Conse ite rva a ti W o f n o R s e d s e n r e i v S e r Har F o tley Grov u t h E a e s t e r n F W WAITE CONSERVATION RESERVE 63 W Y aite Road / P 64 LOOP WALKING TRAIL GUIDE r in 62 c es O H s G ld W og len Tra C Y D il 61 1 Wild o 2 a 3 4 c h Pittosporum Gully Wild Dogs Glen 5 6 R d T Caves Gully r a i l 340 Harold’s e Our reserve logo,The Blue Caves Devil, is aLook nativeout plant 78 180 with upright prickly blue foliage and striking blue Delamere Ave flowerheads. It is a grassy woodland specialist. 79 200 7 It grows actively in summer and dies back Urrbrae Ridg il 220 Trai ra 240 underground in winter. It is rare, legally listed as nt l T oi 91 la 260 P P il 9 vulnerable to extinction, in South Australia. e ne b 320 r ri e 280 Leafhopper Gull Sheoak e g 89 rr Hillside Rd u Y 280 y Slope 300 8 Netherby 300 Buttercup Gull 340 10 Netherby Quar Spur tz ill Tr Hill The Easement y H ail y ea a Spur n Pulte Groundberry Gull 96 80 Pultenaea 81 Tr Hill ai 320 12 Netherby Gull l 95 y Netherby 82 Knoll 83 Grey Box Wylie 88 340 84 y Trig Tank Amphitheatre Gull s Trail Waite Conservation Reserve 87 Loop Walking Trail 1 Walking Trail Stop Lookout il 11 Koala Gully a r Mistletoe Gull T Parking ld e fi Quarry ing Spr Table PLEASE KEEP TO THE PATHS AND RESPECT THE RESERVE y Water Tank 86 Sou thern B oundary Trail Gate Contours 20 m 0 50 100 200 300 400 500 metres Power Lines Yurrebilla Trail THE WAITE CONSERVATION RESERVE Getting there and before you go LOOP WALKING TRAIL Start from the eastern end of Hartley Grove, Urrbrae to use The Waite Conservation Reserve protects an important this guide. An alternative entrance is near the large tanks remnant of original grassy woodland along the hilly on Hillside Rd, Springfield, close to Elmglade Rd. backdrop to Adelaide. On this walk you will see how How: Follow the signposts with the ‘Blue Devil’ change rules in habitats, especially in grassy woodlands. logo and blue arrows. The walking trail climbs into the foothills to magnificent Length: 4 km views over the Adelaide Plains to the sea. Detour to climb Time: Allow 2-3 hours a bit higher (to Gate 88) and you can see over hills towards Difficulty: Grade 3; one short steep rocky section and Mt Lofty. then uneven in parts Har S o tley Grov u t h E a e s t e r n F W 63 W Y aite Road / P 64 r in 62 c es O H s G ld W og len Tra C Y D il 61 1 Wild o 2 a 3 4 c h Pittosporum Gully Wild Dogs Glen 5 6 R d T Caves Gully r a i l 340 Harold’s e The Caves Lookout 78 180 Delamere Ave 79 200 7 Urrbrae Ridg il 220 ra ra 240 nt T il T oi 91 la 260 P P il 9 e ne b 320 r ri e 280 Leafhopper Gull Sheoak e g 89 rr Hillside Rd u Y 280 y Slope 300 8 Netherby 300 Buttercup Gull 340 10 Netherby Quar Spur tz ill Tr Hill The Easement y H ail y ea a Spur n Pulte Groundberry Gull 96 80 Pultenaea 81 Tr Hill ai 320 12 Netherby Gull l 95 y Netherby 82 Knoll 83 Wylie 88 340 84 y Trig Tank Amphitheatre Gull s Trail Waite Conservation Reserve 87 Loop Walking Trail 1 Walking Trail Stop Lookout il 11 Koala Gully a r Mistletoe Gull T Parking ld e fi Quarry ing Spr Table y Water Tank 86 Sou thern B oundary Trail Gate Contours 20 m 0 50 100 200 300 400 500 metres Power Lines Yurrebilla Trail Welcome to our reserve, where you will get to see how things are changing. At the time of the arrival of Europeans in South Australia, Grey Box woodlands were widespread on the foothills and River Red Gum plains of Adelaide, and in areas of the South East and the (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) Smooth mottled bark, many buds 1cm southern Flinders Ranges. and tiny globe-shaped gumnuts with For many years, this land was used for intermittent sheep raised ‘equator’ grazing. Despite this, the Reserve remains one of the best and, at 121 hectares, one of the largest surviving examples 2 of Grey Box Grassy Woodland near Adelaide. Sturt Gorge, STOP Watiparinga and Blackwood Reserve are other examples. And would you like olives with that woodland? The western part of this land was originally owned In this habitat, one must choose between olives and by Peter Waite who bequeathed it to the University of woodland. Here’s why. Adelaide in 1914. The University purchased additional land to the east more recently. The ground layer in pristine grassy woodland has long- lived native grasses, lilies, daisies, peas, hardy ferns and In 1992 the land was set aside to conserve natural habitat other