Hiking the Trail

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

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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

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

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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.

New Heysen Trail Map 1, including the Wild South Coast Way.

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Release of the new Heysen Trail Map 1, incorporating the Wild South Coast Way

The Friends have taken delivery of the revised version of the Heysen Trail map sheet 1.  The newly released Edition 2 map covers the Cape Jervis to Kuitpo section of the trail. It incorporates the Wild South Coast Way on the Heysen Trail – the 74 km long series of spectacular walks between Cape Jervis & Victor Harbor.

You can purchase the new map sheet now via our online store, for $15 with postage from $3.70.

The map shows several spur and loop trails associated with the Wild South Coast Way, the new ‘walk-in’ campsites and other facilities erected on the trail. It also has information about when you can walk the Wild South Coast Way – it is open year round except on days of Cat­a­stroph­ic fire danger.

Remember, you can sign up to receive re-route notifications for your map sheet editions. All map sheets published since 2014 are available for notification.

The Friends map and book clearance sale continues

Meanwhile the Friends map and book clearance sale continues. We are running low on stock of most of our ‘to be discontinued lines’.

We’ve sold our last copy of Warren Bonython’s classic, ‘Walking the Flinders Ranges’. However, we have been advised that the Royal Geographical Society have a few remaining copies. If you missed out on reading the story that led to the creation of the Heysen Trail, you can purchase the book from the RGSSA .

Animal control program on the Fleurieu Peninsula, 19-30 September 2022

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Map of the Wild South Coast Way, the Heysen Trail along the southern coastline of the Fleurieu Peninsula

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

There will be an extensive aerial cull of feral deer on the Fleurieu Peninsula by PIRSA and other organisations, with the support of local landholders, between 19 and 30 of September 2022.

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.

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.

Bio Security alert – Be aware of the potential dangers of Foot & Mouth Disease

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With the increasing risk of Foot and Mouth Disease (F&MD) being introduced to Australia, it is essential that walkers take precautions to combat the potential spread of FM&D and other soil borne diseases.

As the Heysen Trail (and many other walking trails) traverse private properties, it is important that we respect and protect the agricultural activities that are conducted by landholders.

What we can do to stop the spread

Therefore walkers are asked to clean your footwear, clothing and equipment, including walking poles, so they are free from mud, animal manure and mucus.

  1. Use a stiff brush to clean boots & poles to remove dirt and seeds,
  2. Wash the equipment in water to remove any remaining contaminants,
  3. If possible, immerse your boots in a foot bath
  4. If a foot bath is not available, use a spray bottle with any of the following cleaning agents:
    • soap,
    • detergent,
    • bleach,
    • vinegar,
    • citric acid,
    • percarbonate.

Find out more about Foot and Mouth Disease (F&MD).

Heysen Trail Closure – Southern Flinders Ranges Parks February & March 2022

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Walkers are advised that access to the Heysen Trail in the Southern Flinders Ranges will be temporarily closed while pest control programs are undertaken in the following areas:

  • Wapma Thura-Southern Flinders Ranges National Park from 6am Monday, 14th February 2022 until 2pm Friday, 18th February 2022
  • Mt Brown Conservation Park and Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park from 6am Saturday, 26th February 2022 until 2pm Friday, 4th March 2022

These areas include sections of the trail on Heysen Trail Map sheets 6A, 6C and 6D and Maps 2.5, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1 and 4.2 in the Heysen Trail Northern Guidebook.

Please take note of these temporary closures and avoid the impacted sections of the trail over the dates and times mentioned above.

Note: Many sections of the Heysen Trail are closed over the Fire Danger Season. The Country Fire Service has already announced the commencement of the Fire Danger Season for the  complete length of the Heysen Trail. However, walkers can still use some sections of the trail, including sections that are not on private land including National Parks, Conservation Parks and Reserves, forests, public roads and vacant land provided access to these areas isn’t closed and it’s not a Declared Total Fire Ban day.

For more information about these pest control programs or park closures, contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service on (08) 8841 3400. You can also view a full list of park closures and alerts on the Parks SA Alerts page.

