Nature Adventure
Reports Challenge

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” - Helen Keller

Go on a nature adventure, file a report, win a prize.

From Aboriginal rites-of-passage to Douglas Mawson’s Antarctic expeditions, we have a rich history of adventure in South Australia.
But adventures don’t all have to be a life-changing journey or a giant expedition, even small challenges can give you a new perspective.

Enter before 16 October 2022

This year, in partnership with The Office for Recreation, Sport, and Racing, the Nature Festival encourages you to go on a nature adventure.

This can be a big trip or a small walk, out in the outback or just in your own backyard. Ideally it involves a little bit of difficulty and is in some way new or unusual for you. During the adventure you should pay attention to the world around you and how you feel, and then document the result in an 'adventure report.'

If you share your Nature Adventure Report on Instagram with the hashtag #NatureAdventureSA and tag @SArecreationandsport and @naturefestivalsa, you will be entered to win $1,000 worth of prizes.

What makes a good adventure or a good report? Read on for more details.

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“Science and exploration have never been at variance.

Rather, the desire for the pure elements of natural revelation lay at the source of that unquenchable power—the love of adventure."

Dr Archibald  McLean
From the forward to to Douglas Mawson’s “The Home of the Blizzard”

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“Our knowledge endures because everybody carries a part of it, no matter how fragmentary.

If you want to see the pattern of creation, you talk to everybody and listen carefully.”

Tyson Yunkaporta
Sand Talk

What is a nature adventure?

An adventure is an 'unusual and exciting or daring experience'

We encourage you to set your own challenge, the more whimsical the better. It should involve nature in some way, but it can be nature in the CBD. Your adventure might involve a Nature Festival event, but it doesn't have to.

7 ideas to get your started:

  1. Get to a Nature Festival event on foot or using a mode of transportation that's unusual for you. Document what you notice along the way.
  2. Cycle along the Torrens from the city to the sea for fish and chips.
  3. Walk or cycle the circumference of the Adelaide Parklands.
  4. Take a road trip to regional SA for a Nature Festival event.
  5. Walk to each of Adelaide’s five squares and document the birds you see in each.
  6. Walk from Glenelg to Semaphore, draw a map of the coastline as you go.
  7. Have a family slumber party in your own back yard.

If you want more inspiration, Alistair Humphreys wrote a whole book about micro-adventures, our partners Nature Play SA have a ton of free downloads and a stunning book.

How do you write an adventure report?

We encourage you to use a whimsical style, emulating the serious tone from the golden age of adventure.

Feel free to write the report however you see fit. If you want somewhere to start, a good report often has four components:

  1. ADVENTURE: What did you set out to do?
  2. EXPEDITION: Who were the expedition members? How did they fare? How did they benefit from the experience? You might even include a quote from one of the other participants.
  3. CHALLENGES: Did you encounter any difficulties, big or small? How did you overcome them?
  4. PERSPECTIVE: what did you see or notice? Was anything new or different for you?

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Prizes and rules

There will be an award for the 'most creative adventure' and an award for the 'most creative report'

Winners will be chosen by a panel of Nature Festival judges after the conclusion of the Nature Festival on 16 October 2022.

Terms and Conditions

To enter, you must post on Instagram before 16 October 2022 with the hashtag #NatureAdventureSA and tagging @sarecreationandsport and @naturefestivalsa.

If you don't have access to instagram, you can email hello@naturefestival.org.au with the words Adventure Report in the subject line. Reports must include an original photo.

All adventures must be completed within South Australia before 16 Oct 2022.

Entries are free, and anyone can enter the competition.

Participants grant Nature Festival, Ltd and the Office for Recreation, Sport, and Racing the ability to share their images and reports, including on social media, publicity about the challenge, and in summary reports.

Nature Festival and the Office for Recreation, Sport, and Racing are not responsible for the safety of participants on their chosen adventures. Participants must choose adventures that are within their abilities and don't place themselves at undue risk.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.