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A Path Forward for the the Hallett Cove Boardwalk

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Walking SA

The future of the popular Hallett Cove Boardwalk, also known as the Marion Coastal Walking Trail or Coastal Walkway, was put into doubt in October 2019 following concerns about structural issues which saw some sections having been closed for some time, and a 2.5km section of the 8km trail needing considerable upgrading for it to be re-opened. There are temporary street detours in place.

Hallett Cove is not only beautiful, it is also one of the most geologically significant sites in Australia. The boardwalk allows access to otherwise inaccessible parts of the coastline.

The majority of walkway expected to open by February 2020, with the Marion Council progressively repairing the 20-year-old structure over summer, which will see more than 2km re-open. This will cost $238,000 and is funded from the Council’s existing budget. Detours will continue to be in place around Kurnabinna and Grey Road gully sections. View maps of trail showing sections open, closed, and set to be re-opened by February 2020.

On November 26, the Council endorsed a $4.8 million plan to upgrade and renew further sections of 8km walkway. The plan includes investigating design realignment and rebuilding Kurnabinna and Grey Road gullies and completing the linkage of walkway between Heron Way Reserve and Field River. The Council has committed $2.44 million, and will seek matching funding from State or Federal governments to complete the necessary renewal work. The Council has developed a long-term renewal plan to completely rebuild the structures, which would cost an estimated $14.5 million over 15 years.

Tragedy, Sadness and Healing

Response

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Walking SA

Tragedy in the North

Climbing the Great Wall at Moonarie Gap

The news that two climbers had died at Moonarie Gap, on the escarpments of Wilpena Pound, came out of nowhere. Immediate thoughts were with the families and friends of the two young men. We learnt that the cliff at Moonarie is a renowned climbing destination so thoughts included the local and international climbing communities. But the effect on the traditional custodians of the land was a wake-up call for the climbing and the walking communities alike.

The reaction of the Adnyamathanha, the indigenous nation of the northern Flinders Ranges, was unexpected. It was immediately evident that an impact on climbing and walking in, around and beyond the Wilpena Pound was a distinct possibility. I am a back-packing walker of the northern Flinders Ranges going back to the 1960s and a Heysen Trail end-to-ender but this was new to me. What should I think? What should we think? How should we react, if at all?

Map of where Moonarie Gap is on Wilpena Pound

I wrestled considerably with my thoughts, and the thoughts of others, until I came to three words: Respect, Listen, Learn. This story is about the follow-up of users of this wonderful country, in recent times and over thousands of years.

Continue reading article

Even though October’s WalktoberSA is ending, there’s still plenty of walking opportunities

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Walking SA

With October ending we’re wrapping up our WalktoberSA month-long promotion of all things walking.

Even with the warm weather ahead, there’s always plenty of places in South Australia to explore on foot:

• With 600+ walks on our website, it’s easy to find somewhere to walk
• Or grab one of themed “best-walk” lists

Like what you’ve been seeing? We need your support to help us promote walking opportunities throughout the year. October’s #WalktoberSA was possible through a grant from the State Government via the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing.

We are the peak body in SA for walking, but we’re a not-for-profit organisation with only a little help from the government so we rely on supporters, just like you, to promote walking to all South Australians.

If you’re able to, please support our work for as little as $22 per year. Support us.

Week 3 Winners of School Kids “View from my walk” Competition

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Walking SA

The winners of our third week of our School Kids “view from my walk” competition are:

Instagram user keljohn12 with a great photo of walking to school and finding ducks
Instagram user Karen with a great photo of walking to school and challenges of their less enthusiastic dog Bailey

Thanks to Scout Outdoor Centre they have won a $50 voucher.

Throughout October take a photo of something you love or find interesting as you walk to or from school. Use the hashtags #walktoberSA and #way2go to enter our competition for a chance to win a weekly prize. Thanks to Scout Outdoor Centre there are two $50 vouchers up for grabs for each school week.

The competition has run for the first 3 weeks of Term 4.

More walking = more fun = less cars = safer children.

