Hello! How we all doing? I starting walking [half](/@focus.folks/going-for-a-walk-soon) the 1200 kilometre (745 mile) Heysen Trail last week Here's where I've been and what I've seen:

![Spalding footbridge, South Australia](https://images.ecency.com/DQmR4UuK3yySKfvReZqmczEHci1MbutiiRiZSuqRqaa1WHM/img_0.9451243999587398.jpg) ^{_{Footbridge at the edge of town in Spalding, South Australia}} I spent some time waterproofing the leather of my boots with *Dubbin,* the night before I left ![Waterproofing my boots with Dubbin](https://images.ecency.com/DQmdm4HrgrQjrYAf3vN6qqjM8hegqcvuWTBL93qP675xRTE/img_0.7717442615576872.jpg) Like a dear friend told me years ago: *look after your boots, and they'll look after you* ![Schnitzel Burger with chips from Tucker on Ayr in Jamestown, South Australia](https://images.ecency.com/DQmTGw2tnZNPh5WnrZ4C6fGU8vx9pNgFtu48bXtWeY7UtQK/img_0.7687580478357788.jpg) I also had a meal with my darling in Jamestown the following day, before we parted ways The chips were great The burger was *alright*

Day 1

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmWCVcZganptT1q8Kc7A86iFAGEfh5ERMtLoCa3VAPTWXH/img_0.8728181562901138.jpg) ^{_{Setting off}} Monday 30 Aug 2021, I set off from the Spalding footbridge. My ultimate destination is Cape Jervis, 616 kilometres away ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmc5GyGVp5WfrJo4Xxk9SSTE6CEG2SXrKVN4zNp4TWgKR4/img_0.10733102387466353.jpg) ^{_{Here we go!}} Spalding is a small rural town in the Mid-North region of South Australia It has a pub, a general store, an oval, a bowling green, a school, a police station and a bunch of decent people. Most of whom I don't know ![Heysen Trail sign and track](https://images.ecency.com/DQmSJjpTdo7UTfnZc9BwiBF8KWHeaoceccS2pH4MBTJy2Dm/img_0.8652629290338387.jpg) The Heysen Trail took me out of town and along the edge of a paddock ![Farmer's paddock](https://images.ecency.com/DQmeq39inoAiGb6DrJ4fg2VMFjmcKQGkP3bimuYVzfudpX3/img_0.31316917122820015.jpg) ^{_{Looking back on where I'd just been}} ![Across to Spalding in the distance](https://images.ecency.com/DQme5w3DCZNkhGVGKdJtJDC6r2NXc48DWRAR3UCyGpwmy3F/img_0.06106915526319794.jpg) ^{_{...and across to Spalding}} Following the fenceline lead me to a small iron gate ![Small iron gate](https://images.ecency.com/DQmRqxagabjHCwpaiionvG2V9nZWMYoL4VBhiVk5ZENvD3f/img_0.9548490190264123.jpg) Passing through, the trail joined up with an *old friend* ![The Bundaleer Channel](https://images.ecency.com/DQmUhMTana27SrDUgjjWE2mDkgYAnyNP3XQVmRHtBr5fZTZ/img_0.6483445950624995.jpg) The Bundaleer Channel! ![Looking rough](https://images.ecency.com/DQmQHJU3nQy9zmn1oHWeYeeMKfHovtKB8RX3JeEyxvtLevA/img_0.5229872638769034.jpg) Though in some sections it was looking a little worse for wear... I guess the concrete in these parts was washed away during what must have been some *extreme* flooding events over the last century Hard to fathom how that's possible, but it's easy to underestimate nature The Heysen Trail runs parallel to the Bundaleer Channel