Year: 2015

2015 Annual General Meeting featuring Dr Ben Rossiter, Victoria Walks

Posted on by Walking SA

Notice of Meeting

7pm Thursday 8th October 2015
Goodwood Community Centre, 32-34 Rosa Street, Goodwood SA
Drinks and nibbles from 7.00pm
7.15pm Guest Speaker – Dr Ben Rossiter, Victoria Walks

Dr Ben Rossiter, Victoria WalksBen will reflect on the development of Victoria Walks. He will then share some pearls of wisdom from that evolving journey, especially some ideas that may be used to inform the future pathway for Walking SA.

Ben is the Executive Officer of Victoria Walks since it was established by VicHealth in 2009. Victoria Walks is widely recognised for its work in promoting walking and creating walkable communities.

Ben is an internationally recognised leader in walking promotion and is on the board of the International Federation of Pedestrians. He has a long interest in walking and strong, healthy, socially connected communities and urban environments. The theme of his doctoral dissertation was walking in cities. He grew up bushwalking and particularly enjoys walking and playing in his neighbourhood with his children.

View Agenda
View Board Nomination Form

Auditor sought for Walking SA for 2015/2016 financial year

Posted on by Walking SA

Auditor sought for Walking SA starting with the 2015/2016 financial year.

We’re looking for a person or company/partnership to audit our accounts and help us ensure we’re meeting all our statutory financial and tax obligations. Walking SA is a micro organisation with less than $100 000 turnover and a well organised accounting system using Xero.

The members of Walking SA are hoping to continue the fortunate practice of pro-bono auditor services.

If you can offer your services or would like further information, please contact the Treasurer, Ian Budenberg, on 08 8390 1574 or treasurer@walkingsa.org.au

Lavender Federation Trail successful in grant to extend to Clare

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Lavender Federation Trail successful in grant to extend to Clare

posted via Friends of the Heysen Trail

The Lavender Federation Trail has received grant funding to extend the trail from its trailhead at Eudunda on to Clare.

Constructed over the next 18 months, the 106km extension 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 Lavender Federation Trail will also intersect with the Riesling Trail and Rattler Trails.

Special Celebration

The trail extension will intersect the Heysen Trail at Webb Gab. A special event is planned for April 2016 to celebrate the crossing of the two long-distance trails.

And More Loop Trails Announced

The Lavender Federation Trail have also announced other new trail developments:

  • 8km proposed loop trail through Monarto
  • funding granted for 9km Saunders Gorge Spur Trail

Spring is near: Explore new places to hike

Posted on by Walking SA

Spring is near, Explore new places to hike

Spring feels like it’s in the wind. Days are getting longer. Is it time to explore to some new places to hike?

There are 80 trails and hikes in our Find a Place to Walk directory. We’ve recently added 50 new entries.

View all 80 Walks

Here’s a short selection of great hikes

Sturt Gorge Loop

Sturt Gorge Loop

3 hours, 7 km loop

A walk along the River Trail in Sturt Gorge Recreation Park. See a Kaurna camp oven in a small cave in a cliff. The trail climbs out of the Gorge giving views over the Adelaide Plains.

Easily done with public transport.

View Walk

Hidden Gorge, Mambray Creek

Hidden Gorge Hike, Mambray Creek

7 hours return, 18km circuit bushwalk

Camping options for tents, cars and caravans at the trailhead at Mambray Creek. Extend the walk over several days by carrying your tent and camping at Hidden Gorge Campsite.

View Walk

Loop Walk around Mount Lofty on the Heysen Trail

Loop Walk around Mount Lofty on the Heysen Trail

3-4 hours, 7.5 km loop

Experience a Heysen Trail highlight: summit of Mt Lofty, quaint cottages and Piccadilly Valley, Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens & forests of Cleland National Park.

Easily done with public transport.

View Walk

Victor Harbor Heritage Trail, from the Bluff

Victor Harbor Heritage Trail, from the Bluff

3.4km, 2 hours return

This trail goes from the Bluff, past Petrel Cove to Kings Beach, connecting with the Heysen Trail. A dog and child friendly walk. Watch out for dolphins and whales off shore. Extend the hike by walking on further on the Heysen Trail to Waitpinga Cliffs, or by starting the trail in central Victor Harbor.

