On Monday May 1^st, a horde of RASA members descended on the pretty Mid-North town of Burra, intent on Bushwalking. Most took over the Paxton Square Cottages with the rest of us inflicting ourselves on the caravan park and other establishments around the town. That evening, after a brief meeting we enjoyed a communal barbecue in the function centre. This was available for our meetings each afternoons.

Tuesday: We headed out for Redbanks Conservation Park, renowned for its diprotodon fossils. After walking a couple of kilometres along a windswept, bluebush-covered ridge we descended into the valley of the Baldina Creek. At the bottom we were pleasantly surprised to find a string of turquoise pools. Following the creek we went through an eroded landscape with the creek flowing past cliffs which accounted for the name “Red Banks”. After lunch we went up through mallee woodland, across a bluebush plain and up to the ridge. The one disappointing aspect of an otherwise very enjoyable day was our failure to sight the elusive diprotodon.

Wednesday: A cold, wet and windy morning but the weather improved as the day went on. We drove to a location east of Waterloo. Today’s walk was mostly along tree-lined roads and tracks through farmland in the Tothill Creek valley. An in and out section  took us up to Webbs Gap in the Tothill Range with good views of the landscape on both sides of the range. Crossing the valley and up the hills on the other side brought us up close to the impressive generators which make up the Waterloo windfarm. After lunch we picked up a section of the Lavender Federation trail which runs along the hillside. The last section was quite a steep downhill.

Thursday: This was a lay day. The members group went their various ways. Some spent the day taking in the sights of Burra, a very interesting and historic town. Others visited other nearby towns such as Clare, Farrell Flat and Terowie.

Friday: On a cold and windy morning, we started the walk in the vibrant metropolis of Point Pass. From there the track went uphill through paddocks and along farm tracks; mostly a gradual climb but steeper as we approached the ridge-line. The walk along the ridge gave us wide views on both sides, particularly eastward towards the Murray River. The last section was down a steep rutted track.

Saturday: The walk was an in and out hike along a section of the Heysen Trail in the Hallelujah Hills, south of Burra. This was a gradual walk through mallee scrub, along narrow tracks and creek beds. Part of the way along the walk in, we took a detour up a cleared hill which gave us some views of the surrounding countryside. We returned to the Heysen trail and continued to the lunch stop at another elevated site. Unfortunately, our views of the surrounding countryside were restricted by the drizzly rain which continued on and off for much of the walk. 

Sunday: A teeth-chatteringly cold morning. Once we had cleared the frost from the cars we headed north, through Mt. Bryan to the Heysen trail at Caroona Creek Conservation Park. A walk of about 2 km along a deeply rutted road brought us to the descent into Touralie Gorge. The track followed the bed of the slate-lined creek through scrubland which appeared untouched apart from some faint traces of an old coach road. We were about halfway down the Gorge when it became necessary to turn around although some of the group were understandably keen to keep going. On the way back we stopped for a group photo with a wind turbine blade.

That being the last walk of the camp, we celebrated a most enjoyable week with a dinner at the Burra Bowling Club. Thanks and congratulations to Judy and the rest of the organising committee on a very successful camp. Thanks also to Chris who, on most days, organised an alternative walk for those looking for an easier option.