NPs near Adelaide?

[Champion_Munch]

Hey all,

Am going to be in Adelaide for a weekend in March next year, first time around there. Looking to hire a car out and camp at a nearby national park and do some day hikes (or even overnight hike if something particularly spectacular?). Can anyone recommend the best NP within a couple of hours' drive of Adelaide?

Cheers,
Munch

[beardless]

I recommend Mount Remarkable National Park - about 280km from Adelaide - provides a great range of day walks including overnight hikes (worth seeing Alligator Gorge, and walking from Mambray Creek through Hidden Gorge). http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Flinders_Ranges_and_Outback/Mount_Remarkable_National_Park

I am yet to explore it but Onkaparinga River National Park has many options for a variety of walks. There are details of the options under the heading "Further Information" at this link:http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Fleurieu_Peninsula/Onkaparinga_River_National_Park_and_Recreation_Park

Also, about 100km south of Adelaide is Deep Creek Conservation Park which includes part of the Heysen Trail Along the coast. http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/find_a_park/browse_by_region/fleurieu_peninsula/deep_creek_conservation_park

Near where I live there are short walks at Belair National Park, which is about 20 minutes drive (30 minutes train ride) from the city, although it is not wilderness I have seen koalas, emus, echidnas, and kangaroos. There are a couple of seasonal waterfalls but they probably will not be flowing in March. http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide_Hills/Belair_National_Park

There are a number of conservation parks in the Adelaide Hills very close to Adelaide for short walks including: Black Hill CP, Morialta CP, Cleland CP (Mount Lofty & Waterfall Gully). These can be accessed separately or together for longer walks as part of the Yurrebilla Trail which all up is a 2-3 day walk (which I am yet to do). http://www.southaustraliantrails.com/pdf/yurrebilla.pdf

And here is a list of some walks in South Australia: http://www.southaustraliantrails.com/trail_experiences.asp?type=walking The list can be searched by area.

[eggs]

Depends what you are after.
There are a number of parks in the Adelaide Hills that provide nice day walking. Black Hill, Morialta, Cleland and Horsnells Gully are right on the edge of metro Adelaide in the hills zone and are ones we regularly frequent. Although they are linked by the Yurrebilla Trail, there are few recognised camping options. But some of the forestry areas further in have campsites.

For combining camping with walking, I would be thinking Deep Creek Conservation park about 1.5 hrs south of Adelaide.
There are some loop options there as well.
This is a great online pamphlet and map http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/ba0df4d9-e6a6-4670-b300-9e4f00b3f170/deep-creek-talisker-bushwalking-bro.pdf

For a great taste of the Flinders Ranges there are Hidden Gorge and Alligator Gorge as mentioned by Beardless. Mambray Creek also allows camping in March, but most northern parks will not allow backpack camping till after April due to fire danger. Mt Remarkable area is around 3 hours drive, but the closest Flinders Ranges gorge and a bit of a hidden gem is Telowie Gorge a little under 3 hours drive, near Port Pirie. Its currently closed due to a bushfire earlier in the year, but if its open, I would recommend it.
http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Flinders_Ranges_and_Outback/Telowie_Gorge_Conservation_Park

There is also some spectacular coastal scenery on the adjacent York Peninsula at Innes NP, but distances are deceptive. It will take 4 hours to drive the loop up and then down to get there.

cheers
Brian

[Champion_Munch]

Hi beardless/eggs,

Thanks very much for the quick and detailed responses! From your suggestions I am thinking either Deep Creek or Mt Remarkable/Telowie Gorge. Deep Creek certainly seems more accessible but, I guess with the closeness to Adelaide, it will also be quite busy? What kind of weather might I expect at that time of year... rain/storms.. chilly at night? How likely are bushfires in the area? What's access like to those parks, 2WD or 4WD?

Eggs, by backpack camping, do you mean hiking in with a pack and camping at a 'remote' site? So it would still be possible to camp at Mambray Creek itself?

