Tabla de contenidos para August/September 2020 en Great Walks

LIKE many of you I have been following the news, waiting to hear what travel restrictions were easing, where I could go, where I could take the family – and by the time you read this we should be able to travel to most parts of the country. Over the past couple of weeks my family and I have escaped to the Blue Mountains and the NSW South Coast which has been great. We found dog-friendly beaches and walking tracks to take our six-month-old staffy pup Elvi who loves a good run around. We picked up Elvi from a rescue home a couple of weeks before lockdown and she has been a shining light in these dark COVID days. The last time I had a dog was as a kid.…

IF you’ve ever been on a holiday with a walking tour operator you’ll know how passionate the company and guides are about what they do. But COVID-19 meant there were no people travelling anywhere and this was bad for business. However, as travel restrictions ease these operators are getting ready for the rest of the 2020 walking season and beyond. Great Walks finds out what’s going on. Mike Edmonson, alpine guide and photographer What has your company been doing during lockdown? We had out first lockdown during the fires, then we opened up briefly for two trips before the lockdown with the virus. I decided as a local of Kosciuszko to upgrade my camera equipment and get out to do as much solitary exploration photography trips as I could with…

Time: 6-7 days | Distance: 87km | Grade: moderate-challenging Day 1: Traversing from Carnarvon Gorge visitor area to Big Bend walkers’ camp is an easy, mostly-flat 9.7km/3-4hr + side tracks. Day 2: It’s the longest day with a 7hr/15km scramble through Boowinda Gorge, up to Battleship Spur, and back down to Gadd’s walkers’ camp. Day 3: From Gadd’s, trekking through dry, red dirt and sparse bush leads through to West Branch walkers’ camp, a total of 15.8km/5-6hr. Day 4: With an early wake up, day four sees you trekking 17.3km/6-7hr from West Branch walkers’ camp up to the ‘Roof of Queensland’, through the Mahogany Forest and back down to Consuelo camping zone. Day 5: The fifth day, a 13.8km trek from Consuelo Camping Zone to Cabbage Tree camping zone, is…

WALKING is a great way to discover the real Bali, and the highland town of Ubud is the perfect base from which to trek. If you’ve ever eaten the Indonesian dish of nasi campur, you’ll know that it’s a little bit of everything: rice, chicken satay, vegies and sambal. Similarly, from Ubud there’s a wide variety of walks available, from short level strolls past picturesque rice paddies and funky warungs (a small family-owned restaurant or café), to climbing a volcano in the dark to enjoy sunrise from the summit. With a bit of planning you can meet locals, isolated villagers and even a few wild monkeys. Walking in Bali takes you through such beauty, it’s hard to resist stopping to capture the views at every turn. My friend Cath was…

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO WHEN YOU REALISE YOU’RE LOST IS TO STOP, CALM DOWN AND THINK CLEARLY.” WHEN American Professor Kenneth Hill was a young boy, he got lost in the woods near his home in Los Angeles. He wandered around the Topanga Canyon for an entire day before his father found him. It was an experience that led him to his area of expertise – as a psychologist he has dedicated his career to studying how lost people behave under such stressful situations. People who became lost in the bush had a tendency to keep moving around, Hill said, which was often a “fight or flight” response from fear. “If they stay put, they don’t stay lost very long. We always find clues about the person before…

NEED TO KNOW These images originally appeared on bioGraphic, an online magazine about science and sustainability and the official media sponsor for the California Academy of Sciences’ BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition. bigpicturecompetition.org/2020-winners…

This wilderness area is a vast and spectacular section of the MacDonnell Ranges and an outstanding example of an ancient landscape sculptured over time by climatic elements. Over the last 350 million years (give or take a day) folding, faulting and erosion has shaped the range, creating numerous gaps and gorges. The range is composed of many rock types but is most famous for its dramatic red quartzite peaks and valleys and there’s even fossilised evidence of the inland sea that once covered Central Australia (Charles Sturt was right, but he was a little too late!). As for walks, it’s most famous for the Larapinta Trail, which is quickly gaining a global reputation. But if you don’t have the time or inkling to take this on there are plenty of…

“ARE you still on the track?” A text from a friend, hiking four days behind me, beeps through on my phone. “Yeah, why?” I reply, as I settle into camp at Lake Monibeong. “I was just taken out by a ranger and returned to my car. I’ve been told to go home.” Only then do I use a little more of my precious single phone charge to check my emails and discover one from Parks Victoria. Due to a burgeoning global pandemic, all campgrounds have been closed with immediate effect. “Please get back to your car as soon as possible and return to your place of residence.” Sure, I’ll be there next Tuesday, I think to myself wryly. My car is over a 100km away and the only way I’m…

“I BELIEVED THAT my body was hollow and after each meal I’d ask dad how full I was. He’d ‘umm’ and ‘ahh’ then point to my knees and say, ‘oh, around there son’. I always wondered why I never filled right up.” Brent McKean “I THOUGHT NORTH was always in front of me.” Chantelle Vornfett “I THOUGHT THE faster my parents would drive to get somewhere, the less gas they would use.” Kim Wallech-White “I THOUGHT LIVESTOCK could walk safely on the hills in NZ because their legs on one side were shorter than the other.” Valerie Rodios “I THOUGHT THAT teacher’s didn’t have first names.” Felicity McDonald “I ALWAYS THOUGHT cats and dogs were the same animal, only dogs were boys and cats were girls.” Chris Gibbs “I ALWAYS…

