Joel C Photography | Adelaide Wedding Photographers

This is the second leg of the Heysen Trail (starting from the southern most point). This leg stretches from Cobbler Hill Campsite to Tunkalilla campsite. I walked a bout a km further to the Tunkalilla Lookout and then up Tankalilla road where I was picked up by my wonderful supporter, also known as my wife Aki.

This leg is tough! You go down 5 or 6 valleys and come straight back up – sometimes literally straight up the side of a mountain. The path is well worn and the signs are easy to find and follow. However, for the first 2 hours I was all alone and only saw the backs of some other hikers as they turned off the path going towards the beach near Eagle Hole Campsite.

The trail follows a creek (now I know why it’s called Deep Creek) for parts – and past a great waterfall, winds through forest and scrublands and showcases a variety of flowers – blossoming in July. There’re plenty of animals – I even came across an echidna who seemed happy to be photographed. A multitude of birds fly around and there are plenty of kangaroos hoping about – or may be I kept seeing the same one bounding in front of me and then sitting down to rest only to be rediscovered and run away again …

One of the world’s great long distance walking trails, South Australia’s 1,200km Heysen Trail extends from Cape Jervis, on the rugged south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, to Parachilna Gorge, in the Flinders Ranges. It passes through some of SA’s most diverse & breathtaking landscapes, traversing coastal areas, native bushland, rugged gorges, pine forests and vineyards, as well as rich farmland and historic towns. Taken from http://www.heysentrail.asn.au/ .

I walked the first leg from Cape Jervis to Cobbler Hill with 2 good friends. The scenery is stunning, the trail being 90% along coastal cliffs. Kangaroo Island can be seen across the ocean from most parts, there’s rugged rocks, beach alcoves, awesome green fields and plenty of wildlife.

The going isn’t too tough, the climbs are fairly short lived and the paths are mostly well walked/signed. At one point we did reach a ‘do not enter’ sign guarded by a fierce-looking sheep. But the sheep eventually let us through and we soon found the official ‘Heysen’ arrows again.Once you get to Blowhole Beach, however, the walk becomes quite tough – first scaling cliffs and then a solid climb up to Cobbler Hill Campsite.

My guidebook (the official Heysen one) states this leg is 10km, however signs along the way argue it’s more like 16km.