Hiking Expo – Sunday 2 April 2023

Opening of the Bushwalking Season
9am to 1:00pm, Sunday 2nd April 2023
Belair National Park

An expo to celebrate the start of the South Australian bushwalking season. With the arrival of cooler autumn weather, hiking is an ideal outdoor activity. South Australia’s bushwalking clubs and Walking SA are coming together to celebrate the occasion with a unique day in Belair National Park.

  • Expo of walking tours, walking destinations, outdoor retailers, walking clubs, free entry. 9am to 1pm. View the list of exhibitors
  • Guided hikes ranging from 45mins to 3 hours, including child friendly, dog friendly and Accessible options. Walks depart every 10 minutes from 9:00am to 12:20pm. Secure a place on a specific guided walk by registering online from March 2023, or just arrive on the day and choose a guided walk to join.
  • Bushwalking equipment and experience demonstration stage
  • Promote sustainability by selling or donating outdoor gear to the Recycle Your Quality Outdoor Gear Stall. It could be shoes or a backpack that you bought but didn’t turn out to be for you, but is still quite new, or it could be a used piece of gear that still has some life.
Hiking Expo, 2 April 2023, Belair National Park

New Executive Director for Walking SA

Walking SA is delighted to announce that Sharon Kelsey has been appointed as our new Executive Director.

With over 15 years as an Executive leading local government and public sector organisations, she has formal qualifications in law, management and adult education. With lived experience in the Australian outback, Asia, Europe, the US and interstate, she brings business acumen with her lust for walking.

Her wanderlust developed from her early years spent accompanying her amateur botanist grandfather as he trekked across the Fleurieu Peninsula. It was here she became adept at not only spotting orchids but knowing where the best spots were to take in the expansive views and find sufficient shade for a well-earned rest. As an active walker she has completed much of the Great South West Walk, the Heysen Trail and walked from Port Augusta to Quorn via the Pichi Richi Pass.

With a good knowledge across all our focus areas of bushwalking, walking for transport and walking for health, she will be working to seek the best outcomes for all trail users.

With an extensive career in leadership in large urban and smaller rural community-based organisations both here in South Australia and interstate she will be a valuable asset in liaising with a range of diverse stakeholders.

As a strong advocate for the benefits of walking including the health, social and mental wellbeing that flow from active participation, she will help Walking SA to achieve its vision of seeing more people walking more often.

Improve your Hiking Skills session, Belair National Park

Saturday 15 April 2023
Belair National Park

Choose from two sessions:
8:30am to 11:30am, or
1pm to 4pm

Join an experienced leader from Walking SA for a guided bushwalk & skills session in Belair National Park on Kaurna country.

This 3-hour session will include a 2 hour hike in the park plus some time to relax in the bush and have a chat about:

  • How to plan and be well prepared for a hike
  • How to stay comfortable while walking
  • Equipment should you take with you
  • Navigation and map resources
  • What to do in an emergency
  • Rules and guidelines about walking in parks
  • The principles of Leave No Trace
  • Walking SA
  • Bushwalking Leadership South Australia

This event is proudly supported by National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia as part of the April’s – Park of the Month – Belair National Park.

Recycle your Quality Outdoor Gear at the Hiking Expo

Recycle your Quality Outdoor Gear flyer detailsPromote sustainability by selling or donating outdoor gear to the Recycle Your Quality Outdoor Gear Stall at the April 2 Hiking Expo. It could be shoes or a backpack that you bought but didn’t turn out to be for you, but is still quite new, or it could be a used piece of gear that still has some life.

View the stall brochure.

Drop off items:

View the information form to include with items.

Website feedback survey

At Walking SA our mission is to get more people walking more often.

We are upgrading our website. We’d love to hear your feedback on the current website and other comparable websites, to assist in guiding us in determining where to focus our upgrade.

Complete the survey by 10th March 2023 for a chance to win an Osprey Siskin 12L Hydration Pack valued at $189.95 thanks to Paddy Pallin.

The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.

Read on for background, or take the survey now.

Background

The Walking SA website was developed in 2013-14. At this time, the key outcomes for the website were to provide an online presence for Walking SA, to provide basic background on the organisation, and to inspire walking activity with 20 or so popular walks showcased through the ‘Find a place to walk’ database.

