Argadells; the ultimate Flinders Ranges visit
The Flinders Ranges blew us away on so many occasions, and we saw some truly incredible 4WD tracks, camping and properties. Our last visit though, was completely unplanned at Argadells, and I’m so glad we visited; it easily competes for the most spectacular, and most enjoyable spot in the Flinders Ranges, and that’s a big call to make, having visited a heap of the most popular places.
An unplanned visit
The visit to Argadells was completely unplanned; we’d never even heard of the name until a few weeks before, when I helped a stuck 4WD out of a pretty badly bogged situation. After the recovery was done, they invited us to stay at their property in the Flinders Range and check it out free of charge.
Now, I make a point of mentioning this purely so you know that we didn’t pay for our camping fees at Argadells (although we gladly would). You deserve to know this, as it keeps our reviews and information accurate and unbiased. Although this had nothing to do with the blog, its still a kick back and we like to make mention of it. This is our point of difference from other travelling families and influencers.
You should also know that when we visited the station was technically closed (they shut at the end of the October school holidays, but might stay open depending on the weather in coming years) but they let us in anyway, which looking back now is appreciated more than I can express.
After packing up at Rawnsley Station, we gave the car and camper a solid wash, donated $5 for the privilege and drove south, to Hawker for a long overdue stop at the Bakery. $40 later (some seriously good food and service!), we continued south, and turned off towards Argadells.
Where is Argadells?
You’ll find this stunning location roughly 28km from Quorn, up the Arden Vale Road. If you are coming from the north, its roughly 50 minuets from Hawker.
Argadells attractions
We weren’t really sure what to expect at Argadells, but its got a solid list of attractions, and the booklet covers a heap of information too:
Unbelievable scenery
The Flinders Ranges surprised me on so many occasions, but none as much as driving through Argadells. When we arrived, we set up camp in a reasonably nice area, and I wasn’t expecting too much on the property, but had been told to go and check out the drive to Mt Arden.
After about 5 minutes in the 4WD, I couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Argadells takes a heap of the best in the Flinders, and combines it all into one property. There are more streams, creeks and beautiful scenes than you can poke a stick at, and then it opened up to the big rolling hills, and I was as shocked as I’ve ever been visiting anywhere in Australia.
We could see where we’d be heading with a powerline running to the top of Mount Arden for a heap of communications gear, and the track looked stunning. The further we drove though, the more blown away I was, until we reached the top at 844 metres tall. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around the property, and doing a walk and I was staggered by the scenery and views.
Whilst they are very different to Arkaroola, which also blew us away, this is another level entirely with huge, green rolling hills. You’ll have to excuse the number of photos, as this was shockingly beautiful.
Now, I will make a point here that we got very lucky in terms of the rain. After two decent months of rain, this is probably as good as the property looks, and I have seen photos of it much dryer. It’s a good lesson in trying to get to places in their peak though.
4WD tracks at Argadells
If you own a 4WD, this place is an absolute paradise. On top of the insane scenery that is all over the property, you can explore a huge chunk of it by 4WD, on real 4WD tracks (not just gravel station tracks!).
The one to the top of Mt Arden is worth doing a hundred times over, and from the top you can either come down the way you went up, or head along the ridgetops, or take the steep and difficult descent to the bottom.
The tracks are coloured green for easy, yellow for intermediate and red for difficult, with one blue track being a difficult descent only track from the top of Mt Arden.
The Skytrek 4WD track at Willow Springs is hugely raved about, and I’ve heard people say that the Ridgetop track at Argadells is even better, and shorter. Unfortunately for us Skytrek was closed when we visited due to heavy rain so I can’t compare them, but I’ve never seen views like what we had around Mt Arden and the Ridgetops.
We had so much fun exploring these tracks, and seriously rated them.
Walking and hikes at Argadells
In the brochure that you get given, there’s a number of places that are recommended to visit, to walk or hike from. Whilst there isn’t a heap of information about the individual tracks, we did head to a couple of gorges and creeks and had amazing walks. South Gorge was a fairly short, but incredibly beautiful and scenic walk that the kids loved. I’d go as far as to say this might be the most picturesque walk that we did in the Flinders, and we did a heap of them.
Yellow footed Rock Wallabies and other wildlife
If you are into animals, there’s a small colony of Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies that live here, and we saw a couple of them coming into the cooler hours of the afternoon, at the spot marked on the map, which was pretty amazing.
We also saw a couple of awesome lizards, lots of kangaroos and lots of bird life that inhabit the property.
Camping at Argadells
Argadells has a formal caravan park, and then a heap of bush camping out further away from the park itself. Some of the bush camp sites are nice, and some are exceptional, and there’s a heap of room given between you and your neighbour.
Each bush camp has a fire pit, a decent toilet (some of them flush) and many have views that will rival the best of what you’ve seen.
The caravan park is well laid out, with good amenities, but we didn’t use any of them as it was closed, and we were bush camping anyway.
What does it cost to stay at Argadells?
Unpowered camping is $15 per night, per adult. Powered sites are $35 for two adults per night, or $40 if you want an ensuite site.
To access all of the 4WD tracks on the property its a further $50, but this is for the entire stay, and gives you access to all tracks. It’s not a payment per track, or each day.
Argadells annual closure
As mentioned above, Argadells have been closing at the end of the October school holidays, and opening back up at Easter time in previous years, to have a break and stay in line with the fire restrictions in the area. It can get very dry, hot and unpleasant in that time, and you are best to visit after plenty of rain.
Can you visit Argadells in a 2WD?
Yep, you’d get a 2WD into Argadells, but you would be fairly limited in what you can explore, as you need some extra clearance and traction.
When should you visit Argadells?
The best time to see this property is a month or two after a heap of rain. We jagged amazing conditions in late October, but keep an eye on how much rain has fallen, as this makes everything green, and gets all of the streams and creeks flowing.
However, its a stunning property any time you can get there, just expect that without a heap of rain in previous months the creeks might not be flowing, and things will not be so green.
Is Argadells worth a visit?
Argadells exceeded my expectations 10 times over, and was easily one of the best places I’ve ever visited. I’d go as far as saying its probably as good as Arkaroola, and maybe even better. I literally had to change the title for our post on Arkaroola, after crowning it the most favourite place in the Flinders, and then heading to Argadells.
I’m going to call it a tie for number one place with Arkaroola, and that means it beats Rawnsley Station along with Willow Springs, Parachilna Gorge, Moolooloo Station, Chambers Gorge and Mern Merna, and that’s no small feat.
Argadells is stunningly beautiful, cheap enough to camp, has great facilities and has a big variety of things to see. Its much less commercialised than Arkaroola, and whilst we loved both, there is something special about this place, and the fact that it is not very well known baffles me.
If you are visiting the Flinders Ranges, enjoy 4WDing and amazing scenery you should 100% visit Argardells.
Keen on more Flinders Ranges 4WD tracks? We’ve got a post covering that!
Unfortunately for us, we had booked accommodation further south, and were running low on fuel, but I’d have loved to kick back at Argadells for a few more nights and explore all of the nooks and crannies. Everything is fairly close together, and stunning beyond what I can express. A big thanks to Mark and Tanya for letting us onto your stunning property!
Have you been to Argadells? What did you think of it?
