5 treasures in Cobbler Creek Recreation Park

If you enjoy moun­tain-bik­ing, bush-walk­ing and spec­tac­u­lar views, then you can’t go past a vis­it to Cob­bler Creek Recre­ation Park.

Nes­tled between Gold­en Grove and Sal­is­bury in met­ro­pol­i­tan Ade­laide, this recre­ation park is sit­u­at­ed 19 kilo­me­tres north of the city and boasts a 17-kilo­me­tre net­work of shared-use, sus­tain­able trails.

It’s a great spot to catch glimpses of birdlife and is home to the stun­ning red-rumped par­rot that can be seen nest­ing in Mallee-box tree hollows.

Park Ranger Meryl Schiller and Friends of Cob­bler Creek Pres­i­dent Steve Rogers share their insid­er tips on some hid­den trea­sures to dis­cov­er on your next visit.

1. Amaz­ing views from the Porosa Track

Fol­low the Porosa Track west past the Teak­le Ruins for about 300 metres. You’ll come across a bench where you can stop and take a load off. If you’re there late in the day it’s the best spot to soak in the orange and red hues of the sun­set and the views of St Kil­da and Gulf St Vincent.

Keep your eyes peeled for the Ade­laide Inter­na­tion­al Bird Sanc­tu­ary on the hori­zon, which is where res­i­dent and migra­to­ry birds choose to rest and feed after their long journeys.

2. Cob­bler Creek

Sur­round­ed by 150-year-old gum trees, Cob­bler Creek is the per­fect place to get away from the busy­ness of life.

Hear the birds call and the creek flow, and look out for the but­ton­quails and tawny frog­mouths that fre­quent the area. On warm days, bird­watch­ers will enjoy see­ing rain­bow lori­keets, kestrels, kites and galahs.

There’s a walk­ing track on one side and a cycling track on the oth­er, so if you’d pre­fer to keep mov­ing rather than sit still, you can still enjoy the atmosphere.

If you have lit­tle ones with you, there are plen­ty of rocks to help you cross the creek.

3. Rap­tor-themed nature playground

This play­ground design was inspired by the kites and kestrels that fly over­head, and fea­ture BBQs, pic­nic shel­ters, toi­lets and a BMX track.

Sand­pits have been designed to look like bird nests with giant eggs in the mid­dle, and there’s a fly­ing fox and tra­di­tion­al play equip­ment to enjoy as well.

Get a birds-eye view of the play­ground from the rap­tor-themed climb­ing struc­tures that mim­ic tree nests.

4. Gar­land lilies

Calostem­ma pur­pureum come in vivid shades of pur­ple – white and dark pink – and sur­pris­ing­ly flour­ish in the sum­mer months.

They’re light­ly scent­ed and can be seen along the Mai Tap­pa track.

5. Birdlife

Cob­bler Creek Recre­ation Park has become an impor­tant refuge for threat­ened wood­land birds in Adelaide.

See if you can spot the beau­ti­ful red-rumped par­rot. They’re pre­dom­i­nant­ly green but, as the name sug­gests, they have a rosy der­rière. They’re well cam­ou­flaged and always feed in pairs, and can often be seen on the sides of trails and in trees. They’re quite vocal so you’ll usu­al­ly hear them before you see them.

Make your way to Ped­lars Pad­dock, which is home to birds of prey like black-shoul­dered kites and Aus­tralian kestrels that soar through the skies and scour the grass­lands for mice and lizards. Move slow­ly and look care­ful­ly – you might just see a kite sit­ting on one of the pad­dock fence posts with its catch.

Explore Cob­bler Creek Recre­ation Park in October

Through­out the month of Octo­ber, Cob­bler Creek Recre­ation Park is being cel­e­brat­ed as Park of Month – an ini­tia­tive between Nature Play South Australia and the Depart­ment of Envi­ron­ment, Water and Nat­ur­al Resources.

Why not explore the park at the Dis­cov­ery Cir­cle BioBlitz event on 8 Octo­ber and enjoy organ­ised talks and walks to observe, record and learn about the local wildlife.

There will also be Nature Play SA ses­sions and the grand-open­ing of the rap­tor-themed adven­ture playground.

Don’t for­get to share pic­tures of your vis­it on Insta­gram and tag #cob­bler­creekrecre­ation­park or share your expe­ri­ence with us in the com­ments sec­tion below