Since this time, the website has grown significantly to cater for a variety of different functions. This includes:

  • an online walks database with over 780 walks
  • a repository for news items (including advocacy work and newsletter topics)
  • a walks calendar of weekly club walks and walking events (uploaded by organisers)
  • organizational information (such as board members, the constitution, contact information)
  • opportunities to support Walking SA (individual/organizational supporters and donations)
  • club-specific resources

Walking SA receives regular feedback on the quality of the website as a resource. This largely relates to the online walks database, which is viewed over 3 million times annually. Although the website is very highly valued by the walking community, the foundation programming and design was never intended to house the massive walks database, or the array of different content that now sits on the website. The gradual growth of the website, in unplanned directions, has resulted in a non-optimal structure, with background technical ‘fixes’ that work, but could be streamlined and improved significantly. In addition, many possible additions and improvements have been identified over time to enhance the user experience and improve accessibility for a wider range of users.

Read on for background, or take the survey now.

Known website upgrade needs

There are many features we know we lack on our website, or could improve:

  • Make the website Accessible for all website visitors, including for visitors with visual and other impairments.
  • Inclusion of acknowledgement on First Nations Peoples, ideally so that people can have an understanding as whose Country/Countries they are on whilst walking a trail.
  • Refreshed aesthetic – redesign the website, so that it looks better, and works better, on all devices.
  • Upgrade of some walks and trails content to include key information such as:
    • a clear starting point (extend to many more walks, currently only on the recent few hundred walks)
    • improve the number of walks and trails that include public transport directions
    • improve directions to walks to enable better understanding of how far someone needs to travel to walk a trail
  • A clear statement of who manages the trail and how to contact them (eg National Parks and Wildlife Service of SA, Forestry SA, a particular local council)
  • Resources for bushwalkers (such as safety tips packing lists for walks, and training pathways for skills like navigation)
  • Resources for ways to improve urban walkability (such as case studies and success stories on improvements in local government areas)

Employment Opportunity
Walking SA – Executive Director

Exciting opportunity to work for peak body in SA

About us

Walking SA is the peak body that leads, promotes and supports all forms of walking in South Australia, including walking for recreation, transport, health and wellbeing. We achieve this through promoting walking opportunities, events, adventure, environmental appreciation, education, training and fun experiences. Our vision is to see more people walking more often.

About the role

Walking SA is looking for an Executive Director to work with the Chair, the Board, key stakeholders, our volunteers and members to provide strategic advice, manage communications and implement strategies to support the activities of Walking SA within our Strategic Plan.

The Executive Director will represent Walking SA to the broader walking community, including the general public, all levels of government and key stakeholders.

To apply for this senior salaried position, you must be experienced in project management, and have highly developed oral and written communication skills. A proven record of writing successful grants would be beneficial. You must be able to generate workable, practical solutions, understand basic bookkeeping (knowledge of using Xero is an advantage), fundraising and marketing, be committed to a collaborative working approach; be able to operate autonomously, and have good, negotiation and liaison skills. A high level of organisational skills is essential.

Most importantly you should have an understanding of, and commitment to, the benefits and promotion of walking. A demonstrated knowledge or background in walking and the factors influencing opportunities for walking in South Australia, both recreational and for transport, would be advantageous.

This position has the potential to become full-time if additional funding is sought.

Employee benefits

We value our employees and volunteers and believe your passion and commitment will make a difference to achieving our vision. We offer:

  • Work-life balance – flexible work arrangements (some out of hours may be required).
  • Developing your career – we provide professional development opportunities.

To apply for the job please provide a cover letter addressing the criteria (max 3 pages), and your recent 2 page CV.

Salary: On Application

Office location: Adelaide

APPLICATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED

General information about Walking SA and our activities can be found at walkingsa.org.au.

2021/22 Annual Report, Walking Awards and AGM

Walking SA held its Annual General Meeting on Thursday 20th October at the Torrens Rowing Club, with an attendance of over 50 people from member clubs, organisations and supporters. We greatly appreciate the attendance and engagement with those there on the night.

