Far North SA Tourism

AUSTRALIA’S BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES
FLINDERS RANGES WORLD HERITAGE AREA NOMINATION

Over the past decade, geotourism enthusiasts associated with the National Geotourism Strategy (NGS) have been actively involved in, and have championed, Australia’s National Landscapes (ANL) Programme because of the opportunity to promote geotourism concepts. The Programme was the first time the tourism sector, nature conservation managers and tourism advocacy organisations had worked closely together to present Australia’s top nature tourism (dare we say geotourism) experiences. The Programme facilitated coordinated tourism planning and management and provided a focus for international marketing, but has subsequently been discontinued.

Australia’s 16 nominated National Landscapes Programme included the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. Most of these landscapes comprised a variety of high quality, scenic experiences (related to their natural heritage values) and offered the opportunity to be promoted for their scenic values (i.e., their ‘beauty’). Inspired by the screening of a recent international documentary series titled 'The World’s Beautiful Landscapes’, it is timely to take a close look at what Australia offers in this regard.

The Flinders Ranges comprises a variety of outstanding landscapes including Wilpena Pound. They contain a number of areas set aside for protection and management of the region’s natural, cultural (particulalry Aboriginal) and historic values, on public, private, and leasehold land. Pastoralism has also had a strong historic influence in the region. The region’s rich values and breathtaking landscapes make the Flinders Ranges an iconic geotourism destination with unparalleled visitor experiences.

Beauty aside, from a geological perspective in meeting the key WHA nomination natural criteria (viii) , the Flinders Ranges is significantly an outstanding example representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life; that is the evolution of complex, multicellular animal life. This contributes to defining the nomination’s ‘Outstanding Universal Value’. In short, the Flinders Ranges is the only place known on Earth where two great experiments in the evolution of complex multicellular animal life i.e, the Ediacaran radiation event and the Cambrian explosion of life, outcrop in a near-continuous geological succession spanning 350 million years.

In a 'Public Talk' hosted by Geoscience Australia in Canberra on Wednesday 22nd March 2023, the concept of geotourism was explained by reviewing the natural and cultural heritage characteristics of the beautiful Flinders Ranges landscapes in the context of its WHA nomination. The presentation also explains the implementation of the NGS which is providing a major opportunity for regional development, focusing on both natural and cultural heritage, both mining and Aboriginal. The presenttion can be viewed at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSZYTvBq05o