Walk the Heysen Trail with the Friends – from the Fleurieu Peninsula to Mt Lofty

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From the Fleurieu Peninsula to Mt Lofty

In early spring, the Friends of the Heysen Trail will be offering the opportunity to complete 6 consecutive sections along the Heysen Trail, starting from the little hamlet of Inman Valley through to Mt Lofty in the Cleland Conservation Park.

The walks commence on Monday August 30th and continue through to Sunday September 5th 2021.

Led by experienced walk leaders, these 6 walks will pass through the rolling environs of the Fleurieu Peninsula, a number of delightful conservation parks and picturesque forestry reserves into the southern reaches of the Adelaide Hills.

The walks culminate with a climb up to the summit of Mt Lofty and then down to the Cleland Wildlife Park.

What a great opportunity to complete six sections of the Heysen Trail in one hit!

You can find out more about the walks and register using this link to our website walk calendar Fleurieu to Mt Lofty walks.

Reminder of a change to the Heysen Trail in the former Bundaleer Forest.

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We remind walkers that, as previously announced, there have been a series of changes to the Heysen Trail in the vicinity of Curnows Hut and the former Bundaleer Forest.

In the ‘Heysen Trail reopens on Saturday May 1st 2021‘ news item, we referred to a number of  re-routes along the trail.

One of those, Item 3 Bundaleer, advised a change of the route in April 2021 to follow the Bundaleer Greenway. That re-route considerably lengthened the trail.

On 30 June 2021 we updated the news item to say that the Department of Environment and Water had reversed that re-route.

As a result the original trail between Curnows Hut and New Campbell Hill has been reinstated.

This is a significant change to the trail between Curnows Hut and Raeville. That walk, shown as Section 35 of the Heysen Trail Walk Selector, returns to 20 kms.

Any reference to the change of the trail to follow the Bundaleer Greenway was removed from our website Re-route page in June.

August edition of the Trailwalker

The upcoming August edition of the Trailwalker magazine, contains an article ‘Heysen Trail Route News’.

The article on page 7 includes an item headed ‘Bundaleer Forest’. The item describes the April 2021 change to follow the Greenway.

That article was written prior to the 30 June reinstatement of the original route.

In order to eliminate any confusion, we confirm that the Heysen Trail again follows the route as shown on the Heysen Trail Mapsheet 5A & the Northern Guidebook Map 1.4.

That is also the route shown on the Heysen Trail GPX file 16/2/2021 v4.0 and the corresponding version of the Heysen Trail Interactive Map.

Keep fruit fly free on your walks !!

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Attention Heysen Trail Walkers.

Walkers need to be aware that due to the fruit fly problem in metropolitan Adelaide, there are severe penalties for moving potentially affected fruit from one region to another unaffected region.

Please check which region (green, orange or red) you live in, and act accordingly, after viewing the regulations on the SA Govt. fruit fly web site

Only take raw fruit in your lunch boxes if you bought it in a green zone.

For your information the advice from the Department is that:

  • We should check the prescribed list of excluded fruit and veges (includes such items as bananas, citrus, blue berries and apples) and not bring them if we are taking them from a red or orange zone. There are processes that can be instigated to render the banned fruits safe, including preparing them cooked, dried, grated, pureed and packaged/processed. Cut, sliced  or mashed F&V are still at risk for fruit fly and should be excluded from transporting with you.
  • We can purchase our requirements in the green zones.
  • To be doubly safe retain your itemised receipt from the point of purchase so that there is no doubt about the source of your food.

Eagle Waterhole ‘hike-in’ Hut and campsite closed May to July 2021

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The popular hike-in site at Eagle Waterhole in Deep Creek will be closed for reconstruction from May to July 2021.

An interim site is being established by Parks SA, approx. 300m further along the trail heading east: signage will direct walkers to a site with a water tank and picnic tables.

The Heysen Trail route will not be affected.

Walkers may continue to book online through the Parks website: National Parks… – National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia. 

The good news is that this will deliver upgraded hiker camping facilities as part of the new Wild South Coast Way on the Heysen Trail: Wild South… – National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia .

This project reflects SA Government investment delivered through collaboration between National Parks, Friends of the Heysen Trail, Yankalilla & Victor Harbor Councils.