ARKABA UP FOR GRABS

Back in September the Wilpena Resort changed hands after 50 years in the Rasheed family. Now the famed Arkaba Station just south of Wilpena Pound is going under the hammer on November 14. Another branch of the Rasheed family - Dean and Lizzie - have been at Arkaba for 24 years. They undertook a major program to rehabilitate the property and its buildings. In recent years they have played host to visitors staying at their homestead and B&B accommodation. When I visited them last year Dean & Lizzie were generous with their time and clearly very attached to this country. And with good reason. Arkaba has always been one of the most atmospheric and significant properties in the Flinders. The towering Elder Range looms overhead but there is real beauty - and diversity - across all its habitats, including the glorious rolling hills that merge into the Moralana Valley.

WILPENA'S REGIME CHANGE

The Wilpena Pound Resort has new owners. "Anthology" a new outfit headed by Grant Hunt, the former boss of travel-industry giant Voyages, has taken over the legendary Flinders Ranges resort from the well-known Rasheed family. Backed by Gresham Private Equity, Anthology has also recently purchased the Bay of Fires and Cradle Mountain Huts Walks in Tassie. "We began Anthology with the dream of creating one of the world’s finest experiential travel brands," says Hunt. "We have a strong belief in nature and most of our assets will tend to be nature based, but not exclusively. We believe very much in conservation and the protection of the environment... and particularly the notion of using the very best of local produce, local art and local people.” As it happens Grant Hunt is also on the board of Tourism Australia which recently - and quite rightly - included the Flinders in their National Landscapes program.

While Wilpena's new owners are promising to revamp the existing facilities in time for Easter 2009 it will be interesting to see what new directions the resort might take longer term - especially if it offers the kind of guided walking and accomodation experience that has been so successful in Tasmania.