Nilpena Ediacara National Park review: Does it rock or not?
The 600 million year old ripple rock makes for a pretty feature wall outside the visitor centre at Nilpena Ediacara National Park.
Nilpena Ediacara National Park is on Adnyamathanha country.
Nilpena Ediacara National Park is a brand new attraction in the Flinders Ranges, opening for visitors in April 2023. This special place is accessible only by guided tour and promises a truly unique visitor experience.
Nilpena (nil-peen-uh) is from the Adnyamathanha language meaning ‘place of the salt bush’.
Ediacara (ee-dee-ak-cra) meaning ‘spring’, gave its name to an entire time group of fossils. The Ediacara fossils are the oldest animal fossils found on Earth.
With only a little information available and inspired by our stay at Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, we decided to book in for a tour. We were ready to be impressed and excited to continue learning about the incredible Flinders Ranges region.
Where is Nilpena Ediacara National Park?
In the Flinders Ranges region, about 550 km north of Adelaide, South Australia off the Outback Highway. The closest towns are Leigh Creek and Parachilna.
You can travel on sealed roads almost all the way from Adelaide to Nilpena Ediacara National Park, with a short dirt road stretch off the highway to the gate that is manageable in a 2WD vehicle.
That said, a suitable 4WD is highly recommended for exploring the Flinders Ranges region and many surrounding areas and places of interest are accessible only with a 4WD vehicle.
Remember to check SA Outback Road Conditions before commencing travel in the Flinders Ranges region.
Where to stay to visit Nilpena Ediacara National Park
There’s no camping or overnight accommodation at Nilpena Ediacara National Park.
You can find overnight accommodation at Parachilna, Leigh Creek or Copley. There’s also camping at Parachilna Gorge (free), Beltana (Hipcamps) or further afield in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park (book online).
The Nilpena Ediacara National Park gateway and impressive stone wall. There’s no public access beyond this point.
The Ediacaran Experience Tour (as booked on the Parks SA website)
An impressive stone wall greets you at the carpark - and you’ll imagine that the new national park lies just the other side of the ‘Nilpena Ediacara National Park’ sign. In fact, the national park doesn’t begin until 14 km down a bumpy road along the private property of Nilpena Station.
Upon arrival, the woolshed and restored blacksmith’s visitor centre sit a little lonely on the flat pastoral landscape. There’s an ongoing revegetation effort but in an arid landscape, recovery for this former cattle station will take many years.
There’s a single unisex toilet at the visitor centre, so your tour may be a little slow to start as everyone hops off the bus and is suddenly feeling the urge to “go”.
You’ll visit the woolshed first, where you’ll admire the ancient seabed floor. This floor set off the chain of discovery leading to the Ediacaran fossils. Once you’ve seen the ripple stone, you’ll realise it’s found in many of the impressive gorges of the Flinders Ranges.
After the woolshed, it’s onto the main event - the former blacksmith’s shop. Now a state-of-the-art interpretation centre, the design is modern and matches an aesthetic echoed in other new national parks buildings across the country.
There’s a TV mounted on the wall, playing a bit of the history of Nilpena and how the national park came to be. It’s a surprisingly small screen to huddle 12 adults around and feels a little cheap considering the ‘world class’ promise. In just a few moments, you’ll enter the darkened audio-visual room.
You’ll need to lift up smaller children and help them to reach over the table to see and feel the Ediacara fossils.
Inside the room, the Edicara fossil bed lies perfectly reachable, touchable.
It took three painstaking weeks for various experts to manoeuvre the pieces into place and get them level. The fracture marks along the fossil bed are natural. This is how the fossil bed was originally found and in these pieces, the fossil bed was moved into place without breaking it apart further.
You’ll stand around the table and wait for the 16 minute presentation to begin. There’s no doubt that being able to touch the fossils and watch as they ‘come alive’ is a pretty unique experience. The commentary is fantastic, with just the right amount of information. Invitations to reach out and touch the fossil bed make this an interactive and truly unique experience.
It even feels a little wrong to be touching such a fantastic piece of Earth’s earliest animal history. I can’t help but wonder if my daughter will call me a fool years down the line for aiding in the destruction of the precious fossil record. Apparently, the scientists say it’s all good and not to worry about the hardy sandstone.
Dickinsonia fossil from ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ fossil bed in the audio-visual room at Nilpena Ediacara NP.
After the presentation you’ll have some time to walk around the table and get a good look at all the fossils. There really are a lot of them, it’s an incredible record of this ancient animal community. It bears reflecting on the enormity of what’s in front of you and the privilege to access this significant fossil record.
After you’ve had a good look, it’s back on the bus to bump your way back along to the carpark and ponder the beginnings of life on Earth. There’s no visit to the fossil fields on this tour, so you’ll also miss out on the Aboriginal cultural sites and permanent springs listed as key attractions on the Parks SA website.
