Para Wirra, Devils Nose and Barossa Goldfields with Four Seasons 12/3/19

Graham led us on a lovely walk in ideal walking weather.

We started at the small car park to the right just after the entrance to Para Wirra Park and walked in. It was a bit cool as we started and rain was predicted, but we only got a few tiny sprinkles over the whole walk.

Last night I was feeling  a bit tired and I feel it was justified as the walk was (according to my tracker) 15.29km long and involved a climb in elevation of 513m!!!

We finally made it to the Devil's Nose, after many years of driving past the car park and seeing the signs for the walk as we orienteered through the park. The view from here was amazing, as was the walk along the spur to get there- with stunning views on either side.

 Despite the dry weather the bush was still lovely.

Many agreed that this walk again, or one like it,  in cooler weather (say August/ September) might be a very different and also enjoyable experience.  We might need to miss the slippery slopes on the Barossa Goldfield end though, which many found rather challenging (rounded small rocks acted like ball bearings as we tried to walk up and down the slopes- the bush on the sides of the road was much safer) .

The orienteers among us enjoyed the experience of walking on the tracks (unscathed by the scratchy bush) while remembering past experiences finding controls nearby (or not finding them) .

We enjoyed morning tea sitting on fallen trees as we entered the Barossa Goldfields area.

One walking pole was left behind here- only to be found on the way back still waiting to be reclaimed by its rightful owner!!!. (not shown in this photo)

We walked past the old tunnel for the tramway in the goldfields and also the old battery ruins.

old tramway tunnel.

Steep slope.  We had spotted this road from the Devil's Nose, and looked up at the Devil's Nose from it.
"Wow... Did we come from up there??"

We had lunch at the Knob - looking down over a delightful slope and enjoying what shade we could find,





then proceeded along the Lizard Hike, admiring the Lizard Rock itself

lizard rock

and the flowering Xanthorrhoeas, which the bees were also enjoying,

chimney rock

more photos on the way back

Sometimes something just tickles the funny bone.. In this case we wondered "why??"

We returned to the carpark to enjoy cake leftover from the weekend birthday celebration in honour of Yvanna's birthday. Doug supplied the hot water and tea and coffee facilities, as he is currently the holder of the equipment.  Next time we agreed that he should bring a washing up bowl and we would all wash up our own to save the work a little. Thanks Doug for taking on this role for the moment.

We missed some of our members who were unable to attend due to sickness and thought of those who are no longer able to walk with us on a walk like this, so this blog is just a little way of sharing the walk with you guys.

A brochure for the lizard hike can be seen here.  It contains some interesting information.