South Para Grand Hike

Easy

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A demanding Grade 4, 10km clockwise loop (about 4.5 hours) through Para Wirra Conservation Park following the South Para River.

☰ Trail details

Hide panel — map only✕

Distance

0.8 km

Est. time

12 min

Elevation gain

0 m

Route type

Loop

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Para Wirra Conservation Park, Adelaide Hills, SA. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Stiff White SpiderorchidDocumented on this trail

Caladenia rigida

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, SA: Endangered▾

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, SA: Endangered

Caladenia rigida, commonly known as the stiff spider orchid, or white spider-orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two white flowers with dark glandular tips on the sepals and fine reddish-brown lines along the sepals and petals.

How to spot it

Caladenia rigida is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single hairy leaf 80–200 mm (3–8 in) long and 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide. One or two white flowers with fine reddish-brown lines and 40–60 mm (1.6–2.4 in) across are borne on a spike 150–300 mm (6–10 in) tall. The sepals, but not the petals, have red, reddish-black or yellow-green glandular tips 8–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long. The dorsal sepal is erect near its base then gently curves forward and is 25–45 mm

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Caladenia rigida

Small Pelican-OrchidDocumented on this trail

Corybas unguiculatus

Rare — SA: Rare▾

Rare — SA: Rare

Corybas unguiculatus, commonly known as the small helmet orchid or pelicans, is a species of terrestrial orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a widespread, sometimes common but small orchid with a single leaf and a single reddish purple to reddish black flower.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Para Wirra Conservation Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 1848) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Corybas unguiculatus