Advocating for a Kakadu of the South Walking Trail in the South East Coastal Lakes proposal

The South East Coastal Lakes are made up of six lakes or bodies of seasonal water. Walking SA has responded to a Department for Environment and Water (DEW) proposal for options as to how the lakes should be managed.

Walking SA insists that the South East Coastal Lakes environment should be managed in a sustainable way for the respectful use and shared enjoyment of multiple user groups. Primacy should be given to low environmental and cultural impact uses. There should be a focus, not only on enhanced investment in walking trails around each of the major water assets but the strategic investment, in an iconic whole of South East Coastal Lakes walking trail, a Kakadu of the South walking trail. With walking affording a 13:1 return on investment there would be no better outlay.

Walking SA supports the Montgomerie Terrace Shared Use Path, Streaky Bay

Walking SA supports the funding application for the Montgomerie Terrace Shared Use Path Project proposed by Streaky Bay Council.

We support the project’s objectives to connect and link the east and west end of Streaky Bay, to connect and provide a safe shared use path to key community facilities, and providing a better outcome for all users by separating people walking and riding bikes from the heavier tourist and agricultural traffic on Wells Street.

Specifically, the project will create a main active transport link connecting the east and west of the town, and will provide a safe route for people walking and riding bikes to and from the school.

A clearer and more identifiable shared use path with suitably marked crossing points will improve the safety of people walking and riding bikes. It will also improve active and passive surveillance on the path with lighting and the direct nature of the connection, enabling more people to use it.

Personal Mobility Device (PMD) Use in South Australia

Walking SA welcomes the State Government’s review of the growing role of e-scooters and other small-wheeled electrically driven vehicles. The fact that scooters and skateboards can now be motorised has profoundly accelerated their use and their impact on our local footpaths. Walking SA has not formed a view on electrically driven personal mobility devices. We continue to assert that walking is the most sustainable and easiest of all mobility in our cities and that many of the trips taken by these devices would be better if walked. However, we recognise that sometimes PMDs replace car trips and can play a role in making public transport more viable.

Media enquiries

Sharon Kelsey, Executive Director Walking SA
sharon.kelsey@walkingsa.org.au Ph: 0457 006 620

Improve your Hiking Skills session, Deep Creek National Park

Saturday 25 June 2023
Deep Creek National Park

Choose from two sessions:
9am to 12noon, or
1pm to 4pm

Park entrance fees included in the event fee.

Join an experienced leader from Walking SA for a guided bushwalk & skills session in Deep Creek National Park on Ngarrindjeri and 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 June’s – Park of the Month.

A Walk Can Work Wonders – Join us exploring two sections of the Adelaide100 trail

As part of A Walk Can Work Wonders we’re hosting two events to explore sections of the new Adelaide100 trail. Each event will have a short 3km walk and a longer 8km+ walk.

The walks are FREE to participate and offer short or long walk challenges. We encourage walkers to bring along a buddy, and introduce someone new to the beauty of walking.

Sunday 18 June 2023

Happy Valley Reservoir

3.4km and 9.8km options

View map and brochure.

Download GPX files for gps watches and devices:

Sunday 28 May 2023

West Beach

2.3km and 9.2km options

Join Uncle Moogy Sumner and Walking SA to Walk for Reconciliation and be a Voice for our Generation. Ngarrendjeri / Kaurna Elder, Uncle Moogy, will start our event with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony.

View map and brochure.

Download GPX files for gps watches and devices:

A walk can work wonders

Wellbeing SA is encouraging South Australians to discover the benefits of walking. There are many simple ways to add a walk into your day. Every move counts!

Every move counts

If you want to start exercising more but aren’t sure where to begin, we have plenty of ideas to get you moving.

How you can add a short walk into your day

Taking a walk is an easy way to be active and it also provides a break from the rush of daily life. Here are a few ideas for fitting a short walk into your day.

Take a walk on the wild side

South Australians are lucky to live in a state full of diverse and interesting walking paths and trails. There is something to suit everyone’s interests.

There’s over 750 places to walks on our website, from a 1 hour walk near your home with your dog, to a half day hike in a national park, or a longer trail further afield, you’re only ever two feet from some of the best places in South Australia. View some of our shortlists of bests walks.

Join us exploring two sections of the Adelaide100 trail

As part of A Walk Can Work Wonders we here at Walking SA are hosting two events to explore sections of the new Adelaide100 trail. Each event will have a short 3km walk and a longer 8km+ walk.

Sun 28 May 2023
West Beach
2.3km and 9.2km options
Join Uncle Moogy Sumner and Walking SA to Walk for Reconciliation and be a Voice for our Generation. Ngarrendjeri / Kaurna Elder, Uncle Moogy, will start our event with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony.
Read more

Sun 18 June 2023
Happy Valley Reservoir
3.5km and 9.6km options
Read more

Improve your Hiking Skills session, Para Wirra Conservation Park

Saturday 27 May 2023
Para Wirra Conservation Park

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

Park entrance fees included in the event fee.

Join an experienced leader from Walking SA for a guided bushwalk & skills session in Para Wirra Conservation 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 May’s – Park of the Month.

Launch of the Statewide Trails Strategy 2023-2033

At Sunday’s Hiking Expo Deputy Premier Hon. Susan Close launched the Statewide Trails Strategy. The Statewide Trails Strategy has been created to map the strategic priorities over a 10 year timeframe by maximising the potential of our existing trails network and identifying opportunities for new trail development or improvements.

A major focus of the strategy is to develop and promote trailbased activities that are accessible to many different groups for an inclusive experience for a wide range of trail users.

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.

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 29 April 2023
Belair National Park

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

The date has been changed from 15 April to 29 April.

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.