Feral animal control program affects Heysen Trail at Jupiter Creek – June 19th to 23rd.

Temporary exclusion area at Jupiter Creek

Landscape SA (previously NRM) and SA Water  has issued a temporary trail re-route notification for a section of the Heysen Trail at Jupiter Creek.

The trail re-route will occur for the week of Monday, June 19th to Friday, June 23rd.

The re-route is in place to allow an aerial operation to control deer and goats in the Mount Bold Reservoir Reserve

During the operation publicly accessible areas of the Mount Bold Reservoir Reserve will be closed to the public. The adjoining ForestrySA Jupiter Creek and McIntyres forest reserves will also be closed to the public.

Temporary trail re-route

A temporary re-route will be in place during the operation, so walkers are not greatly inconvenienced. Signs will be in place to direct walkers onto nearby public roads.

The map of the temporary re-route is shown here

The affected section of the Heysen Trail is between the following points:

  • from the southern access to McIntyres forest reserve (Gate MI2, Razorback Rd) – Grid Reference 936 088,
  • to the northern access to Jupiter Creek forest reserve (accessed via Long Gully Rd) – Grid Reference 945 123.

You can find the Jupiter Creek section of the Heysen Trail on Heysen Trail Sheetmap 2A and Southern Guidebook Maps 2.10 & 3.1.

Signage will be in place to assist walkers

To prevent access by members of the public, signage providing information about the area closures will be erected at all main access points, including the Heysen Trail access points to the ForestrySA forest reserves.

A sign will be placed at the northern access point to Jupiter Creek forest reserve, directing walkers along the northern boundary of the forest reserve to Pocock Rd, where they will continue south to re-join the trail on Razorback Rd.

A similar sign will be placed at the southern access point.

A helicopter will fly over but not shoot in the forest reserves. Mobile patrols will be present to prevent access to closed areas.

Heysen Trail closure north of Cudlee Creek, 19th-21st May 2023

Forestry SA has announced that there will be a closure of  the Heysen Trail in the Bennett’s Planation, north of Cudlee Creek, from Friday May 19th (all day) till Sunday May 21st (all day).

This is to enable Re-Enact SA to conduct simulated battles in Forestry SA’s Bennett Plantation.

The closure will extend from GR 018 445  to GR 041 460, shown on map sheet 2C; Southern Guide Book map 3.7. (part of section 15 of the Heysen Trail).

The closed area extends northward from where the Heysen Trail intersects the North East Road (north of Cudlee Creek) to a point just south of Checker Hill Road (south of Kersbrook)

For further information or in an Emergency call the Safety Officer on 0428 159 669
or the Forestry SA Ranger on 8391 8800 (option 2).

Heysen Trail closure through the Buckaringa Sanctuary, Friday 23rd to Monday 26th June 2023

 

The Buckaringa Sanctuary will be temporarily closed for 3 days in late June 2023. As the Heysen Trail passes through the sanctuary, we advise walkers to consider the closure if planning to walk in the area.

The closure will commence on the evening of Friday 23rd June and continue until the morning of  Monday 26th June 2023.

 

 

The Buckaringa Wildlife Sanctuary is home to many Yellow-footed Rock-wallabies and is located between Quorn and Hawker. You can find it on map 6, chapter 4, of the Heysen Trail Northern Guidebook and on Sheet Map 7b – Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park to Mernmerna Creek.

The Heysen Trail enters the southern boundary of the sanctuary at grid reference 195 440. The northern section on the trail exits the sanctuary at 257 490.

The closure affects the trail in the following walk sections:

51 Warren Gorge to Buckaringa Gorge

52 Buckaringa Gorge to Callabrinda Creek

The closure is because the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) will be undertaking feral animal control in the sanctuary.

AWC will place closure signs at all entry points to the sanctuary to warn walkers of the danger.

Caroona Creek Closure – May 24th to May 26th 2023

Parks SA have advised the temporary closure of Caroona Creek Conservation Park and Hopkins Creek Conservation Park for feral animal control.

These parks have access to the Heysen Trail and the closure dates are 6.00pm May 24 until 6.00pm May 26, 2023.

Park rangers will place notices at Black Jack Hut and the Mount Bryan East School to advise walkers of the closure at Caroona Creek CP.

The closure of the Caroona Creek park will affect a section of the Heysen Trail north of Burra – (Map sheet 4A)

The Closure at Hopkins Creek CP should not impact walkers as it involves the western boundary only, but walkers may stray into the Park.

To refer to the original notice press here

Wild South Coast Way & associated Park closures, 7th-12th May 2023

There will be a cull for purposes of feral animal control organised by PIRSA/DEW on the South Coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula from 4pm Sunday May 7th  until Midday Friday May 12th.

This involves Deep Creek National Park, Talisker CP, Eric Bonython CP and Waitpinga CP.

These parks , the Wild South Coast Way and the Heysen Trail within Deep Creek National Park will be closed for the entire time of the above date span for public safety.

Walkers will not be able to access the  Trail during this time.

Camping will not be allowed in the named parks during this time.

For further information visit

https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/know-before-you-go/closures-and-alerts

Animal control program on the Fleurieu Peninsula, 1-14 May 2023

Map highlighting the ‘no shooting/buffer’ zone

Warning to walkers on the Wild South Coast Way on the Heysen Trail.

There will be an extensive animal control cull of feral deer on the Fleurieu Peninsula by PIRSA and other organisations, between 1 and 14 May 2023.

