Tabla de contenidos para February - March 2023 en Great Walks

WE are walking along a narrow bush track following a jarrah forested ridgeline. I stop for a moment and take in the view near Djinang Koorliny Lookout. Winding through a steep valley is a rocky section of the Collie River. I sensed a warm feeling of gratitude, a realisation that I had been here before. Way back in 1984, I answered an ad in a newspaper. The late Dr Arthur Weston, a botanist and wilderness guide, was running a hiking and camping weekend for beginners in the bush bordering the Collie River. It was my first tentative foray into multi day hiking and despite mostly bush-bashing, sweat, bruises, bites and fatigue, I was totally hooked. Many years later, how things have changed. Back then, the town of Collie was a…

RENAI (45): “I met my dear friend and hiking buddy Pam at Orange Runners Club over seven years ago. We have walked many places, mostly in our beautiful hometown of Orange NSW, where we have wonderful trails on Mt Canobolas and surrounding forests. We venture around the region to places such as Mt Nangar at Eugowra and the Blue Mountains. The greatest adventure we have had together was 9000km away in China, competing in the Great Wall Marathon. My first ever marathon! Pam allows me to be me, as bogan as I need to get. She gives me space in the dark moments, but also knows when to step in to get me through to the end. On a challenging day on the trail Pam shows much determination, a little…

GOOD things do indeed come in small packages, as my wife occasionally reminds me. It took me a while to realise she was speaking less about my Welsh stature than giving hints about her appreciation of diamonds. The Banks Track might only be 31km long, but each one of those kilometres offers new views and old stories. Three days on the track ensures there’s always time for both. Despite numerous trips to Christchurch, I’d never ventured to the alluring looking Banks Peninsula an hour away. Its amoebic shape holds mountains dropping steeply to deep bays, with the submerged crater of Akaroa Harbour dominant. The small town of Akaroa was the only town in New Zealand to be settled by the French. Street names indicate this heritage, brasseries, boulangeries and bistros…

GUIDED GETAWAYS AS a 5-year-old, my parents took me to the Grampians when we lived in the southeast of South Australia. I remember walking with other families with lots of kids, jumping over fallen logs, watching water slide through Venus Baths and seeing a snake for the first time. My infant sister was in a carrier, and we stuck to the trails close to Halls Gap. I remember Aggies Grave and a picnic at Sundial carpark. After working in the social work and disability sector, followed by teaching I used every opportunity to travel. In 2009, I became a travel agent and realised that the trips that excited me the most with clients were adventurous, active and mostly involved trekking. Having now met and married my hiking-obsessed husband by this…

“WE BEGAN TO FEEL UNWELL, FORCING US TO STOP AT A CAMP FOR TWO DAYS” IN 1785 Robert Burns wrote a poem in which he stated “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. He had just ploughed up a field and unearthed a poor mouse building its home for the winter. Hikers are all too familiar with this scenario when it comes the weather and other events intervening on their walking plans. During the past three years we have all been hit with the effects of COVID at home and work but it is also touching on those of us who seek to trek and isolate away from the human population, enjoying what nature has to offer. We are accustomed to planning for injuries by carrying…

WHERE NEXT?ROMANIA When Alin Useriu (52) came up with the idea of the Via Transilvanica – to rival Spain’s Camino di Santiago – he didn’t know how much support he would get. “My only goal was to revitalise rural areas and all my friends were thrilled with the project,” he explains. But he knew he’d need more than a few friends to help him achieve his dream. So once the walk was mapped out on paper, he called for volunteers to mark out the route on the ground. Ten thousand people answered the call! It took four years but now this magnificent route, crossing Romania from north to south, through the Carpathians and winding through 108 villages and towns, is open for business. To celebrate, Alin trekked the route himself,…

ALTHOUGH it is relatively small in stature, Baw Baw National Park punches above its weight. Covering 13,530 hectares of pristine alpine forests and heathlands, the park is located on the boundary between the Victorian Alps and Gippsland regions, just north of the Latrobe Valley. Geographically, the Baw-Baw Plateau consists of several peaks that includes Mount Baw Baw, Mount St Gwinear, Mount St Phillack, Mount Erica and Mount Whitelaw. The undulating plateau features subalpine snow gum woodland, heathland and pockets of spongy sphagnum moss surrounding clear pools of water. In the warmer months a diversity of native orchids and wildflowers such as bush peas and snow daisies flourish across the meadows. On the lower slopes, tall forests of mountain ash, messmate and silver wattle grow with a lush understorey of ferns…

