Two Week Road Trip to see Lake Eyre and The Flinders Ranges (NSW to SA)
- Kyla Shelley
- Aug 30
- 5 min read
When I heard that Lake Eyre, which is normally dry, would have the most water in decades in 2025, it inspired a two week road trip from New South Wales (NSW) to outback South Australia (SA) in August.
I’ve been into the outback before but not self-driving, and not outback SA. Coming from NSW, I was excited about driving across remote parts of NSW, Victoria, and SA, to explore the Flinders Ranges and Lake Eyre.
Driving NSW to SA
Day 1, we left Goulburn for a lunch stop in Temora at the Aviation Museum. As my partner likes planes particularly military aircraft, I’d planned it as a surprise stop. They had more planes than I expected, and they are all kept in flight condition and flown regularly for public viewing. There is also a choice of 3 simulators for those waiting to get a sense of what it feels like to fly and land some of the planes.
After that, the first stop for the night was Riverside Darlington Point Caravan Park to stay in one of their cabins.
Day 2, we drove to the Trentham Estate Winery for lunch, which is located on the Murray River. From there we headed to the Kar-Rama Hotel in Mildura (Victoria) for the evening. I’d booked tickets to see the temporary Trail of Lights installation by Bruce Munro and we had dinner afterwards at The Boathouse Restaurant, which would have fantastic water views during the day.
Driving across remote NSW to SA I was thrilled to see over 100 emus and I stopped counting after that! Crossing into SA I don’t think I saw any emus until we got to the Flinders Ranges, and then I was delighted to see a lot more. I’ll never get tired of the opportunity to see healthy wildlife in the wild, particularly when in some areas the amount of roadkill is shocking.
Outback South Australia
Day 3, we arrived at Rawnsley Park Station in SA and had a lovely dinner at the Woolshed Restaurant, the next day (Day 4) was spent exploring the region.
We did the drive from Rawnsley Station up Flinders Ranges Way to Blinman and back and the scenery is beautiful.
We drove through the ranges twice a few days apart and saw lots of wildlife on the first trip including kangaroos, emus, wallaroos (euros), eagles, and many other birds.
We stopped at the Hucks and Stokes lookouts, and the Great Wall of China, you can also get good views of the wall on the left as you drive south from Blinman.
It feels impossible to capture the scale and beauty of the ranges in photos. When you are lucky enough to see them bathed in sunlight they seem to radiate brilliant shades of orange and terracotta.
Days 5, we drove to William Creek via the Outback Way. It was dirt road from Marree and we travelled the Oodnadatta Track for about 3 hours (which was thankfully in great condition) to get to William Creek. Along the way we stopped in for a quick dip and something to eat at Coward Springs which is like a little oasis in the desert.
We also stopped at the only easy to access place on route to see Lake Eyre by car, the Lake Eyre South lookout, and it was obvious that the only way we could get a good look at the size and scale of Lake Eyre would be by air.
The William Creek Hotel is basically the only thing in William Creek and there aren’t a lot of accommodation options. When booking I choose glamping, and although I don't particularly like having to walk to the toilet and shower, it turned out to be a fantastic choice. I really enjoyed the tent and the electric blankets on the bed were were very much appreciated!
Day 6, started with a two-hour morning flight over Lake Eyre. Clearly it was a busy time for visitors, with many like me wanting to see the lake while it has water, and our plane was full. For those keen to see more photos I've also written a dedicated post about Lake Eyre.
Day 7 was a big journey of about 6 hours and about 4.5 of those were on dirt roads. Travelling from William Creek we made our way to the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary in the northern Flinders Ranges.
I found driving in the outback can be fascinating. At times everything seems desolate, with arid or semi-arid landscapes with sometimes nothing but sand or soil and occasional shrubs or grass as far as the eye could see, and then suddenly everything changes.
During the drive we stopped to have a look at the outdoor sculpture park near Marree. From looking at pictures online I think a lot of sculptures have changed or disappeared over time, but it was still very interesting to see this large outdoor art display made from recycled materials.
We stopped into to Leigh Creek for a coffee and found The Sassy Emu Tea Room, the staff were lovely, coffee great, and the cafe is fabulously unexpected. After that we stopped at Aroona Dam which is absolutely worth a visit, and would be an ideal picnic spot in warmer weather.
There can be so many beautiful and expected moments when travelling. While driving into the dam we stopped to watch 3 emus drinking, and then later in the day as we drove over a ridge we found ourselves suddenly moving slowly into a small town with four horses alongside us, two either side of the car. 💛
On Day 8 at Arkaroola we did the Ridgetop Tour, and I'd highly recommend that for some spectacular views. We were also lucky enough to see wallaroos, emus, and an eagle during our drive.
Day 9 we headed for out last stop in the Flinders Ranges, staying at the Discovery Park in Wilpena Pound. Based in the park it was a great opportunity to use Day 10 to travel into the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park driving through the Brachina and Bunyeroo Gorges, which were beautiful.
Day 10 we drove to Berri and I highly recommend the Berri Hotel's riverview villa rooms with a balcony. They are lovely and have excellent views of the Murray River. Keen to try anything except pub style food we visited the local Indian restaurant, The Golden Elephant, and really enjoyed the food. Day 11 proved to be a great opportunity to catch up on some laundry 😊, but River Jacks cafe on the river was a very enjoyable stop to break for lunch.
Day 12 we arrived at Mungo Lodge back in NSW, and visited Mungo National Park twice on Day 13. Once for a formal tour, and later for sunset. Historically there was a massive lake, Lake Mungo, but it has been dry for over 10,000 years, and the region was world heritage listed in 1981. Unfortunately the area was badly impacted by European settlement and overgrazing, with many native animals driven to extinction and the land never recovering.
Day 14 we spent the evening at the Whitton Malt House. It was a lovely location that was only built about 5 years ago by 4 local farming families. It's now a beautiful restaurant with some onsite accommodation, venue for functions, and showcase for local produce. It was the ideal way to finish the trip before driving home the next day, as we drove about 5,000 kilometres in total over the 2 weeks!
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