Cheers,
Munch

[eggs]

Yes. Mambray Creek has an all year round campsite at the entrance.
Both parks are accessible by 2WD. There is only some good dirt road on the short final legs.
Deep Creek has much cooler and wetter weather and more campsite options including hiking into remote sites [look up Eagle Waterhole campground which has a hut]. I would expect it would not be very busy unless you were there on a long weekend or during school holidays.
A dry summer could lead to some fire risk in March, but the risk is much less.
I would think weather is generally pretty good in March, just cooler than summer.

[Hallu]

Belair is more like a big public park, so you might try Mount Remarkable and Innes NP instead. Both are more like 3hrs from Adelaide, the only one close enough to meet your timeline is Deep Creek, or the Western end of Coorong. Adelaide is not like Melbourne or Sydney, there aren't any wild NPs less than 2 hours from the city, unlike the Blue Mountains or Lerderderg. It's farmland and built up areas.

[Champion_Munch]

Thanks guys, lots of great info again. I'm from Brisbane so I suppose am pretty lucky to have so many great NPs and hiking options within 1-2 hours drive from the city.

Sounds like a close call between Deep Creek and Mt Remarkable areas. Deep Creek would certainly be simpler, being only half the drive time away, and with a hut at Eagle Waterhole campground I could avoid the hassle of lugging a tent with me on the plane. But from photos Mt Remarkable looks much more exciting, particularly since I have never done any kind of 'outback' type walks before. However, heat might be a concern, I imagine 30+ degrees during the day up there in March?

What would be the recommended hiking options in both parks, with limited time? Either Alligator gorge or Hidden gorge circuits, or both if I can squeeze them in over the two days? Just noticed Adelaide sunset time is about 7:30pm in March, that's handy. Deep Creek circuit hike seems to get good reviews on the net, but then it's a fair walk from the Eagle Waterhole campground from what I can tell.

Cheers,
Munch

[philm]

My suggestion would be go for Mt remarkable park - if you have not been outback or in the Flinders it is magic country. At Mambray Creek you could either base yourself at the camp gound and do a few great day walks - Hidden Gorge circuit - about 20 easy kms. or you could walk to Allagator Gorge and either return same day (about 8 hours) or camp out for the night and come back via another route such as the range overlooking the Gulf on the Western side of the park - I think this is Battery Range? It is one the national parks walk map.

Great spot - in March it can still be hot and you will need to carry water in - there are tanks at stops along the way but these may not be full and the water will need to be purified.
We have walked the part several times and the best was soon after they had 30mm of rain in January (the left over from a tropical cyclone from up north) - plenty of water and the temperature were in the low 20's - you can be lucky with the weather.

If you like coastal walks Deep Creek is also good but I prefer the hills!

[Champion_Munch]

Hi Philm,

That sounds nice! However, based on a comment from eggs earlier, I'm not sure if I can camp out for the night outside of Mambray Creek?

Looks like I'll probably have to be pretty lucky RE:weather, hopefully it won't be too hot. A little bit of water in the rivers would be nice also.

Cheers,
Munch

[beardless]

However, based on a comment from eggs earlier, I'm not sure if I can camp out for the night outside of Mambray Creek?

Eggs is the one to ask about these places but from my experience the Mambray Creek campground (in Mount Remarkable National Park) is a really good base for day walks or for overnight walks. The Mambray Creek campsite has water, showers and toilets. An example of a good overnight walk would be from Mambray Creek to Hidden camp or Kingfisher flat to camp overnight and then walk out the next day through Hidden Gorge. The main burden is that water should be carried on such walks as at that time of the year you cannot rely on water at those campsites (other than Mambray Creek).

If instead, you choose to head down south of Adelaide to Deep Creek Conservation Park, there are places to camp but again it is my understanding you cannot rely on water sources. If you have not found it already, here is the brochure for it http://www.yankalilla.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Bushwalking_DeepCreek.pdf.

[eggs]

We did an overnight walk out of Mambray to above Alligator Gorge and then back through Alligator and Hidden to Mambray Creek car park.
It was the last night in October and quite warm.
It was also the last day of the year we could do this before overnight camping was banned for the fire season. This is generally Nov through end of April.

