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Bushwalk.com eMag Featuring South Australia’s Best Walks
The October edition of Bushwalk.com eMag is out – with a focus the best walks in South Australia. The articles include a profile on the Friends of the Heysen Trail.
Other SA articles include:
- The Friends of the Heysen Trail profile
- Introduction to South Australia’s best places to walk by Walking SA
- Letter from the Minister Hon Ian Keith Hunter MLC, South Australian Minister for Environment
- Bushwalking Leadership South Australia
- A Weekend in Deep Creek Conservation Park
- Banrock Station Lagoon Walk
- CEJ’s South Australian Bushwalking Website
Other articles include:
Deep Creek Family Fun Day – 20 September 2015
Head to South Australia’s most scenic bushland reserve for a free family open day at Deep Creek Conservation Park.
- Gourmet food and wine stalls
- Enjoy kids’ face painting and games
- Meet baby animals from the Native Animal Network
- Meet animals including koalas from Urimbirra Wildlife Park
- Learn about macro invertebrates with kids’ Water Watch activities
Drop in and say hi at our stall!
Spring 2015
Issue 137
September 2015
Highlights include:
- Larapinta with Luke
- A Taste of New Guinea
- Japan’s Nakasendo Way
- Return to Tiger Leaping Gorge
Lavender Federation Trail meets the Heysen Trail, extending to Clare
The Lavender Federation Trail has been successful in gaining grant funding to extend the trail from its current trailhead at Eudunda onwards to Clare.
The 106km extension will be constructed over the next 18 months and will bring the trail to a total 320km length. The extension also includes an 8km Point Pass Loop Trail and a 7km Robertstown Spur Trail.
The trail extension will intersect the Heysen Trail at Webb Gab. A special event is in the planning for April 2016 to celebrate the crossing of the two long-distance trails. The event will be run between us, the Friends of the Heysen Trail, and SARTI (South Australian Recreation Trails Incorporated, the makers of the Lavender Federation Trail). The Lavender Federation Trail will also intersect with the Riesling Trail and Rattler Trails.
Survey on the Best Walks of SA
The Bushwalk Australia eMagazine October’s edition will focus on South Australia. They are seeking input on the best walks in South Australia.
Submit your favourite Heysen Trail walks! Browse through our Walk Selector for some inspiration.
Submit the survey below and enter your 6 favourite walks:
- 3 x favourite day walks
- 3 x favourite multi-day walks
For each walk:
- name the walk/trail
- short description of why you think it is good
- a link to webpage somewhere with more info
If you are a day-walker only, or overnight-walker only, you could skip entering info on the other category.
Free Seminar: Why Take a Hike on a Long Distance Trail? Integrating Tourism and Recreation Through Research
Professor Taylor Stein
University of Florida
Free seminar
Friday 21st August 2015
2:30pm – 3:30pm
At University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, P2-06
Find out about the United State’s National Scenic Trail System and the challenges of managing these trails for tourists while providing opportunities for locals. Taylor will talk specifically about the Florida National Scenic Trail, which is a similar concept to our Heysen Trail. The talk will focus on market segmentation – who’s hiking and what they want.
Professor Taylor Stein is visiting UniSA as part of his sabbatical from the University of Florida. His trip has been funded in part by UniSA’s Visiting Distinguished Researcher Grant.
All 8 new sheet maps for Heysen Trail now for sale
The full series of Heysen Trail map sheets have been released and are available for purchase.
These new fold-out map sheets replace the Southern and Northern Guidebooks.
Each map is available for purchase now via our online store, for $15 with postage from $2.15.
The maps are double sided and printed on water resistant paper. The maps include elevation profiles with kilometre markers and crossing point names. The new map style allows walkers to gain a “big picture” understanding of where they are on the trail, with a continuous trail line and a constant 3-5km of mapping around the trail.
Remember, you can sign up to receive re-route notifications for your guidebook or map sheet editions. All guidebooks and map sheets published since 2014 are available for notification.
