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Onkaparinga river
What a lovely time of year to visit Onkaparinga!
To view the images as a slide show - select "Full image" and then use Next>> to scroll through. Introduction
Today's walk was a new one, for us anyway, but at an old favourite, Onkaparinga. It was Peter's choice, and because the need for serenity was high, it had to be Onkaparinga. It's like visiting the Flinders ranges, but without all the travel! For this walk we started out on George Driscoll's walk number 30 called "Got It All" but we changed it, as you will see. This walk would be suitable only for fit walkers with kids eight years and over as the rock hopping and gully climb are rather demanding.
You can see other journal entries about Onkaparinga at
this link and
this one too. The Friends of Onkaparinga, who are celebrating their 20th year in 2006, have
a web site with a map as well.
How to get there ...
From South Road, heading south, take the Southern expressway all the way to the end. Take the turnoff to Victor Harbour heading towards Willunga Hill. Turn left on Budgens Road, which veers left to Barytes Road. Turn right at Seaview Road, and then left on to Chaffeys Road. There is a small brown sign indicating that several wineries are down this road including Chapel Hill. The road veers
Start at Gate 15
Sundew trail begins right at the Chapel Hill winery, and then becomes Chapel Hill Road which runs along the northern boundary of the Onkaparinga Conservation Park. Look out for gate 14 and 15 which are on opposite sides of the road. Park here, and head into gate 15 along the Sundew Trail.
What happened ....
The Sundew Trail runs perpendicular to the road and goes over a few hills before it descends very steeply into the valley to the river's edge. We turned right to have a look the river and to see a large group of walkers head down the creek. We then about faced and headed in the opposite direction, following George Driscoll's walk number 30. We had to cross the river, which meant taking off our shoes and socks and walking through the icy stream at the Ford. We then walked along the creek until we found the place where we would normally turn right and head straight up one of the steepest roads ever, and decided against it. We took our lunch here listening out for the frog that we heard croaking here at the same time last year, when South Australia had had a very dry autumn.
Sundew trail
Heading down to the river We continued down the creek, rock hopping mostly on the right-hand side, and popping over to the left-hand side to explore the water cascades, rock pools and caves in the rock walls. The rocks here were mostly conglomerates, and you could clearly pick out where the embedded rocks had eroded at a different rate to the supporting rock. We saw interesting bugs, including beetles, butterflies, immature grasshoppers and the most enormous spiders (not my favourite critters). The scenery was amazing, with red rock walls, sparkling water and green bushland against the blue sky. We came to a point, about a kilometre down the creek where the open pools tended to close up. It was here that we crossed the creek and headed up a steep, but rocky gully, through many olive trees and up to the top of the hill. In the grassland at the top of the hill we saw many kangaroos. We continued along this direction, across a gentle valley and through a field of wild oats, and a recent tree planting site, until we reached the edge of the park on Chapel Hill Road. At this point, we turned left and followed the fire track along
Walking group
At the river we saw a reasonably rare sight - a walking group the fence line back to the car. The entire walk, with plenty of time for exploration and enjoyment of the awesome environment, took us three hours.
Dan says ....
Hello Readers!
If you see the pictures, you have got to admit that Onkaparinga is the perfect hideout if you are starting a really secret club and you don't want anyone to find you.
Now, if you are wanting to get the same pictures as ours, and if you think I, a simple boy of eight, will tell you how to get them, then no, you are wrong!!! This walk is not for the fainthearted. If you want instructions, my e-mail is danquinn@internode.on.net - send me an e-mail and I will send you a Google Earth map.
This week's joke
Q: Why did the spider buy a car?
A: So he could take it out for a spin!
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Ian
non-member comment
Great photos!
Hi Diana, Peter and Dan I really enjoyed the photos - it looks like a great place to take in the wonders of nature! I particularly liked the tired butterfly - good of you to give her a rest!