Looking for some tips to help you plan your family’s active travel to and from school?
Visit the Way2Go website at dpti.sa.gov.au/Way2Go or Google “Way2Go families”.

View what others have shared.

The competition commences on Monday 14 October and closes on Thursday 31 October. Competition prizes will be announced weekly on Monday 21 October, Monday 28 October and Thursday 31 October. View the full Competition Terms & Conditions.

This October there are two competitions:

Competition #1: ANYONE: Share your “view from my walk” photo for a chance to win a weekly prize throughout October
Competition #2: SCHOOL KIDS: Take a photo of something you love or find interesting as you walk to or from school. Use the hashtags #walktoberSA and #way2go to enter our competition for a chance to win a weekly prize during Weeks 1, 2 or 3 of Term 4

The competition is part of Walktober – celebrating walking throughout October.

Week 2 Winners of School Kids “View from my walk” Competition

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Walking SA

The winner of our second week of our School Kids “view from my walk” competition is Katie Fotheringham, with a photo of her and the kids walking along the road to Watervale Primary School.

Thanks to Scout Outdoor Centre they have won a $50 voucher.

The competition will run for the first 3 weeks of Term 4.

More walking = more fun = less cars = safer children.

Looking for some tips to help you plan your family’s active travel to and from school?
Visit the Way2Go website at dpti.sa.gov.au/Way2Go or Google “Way2Go families”.

View what others have shared.

This October there are two competitions:

Competition #1: ANYONE: Share your “view from my walk” photo for a chance to win a weekly prize throughout October
Competition #2: SCHOOL KIDS: Take a photo of something you love or find interesting as you walk to or from school. Use the hashtags #walktoberSA and #way2go to enter our competition for a chance to win a weekly prize during Weeks 1, 2 or 3 of Term 4

The competition is part of Walktober – celebrating walking throughout October.

Week 4 Winners of “View from my walk” Competition

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Walking SA

The winners for our third week of our “view from my walk” competition are:

Instagram user @scottp180 with a photo of spring flowers found when exploring the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens. There’s plenty of trails in the gardens to walk, including a wheelchair and pram accessible walk around the lake.
Instagram user @melbohall22 with a photo of a Forester moth on a fairy fanflower in Spring Gully Conservation Park near Clare. There are three trails in the park exploring the gullies and ridges.

Thanks to Scout Outdoor Centre they have each won a $50 voucher.

Throughout October share your “view from my walk” photo using the hashtag #walktoberSA to enter our competition for a chance to win a weekly prize. Thanks to Scout Outdoor Centre there are two $50 vouchers up for grabs each week throughout October.

Take a walk in a nearby park, along the beach, along a river, in a national park or on your walk to work – anywhere in South Australia. With over 600 ideas of places to walk around SA there’s always somewhere nearby to explore on foot.

View what others have shared.

View the Competition Terms & Conditions.

Good luck and enjoy a walk! You’re just two feet from some of the best places in South Australia.

This October there are two competitions:

Competition #2: SCHOOL KIDS: Take a photo of something you love or find interesting as you walk to or from school. Use the hashtags #walktoberSA and #way2go to enter our competition for a chance to win a weekly prize during Weeks 1, 2 or 3 of Term 4
Competition #1: ANYONE: Share your “view from my walk” photo for a chance to win a weekly prize throughout October

The competition is part of Walktober – celebrating walking throughout October.

Conference Presentation: Getting More Green Man Time

Conference Presentation

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Walking SA

Walking SA Board member, Ian Radbone, presented at the 2019 Australian Walking & Cycling Conference which was held in Port Adelaide on 24 & 25 October 2019. The theme of the conference was Active Transport in a Changing Climate.

Presentation: Getting More Green Man Time

Australia has developed the most sophisticated traffic light management in the world, designed to minimize the disruption to traffic flow caused by intersections. How does this management apply to Adelaide’s CBD, characterised as it is by:

being a city centre
having a strong orthogonal (grid) street network and
wide roadways?

How is the imperative to minimize traffic disruption reconciled with the professed political priority for walking over other transport modes? This paper explores the options to gain more green man time.

