4.8 A good spot to observe The Pinnacles. On the 1.8 The vegetation of the low ridge you are on carries Flinders dolomitic siltstones surrounding them is Porcupine Grass Mulga woodland, with a variety of shrubs—Sennas with and Curly Mallee, some of which is infested with reddish- bright yellow flowers, Lobe-leaved Hopbushes with bright Ranges gold festoons of mistletoe. red 'hops' in winter and spring and the Rock Fuchsia-bush with mauve flowers in spring and early summer. Sometimes 4.6 In good seasons, Yellow-footed Rock-wallabies may Rock Sida disguises the trail. Walks be seen on the largest of The Pinnacles If you see them please don’t disturb. These agile animals with their striped 1.4 The silver dome of Arkaroola's Dodwell observatory tails are active in the early morning or evening. The top of is clearly visible and, to the south in a low range on the these rocky knobs carry Grass-trees and Cypress pine. horizon, is Mt Warren Hastings. Mawson-Spriggina 4.5 Geosite 5 minerals information about the breccia surrounding the Pinnacles: similar to sitting Bull. 4.4 A stand of Curly Mallee. Bell Fruit Tree-or Camel Poison (Codonocarpus 4.2 Checkpoint M1—The Pinnacles car park. pyramidalis) fruit are Cross the car park and follow yellow markers on the borne at the top of the opposite slope. tree. 4.0 Track crosses a stony slope to reach a small saddle and enters a patch of Curly Mallee on a white dusty slope, before descending into a creek bed. One hundred metres on, cross the road. 3.6 Track winds across bare slopes vegetated with Dead 1.0 An interesting plant is sometimes here; called Bell- Finish, crossing small creeks, some with Dryland Tree-tree. fruit Tree (or Camel Poison), this small green willowy tree is Geosite 6 Skillogalee Dolomite: the unfamiliar marble here short-lived and never occurs very prolifically; male flowers has a sheen. are borne at the top of the stem with the female flowers (which give rise to the ribbed yellow-green bell-shaped 2.8 Attractive stand of Curly Mallee, (mostly confined to fruit) below them. A few individuals have been seen near this region of Arkaroola and Balcanoona). here, so have a look around. Sitting Bull was pushed up ,when molten into overlying sediments 400-350 million years ago 2.4 Remains of an old aerial survey marker possibly 0.8 Continue downhill and cross the campground road to Included in this walk in Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary are established to determine the boundary between the reach . . . features of the research of two geologists who have long original sheep stations of Arkaroola and Balcanoona. 0.6 Checkpoint M2 – road junction association with the northern Flinders Ranges. It follows the Track climbs to an old track junction; continue uphill to Mawson Valley and returns along the Spriggina ridge, which Spriggina lookout. Follow the main road back to the village (about 0.6 km). gives you good views of the surrounding country. Douglas Mawson studied the sequence and relationship of rock Geosite 7 Spriggina floundersi: This ridge gives you Flinders layers in the Flinders Ranges, which arose from compression a view of a ‘landscape’ model of Spriggina one of the Ranges and folding of sediments deposited in the Adelaide Geosyncline fossilised segmented flatworms discovered by Dr Reg Walks between 800 and 500 million years ago. Reg Sprigg, a student Sprigg, in the Ediacara Range overlooking Lake Torrens of Mawson’s and founder of Arkaroola, discovered fossils of the to the west of the main Flinders Range. Most details of Flinders Ranges Walks have been established in protected areas Ediacara fauna in rocks of the Flinders about 555 million years to provide visitors with experiences of the Ranges. old. These are the earliest worms and sponge-like fossils to have the worms’ structure were lost in the fossilisation process, been found. but Spriggina appears to have had a front and rear end as Trail maintenance and servicing of these trailhead leaflets is Mawson Valley is eroded into the relatively soft sediments of the shown in this much enlarged model. provided by the voluntary Walking Trails Support Group. Opaminda Formation and is flanked to the north by a ridge of Mt Oliphant and Mt Elva are visible towards Arkaroola. In Blue Mine Conglomerate. These coarse feldspathic sands and For downloads and further information please visit: gravels were laid down 900-800 million years ago, after they the opposite direction is Sprigg Knob. www.walkingtrailssupportgroup.org.au were eroded from an island land mass to the north. Over them 2.0 The domes at start of Spriggina ridge are established Read Explore the Flinders Ranges, a definitive guidebook were deposited the calcareous Opaminda Formation shales and for remote