for a while ![The Heysen Trail and Bundaleer Channel](https://images.ecency.com/DQmSLPuAiwwfiBattkBuHZSj2odaTKrMt1LAQXf5UaHvPkf/img_0.9705888565714532.jpg) Perambulating away... ![The Heysen Trail and Bundaleer Channel](https://images.ecency.com/DQmXy7Jf9fQgKFWnLxS25hFysjr8uGT6R2p6tx5voDVyQ2a/img_0.3204876920938294.jpg) ![The Heysen Trail and Bundaleer Channel](https://images.ecency.com/DQmWdQKmZDr1sXpkjQcqo9xzQFRDS863fggcDCHKuyFyGsg/img_0.4959436176592838.jpg) I walked past this one spot and heard a rustling as I went I stopped and looked around, trying to work out where the sound was coming from ![*Rustling*](https://images.ecency.com/DQmWDF73A41Qs3JrVk3YR5YFR7KMyPQzqpk6QhR39nNSCgC/img_0.1471199792060189.jpg) It was a snake ![Danger Noodle!](https://images.ecency.com/DQmeM1zwTRMh5S6yXg2g4wquDsuZPc3jeTHTo3YuCmb8mAX/img_0.7370335148691824.jpg) Also known as *snek,* *nope rope,* or my personal favourite, *danger noodle* Specifically, it was an Eastern brown snake *Pseudonaja textilis* The second-deadiest inland venomous snake on Earth, behind the Inland Taipan, *Oxyuranus microlepidotus,* which also lives in Australia As you can see, the grass on the trail had been cut fairly short. There wasn't much length for it to hide in My feet would have passed within 30 centimetres of our scaly friend, and I didn't see him until I was already a few metres ahead, looking back He was either basking in the sun when the sound of my walking disturbed him Unlikely, as I would have noticed on approach Or, he picked the most inopportune time possible to emerge from his underground winter slumber It might have been a case of the latter, because as I stood and watched, he was frantically searching for the entrance to his burrow within the stubble Prodding the ground here and there with his nose, he'd look back to check on me, then prod around some more, then look back. Prod, prod. Look back. This went on for at least half a minute. Finally, he found what he was after and disappeared underground Now imagine this all from the point of view of this poor long boi. You've been hibernating quietly underground all winter, waiting for that glorious moment when you can emerge and warm your blood under the golden sun The surrounding soil feels a little warmer than usual. This is it, you decide, making a tentative slither toward the surface And just as you catch your first glimpse of sunlight in many months, some enormous, hulking, bipedal monster lumbers past, mere inches from your snout. You can't just reverse-slither back to safety. So in a panic you pop out of the ground completely, turn around faster than you've ever turned around before, and... *Argh!* *Where's my burrow!* *Where? Where?!* *Come on, come on!* *Argh! ***It's*** still there. Why did ***it*** stop?!* *Where are you! Come on! Come on! Please be here. Please! I WAS JUST IN THERE!* *Argh!* *Is ***it*** looking at me!?* *Argggggggggh!* When suddenly, \*slooop!\* ^{_{*Phew! Safety...*}} ^{_{*Maybe I'll wait a little longer. Sure am hungry...*}}

