Silver Mine Loop, Anstey Hill Recreation Park

South Australia
July 2018
Distance: 2.4km (1.5 miles)

I love walking on a cold morning with a little mist hanging in the air. The Silver Mine Loop in Anstey Hill Recreation Park didn’t disappoint the morning I set out on my own in July to check out this little trail in the Adelaide Hills.

The top photo might be a bit deceiving. Due to the fact I came in from Gate 1 on North East Road, I started off on the Wednesday Loop, which then meets up with the Silver Mine Loop. So the above photo is from the Wednesday Loop – part of my experience of this walk, but you won’t see this particular part of the trail if you come in from a different gate.

Views out over the green rolling hills with a bit of mist in the air.

Anyway, this was my first walk in the Park on my own and I did the loop clockwise.

Learning the art of setting the phone camera timer and propping it up in a spot with no wind!

The silver mines themselves are not much to look at – they are overgrown, grassy holes in the ground. The Anstey Hill lookout is halfway around the loop but it was a bit disappointing. I think there are better views at other parts of the track and you don’t need to detour to see them. It does have a nice quiet spot to sit and rest though.

A friendly reminder not to get too close to the edge at the Lookout

There are some nice views over some stone ruins, which are a nice feature of this Park. In fact many of the walks through the Adelaide Hills have little spots like this and if you’re into photography or history, they can be really interesting.

Looking down at some remnants of old stone walls

I managed to take 2 wrong turns and also was part of the way around the loop for a 2nd time before I realised I needed to get off!

When I came across this view for the 2nd time I knew it was time to turn around!

I backtracked and had remembered seeing 3 women about my age earlier on that had come up through some thicker scrub off to the side of the hill and according to my map it was the most direct route back to the carpark. So I followed a fence down the hill on a steep, rocky, thin bit of trail and eventually found my way back to the car just as it started raining. Good timing.

One of the highlights of this walk was actually when I was getting back close to the car. There were some young women yelling and filming with their phones and it took me a second to realise what they were doing.  About 10 metres away were 2 kangaroos practising their boxing skills.  One of the women was yelling out “be nice to each other”. The kangaroos would stop every now and then to look around and then got straight back into their little boxing match. Not phased by any of us – just doing what they do.

I really enjoyed this walk. The atmosphere was beautiful and it was a nice distance for a bit of exploring and exercise. My hands were so cold I could barely get my keys in the ignition by the time I got back to the car but it was worth it. Note to self: time to get some gloves.

 

Sarina