viewing of the night sky. by the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia then the Wortupa Quartzite which forms the range to the south. Or download our FREE Flinders Ranges Walks App! When these sediments were buckled into mountain ranges, compaction and heating took place. Deep seated rocks became molten and forced their way to the surface, solidifying as whitish or pinkish granitic rock, exposed today as Sitting Bull, The Pinnacles, Tourmaline Hill and The Needles. © Royal Geographical Society of South Australia 7.2 Mt Elva is visible to the east behind the new observatory; Mawson-Spriggina Trail Map Acacia Ridge and Griselda Hill are clear. Distance and time: 8.0 km circuit from the Village: allow The walk is above the creek, most of the way. The creek 4 hrs. bed is eroded into the greyish green, dolomitic Opaminda Formation siltstone, which extends some way up the lower Altitude Range: 330 m (Arkaroola Village) to 496 m slopes. The vegetation is different from that on the quartzites (Spriggina Ridge). at the crests of the ranges – and includes Dead Finish, Elegant Access: Start at the Arkaroola Village Trailhead A1 at the Wattle, Corkbark, Rock Fuchsia-bush, Curly Mallee. Cypress- road junction. pine, Mulga and Grass-trees grow near the crests. Track: Generally grades are gradual, with a minor steep 6.8 Creek bank; two tea trees occur here – the Dryland Tea- road section up to 2 km mark. tree, with short dark-green leaves and White Tea-tree with silver-grey foliage growing in the creek bottom. For your safety: 6.6 The pink nose of Sitting Bull becomes evident on the • This is an AS2156 Class 3 walk in a natural area; beware horizon. The nearby Gum-barked Coolibah is a common tree of inherent hazards, including fire. of hill slopes in the northern Flinders Ranges. • Advise a reliable person of where you are going and 6.4 The Curly Mallee growing here is also characteristic of when you expect to return. the region, occurring particularly on calcareous and dolomitic soils. • Wear strong comfortable boots and take adequate food and clothing. • Take at least 2 litres of water per person, more if it is hot. • Protect yourself from the sun and carry a small First Aid kit. Seasons come and go, and plants and animals mentioned in the notes may not always be there.

Notes read for an anticlockwise circuit, starting at Arkaroola Village Trailhead Checkpoint A1; distances marked every 200m decrease as you proceed. Above you, is a cliff of Wortupa Quartzite with a few Northern Cypress-pines and occasional Mt Lofty Grass-trees. On the Curly mallee (Eucalyptus gillii) an attractive 8.0 Arkaroola Village Trailhead, Checkpoint A1—at the scree and rubble slopes below it are Mulgas and Rock Fuchsia- spreading tree. road junction. bushes. Young Mulgas among the dead ones came up in 1974 Walk in a westerly direction past the motel units, following after good rains. Their small size reflects the slow growth rate in arid areas. 6.2 The large mass of Mt Oliphant is evident on the marker posts. skyline to the north. 7.8 Geosite 1 rocks of the Opaminda Formation; have The ridge opposite to the north is Blue Mine Conglomerate (as is Acacia Ridge). 6.0 Geosite 4 Sitting Bull: Geologist and Antarctic dolomitic soils and is favoured by Curly Mallee. explorer, Douglas Mawson gave Sitting Bull its name in 7.6 Downslope from here is the attractive Curly Mallee and 7.5 Below you are the softer dolomitic siltstones of the 1945. Sitting Bull, The Pinnacles and The Needles (located there are number of local features to recognise. Starting by Opaminda Formation with a grove of Black Oak. This tree is in the neighbouring National Park) are the much eroded the village you can see (magnetic bearings) often found where there is likely to be slow movement of the remnant cores or plugs of granitic rock (pegmatite) which ground surface layers (such as on these stony slopes) which intruded through many thousands of metres of overlying encourages the development of new trees from suckers. sediments some 400 million years ago. The plugs are Griselda Hill 113° 1 km The rugged profile of Dinnertime Hill can be seen to the north, composed of pink or white crystals of feldspar and clear Sprigg Knob is straight ahead. or white crystal quartz. Broken blocks are caused by hot Acacia Ridge 94° 3 km water and gases as intrusion occurred. Geosite 2 Wortupa Quartzite: and Geosite 3 Blue Mine Mt Elva 3° 2 km Conglomerate: are located close together, distinguishing rocks 5.6 to 5.4 Near these two markers are Corkbarks, which Mt Oliphant 338° 2 km on the south and north sides of the valley. are well able to survive on this dry exposed slope. Other hardy species nearby are Dead Finish and Elegant Wattle. The Pinnacles are visible ahead.