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2026 Heysen Trail

Day -42
Day -42 Travel Direction and Navigation
South
South

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Amongst the many decisions I needed to make in walking the 1200 km Heysen Trail is the direction of travel. There are so many reasons for starting either direction. From a planning perspective this choice influences just about every other decision you make including camping locations, food drops, transport and even distances travelled per day. Do I start on the coast which is relatively flatfish at the southern end, has more access to towns and facilities, and in most cases shorter distances between campsites or do I start at the northern trailhead in the arid north and head south?

I previously published an article on choosing travel direction called Walking Home: a creature of habit where I outlined my reasons for choosing the travel direction on a hike; in my case I am definitely a creature of habit. In regard to this upcoming trip I’ll be starting at the northern trailhead in Parachilna and heading in a southerly direction.

I have two key reasons for this decision. First and foremost walking towards home. On this walk there really is no such thing. Gill has offered to meet me at the end of the walk and we will be driving back to Canberra rather than getting a flight. For her meeting me at the southern trailhead will be a much easier option.

Secondly, from a transport perspective getting the bus service to Parachilna after flying into Adelaide, and then heading south means that if I arrive at the southern trailhead early or late it doesn’t create and issues nor mean I would have to wait for a bus service. So southward it is!

From a navigation perspective the Heysen Trail is pretty much like any other trail you will hike. In many cases paying attention and following the trail markers will cover most of your needs. Having said that when I hiked the Bibbulmun Track in 2018, I went off track twice. The first time was because I failed to look two metres to my right as I stood up after a tea break which ended up costing me an additional 3km for the day to rectify bringing my total for that day to 44km. My fault entirely and not something I wanted to do on such a big day already! The second instance was because a tree had managed to fall perfectly across the management trail and it camouflaged the turn I knew was coming. In this instance I realised what had happened within about 200 metres so no big issue that day.
On the Heysen Trail, just as I did on the Bibbulmun, I will have a number of navigation options available to me:
  1. Heysen Trail map set and compass
    • I have purchased the updated map set which I will be using for planning and something that I will use at the start of each map section to familiarise myself with what’s coming. I will end up using roughly around 1 maps per week and when I get into town I will send the used maps back home. I always carry a compass as a ‘just in case’ but have never needed to use it to navigate back onto trail.
  2. Far out Guide Phone App
    • For me this is my main form of navigation. It works without a phone signal. However the GPS usage on the phone sucks through the battery so I usually use this app without the GPS only turning that feature on when I have a doubt about my location or want an accurate distance to my next destination. If you are a long distance hiker then the Far Out app is a ‘must have’ – it just makes life so much easier.
  3. GPS
    • I will have a set of GPX maps loaded onto my GPS and again this is an option I tend not use on the trail but its great as a ‘just in case’.

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Previous Post Amongst the many decisions I needed to make in walking the 1200 km Heysen Trail is the direction of travel. There are so many reasons for starting either direction. From a planning perspective this choice influences just about every other decision you make including camping locations, food drops, transport and even distances travelled […]