And with that, I continued on my way ![Bundaleer Channel](https://images.ecency.com/DQmQjUzrz85m1bsYAeNSmxXSJmxzXEovf5JffifEG1CHC2y/img_0.10254056188252503.jpg) That's enough anthropomorphism for today ![Bundaleer Channel Linear Park sign](https://images.ecency.com/DQmXwBcWWiFytdcWGQAZid4YboPzehGBdgrwcwDzFYSipDP/img_0.6593830794781883.jpg) ![Heysen Trail Greening Program](https://images.ecency.com/DQmXYDohY7zM4xyJZqf175JdG7d2fTiFv3KBvRXtbgeAHgA/img_0.708793931639528.jpg) ![Heysen Trail Greening Program](https://images.ecency.com/DQmVqMpjtf5pENWrLJdC25skGLVYp1inT1hcoDXtSesQVkP/img_0.753797930939225.jpg) A few kilometres later, the Trail and the Channel diverged ![The Heysen Trail and Bundaleer Channel diverging](https://images.ecency.com/DQmZN3eJPNkpXMk52tYbWBbxWrkSR4TZ8QSbboCqTrzw2ae/img_0.598975063884231.jpg) ^{_{The Heysen Trail shown in red}} But I decided to keep following the Channel, as I knew the end was nearby ![img_0.11325914133727322.jpg](https://images.ecency.com/DQmXUHkLyEaLJahKpNHRcacGGwRUX4NJFfAfPJQYeFnn7WD/img_0.11325914133727322.jpg) That's why the Strava screenshot shows me backtracking a bit in the bottom right I didn't make it to the end when I tried walking the full length of the channel the [other week,](https://ecency.com/hive-193552/@focus.folks/actifit-focus-folks-20210826t142912058z) and from the time I've spent lately studying the satellite images, I knew there was a weir there Until recentIy, I worked in the water supply for the city I live. During that time, I was able to collect a few heritage photos of the Bundaleer Channel, taken around the time it was built If you've read this [earlier post](/@focus.folks/going-for-a-walk-soon) of mine, you'll know what I'm talking about: ![A screenshot of a different post](https://images.ecency.com/DQmYP64TEf1CKFBe2ZtmnYN6RUFLQwRpkeNrxy3dpu7GLBn/img_0.2525610945795201.jpg) One of my goals on that walk was to recreate some of these heritage photos ![img_0.9012324034039025.jpg](https://images.ecency.com/DQmWAcY4PT3ox6Acj8NLy5AvkKbx7XFRXYYSy4NNpELehFS/img_0.9012324034039025.jpg) ^{_{See the weir in the background?}} When I got to the end of the Channel, I got my chance with these three: ![Bundaleer Channel Heritage Photo](https://images.ecency.com/DQmeg4RucB39jcRnsFKjPSz298zf27YQgchaR69QewiS1v3/img_0.7596560410785275.jpg) ![Bundaleer Channel Heritage Photo](https://images.ecency.com/DQmQ4Yo9t6M8ja47uoSTTg8tj9KcKKvs7UZ7DCtXFmeiMrT/img_0.48695925746115054.jpg) ![Bundaleer Channel Heritage Photo](https://images.ecency.com/DQmbPAzMt1mVSy3eVDofwU8vnT3CBEKbd78mRyggJQG2X6J/img_0.37467331578017465.jpg) And here's my attempts: ![Bundaleer Channel 2021](https://images.ecency.com/DQmcaw1c1S9W5LuF6TGj345xfh6PpcxGTGu2Fey4EZizMPK/img_0.3551185189216383.jpg) ![Bundaleer Channel 2021](https://images.ecency.com/DQmfEMn6iVigfBNm6G8yUSYceGtMYCu5b18y2A7WcCZXQir/img_0.039393960209922536.jpg) ![Bundaleer Channel 2021](https://images.ecency.com/DQmVLjDxGpaJJD3Fs1pfL96iY1TRRZN5jg71hYE9eXy5dxi/img_0.37256949280531076.jpg) How things change... ![Bundaleer Channel sluice gates](https://images.ecency.com/DQmZokicsgRSM4AUQ5U95fs6Ras1K3yXqRtUg1jkRVH5EaQ/img_0.6140542030528049.jpg) Having got them as close to the originals as I could, I headed back to join up with the Heysen Trail again, wanting to get a bit farther along the track before dark ![Bike...](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNiMgWbxzCUEBetvHoz3zNmLKZZfZdQChS76wZhHrLURA/img_0.20250061264865934.jpg) ^{_{Someone left a bike here...}} Golden hour was then upon me and it was time to set up camp and bed down for the night ![Day 1 Summary](https://images.ecency.com/DQmbZ4nMYMD4u3gdwiQb2LBrRbebBu4GTLWxxAnHZbNugXk/img_0.6258974349942361.jpg) Not a bad distance for day one...

