The Mawson Trail - 2001

(This article is about our 2001 ride along the Mawson Trail. A larger group rode the trail in 2004 after the signs and some of the route had been changed. The photographs come from the 2004 ride.)

Named after Sir Douglas Mawson, one of Australia's greatest Antarctic explorers and geologists, the Mawson Trail is a mountain bike touring route extending nearly 900 kilometres from the outskirts of Adelaide, South Australia to Blinman in the Northern Flinders Ranges. The trail uses a combination of gravel roads, farm access roads, forestry tracks, fire tracks, roadways which were surveyed but never actually built  and short stretches of sealed road. It passes through forests, vineyards, grain farms and sheep and cattle properties to reach the arid and semi- arid country of the South Australian outback.

A quiet road through the Adelaide Hills

Not many people have ridden the whole length of the trail since its inception in 1992. Most users of the trail seem to have ridden sections of the trail as part of a day or weekend ride or to have used accommodation near the trail as a base for day mountain bike rides incorporating sections of the trail. It was to get an understanding of why people were not using the trail as a long distance cycling route and to carry out a survey for a major ride in 2002 that a small group set out to cycle from Adelaide to Wilpena Pound in the spectacular Flinders Ranges. We had thirteen days to cover over 800 kilometres.

To ride the Mawson Trail is a challenge. To ride it without a support vehicle would be very difficult and hard work. We had a support vehicle and a very supportive person who prepared our meals and generally looked after us. Even with this help, it was a hard ride and one not to be undertaken lightly. We thought we were pretty fit. We're not young but we do ride a lot, on and off road. We have toured extensively. One of us rode through the outback from Wilpena Pound to Oodnadatta and Lake Eyre last year while another had ridden through the French Alps. We were surprised at how hard the ride was.

We set off from Adelaide in heavy rain. When we reached the steep sections of the trail near Kangaroo Creek dam in the Adelaide hills, the slippery track forced us to walk most of the climbs. Locked gates erected by the water authority added another set of obstacles to challenge us. At one stage we covered just eight and a half kilometres in two and a quarter hours. It was hard and it was tiring. By the time we left the trail on the outskirts of Birdwood to head for the nearest campground, we had climbed over 1,000 metres.

The weather was better the next day but the climbing continued as we rode through Mount Crawford Forest and headed towards the Barossa Valley. Locked gates and missing trail markers in the forest slowed our progress. We climbed steeply over the Mount Lofty Ranges before enjoying the fast descent into the Barossa Valley. The trail then climbed steeply up the other side of the valley bypassing the vineyards and wineries of this historic and attractive area. We left the trail at Greenock to head for the campground at Nuriootpa after another 1,000 metres plus of climbing.

Riding through vineyards in the Barossa Valley

The next day was another day of very undulating riding as we zigzagged our way north via the old copper mining town of Kapunda. This was the first town of any size the route had passed through and we detoured to stop at the coffee shop for coffee and cake. After Kapunda we followed familiar roads and tracks through some of the most pleasant off-road cycling country close to Adelaide. It was starting to get late by the time we crossed the Tothill Range. Our track which ran parallel to the range was crossed by numerous gates which slowed us down as we wound our through the gum trees in the gathering dusk. We had travelled over 70 kilometres and climbed our 1,000 metres. Our bush camp for the night was amongst the gum trees in a pleasant rural setting.

Riding past some magnificent river red gum trees

The trail followed the top of a steep escarpment for several kilometres with expansive views to the east over the plains below. The countryside was empty with hardly any signs of human habitation. Our route took us down off the ridge onto a larger road for a few kilometres before we headed onto more tracks and the rough climb and descent over Niblet Gap in the Tothill Range. We then made the first of a number of detours south to allow us to climb over Mollers Gap before heading north towards Burra. Most of the hills in this area are devoid of trees as nearly all vegetation was cut down to provide fuel for the boilers at the Burra copper mine in the nineteenth century. It was another day of over 1,000 metres of climbing. Somehow the fact that we had nearly the same amount of descent didn't seem to count as much. 

Today we had we some extra riders with us as we headed north through the bare dry hills. When we turned east to start climbing towards White Hill, the countryside became more rugged and there were more trees on the slopes of the hills. After a fast descent into the valley we had a delightful ride through empty countryside to our lunch stop in a dry river bed surrounded by old, gnarled gum trees. Our bush camp for the night was set in a forest of mallee trees. We had ridden all day and had encountered one motor vehicle. This was probably one of the best days of the ride.

Steep downhill north of Kapunda

After travelling for over 360 kilometres in a vaguely northerly direction, the trail turned and made a long detour to the south. After a pleasant ride beside the Bluff Range, we made our way along uninteresting roads through boring country to reach the water channels which feed water into the Bundaleer Reservoir near Spalding. Built during the depression years of the 1920's and 1930's, the channels follow the contours of the hills for many kilometres. The banks beside the channels could provide easy cycling but unfortunately, this is not the case. Where the trail joins the channels, three fences have been built over the trail within 50 metres which have no gates to allow access. Once over the fences, long grass and prickly, shrubby vegetation covers most of the track. In the warmer parts of the year, there would be a high risk of danger from snakes in this area. Every few hundred metres the track is blocked by gates which are in  poor condition and haven't been maintained for a number of years. Many of the gates are difficult to open and close. A number of people have ridden along the floor of the channels. There is no safe way to climb the steep concrete sides and in parts, the floor is blocked by fallen concrete, fallen trees and vegetation. This could not be recommended.

