Page 8 of SA hiker Travel Blog Posts
Sugarloaf at Hallett
Planning It has been forecast to be hot in Adelaide today (38 degrees) so we will start out early and visit Hallett Cove Conservation Park. We have done parts of this walk several times before - and it can be a little cool most days, but it is ideal on the mornings of hot days that are reasonably still (wind-wise) and bright (improving contrast between the blue sky and the eroded hills). The reason we like this walk so much is the opportunity to learn more about rocks and geology (which is one of Dan's passions) and it is really amazing - you can see where the glaciers have been by looking at the scratches they left behind in rocks! There are plenty of signs along the path about the geology - so you can ... read more
The Gully
Introduction This is walk number 15 in George Driscoll's book "50 real bushwalks around Adelaide" which he calls "Neville's favourite". It is also a favourite of Sue (a friend from my work). George's Neville is Neville Southgate who was instrumental in getting the Heysen trail started. This walk is through Gandy's Gully, which is within the Horsnell Gully Conservation Park. You need boots with good grips for this walk as there is a steep down hill section with loose rocks on the path. We have been here when Dan was 6 or 7 - but I wouldn't probably bring kids any younger than this age along. To get there from the city, head South and turn left on Greenhill Road. Drive up until you get near to Mt Lofty summit. At the Summit road intersection continue ... read more
Creek
Introduction Well after a week off on essential house maintenance issues ... the SA-hiker family headed off for new frontiers (well at least for us) this Sunday. The inspiration for this walk came from the book "Adelaide for Kids" by James Muecke. The Park was called Mount George Conservation Park - a small park which was a little run down (the toilets had been boarded up) and located right next to the zooming cars of the South Eastern freeway. But this only slightly lowered the serenity levels. The Heysen trail passes through the Park, as does a creek with babbling cascades, there are enormous trees, hills to climb, rocky outcrops and many birds and frogs. Very nice. A web site about the park is available. It would be a nice Park for a family visit as ... read more
Butterfly and Salvation Jane
Planning It is warm this Sunday - but in the north there is heavy rain and thunderstorms, and its heading our way! We need to head South, but not too far away and move quickly - if we can get the walk in before lunch we may stay dry. The choice was Shepherd's Hill Recreation Park - a 2.5 hour walk in George Driscoll's 50 Real bushwalks around Adelaide, and only 22 kms away from home. It is also a new one for us - which enhances the walking experience. How to get there This was too easy - from the city you would head out along Anzac highway and turn left onto South Road. Continue along South Road until you see the Mitsubishi factory on the right. You then take the next left on Ayliffe ... read more
Whale tail fountain
We were lucky enough to have a few nights at Victor Harbor to catch up with friends and do 3 walks. Victor Harbor is a fabulous sea-side town about 75 minutes South of Adelaide. It is a retirement hub and every time we visit, there seems to be more and more houses springing up! It has been the site for a whaling industry - but now eco-tourism promotes whale-watching through the winter primarily of the Southern right whale. Some web sites to visit to learn more about Victor Harbor include * the Tourism centre and * the Whale Centre. We did three walks over the three days. * the almost compulsory Granite Island walk (2 hours) * the walk to the summit of the Bluff... read more
Storm clouds brewing
At Dan's request, we explored the Silver mine in the Scott Creek Conservation Park today. This is a great walk/adventure for people with young children (say about 5-10 years old). Remember to bring a torch for the tunnel walk!!! How to get there.. From the city we took Unley Road, Belair Road, past Windy Point, Main Road, through to Coramandel Valley, then Cherry Gardens Road and Dorset Vale Road, which traverses the Park. In the bottom of a gully is where the car park is. The mine is called the Almanda mine, which after failed copper and ore mining in 1850, a successful silver strike was made in 1868, causing a flurry of activity for a couple of years, resulting in 310kg of silver. There are 2 parts to this section of the Conservation park. The ... read more
The first marker of the Heysen trail
A personal highlight of the trip for me was to walk (however briefly) the first part of the Heysen trail at the Parachilna Gorga. Since turning 40 I have had a plan in the back of my mind - to do as much walking of the Heysen trail (1200 km long!) where and when I can. This long range trail goes from Parachilna Gorge in the Flinders Ranges to Cape Jervis in the South. More information .... We had a break in the 'all day grazing' at the Parachila Pub, renowned for its feral animal menu, before heading east into the Ranges. When we arrived at the Parachilna Gorge and the start of the trail, the weather was still bad - very windy - Peter and Dan didn't even get out of the car! No matter, ... read more
Stokes Hill
This is the last of the Flinders series - a month later. The title said it all - with the rain settling in on our visit to the Flinder's Ranges, we did some scenic driving through the Ranges including Stokes Hill Lookout, Bunyeroo Valley, Hucks lookout, the Geological trail and back to Blinman. The wind was in full force on Stokes Hill - we almost were blown off! There is a neat contour map in bronze of the area at the lookout - so it is well worth the visit. The sign going up says no towing vehilces - but we saw several vans with trailers heading up regardless. There was plenty of wildlife about - kangaroos and many flocks of emus. We had a running joke about the animals being planted there for the tourists, ... read more
Lean on me
It was too windy and wet for walking today (October 23 - Happy birthday Polly!!) so we are publishing one of our earlier walks in the Flinder's Ranges that we hadn't got around to telling you about. Now what trip to the Flinders wouldn't be complete with a visit to Wilpena Pound? The weather was windy and wet, but we were lucky enough to get some walking in before the more persistent showers in the afternoon arrived. The Pound is popular, particularly on the October long weekend, so we saw plenty of walkers and campers as we showed Dan the Pound. Wilpena Pound is an amazing geological structure that is best seen from the air. It has a cup shape, and there is one creek that flows out of the cup, (at Sliding rock) which is ... read more
Dan in the pens
We started our Spring holiday with a few days at Mount Bryan. As you can see it was shearing time again and this year's lambs were in for their first 'short back and sides'. The sheep were trucked in from 'Ebberhards', and the lambs separated from their mums for shearing. Tom shore, Debbie was classing, Sam and Dan were helping out. Jim was working the sheep. Peter did pressing (using a press to pack the wool into bales) and even shore a few. Dan says ... Boy you need to be tough to work in the shearing shed! My job was brushing the sheep to get out any muck before shearing. I had to sit on the sheep to stop it from moving. When I had finished brushing I shouted out "Next!". That is when Dad ... read more