View Walk

Free Seminar: Why Take a Hike on a Long Distance Trail? Integrating Tourism and Recreation Through Research

Posted on by Walking SA

Free Seminar, Why Take a Hike on a Long Distance Trail

Professor Taylor Stein
University of Florida

Free seminar
This Friday 21st August 2015
2:30pm – 3:30pm
At University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, P2-06

Professor Taylor Stein, University of FloridaFind 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.

University of South Australia School of Natural and Built Environments

Survey on the Best Walks of SA

Posted on by Walking SA

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 the survey below and enter your 6 favourite walks:

  • 3 x favourite day walks
  • 3 x favourite overnight 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.

Browse through our 80 entries in the Find a Place to Walk directory for some inspiration.

Get Inspired
Submit Survey

Chambers Gully Track Closure Due to RockSlide

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Chambers Gully Rockslide, Burnside Track trail closure, 13 August 2015

Due to a rock slip on the Chambers Gully Track on 5th August 2015, the single-track walking track has been temporarily closed whilst the City of Burnside clears the debris. Walkers should avoid the track.

The story was reported by The Advertiser, which named the track as the Chambers Gully Track. This is the official name of the track, although some walkers refer to this track section as the Burnside Track, or the Goat Track. The track affected is the single-track walking trail which begins at the gate entrance to Cleland National Park (not to be confused with the gate entry immediately off Waterfall Gully Road). Refer to the map for more detail.

This closure temporarily affects the following walks:

Map of Chambers Gully Rockslide, Burnside Track trail closure, 13 August 2015

More Pedestrians and Cyclists = Less Congestion

  • Letter to the Editor (the Advertiser)
Posted on by Walking SA

Walking SA, in conjunction with Heart Foundation SA, have submitted the following Letter to the Editor, in response to the SA Government’s release today of Operation Moving Traffic.

Operation Moving Traffic has identified some effective ways to improve congestion (Advertiser 23 July) to deal with the ever increasing number of cars on our roads. However, road congestion will continue to get worse unless we address the fundamental issue; if we keep making it easier to drive we will encourage more cars on the roads. To address this, the Government’s initiative should also consider support for better active transport options. Such options will reduce car-dependence and as such reduce the number of cars on the road. This week the Australian Walking and Cycling Conference participants discussed how we can design and plan our streets for people, and improve infrastructure including signage and paths, to make it safer and easier for people to walk and cycle for transport. Not only will this help ease congestion, but it will improve the health of our community and improve the economy of our state.Heart Foundation SA and Walking SA
Heart Foundation SA and Walking SA logos

Report released: Taking Steps to a Healthier Nation – Increasing Physical Activity Through Walking

Posted on by Walking SA

Physical activity offers many benefits to health, whether it be preventing disease, contributing to emotional and cognitive health, or helping to maintain independence later in life. Many consider it the “wonder drug” of health promotion. And while the benefits are multiple, the behavior is simple.

People only need to be active for at least 150 minutes a week for adults and 60 minutes a day for school-age youth. It can even occur in short bouts, lasting at least 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, only one-half of adults and about one quarter of high school students [USA statistics] are sufficiently active to realize the health benefits of physical activity. To improve population levels of physical activity, an increase in walking may be an important place to start.

Report published June 2015.

Download:

New Version of Nature Maps Released

Posted on by Walking SA

New Version of Nature Maps Released

Version 3.0 of Nature Maps has been released. For hikers, this version is much improved, and now includes:

  • more detailed contours with elevation labels,
  • more labels, and
  • a better ability to print the map at a set scale (like 1:25,000).

Access trail info via the Layer: Heritage and Tourism > Walking Trails

Launch NatureMaps

Special Offer for Australian Walking and Cycling Conference – next Monday and Tuesday

Posted on by Walking SA

21 July - Australian Walking and Cycling Conference - AdelaideSave 55% off full delegate price
Limited to first 12 registrations

The Australian Walking and Cycling Conference is to be held next Monday and Tuesday 20-21 July at the Tarndanyangga Campus (Victoria Square) of Flinders University.

The Conference organisers would like to offer 12 two day conference bookings to members of Walking SA at the special price of $200. This is a saving of $220 on the full delegate price. One day bookings at $100 are also acceptable.

To take advantage of this special Walking SA offer please go to ‘Bookings’ on the Conference website and book as a student and add ‘Walking SA’ to the name in the last name box.

For the full program visit www.walkingandcycling.com.au

Appointment of Executive Officer

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Greg Boundy, appointed as Executive Officer, Walking SAWalking SA is delighted to announce that we have appointed Greg Boundy as our new Executive Officer.

