Join Nature Glenelg Trust (NGT) founder Mark Bachmann, as we meet
various NGT ecologists and special guests during a 'tag-along tour' of
some of our favourite restored places, where nature is being given a
second chance.
NGT are hosting a 6-day, multi-site, self-drive, Grand Tour across southern SA and western Victoria. Each day is a separate event with a different flavour, so you can register for a single event on any day, or join us as we travel across the landscape and come to them all! Please see the FAQs and map in this PDF.
The Grand
Tour begins in Adelaide (Day 1) and visits the Eastern Mt Lofty Ranges
(Day 2), Upper South East (Day 3), Lower South East (Day 4), South West
Victoria (Day 5) and culminates with a catered event in the Southern
Grampians (Day 6), as we celebrate the expansion of NGT's spectacular
Walker Swamp Restoration Reserve, adjacent to the Grampians National
Park.
Each day needs to be booked separately on the Nature Festival website, and please be assured that we have allowed sufficient time for travel between sites during daylight hours if you are joining us for more than one day of the Grand Tour. Detailed travel instructions will be provided, as well as a suggested itinerary for those who register for multiple days of the tour, but please note that meals, accommodation and travel for the Grand Tour are to be self-managed by attendees, with the exception of a free catered BBQ lunch on Day 6.
Day 5:
On Day 5, Nature Glenelg Trust (NGT) invites you to two locations in South West Victoria: Long Swamp in Discovery Bay Coastal Park, and NGT's Mount Vandyke Restoration Reserve, Drumborg. As we are crossing the border on Day 5, please also note the change in time zone, to Victorian (Eastern Daylight Savings) Time.
NGT Senior Ecologist Jonathan Tuck will join us for a 45-minute return coastal walk to view one of NGT's earliest and longest-running wetland restoration projects, the hydrological restoration of Long Swamp, nestled in the Lower Glenelg and Discovery Bay Ramsar Site. Discover a part of the site you wouldn't normally visit, with the people who made it happen, and learn about how the restoration process is progressing over time in this high-energy coastal environment. As an added bonus, if the weather is kind, the return walk back to your car will be via the beach, where you may even spot some rare shorebirds. Please note that walking is of moderate intensity (and approximately 1.5 km each way).
The second stop of the day is at NGT's Mt Vandyke Restoration Reserve, a modest 30 minute drive away from the first site. Mt Vandyke is a cleared volcanic peak situated on private land, embedded within the beautiful forests of the Cobboboonee National Park which, along with the adjacent Lower Glenelg National Park, comprises an area of over 50,000 hectares of continuous native vegetation - making this a very special landscape!
Mt Vandyke is NGT's eighth and most recent Restoration Reserve (established in 2021), that is now also enclosed by a new predator proof fence. Here we'll be joined by NGT ecologists John Bradford and Melissa Herpich who are managing the restoration of the native habitats at the site, which will one day be used as a safe haven for breeding and releasing some of Australia's most threatened mammals into the surrounding landscape. This is your opportunity to tour this unique site, which is not generally open to the public, and see the initial progress we are making with restoring the native grasslands and sedgelands of Mt Vandyke to kick-start the restoration journey.
From here the choice is yours. If you are self-sufficient, there is bush camping available in the nearby National Parks, and more local accommodation options can be found in the many small towns nearby. If you are joining us for the Grand Finale of the Grand Tour at Walker Swamp the following day, you may want to look at options around Dunkeld or Hamilton.
This event is free but tickets are limited. To confirm your booking we simply ask that you make a donation (of any amount) to Nature Glenelg Trust to help cover the costs of the event(s) and support our work restoring nature. You only need to make one donation if you are attending multiple events. A donation can be made by following this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/...
This is a self-driving and self-catering event and will involve walking through uneven terrain. There is a toilet at Mt Vandyke, but not in Discovery Bay Coastal Park. We recommend you bring:
- appropriate clothing for cold, wet weather and/or hot, sunny weather
- your lunch and plenty to drink
- a backpack
- study walking shoes
Detailed instructions on where to meet will be provided to registered participants prior to the event.
Participants travelling from over 2 hours drive away are encouraged to find accommodation in Mt Gambier or Nelson the evening prior.