There are 8 maps in this series:
- Map 1: Cape Jervis to Kuitpo Forest – published September 2014
- Map 2: Kuitpo Forest to Tanunda – published September 2014
- Map 3: Tanunda to Burra – published May 2015
- Map 4: Burra to Spalding – published May 2015
- Map 5: Spalding to Wirrabara Forest – published August 2015
- Map 6: Wirrabara Forest to Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park – published August 2015
- Map 7: Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park to Mernmerna Creek – published August 2015
- Map 8: Mernmerna Creek to Parachilna Gorge – published August 2015
Kangaroo Island Long Weekend FoHT Trip, October
Come hike Kangaroo Island with a fun-filled bus of hikers, over the October long weekend. Three walks in different areas of the island show off the varied scenery, flora and fauna of this special island.
Three days of hiking:
- Rocky River Hike, stage 1 of 63km Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail. Following platypus pools on the Rocky River
- Kelly Caves to Hanson Bay Hike, walking through coastal heath, woodlands, alongside freshwater lagoons, and over dunes to Hanson Bay
- Murray Lagoon, see aquatic birdlife
Heysen Trail returns to Wirrabara Forest & Sampson Flat Fireground
Wirrabara Forest Trail Open
Following on from our earlier update, we’ve been negotiating with stakeholders and can now announce that the Heysen Trail has been restored and re-marked to the original route through Wirrabara Forest. This removes the 44km temporary re-route which went around the entire forest and via the town of Wirrabara.
There are two small re-routes in the northern section of the forest.
Sampson Flat Fireground Re-Opening and Re-Routes
Following the January 2015 Sampson Flat Bushfire the Heysen Trail has been re-marked through the fireground, from Nugget Road to near Kersbrook.
A temporary re-route is in place from Chain of Ponds to Kersbook.
View re-routes:
Restoration of Heysen Trail following 2014 Bangor/Wirrabara Bushfire, July 2015, Updated October 2019, Updated April 2021
View pdf map showing re-route
Following the January 2014 Bangor/Wirrabara Bushfire the Heysen Trail has been restored and re-marked to the original Heysen Trail route over The Bluff. This removes the 44km temporary re-route which went around the entire forest and via the town of Wirrabara.
Two small temporary re-routes are in place on Sheepsyard Track (minor), and along Block Nine Road. UPDATE OCTOBER 2019: The Block Nine Road re-route has been restored to the original trail through the forest, via I and J.
Update April 2021: The trail on its approach to Block Nine Road has been rerouted away from the boundary fence on a private property. Follow the route marked by the purple line on the pdf reroute map.
Download gpx file for loading onto your GPS unit.
View all re-routes for the 2014 Northern Guidebook, 3rd Edition
5 Ordinary People finish 1,200km hike of Heysen Trail 2pm Saturday 20th June 2015
5 Ordinary People finish of their extraordinary 1,200km through hike of The Heysen Trail at Cape Jervis this at 2pm Saturday 20th June 2015. They will be welcomed by a large band of supporters at the Heysen Trail Trailhead in Cape Jervis. Heysen Trail End-to-End certificates and badges will be presented by the President of the Heysen Trail, Robert Alcock.
About the family’s 65-day trek
A family of five, including Eli, 12, Emily, 10, and Noah, 9, skipped term 2 of school in favour of hiking the Heysen Trail.
There’s so much more to life than just maths and English that kids miss out on, if parents don’t invest time in them.
Along with their parents Luke and Erina, they will be a world away from the classroom routine when they undertake a mission to cover 1,151km on foot over 56 days. Their trek began at the northern trailhead at Parachilna Gorge, trekking south through the Flinders Ranges and Adelaide Hills to Cape Jervis.
It’s all part of Erina’s plan to give her children an educational experience of a different kind.
“We want to teach our children the life lessons that, when you’re caught up in the nine to five regime, you just don’t have the time to do,” she says. “There’s so much more to life than just maths and English that kids miss out on, if parents don’t invest time in them.”
Read more
- View their blog and wonderful photos of the family’s long adventure on their Facebook page.
- sakids.com.au
Welcoming our 1,000th Member
The End-to-End 5 group caught up with the Friends’ 1,000th member, Rachel Faulkner, in Port Augusta earlier this month. Rachel lives in Whyalla and is a Trail Runner with her partner. Rachel explained that they joined the Friends as they enjoyed running the Heysen Trail. As the 1,000th member Rachel was presented Life Membership and a embroidered fleecy top by Julian Monfries, Secretary (and past President) of the Friends, representing the President.