THIS MONTH’S WINNING PHOTO MATHIEU WINS A SET OF LEKI WALKING POLES WORTH $210! Great Ocean Walk, Vic Mathieu Ellerby, Ashgrove Qld Camera: Cannon EOS 200D Mathieu: “The first day of our 4-day walk, this photo was taken as we dropped down onto Johanna Beach. Misty, the waves pounding, we spread out and soaked up this wild, rugged and deserted coastline.” Barn Bluff, Tas John and Tracy Morrow, Bodalla NSW Camera: Samsung J2 pro Tracy: “On a day walk out to Barn Bluff, Tasmania with low visibility, we wondered if it was worth pressing on. We reached about the halfway point – this spot – and suddenly the clouds lifted revealing our target. It inspired us to press on, climb and conquer it. It was an amazing day.” Glasshouse Mountains,…

A Federal Court ruling in early May giving Victoria the go-ahead to trap and cull brumbies in the High Country has divided the greater community. Scientists say the wild horses are trampling the habitat of critically endangered species in the wake of the summer bushfires. The landmark ruling has implications for both Victoria and NSW, where the effect of the wildfires on unique alpine ecosystems has placed pressure on state governments to tackle the soaring numbers of feral horses. The Australian Brumby Alliance (ABA) took Parks Victoria to court last year to prevent it trapping and removing brumbies from the Bogong High Plains and Alpine NP, arguing feral horses were part of the cultural heritage of the Australian Alps, and their removal should be referred to the federal Environment Minister.…

YOU’RE all sorted for an overnight or multi-day bushwalk: route planned, and weather checked. But have you thought about helping out mother nature as you enjoy all her beauty? The first step is staying on track to minimise damage to precious ecosystems. But what about the gear and food you bring and the waste you create along the way? Here are five tips for leaving the environment even better than you found it, plus some hot tips on where to hike and camp. Invest in quality gear Cheap tents just aren’t worth it. They might seem like a bargain, but as the poles likely snap and the zippers snag on night one, they are destined for the rubbish dump. Good quality gear lasts years, saving you money in the long…

LAST year, I made a promise I was going to cut back on overseas travel and spend more time exploring Australia, my country. This was back when I thought that Corona was something you could either drive or drink. My reason for the decision was something to do with a sense of home. It is a word and a place that has become very familiar to us this year and rather than seeing it as a restriction, I’m seeing it as a gift. Our opportunity to come home to Australia – the perfect walking destination – and in doing so, come home to ourselves. Here are 10 reasons why 2020 can be your best year of walking yet: 1 We’re a country of countries: the diversity of habitats in Australia…

THERE’S a stretch of sand where the tide lifts and lowers stories. With each ebb and flow, the passage of time etches in stone and escapes through estuaries. On the rapidly shifting shores of Inverloch, 150km south east of Melbourne, sandbanks stretch long, with stories spanning over 125 million years. Setting out from The Caves carpark at low tide, a story of geological impact, erosion and earthquakes has formed the sandstone caves carved 7000 years ago into the coastline. At the shore platform 100m north of the stairs, a Cretaceous age, larger-than-life dinosaur footprint, solidified in the ancient river bed, swallows our footprints. The Dinosaur Dreaming team spend summer days digging and hammering, diligently uncovering bones from the fossil layer. Flowing outwards, the tide exposes the passage of storms, battered…

LOCATED about eight hours’ drive northwest of Brisbane is Carnarvon Gorge, an idyllic location set within the highlands of the Central Queensland Sandstone Belt. Whilst the gorge itself is home to many shorter walks, our goal for the next six days was the Carnarvon Great Walk: 87km, 1,232m above sea level, and a track which takes you onto the tablelands of the Great Dividing Range and across the ‘Roof of Queensland’. After a relaxing evening camping at Takarakka Lodge (and getting the low-down from the knowledgeable local guides on their tips for the track), we shouldered our fully loaded packs for the self-supported hike, and set off at daybreak down the centre of the Gorge. The first day is a relatively easy walk: a mostly-flat 9.7km down the main track,…

BOREDOM, confusion, denial over upcoming birthdays – sufferers have different symptoms, but they’re all signs of an impending mid-life meltdown. Instead of changing your job or buying that sports car, here are some walks that might help you deal with your worries, or even head them off before they start. Symptom: Questioning the lifestyle that’s given you happiness for many years Cure: So you’re in need of a lifestyle change? Nothing says getting back to basics like putting your possessions in a pack and walking the 1200km Heysen Trail. It may sound a bit too Forrest Gump for some but it would certainly put things in perspective. Starting at Cape Jervis and heading north towards the rugged areas before Parachilna Gorge, this iconic SA walk is one of the longest…

Sydney is surrounded by some of the best national parks in Australia. There’s a multi-day adventure for everyone, including: Bouddi Coastal Walk. 2 days/27km/moderate The Bouddi Coastal Walk in Bouddi NP is a fantastic introductory level walk with beaches, coastal bushland and fascinating history. Set up at Putty Beach Campground and spend two days exploring the area while leaving your heavy pack behind. It’s best done in the warmer months when you can cool off with a coastal swim at the end of the day. One highlight is the 8km Bouddi coastal walk that runs from Putty Beach to MacMasters Beach. Boasting beaches, boardwalks and birdlife, it’s known as one of the most beautiful central coast walks. This relatively easy hike is characterised by sweeping views, shady rainforest and inviting…