Wakefield River ride #2

The Wakefield River is an ephemeral river on Kaurna land that flows 116 km from its source near Black Springs to a mangrove estuary at Port Wakefield. Its tributaries are Pine Creek, Woolshed Flat Creek and Skillogalee Creek. Its Kaurna name is Undalya meaning water holes.

It was named after Edward Gibbon Wakefield, an English man of mixed reputation who, apart from a river and a town, also has a City of Adelaide street and an electorate named after him. He was a relentless colonialist, remembered for his attempts to implement his colonial theories in South Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

I found out the above from that essential resource, Wikipedia, in preparation for a second trip along this river, the first having ended in a freezing muddy bailout during a cold snap in November 2021.

Ian and I took the bus, with bikes in the trailer, from Adelaide to Farrell Flat, and were set down in the dark by the roadside in a patch of horrid weeds with seeds that stuck fast to our shoes laces and socks. We attached our lights and rode about 16km on gravel roads and dirt tracks to Huppatz Hut, a walkers hut on the Heysen Trail. Night riding, enjoyable as it may be, gives you an added appreciation of arrival at your place of shelter.

It was unoccupied by other humans but a rodent or 2 were in residence. We got a fire going and heated up our chicken curry and rice brought from home, then stowed our food supplies carefully before going to bed.