Given that camping would be restricted to the official campsite at the entrance, Hidden Gorge/Battery would be a good day walk loop from there [18km].
And a short drive to the northern end to Alligator Gorge allows another good loop walk through that gorge as a day walk [9km].
I would not be expecting any water to be available during these walks in March.

[Champion_Munch]

Hi beardless and eggs,

Thanks for the suggestions. Think I've been convinced into Mt Remarkable NP w/camping at Mambray Creek, should be exciting!

I'll have time for two half-to-full day walks, what would be the best walks to make the most of my time here? Hidden Gorge + Mt Cavern Circuit look like they would fit the time slots well, Alligator gorge as also recommended by eggs but the drive to the start of that walk might be a bit hairy for a 2WD rental (based on what I can gather on the internet)? Or is it worth taking the drive to Melrose to do Mt Remarkable summit track?

Cheers,
Munch

[walk2wineries]

The Mt Remarkable summit is a nice walk and there are good pubs at Melrose! and the camping/caravan ground does have a bush camp area.

You don't really need to go that far from Adelaide though

If you look at the Barossa map http://www.southaustralia.com/media/doc ... arossa.pdf you will see there are camping areas there and the Hale and Warren conservation parks, and KaiserStuhl are all good. Might still be a bit warm in March, difficult to predict. How committed are you to roughing it? If you wanted to do the Deep Creek /Newlands walks near the beginning of the Heysen, commercial camping grounds and excellent pubs in Victor Harbour....

[theraj]

Hi there, signed up to the site after being a reader for a long while specifically to comment on this post.

Mt Remarkable is a fantastic NP - 3 hrs drive, some very memorable locations.

The summit, alligator gorge, hidden gorge, mambray creek are all very worthwhile locations to visit. Mambray is popular with the caravans, but an absolutely gorgeous bush camp with the luxury of warm showers and 2x pretty decent toilet blocks

Otherwise, there is plenty to do close to Adelaide - Cleland CP especially - there are some walks which are more popular than the malls balls, but, avoid the main summit trail, and there is generally some very spectacular walks that you can link together to make a full day of it without leaving the park and end up back where you started. Trails range from Easy to Majorly hard work.

Belair National Park - also close to adelaide (<20k), lots of walks, again, you can string a number of tracks together and make a full day of it, ending where you started with minimal (if any) doubling back.

Morialta NP - <20k from adelaide.

With the above 3, you could even (with careful planning and entrance selection) do away with the vehicle and bus it in/out using metro area buses.

Deep ck I have heard is fantastic, but i havent done it, yet.

If you are after something more overnight style, there is they heysen and yurrebilla trails which run past adelaide, and through each of the above parks. Camping o/n without being a pirate is however difficult in the main parks close to adelaide, but there are options.

there are tonnes of options for walks... the above is just a few.

[Champion_Munch]

Hi theraj,

Thanks for taking the time to register just to help out in this thread! Really appreciate it.

RE: suggestions for parks close to Adelaide, they seem nice but I would like to get away from civilisation as much as possible. I imagine the near-to-the-city options are something similar to Mt Coot-tha and D'Aguilar NP near Brisbane (for anyone who has been here), and although they are a nice place for a day walk, if I had an overnight to explore I would probably prefer to drive a bit further to see a more spectacular park well away from the noisy main roads. Maybe the Adelaide options are a bit different... if anyone has visited parks near both cities perhaps they can provide a perspective!

walk2wineries, I'd probably prefer to do it 'rough' and get away from any busy towns if possible, although the thought of a decent pub meal on the return trip sounds appealing. What would be the best option for an walking overnighter at Deep Creek? Or would it be better to do day walks to experience most of the park? I can see plenty of routes on the maps but not sure which tracks are the most interesting.