Walking With Warren Bonython 2015 Brock Lecture, 18th June 2015
5:30pm Thursday 18th June 2015, hosted by Royal Geographical Society
Goodman Lecture Theatre, Hackney Road.
The death of Warren Bonython in 2012 at the age of 95 marked the passing of a person who had made an unparalleled contribution to our understanding and knowledge of the natural environment of South Australia.
He was a member and contributor to many organisations including time as President of the Royal Geographical Society and Patron of the Friends of the Heysen Trail, but it was his outstanding personal achievements, his remarkable treks, his le
adership and vision, and his books, that constitute such a powerful legacy for our state.
The 1950 filling of Lake Eyre saw Warren a key member of the Lake Eyre Committee set up by Archibald Grenfell Price. His fascination with the Lake Eyre Basin continued over the years with numerous scientific field trips and treks in both wet and dry seasons.
The guest is Terry Krieg, who completed an epic 500 kilometre hike with Warren around Lake Eyre in 1982, and authored the book Walking on Eyre and Walking with Warren.
Winter 2015
Issue 136
June 2015
Highlights include:
- Introducing His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AO, Governor of South Australia, Patron of Friends of the Heysen Trail
- AGM Reports
- End-to-End Magic
- Journey to the Red Hills
- Mountaineering in Ecuador
Buckaringa Sanctuary Feral Control Closure, 19-22 June 2015
The Australian Wildlife Conservancy will be undertaking feral animal control in Buckaringa Sanctuary during coming months.
The cull program is somewhat opportunistic depending on numbers of goats present and availability of shooters so we cannot provide a set of dates when access to the sanctuary may be closed. The next planned closure is evening of 19th June through to the morning of 22nd June 2015.
The Heysen Trail passes through the sancuary between Quorn and Hawker, on map 6, chapter 4, of the Northern Guidebook.
Signs will be placed at points where the Heysen Trail enters the Sanctuary during all times of closure.
We remind hikers to obey these signs, and also to not camp within the sanctuary (a campsite that was located there was closed in 2006).
The sanctuary is home to many Yellow-footed Rock-wallabies.
Problems with NAB Payment System
Payment processing affecting walk registrations involving payments, and online store payments
UPDATE: 9pm Thursday 4th June: login issues that commenced at 2pm today have now been resolved.
UPDATE: 3pm Thursday 4th June: There have been significant issues with our online payment system during May, until 2pm Thursday 4th June.
This was due to technical issues with the payment system provided by NAB. These issues affected 1,000s of Australian e-commerce websites.
Whilst we think these issues have now been resolved, we are monitoring the situation. We thank you for your patience when submitting payment processing details.
UPDATE 11:00am Wednesday 3rd June: payment processing is down. Please consider delaying making your registration until later this week, or contact our office to register for walks and make over-the-phone payment.
9:00am Tuesday 2nd June: We are experiencing significant difficulties with NAB payment processing. NAB has issued a public apology and is working hard to resolve their system failure.
Our e-commerce provider NAB has been experiencing ongoing issues. This has meant that customers have been experiencing difficulties submitting payments online. NAB recognises the impact this is having on customers and apologies for the inconvenience. NAB is working to resolve these ongoing issues as soon as possible.
View current status of NAB payment systems.
Heavy Rains Filling Water Tanks
Photo courtesy of @creber295, 17/04/2015, titled ‘5 hour wait for 120mm of rain to settle so we could get through.’ https://instagram.com/p/1kjFboo4Hm/
Heavy rains on Friday in the Flinders and to an extent in the Mid North will be welcomed by this season’s hikers on the Heysen Trail.
During audits conducted from January to early April we were aware that some tanks were low, and with the hiking season starting soon (with the end of the Bushfire Danger Season) we were about to remind hikers to be vigilant with water planning.
The advice though should always be followed: when planning multi-day walks and camping, ensure that upon entering a campsite you still have sufficient water to make it to a known water supply, should the water tank be found to be unexpectedly too low.
We anticipate that Friday’s rains have had a positive effect on tank levels. Reports late night suggest that Yanyanna Hut, which we knew to be almost empty, has been filled to half full. We knew of a number of other tanks that had fallen to 1/4 level, and we hope they too have been filled.