Day 1 - 30 Aug 2021 Start: **-33.5011456,138.6109582** (Spalding town footbridge) End: **-33.537746, 138.665945** (Yakilo Homestead road)

Day 2

![Tent](https://images.ecency.com/DQmSG4EKVA786ZzzSVQ7GDmRd5Pr4xaMFYfxFnA5uXZS55R/img_0.5338457657541784.jpg) The next morning... ![Packed up](https://images.ecency.com/DQmQgEv4hVb4yRpvFwfHuxNH7C9FbuQQYyZxrH72rPaBNcb/img_0.34107526615887757.jpg) ^{_{Packed up, ready to go again}} Today's walking took me along dirt roads, past farmers paddocks and eventually into a range of hills The uphill sections were tough, the pain in my feet and shoulders was searing at times. I was carrying my home on my back, like a turtle, and the weight was bearing down on me hard. At many points I wished I was a @turtlewithwings, but alas, I am human. A mere human being, going for a walk ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmRKswhZtFrFZvxRxVCdGHmFR2ht9zPHRAfCnGqHL9VKYh/img_0.6848410876426094.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmYHFnVE7deamuBvHdxvVipFSWYAeXbTnBJCwJqU1S85WA/img_0.9070975301841637.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmddNFTQJcXNYfCT13LKFz2damuh2z2X2k1hBoUP2rHsDx/img_0.7088189576391646.jpg) One of the highlights of this day were all the drystack slate walls: ![img_0.12349852884511345.jpg](https://images.ecency.com/DQmbpAXh4rLBdvjzjRTooK9v9xju4yXhQsWrk24JPHq39xv/img_0.12349852884511345.jpg) I assume they were built by the early pastoral settlers to keep their sheep and cattle in, before wire fences became an option ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmVoFMJtx5nndVPVbjihw6Zsa7hTheigwMN1AFenP2pFVN/img_0.6859679771493912.jpg) The end of the day grew near and I was exhausted, so I found one suitable for pitching my tent behind, out of the wind... ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmX5Kxj7qvy9mMJtudKozDpo69uRitXkxERgXGu8aKgWPv/img_0.06603872684433636.jpg) ... and set up camp for the night ![Dinner](https://images.ecency.com/DQmUX7AMeJTjz4s3QXqDXE3JND7hJELJqyB1hL9nHqQxoLk/img_0.15955812785017331.jpg) ^_Dinner Saw a couple of rabbits while looking down the hill, which @bunny11 was happy to hear about later. Managed to catch this photo of one with it's ears sticking up. It's pelt was a bright ginger colour, unusual for a wild bun ![Rabbit ears](https://images.ecency.com/DQmVRWdduXAo3geU9dD142ezxVcqX724WycVJW8CtP7p6nV/img_0.4259039497421191.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmYNyndoKCkpgmgvMW9QJJBkUwFZWasw96X976P5vfDq8d/img_0.6743103666683468.jpg)

Day 2 - 31 Aug 2021 Start: **-33.537746, 138.665945** (Yakilo Homestead road) End: **-33.524735, 138.699725** (Drystack wall near Whistling Trig campsite)

![Day 2 Summary](https://images.ecency.com/DQmQAP2fa6MASGs61hFWGoQrMn2m49SHHokqg2bNnSAKYUh/img_0.7225648710158566.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmdr7Q6nCm44tgk86LksuUtJ1rr8wRamxperzjV6Y73Mtx/img_0.9024401743446714.jpg)

