The experience of a lifetime - you'll never forget!
The remains of Aboriginal art painted and carved centuries ago can
still be seen in many places in and around Wilpena Pound. You can
see drawings and paintings at Yourambulla Cave 10km south of Hawker,
and at Arkaroo Rock on the eastern slope of Wilpena Range near Moonarie
Gap, about 19km south of Wilpena. Carvings can also be seen at Sacred
Canyon, 18km from Wilpena.
Note: Please click on a photo for a larger view
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| Mt Ohlssen Bagge |
Backbone of the Flinders from St Mary's Peak |
St Mary's Peak |
The Pound Gap |
St Mary's Peak and Backbone of the Flinders |
One of the most spectacular places on earth - Wilpena Pound
Wilpena Pound is immersed in the pivotal myths of the
'Dreaming'. The Adyamathanha, or 'hill' people have inhabited the
Flinders Ranges
for thousands of years, and for centuries the region around Wilpena
was part of the long-distance trading routes that straddled the
continent before European settlement.
Translated into English the name Wilpena means 'the place of bent
fingers' because of the resemblance to a cupped hand whose digits
have been frozen by cold. The word 'wilpi' is also interchangeable
with the word 'wurli' (meaning camping shelter) in the local Aboriginal
language.
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| North Eastern escarpment of Wilpena Pound |
Edeowie Gorge |
Inside Wilpena Pound from Wangara Hill |
Wilpena Pound from the Chase Range |
It is an ancient scenery that started to form between 2600 and 1400
million years ago.
The dominant Dreaming story of the Pound centres on Akurra, the powerful
Dreamtime snake of the Flinders Ranges, which manifests itself
in many forms - male and female, singular and plural.
Long a sacred
place and site of significant ceremonies, the 500-metre-high
enclosing cliffs of the Pound are said to be the bodies of two Akurras
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male and female. The male's head is St Mary's Peak - at 1170
metres, the highest point of the Flinders Ranges - with his body
forming
the north-eastern wall. Beatrice Hill is the female's head and
her body makes up the south-western rim.
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| Cazneaux Tree |
North face of Wilpena Pound across Wilcolo
Valley |
Bunkers from Stokes Hill |
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| Heysen Ranges |
Sawtooth Range from Razorback Lookout |
Woodduck Dam |
poddy dodgers bar and solar heated swimming pool |
Pictures: Lorraine Edmunds, SATC and Francois Bolle
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