SEEKING A BALANCE (or was that SEEKING A BILLION?)

Considerable time, effort and taxpayer’s money has been spent developing a pretty document that claims to be about balancing conservation with resource use in the Northern Flinders Ranges. However it appears to deliver much more for mineral explorers and miners at the expense of the environment. Given the significant ecological values and iconic beauty of Arkaroola, we had anticipated a much higher level of protection than what is proposed in Seeking a Balance. While we welcome protection for Mawson Plateau, its lower mineral prospectivity,... MORE

Arkaroola under threat, please HELP!

State Government’s Response to Mining on Arkaroola Some Important Late-breaking News: Please download the initial report and proposals by the State Government regarding future mining on Arkaroola. This is an appeal to all Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary friends and supporters to please examine this document very closely and to note that whilst some areas of the northern Flinders Ranges, in particular Mawson Plateau, are being afforded total protection, the majority of important Arkaroola sites are not. We only have until 29 December... MORE

Wywhyana Creek crossing at Arkaroola Village 25/11/2008

Radar watch. Satellite screens. Road closure reports. Stranded visitors. Calls from television networks chasing images for the evening news. Rations and improvisation when the truck can’t get in with the weekly delivery. Yes, it’s been years! Froth and bubble Arkaroola Creek 7 December 2008 Late spring and early summer rains have changed the face of Arkaroola. 140 mm have been recorded since mid November with rain falling on nineteen days. After so many years without significant rains, a succession of floods have brought new hope that... MORE

Message from Marg

Just as we were planning to truck in drinking water for the motel, and were lamenting the desperate conditions across the sanctuary – some of our permanent waterholes had completely dried up for the first time in forty years – it rained! Marg Sprigg The creeks flowed and the waterholes filled. The vegetation response has been miraculous. We need more rain but are hoping that the ten-year drought has broken. Marathon Resources has completed the clean-up at Mount Gee, a year after Doug and I discovered the buried waste. During... MORE

Professor Ellery Hamilton-Smith

Marg Sprigg and Professor Ellery Hamilton-Smith meet for the first time at the Global Geotourism Conference in Perth. The veteran environmentalist’s first campaign was fought in 1948 when Ellery successfully lobbied the South Australian government to protect and preserve what was to become the Mount Remarkable National Park in the Southern Flinders Ranges. Extract from Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary’s “From the ARK” e-newsletter – reprinted with permission SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Professor Ellery Hamilton-Smith",... MORE

Geotourism, celebrating the geological landscape

Fresh from the World Youth Congress, flags from thirty countries flanked the stage in the Sirius room of the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle. Here delegates from countries as diverse as China, Ireland, America, South Africa, Oman, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia gathered for 3 days in August to talk about geotourism. So what is geotourism? You won’t find a definition in the dictionary yet, but geotourism is essentially ’geological tourism’ – the landscape, its rocks, its formations, and the processes that have shaped it over time.... MORE

How great thou ART

Audiences were left Standing in Amazement after seeing Tim Baier’s short stereoscopic production filmed in the Flinders Ranges. A feature film visual effects artist, Tim hosted fourteen screenings of his digital 3D production Standing in Amazement at Adelaide’s Iris Theatre in July. This is what people said: Absolutely stunning, thank you! Excellent, not to be missed. Mind blowing, I am lost for words. Magnificent insights and experiences! How great though Art! Tim has been invited by the Art Gallery of South Australia to present... MORE

It’s Our Birthday

Arkaroola opened for business in October 1968, with the completion of Greenwood Lodge, the first of its motel-style accommodations. To acknowledge Arkaroola’s 40th birthday, the South Australian Musuem is featuring a photographic display celebrating the career of Arkaroola’s founder, Reg Sprigg. The idea that controlled tourism could be used to support practical on-ground conservation, was pioneered in South Australia in 1968 with the creation of the Arkaroola Mt Painter Sanctuary. The only National Park in the Flinders Ranges at this... MORE

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