View presentation

View Walking SA’s Position Statement on The Green Man: Improving pedestrian signal phasing at intersections and other signalised crossing points. Walking SA calls for the development of state-wide pedestrian traffic signal guidelines. Walking SA calls for councils to review pedestrian signal phasing at intersections and crossing points in busy pedestrian areas, in order to reduce pedestrian wait times.

About Ian Radbone

Ian has a passion for active transport, particularly in urban areas. Ian is a former chair of the Bicycle Institute of SA but has also been recruited to the Board of Walking SA to promote walking as a transport activity.

With a background in transport research, town planning and public policy at the UniSA, he has a wealth of experience in transport planning, advocacy and policy development.

Conference Presentation: Measuring walking and walkability

Conference Presentation

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Walking SA

Walking SA Board member, Bill Gehling, presented at the 2019 Australian Walking & Cycling Conference which was held in Port Adelaide on 24 & 25 October 2019. The theme of the conference was Active Transport in a Changing Climate.

Presentation: Measuring walking and walkability

Along with breathing clean air and drinking clean water, walking is so much a given in our lives that people rarely think about it. Until they can’t. Bill will discuss why measuring walking is important, and the challenges in doing so. We will explore some practical methods to measure walking and how they differ from the ways we measure car and bicycle traffic. We will also discuss walkability, which are the causal factors that encourage or discourage walking in the community. We’ll look at the new technologies becoming available to measure walking and walkability.

View presentation

View the supporting Technical Notes.

About Bill Gehling

Bill has a lifetime’s love of walking and cycling, as well as a career in science, information technology and policy, measuring and counting things that matter. He is on the Board of Walking SA.

Walking Awards Presentation, 2018/19 Annual Report and AGM

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Walking SA

Walking SA held its Walking Awards Presentation and Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 23^rd October at the Jade in Flinders Street, with a healthy attendance of over 70 people from member clubs, organisations and supporters. We greatly appreciate the attendance and engagement with those there on the night.

Walking Awards Presentation

Many volunteers and others have contributed to South Australia’s great walking trails, walking clubs, and walking promotion and opportunities for health, wellbeing, recreation and tourism. In its fourth year, last night’s annual Walking Awards presentation recognised sustained and outstanding contribution to walking at all levels throughout South Australia.

Awards were presented to 12 organisations and individuals, celebrating their contribution to walking in South Australia. Awards were presented by Matt Cowdrey MP, Member for Colton, and Tuesday Udell, Walking SA Chair.

View 2019 Award Winners

Annual General Meeting and 2018/19 Annual Report

Walking SA held its Annual General Meeting immediately before the Awards Presentation.

The 2018/19 Annual Report was distributed at the AGM and Tuesday Udell, Chair of Walking SA, spoke to the report identifying a range of highlights from the past year.

View the 2018/19 Annual Report

Announcing new Executive Director for Walking SA

New Executive Director for Walking SA, Helen Donovan

Walking SA is delighted to announce that Helen Donovan has been appointed as our new Executive Director. Helen has been a keen walking and cycling advocate for many years, and is passionate about behaviour change by connecting research to policy and actionable outcomes. With a good knowledge across all our focus areas of bushwalking, transport/health, she will be working to seek the best outcomes for all trail users, continuing to advocate for walkers particularly where they are disadvantaged on trails or they are unsafe in urban environments.

Guest Speaker on trails

Ben Trewren was a guest of our Q&A. He was awarded the 2018 Terry Lavender Churchill Fellowship to explore opportunities for trail destinations to attract and grow world class ‘shared-use’ interests. Having recently returned from his exploratory trip overseas, he is moving on to completing his investigation report. Ben spoke about how the key to a world-class trail seem to lie in being community initiated and led, and how every one of us owns the outdoor space, and how we might bring more people into discovering trail and outdoor experiences. We’re very much looking forward to his final report, and seeing how what he observed and learnt could be applied to South Australian trails.

Board Member Appointments

We’re delighted to appoint one new member to our Board. The range of skills and expertise complement the existing Board, and help towards the vision of representing and advocating all forms of walking including for health, transport and leisure.