The rains will be welcomed by farmers, and we hope will bring new life to the landscape.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s 8th April 2015 assessment lists much of the area of the southern 2/3 of the trail as facing a Serious or Severe Deficiency in rainfall. Heavy rains that fell over Easter only resulted in 1-5mm of rain (low) in the northern Mt Lofty Ranges and Flinders Ranges.
Negotiation for Re-route over Headland at Balquhidder Continue
The State Government is still in negotiation to secure a re-route of the Heysen Trail across the spectacular headland at Balquhidder Station.
A story published in the Australian Financial Review on 15th April 2015:
Billionaire Kerry Stokes’ marathon land talks with SA enter sixth year
Marathon negotiations between billionaire Kerry Stokes and the South Australian government over a potential re-routing of a popular bushwalking trail through the $25 million Balquhidder Station pastoral property owned by the businessman are dragging into their sixth year, as talks also continue about a potential acquisition of adjacent clifftop land by Mr Stokes.
SA Environment Minister Ian Hunter says $1.1 million was allocated in the 2014-15 state budget for the Heysen Trail project on the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide, but work hasn’t been able to start yet because the lengthy negotiations are still continuing. They first began in 2009.
Mr Stokes, who is the executive chairman of television and mining services group Seven Group Holdings which this week anointed his 38-year-old son Ryan Stokes as its next chief executive, bought Balquhidder Station in 2007 for close to $25 million through one of his private companies, Australian Capital Equity.
The SA government has been negotiating with the management of Mr Stokes’ private entities to gain public access to a spectacular clifftop coastal strip of the 3064-hectare property, and as part of the overall project there have also been lengthy talks over a proposal by Mr Stokes to buy a separate 31-hectare parcel of land which adjoins the property. That 31-hectare parcel at Tunkalilla Beach also has prime coastal views.
Mr Hunter told the SA Parliament last month that negotiations were still continuing, but the government was determined to press on with a “realignment” of the trail that would require the agreement of the private owners of Balquhidder Station, which runs large numbers of sheep and cattle.
“The ideal outcome would be to have the Heysen Trail continue along the spectacular clifftop landscapes down that part of the Fleurieu,” Mr Hunter said.
He said that section was one of the most spectacular parts of the region, with the Heysen Trail route currently moving back inland away from the coast around the Balquhidder Station land.
It is understood an agreement was close to being finalised just prior to the March 2014 SA election won by Premier Jay Weatherill. But then further complications set in, including changes in the people heading the negotiations.
The SA government had previously tried to negotiate with the former owners of Balquidder Station, the McGregor family, about gaining access to the coastal land to enable an extended 18-kilometre strip of the trail to proceed. The entire Heysen Trail runs for 1200 kilometres, starting near the Flinders Ranges in northern SA, but the most popular section is on the Fleurieu Peninsula closer to Adelaide.
The McGregor family had owned the pastoral property, which has more than nine kilometres of coastal frontage and spectacular views across the ocean to Kangaroo Island, for more than 50 years.
Warren Bonython Recognised with a New Walking Trail at Hiltaba Station
Warren Bonython has been recognised with a new Walking Trail named after him.
Robert Alcock and Andrew Robertson represented the Friends of the Heysen Trail at the opening ceremonies last Thursday and Friday at Hiltaba Nature Reserve, Gawler Ranges, 650km from Adelaide.
Warren Bonython Loop Walk
10km loop walk, 5 hours
Leaving from Hiltaba Homestead and traversing over Mt Hiltaba.
Betty and Bob Lewis Loop Walk
2km loop walk, 1 hour
Leaving from Pretty Point
Heysen Trail through Wirrabara Forest to Re-Open
The Heysen Trail will soon be restored to its original alignment through Wirrabara Forest.
A temporary 44km re-route has taken the Trail around the forest since the devastating January 2014 Bangor Bushfire.
We are currently undertaking re-marking works. Extensive trail signs and infrastructure in the 41km section were damaged or lost. We will publish advice when the trail is re-opened to hikers. In the meantime hikers will need to continue to use the 44km re-route. Re-marking of the original alignment will include removing signs pointing to the temporary re-route.
UPDATE July 2015: The trail through Wirrabara Forest has been restored, with two minor re-routes.