Discovery Resorts - Wilpena Pound - Via Hawker, South Australia

Martti K.

Great campground in the middle of the Flinders Ranges National park, we stayed there with our rooftop tent and loved it.

There’s a lot of unpowered sites so basically you can choose under which trees you want to stay. There is heaps of shade and you can find also a sunny spot if you’re using s solar.

During our whole stay it was so peaceful and quiet, we stayed there start of March so the season just started so it was very quiet. Even if it should get busy there is heaps of amenities.

One of our favourite things was cycling and walking from the campground. While cycling or walking you will see heaps of wildlife everywhere from goats to emus.

If you need to stay longer they have fuel, information centre, restaurant and grocery store. Great clean amenities, we got good recommendations from the information centre where to go and what to do, cheers for that, definitely made our day! They don’t have drinkable water so they provide it for free from the grocery store.

Eisha J.

This is a great place! Remote location but perfectly set up! Really nice peaceful sites, good clean amenities (if a little dated), hiking/cycling direct from campsite. Small store if you’ve urgently run out of anything.

Kelly D.

Definitely one of the nicest caravan/campsites we have stayed in. The sites are generously spaced out, the bathroom amenities are modern and clean, plus hot water. We also had access to the resort pool located at the hotel. There is also a bar for an afternoon drink taking in the surroundings including the resident kangaroos. There are plenty of walking and hiking trails depending on your fitness level. Luke at the checkin desk was super helpful. Will be making a return visit for sure.

Katie

We camped in a powered site the stars were amazing and the hikes are out of this world. So peaceful and quiet for nature lovers. We also participated in a welcome to country smoking ceremony which the resort offer daily which was cool and the kids loved the pool. Great experience 🤟

Heather M.

Lovely and quiet, roos and wallabies come to visit the green next to the pool, meals delicious. Plenty of camping space.
Short walks available in summer with small animals and birds to look out for.
Wonderful sites to see on the longer walks in cooler weather.
Real good natural park!

Guy C.

Amazing place in a stunning part of the world. Good food and drink in the restaurant. Friendly, helpful and informative people running it. We stayed in the family tent, which were great. Highly recommended, and looking forward to next time…

Scott T.

The location was fine and the staff were good. The park however is in need of some work and better organisation. Upon arrival I pulled up in what appeared to be a suitable waiting spot for caravans. I then noticed a sign directing to the "resort". As I was staying in a part of the resort I turned around and headed there. Arriving there I found that I needed to check-in back where I had originally stopped. A lap around the "motel room" style part of the resort saw me back where I started.

Check-in takes ages as the staff go through a lot of stuff that should be on the handout material (which is out of date). The map of the complex is not too scale and saw me walk twice as far too a guest laundry/amenities block that looked closer on the map but which was three times further away than a nearer one! I stayed in a powered caravan site and had been advised that, as the resort was upgrading it's water treatment plant, bottled water is provided and is available from the mini IGA supermarket in the same building. The IGA is however, only restocked once a week on Thursdays.
There are marked paths to facilities but some light posts were missing lights completely and others not working.
The powered sites are poorly demarcated and several people I spoke to had issues figuring out where their site was.
I walked the track to the lookouts on day one - be warned that the lookout track is rated "moderate", the last 500m or so is not, it is quite strenuous.
Day two I decided to follow the scenic drive that had been outlined to me upon check-in. I'd planned to visit the lookouts, townships and the notable "Prairie Hotel" at Parachilna for lunch before returning via the Brachina Gorge geology path back through the range. The cafe at Blinman is great with good locally made confectionery, the "Wadna" Aboriginal artworks centre nearby has some beautiful art and artifacts.
I was unpleasantly surprised to find that the Prairie Hotel is closed Mondays - the day I was there. As the circuit I took was over 170km and only Parachilna and my morning coffee stop at Blinman were the only places to find food or drink this would have been good to know when checking in to the resort - but the staff have so much other stuff to tell you it gets overlooked.

The trip back through Brachina Gorge shouldn't be attempted in anything less than a "proper" 4wd vehicle. Even "soft roaders" - constant 4wd vehicles on road tyres with lower ground clearance could well be damaged driving through the dry creek beds which extend on and off for several kilometres.
All the staff I spoke to were very good and I understand that the complex has recently changed hands, so I hope these issues will be addressed for future visitors!

Billy H.

We stayed for a couple nights on a powered site in our swag. The bathroom facilities were some of the best I've seen and immaculately clean the whole time. The staff were super friendly in reception and the store and the hikes are very accessible from the camp ground! Also worth noting the pricing for fuel and goods within the IGA were very sensible for how remote you are!