abandoned old cactus tourist park south australia

from a very young age i was always interested in visiting a cactus tourist park located about 45mins out of adelaide, always in a hurry to get to our holiday destination we never took the time to stop and investigate. the park closed down about 15 years ago when the owner passed away.

today i managed to caox my father to come with me and my 3year old son on an expedition to visit the huge overgrown garden. we pulled up on the side of the highway and proceeded to clammer through the barbed wire fences. my father was a little hesitant as afterall we were tresspassing but after we got through the fence i was prepared for police or gunshots and whatever punishment would follow without hesitation.

i was surrounded by a maze of limestone garden beds and inpenetrable agave but as i walked through the small gaps was awarded with a variety of extremely old cacti and succulants.

there were enormous clumps of euphorbia more than 3 metres in diametre, a huge variety of opuntia and many other cacti that i did not recognise, there was even an old palm tree with cacti growing from the gaps in the trunk. after about 20mins i noticed my dad hiding near the old potting shed and saw that he was very anxious to leave so i began to make my way back to the car. i grabbed a couple of samples and headed back.

there would have been atleast 2 acres or more that i did not investigate and am very keen to get a camera and head back for another look.

does anyone from adelaide know any more about this garden?

regards
Darren

i remember seeing this garden as we drove by, never stopped off though. but then i didnt have such a disease as i have now.

i'll ask my Dad as he trravelled by there many times and was interested in cactus during that time. he may have some info. I'll also call up someone else i know is a probable for info on it.

i have been trying to identify some of the main cacti i saw at the garden... the realy tall ones that were everywhere were Stenocereus marginatus lined all the way along the ribs with flowers. Opuntia microdasys in huge clumps bright yellow ariole hair. and an enormous monstrose cactus. there were also at least 10 different types of opuntia.

these were the real standouts for me but i have got to get back there with a camera

Sounds like an amazing place to visit. I wonder if the current owner of the land can be tracked down, and if so would they consider allowing some people in to take photographs/cuttings/etc..?

i managed to download a couple of images off my phone of the over grown garden... i wish i took more

euphorbia resinifera at the abandoned cacti garden

unknown euphorbia at abandoned cacti garden

stenocerous marginatus which were all over the place in the garden

Those Euphorbias are unbelievable...

i am trying to figure out how old this cactus garden is but cannot find any information... can anyone make a judgement based on the size of those euphorbias?

Wow, Darren have you tried asking local people if they know anything about it?

i havn't asked the locals yet... they dont look like a friendly bunch but i am sure they would be very helpful!! i just need to get out there again and see what i can dig up... pardon the punn

Hi Everybody! I'm new My name is Ruth.Thought I would introduce myself

Darren, I am fron Adelaide too.I dont know how old this garden is but my father has photos of my Grandma and Great Aunt as young girls taken at the Garden.That must have been around the Late 1920s/ Early 1930s. Not sure of the exact date. I will have to ask my dad. Sadly the garden has outlived them and the garden did look well established in the photo!

Hi Ruthie

it would be good to see some photos of the garden back then and to hear what your father has to say

regards
Darren

Welcome to the forum Ruthie. Any chance of posting the photo on here?

Thanks for the welcome ! I will ask my dad if I can borrow the photo next time I see him.Then I will try to figure out how to post the photo. I am not that tech-savy unfortunately LOL !

I went there a few years ago. Not that many interesting plants there really IMO, just a lot of (impressive but common) stenocereus marginatus and opuntias and aloes agaves etc.. I didn't climb through the fence tho. I got speaking to a neighbour who saw me loitering around. Aparrently there is quite a legal battle going on about who owns the joint and has been going since it became a deceased estate. The guy said people would pull up with trailers and take bucketloads of s.marginatus to sell elsewhere. Understandably one of the parties involved in the legal dispute is not well pleased and encourages the neighbour to take pot shots at "visitors" with his .22. Not sure if he was telling fibs. The whole thing has a weird vibe esp. with the fence and the neighbour with a crazy wild dog. Anyway, I think the first plants were imported in the 30s as said above. A drive around the area reveals many more plants of s.marginatus, this particular species radiated out from that location in the 50s which is why it is so prevelent in many areas of adelaide.

gees i might not go and take photos... and i agree it does have a wierd vibe about it. thanks for the info micromegas. hey do you know anything about the house on grand junction road near the jail with all the cacti.I dropped in there last week because there was a car in the driveway but no one answered the door. now there are some interesting plants at that house and it also has a very wierd vibe, i was a little bit uneasy about that place

Geez Darren, I'd be careful with the places you find, remember Wolf Creek, lmao.

i would go anywhere but sometimes i wonder if i should be a little more prepared or educated.

I love these old abandoned gardens. There is one on a hill near my place. The property has got a big for sale sign up on it. I couldn't resist jumping the fence recently and taking a look around. Lots of old Agaves and Aloes there, plus two big clumps of Haworthia! Some other succulents that I couldn't identify. Some were climbing cacti, going right up to the tops of the tallest gum trees. The tragedy is that someone will buy this one day and say "God what a mess of weeds!" and eradicate the lot. The government and environmentalists also use such places as examples of potential naturalizations and "sleeper weeds". Damn eco-fascists!

gday darren the old place on Grand Junction rd is ex president of cactus society place on port wakfield rd is owned by ken maroney bit run down but when we catch up show you wicked photos of garden along river can take you there it will blow your mine cephalocereus senilis that would have to be about 6metres tall with cephalium ill have to ask permission but should be no probs showing pics. Also taken photos of cactus grower in nsw with a magnificent collection put it on cd for you.

interesting stories...