Description
Mount Woodroffe is South Australia's highest peak, at 1435 metres. First sighted by Europeans on 20 July 1873, it is named after George Woodroffe Goyder, Surveyor-General of South Australia and an early explorer of South Australia and the Northern Territory. The mountain is known to the Pitjantjatjara Indigenous Australians as Ngarutjaranya. In Indigenous Australian mythology, the mountain embodies the mythological creature Ngintaka.
Be Prepared
If you are planning to camp, hike and climb in the area, make sure you bring a range of clothing and many layers. Summer can bring on scorching conditions here, but it can get hot all year round and the nighttime temperature can plummet.
The closest settlement to this remote region of the Musgrave Ranges, in far north-west South Australia, is Fregon - well over 100 kilometres to the west of the Stuart Highway.
Getting To The Top
The climb to the summit is a moderate five-hour return hike, but the peak is very remote. It also lies within Anangu Pitjantjatjara land and a permit must be obtained to enter this area. Alternatively, you might consider joining a guided tour - probably the easiest option.
