It’s a Y parkrun in South Australia but Yeldulknie Weir Trail parkrun has more going for it than that.
The parkrun is in the small town of Cleve on the Central Eyre Peninsula in between the two main highways. It’s a trek to get there, but worth it, event director Tina Traeger says,.
“Our entire community is extremely welcoming. We have fabulous views of the countryside from hills to the north to the ocean down south, the scenery changes every week and we have amazing coffee after.”
When parkrun was getting started in Cleve Tina says there were only half a dozen people who knew what it was.
“We had to explain and win the whole community over. and now they are all as proud of it as we are.”
Yeldulknie Weir parkrun launched on April 27, 2019 with 72 finishers and eight volunteers. That remains its highest attendance, it averages 25 finishers.
How it got started
Tina is the founding event director.
“I was going through a fitness phase and had signed up to several running events, only they were a six hour drive away.
“One weekend we travelled to Port Lincoln for a wedding and heard about parkrun.
“My sister, a friend and I decided that we would sign up and see what it was all about.
“Before we even finished the 5km we decided this was something we could do. It didn’t seem too hard to organise and it would give us the chance to track our running closer to home.
“The District Council of Cleve had also just finished the Yeldulknie Weir Trail so we figured that would be perfect for such an event.
“We emailed parkrun and got the ball rolling.
“The council were keen to get on board and funded the defib. Later they gave a grant for the remaining of the funds. Here we are today, more than 100 events later.
About the run
The event takes place on the Yeldulknie Weir and Reservoir Walking Trail.
The Yeldulknie Scheme was the first large water conservation and distribution network on the Eyre Peninsula.
The scheme comprised three small gravity reservoirs – Yeldulknie, Ullabidinie and Ulbana, formed by weirs constructed on three intermittently flowing streams of the same names.
The Yeldulknie Weir was completed in 1912.
While the reservoir remains, the Engineering and Water Supply Department relinquished its interest in the scheme when the water supply proved to be unreliable.
Tina says their parkrun is “sneaky”.
“A lot of tourists travel into town on the road right next to the track and it is pretty flat so they start their run thinking it won’t be so bad.
“But we have lots of little steep hills, then a deep creek just before the turn around point.
“On the way back in there is also one extra sneaky hill that you do not notice until you hit it!
“It’s also beautiful, the scenery changes weekly, there is so much open space and you get to watch the landscape change throughout the seasons.
“Visitors love it. We have low numbers so there’s no crowding at the start line.
“Then they aren’t so in love when they find the sneaky hill on the way back to the finish line.
“A lot comment on how great it is and wouldn’t have visited our town if it wasn’t for parkrun.
“Local first timers, they already know all about the hills on the track, but they love the way parkrun includes everyone and they normally come back.”
After parkrun they head to The Pink Door Co, where Tina says visitors should try the caramel slice.
While in Cleve
There are so many hidden gems in our district.
The Yeldulknie weir is a great spot for bush walking, local history and even camping. There is also a waterfall walk back into the water reserve which is pretty impressive in a wet season or after a big rain.
Within our town, we have some amazing little shops which are a must.
Then we have two horse sculptures made of old farm machinery, one in the main street, and one on Golf Drive. They’re made by a local farmer and are amazing.
We also have the Darke Peak area which hosts the Darke Peak Range and Carrappee hill, both amazing locations.
Or in the other direction we have Arno Bay which has some fantastic beaches. If you are lucky you may be the only one there!
What’s in a name?
We are named after the walking trail which goes from town out to the old weir, which is a beautiful spot for a picnic or camping.
We have been trying to find out what the meaning of Yeldulknie is but now one seems to know unfortunately.