This extraordinary landscape is 550 million years old and has been home to the Adnyamathanha (‘rock people’) for tens of thousands of years. Wilpena Pound is a natural amphitheatre. It’s not unlike a volcanic crater to look at but is in fact sedimentary rock in the form of a large syncline. What appears to be a single range of mountains is actually two. The inside of the Pound drains into Wilpena Creek and exits through the gap to the west of Wilpena Pound Resort. The Adnyamathanha people refer to Wilpena Pound as ‘Ikara’, meaning ‘meeting place’

FAST FACTS!

• Adnyamathanha dreamtime stories say that the walls of Ikara were formed by two Akurra serpents who chased Yurlu the kingfisher man

• Wilpena’s highest point, the sacred St Mary Peak (1171 metres), is said to be the head of the female serpent

• The Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park name recognises the Adnyamathanha’s longstanding ties to the land and explorer Matthew Flinders

• Europeans settled here around 1850 with the first pastoral lease taken up by William and John Browne

• Though once close to extinction, the yellow-footed rock wallaby is now found in Brachina Gorge