[SA] Lake Acraman Walk

[philm]

In late June we just completed a trip to Lake Acraman in the South West of SA. The Lak is not actually a lake but an impact cater that was created hundreds of million years ago.
The crater is on private land and we obtained permission to visit and camp on the side of the lake and undertook a number of day walks around the area. It is remote and there is no water so you need to be self sufficient and ensure you contact the farmer to obtain permission before visiting.

It is a facinating place and the walks were enjoyable - not a lot of wild life but plenty of wombats!

Lake Acraman the photographer

We camped beside the lake[/attachment]

Some great light

Storm approaching

By the lake

By the lake

[photohiker]

It's on my list...

Thanks for the report and photos. What is access like, and how far did you walk?

[philm]

Access is via a private station and the owner is a really nice fellow. You probably need a 4WD but a high clearance 2WD will get you in there.
You take the main road from Adelaide to Port Augusta and Iron Knob then the dirt road to the Gawlaer ranges - good road. We stayed at Mt Ive station for 1 night in shearers quarters then went on to Lake Acraman the following day - about a 4 hour drive.

From the station homestead to the Lake shore it is about a 45 minute drive on station tracks. Road is basic but ok.

From the lake shore camp we undertook a few extended day trips - 1 day walked about 25 km which is fairly easy walking. As the lake is large there are a number of islands you reach by crossing part of the lake / crater before reaching the main lake which had salt water in it. The crater / lake is large so we planned a few trips around it - generally some great views and reasonably easy walking in very remote country.

Overall the Gawler ranges are worht a trip - I still prefer the Flinders Ranges but there is also some appeal in this different region - try it at least once!

[photohiker]

phil,

Thanks. Yes, I've been to the Gawler Ranges and would go again. The 'new' owners of Mt Ive are top people and have cleaned the place up a lot. It was while looking at the map of Lake Gairdner that Acraman hit the radar. Gairdner is worth a visit too, it's a big lake.

[philm]

Hi Michael Yes we went to Lake Gartner as well a couple of pictures attached below:

Lake Gartner

[north-north-west]

I... - not a lot of wild life but plenty of wombats!...

Wombats aren't wildlife?

[philm]

Yes they are but what I meant was no sign of wallabies, kangaroos, emu's, camels etc.
We did see a few Wedge Tailed Eagles later in the trip - this made it really worth while.

[ian_macleod]

Hi Phil, thank you for the excellent photos of your trip to Lake Acraman. My self, my Dad and my brother wish to visit this site in Feb next year. We will be taking a diesel Jeep. The clearance is ok but not super high. We are interested in meteorites and know this is a remnant impact crater site. Did you see any shatter cones or evidence of impact like breccia?

We would also need to contact the land owners, are you able to supply me with contact details for the land owners?

Kind Regards

Ian

[philm]

Hi Ian

The jeep should be fine in terms of clearance - there is a station track most of the way to the lake then a short section across paddock to the lake edge itself.

We camped on the lake edge and did day trips from base camp. We went with a few scientists from the CSIRO who were interested in metiorites and they looked for fragments - not sure if they found any but I can check and let you know.

In terms of the contact details I don't have these but can try to source them from the trip organiser and let you know. Alternatively you can look up the station name on the map and then look up the phone number. The owners were very froiendly and helpful.

Regards

Phil

[icefest]

Hi Phil, thank you for the excellent photos of your trip to Lake Acraman. My self, my Dad and my brother wish to visit this site in Feb next year. We will be taking a diesel Jeep. The clearance is ok but not super high. We are interested in meteorites and know this is a remnant impact crater site. Did you see any shatter cones or evidence of impact like breccia?
We would also need to contact the land owners, are you able to supply me with contact details for the land owners?
Kind Regards
Ian

From this journal article, the last paragraph: Impact ejecta horizon within late Precambrian shales, Adelaide geosyncline, South Australia
Gostin, Victor A. ; Haines, Peter W. ; Jenkins, Richard J. F. ; Compston, William ; Williams, Ian S.
Science, July 11, 1986, Vol.233, p.198(3) [Peer Reviewed Journal]

[photohiker]

Hi Phil, thank you for the excellent photos of your trip to Lake Acraman. My self, my Dad and my brother wish to visit this site in Feb next year. We will be taking a diesel Jeep. The clearance is ok but not super high. We are interested in meteorites and know this is a remnant impact crater site. Did you see any shatter cones or evidence of impact like breccia?

We would also need to contact the land owners, are you able to supply me with contact details for the land owners?

Kind Regards

Ian

Ian, did you go?

We're thinking of dropping in to Acraman on the way down from Coober Pedy. I haven't got the map yet, but apparently there is a route between L. Gairdner, L. Everard and L. Acraman, it's shown on the SA Roads site as "Kingoonya - Wirrulla road" and "Skull Tanks to Pondana Ruins via Kangaroo Well road".

Whether we go that way depends on rainfall, as previous trips to the Gawler Ranges have shown us that it turns into a quagmire if there is much rain...

[philm]

We went from L. Gairdner which is accessible on a track back to the main dirt road then through to L Acraman. You will need to contact the station owner - they are nice people but I seem to have misplaced the contact details (sorry).

From memory it took us about 3-4 hours to do the trip. It took us some time to find the lake from the Station as the track was overgrown and difficult to find - once on it we were fine but we messed around for a few hours and just made the lake by sunset (in July).

Good luch as it is a good place to camp by the lake for a few days and there is some reasonable walks around the area.

[mikethepike]

I was interested to find this topic after not being aware of this subforum before now. About contacting Mt Ive Stn, they can be contacted on 86481817 and info@mtive.com.au according to the Salt Lake Racers Australia website. SLRA conducts a huge race meeting there each year, usually in March unless it is cancelled due it a soft surface following rain and this has only been the case 3 times in the last 20 years, including not surprisingly 2011 and 2012. The track takes up 9km of the south western fork of the south end of the lake. .
I am planning a bike ride on the lake in April or May next year from Kingoonya to Mt Ive along the length of the lake surface and possibly back again via road and dropping in to Lake Acraman and then to Kingoonya via Lakes Everard and Harris. Station water sources are the main thing needing careful planning. The bikes will be fitted with panniers rather than pulling a trailer. By area and including I think Everard and Harris, this is Australia's biggest area of salt flat after Lake Eyer and the only major of the salt lakes not liable to flooding from major watercourse. The return trip will start and end at Glenbambo or,if the one way trip, end at Minnipa. Transport to start and finish from Adelaide will be by bus. I'm interested to hear from anyone who might read this and be might like to join me. If this is the case, the cheaper transport option would be to drive to Mt Ive Station and do the out and back trip in reverse.