wildflowers. Shrubs are only scattered or in small and promote scientific knowledge. Most is protected by groves. The openness of grassy woodlands provides low Heritage Agreement, and it is a valuable asset for all South perches for native birds which specialise in living in Australians. woodlands. These birds need to watch for predators and to scan the ground for insects or grass seeds Setting aside the land as a reserve was achieved with the strong support of Prof. Harold Woolhouse, Director of the Waite Agricultural to eat. Bushy olives obstruct Research Institute (1990 – 1995). the open spaces, bare the ground, and block the flight paths for woodland birds. This effectively STOP 1 shuts down their feeding Different trees favour different (mini) habitats grounds. Grey Box, River Red Gum, Blue Gum and Drooping Sheoak Olives compete strongly for are all trees found in this reserve. water and nearby native plants A few giant old River Red Gums stand here with the suffer, especially in dry years. typical spreading branches of woodland trees. They are Dense olive thickets build up under now surrounded by a large grove of lanky saplings which eucalypt trees from olive seeds all came up together after sheep were removed in about dropped by roosting 1993. They stretch upwards for light and space without the birds. The eucalypts room for spreading. recover well when olives are removed. River Red Gums grow in gullies and on the shady wetter south-facing slopes. As you climb up this steep gully Hundreds of olive trees have been removed (and take a well-earned stop) look for the change from from this gully. It should gradually return Red Gum trees with their smooth pale mottled trunks to native grassy woodland. to the trees with rougher grey-brown bark which are Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra) Grey Box. > STOP 3 Introduced feral deer have discovered that this makes a suitable rubbing Will Blackwood survive climate change? post for their antlers. Deer The Blackwood wattle is usually found in the cool wet rub their hardening antlers gullies and damp soil higher up in the Ranges. Here it’s on against the trunk prior to the dry edge of its range and struggles a bit. sparring with other males in the breeding season or In very much cooler and wetter Tasmania, Blackwoods rut. Abrasion exposes the grow into forest giants big enough to make into tables. light-coloured heartwood of the Here you’d be lucky to make a table leg out of one. Native Cherry and creates a blaze Predicted increases in temperature associated with – a territorial sign to other deer. climate change do not bode well for the already besieged Unfortunately all this can lead species. It seems possible Blackwood may go locally to ring-barking and tree death. extinct in the next Native Cherry century. Friends (Exocarpos cupressiformis) are planting these Twiggy upright branches without trees back in the obvious leaves, tiny yellow flowers grouped at the tips dampest nooks and crannies in the gullies. STOP 5 Sticky Boobialla plant numbers ebb and flow across the seasons Since this sign was created, much regeneration of Sticky Boobialla has come and gone. Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) Plants responded rapidly to Dark brown to blackish trunk, the extra light and nutrients very pale yellow wattle flower- after olive trees were felled. balls, leaves yellow-green They have aged and died after their (20 year) ‘moment in the sun’. Doubtless they will come again, perhaps after fire has bared the ground. Just STOP 4 as the plants have come Native Cherry - feral animals bring new challenges and gone so has the name. Sticky Boobialla is Close by are two Native Cherry trees which resemble small now known as Myoporum neat pines. Young plants tap into roots of nearby plants petiolatum. for nutrients and water to ‘kick start’ the sapling. If plants are your thing, visit the Reserve BC The fruits of a mature plant grow on stalks that swell website for the detailed list of 200 species of native plants found here. to form small fleshy ‘cherries’ which are eaten by native birds.The trunk is clothed with rich brown strongly-ribbed Sticky Boobialla (Myoporum petiolatum) bark. > Sticky bright green young leaves, pretty white flowers in spring STOP 6 Even rocks and mountains come and go This is part of the original Old Coach Road which linked Adelaide and Mount Barker.