Heyson Trail Thru Hike

[Stamina]

Well, not much chat about this great trail on here but I’m planning to hike NB from about mid September. Almost three years ago I did the southern bit from Cape Jervis up to Mt Lofty and came home for family reasons but very keen and motivated to complete the trail from where I left off. I’ve picked up a nice wall map of the trail and a guide book from the friends of the trail site.

Just looking at the comments on FarOut, it doesn’t appear that there is a huge number of hikers going out there to thru hike?
Even as far as bookings etc go at some of the huts, it also doesn’t appear to be too much of a worry. The main thing seems to be staying informed about water availability. Personally I don’t really care too much for sleeping in huts anyway.
If anyone has been on trail recently I’d love to hear from you.

[lseries92]

I through hiked the Heysen SOBO in 2022. I did not see many through hikers but I did encounter a couple of day walking groups. As most of the day walking groups organised by the Friends of the Heysen work there way NOBO you may share the trail a little more than I did.

Most of the huts on trail are not bookable - they are primarily first in, first served with some being locked but the instructions for getting access are on the Heysen website. Some of the historic huts were wonderful to be able to stay in - especially Curnows Hut, Mayo Hut, and The Dutchman Hut. These nights were pretty cold so having a fireplace was nice (although collect wood well before Mayo Hut as there is not much close by). Depending on where you are, just watch that Labour day long weekend in October where everything books out (if you are somewhere where you do need to book a campsite/accommodation).

I only had problems with water at Calabrinda Creek where I was warned there was no water but ended up just being a slow tap (meaning I did a water carry for no reason). It may be a different story for you as you will be passing through the drier sections later in the year than I did. Farout seems to be the best resource for keeping on top of the water situation with enough updates to make me comfortable that I was not going to run into water problems. YMMV though.

Favourite sections were Mt Bryan to Tourilie Gorge, Georgetown to Bundaleer Forest/Curnows Hut, Greys Hut to Mt Remarkable/Melsrose, and most of the Flinders especially the Yourambulla Range outside Hawker. Many people seem to skip the Yourambulla Range as they use the alternative routes in and out of Hawker to resupply which is a shame. The ridge walk was my favourite part of the Heysen.

I actually stayed in a few of the pubs between Crystal Brook and Kapunda as they offered very affordable accommodation. I stayed at the Spalding Pub for a couple of nights and the owner actually picked me up/dropped me off on the road near Whistling Trig so I would not have to camp out there on my way to Hallett. I was glad I did this as the wind was howling both days (there is a reason why it is called Whistling Trig!).

Favourite towns were Quorn and Burra. Make sure you put time aside to see Burra as it is spread out and there are heaps of things to see, not all of which are open on the same days so some planning may be required depending on what interests you. One of the few through hikers I met actually organised their entire hike to revolve around a single day where they caught the Pichi Richi railway in Quorn.

[Stamina]

Thanks Iseries92, great information there! I know some people in Spalding that I may stay with. Staying at some of the huts sounds like a great option from your experience. I’m surprised honestly that more people don’t through hike this great trail.

[Stamina]

What percentage of hikers are using FarOut now?