Greg comes to Walking SA with a broad breadth and depth of experience. He has held senior roles in his career with commercial, government and not-for-profit organisations which equips him well for the Executive Officer role. Greg is highly experienced in developing and implementing strategic plans as well as operationally leading an organisation. Greg’s approach is to work highly collaboratively within the organisation, with stakeholders as well as the broader community. He is enthused by the work already undertaken by Walking SA with its strategic planning and its goals for the future and he can make a significant contribution to their achievement.

Greg has a range of personal interests including his family, hiking, photography and music. He and his wife Valerie are in their fifth year of hiking the Heysen Trail with The Friends of the Heysen Trail, which combines both his passion for walking and photography. They also holidayed in North America last year and the highlights included walking in the Canadian Rockies and also into Grand Canyon. Greg believes strongly in the health and wellbeing as well as the environmental benefits of walking and looks forward to engaging with all those with similar passion and commitment.

View all our people

Great Australian bushwalking tracks celebrated in new stamp issue

Posted on by Walking SA

Great Australian bushwalking tracks celebrated in new stamp issue

Spectacular bushwalking destinations are being showcased on a new Australia Post stamp issue.

The four popular walking tracks for hikers featured include:

  • Larapinta Trail, Northern Territory
  • Cape to Cape Track, Western Australia
  • Overland Track, Tasmania
  • National Pass, New South Wales

Bushwalking Australia had input ensuring that the designs were appropriate and geographically correct.

Read more

Stamp images provided courtesy of © Australian Postal Corporation 2015

Survey of Mt Lofty Ranges Scenic Beauty supporting World Heritage Bid

Posted on by Walking SA

Survey of Mt Lofty Ranges Scenic Beauty supporting World Heritage Bid

The Mt Lofty Ranges are among Australia’s most beautiful areas and are enjoyed by many residents and visitors. Its lovely landscapes are the key to its popularity.

With the support of the World Heritage Bid for the Ranges, consultancy firm Scenic Solutions is carrying out a survey to measure and map its landscape quality. The results will inform and assist the Government, councils, land owners and other bodies in their planning, management and promotion of the region.

The survey comprises a set of photos of the region and involves rating them on a 1 – 10 scale of landscape attractiveness. The value of the survey depends on having as many people as possible participate.

No qualifications or experience are required and the responses will be anonymous. It is open to anyone 18 years or older.

The survey involves rating 150 scenery photos, and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

The Mount Lofty Ranges Working Agricultural Landscape World Heritage Bid spans the world-renowned food, wine and tourism regions of the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Peninsula, all located within an hour’s drive of Adelaide, South Australia. The UNESCO bid has a core ambition to deliver real and lasting economic, cultural and environmental benefits to the region regardless of the outcome. View an ABC 7:30 segment.

View Survey

Message of Thanks re Accessible Walking Trails at Robe

Posted on by Walking SA

Message of Thanks re Accessible Walking Trails at Robe

We recently received feedback from a trail user who was thrilled about the accessibility of the new walking trails at Robe.

The District Council of Robe in partnership with Department Planning Transport and Infrastructure People and Places funding are developing a walking and cycling trail around the township of Robe that will allow people to access and view the spectacular coast line and scenery that surrounds the town while engaging in exercise. When completed, the 12km Loop Trail will allow people to use sections of the trail to access the town centre, the towns many beaches or just to enjoy the scenery of Robe while undertaking a healthy activity.

The existing path was informal, degraded and close to the cliff. The trail is being rebuilt as crushed limestone, suitable for wheels, and as an environmentally sustainable path further from the cliff edge. The new shared-use path is designed for walkers, cyclists, people with mobility issues and prams.

I have been visiting Robe for the last 20 years. My only means of getting around is using an electric wheelchair. Consequently, I am absolutely thrilled that the District Council of Robe has taken action in upgrading walking trails; in particularly those on the Cape Dombey Peninsula. This allows me to see the coastline as I have never seen it before. Please pass on my sincere heartfelt thanks to all those involved. – Ms Derris Vernon.

Walking SA takes this opportunity to congratulate the District Council of Robe for their work in developing a strategy and constructing accessible trails for all, including people who use wheelchairs, and families with children in pushers and prams, thus helping more people to enjoy being active.

Five kilometres of trails are now open; between the Obelisk and the lighthouse; and between the Obelisk and Long Beach.

Listen to an interview with District Council of Robe Council CEO Roger Sweetman (4min 45s).

View Trail Info