The restored Nilpena woodshed is a work-in-progress. The ripple rock floor is a feature point in the Ediacaran Experience tour.
Is Nilpena Ediacara National Park good for kids/families?
You absolutely can take your kids on a guided tour. Just be aware that nothing about the experience is designed for young kids and be appropriately prepared.
We took our 18 month old on tour and it was fine. We weren’t charged a ticket (no fee for under 2 years) and she sat on our lap during the bus ride. She wasn’t particularly interested in the tour, but was able to walk around a little during the woolshed component and we brought some snacks for keeping her quiet during the audio-visual section.
At 18 months, we were worried this tour would stretch our toddler’s tolerance and we were prepared to take her outside for a play if she became disruptive. We chose this activity for us (as adults), so it’s important to have realistic expectations. A baby in a carrier would be perfectly fine.
I wouldn’t recommend this as a family activity for kids younger than 10. Younger kids may not understand the commentary unless they’re already interested in fossils and have some background knowledge.
The commentary is aimed with about a high-school-level grasp on biology, general science and the English language.
If you do decide to take younger kids, it’s worth noting that the fossil table is roughly adult waist height so if someone in your group is short, it may be difficult for them to see the presentation. Sixteen minutes will seem a lot longer if you’re trying to boost up a small child to see.
And whilst the Parks SA website claims the tour is accessible, you’ll need to decide whether standing for at least 16 minutes to see the fossil table is manageable for you.
How much does a tour cost?
Tours of Nilpena Ediacara National Park can be booked through the Parks SA website. The cost is $80 for adults, $48 for a child ticket (2 year old to 12 year old) and free for children under two.
View of the Ediacara Hills from inside the restored woodshed in Nilpena Ediacara National Park.
Is a Nilpena Ediacara National Park tour worth it?
Honestly, maybe not for most people.
The visit to the woolshed was just that, a woolshed. It was nicely dressed up, as though ready to receive guests (not us, unfortunately) for a fancy lunch. There was a small talk about the floor - made of stone from an ancient sea bed - and a few old bits and pieces pointed out and that was about it.
We were looking for an engaging, informative tour that enriched our understanding of geology, fossil life and the international significance of the Flinders Ranges region. The Ediacaran Experience delivered on that with the captivating audio-visual part of our tour. It’s a wonderful display of art, intelligence and technology. The chance to view and touch the 550 million year old fossils is incredible.
But it’s a short experience. About 15 minutes of fantastic audio-visual work and then 5 minutes of searching the table for the fossils yourself and you’re done! Honestly, the presentation does such a marvelous job of highlighting the fossils, you really don’t need that much time to have a look yourself.
The rest of the tour was really underwhelming.
It felt just like a 20 minute experience dragged out to be worth both the time and money required to join a tour. I can’t help but wonder what the tour could be like if provided by someone with a better understanding of the science and/or cultural significance of the site. To quote our guide, “I don’t really know enough to be doing this”...
Oh and you’ll spend 15 minutes on a bus either way, along a bumpy, corrugated and sometimes soggy stretch of road. There’s another 30 minutes accounted for.
Leaving the Outback Highway, you’'ll take a short dirt road section to the Nilpena Ediacara National Park.
Disappointed and a little confused.
Those were the feelings we were left with.
We were under the impression that we would have a knowledgeable and appropriately trained Parks SA ranger as a tour guide. However the tours are not provided by a Parks SA ranger, despite what the photo on their booking page implies.
In fact, there aren’t plans for a full-time ranger at Nilpena Ediacara National Park - something that surprised us greatly given the new park is central to the region’s World Heritage bid.
Instead, the bookings appear to be passed onto the privately owned Nilpena Station/Prarie Hotel owners. Our tour was outsourced and provided by someone hired through the hotel.
In the near future, it appears that further tourism operators may choose to become ‘accredited’ to take visitors into Nilpena Edicara National Park.
In short, the Parks SA website is misleading. If we had realised our tour was not being provided by Parks SA, it’s likely we wouldn't have booked.
For something so far out of the way and with uncertainty about the quality of tour experiences, I’d spend your time and money elsewhere.
I was sent a survey via email shortly after our tour from Parks SA and outlined all my concerns and questions. I didn't get a response - and wasn’t expecting a response - however, hopefully some improvements will be made for future tour goers!
For a little bit extra:
Check out David Attenborough’s ‘First Life’ on ABC iview
This two-part documentary series is well worth a look before or after a visit to Nilpena Ediacara National Park. ‘Nilpena’ - before it was a park at all - features in the first episode.
We acknowledge over 65,000 years of continuous care and custodianship of the Adnyamathanha people over these lands and waters. Their sovereignty has never been ceded. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and the Adnyamathanha people as the traditional and rightful owners of this Country.