From the Archive: a pamphlet produced in 1977 shows just how little has changed.

See the end for suggested 2024 updates.

What better way to relaunch our journal than by paying respect to its name and the people it comes from.

The Kaurna of the Adelaide plain have country from Parawa in the south to near Crystal Brook. By the 1860s, their language was no longer spoken, but several early efforts to write it down have survived to this day.

Tandanya of course is named for the location of the city of ...

From where the Heysen Trail ends in Parachilna Gorge, the Flinders Ranges extend North through pastoral leases, conservation areas, Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park, Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary and the Indigenous Protected Area of Nantawarrina, to Mt Hopeless.

This item reports on an environmental monitoring project being conducted in the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park by members of the Park’s Friends group. Early reports on this project have appeared in the Autumn, 2017 and Summer, 2019 issues of Tandanya. It is a Citizen Science project that sees Friends group members working under the guidance, and with the support, of scientific professionals including Mr Robert Brandle, Senior Conservation Ecologist, DEW. (from Tandanya Autumn 2021)

Each year the Wednesday Walkers hold a week long bushwalk / camp which is open to all club members. There is no overnight walking but the scenery and activities are great. 2020 saw 16 ABW members going to Gammon Ranges. (from Tandanya Autumn 2021)

Five ABW members made their way to Hobart, flew to Melaleuca, then completed a 10 day South West Cape loop hike encountering a wide variety of conditions. (From Tandanya Autumn 2021)

Scattered throughout our state there are trail monitors on trails and Summit Logbooks on peaks and they provide us with a wealth of information. For example they show how many walkers are using the trails which, in turn, will validate trail improvements and infra structure measures. These statistics are also useful when governments review policy such as the Pastoral Act late last year and can assist local entities in land management and regulation. From Tandanya Autumn 2021.

The route from Cape Jervis to Victor Harbour is one of the most beautiful coastal walks in SA. It traverses Deep Creek and Newland Head conservation parks as well as the magnificent Waitpinga Cliffs. From Tandanya Autumn 2021

For four cold days in June 2020, a group of bushies used canoes to explore the water ways of the Eckert wide Waters just south of Berrie

This ten day loop walk was based in and around the Parc National des Pyrenees in France and the Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido in Spain. The loop combined sections of the three main trans Pyrenees walking trails: Le Sentier des Pyrenees GR10 (France), La Senda Pirenaica GR11(Spain) and the Pyrenean Haute Route. I used the Cicerone guides for these routes as well as some maps I had acquired through book depository and some web blogs for route ...

Walkers:Jonathon Brice(L), Lee Marling, Ben Campbell, David Carmichael, Carlos Garrido, Michael Close, Nino Fioretti, Roxanne Crook, Tai Lim, Bruce Marquis

Where: Caroona Creek Conservation Park is on the western edge of the Olary Plain and around 6km E of Hallett on the Barrier Highway. Tourilie Gorge is in the northern section of the park. This park was proclaimed on 18 February 2010.

Indigenous history: The Mount Bryan East Area had been occupied by the Aborigines for thousands of years and evidence of this ...

In March 2017, Trevor Jones led Bruce Hood and me (Ben Trainor) on a 14-day walk traversing the Western and Eastern Arthurs, in the wilderness of the Southwest National Park, Tasmania. Soon after discovering overnight hiking in around 2012, I read about the Arthur Range and marvelled at its jagged peaks and alpine lakes. Photographs by famous Tasmanian wilderness photographer Peter Dombrovskis and prominent Sydney Bushwalker Dave Noble inspired me to dream of exploring the range.

In late 2016, Trevor posted on ...

Envenomation First Aid Reviewing The Pressure Immobilisation Technique Garry Tretheway provides here a critical review of the use of compression bandages in the treatment of venomous bites. The opinions expressed are those of Garry. We would welcome some response to the article.

Australian Snake Bites

In Australia there are about 3,000 snake bites per year, resulting in about 500 hospital admissions (Weldon, 2017). Many receive antivenom; on average two per yearwill prove fatal. About half the deaths are due to bites from the brown ...

In late March this year Trevor Jones and Bruce Hood undertook a 13 day walk and paddle in an attempt to get to Vanishing Falls, in the SW National Park in Tasmania.

At Vanishing Falls, the Salisbury River flows over a dolerite plateau underlain by limestone. The river flows over the edge of the dolerite sill, a 70m drop, and drains straight into a cave system in the limestone. The above-ground channel downstream of the plunge pool flows only during floods.

The ...

Having become a regular hiker over the last few years, I felt the need to stretch myself a little further and try out some solo hiking. I have had the urge to go back to Tasmania after several trips had always left me feeling the desire to experience more of this beautiful part of the world. So when I had the opportunity to tackle the Three Capes Track in Tasmania alone – I jumped on it.

The trail is a 4 ...

Glenelg R cruisin’

Just as Charles Ryder “revisits” Brideshead castle in Evelyn Waugh’s famous novel, we were revisiting the Glenelg River, some 30 years after our initial sojourn. Ryder develops a close relationship with Brideshead, as we also had with multiple visits to the Glenelg River over the years. Our initial courtship started on a full moonlit night at Easter, and we had a midnight paddle on the limpid waters at Moleside camp that time.

Initially a group of 4 ...

The Australian Alps Walking Trail (AAWT) begins in Walhalla, Victoria and traverses the high peaks and plateaus of the Australian Alps to finish at Tharwa near Canberra covering a distance of about around 700kms. The trail passes through five remote wilderness areas with some parts undefined or overgrown and poorly marked so good navigation skills and equipment are essential.

There are no general stores or accommodation along the way apart from Mt Hotham and Thredbo Alpine resorts and there may be ...

Roger on a rock pinnacle above Lake Pedder

John Bartlett asked if I could provide some notes on a trip I did to Tasmania in my early years, with a special mention of Lake Pedder, to complement his article about the wilderness photographers Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis. Both these remarkable men died well before their time while taking part in the activities they were passionate about.

Many of you would have seen Bob Mossel’s presentation to the club about ...

Because of my great fondness for bushwalking in Tasmania, and because of my overall love of the island, I have always relished in the photography of Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis. I began walking in Tasmania when I was twelve in 1946 whilst living in Hobart, and after leaving to come back to Adelaide in 1952, I have been back 23 times. I went walking on most of those return trips, and I have had the good fortune to complete ...

Like many of you in the Adelaide Bushwalkers, my partner and I love nothing better than walking in the Northern Flinders Ranges. I first visited the ranges by car in 1977 when the Gammon Ranges were still part of Balcanoona Station, and during Easter 1984 I completed my first bushwalk in the Gammon Ranges National Park. By 1990 I had become so inspired by the area that I published a book on walking in the Northern Flinders Ranges. I was ...