Hawker is about 450 kilometres north of Adelaide (north north west really, but near enough).  It is the gateway to the Flinders Ranges National Park and one of the most spectacular and popular National Parks in the State.

The road to Hawker is sealed all the way, whether you travel along the highway to Port Augusta then north through Quorn, or take the shorter and probably more scenic route, through Clare and the mid north.  It is not a bad drive either way.

There is fuel and other necessities available at Hawker.

50 k's from Hawker is the entrance to Flinders Ranges National Park and the privately owned Wilpena Resort.  (Wilpena is actually a little further on than the entrance itself).  At the time of writing, it costs $8 a car to enter the Park and $10 a night to camp at any of the campgrounds situated throughout.  The campground at Wilpena is separate to these however, and a range of sites are available, ie powered, unpowered, cabins.  At the entrance to all the other marked campgrounds, there is a self registration station, so you can have a look around before deciding where to camp.  The campgrounds have simple, long drop loos, but no showers.  There is also very limited rainwater, depending on the weather of course.  The resort at Wilpena has fuel and maps of the Park, which are very handy.  Good maps are also available from the RAA.  http://www.raa.net/

Actually, it'd be a good idea to grab a map.  There are quite a few camp grounds, and it would be a nightmare to try and explain them and their location here. 

Wilpena Pound itself is a level area surrounded by walls and peaks.  It is spectacular, especially from the air.  You can hike to a lookout (trail starts at the Wilpena Resort) for some amazing views.

Juts north of Wilpena, there is a turn off on the left.  The sign says "Bunyeroo Valley Scenic Drive".  It's about 30 k's of dirt road, but you have to do it.  After rain, it can be hard work, but it twists and turns through some great country and travels through the Bunyeroo Gorge, which is spectacular in itself.  A 4WD would be best along here, as the track is rough in parts, but it can be done in a 2WD.  There are two campgrounds along this road, the Acraman and Cambrian.  Both are great spots.

Bunyeroo Valley Scenic Drive

The road ends at a T junction with the Brachina Gorge Geological Trail.  This track travels from the highway (B83) into the Park and ends at the Wilpena to Blinman Road.  It has signs indicating the names of the rock formations and their age.  Some are over 600 million years old.

Along the Geological Trail, numerous dirt roads lead off into camping areas and other areas of interest.  Campgrounds along here include Teamsters, Brachina East, Trezona and Youngoona.  Following the dirt road out to Aroona Heritage Site will lead to two more campgrounds, Aroona and Koolamon.  Once again, all are excellent sites. 

At each campground, the individual sites vary in size.  They are relatively level and are on firm ground.  Some, like Brachina East, have 2WD sites and 4WD sites.  All have waste disposal areas for rubbish.  They are well set up, but are still very natural.  Most are well separated.  I recently visited in the middle of the school holidays, a busy time.  There were other campers, but there was still plenty of room, and it felt like my son and I were there on our own.

There are numerous walks of varying difficutly than can be attempted, and the Heysen Trail meanders through the Flinders.  The landscape is varied and ancient looking.  So ancient in fact that in some areas you would not be at all surprised if a dinosaur appeared.  (It's true....you wait until you are walking through one of those sparsely vegetated areas, surrounded by stunted native pines, gorges, wash outs and red rock....you'll see). 

Heading west along the Geological Trail.

The wildlife is proflific with kangaroos, wallabies and emus all very common.  Even the rare Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby can be seen in the gorges around Brachina and Bunyeroo.  Heaps of species of birds call the Flinders home too.

If this is not enough, you can head to Sacred Canyon and look at some aboriginal rock etchings, or take a 4WD trek along the Morolama Scenic Drive.  Maybe drive to Parachilna and enjoy a feral grill at the pub (kangaroo, emu and camel).  PHotographers will find endless subjects, particularly those who enjoy landscapes.

It is a magnificent area and should be on anyone's "must see" list

Scenery which inspired the likes of Hans Heysen.

The best time of the year, and the busiest, would have to be Spring.  From September to early November, the place is alive with wildflowers which add immeasurably to the beauty of the landscape.  A large number of people head to this region at this time of year for the flowers alone.  The weather is also nice in early Spring.  However, September and October can be months of heavy rain.  Not consistent rain, but every few years around these months, we are inundated with a few days of extremely heavy rainfall.  When this happens, the creeks will flow and the dirt roads will become all but impassable.  It is possible to become stranded until the creeks drop and the roads dry out.  (The creeks are, in general, quite wide and shallow.  They have rocky, sandy beds and, as such, don't hold water for too long).

Summer can be very hot in the Flinders Ranges.  Too hot for bushwalking.  It is also very dry and dusty.  HAving said that, if you could find a nice shady campsite, it would be a nice quiet stay.  Make sure you have plenty of water though as it does not rain much in this area.

Autumn is a great time of the year, with sunny, mild days (with the occasional hot day thrown in) and cooler nights.

Winter can be very cold at night, but the days are not too bad, especially if you intend to do a lot of walking.  Even in Winter there is not much rainfall, but there are periods when you may have to put up with one or two days of drizzle.  Most campsites (all I've seen anyway) have designated areas for campfires.  So bring your own firewood and you can sit around the fire before going to bed.  The landscape has a bit of a green tinge to it in parts as well, which contrasts nicely with the reds and browns of the rocks.