An ancient old tree on the Frome River in the Flinders Ranges
Posted on by Debbie

An Aussie outback adventure #1

Welcome to Iga Warta

A superb sunrise greeted us on Day 1 of our walking tour in the Aussie outback.

Sunrise at Iga Warta
Sunrise at Iga Warta

We arrived in Iga Warta in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, late in the afternoon after driving over 400 kms from the verdant Clare Valley.  

As we drove further north, into the Flinders Ranges, the vegetation slowly changed from vineyards, green pastures and pretty towns to tougher, hardier, browner but just as beautiful landscapes.  

The red soil, the rocks and the dull green scrubby vegetation has a beauty all its own.  I have never been to this area before and I am in awe of the huge skies, the ancient rocks, the rugged mountains, the classic Australian landscapes and gorgeous colours.

Heading off road to Iga Warta
Heading off road

Adnyamathanha people

Iga Warta means Native Orange in the local Aboriginal dialect of the Adnyamathanha people.  Iga Warta is a cultural tourism centre that is welcoming, authentic and informative. It’s run by members of the Coulthard family and we were lucky to get involved in a two week walking tour of along the Frome River.

We were made welcome at Iga Warta, an Aboriginal community and settled into our rustic, but cosy, cabin. The quiet of the surroundings, the lack of phone reception and the isolation felt awesome. Despite no phone reception they do have wifi for their guests and we all made use of it to let family know of our arrival. I am enjoying my time of ‘disconnect’ but am also missing it, if that make sense.

Day 1

Day 1 of the first week of our walking adventure involved breakfast on the verandah, making up lunch to take with us and ensuring we had enough water for the day as the temperatures were set to soar to the mid to high 20s, remembering we are used to single digit temps at home. We are a small group of 5 walkers with Sharpie our guide and his dog Spotsworth.

We were driven through the Angepena Homestead property to Crump’s bore and we walked towards the head of the river along the dry river bed.  The trees were amazing and the landscape absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed our meandering walk.  We then returned to the bore for a packed lunch and started walking back towards the Mudlepena Spring.  We ended up walking a total of 15+ kms in ideal conditions. Some of the trees are over 900 years old!!

Dinner was served as a communal meal and we enjoyed listening to stories from the guides and locals. We slept extremely well in our cosy cabin!

Here are a few of my favourite photos from day one of our adventure.

Creek walking in the Flinders Ranges
An ancient old tree on the Frome River in the Flinders Ranges
A waterhole in the Flinders Ranges
A waterhole along the creek in the Flinders Ranges

The history, stories and landscape will see our great adventure continue for the next two weeks. I hope you enjoy the experience too. It’s a beautiful country and we feel so priveleged to be able to see it through the local’s eyes.

Our family motto is To travel is to Live and we love an adventure. How about you, are you up for an adventure?

Stay tuned for more updates!!

Deb

Aussie outback adventure in Flinder's Ranges, South Australia
Aussie outback adventure

You can also find Deb’s World here – I’d be delighted if you’d join me.

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    1. Thanks Louise, it’s such a beautiful part of the world I don’t wonder that you’re biased!! It’s a very interesting adventure and we’re enjoying it immensely so far. Something different to what we’ve done in the past but very interesting and the people here are amazing.

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