Mount Ive Station
Sheep shearing, 4 wheel drive adventures, stunning nature
Mount Ive Station is a 900 sq km sheep property in the heart of the Gawler Ranges. The station was established 1862.
Joy and Len Newton own and operate the station since 2002. They welcome travellers to stay on their property to explore the unique landscapes with ancient rhyolite columns and see the stunning views over
Lake Gairdner.
Mount Ive Station provides the only public access to this large glistening salt lake that forms the northern boundary of the property.
Explore the beautiful scenery along more or less challenging station tracks, watch wildlife and birds, or join the station staff on their daily work.
If you are lucky, you can even see shearers in action. Real shearers I mean, not a demonstration for tourists.
Mt. Ive Station, Gawler Ranges
Highlights of Mount Ive Station
You'll notice on your arrival that your stay is going to be a special Australian Outback experience.
About 121 km after you left the bitumen at Iron Knob, is the turnoff for
Mt. Ive Homestead. You won't miss it! Turn right at the sculpture that resembles a submarine.
4 km further along the dusty red road you'll pass the homestead, a few sheds, and arrive at the camping area.
Check in at the kiosk. If it is not attendend just wait for a minute, someone will come soon.
Then you are offered to watch the introductory station video with all the highlight waiting for you.
"
The Flight Path", "
Billy Can Drive" and "
Mt. Scott", these old mustering tracks on the station are moderate to challenging 4 wheel drive tracks. Your car should have high clearance.
You'll get mud maps and tips to get the most out of these tours. Please
take plenty of water with you. Drive carefully. Even if a track seems to be easy going, this can change around the corner.
Always expect obstacles like stones, wildlife or station animals, rough gutters and grids on the tracks.
Take your time, have a picnic and enjoy the beautiful scenery at Mount Ive Station.
"
Cath's Castles" and "
Peter's Pillars" are two beautiful examples of the exposed rhyolite that can be found in the Gawler Ranges. These ancient formations are fascinating.
Short walks are involved to reach these stunning sights. Wear sturdy shoes, and always take some water with you when you go on a walk.
Watch out for lizards, they love basking in the sun in this stony terrain.
Another "stony" highlight is "
The Embankment", an historic stone wall built in the late 19th century to catch water.
Wombat Holes -
A few kilometres west of the station homestead is an area that looks a bit like yellow sand stone cliffs along a coastline.
There are many holes in the ground, dug by wombats.
The southern hairy nosed wombat inhabits the Eyre Peninsula and the coast lines into Western Australia. This wombat digs large burrows into the limestone ground.
Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to stay there waiting for wombats to appear. Dark clouds and an approaching thunderstorm were chasing us back to our camp at Mt. Ive station. We didn't want to get stuck on that track (it had lots of bull dust patches) when it turns into a mess during rain.
Sheep Shearing
We were lucky to arrive at Mount Ive Station at the end of the shearing.
We were invited to visit the shearing shed to watch the shearers in action.
Boy, this is really a hard job!
Shearing time is usually in spring. Shearing teams travel around the country from property to property to do their job. They stay on the station for a week or two, depending on the number of sheep that need to be shorn.
Shearers have always been icons of Australian folklore and literature since the early days of white settlement. Although the numbers of sheep in Australia decline, the country is still the largest wool producer and exporter in the world.
Facilites at Mount Ive Station
Mt. Ive facilites vary from camping to convenient rooms in the stone hut.
The
stone hut offers 3 rooms with made beds.
Sleep like the shearers do. The
shearers quarters have 19 rooms. You need to bring your own sheets and bedding.
Booking a room in advance is required. Shearers quarters are not available when the shearers are working on the station.
The spacious
campground has powered and unpowered sites, no booking required.
The station might be also very busy when the
Dry Lakes Racers have their annual race week at Lake Gairdner. This is usually at the end of summer in March.
Toilets and hot showers are located in the shearers quarters building, and there is a kitchen and community room as well.
Mount Ive station uses an unique way to provide hot water for travellers -
The Donkey.
YOU have to help and care for the hot water supply. No worries, it is easy.
Everyone is asked to take care of the donkey. Just check if the "beast of burden" has enough wood to keep it going. Use the supplied wood to feed it. You'll find the donkey in front of the shearers quarters block.
We put up our camp next to the
gazebo which turned out to be very handy.
The gazebo offers shelter on hot days and protects you when the nights are cool and windy.
Station staff stopped for a chat when we sat there at night. Chats with the locals are always a great way to get useful information and hear a good yarn.
The
kiosk and
liquor shop has cold drinks, water, beer and ice for your esky. The kiosk has some basic items travellers might need, but no fresh food.
I ran out of bread and was lucky to get some frozen bread. However, visitors are asked to bring their own food, or ring the station a week before their arrival and make arrangements for food supplies.
Petrol is available on the station. Ask at the kiosk for the best time to fuel up.
Please notice that neither the kiosk nor the petrol pump are staffed all day. After all, people are busy running a large sheep station at Mt. Ive. Nevertheless, we as visitors felt very welcome on the station.
Enjoy your stay at Mount Ive Station. I know I did!
For more information about the Gawler Ranges please check out my other pages of this area.
