Welcome to Adelaide, South Australia’s vibrant capital. Join your dedicated expert guides and depart from The Terrace Hotel around 7.30am for the approximately 4.5-hour trip north to the Ikara-Flinders Ranges, travelling via the stunning Clare Valley wine region. On the way, stop at Auburn for morning tea and a tour briefing.

Pause again for lunch in the charming historic town of Quorn, where numerous films have been shot, such as Wolf Creek and The Sundowners. Travel onward via Flinders Ranges Way to your first outback walk: Death Rock and the ruins of Kanyaka Station. Though this a relatively short walk, it provides impressive sights of seven-metre-high quartzite rock and a spring-fed waterhole, rich with Indigenous history.

After your hike, you’ll be driven to Rawnsley Park Station (approx. 45 minutes drive) where you can unload your bags and freshen up before dinner. Sitting on the edge of Wilpena Pound, this functioning sheep station – which has been in operation since around 1851 and has 2,000 sheep grazing on some 30,000 acres – is the perfect place from which to explore the rugged region’s best sites. A dramatic, eerie scene, its 800-million-year-old natural amphitheatre is the centrepiece of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park.

Relax with nibbles this evening around the campfire while breathtakingly clear skies glitter above and your trek guides prepare a hearty two-course dinner.

Travel time: Driving – five hours

Following breakfast and a chance to prepare your own lunch sandwich and snacks for the day, it’s time to dive into South Australia’s most incredible outback wilderness. Follow the Moralana Scenic Drive — a 28-kilometre stretch of dirt road that hugs the southern wall of Wilpena Pound, the ABC Ranges and Black Gap Lookout — along which you’ll be treated to majestic vistas of soaring river red gums.

You’ll begin today’s trek on the famous Heysen Trail. Negotiating the rocky gradient demands attention, but the walk is well worth it. Start with a pretty creek trail through Black Gap, before a climb over Pound Wall to Bridle Gap, where you’ll find the out-of-this-world vistas of Elder Range. Walk down to the floor of Wilpena Pound itself, stopping at Hills Homestead en route for a lunch break and fascinating insight into the challenging life of 19th-century farmers.

The remainder of the day will be spent meandering across Wilpena’s magnificent multi-million-year-old formations and visiting the Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre. The massive amphitheatre of mountains, a traditional meeting place for the Adnyamathanha peoples, is one of Australia’s most spectacular outback sites.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see this incredible formation from above with an optional scenic flight in the afternoon.

This evening, enjoy pre-dinner nibbles and time to unwind by the fire before a two-course dinner prepared by your guides back at the station.

Optional activities:

• 10-, 20- or 30-minute scenic helicopter flight to Rawnsley Bluff (from A$195 per person).
• 20-, 30-, 45- or 60-minute scenic fixed-wing flight (from A$200 per person).

Take in otherworldly native fauna and flora this morning as you tackle some of the Flinders Ranges ‘smaller’ walks. Over an incredible four hours and eight kilometres, you’ll experience the breathtaking Yuluna Circuit at Aroona, where you’ll discover old pastoral ruins and pass through stark red rock formations and dense vegetation. At the old Aroona Homestead, a willow near the spring is all that remains of Frederick Hayward’s garden, along with the foundations of his house and the stone borders of the garden beds. Throughout this breathtaking nature walk, you’ll be afforded lovely views of the Heysen and Trezona Ranges.

Finish up the day exploring the geological masterpiece that is Brachina Gorge – also known as the ‘Corridors Through Time’ – a twisting trail that passes through 130 million years of history. Make your way over sawtooth ridges of quartzite and watch for yellow-footed rock wallabies bounding by.

This afternoon, make your way to Dingley Dell and join local Adnyamathanha man Kristan Coulthard for a guided walk through this ancient site. Study numerous engravings and listen as Kristian shares his traditional knowledge of bush tucker, bush medicine, flora, fauna and Adnyamathanha stories.

Tonight, be mesmerised by the Milky Way above as you’re treated to another relaxing two-course dinner prepared by your guides.

nThis morning pack your swimmers and head to the outback town of Blinman and onward to the village of Angorichina, where you’ll embark on a six-kilometre journey to the breathtaking Blinman Pools, a popular picnicking spot since the 1800s. Featuring cascading waterfalls, majestic river red gums and the habitats of wedge-tailed eagles, the trail traces a trickling rocky creek and ascends to a cavernous gorge that has funnelled the fallout of millions of years of outback storms.

Soaring maroon cliffs afford shade from the outback sun en route and the wonderfully refreshing waters are your reward on arrival. Plunge into one of the two spring-fed pools, where you can float away for a while.

After lunch and your return walk, continue to the Wadna arts and crafts centre, where you’ll catch a glimpse of Kristian’s many carvings and other artworks.

Return to your accommodation later this afternoon, where you can take part in any local walks from Rawnsley Park or take some time to relax before dinner. Nibbles will be served this evening before dinner at the onsite Woolshed Restaurant.

Your final day traversing the spectacular Flinders Ranges has arrived. After breakfast this morning, pack your bags and drive two hours south to begin the walk to Alligator Gorge, a hidden gem on the Heysen Trail. The narrow and breathtakingly beautiful gorge is located in scenic Mount Remarkable National Park and follows a small creek that, over millions of years, has cut deeply into the rock face to create a natural artwork of mesmerising red hues.

Marvel at the varying shades of ruddy cliff faces as you wander the length of the gorge, then stop for lunch in nearby Melrose. From here, you’ll be transported the three hours’ drive back to The Terrace Hotel, arriving in Adelaide around 5pm.

Here, your hiking adventure concludes and you’ll be able to make your own way to your Adelaide post-tour accommodation or onward travels.

Travel time: Driving – five hours