Hike Adelaide, Morialta Conservation Park, Morialta Falls

Morialta Conservation Park is such a beautiful location to really feel like you have escaped to another place... Morialta Falls are my most frequented hiking trails in Adelaide, because they are so close to the city, there are pleanty of options and diversity in the trails, it is a good trail to test your skills, and improve your times each visit.

Morialta Falls are part of the Morialta Conservation Park, and they are located just over 12kms from the city (see below for directions), just east of Newton and Magill.  There are 2 car parking options, within the park, there is the free parking not too far into the main entry, or you can pay and go through the boom gate, to the main car park, closer to the facilities and the start of the trails.  The walk from the free park adds about 1 - 2 kms to your hike, which I figure, you are already there, may as well make the most of it - this trail is wheelchair friendly in most parts, there is 1 steepish hill, but the rest is smooth sailing.

There are accessible car parks in the main park, where you must display a valid parking permit, and there are accessible toilets available in the toilet block also.  Note the drinking fountain at the side of the toilet block, drink up now, and you might want to revisit it at the end...

Morialta Falls holds several options to choose for your hike, varying with difficulty, and they all start from the same place. The first hike is the Plateau Hike, which leaves from the main car park, and is a great option for those with accessibility issues, as the path is reasonably flat, and there are rest stops if required. The Plateau Hike is a linear trail, and is also great for the kids, because you can climb the stairs, to the Giants Cave, which looks pretty cool. The trail then heads through the valley, along the side, and across the bridges, over the creek, where if you look up, you have a good chance of seeing a Koala or two along the way.

As you wind your way through the valley, you will begin to hear the sound of the waterfall, or feel the cold air coming from the area, until you reach the First Falls.  Many beautiful photos could be taken here, and the amount of water coming over the cliff increases substantially after heavy rains, which is a great time to visit the park.

The Second and Third Falls both commence at the same pace, and depending which direction you want to go, will determine the challenge you start with.  I usually head left, in a clockwise direction, because I like the challenge. The first hill is really steep, and I give it a 4 out of 5 for burn factor, and may require several rests along the way, but once you reach the top, you are rewarded with an amazing view of the city, framed by the landscape, and you can see all the way out to Glenelg on the coast. The Devils Nose Lookout is a good spot to see exactly how high you have just climbed, as you can see the Plateau hike below, and you can see the rest of the trail you are on, across the gorge.  If THAT HILL is not your cup of tea, there is a track that heads left, off of the main trail, which doesn't add much to your hike, but it is a more gradual climb.  This portion of the trails were added in 2012/2013, and provides a welcome alternative to the enduring hill climb.  Once at the top, at the Devils Nose Lookout, there is a rewarding down hill, and there isn't any more hills nearly as steep as that first one. The other option is to head in an anti-clockwise direction from the start, which I have not yet done, but I have heard it is not quite as treacherous as going clockwise.

As you go along the trail, you can admire the changing landscape, as you change altitude, and the direction the hill faces.  Notice the amazing Australian Native Flora along the way, and hopefully there will be something in flower at the time you do this hike, to add to the beauty of the Australian landscape.  The flower pics I took in May 2014. Always keep an eye out for Koalas, as they have a decent population in this park, and there are always alot of birds around, like Pink Gallahs, and Rosellas.  I haven't seen a Kangaroo here yet, but its not to say they arent there...

The trail splits along the way, where you have to make a choice - to commit to tackling Third Falls, or settle for Second Falls...

Third Falls is a beautiful little waterfall, and one of my favourites, as it is tucked in the valley, right out of the way, which adds to the tranquillity of the place. You might even get to see the Rock Climbing groups, scaling the face of the cliffs, across the other side of the creek.  You have to cross the creek a couple of times, to get to Third Falls, which may become inaccessible after heavy rains.  Be Safe!

Second Falls trail you can choose to go across the top of the waterfall, or follow the path to the bottom of the fall to admire it from there. There are some good spots to snap a few nice pictures to take home of Second Falls, when you take the trail to the bottom.