Cheers,
Munch

[whitefang]

In regards to deep creek I recently did an overnighter with two short-ish days. Left the car at Goondooloo Cottage and followed the Heysen Trail to Trig Campground and then followed the Deep Creek Cove Hike to Tapanappa Campground for the night. The following day I walked from Tapanappa to Goondoolooo Cottage along the Heysen Trail. If you wished to walk for a bit longer you can break away from the trail at Eagle Waterhole Campground and follow the Aaron Creek Hike back to Goondooloo cottage. There is also the Boat Harbour Circuit Hike that starts at Tapanappa that could be incorporated into it. This hike covers a lot of the park.

The highlights from that walk are climbing out of the cove and Deep Creek Waterfalls. I posted some photos a while back from this hike. You can see them here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16922

If you were willing to travel into the Flinders Ranges I hear Mt. Remarkable NP is really good and if you are willing to go even further north the Flinders Ranges NP is beautiful. I only got time to do the St. Mary's Peak hike last week while I was there, which was fantastic. But you could make camp somewhere and do plenty of day walks - some long and some a bit shorter.

[walk2wineries]

Hi Munch
I do day walks and supported walks, not into carrying tents! I can tell you that the Cobbler Creek, Trig and particularly the Waitpinga campgrounds are good, and on can do a good circuit of newland head from Waitpinga which would obviate the need to carry your tent.... I have no idea why the Heysen goes down the very dull Kings Beach Rd and continues on roads, I've been there and would give it a miss. But the sections between Blowhole and Kings are stunning; Heysen was indeed a bit rough afer the Deep Creek waterfall (Northbound) athough I've heard a rumour its been improved.
But I think Mambray Creek (western access to Mt Remarkable) is great and so is the Mt Remarkable summit.
Enjoy

[Champion_Munch]

Hey all,

Back from my trip now, had a blast! Thanks for all the tips and suggestions.

Ended up heading to Mt Remarkable NP - certainly lives up to it's name! The drive was long and extremely boring (I thought highway driving in QLD was boring... I'll never complain again), set up camp at Mambray Creek and got stuck right into it.

Set off for the Mt Cavern Circuit in the afternoon... wasn't quite prepared for how hot and dry it would be. Glad I took 3 L of water as I drank almost all of it. Views were incredible... loved the ridge walking, and back down into the gorge from the summit was just awesome. Walked around Daveys Gully for a beautiful sunset over the Gulf. With the conditions so dry no need to set up the tarp so had views of the Milky Way overhead from my sleeping bag. Great way to test out the new tent!

Next morning hit up Hidden Gorge. Bit different to what I was expecting, but very enjoyable. Saw lots of roos and wallabies. The last bit over the Battery was extremely hot by midday, I struggled to find shade to rest and eat. At the end of the circuit I got confused and actually started the circuit again. Walked for about 2 km before realising it was the same track I was on this morning (it looks completely different in the middle of the day!!).

Some pics below. Glad I made the trip and hope to get back some day to explore more of SA...

[beardless]

Good choice Champion Munch. Glad you enjoyed it. Looks like you has some nice light and weather.

[walk2wineries]

Which road did you take? The national road from Adelaide to Pt Augusta is a bit boring, but fast. (NB if you really want boring, keep going to Coober Pedy!) its much prettier up the old Main North road through Melrose. Suggest 2 hour Mt Maria walk at Wilmington to break up the walk a bit.... or come up via the Clare Valley and walk/ride the Reisling trail!

[philm]

Gald you enjoyed the walk - yes the country is dry and in the open the sun can be hot when you are exposed on ridgelines etc.
You saw what I beleive to be the best of the park.
Well done on the trip and yes water can be an issue unlike other locations in Australia.

[walk2wineries]

Which road did you take? The national road from Adelaide to Pt Augusta is a bit boring, but fast. (NB if you really want boring, keep going to Coober Pedy!) its much prettier up the old Main North road through Melrose. Suggest 2 hour Mt Maria walk at Wilmington to break up the walk a bit.... or come up via the Clare Valley and walk/ride the Reisling trail!

sorry, Mt Maria to break up the DRIVE a bit. Thanks for the photos - we did Mambray to Alligator last year, very much liked it.