By Samito Jalbuena
THE search for the planet’s most spectacular landscapes can often end up in the outback of Australia. In the lookout for the more ancient pockets on Earth, it seems nothing comes close to beating the wonders of Wilpena Pound, a primeval 80-kilometer wide amphitheater of mountains located 429 km north of Adelaide, South Australia, and in the heart of the Flinders Ranges National Park. The mountains and hills of the area have given it a spectacular view that has already stolen hearts from merely gazing at it via photographs, but what more if you can actually visit the place in the flesh.
Fortunately, Wilpena Pound has been made accessible to travelers because of the large development that has occurred at the Wilpena Pound Resort on the eastern side of the Pound. There are many modern facilities there that make it appealing for people who are not familiar with the almost arid conditions of the near-desert. Tourists also go on scenic flights from an airstrip at the resort to view the extraordinary landscape which is reported to be about 800 million years old and has been home to the Adnyamathanha people for tens of thousands of years.
To better get a grasp of the beautiful surroundings, Air Wilpena operates daily from the Wilpena Pound Resort. The small-scale carrier recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of handling scenic flights and extended air tours into the Australian Outback. With an experienced crew of pilots and a dependable fleet of Cessna aircraft, Air Wilpena proudly offers flights over the area, including extended jaunts to experience the wonders of nearby Lake Eyre and other multi-day tours over terrain.
But why travel through air? Touring the Australian wilderness by aircraft reduces the barriers of distance and time, and enables visitors to cover vast landscapes and see other nearby locations, including Coober Pedy, Bridsville, Arkaroola and more. For these options, Air Wilpena allows guests the luxury of designing their own journey. The provider can help create the perfect itinerary exclusively designed for the curious tourist.
Of course, all these options pale in comparison to the spectacular beauty of seeing Wilpena Pound itself. The natural amphitheater of mountain ridges looks like what may have been a former Everest flattened by a giant meteor or a volcanic eruption, and, thus, has been made to look like a mesa with the surface curvature of a wok. Despite early guesses that it was some kind of ancient volcano or otherwise, the actual Pound is really nothing more than sedimentary rock in the form of an expansive syncline. In geologic terms, it is a fold of the Earth’s crust with the younger layers closer to the concave center of the structure, similar to its circular variant called a basin.
The pilot of your Air Wilpena plane may be quick to point that out. He might also provide some worthwhile geologic trivia—such as, although the Pound appears as a single range of mountains, it is actually formed by two, joined by a bluff at the south. Of course, such talk reeks of the sweet dreams of geologists. But once you’re there in the thick of things, curiosity will make you wish that you had taken up a geology course in college or paid closer attention to all those National Geographic specials that explained how this vast and beautiful country was formed. Traveling in Australia can make you wish you can go back in time. And Wilpena Pound easily makes the case for this turnaround, although going over Ayers Rock, also in Australia, will no doubt induce the same longing. Going to places like these are like venturing into time travel. To get to Wilpena Pound Resort, take a flight to Adelaide and rent a car with onboard GPS. The car computer should be able to chart your way through Clare Valley, Gladstone, Melrose, Wilmington, Quorn and Hawker. The drive should take between 4.5 and 5 hours. Alternatively, you can drive straight up Highway 1 to Port Augusta, and then drive through Quorn and Hawker. Once again, this drive will take between 4.5 and 5 hours. If a self-driven arrival will prove to be unwieldy, air or land transfers from Adelaide can be organized with the resort.
For more information, e-mail reservations@wilpenapound.com.au.