Thank you to Mary-Anne Healy from the Department of Environment and Water for the presentation for our bushwalkers on trail updates and plans, including the Southern Flinders Ranges (new Gorges Walk – construction to commence in 2023 and improvements to Tapanappa Ridge Lookout), the new infrastructure along the Wild South Coast Way (those who have used it give it a big thumbs up!), and the continuing work at Kangaroo Island.

Thanks to EXURBIA The Adventure Supply Co the Lucky Door Prize, a Salewa Denali II Tent valued at $429 was won by Sharon. The Denali II is a large 2-person, 3-season, double wall dome tent for hiking and trekking.

Award Winners

We presented the awards for the annual Walking SA Walking Awards. The awards recognises and promotes the achievements and work of groups, organisations, local and state government, and volunteers in South Australia. The Awards process is an opportunity for public and peer recognition of achievements in walking, and demonstrates to volunteers, community groups, the recreation industry, business, government, and the wider community the significant and positive impact that can be achieved through improvements to walkability.

Awards were presented to three organisations and one individual, celebrating their contribution to walking in South Australia. Awards were presented by Lyn Dean, Chief Executive, Wellbeing SA, and Rod Quintrell, Walking SA Chair.

Board

Walking SA Board and AGM guests, 20 October 2022. From left-to-right: Jim McLean (obscured), John Eaton, Jeremy Carter, Rebecca Tooher, Lisa Murphy, Matt Lang, Bill Gehling, Charlotte Budenberg, guest Mary-Anne Healy from the Department of Environment and Water, Rod Quintrell, Ian Radbone, guest Lyn Dean, Chief Executive of Wellbeing SA, Daniel Osborne, Meredith Lawson, Daniel Bennett, Jinal Shah, Tuesday Udell.

Daniel OsborneWe welcome Daniel Osborne as a new Board member, having earlier taken on the role of Chair of the Walking for Transport Committee. With Daniel’s professional background as an Urban Transportation Plangineer he brings a valuable perspective to the Walking for Transport Committee. He brings a strong data driven approach to planning, design and policy development, informed by the work of globally recognised thought leaders. He has key skills in public transport infrastructure and network design, human scaled street design and spatial driven data analysis. He’s a big fan of challenging conventional wisdom.

2021/22 Annual Report

The 2021/22 Annual Report was distributed at the AGM and Helen Donovan, Executive Director of Walking SA, spoke to the report identifying a range of highlights from the past year.

Improve your Hiking Skills session Southern Flinders

Saturday 15 October 2022
Southern Flinders, Mt Remarkable National Park, Wilmington

Choose from two sessions:
8:30am to 11:30am, or
1pm to 4pm

Join an experienced leader from Walking SA for a guided bushwalk & skills session in Alligator Gorge, Southern Flinders, Nukunu country.

This 3-hour session will include a 2 hour hike in the park plus some time to relax in the bush and have a chat about:

  • How to plan and be well prepared for a hike
  • How to stay comfortable while walking
  • Equipment should you take with you
  • Navigation and map resources
  • What to do in an emergency
  • Rules and guidelines about walking in parks
  • The principles of Leave No Trace
  • Walking SA
  • Bushwalking Leadership South Australia

This event is proudly supported by National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia as part of the October – Parks of Northern Mount Lofty Ranges.

Make Walking Great Again, Wed 12 Oct 2022

Join us to explore the practicalities of delivering real walkability improvements from a local government planning and design perspective.

Hear about the challenges and success stories from local examples.

Wed 12 Oct 2022
9am to 1pm
Networking time and light lunch included

The Joinery
111 Franklin St
Adelaide

Cost
FREE

  • Keynote Speaker:
    Anna Campbell,
    Executive Officer of Queensland Walks

  • Case study presentations:

    • City of Unley, Tanya Bacic

    • City of Prospect, Mayor David O’Loughlin

    • Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Tim McEvoy

  • Panel discussion

  • Workshop:
    Delivering walkability in a South Australian context.

Stop the spread! Bushwalking guidelines to protect our environment

The current risk of Foot and Mouth Disease (F&MD) being introduced to Australia is a reminder for all bushwalkers to take precautions to combat the potential spread of soil borne diseases, the fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi (pronounced fy-TOFF-thora), and even weed seeds! Each of these issues can cause significant destruction – to animals, plants, and the ecosystem.