Spalding is only a couple of kilometres from the channels but there is no camping available there despite what is shown on the map. We detoured further south away from the trail for several kilometres to reach the nearest camp ground.

After leaving the water channels, the trail skirts Bundaleer reservoir before heading north to Bundaleer Forest. There was a steep but pleasant climb through the mountains to the forest but once we reached the forest, our rate of progress slowed dramatically. We were faced with numerous locked gates that we had to lift our bikes over, missing, damaged and misplaced trail signs. The trail had been re-routed through part of the forest, but information on the changed route was missing. Route finding was very difficult for much of the way. As the Mawson Trail maps do not include grid numbers, we couldn't benefit from our GPS which would have made navigation easier. This is a hard section of the trail.

We would recommend that riders leave out this section of the trail covering the water channels and much of the Bundaleer forest. A better route would be to travel from the Bluff homestead in a north-westerly direction towards the pleasant and interesting country town of Jamestown. This would cut out one of the least interesting sections of the trail and save over a day on the trip.

After leaving the forest near Jamestown, the trail heads through open farming country to the small town of Laura. Here we had our first rest day of the trip which was needed as we were all feeling rather tired.

Riding through Wirrabara Forest

After Laura we headed north through Wirrabara forest. In contrast to the Mount Crawford and Bundaleer forests, there were few locked gates, few missing marker posts and the re-route information was available. It was a pleasant and enjoyable day of fast riding through attractive wooded countryside to Melrose at the foot of Mount Remarkable which dominates the countryside.

The ride to Wilmington was flat and fast and we were soon eating home made meat pies outside the local shop. From Wilmington, the trail followed well made undulating roads alongside forest covered mountains before we climbed Richman Gap and dropped quickly into Richman Valley to Quorn. Once an important railway town on the old Ghan railway, Quorn is home to the Pichi Richi steam railway.

Riding through the Flinders Ranges near Hawker

A rough track near Hawker

Quorn to Hawker was our longest day's ride at 107 kilometres. This was where we started to get into the "real" outback country with dry ruggedly beautiful mountains dominating our views. Kangaroos feeding on the sides of the road were often surprised at our almost silent arrival amongst them. Old gum trees lined the numerous creek crossings as we followed the Mt Arden Creek road. We climbed to Proby's grave, the burial site of the son of a Scottish earl who died in a sudden flash flood trying to save his cattle.  Nearby Simmonston is described as the town that never was. Surveyed to take advantage of the proposed railway line, the hotel and general store were only partly constructed when the decision to re-route the railway line was made and the town was abandoned. The sixteen or so kilometres from Simmonston to the main road at the abandoned town of Gordon were very rough and rather like riding on cobblestones.

From Gordon the trail climbs for several kilometres through rather boring and uninteresting countryside before making its rather indistinct way across fields to the road into Hawker. Riders would have a shorter and far more interesting ride if they followed the main road from Gordon to Hawker. The views over the ranges are infinitely better than those on the trail. A short distance north of Gordon are the extensive ruins of the Kanyaka homestead which are well worth a visit. Closer to Hawker, a short detour to the Yourambulla caves allows a visit to aboriginal cave paintings.

We had a few light showers of rain as we left Hawker. Not very much but enough to turn the red dirt track into sticky mud. Within a few metres of hitting the red soil we were forced to a stop with mud several inches thick jamming tyres and brakes. Efforts to clear the mud failed as it jammed up as quickly as we cleared it. After a couple of kilometres of dragging our bikes through the mud we made it to firmer ground and were able to start riding again. Thankfully the rain stayed away as we had several kilometres more of red dirt tracks to ride to reach the Hawker to Parachilna road.

Lunch with flies on the spectacular Moralana Scenic Drive

After eleven kilometres of bitumen following the Elder Ranges, the trail turned onto the Moralana Scenic Drive. 25 kilometres of gloriously spectacular scenery spoiled only by the huge corrugations created by the large numbers of four wheel drive vehicles which travel the road. Normally with a corrugated road it is possible to find a track somewhere on the road which is relatively smooth but along here, this was not possible. We were grateful to arrive at the Hawker to Wilpena road where we were picked up to be taken back to Hawker where we were to camp the night.

Sunset on Rawnsley Bluff

The last 40 kilometres of our ride into Wilpena comprised several kilometres of bitumen riding mixed with rough technical sections as the trail detoured into the Rawnsley Park tourist area.

It was a great ride but it was hard in parts. It is ironic that the most difficult sections of the government sponsored trail were in areas under the direct management control of government departments and organisations. It was a hard ride with a back up vehicle. It would be even more difficult if ridden without a support vehicle. Thirteen days to ride the trail from Adelaide to Wilpena with only one rest day was not enough time to allow us to really enjoy the ride. A longer time would make for a better and more enjoyable ride.

New maps are available for the changed Mawson Trail. These can be purchased from Bicycle SA in Adelaide, South Australia.