Ngarkat Conservation Park - SA

Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park is locat­ed in South Australia’s south-east­ern cor­ner about 200 kilo­me­tres south east of Ade­laide. The con­ser­va­tion park was pro­claimed in 1979 to con­serve the mallee heath habi­tat of the 90 Mile Desert’. Ngarkat is 271 000 hectares in size and is the largest patch of rem­nant native veg­e­ta­tion sit­u­at­ed in set­tled agri­cul­tur­al South Australia.
The park has a sig­nif­i­cant role in the con­ser­va­tion of bio­log­i­cal diver­si­ty. Giv­en the large area and rel­a­tive­ly low lev­els of dis­tur­bance, the park is capa­ble of main­tain­ing ecosys­tems that pro­tect pop­u­la­tions of sig­nif­i­cant flo­ra and fauna.
Ngarkat has a range of recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties in peace­ful and remote sur­round­ings. Explore the mallee by dri­ving on the remote tracks, camp under the stars across the parks 11 camp.grounds, or explore clos­er on foot on any of the 10 walk­ing trails designed to give you a bet­ter appre­ci­a­tion of the vast mallee landscape.
August to Sep­tem­ber is the best time to see Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park. Flow­ers are at full bloom, birds are active, lizards are zip­ping from bush to bush, and the aver­age dai­ly tem­per­a­ture is great for get­ting out to explore. March and April are also good months to explore the walk­ing tracks and camp overnight.
In the warmer months of Decem­ber to Feb­ru­ary, Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park can be hot, while in May to July tem­per­a­tures can reach to neg­a­tive degrees. If vis­it­ing dur­ing these peri­ods, ensure you are well pre­pared for the conditions.
Park fees:
Vehicle entry: $10.50 per vehicle
Accommodation from: $21.00 per night
Fees must be paid before entry to the park. Campsite fees are per night, subject to availability.
All tracks in Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park are 4WD only
Please note: Ngarkat has an exten­sive track net­work, you will see a num­ber of tracks that have restrict­ed access. Some of these are for emer­gency access dur­ing fires and for the api­ary indus­try. They are not for pub­lic access due to the risk of get­ting lost, poten­tial dam.age to the track and veg­e­ta­tion, or dis­turb­ing the bees.
See each separate POI and camp listing for specific details.
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Baan Hill Reserve –
54H 0449014
6071222
(Repeater 6)
A nice spot to spend a few days with a shelter, BBQ and long drop toilets. There is a bit of history here. Mrs Norma Moncur lived here growing vegetables and taking them into Lameroo until her horse died in the late 1950s. Evidence of her existence here can be located over the hill.
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Pine Soak Hut Camping Ground –
54H 0488947
6079822
The camping area is pretty big, has a long drop, some tables and BBQs. Don’t rely on the BBQs and tables being free.
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Buck’s Camp –
54H 043645
6023902
At the top end closer to Tintinara. Box Flat Soak is a wetland surrounded by lots of gums. Great camping spot with ruins, bird life etc.
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Pertendi Hut.
54H 0502682
6144503 –
Turn off to Pertendi Hut is 40.6 km from the Bordertown turn off. The turn off to Pertendi is on your left as you travel toward Bordertown.
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Box Flat Soak camping ground –
54H 0445456
6059024
At the top end closer to Tintinara. Stone ruins and a well. Great picnic spot under the gums.
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Red Bluff, camping area off Ngarkat
54 H 0499727
UTM 6029517
This is in Victoria and is a large camping ground with long drops.