Help stop the spread by complying with these guidelines:

Vegetation affected by Phytophthora cinnamomi

  • clean your boots before you leave home
  • park your car in designated car parks only
  • keep to designated roads and walking trails at all times
  • use hygiene stations where provided
  • Respect instructions from private landowners regarding areas of access
  • clean your boots when you finish your walk. Don’t take boots or shoes home to clean.

How to keep your footwear clean:

Hard brush for cleaning

Hard brush for cleaning boots and shoes

Bushwalkers are encouraged to carry a hygiene kit in their backpacks to keep footwear clean.

A ‘hygiene kit’ should contain:

  • hard brush to clean footwear
  • spray bottle of disinfectant
    • methylated spirits (undiluted) or
    • household bleach (diluted 1 part of bleach with 4 parts of water).

Cleaning procedure:

Hygiene station for cleaning boots

  1. if a hygiene station isn’t located on your walk, select a hard, well drained site for boot cleaning
  2. remove all soil and plant material from one boot at a time using the brush
  3. disinfect the entire sole using the spray bottle before placing the boot on the ground
  4. allow the sole of the boot to dry for approximately one minute
  5. step forward to avoid re-contaminating your footwear
  6. repeat steps two to six for the other boot
  7. finish by disinfecting the

The Aussie Camino

Guest post by Luke Mills

History of pilgrimage

Luke Mills on the Aussie Camino

There are many different reasons why people travel – health; to broaden the mind by seeing other places and other cultures; for holidays; while working for multi- national companies; and for sport. People today, both young and old, are travellers. It is only within the last fifty or so years that the terms globe-trotters, and jet-setters have been coined. A pilgrimage has a different objective. It is a journey with a religious purpose, to visit holy or sacred places called shrines associated with a saint where people can feel near to the saint either through relics or miraculous stories.

It is as well to remember that Australia has no history of pilgrimage. Australia is not a country that people associate with pilgrimage, For pilgrimage to become part of the Church’s witness in a particular country one needs saints and a kindling of the desire to visit places associated with their lives. Although there are many Aboriginal sacred sites and Aborigines go “walkabout” to reach them that is not pilgrimage in the Christian sense when pilgrims are intent on honouring those who lived and died for the faith. There is no tradition of Christian pilgrimage in Australia as there is in countries such as Spain, France, ltaly and the Holy Land. With the canonisation of Mary MacKillop in 2008, the tradition of pilgrimage has begun to take root in Christian consciousness.

In April 2013 Luke Mills, Steven Murphy, Anthony Mills and Michael Dillon from St Francis Xavier College set out for the journey to where it all began. This was a first ever – there is no record that any other pilgrimage has ever been undertaken before from Portland, Victoria to Penola, South Australia.

Continue reading article

Walking SA AGM 2022

Thursday 20 October 2022
AGM: 6:30pm
Trails presentation: 7pm
Followed by Walking Awards award ceremony

Torrens Rowing Club
Victoria Drive, Adelaide SA 5000

Join us to hear from our Guest Speaker Mary-Anne Healy, Director, Community and Nature Partnerships, Department for Environment and Water, who will discuss trail updates for National Parks and Wildlife Service SA (NPWSSA). Trails, camping, and future plans for NPWSSA – hear it all, direct from the source, with an opportunity to ask questions!

Thanks to EXURBIA The Adventure Supply Co we have a Lucky Door Prize, a Salewa Denali II Tent valued at $429 up for grabs. The Denali II is a large 2-person, 3-season, double wall dome tent for hiking and trekking.

Public welcome, please register for free ticket.

Torrens Rowing Club is located on Victoria Drive, just north of the Adelaide CBD, on the southern bank of the River Torrens next to the City Bridge and Jolly’s Boathouse.
Please note the venue is accessed by stairs.

Nominations for the Board

Nominations for membership of the 2022/23 Walking SA Board are invited from anyone with a passion for raising the profile of walking, improving walking environments and getting more people walking. We are particularly interested in applications from members from our walking clubs.

Please refer to the Nomination Form ( Microsoft Word, or PDF.)

