Investigator Trail in Lincoln National Park: Ron walks the trail on the Eyre Peninsula in the West Coast region of South Australia
Lincoln National Park at the bottom of Eyre Peninsula is a myriad of secret coves and hidden bays. It's a haven for boaties but that's not the only way to experience it.
Lincoln National Park is just 15 kilometres south of Port Lincoln on the southeastern tip of the Eyre Peninsula. It covers 31-thousand hectares of coastal scrub and has some of the most scenic coastline in the state.
One of the best ways to explore it is on foot. The Investigator Trail covers about 85 kilometres and takes about four to five days to cover. But for the less adventurous there are little loop trails.
Matthew Flinders on board the Investigator mapped this area in 1802... hence the markers that dot the trail. Back then Flinders was pushed for time - merely numbering the many bays on his original charts. This place - rather unflatteringly - was marked as Bay 6. It was only later that he pencilled in Spalding Cove after a small town back in his home county of Lincolnshire. Today it's a quiet haven for birdlife where the swans and pied Oystercatchers make the most of the shallow water.
It's one of many places you can camp in the park... and nearby is one of the many small loop trails to places like Surfleet Cove or Woodcutters Beach.
When Flinders came through here more than two centuries ago he and his crew were desperate to find water. He led a party of men to the top of a hill to get their bearings. Today, Flinders Monument on Stamford Hill is a highlight of the network of walking trails maintained by a group of husband and wife volunteer teams from nearby Port Lincoln. Each is responsible for the upkeep of a certain portion of track.
Ian Abbott is one of the Investigator Trail's many humble foot-servants having covered this spectacular park from top to toe. Stay here long enough and civilisation seems a distant memory even though Port Lincoln is only 30 minutes by boat. In the past, a sailing ketch was the quickest way into the small, isolated farming communities settled by the intrepid souls who struggled to make a go of it here.
Ian Abbott: "The original settlers would have done it tough out here. The nearest settlement was at least a day away, probably two days by horse. They tried their hand at cropping out here but they were really up against it because of the limestone in the ground."
Attempts to grow wheat and barley were short lived... but nearby on the walking trail, there's a more permanent reminder of those who hung on here for as long as they could. An old cottage overlooking Spalding Cove is available for hire from the Department for Environment and Heritage. Built by farmer and lighthouse keeper William Argent in 1899, it now offers all the creature comforts a weary walker could want at the end of long hard day.
A new bushwalkers guide, produced by the Friends Group is now available from the Port Lincoln Visitor Information Centre. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Bushwalking in Lincoln National Park
Brochure available from Port Lincoln Visitor Centre
Ph 8683 3544Published 18th May 2008
