SA’s Wild South Coast Way went from a vision to a reality thanks to people like the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s Paul Unsworth.
"I am currently the District Ranger for the Fleurieu District, south of Adelaide. We have 27 parks in the area that we manage including Deep Creek National Park, Granite Island Recreation Park and Newland Head Conservation Park. With such a diverse range of parks, variety is the hallmark of the job.
Planning new experiences such as the Wild South Coast Way on the Heysen Trail (WSCW), managing visitors, restoring habitats, responding to fire or undertaking prescribed burns, working with community groups and volunteers are just some of the things a ranger needs to undertake.
The WSCW is mostly on the first 74km of the 1200km Heysen Trail. We knew we had a very special piece of the country along the south coast of the Fleurieu from Cape Jervis through to Victor Harbor.
Local councils, local business operators, the Friends of Heysen Trail and NPWS came together to develop the concept of a multi-day walk that was supported by the appropriate infrastructure. The walk could be done in one trip or broken up and done in sections. Local businesses would be able to provide services such as transport, accommodation or guided walks to hikers.
The project focused on the construction of four new hike-in campgrounds, two spur trails, picnic areas and lookouts, as well as interpretation planning, branding and marketing. We worked to minimise the impact on the surrounding vegetation, and not only did we exceed our targets on this, we also have several restoration programs in place to improve biodiversity.
The walk recognises that this route along the coast has been walked by Ngarrindjeri and Ramindjeri people for thousands of years. NPWS worked closely with Ngarrindjeri and Ramindjeri people to develop an app that tells their stories of this country.
The app is geo-located so if you download it before you go on the walk, it can tell you those stories at the right location along the trail.
The Wild South Coast Way has four hike-in campgrounds each with ten timber platforms or earth pads. Each campground has toilet facilities and a shelter with areas for cooking, tables and benches. They also have a water supply and even USB charging ports."
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