As you head on, and depending on which path you took, the trails all meet up again, for the descent. Be careful, as you can slip on these paths, just take it easy. The path splits yet again, and you can take the steep descent, to the car park, which isn't too bad, or you can take the stairs for the not-so-steep descent. Now, remember the drinking fountain - you may need it here....

Overall, Morialta Falls are a great place up start for beginners or an enduring challenge for experienced hikers. I like that there is a decent path for those with accessibility issues, wheelchairs, and strollers. The ease of access from the city also ticks my boxes!  This trail is part of the Yurrebilla trail network, and you can head to Norton Summit from here, near Third Falls.

From the city, head East on North Tce, onto Payneham Rd. Veer right onto Montacute Rd. Turn Right at the round about, onto Stradbroke Road. Follow the road right at the junction, then left at the next junction. As you drive along this road, there is a car park with picnic facilities on the left, which you could also follow to the main set of trails. Turn left into Morialta Conservation Park and choose which car park you want.  

Next I'll go over a slightly less known hike, but an absolute beauty!  With a hill, I have heard people call 'The Cheese Grater' - Black Hill Conservation Park, Quarry Hike.

Hike Adelaide, Cleland Conservation Park, Mount Lofty

Let's start with the mother of all Adelaide hiking trails... Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty Summit is definitely the Adelaide trail that newbie hikers aspire to conquer, and seasoned hikers aim to master.

If you haven't downloaded one yet, I'd recommend downloading a GPS tracking app on your phone, to track your hike, times, and get some stats to get an idea of height climbed and calories burnt. You can use this info to track your performance over time, compete against friends, or just to prove you did it... Feel free to post your times in the comments. A heart rate monitor is also a fun way to check how far you're pushing yourself.

Waterfall Gully is about 11kms from the city, and it takes around 2 - 3 hours to complete the return trip to Mount Lofty Summit. Remember your water bottle or to fill the hydropack, and maybe a snack. This hike is rated hard on www.southaustraliantrails.com and they aren't joking... It seems to go up and up and up... Thankfully, the park and trails are well maintained and there's plenty of benches to have a rest along the way, they're often placed so you can admire some view of the city. But wait till you get to the top, that view is so worth the effort! Directions from the city are at the end of this post.

Try not to think about the rating, it's still an achievable endeavour for many fitness levels, and ages. It's a great way to spend a few hours on a weekend with friends or family, and on your way there, you can try to spot the white obelisk at the summit... Where you're headed...

The car park at the bottom is pretty large and on a Saturday or Sunday morning, it fills up quick. Don't worry! There's heaps of parking along the road before you get to the the car park. And for the evening hike you'd best park outside the gate just incase you take too long and get locked in. It's never a fun hike if you're absolutely stuffed, and all you can think about is how you'll get your car out if you get locked in...

There is a restaurant at Waterfall Gully and they serve breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, Wednesday to Sunday, and it makes a great start to an enduring hike, or a more than welcome reward for your efforts. It is located to the left hand side of the car park, as you head towards the big waterfall.

Mount Lofty holds 2 beautiful waterfalls, and as you read on, I like waterfalls... Whether it's the sound of the water crashing onto the rocks and into the pool below, or the sight of hundreds of litres of water cascading down the cliff face, I don't know, but I love them. They're at the start of this trail, so if you're not so keen on conquering the whole mountain, you can still enjoy the tranquility of the falls, and get a few selfies while you're there.

This one is a linear trail, which I don't usually like, but as this hike looks and feels so different going up than it does going down, it works for me, it's one of my favourites. Because it's such a popular trail, you don't often see as much wildlife as some of the other trails, but the view outweighs that. On your way up the hill you can stop to see the Chinaman's Hut ruin on the left, follow a trail to Cleland Wildlife Park to the left, Eagle on the Hill to the right, or continue on to Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens, just follow the signs.

