks are steep and require low range, whilst others have harsh jagged, red rock just waiting to pierce a tyre. The notes recommend tyre pressure down to no more than 30 psi, heed this warning.
Mt Ive is just a blip on the radar though when it comes to the wider area of the Gawler Ranges. To the south of the Station there is the Gawler Ranges National Park and this place could easily absorb several days.
On my visit I headed to Thurlga Homestead and then followed the Kimba road through some spectacular rolling hills and dry lakes to take the public access route into the National Park. You pay your entry fees at Paney Homestead which has been preserved and contains many relics of the pastoralist era. From here you can circumnavigate the Park on roads that are unsealed but in good order, they would be impassable after rain. There are several camping opportunities. At Kolay hut, there is level camping under shady trees above a dry creek bed with the old hut nearby in case it does rain. Just around the corner from the hut is Kolay Mirica Falls. The road ends at a car park and it is a short and easy walk to a rocky cliff face where the organ pipe formations are easily reached.
This unusual rock formation is known as Rhyolite and the hexagonal organ pipes are thrust up out of the ground and cliffs in various angles. This is volcanic country or at least it was 1500 million years ago. The whole area is quite dramatic and makes for more than pleasant four wheel drive touring.
Another camping area is off Materra Track, it is about two kilometres off the track along a deep gorge, the track meanders along and over the dry creek emerging in a huge cleared area where there is ample camping opportunities. The Mattera Track joins the Old Paney Scenic Drive and you can loop back to Paney homestead passing yet another nice camp site at Waganny near Waulkinna Hill. Or head west to Old Paney homestead which has been preserved also and can be closely inspected.
If you exit the Nation al Park via Yardee road you will see there are more organ pipe formations to be explored and as you near Minnipa back on the Eyre Hwy take the side trip to Pildappa rock which is reminiscent of Wave Rock in WA, and certainly worth a little time exploring.
I know you will find this part of South Australia absolutely fascinating, and when you get there, you will wish you had more time or like me vow to return again soon.

Getting There/Maps
From Port Augusta follow the Eyre Hwy to Iron knob and then the unsealed roads to Mt Ive Station. Or you can continue on the Highway to either Kimba or Wudinna or Minnipa and head straight into the Gawler Ranges National Park. Use the Hema South Australia map and local Gawler Ranges map which has the best detail available from the Wadlata Outback Centre in Port Augusta. The best time to visit is April to September, it is too hot at other times.

Road Conditions
The road from Iron Knob to Mt Ive station is well graded but it does follow the landscape contours so take it easy, watch for sheep too. The tracks on Mt Ive Station require more care and some even require low range 4WD, drop your tyre pressures to under 30psi. The roads in the Gawler Ranges are also unsealed but easily driven, just don't rush them. There are many kangaroos and emu to be seen. All unsealed roads will be closed when wet. This trek is suitable for 4WD and All Wheel Drive vehicles and off road trailers fitted with good all terrain style tyres such as Cooper ST. Although the All Wheel Drives will struggle on some of the Mt Ive Station tracks.

Staying there
The camping is fantastic in Gawler Ranges National Park with level areas and even some broken shade. At Mt Ive Station the camping is level and dusty but you are right next to the facilities and camp kitchen. If you don't have camping gear, you can stay in the shearer's quarters or the stone cottage for a little extra. It is suggested for all areas you bring your own firewood which is easily found outside the National Park and the Station.
Camping Fees at Mt Ive Station $16.50 per camp site. Shearers Quarters $40 per person. $5 per person if you need to use the camp kitchen. A $20 fee per vehicle for access to their 4WD tracks also applies.
Gawler Ranges National Park
Entry Fees $ 7.50
Camping Fees $5 per night per vehicle, pay at the self registration booths located at the entrances to the Park.

Contact numbers
Gawler Ranges National Park contact the Department of Environment and Heritage on 08 8688 3111
Mt Ive Station contact 08 8648 1817
Wadlata Outback Centre 08 8641 9193

Fuel Requirements
Fuel is available at Port Augusta and Iron Knob, the longest distance between fuel is Iron Knob to Minnipa allow for at least 450 kilometres and maybe more if you are going to fully explore every nook and cranny. Diesel fuel may be available at Mt Ive Station but check before hand.

Driving tips
Keep tyre pressures to no more than 35 psi on good unsealed roads, and down to 28 psi on the Station tracks. Use only all terrain or mud terrain tyres in these harsh conditions. Be wary of kangaroos and emu in the Gawler Ranges National Park throughout the day. On the road to Lake Gairdner be wary of sudden washouts across the road and on the station tracks be wary that some are very stony and steep.

 

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