Tour Review: Arkaroola Ridge Top Tour

Taking 4WD from Arkaroola Village to Sillars Lookout

When traveling through the Flinders Ranges, there are a few places you have to stop and look around. Arkaroola, with their famous Ridge Top Tour, is one such place. Read on to see what the tour entails.

Twice per day you will find tour available heading to the ridgetop. They leave at 8am and 1pm and take about 4 hours. Each vehicle fits 10 people in back. Space is tight if the 4WD is full. It gets cold in back of the tour vehicle as well, so bundle up.

On the way to your first stop, Coultards Lookout, you learn about the local flora and fauna. In the mornings it is quite common to see a few Euro's or Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby's. Throughout the tour you learn mostly about the formation of this part of the Flinders Ranges. Events that happened millions of years ago, and the effects of which we see today.

At Sillar's Lookout you have some time to get off the tour truck and walk around. From the lookout you can see Lake Frome and the Beverly Mine. You'll learn about both of these while snacking on hot tea and Lammington.

Time permitting, you may head over to Mount Gee where you will learn about the different rocks found in the area and how they are formed. Arkaroola is a geological wonder. They have found gems, copper, gold and uranium in these hills.

At only $120, the Ridge Top Tour is great, and the landscape is no less than amazing. While Arkaroola does have hundreds of kilometers of off road track, the road to Sillars is off limits. The road is rough in places and limited access prevents any punters from tracking invasive species into this pristine land or causing other damage to the untouched landscape.

I only wish we had the opportunity to go to the lookout during sunrise or sunset. You can imagine how different the landscape would look with a warm light coming in during the golden hour. The other downside of photography out here is how high the sun gets during the middle of the day, it makes everything look a bit flat.

You can check out Arkaroola's Ridgetop Tour at the registration desk or call them in advance as tours do sell out.