You'll almost feel like you'd be better off crawling up parts of this trail, and there are enough plateaus on the way up for a bit of relief on the legs. It's also common practice for the fit folk to run down, stick to the left and you'll be okay.

As the trail climbs to such a height, and faces many different directions, you'll notice a big difference in the kinds and population of plants as you get to the top. My favourite is the little fern wall about half way up.

About a kilometer before you cross a road, the trail gets hard and you might just want to turn around and go home, but take a swig of your drink bottle and push on, you're nearly there.

Get your camera ready! You've reached the top! Un-interrupted views of Adelaide, from the South East to the North West. Oh, and there's the obelisk you may have spotted from the streets. There's some information boards with some history and sights of Adelaide, have a read while you're there. There's a restaurant and information centre at the summit, conveniently placed, for a well deserved treat! There's also a drinking fountain if you've drained your last drop from your water bottle, it's over to the southish end of the building.

Ahh, now for the descent. Walk, or run if you feel you are coordinated enough. It would be a decent injury if you fell at full speed on the way down... It is fun tho...

If you time it right, you might get to see the Monarch Butterflies that crowd a section near where the trail crosses the creek at a certain time of year, I think it was around Autumn we last saw them. It is a beautiful distraction having hundreds of orange butterflies fluttering around you while you're huffing and puffing, trying not to give up.

I hope you just enjoyed your Lofty Hike, now you just need to set aside a few hours, commit to the whole 7kms, grab a few friends and get out there and do it!

This hike is unfortunately not suitable for wheelchairs, due to the gradient of the paths. If you do have accessibility issues, take a drive to the summit via the signs up Greenhill Road, you can't miss out on this view!

To get to Waterfall Gully from the city, head East up Greenhill Road, over Port Rush Road, right at the Glynburn Road roundabout, first left and first right, then follow the signs.

Happy hiking and please comment with your experiences.

Next I think I'll share my second favourite, Morialta Falls.

Hike Adelaide

Adelaide has been recently voted as the '5th Most Livable City in the World' in a Property Council survey, the 'Best City in Australia' in a WotIf survey, and made Lonely Planet's top 10 best cities to visit IN THE WORLD!!! Since I am a fan with first hand experience visiting, living, and loving Adelaide, I thought I'd share it with you all - for people already living in Adelaide to enjoy their home town that bit more, and for anyone looking at travelling to Adelaide, to make the most of what beautiful country there is on offer.

Adelaide City is nestled nicely on the Adelaide Plains, surrounded by a stunning eastern landscape, the Adelaide Hills.

Not that I want to instigate any South Australia vs Eastern States rivalry or anything, but there's an important and pretty rare quality Adelaide holds close. With the city in the middle, suburbia expands from about Gawler in the North, to say Noarlunga in the South. Amazing beaches border the West, and the Adelaide Hills in the East. To travel to the city from the reaches North and South, you can look at a one way trip within an hour or so - a bit longer in peak hour of course but still, not bad... The beach and hills are about half hour from the city.

With everything so close, you can base yourself in the city and still access amazing things Adelaide has to offer, before lunch.

One of the most unique things of Adelaide that I absolutely love are the seemingly countless hiking trails within an hour of the city. What a beautiful way to spend a Saturday or Sunday, or even an afternoon after work, to immerse yourself in nature, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and still make it home for dinner, and maybe get a couple of photos of Aussie wildlife.

Adelaide really has a huge amount of conservation parks, reserves, and gardens, many containing long, short, and fun hiking trails. There's something for young and old, fit and people with fitness goals, varying ability levels, and accessible trails, suitable for wheelchairs.

In this blog I'll give my opinion, rating, and suggestions for as many hiking trails as I can that Adelaide has to offer. I'll love to receive people's comments and personal opinions of the trails I write about, and their own experiences.

Dust off your sneakers, fill up your water bottles, and have your camera at the ready.. We're going hiking!!