After visiting some of the locations that were part of the Festival Fleurieu on Sunday, the kids and I enjoyed an adventure through the Deep Creek Conservation Park. There is 15 walking trails through varying terrain to choose from, including sections of the Heysen Trail, with a distance/length to suit every family. Some of the more advanced trails also provide spectacular scenery of the Backstairs Passage, Kangaroo Island and the rugged Deep Creek valley. The easy trails are a gentle introduction to hiking, with all tracks accessible by 2WD.
The National Park is home to an array of native wildlife, so keep an eye out for western grey kangaroos, short-beaked echidnas, or some of the 100 bird species that can easily be heard or spotted when walking in the park. We packed some binoculars and they were well used.
We chose the Stringybark Loop Walk, which was a short, relatively flat walk through old growth stringybark forest. Starting from the Stringybark campsite, it was ideal for us (8, 7 and 4 year olds), being a 30 minute, 1.5km loop. We took out time exploring along the way, and stretched this out to over an hour. It was signposted the whole way, and there was no need for a map.
Along the way we searched for witchety grubs in rotten logs, found termite mounds, got very close to some kangaroos, found cubbys erected against trees and collected lots of special items.
If you are wanting to stay for a couple of days, there are five campgrounds to choose from, as well as private cottages and retreat-style accommodation as well.
There is a digital map App, however we did not have any signal on most of our walk. I would suggest saving the map on your phone or printing them out as a back up measure. You can download the maps here: Avenza PDF Maps application. When used within the app, the maps allow you to calculate distances and enable you to locate yourself within the park. You can also download them from here.
What: Deep Creek Conservation Park
When: Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, however may be closed on days of extreme fire danger.
Where: 108km south of Adelaide. Access is via Main South Road from Adelaide or Range Road from Victor Harbor.
Who: The whole family
Cost: Fees apply to enter and to camp. Buy day and camping permits at the park self-registration stations. You will need the correct change as there are no electronic banking facilities available in the park. Check out the fees here.
More Info:
W: www.parkssa.gov.au
P: 8598 0263
F: www.facebook.com/parkssa