Lorraine Thomas
As a keen bushwalker, Lorraine walks with and leads walks with ARPA Bushwalkers and Adelaide Bushwalkers, and will bring her enthusiasm and can-do attitude to Walking SA. She leds by example, demonstrating and encouraging others to get more involved in encouraging others to walk.

Retiring Executive Officer & Board Members

We thank the work of our retiring Executive Officer and Board Members:

Greg Boundy, Executive Officer
Greg is retiring after over four years serving as our Executive Officer. Over this time the profile of Walking SA has been raised, developing a strong foundation and voice. We thank Greg for helping to direct and facilitate this growth in our voice and reach.
Ian Budenberg, Board Member
Having contributed and served on our Board since 2013, Ian is retiring from the Board. Walking SA acknowledges and expresses our appreciation for the significant contribution Ian has made over the past six years of service.
Nola Bellenger, Board Member
Having contributed and served on our Board over the past two years, Nola is retiring from the Board. Walking SA acknowledges and expresses our appreciation for the significant contribution Nola has made over the past two years of service.

New Executive Director for Walking SA

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Walking SA

Walking SA is delighted to announce that Helen Donovan has been appointed as our new Executive Director. Helen will take up the role on October 29.

Helen has been a keen walking and cycling advocate for many years, and as a City of Adelaide Councillor is a strong advocate for prioritising urban planning as a means for improving health outcomes. This includes a recent success with getting the full support of all councillors for the City of Adelaide to develop a walking strategy.

With a Doctorate in Psychology (Health), she is passionate about behaviour change by connecting research to policy and actionable outcomes. In her work with Heart Foundation Walking she was involved in the rollout and evaluation of state-wide health behaviour change programs to increase physical activity participation across all 79 local government areas in Victoria.

With a good knowledge across all our focus areas of bushwalking, transport/health, she will be working to seek the best outcomes for all trail users, continuing to advocate for walkers particularly where they are disadvantaged on trails or they are unsafe in urban environments.

With an extensive career in project and program management for large national and state-wide organisations she will be a valuable asset in liaising with a range of stakeholders.

Helen started her career in the army reserves, and has worked with the organisation Trojans Trek, which conducts wilderness based interventions which reconstructs the psychological health and well being of service and ex service personnel.

Her passion in enabling physical activity in South Australia will help Walking SA to achieve its vision of seeing more people walking more often.

2019 Walking Award Winners – Recognising contributions to walking in South Australia

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Walking SA

Many volunteers and others have contributed to South Australia’s great walking trails, walking clubs, and walking promotion and opportunities for health, wellbeing, recreation and tourism.

Now in its fourth year, last night’s annual Walking Awards at the Jade in Flinders St recognised sustained and outstanding contribution to walking at all levels throughout South Australia.

If you know of someone who should be considered for 2020’s walking awards please do consider nominating them, we’re accepting nominations throughout the year. View past Walking Award winners.

2019 Annual Walking Award Winners

Department for Environment and Water

2019 Special Recognition Award – Group Organisation

Developing the ‘Roof Top Loop Walk’ Accessible Trail at Naracoorte Caves The new 850m-long Rooftop Loop Walk provides universal access for people of all ages and abilities, giving all wheelchairs and people with prams access to experience the fascinating world of Naracoorte Caves. …

City of Tea Tree Gully

2019 Local Government Award – Organisation

Heart Foundation Walking Campaign In early 2019 the City of Tea Tree Gully saw the opportunity for expanding the Heart Foundation Walking program across their city. As Heart Foundation Walking is a well-known brand with strong connections to the community the walking groups would be a measured …

Health Focus, Port Augusta City Council

2019 Local Government Award – Organisation

Bizzi Walkers Program The Bizzi Walkers is a regular walking group, supported by Health Focus, an initiative of the Port Augusta City Council. Health Focus provides social support in a group setting for people over 65 years. Health Focus has been providing a Walking Group Leader for the Bizzi …

District Council of Cleve

2019 Local Government Award – Organisation

Trail Development and fostering a regular community health activity event (parkrun) The District Council of Cleve is being awarded for the upgrading of the Carappee Hill Hiking Trail, and fostering the community-led parkrun event on the Yeldulknie Weir Trail. The Yeldulknie Weir Trail, awarded …

Willunga Basin Trail Inc.

