The Heysen Trail 17. Finding the Light



Every trail ends differently – the Kokoda track ended with an unforgettable glorious PNG national anthem being sung by the porters on top of that last grassy knoll - when I walked the last stretch of my solo Bibbulmun (don’t forget it is 960km) I was treated with a picnic by my beloved, 6km from the end, the Rocky theme was sang to me through the phone and a hospital visit followed to clean out an infected toe (all with a smile on my face) - the Great Ocean trail  ended in a magnificent stroll to the 71 Apostles (does anyone really know how many are left?) - the Annapurna ended in a jump off a row-boat in Phewa Lake disturbing the mirror image of the Fishtail Mountain –  the first and sectional attempt of the Bibbulmun track ended with the overwhelming urge to go to the toilet.

It basically all ended up in a state of euphoria!

To finish my trek on the Heysen Trail, there was only one place to be – ‘The Cedars’ Heysen's residence and pride.



The winter sun shining through the Himalayan Cedars
planted in Heysen's garden

I strapped the steadily growing pack of pain and supplies to my back again and walked, hunched over towards the bus stop. Quasimodo would have been proud of me. With a heavy heart I stood there waiting for the bus to Adelaide. ‘Its for the best’ I reassured myself.  I had booked a rental car from the airport and two bus trips later I was heading for the Adelaide Hills in a little sedan.

Seeing  a couple of the Heysen trail signs flash by around Hahndorf, I instantly missed the slow-motion visions of the natural wander. In my humble opinion and after many years of hiking, I know cars don’t care much for the soul.  They make me lazy, blasé about distances and disconnect me from my surrounds. I easily churned up over 100km in a couple of hours, more than the total I had walked in five days.

I entered the front door of the museum after getting a sneaky look at the garden and the magnificent cedar trees that are spread through the large, hilly property. A tour was set to start only five minutes later. Hans had bought the property in 1912 and lived right there until his death 46 years later.
 

A water feature next to the back door

The Heysen’s residence was a classy affair. Our guide explained how they were great entertainers. Many famous people visited and sat at the same dinner table still placed in the heart of the building - unfortunately, no photos were allowed of the inside of the cottage. There wasn't a piece of blank wall left. Magnificent still-life artworks, as well as studies and landscapes, took up every inch of the stylish but cosy property.

The Heysen's house warmly hugged by the Cedars

Hans Heysen did well for himself and his family (eight children). They lived a comfortable life at 'The Cedars'. His car, an absolute classic Ford, is still parked in the old garage next to what has to be one of the earliest caravans ever built in this country. These vehicles obviously used to travel all along the Flinders Ranges, the Fluerieu Peninsular and the rest of South Australia.

The classic Ford in sepia setting

One of his paintings was auctioned and sold while I was, coincidently, walking the trail named in his honour and fetched $110,000. Not a bad payday for whoever owned it.

The studio - where many a masterpiece was painted

In the tall, beautifully lit studio the click of connection with the talented man finally came to me. The guide flipped out several printed versions of paintings out of a large file and there it was – the stretch of coast just outside of Encounter Bay - already forever imprinted in my mind -  out in wonderful water colours - infusing the exact feeling I felt when, I swear, I stood there for real looking at it in awe. I would buy that painting if I had the money - tell my grandkids and anyone who will listen about my crazy and difficult experiences on this trail that were so rewarding and about the love I share for this country with that man Heysen.
 

Photo courtesy of nga.gov.au/exhibition/HEYSEN



No need to look any further. I found the light!

The End

Grey Bits


Here is the website once more if you plan to walk the Heysen Trail - heysentrail.asn.au



Hans at his easel in his studio

For more information about the museum visit www.hansheysen.com.au

Find out more about the record breaking, recent sale of the Heysen painting ($110,000) by clicking on this link www.adelaidenow.com.au

The Heysen Trail 1 - Chasing the Light

 

After nearly six months of hard physio, that ultimate new challenge has slipped it's calling card under my door.  I spent hours in the pool, stepping up and down the ledge in my backyard so many times I have nearly worn a patch in the breeze blocks. Yes, I have started jogging again and what about those millions of squats I put in the legs – enough already?! What a relief to find my knee in good enough shape after my anterior cruciate ligament and other bits and pieces were fixed up. It allowed me to get the backpack out of the shed again.

Why the opening photo courtesy of Pintrest of a water colour painting you may ask? This absolute classic is by a migrant called Hans Heysen born 8 Oct 1877 in Hamburg. This particular piece is called The Three Gums and one of his most famous.

Heysen loved nothing better than tramping with a stool and a box full of paint. He was especially drawn to the Adelaide Hills and spent most of his life exploring  the Aussie light around Hahndorf and the rest of South Australia. He was knighted in 1959 as his prize winning paintings and commitment to art turned him into a household name in Australia. They even named a hiking trail after him…….

The artist in action

 

 

"I cannot help feeling that my heart lies with these men who see intense and almost religious beauty in simple nature that surrounds us in the beauty of the skies and the mystery of the earth."

Hans Heysen to Lionel Lindsay (1922) 

Sir Hans

 

The Heysen Trail is 'only' 1200 kilometres long, running from Cape Jervis, north past Adelaide and well into the Flinders Ranges.  Where there is a will there is a trail. I have given myself three weeks to walk around two hundred kms to the hills east of Adelaide, thinking that I may like to have a break in Victor Harbor and explore this new frontier in my travel experiences. Heysen's house named “the Cedars” is in Hahndorf and wouldn’t it be fitting to end my crusade of physical devastation at his place which now serves as a museum?




From Cape Jervis to Hahndorf is just the beginning.
Map courtesy of the Friends of the Heysen Trail

 

Again, this journey will be a solo mission given that Julie has full time, permanent employment and I am working in a casual position where saying 'no' to work is quite acceptable. I am a lucky ducky! 

 

I found all my hiking gear in boxes under piles of other stuff and managed to gather up five days of dried, powdery food, a small tent, sleeping bag and mattress, lots of warm cloths and my beloved camera. It was a real tight squeeze into a backpack that at 18 kilos nearly gave me scoliosis when I lifted it for the first time. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Fortunately, this question often gets drowned out by anticipation of living wild - through and through.

“When I get back I am going to save every Indian orphan in the world” I thought to myself as I was sobbing uncontrollably on the flight over from Alice Springs to Adelaide. One shouldn’t watch emotionally disturbing movies like Lion in thin air, high above the ground. My advice - don't make any life changing, rash decisions on aeroplanes. The plight of abandoned babies soon disappeared from my mind when the plane landed in Adelaide.
 

A cloudy Adelaide

Here I was - a man from dead centre Alice, in a strange, for me noisy, hectic town trying to navigate through the checkered maze of broad streets, CO2 pumping machines and confusing landmarks.” Immediately I thought about those beautiful paintings I was inspired by.

'Let it be soon I thought - let me chase Heysen’s light.'

 

 

To be continued….. .... .. .


Grey Bits

The best place to find information on line about Hans Heysen is here http://www.hansheysen.com.au/  The quote used above was taken from this site along with the two photographs of Hans Heysen.

The Friends of the Heysen Trail can be found at Suite 212, Epworth Building, 33 Pirie St, Adelaide SA 5000. It is upstairs so try not to be out of breath when you get there. They jokingly inquired how much training I had put in for this hike. A friendly and very helpful bunch of volunteers. Their website: http://heysentrail.asn.au/

Thanks to Julie my lovely partner for supporting my crazy wonder lust.