10 things to see and do at Hallett Cove

Hal­lett Cove Con­ser­va­tion Park is one of Australia’s most recog­nised geo­log­i­cal and archae­o­log­i­cal sites.

Locat­ed just 22 kilo­me­tres south of Ade­laide, it’s a met­ro­pol­i­tan must-see park. In the past 600 mil­lion years the park has under­gone a num­ber of changes – being beneath the sea, cov­ered in an ice sheet, and form­ing a moun­tain range.

For thou­sands of years the dunes, cliff tops, plants, ani­mals and oceans of the park have been, and still are, a sig­nif­i­cant part of Kau­r­na cul­ture for food, shel­ter, trav­el and Dreaming.

If you’re keen to expe­ri­ence the park for your­self, sum­mer is a unique time to vis­it. Here are 10 ideas to explore on your next vis­it, pre­pared for you by the park’s pas­sion­ate rangers and Nature Play SA:

1. Sit at the water’s edge with your feet in the ocean, go for a swim, or head out on a pad­dle­board to get a dif­fer­ent per­spec­tive of the cliffs.
2. Set up for a beach day on Heron Way Reserve, wan­der along the beach path and read the inter­pre­tive signs about Kau­r­na culture.
3. Walk up to the first look­out along Glac­i­er Hike, and observe the big scratch­es on the rocks known as ​‘glacial pave­ment’. The scratch­es are from the glac­i­er that cov­ered the park 280 mil­lion years ago.
4. On a calm day, grab your gog­gles or a snorkel to see what marine crea­tures you can spot around the rocks at the base of Black Cliff, such as bis­cuit stars and sea urchins.
5. Find your own way to walk or rock-hop from Black Cliff to the stair­case on the Shore Plat­form. Always keep an eye on the waves and check the tide times.
6. Head down to the park in the ear­ly morn­ing and choose a short hike. Lis­ten out for hon­eyeaters and wrens, and see if you can spot some dol­phins or sea lions who occa­sion­al­ly visit.
7. Wan­der onto the beach or stroll along the board­walk at sun­set and take some pho­tos of the cliffs and ocean as they begin to change colour.
8. Walk bare­foot on the beach peb­bles and bal­ance across the rocks.
9. Explore the gran­ite boul­ders along the beach known as ​‘errat­ic rocks’ that were car­ried from Port Elliot in the ice sheet 280 mil­lion years ago and dropped on the beach.
10. Hike along the Glac­i­er Hike and if it’s cool enough find a path that leads up into the cliffs where you’ll spot the white flow­ers of Christ­mas bush­es or cream-coloured flow­ers of the dry­land tea-tree (shaped like a bottlebrush).

Hal­lett Cove Con­ser­va­tion Park has plen­ty to see and do all year round. Check out Nature Play SA’s brochure for the per­fect selec­tion of things to do in every season.

Park of the Month

Through­out Feb­ru­ary, Hal­lett Cove Con­ser­va­tion Park is being cel­e­brat­ed as Park of the Month.

Join a guid­ed flo­ra walk, or explore this spec­tac­u­lar park in your own time. Check the web­site for all the details.

Won­der­ing which oth­er nation­al parks to vis­it in SA? Get inspired with our list of parks with bril­liant views or breath-tak­ing nat­ur­al won­ders.

(Main image cour­tesy of Jason Tyn­dall, Nature Play SA.)