Month: October 2021

Our 2021-22 Summer walks commence this week.

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As the walking season has come to a close, the arrival of warmer evenings and daylight saving has heralded the beginning of our Summer Walks. These are generally a 1.5-2 hour evening walk most weeks until March. Some longer walks may be held during the day.

The full programme will soon be listed on our walk calendar but here are the details for the first five walks:

Friday 29th October, 6pm: Semaphore/West Lakes/Tennyson

This is a summer/sunset 10klm loop walk, taking in the views from the lake and hopefully the sunset from the Tennyson trail and viewing platform. Their will be an optional dinner at the Big Shed brewery after the walk.

View Walk

Wednesday 3rd November 6pm: Springfield-Waite

A suburban hike through leafy (but rather hilly) Springfield, skirting Carrick Hill and Waite Conservation Park with a smidge of the Yurrebilla Trail.

View Walk

Wednesday 10th November 6pm: Wirraparinga Loop

A walk along the 5km Wirraparinga Loop Trail in Brownhill Recreation Park, with a detour along the Springbank Trail. Optional dinner or a refreshment at nearby Edinburgh Hotel.

View Walk

Thursday 18th November 8am: Old Noarlunga Loop

A brisk morning wake up walk taking in the lower reaches of the Onkaparinga River and with a serious climb to deliver views across to the coast.

View Walk

Wednesday 24th November 6.00pm: Torrens Linear Park – Lockleys

This walk winds along the River Torrens linear path. An easy 6 km walk, with no hills. Enjoy the wildlife, reed beds and gum trees abundant with birdlife. There will be a post walk dinner at the nearby Lockleys Hotel.

View Walk

Walk fees

Pay with either option:

  • a Golden Boots pass, which are accepted for Twilight walks
  • Summer walk casual fees are $5.00 ($1.00 for walkers under 18 years of age)

Register on-line or via the Office

If you don’t have a Golden Boots pass, you can purchase one when you register for the walk. Just click on the Golden Boots pass payment option. A Golden Boots pass costs $75 and can be used on Summer, End to End and Trail Starter/Trailwalker walks for 12 months from the day of purchase.

Further details of our walks and walker registration can be found on our website at heysentrail.asn.au/walks

Heysen Trail closure dates over the 2022-2023 Fire Danger Season

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The Country Fire Service  (CFS) has announced the dates for the 2022/23 Fire Danger Season.

Many sections of the Heysen Trail are closed during the Fire Danger Season. As the trail passes through several fire ban districts, the trail closures commence progressively from Tuesday November 1st.

Flinders District Fire Danger Season to commence on 1st November 2022.

The Flinders District covers the Heysen Trail north of Wirrabara.  The trail in this section includes Melrose, Wilmington, Quorn, Hawker, Wilpena Pound, the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park through to the northern end of the trail at Parachilna Gorge.

This section of the trail will be closed between November 1st 2022 and April 15th 2023.

Mid North District Fire Ban Season to start on 15th November 2022.

The Mid North District includes the trail between north of Tanunda  and south of Wirrabara. The Heysen Trail between these locations will close on November 15th 2021 and reopen on April 30 2022.

Mount Lofty Ranges Fire Ban Season to commence on 1st December 2022

The CFS has also announced the fire danger season for the Mt Lofty District will commence on 1st December 2022 and continue through until midnight on 30th April 2023.

As indicated above the Heysen Trail will reopen during April/May 2023. The re-opening dates vary across the three Fire Ban Districts the Trail passes through.

Some sections of the trail remain open over the Fire Danger Season

During the declared fire danger season some sections of the Heysen Trail remain open to walkers. They are principally the sections of the trail that are not on private land. These include public roads, Conservation Parks and Reserves, Forests and vacant land.

Please note that Conservation Parks and Reserves and Forests are closed on days of Total Fire Ban. The CFS publishes these bans, as does the Bureau of Meteorology. In addition, the media also broadcast weather reports including fire ban information.

If you want to walk on the trail, check which Fire District you will be in. The Fire Districts are listed on the Fire Danger Season page and shown on the Interactive Map on the Friends website.

Friends of the Heysen Trail 2022 calendar available for order now. Only $12!

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The Friends of the Heysen Trail 2022 calendar will be available soon.

Make sure you order your copies of the calendar early to get in on the low price of $12.00.

Get one for your wall at home or work or buy some as Christmas gifts for family and friends.

We expect to have copies available at the Office in mid November.

Order from our On-line shop for delivery by post.

By ordering the calendar from our On-line shop you can request postage to an address in Australia or overseas. We will be posting out the first orders by the end of November.

Postage charges to any address within Australia (for a single copy) will be an additional $4.80.

Pre-order online now

Save postage  – pick your copy from our Office or the Christmas Gathering.

You can also order the calendar for pick up from the Office.  If you can get into the Office you can take delivery yourself – we will let you know when they’ve arrived..

If you are attending the Friends Christmas Gathering at Pirate Life, Port Adelaide on November 28th, you can also pick up your copy there.

To order a ‘pick up’ copy without paying postage, you need to phone the Office to order and pay.