2019 Special Recognition Award – Group Organisation

For the Willunga Basin Trail development The Willunga Basin Trail Inc has instigated and is now delivering a new trail that will encourage walking and connection to local stories. The project is a work-in-progress to construct a 120km walking trail circumnavigating the Willunga Basin south of …

Jill DeCianni, Heart Foundation Walking

2019 Special Recognition Award – Individual

Abundance of heart – Jill goes above and beyond her duties as a Heart Foundation Walk Organiser for the Brilliant Support Walking Group. The group meets on Mondays and Wednesdays every week, and loops around the newly re-developed Thorndon Park Reserve in Rostrevor, in association with …

Mary Smith, Heart Foundation Walking

2019 Special Recognition Award – Individual

Leading with heart – Mary had always been a keen walker, but it wasn’t until she retired in 2015 that Mary joined a Heart Foundation Walking group, the Glandore Community Centre Walkers, in suburban Adelaide. They walk together every Tuesday morning. Since then, Mary has not only clocked …

Zara Lupton, Willunga Basin Trail

2019 Special Recognition Award – Individual

Zara has been heavily involved in the Willunga Basin Trail project as Secretary, exploring route options, and now leading volunteers in the trail construction phase. Zara became an accredited bush walk leader and has been identifying manageable walks for the group, leading and scheduling those …

Chris Davies, Willunga Basin Trail

2019 Special Recognition Award – Individual

Chris was involved in the Willunga Basin Trail project as Chair, being a member the Friends of Willunga Basin in 2009 when the idea of a trail was first formed. From 2011 Chris was a key member exploring route options, and is now leading volunteers in the trail construction phase. Chris became …

Jasemin Rose, St Agnes Bushwalkers

2019 Longstanding Contribution / Distinguished Service Award

Jasemin has been a member of the St Agnes Bushwalkers since 1982, having served in roles and on the committee member for many years. Involved in work with Walking SA, including some of the annual April Opening of the Bushwalking Season events, Jasemin has also been involved in saving Angove …

Grant Smith, WEA Ramblers Bushwalking Club

2019 Longstanding Contribution / Distinguished Service Award

Grant joined the WEA Ramblers Bushwalkers in 1989. Since then he has participated in just about every Ramblers walk, to date completing over 760 hikes. From early on he has always been involved, first by taking on the role of Transport Officer, organizing getting walks to distant locations. For …

Graham Hallandal, South Australian Recreation Trails Inc (SARTI)

2019 Longstanding Contribution / Distinguished Service Award

Graham has been involved from the initial vision and concept of the Lavender Federation Trail network, through the formation of the South Australian Recreation Trails Inc (SARTI) group, and then joining their Board. He was key in liaising with the Rural City of Murray Bridge on the initial …

To walk, or to run?

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Walking SA

To walk, or to run?
In other words, if you’re looking to improve your health, is it better to commit to an occasional all-out sweat fest, or incorporate more walking and moving into your day?

A study suggests there’s an answer to this years-old conundrum: It doesn’t matter.

Research from the American Heart Association suggests that it doesn’t matter as long as your workouts fall into one category: aerobic exercise – defined as any movement that raises your heart rate and gets you moving and sweating for a sustained period.

An easy, regular walk or run to get involved in is parkrun. With 35 locations around South Australia each Saturday morning, Parkrun welcomes walkers as well as runners. Parkruns are free, socially-focussed 5km community events. Everyone in the community is invited to get involved – as walkers, runners and volunteers. It’s a great community, you’ll meet new people, and enjoy the coffee afterwards at a local cafe or meeting place.

