Experience

Day 1: Flinders Chase Vis­i­tor Cen­tre to Snake Lagoon 

Day one com­mences at the Flinders Chase Vis­i­tor Cen­tre and takes you to the famous Platy­pus Water­holes. This shared sec­tion of the trail has plen­ty of inter­pre­ta­tion and offers a great intro­duc­tion to the park. When the path joins up with the Rocky Riv­er Trail you’ll be immersed in dense euca­lypt wood­land that is home to a diver­si­ty of bird life and native ani­mals. Reach­ing the Pardalote Look­out you will see the mean­der­ing Rocky Riv­er far below you as it flows out towards the South­ern Ocean. You will then pass through river­bank and mallee habi­tats where wild­flow­ers pro­vide stun­ning arrays of
colour all year around. Tra­vers­ing your way down from the ridge towards the riv­er you will come across the spec­tac­u­lar sight of the Rocky Riv­er Cas­cades. The day comes to a close at the Cup Gum Camp­ground, a peace­ful set­ting for your first night’s rest

Day 3: Cape Du Couedic to Sander­son Bay 

(Option­al side trips — Admi­rals Arch 4 hrs return, 9km / Remark­able Rocks 1 hour return, 1km) 

An ear­ly start is required if you wish to com­plete the option­al side trip off the Wilder­ness Trail to view the pop­u­lar sites of his­toric Weirs Cove or Cape du Couedic light­house and Admi­rals Arch. Walk­ers tak­ing this option will also be able to view the enchant­i­ng antics of Aus­tralian and long-nosed fur seals and Aus­tralian sea-lions that vis­it this sec­tion of the coast. Back on the Wilder­ness Trail the track heads east towards Sander­son Bay and enters dense coastal mallee before break­ing out to the awe­some sight of the Remark­able Rocks. Con­tin­u­ing on, the trail hugs the coast­line and offers cin­e­mat­ic views that inspire both awe and con­tem­pla­tion. At the end of the day’s walk you’ll find the Banksia Camp­ground locat­ed in a shel­tered area close to Sander­son Bay.

Day 5: Grass­dale to Kel­ly Hill Caves

The final day’s walk is some­what more leisure­ly, but no less spec­tac­u­lar and beau­ti­ful. The trail pass­es through a diver­si­ty of habi­tats, from recov­er­ing wood­lands to fresh­wa­ter lakes and ​‘karst’ cave sys­tems. Reach­ing the stun­ning Wilder­ness and Grass­dale Lagoons, bird­watch­ers will be reward­ed with sight­ings of local and vis­it­ing wood­land and wad­ing birds. A rel­a­tive­ly short walk through beau­ti­ful sug­ar gum wood­land, rich with orchids and fun­gi in the wet­ter months, brings the trail to its con­clu­sion at the amaz­ing Kel­ly Hill Caves. Cel­e­brate your achieve­ment with a pho­to at the trail’s end and con­sid­er tak­ing a guid­ed tour of the lime­stone caves and dis­cov­er how the spec­tac­u­lar dec­o­ra­tions are formed.