The Friends of the Heysen Trail and other Walking Trails Inc is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Saturday 8th October at Karka Pavilion, Long Gully, Belair National Park from 9.30am.

Members and invited guests can join the celebrations which will include a bush band and an official cake cutting ceremony. Bring your own lunch, drinks and chairs. There is ample car parking available although park entry fees are payable.

There will be three walks available for interested walkers: one or two hours, free guided walks will commence from 10.00am at the Karka Pavilion.

Register for the celebration, and if interested, one of the walks: click here

Congratulations to the 54 End-to-End 3 hikers who completed the Heysen Trail at the northern trailhead at Parachilna on Saturday. By far a record number of finishers on the one day! Celebrations followed and, after a hurried change into “formal attire”, continued at a presentation dinner at the Rawnsley Park Woolshed Restaurant.

For six seasons we travelled with a lovely group of Friends, who became even closer as we neared the final stile. Much mixing between the walking groups, together with the beautiful scenery (so lovely and green, with splashes of yellow flowers, after a couple of good seasons) made this such a special week.

Thank you to all the walkers, and leaders, especially Simon, Julian and Arrienne – plus the laconic Gavin, so loved by his Roses group.

We started as a group of unknowns and reached the end with firm friends with a special Heysen connection. May we see you all on the Trail, and on other treks.

PS Our bus drivers Gavin and Bill made the logistics so smooth and easy. They are such good company. We thank them for the safe transport up, around, and back again.

End-to-End 3 entered the home run this week with their final six days walking to complete the Trail.

80 walkers started from Red Range and will complete the Trail at Parachilna on Saturday. Of those, 54 will complete the whole trail and receive their End-to-End certificates at the celebratory dinner on Saturday night, at the Rawnsley Station Woolshed Restaurant.

Three walkers have completed every day of the five year trek without missing one day. Congratulations to Chris Allen, Margie Marzola and Paul Davill for managing such a stupendous task, in particular Margie as she has flown down from Queensland to complete the last two weeks away.

Of the 144 who set out on the first walk from Cape Jervis five years ago, 43 are with us this week, though not all will complete the Trail at this stage.

The Burra Branch of the Friends of the Heysen Trail are celebrating their 20th anniversary on the weekend of 24th and 25th September.

Two walks are planned for the weekend and a celebration dinner at the Burra Hotel on Saturday night.

The Saturday walk is to be at Ulooloo Station (north east of Hallett) on a private property. The walk follows the Ulooloo Creek past the old gold diggings of Ulooloo gold fields and on to where the Terowie Creek meets the Ulooloo Creek. The return walk is to climb Thunder Storm Hill and following the range through Chewing’s Gap and then back to Ulooloo Station.

The Sunday walk is planned to be at Burra Creek Conservation Park, which is due east of the Burra Gorge. This walk is shorter than the Saturday walk to make it easy for people returning home to Adelaide. The walks follows a tributary creek of the Burra Creek and then follows the Burra Creek in an easterly direction passing a few water pools, and returns to where we started via another Burra Creek tributary.

Accommodation is by your own arrangement. Burra Visitor Centre can help out: ph 8892 2154 or www.visitburra.com

For Saturday night dinner, venue to be confirmed, bookings contact Rodney.

For further information contact Hugh ph 8843 8115; Rodney email rbrees@rbe.net.au ph 0411 134 984 or Meredith ph 0428 832 023.