Walkers may be affected if in the region of  Boat Harbour Beach, Tunkalilla Beach and the trail to Ballaparudda Creek campground.

The cull will use helicopters carrying thermal technology to detect deer, allowing them to be culled even in dense scrub. Flights will be on week days and weekends, mainly around dawn and dusk, when thermal cameras can detect targets most easily.

The Wild South Coast Way will remain open to walkers during the operation

No shoot and low flying buffers will be put in place around the Wild South Coast Way (Heysen Trail) and Bullaparudda campground, as well as public roads and infrastructure.
The buffer zone relating to the Wild South Coast Way is displayed in orange on the map above.

There is no risk to people or livestock, but if you are in affected areas you may hear low flying helicopters and the sound of gun shots in the distance.

You can find out more information about the operation on the Parks Closure and Alerts page.

Registration for our next ‘End to End’ walks from Cape Jervis open at 7.00am on Monday, March 20th 2023.

Feedback sought on Heysen Trail South Coast Proposed Upgrade

The next series of the Friends ‘End to End’ walks along the Heysen Trail is scheduled to commence from Cape Jervis on Sunday May 14th 2023

Registrations for the first walk  opened on Monday March 20th 2023.

You still have time to prepare and train for the walks, however in recent years interest in joining the Friends ‘E2E’ walks has been very high. Most have booked out on opening day.

Get ready to register by joining the Friends now

Registration is open to members of the Friends, so make sure you have created a membership account before registrations open. Once you’ve done that you can join any of the walks listed on our walk calendar.

You can find out more information about the first walk by reading the description in our walk calendar or the article on page 11 of the December edition of our Trailwalker magazine.

The End to End walk program section of our website also provides further information about our ‘E2E’ walks.

The Heysen Trail is currently closed due to the Fire Danger Season

Most of the Heysen Trail is currently closed due to the Fire Danger Season, however sections through parks, reserves and road reserves remain open. The Wild South Coast Way on the Heysen Trail between Cape Jervis and Victor Harbor remains open, but is closed on days of Catastrophic fire danger. The rest of the Heysen Trail will reopen at the end of the Fire Danger Season, between 15 and 30 April 2023.

The Fire Ban Season dates for 2022/2023 are:

  • between Cape Jervis and Tanunda in the Barossa Valley: The Fire Danger Season in the Mt Lofty Ranges will commence on 1 December 2022 and end on 30 April 2023. The Wild South Coast Way on the Heysen Trail between Cape Jervis and Victor Harbor remains open, but is closed on days of Catastrophic fire danger.
  • between Tanunda in the Barossa Valley and Wirrabara Forest: The Fire Danger Season in the Mid North will commence on 15 November 2022 and end on April 30th 2023.
  • between Wirrabara Forest and Parachilna in the Flinders Ranges: The Fire Danger Season in the Flinders ends on April 15th 2023.

Fire Danger Season closes some sections of the Heysen Trail north of Tanunda

Fire Danger Season has closed sections of the trail in the Mid North fire danger district

In the 2022/23 Fire Danger Season news item issued earlier, we advised walkers that restrictions would commence in the Flinders fire danger district on Nov 1 and in the Mid North district on Nov 15.
This means that some sections of the Heysen Trail north of Tanunda are now closed.

Over the fire danger season, the Heysen Trail is closed in the sections that traverse private property. However, apart from broadcast fire ban days, you can still access some sections of the trail. Those sections include national parks, conservation parks, forest reserves and public roads.

We recommend that you check more detailed information about those sections on our Fire Danger Season page.

 

 

 

Feral animal control program affects Heysen Trail at Jupiter Creek – Nov 14th to 18th 2022

Temporary exclusion area at Jupiter Creek

SA Water has issued a temporary trail re-route notification for a section of the Heysen Trail at Jupiter Creek.

The trail re-route will occur during the week of Monday 14th – Friday 18th November, 2022.

The reason for the re-route is because an aerial operation to control deer and goats will be undertaken in the Mount Bold Reservoir Reserve

During the operation publicly accessible areas of the Mount Bold Reservoir Reserve will be closed to the public. The adjoining ForestrySA Jupiter Creek and McIntyres forest reserves will also be closed to the public.

Temporary trail re-route

A temporary re-route will be in place during the operation, so walkers are not greatly inconvenienced. Signs will be in place to direct walkers onto nearby public roads.

The map of the temporary re-route is shown here

The affected section of the Heysen Trail is between the following points:

  • from the southern access to McIntyres forest reserve (Gate MI2, Razorback Rd) – Grid Reference 936 088,
  • to the northern access to Jupiter Creek forest reserve (accessed via Long Gully Rd) – Grid Reference 945 123.

You can find the Jupiter Creek section of the Heysen Trail on Heysen Trail Sheetmap 2A and Southern Guidebook Maps 2.10 & 3.1.

Signage will be in place to assist walkers

To prevent access by members of the public, signage providing information about the area closures will be erected at all main access points, including the Heysen Trail access points to the ForestrySA forest reserves.

A sign will be placed at the northern access point to Jupiter Creek forest reserve, directing walkers along the northern boundary of the forest reserve to Pocock Rd, where they will continue south to re-join the trail on Razorback Rd.

A similar sign will be placed at the southern access point.

A helicopter will fly over but not shoot in the forest reserves. Mobile patrols will be present to prevent access to closed areas.