Flinders Ranges Camp

Flinders Ranges School Camp

Flinders Ranges offers a wide variety of options for all group sizes and abilities. From the vast wide open spaces to the densely featured terrain the Flinders Rages offers ample opportunity for students to fall in love with nature. The region expands 800km through South Australia offering a unique experience.

The region includes towering ancient cliffs, beautiful gorge walks, deep craters you would think you were on another planet! The Flinders Ranges has some of the best star gazing opportunities in the world. The region can be broken up into a southern, central and northern Flinders Ranges, each region offering a unique experience which Students Explore Australia can guide your group through.

Southern Flinders Ranges is only a 3-hour drive from Adelaide where dorm accommodation is an option as well as tent camping.  The region is covered with diverse wildlife and beautiful walking trails through open scrublands, up escarpments and through ancient gorges. This region has much to offer including learning about history of towns being established, with museum tours, railway tours and botanical education session.  Activities on offer in this region are day walks to Alligator Gorge as well as journey style programs where groups can walk through Mount Remarkable National Park.

Central Flinders Ranges is a 5 hour drive from Adelaide. This region is spectacular, offering ancient and rugged mountain landscapes, peaceful tree lines gorges and seasonal wealth of wildlife. Impressive geological features such as the Wilpena Pound, rich culture heritage from a living culture. learn of the Adnyamathanha people who have been living in the region for tens of thousands of years. There are many options for school groups in this region including physically and mentally challenging programs, curriculum focused educational programs, peaceful reflection style camps or perhaps a combination of all!

Northern Flinders Ranges is about a 8 hour drive from Adelaide and is best suited for longer programs of 5 days or more. Visit Arkaroola the wilderness sanctuary, learn about conservation and education of the natural environment, bear witness to the towering granite peaks, and experience the mysterious water holes. The region boasts unforgettable stargazing experiences, with world class atmospheric transparency – this is due to it’s low light pollution, as a result of the regions remoteness. Visit the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park and Lake Frome which is one of the largest endorheic lakes in South Australia.

Flinders Ranges Program

Indigenous Culture

We have a unique relationship with a local Indigenous group in the region that allows students to experience Indigenous culture first hand, in a way that is simply not available to public. Students can experience interactive and engaging sessions that include, tasting kangaroo tail, learning cultural dances, spear making and boomerang making workshops, men’s and women’s business and of course, a safe space to ask cultural fire-side questions.  Most of all, students can build connections and relationships with Indigenous culture from their own personal experience, rather than learning from a book in a classroom. This in-person experience can truly be an eye opener, and allow a student’s to shift their view of Indigenous culture.

Activities

Given the incredible landscape, there are many activities we can offer student groups. The Flinders Ranges is particularly fitting to bushwalking, mountain biking, rock climbing and abseiling and orienteering. In addition to adventure, the Flinders Ranges has some incredible history and sightseeing opportunities that can be included – from learning about early settlers, cameleers and of course Matthew Flinders himself. Activities can make up part of your school camp program, or they can be the entire program in itself. Enquire today and we can walk you through activity options in the Flinders Ranges for your next school camps.

Nature-based Volunteering

There is nothing like spending time in nature and giving back to a community, to teach and improve student’s wellbeing. We have partnered with a number of organisations in the Flinders Ranges that allow our school camp groups to do a range of nature-based volunteering. This includes tree-planting, native plant surveying, animal surveying, native animal tracking and helping to setup sanctuaries for injured animals. The volunteering activity is seasonal – and if you have some specific request we can always advise on what’s available – simply get in touch and we’ll gladly assist.

Solo Experiences

The regions wide open spaces offer opportunity for a solo challenge, which gives students time to reflect on their lives and develop their own resilience. We are often surrounded by ridged timetables and deadlines, and from a young person’s perspective – this means there is little opportunity to develop resilience and self-dependency – crucial life skills. In solo challenges, students are placed in a designated solo location (safe, and risk assessed – of course) away from others, and offered time to themselves. Young people often have the answers instantly available at the click of a button, yet a solo experience offers students the challenge of problem solving independently using the limited tools they have available – in some situations, students will indeed need to be creative. This activity is challenge by choice and support can be put in place so that participation is achieved by all. Students are briefed with a safety chat and “rules” for the activity so the expectations are clear.

Accommodation

We work closely with a wide range of accommodation partners in the Flinders Ranges region. In the southern Flinders we can offer dormitory style accommodation for up to 90 people, moving further north there are cabins and safari style accommodation. Camping is an option across all regions which allows student’s time in nature to be expanded.

Curriculum Links

School camps in the Flinders Ranges offer an abundance of learning opportunities that can be linked directly to specific curriculum outcomes. From primary all the way to senior school, there are plenty of direct links. We can work with you to directly address curriculum outcomes by way of tailoring activities and specific content within our instructor notes and content.

School camps in the Flinders Ranges offer an abundance of learning opportunities that can be linked directly to specific curriculum outcomes. From primary all the way to senior school, there are plenty of direct links. We can work with you to directly address curriculum outcomes by way of tailoring activities and specific content within our instructor notes and content.

SEA can teach students skills that are difficult to learn in the classroom. For example, independence, resilience, leadership and teamwork can be taught through a number of tailored activities and by way of implementing certain program structures for the group – it can all link back to your program’s desired outcomes.

How To Book a Flinders Ranges Camp:

Flinders Ranges School Camp Feedback:

The staff from SEA really engaged our students and the activities were very relevant to what our students wanted from the camp.

Michael Bawden – Principal, Gilles St Primary School