Day 3

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmPMXdH6hULgMrWgN19dUS1H1mE6WPxdBXWHGBgq1pfcRy/img_0.7614300423817836.jpg) With my camp packed up again, I set off. There was only a couple more hills to go and then the trail made a turn down into a valley I was looking forward to that. There was no respite from the wind up here. Constantly beating. It was the kind of gale where you felt like an active participant in the erosion process ![Willalo Windfarm](https://images.ecency.com/DQmanjWkuvi8W9z1nMNR5Sy3iy41GEHanCzUjbNrypZ61kQ/img_0.4636451687648194.jpg) No wonder they've built a windfarm along this ridge I looked up and saw something familiar in the distance... ![Triangulation Station](https://images.ecency.com/DQmYnzDCMrmgfXiPJMvHT1Xy8HUDJrmkrqwrzMX5ZcPfp9E/img_0.4686591976814931.jpg) It was a Triangulation Station, same as the one from my hometown FLAK video ![Whistling Trig Triangulation Station](https://images.ecency.com/DQmP6RX7HHieYbD9Vz23dh6SSTGNf3cX6MJsYA9JT6ownCx/img_0.9048733280309834.jpg) ![Whistling Trig](https://images.ecency.com/DQmTjBCX7LssFdXCZXjZsRsk6h74PnUhMuCSrMZyxKwdrcT/img_0.48749693302223407.jpg) ^{_{Whistling. An appropriate name}} I could refill my drinking water here, which was perfect timing as I was running low About an hour of walking later, the Heysen Trail turned down a dirt road. Twenty steps off the slopes into the valley saw the wind calm to a gentle breeze I was surprised by how soon it let up, but very grateful ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNRbqyyEYMi6FH1kGYpzhg5Ub4cNrRQHratnV58nAnmw3/img_0.035237421292719236.jpg) I came across this overflowing header tank a short while later: ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmdW1k5L6AD82UzMtEFqm9VeAGvcmUZHggaKXtJM7FzwB9/img_0.4023588110941448.jpg) The flow was pretty constant ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmeyXJ5rYW1oa9KijvsTG2RiVSWnLXTJPaNm9godNWe8vv/img_0.8227877354810686.jpg) And I was quite tempted to strip off then and there and have my first "shower" in days, but decided against it and pushed on ![View](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNRbqyyEYMi6FH1kGYpzhg5Ub4cNrRQHratnV58nAnmw3/img_0.035237421292719236.jpg) By now I was closing in on the town of Hallett. The promise of staying in four solid walls at the Old Hallett Railway Station spurred me on, and I covered my longest distance yet ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmRJvFzvNTUxX2B7mSXUHdAJHTEbHfVeqNqo5hYzrqr8tf/img_0.18226060736014701.jpg) ![The Core](https://images.ecency.com/DQmRFRHvRuLatfHAFekrVqsBjsWYGDebG7rXUESixiqQ51E/img_0.9390811360347758.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmPUWQA1GrMA1FeeUhUya49dTBbWyqnfwq1vqhJD44DfL8/img_0.23346623572318667.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmb6VmFEcfgahbxbLGNLYzKRhpZrjMz3yA5QE9aPR8eqHw/img_0.16840242203277256.jpg)

Day 3 - 01 Sep 2021 Start: **-33.524735, 138.699725** (Drystack wall near Whistling Trig campsite) End: **-33.4211566,138.8920262** (Old Hallett Railway Station)

![img_0.3943837230566258.jpg](https://images.ecency.com/DQmPE6Ks3vmPSH7h63DjoczurSEs57MB8gMvq712vky15Ld/img_0.3943837230566258.jpg) ![img_0.4368297576499445.jpg](https://images.ecency.com/DQmaREic25NqAwcKM3q86edeeUZ4ZmiuaiYkeu1YEX6iUGp/img_0.4368297576499445.jpg) ![img_0.3933648072036927.jpg](https://images.ecency.com/DQmdHkrYtb13v1S7XujY6bmUNn1rizRz9ySm87fdDfn43B6/img_0.3933648072036927.jpg) Thanks for sticking with me so far! I think I'm going to leave it here for now. I'm writing from my phone on the trail and it's really time I be making tracks I'll share my time in Hallett with you in a separate post This one's long enough [//]:# (!pinmapple -33.454484 lat 138.719048 long d3scr) Especially now that I'm going to talk about the magnets...

In my [Going for a Walk Soon](/@focus.folks/going-for-a-walk-soon) post, I mentioned magnets at the end but didn't explain what that was all about So here they are: ![Hive Magnets](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNod5KCjFetS9JvQh2YtPJ1AYg9irUTQvJzsYVyhVCLWk/img_0.7112806678284139.jpg) I had 500 printed up to take with me and I'm sticking them to any metallic objects I find along the way Scanning the QR code takes you to the @hive.magnets account, which I set up to be a landing page for potential new Hive owners It's my contribution to marketing the network and I hope to get some new folks involved. People that might never have discovered Hive otherwise Check out the post I made for that account [here](/@hive.magnets/qr-code-read-this-d5649b79b7fae) I tried to strike a balance between keeping it simple and explaining Hive comprehensively. Didn't want to overload anyone reading it for the first time. I hope it's informative and persuasive. Tell me what you think

Thanks for your time

![focus.folks.png](https://images.ecency.com/DQmT4bJHFxkNDmgyLJnfxJpSckvogfVaqjAEGisgWBMHmoy/focus.folks.png)

mattclarke