John Simmons Flora & Fauna Sanctuary Walk, Living Desert State Park - December 2020

Dropping back down to the ute along the Cultural Trail.

Since Sam and I had last visited the Living Desert State Park up a Broken Hill it appears that the local council has been doing a bit of work. Back on our first visit up here there was really only the sculptures up on the hill to check out, however arriving this morning we found another walking track to check out. There is now a flora, fauna & cultural walk weaving through the surrounding hills. So pulling on my hiking Havaianas, I grabbed the GPS and we set off to check things out.

The Living Desert State Park - we weren't exactly crowded out on the way today.

There is some good information and track marking along this walk.

To get on this track Sam and I had to pass through a couple of electric fences which resembled an old Eastern European border crossing to my eyes. After passing through the fences we climbed a roughish track up a gully to reach a well signposted track junction. This walk is really two small loops with a short section of track connecting the two loops. We decided to do the short Flora Trail loop that heads off to west first, figuring that it wouldn't hurt to get a bit of a refresher on the local fauna before exploring further afield on the Cultural Trail.

Hmm... this looks serious.

There is shade shelter and a bench to share with old mate around twenty metres into the walk.

We climbed up a dry gully to arrive at this 4 way track junction. Sam and I did the Flora (Arboretum) Trail Loop first.

The Flora Trail loop swung over the top of a small hill before dropping slightly down its western slopes where the track meandered around taking us past the different plants. The information plaques telling me that I really only know the names of a small handful of these desert plants! With the track crossing the western slopes of the hill we had some great views down into the valley below, the red dirt and low hills baking under the Australian summer sun.

The Flora Trail meanders around the slopes of a small hill.

The view west from the Flora Trail.

The Flora Trail, Living Desert State Park.

The Flora Trail, Living Desert State Park.

After twenty minutes or so Sam and I had made it around the short Fauna Trail loop and arrived back at the signposted intersection. We now headed off to check out the longer Cultural Walk Trail. Not only was this loop a little longer but judging by the lookout I could see silhouetted against the blue sky on the hill above me, it looked like it would also involve a bit more climbing. Arriving at the loop section we headed off to the right and started climbing... the climb made easier due to the path being mostly sealed and also featuring steps where they were needed... although the Havaianas were still scrabbling for grip a bit!

That's the Living Desert Sculpture Symposium on top of the distant hill.

The Cultural Walk involved a little more climbing.

The Living Desert Cultural Trail.

I'm guessing that there is a lot of iron ore in these rocks, judging by the tinny sound they make when I banged them together, along with the hole in the rock - although geology isn't my forte!

The Living Desert State Park.

After taking a short trip out to check out a viewing hide (which gave us a view of the dry slopes of the adjacent hills - but no fauna) we climbed up to check out the Story Poles. We could see these Story Poles on the skyline for a lot of the walk so they worked out to be a handy navigation aid that help us to gauge our progress around the circuit. The Story Poles were created as part of an Indigenous studies course at the local tafe college and have indigenous themes that were important to their creators carved into them. So while they are not exactly native to the area they are still relevant and meaningful for the local aborigines. Leaving the Story Poles, Sam and I dropped into a saddle with a small shelter and water tank where Sam decided to wait for me while I made the short side trip up to the lookout.

After passing by the simulated Aboriginal Yapara...

... we climbed to check out the Story Poles.

Making the final summit push!

Sam decided, maybe wisely, to wait for me at the shade shelter.

I'm enjoying the view from the summit of Mt John Simmons in my ultra lite, zero drop Havaianas.

The new and the ancient - a modern wind farm on an ancient land make quite the juxtaposition.

The buildings of Broken Hill can be seen glinting in the bright summer sun from the lookout.

The lookout was the highest point on the stroll and allowed for views back towards Broken Hill and east towards Stephens Creek Reservoir as well as north towards the desert hills, many of them crowned by a distant wind farm. Dropping back down to meet Sam we continued on our loop, now dropping fairly gently to the east to check out an old flooded mine shaft before swinging around to the west and passing an indigenous Quartz Quarry. While this is predominantly Sandstone country up here there is the occasional band of Quartz around which the local aborigines used as sharp points on their tools and weapons back in the day.

Dropping back down towards the ute. I think that maybe the Stephens Creek Reservoir in the distant valley.

Peewee... I like it.

Most of the bigger wildlife was doing the sensible thing and snoozing in the shade today.

Sam and I were now heading back to complete the loop section of the Cultural Trail, after crossing a fairly steep gully we re-joined our outward track before retracing our walk back down to the ute. I haven't mentioned it yet however we walked this trail in summer - which isn't really the ideal time for it. We had a day that was pretty cool, only getting into the low 30˚ however it was still pretty warm up in the hills. The local council close this walk at 1:30 pm over summer due to the heat, so come early in the day and pick a cool day over summer (or give it a miss until the cooler months if you are particularly heat sensitive).

The hills were alive!

The local indigenous people used the Quartzite as the sharp points on their tools and weapons back in the day.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS we walked around 3.7 kilometres and climbed about 113 metres on this easy stroll.
Now if anyone stumbles across this post who maybe doesn't know me then when I call this walk easy that's coming from someone who has done a lot of walking over the years, if you are someone who only really walks around the local park or shops then you may find this walk harder than I've made it sound, the walking track does climb and descend a bit, can be rough in spots and is very exposed to the elements. To enter the Living Desert State Park there is a $ 6 entry fee (Dec 2020) which not only gives access to these two loops but also the nearby Sculpture Symposium for the day,  you can pick up a map at the pay station or at the tourist information centre in Broken Hill. I used that map along with my GPS topos.

Relevant Posts.

The Living Desert Sculpture Symposium Walk, 2020.

Silverton Walk, 2020.

We crossed a few steep gullies on the way back to the ute however for the most part it was downhill.

Arriving back at the carpark - things were still pretty quiet.