I hiked the Heyson Trail!
Well, I hiked a few kilometres of it in the Deep Creek National Park. That was enough.
After beach hopping down the Fleurieu Peninsular from Adelaide, I decided I needed to do something more active. First stop Deep Creek National Park, at the bottom of the peninsula.
Seriously, this park is stunning.
Rugged coastlines, beaches (hard to get to, but they’re there), lots of kangaroos and birds. Oh my, the birds! I’ve had magpies and fairy wrens playing around my feet in my campsite, and I’ve also seen galahs, corellas, willy wagtails, scarlet robins, rosellas, crows, swallows, and even crimson rosellas, which I thought were an east coast bird but apparently have an Adelaide breed. And there are others I haven’t identified yet. My bird book is getting quite a workout.
I arrived from Rapid Bay quite early so I would have plenty of time to do a hike. I picked an easy one to start. Hahahahahaha. Famous last words.
The Marano Creek walk is 6.7k down through the bushland (and I do mean down, some very steep down), along the coast (with amazing views), across to the beach (where I stopped for a swim), then back up to the campsite.
It was all very lovely, until I started back up from the beach to the campsite. 2k of very steep track. Uphill. All the way. Very steep. No let up. It felt more like 200k.
If you follow me on Instagram you might remember the Mount Kiera ring track where there was 500m of a very steep staircase with instructions not to stop due to falling rocks. That had nothing on this!
There were a couple of times I thought I wasn’t going to make it. I just wanted to curl up beside the track and melt into the earth. I can’t count the number of times I had to stop and “admire the view”. It wasn’t just getting my breath, my thighs were burning. I’d already done over 4k and to finish this way was agony.
I hadn’t gone far before I felt like I hadn’t had a swim at all.
I probably should have twigged when the hike was grade 4 and the information finished with “the terrain is steep and may be slippery. Be prepared with adequate footwear.”
Fortunately there was a lot of view to admire on the walk back up, and lots of kangaroos to stop and take photos of. Walking up from the beach I understood why everybody I met was walking around the track the other way. While it was longer going back up the other way, it was nowhere near as steep.
I did eventually make it back to my campsite (obviously or I wouldn’t be writing this), and was sitting there thinking that I wasn’t as fit as I thought I was, when a young couple came into the campground.
They had just hiked up from the beach as well and were in the same state that I was when I got back. While I felt for them, it made me feel a lot better about myself. It’s not just me – it really was a tough walk back up that hill.
But when I woke up this morning I was feeling quite good. No muscle soreness at all. Still, I thought something a bit easier would be the go this morning.
Looking at the map of hikes I thought the Deep Creek circuit hike might be ok. But at 11k and grade 5 I decided against it.
Then I thought maybe the Deep Creek Waterfall hike, but that was also grade 4 and the description started with “A challenging hike for fit and experienced walkers.” Besides, at this time of year the waterfall probably wasn’t flowing. So that was also a no.
Eventually I decided to do 2 separate, easier walks.
First up the Goondooloo Ridge Walk. 4.2k, grade 2, mostly flat. That would ease me into something maybe a bit more difficult in the afternoon.
It was spectacular. Lots of birds and kangaroos. And the vegetation was beautiful. Then at the end of the track (it was an in and out walk) was an amazing lookout, taking in a lot of the park and the Backstairs Passage. Yes, that’s really the name of the waterway between the Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. I’m going to refer to it in conversation as much as possible. I know, I know, I’m a teenage boy at heart.
Sometimes an easier walk is more scenic. Especially when you actually get to look around while you’re walking rather than watching your feet all the time so you don’t slip or trip.
Then it was out to Tapanappa Lookout to take in the scenery and have lunch with a view. And learn a bit about the Indigenous culture of the region.
Sadly, when I left the lookout after lunch the clouds started closing in. By the time I got to my next walk it had started raining. Very gently, but it looked like it was closing in. So I cancelled the walk and headed back to my campsite.
Now I’m back in my campsite where it’s not raining, writing and editing photos. Then I’m going to join my neighbours for a drink in their annex.
I’ve only booked in here for 2 nights, but I’m sure I’ll have enough time to do another hike in the morning before I head off.
Seriously, if you’re in to hiking this is a spectacular national park.