Please send your completed nomination form to:
Helen Donovan, Executive Director
Walking SA
Level 4, 25 Leigh Street, Adelaide SA 5000
or email office@walkingsa.org.au
by Thursday 13th October 2022.

Getting there

Please note the venue is accessed by stairs.

Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/6d5sECmBaqcLXzVj6

By bike: there are some bike racks nearby.

By public transport: 10 mins walk from the Adelaide Railway Station, or from the nearby tram stop.

By car: Use the Park Adelaide app to find street parking, displaying real-time info about available parking spaces, time limits, and parking payment. You can download the app free on Apple or Android.

National Parks and Wildlife Service SA adopts the Australian Walking Track Grading System 

South Australia’s national parks feature a diverse range of trails allowing park visitors to immerse themselves in nature and explore the different landscapes across our state. Trails varying in length, surface, gradient and remoteness so it’s important that park visitors can choose a walk that best suits their level of fitness and walking experience.

Previously, trails in national parks have been classified under subjective descriptors such as Easy Walk, Moderate Hike, Hard Hike and Trek. The National Parks and Wildlife Service now adopt the Australian Walking Track Grading System which is based on the technical specifications of the Australian Standard Walking Tracks – Classification and Signage (AS2156.1-2001).

Under the system, walking trails are graded on a difficulty scale from grades one to five. You may have noticed these grades appearing on our trailhead signs and parks webpages.

A trail is graded according to its most difficult components the classification criteria. You may find that a trail will often have components which are easier than the trail’s final classification.

I hope this inspires you to go out and explore a new trail in our wonderful parks.

Australian walking track grading system

Grade 1
No bushwalking experience required. Flat even surface with no steps or steep sections. Suitable for wheelchair users who have someone to assist them. Walks no greater than 5 km.
Grade 2
No bushwalking experience required. The track is a hardened or compacted surface and may have a gentle hill section or sections and occasional steps. Walks no greater than 10 km.
Grade 3
Suitable for most ages and fitness levels. Tracks may have short steep hill sections, a rough surface and many steps. Walks up to 20 km.
Grade 4
Bushwalking experience reccommended. Tracks may be long, rough and very steep. Directional signage may be limited.
Grade 5
Recommended for very experienced bushwalkers with specialised skills, including navigation and emergency first aid. Tracks are likely to be very rough, very steep and unmarked. Walks may be more than 20 km.

~ Matt Lang, Statewide Trails Officer, National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

Guided Street Art Walks throughout June

2 hour / 4km tour
Weekday and weekend timeslots throughout June
3 tour routes

Join a guided walking tour to discover the huge range of street art styles representing the diversity of Adelaide’s artists and cultural scene.

We will guide you down the main thoroughfares and hidden laneways to experience parts of Adelaide best seen on foot!

Places are limited – get in quick!

Book tickets:

Walking SA starts creating their Reconcilliation Action Plan

It has been 5 years since the launch of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – the call for a First Nations voice to parliament. Watch this short video clip from NITV’s The Point explaining what the Uluru Statement from the Heart is.

Walking SA has begun the process of creating a Reconciliation Action Plan, engaging in the Reflect stage of the framework. We welcome any feedback as we find ways to advance reconciliation. We look at walking, especially bushwalking, and see a disconnect with love of being on country and engagement with, or understanding of Indigenous culture. Should you wish to contribute, please get in touch.

It’s Reconciliation Week 2022 – Be Brave, Make Change.

The RAP Framework

The four RAP types – Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate – allow organisations to continuously develop their reconciliation commitments.

Reconciliation Australia’s RAP Framework provides organisations with a structured approach to advance reconciliation.

Each type of RAP is designed to suit an organisation at different stages of their reconciliation journey and organisations can repeat the same type of RAP if appropriate.

Reflect: Scoping capacity for reconciliation

Reflect RAPs are for 12 months and are right if your organisation is new to reconciliation and unsure how to get started.

They set out steps to prepare your organisation for reconciliation initiatives in future RAPs.

Committing to a Reflect RAP means scoping and developing relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, deciding on your vision for reconciliation and exploring your sphere of influence.

reconciliation.org.au/the-rap-framework