Part closure of Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park

The Arka­roo Rock (Akur­ra Adnya) access road, car park, walk­ing trail and sur­round­ing area will be closed from Mon­day 28 April 2025 until Fri­day 31 Octo­ber 2025 for a site upgrade. View map of the clo­sure area here. 

An impor­tant cul­tur­al trea­sure in Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park will be bet­ter pro­tect­ed thanks to an upgrade by Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice South Aus­tralia, planned in col­lab­o­ra­tion with the Adnya­math­anha people.

Upgrades com­menc­ing in late April 2025, which will trans­form the view­ing expe­ri­ence for future vis­i­tors and con­tin­ue to pro­tect the site, include:

• a new screen with Adnya­math­anha inter­pre­ta­tive ele­ments, replac­ing the exist­ing steel bar­ri­er, enhanc­ing the view­ing expe­ri­ence and pro­vid­ing greater pro­tec­tion of this cul­tur­al asset
• a new view­ing area with seating 
• improve­ments to the trail. 

The walk­ing trail and sur­round­ing area will be closed from April until Octo­ber 2025 while works are completed. 

Find out more about this upgrade and site clo­sure in our fre­quent­ly asked ques­tions below, or email dew.​flindersandoutback@​sa.​gov.​au if you have any queries or concerns. 

Fre­quent­ly asked questions

Will access be restrict­ed while the upgrades are completed? 

Yes. The Arka­roo Rock walk­ing trail and sur­round­ing area will be closed while works are com­plet­ed. You can view the map of the clo­sure area here.

You can find alter­na­tive walk­ing trails avail­able in Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park here.

Can I still use the Arka­roo Rock car park and toi­let facilities? 

No. The Arka­roo Rock car park and toi­let facil­i­ties will be closed for the dura­tion of works to ensure site secu­ri­ty and pub­lic safety. 

How long will the upgrades take? 

Arka­roo Rock is expect­ed to re-open in Octo­ber 2025. How­ev­er, in the event of any unex­pect­ed changes, this page will be updat­ed with any new infor­ma­tion. We will keep affect­ed stake­hold­ers up to date. 

Has any­thing changed since the orig­i­nal works proposal? 

Yes, some changes have been made. 

Since the orig­i­nal pro­pos­al was approved, works have been com­plet­ed on the new car park and toi­let facil­i­ties at the base of the trail.

The screen and view­ing area have also been refined through fur­ther design development.

The final screen design fea­tures ver­ti­cal steel bars and a unique Akur­ra motif, which pro­vides improved views through to the art­work while main­tain­ing a high lev­el of protection. 

The orig­i­nal pro­pos­al includ­ed a num­ber of view­ing plat­forms adja­cent the new screen. A redesign of this view­ing area has reduced the amount of con­struc­tion work required and will result in a more ​‘nat­ur­al’ appear­ance, using rock and shale instead of steel platforms.

An old bridge along the trail will be removed, and be replaced by rock stairs con­struct­ed to pro­vide safe pas­sage through the dry creek bed. This refined design approach reflects the nat­ur­al beau­ty of the area and enhances the vis­i­tor experience.

Will you be drilling into the rock? 

No, we will not be drilling into the over­hang­ing rock. The design process has includ­ed a detailed analy­sis of the rock’s struc­tur­al integri­ty to ensure that the exist­ing screen can be safe­ly removed and a new screen estab­lished. The new screen will not be embed­ded into the over­hang­ing rock.

How will the site be pro­tect­ed dur­ing upgrades? 

Tem­po­rary secu­ri­ty fenc­ing will be installed at key points to pre­vent access and pro­tect the area while works are com­plet­ed. CCTV and num­ber-plate recog­ni­tion cam­eras will also be installed for the dura­tion of the project.

What approvals were obtained to under­take this upgrade? 

In mid-2021, autho­ri­sa­tions under the sec­tions 21 and 23 of the Abo­rig­i­nal Her­itage Act 1988 (SA) (Act) were sought for the pro­posed works.

Abo­rig­i­nal Affairs and Rec­on­cil­i­a­tion con­sult­ed with Tra­di­tion­al Own­ers and Abo­rig­i­nal peo­ple on this pro­pos­al in 2022. 

In 2023, the pro­pos­al was approved by the Min­is­ter for Abo­rig­i­nal Affairs. 

Are there alter­na­tive sites where I can expe­ri­ence Adnya­math­anha culture? 

Adnya­math­anha guid­ed tours of Sacred Canyon (Yura Mul­ka), a sig­nif­i­cant engrav­ing site locat­ed 20 km from Wilpe­na Pound, can be booked through Wilpe­na Pound Resort online or by call­ing 1800 805 802.

Please note vis­i­tor access is only per­mit­ted by Adnya­math­anha guid­ed tour. 

What oth­er walk­ing trails are available? 

You can find a list of walk­ing trails avail­able in Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park here.