Source:
Moderate‐to‐Vigorous Physical Activity and All‐Cause Mortality: Do Bouts Matter?
Published 22 Mar 2018, Journal of the American Heart Association. 2018;7:e007678

Week 3 Winners of “View from my walk” Competition

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Walking SA

The winners for our third week of our “view from my walk” competition are:

Instagram user @amyallman with a photo of a fun family day out exploring Mount Lofty Botanic Garden. With plenty of trails its a great place to explore on foot. View photo.
Instagram user @lambfarmer with a photo walking the trails up to Mt Magnificent. View photo. The trail is a 3.5km loop up to the summit.

Thanks to Scout Outdoor Centre they have each won a $50 voucher.

View what others have shared.

View the Competition Terms & Conditions.

Good luck and enjoy a walk! You’re just two feet from some of the best places in South Australia.

This October there are two competitions:

Competition #2: SCHOOL KIDS: Take a photo of something you love or find interesting as you walk to or from school. Use the hashtags #walktoberSA and #way2go to enter our competition for a chance to win a weekly prize during Weeks 1, 2 or 3 of Term 4
Competition #1: ANYONE: Share your “view from my walk” photo for a chance to win a weekly prize throughout October

The competition is part of Walktober – celebrating walking throughout October.

60 Best Dog Walks in Adelaide

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Walking SA

We’ve listed 60 of the best walks around Adelaide to walk your dog, including trails in national parks, forests, river walkways, linear reserves and the coast.

We know that having a dog encourages you to walk more, and that there are numerous health benefits to dog walking.

Throughout October we’re celebrating walking with #WalktoberSA.

View over 230 dog walks on our website.

60 Best Dog Walks in Adelaide

Belair National Park

With eight marked trails and a bonus route, there’s plenty of walks to do with your dog in Belair National Park. The park is close to Adelaide, nestled in the foothills. The trails vary from Easy Walks to Hard Hikes. A couple of the Easy Walks are suitable for people of all abilities, including for wheelchair access, for those with mobility issues and for prams. The trails are of a high standard and are well marked. You can walk your dog in this park provided it remains on a lead.

Here’s some of our favourite walks in Belair National Park:

	Wood Duck Walk 1km, 30 mins, Easy Walk A pleasant short walk around Playford Lake. For accessibily notes and an Accessible Map of Belair National Park, refer to the Accessibility page on the National Parks and Wildlife Service SA website.
	Lorikeet Loop Walk 3km, 1h 25mins, Easy Walk The trail is an Accessible trail, and is suitable for wheelchair users and prams. For accessibily notes and an Accessible Map of Belair National Park, refer to the Accessibility page on the National Parks and Wildlife Service SA website.
	Heritage Tree Walk 1km, 20 minutes, Easy Walk This easy walk winds its way around prominent heritage trees.
	Valley Loop Hike 3km, 1 hour, Moderate Hike Follows the forested banks and lower slopes of Minnow Creek and passes the Railway Dam, with ducks and seating.
	Microcarpa Hike 4.5km, 1hr 45mins, Moderate Hike Walk through one of the most diverse and best-preserved woodland areas remaining in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
	Waterfall Hike 6.5km, 3 hours, Moderate Hike The most challenging trail in the park takes you through Echo Tunnel and to the picturesque rock escarpments of the seasonal Upper and Lower Waterfalls.

View all trails in the park

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Bushwalks Close to the City for Evening Walks

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Walking SA

Now that daylight savings has started, short after-work bushwalks are a good evening activity.

We’ve compiled a list of 25 short hikes which are close to Adelaide.

Throughout October share your “view from my walk” photo via social media using the hashtag #walktoberSA for a chance to win a weekly prize.

Explore more walks in the 750 walks in our Find a Place to Walk directory.

25 Short After-Work Bushwalks

The Botanical Trail, Marino Conservation Park

1.5km, 45 mins, Moderate Walk

Enjoy a wander through Marino Conservation Park on the Botanical Trail, which meanders through coastal heath to the Marino Rocks Lighthouse. There are views up the coast to Brighton and Holdfast Bay, and south to Port Stanvac, as well as views to the city skyline.

View Walk

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Hiking Expo, 2 April 2023, Belair National Park