Gawler Ranges National Park, in the northern region of Eyre Peninsula, contains some of the oldest rock formations on the planet. One of the largest was named by the explorer Edward John Eyre during an attempt to cross from South Australia to the West. He called it Mount Sturt, his way of honouring another great adventurer Captain Charles Sturt. From its southern base you take in the great sweep of salt lakes that drain into the Corribbinnie Depression. The Gawler Ranges, which cover an area of seventeen thousand square kilometres, are all volcanic and appear to have come into existence at the one time.

The remains of a massive formations found here are just a small part of what's known to geologists and the mining companies as the Gawler Craton. With endless tracks providing endless vistas of an ancient volcanic madness it's little wonder that more and more four-wheel drive enthusiasts are making their way into the Gawler Ranges National Park.

The National Park was declared in 2001. For about one hundred years it was a sheep grazing property. The friends of the park have now restored old Panney Homestead. This century old piece of South Australian farming history is available to rent for those who want a holiday with a difference. The neighbors certainly aren't a bother - after all they're 50 kilometres away. From low-lying scrub to more heavily wooded country the park is an ever-changing array of scenery. But the ranges serve as a constant reminder of this part of Upper Eyre Peninsula's volcanic past. An example is the formation known as the Organ Pipes - one of the Park's most popular features.

In one great volcanic upheaval, the earth's core spewed forth creating molten madness, which, over time, has set in cathedral-like spires in the South Australian bush. The rock is known as Ryolite. It's some of the oldest on the Australian continent. And the reason it's been formed in these amazing shapes is all to do with the rate of cooling so many millions of years ago. These rocks are supposed to be around one point five billion years old. If you like they are the bare bones of the Australian continent - maybe the world.