The heart of the Flinders Ranges

It takes more than five hours in a four-wheel drive to cover just part of the huge Arkaba Station in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.

The 25,000 hectare station, north of the town of Hawker, was once the land of the Adnyamathanha people.

It lies between the Chase and Elder Ranges bordering the geological amphitheatre of Wilpena Pound to the north. Its rough sandstone bluffs are carved by dry creek beds, lined with river red gums while termite-resistant native cypress pines cover its paddocks.

The tracks we're following were made by the former owner, Dean Rasheed, who spent 25 years and thousands of dollars blowing up rabbit warrens in an attempt to rid the heavily eroded station of this pest.

Arkaba is said to mean hidden or underground water due to the numerous springs there. This area - like the rest of the Flinders a geologist's dream - only receives an average of 30cm of rain a year.

In yet another phase of the story of this historic station, last April Charlie Carlow, who owns Wild Bush Luxury, added Arkaba to his portfolio of luxury resorts based on a philosophy of conservation.

The white history began in 1850 when a doctor and surveyor known as the Browne Brothers headed this far north but stopped because of rain. Their stockman William Chace was sent to explore the country further north, and the range was later named after him.

The Browne brothers were given a 14-year lease but they had to stock it with 16 cattle or 100 sheep per square mile. While many pioneers succumbed to the great drought of the 1860s as countless ruined homesteads along the route show, they somehow managed to survive.

In December 1862 a camel team returned from Cooper's Creek with the remains of explorers Burke and Wills and camped at Arkaba. Explorer John McDouall Stuart also camped there on the way back from one of his early expeditions. Later, Sir Hans Heysen recognised its beauty, doing much of his Flinders paintings there.

Subsequent lessees had to deal with packs of dingoes and falling wool prices - with no fences shepherds had to watch over the sheep.

In January, 1904 Otto George Bartholomaeus took up a 21-year lease on the station, borrowing money so he could erect 1.8 metre high vermin proof fences, which can still be seen on the property today.

In return he was granted a perpetual lease and finally Arkaba became a successful venture. In 1984 the Bartholomaeus family sold it to the Rasheed family - who also bought the Wilpena Pound resort (sold in 2008 to another resort company).

Dean and his wife Lizzie introduced a very successful rabbit and goat eradication program leading to the regrowth of the native pines, while tackling the huge decline in wool prices in the mid 90s. They also had a B&B operation. (They're staying on with a house on a small lot on the southern side of the property.)

Carlow is determined to continue the conservation and rehabilitation work on the historic station, which still runs around 4,000 sheep (almost half what its lease allows), hopefully in partnership with a conservation agency.

While keeping some of the sheep, when the current grazing lease finishes this year he says he will be de-stocking the property to allow the land to recover.

"It's a pastoral property and that's part of its heritage and its history ... and there are certain requirements we have to bide by," he says.

But his philosophy is to bring conservation into the tourism experience, partly because he believe it's something that's of interest to people.

A fauna survey of the station to see what native animals are still there as well as the prevalent western grey kangaroos, euros and emus will be carried out, which will establish a benchmark for scientific management of the country.

Many native animals are long lost, including possums which disappeared from the 70s/80s.

"On the flatter parts of the station you can see how it's been grazed," he says.

"The range country has been harder to access for sheep so it hasn't been grazed as much, and it's in reasonably good condition, even though there are goats that have got up there. There are also colonies of Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies, which remain pretty hidden."

The Moralana Scenic Drive runs through the property (which connects the Hawker-Leigh Creek Road and the Hawker-Wilpena Road) and the public has access through that. However, the whole concept behind Arkaba is that it's an exclusive experience, so other tracks will be cut off to self-drive four wheel drives. And a public camping ground has been closed.

"We're saying to people (their guests) you're not going to be running into other people there," he says.

Managers Pat and Sally Kent are exuberant about their love of the station and South Australia in general, as is guide Kat Mee, a Scot who sleeps with a pile of wildlife books by her bed.

After traversing the property, Pat takes us for a feral mixed grill lunch (camel sausages, emu pate and kangaroo burgers and so on) at the Prairie Hotel at Parachilna and a drink at the Wild Lime Cafe and Gallery in the quaint former copper mining town of Blinman.

Early the next morning Kat takes us on a "safari" drive, pointing out euros, kangaroos, wedgetail eagles, elegant parrots - and unfortunately goats.

The property has graves of former workers on it, including the couple who ran the "eating house" for teamsters - both died tragically.

There are yards used for cattle and paddocks used for sawmilling, where sleepers for the Old Ghan railway line were cut.

One evening, after a guided sunset walk up a small hill, we are welcomed back with champagne to one of the three swag camps.

Under a sky full of stars and sitting at an elegantly laid out table, we eat gourmet food prepared by chef Jo Cross.

We're given small toiletry bags and torches before heading off to bed in comfortable swags laid out on timber platforms.

The next morning before breakfast I shower under a camp shower - a bucket filled with cold water.

The plan is to run three-day walks of around 45km in total with stopovers each night at the swag camps. Guests can decide whether to do the full three-day walk or parts of it or not at all.

Carlow says they also hope to have indigenous guides working with them.

People will also be able to take scenic flights over the area with views of salt pans, Lake Frome and Wilpena Pound.

On the way back to the homestead in the morning we stop in at the beautiful old woolshed where 200 remnants of the flock are being shorn. It's strangely quiet. The shearers clad in sheepskin moccasins so they don't hurt the sheep tell us they forgot their radio.

Up to 100 stations in the area traditionally used the 40-stand woolshed, built in the same year as the homestead, 1856.

Pat has all sorts of plans to use the woolshed for dinners, afternoon teas and possibly even exhibitions.

They're initially expecting domestic tourists, many of whom will drive their own vehicles there. But Arkaba's also aimed at the higher end of the international market.

IF YOU GO:

Arkaba Station is part of the Wild Bush Luxury portfolio of properties, which includes Bamurru Plains, in the NT, Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef in WA and Blue Mountains Private Safaris in NSW.

There are five rooms in total - four in (10.16 cm) the main 1850s homestead, and one in (2.54 cm) the Coachman's Cottage. Rates are $A790 ($NZ997) per person, per night, with a minimum two-night stay. Rates are inclusive of all meals, beverages (based on a select open bar), round trip transfers by road from Port Augusta or Hawker and scheduled activities (4WD safaris, mountain biking, wildlife viewing, daily guiding).

Details: www.arkabastation.com and www.wildbushluxury.com.

* The writer was a guest of Wild Bush Luxury, South Australian Tourism Commission and the South Australian Government.

- AAP