1. Tom Putt, ‘The Bungles’ “An early morning sunrise flight over WA’s Purnululu National Park with the doors off. The warmth of the light draws me to Piccaninny Gorge and the stunning walk that takes you into the heart of this unique range. A sensational multi-day walk.” JUDGE’S COMMENT: “A unique take on a popular place, I love the use of backlight here separating all the domes and creating a beautiful colour palette, the leading line of the riverbed leads you through the scene. Well done leaving the sky out completely as it would have been too distracting. A bloody ripper!” – Julie Fletcher Tom wins a luxury guided walk with Southern Ocean Walk, a GME Personal Locator Beacon and a year’s subscription to Great Walks magazine, all to the…

I STOOD by Kearvaig, a white-painted house framed by a turbulent seascape: foam-capped waves pounding black cliffs with seething fury. Exhausted, I dropped my backpack and pulled off my boots. Wet socks, sore feet – and no surprise – over three weeks, I had hiked 450km across rivers, bogs and mountains, ascending more than the height of Everest and K2 combined. A light shower of rain cast a rainbow over the bay. This, then, marked the end of the Cape Wrath Trail – the best and toughest hike of my life. The Cape Wrath Trail is widely seen as the pinnacle of long-distance hiking in the UK, marrying the intensity of a tough multi-day hike to the rugged beauty of Scotland’s Northwest Highlands. The unmarked route runs for around 450km…

GREAT Walks is currently exploring the Mount Hotham region for the best walks and as a precursor for the feature story in the next issue here are five great walks you should do over a weekend the next time you visit this stunning part of the Victorian High Country. Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing (FHAC) Grade: Difficult | Time: 3 Days | Distance: 37km one way Start: The track-head at Falls Creek is Heathy Spur carpark, 3km east of the Falls Creek village. The track-head at Mt Hotham is Mt Loch carpark, 3km north of the Hotham village. Traversing the Bogong High Plains you’ll experience pristine mountain scenery – the Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing (FHAC) is fast becoming one of Australia’s most iconic multi-day treks. Connecting the alpine resorts…

Need to know: parks.sa.gov.au…

IT’S the freeze that gives it away. Although in another few steps I would have seen it anyway. The echidna, right on the edge of the track. It’s almost comedic – one forepaw raised; an eye rolled toward me. A spikey outline against the dust. Unmistakable. I freeze too, except for a slow, slow reach for my camera. By the time I have it, the echidna has relaxed. I can almost see its mental shrug: ‘human, harmless’. It ambles off the track and pokes around in the leaf litter, snouting under rusty sandstone fragments in search of food. Moments later, it decides the pickings are better on the other side. It crosses the trail almost directly beneath me, close enough that I could reach down and touch it. Of course,…

“YOU don’t take a photograph, you make it.” America’s most famous wilderness photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984) knew what he was talking about when he said this. So much goes into a good image. It’s never just point and shoot. It’s picking the right time of day, getting to the place, setting up, understanding the surroundings – the geography, the weather, the light – and all this before you even look through your camera. The entries in the Wilderness Photographer of the Year 2022, presented by Southern Ocean Walk have fully embraced Ansel Adams’ words, and every one of us involved in the judging of the comp has been incredibly impressed by the standard. We received almost 700 entries and we want to thank each and every person who entered. It…

THE Megalong Road pours itself out of Blackheath’s southern side, spilling over into one of the Blue Mountains’ most diverse valleys. As the narrow bitumen winds its way down, the sky disappears behind the verdant canopy of the Coachwood Reserve and the popping in my ears tells me I’m heading into another world. This is one of the most picturesque drives in the Blue Mountains and when you escape from the arms of the dark descending forest, into the open farmland, it’s easy to see why the Megalong Valley is a popular location for car commercials. Like magic, I’m transported from the lofty heights of the escarpment, down into an agricultural heartland. Here, generations of cattle farming and equestrian businesses blend with the visitor economy that sustains most of the…

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…

RESPONSIBILITY IN THE BUSH IT couldn’t be more black and white. Two incidents involving an emergency in the wilderness where one person had the foresight to carry an emergency beacon and one person didn’t. Great Walks spoke to John Belanger (43) who, along with his son Judd (13), got hit by some wild weather whilst bushwalking in Namadgi National Park, ACT. Where were you going, with whom, and for how long? As part of preparations for a N2S end2end of the AAWT, my Judd and I had been using long weekends throughout 2022 to familiarise ourselves with the trail. I had done the same trail solo in 2013 and Judd approached me after the COVID lockdowns ended, saying he wanted to do the AAWT with me. Whilst not a long…

AN early bushwalking memory is of going on a school trip and walking through Brachina Gorge in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. I remember the sense of amazement of being able to walk through places like that. There is something about walking through a place that connects you to your surroundings. I am currently the District Ranger for the Fleurieu District, south of Adelaide. We have 27 parks in the area that we manage including Deep Creek National Park, Granite Island Recreation Park and Newland Head Conservation Park. With such a diverse range of parks, variety is the hallmark of the job. Planning new experiences such as the Wild South Coast Way on the Heysen Trail (WSCW), managing visitors, restoring habitats, responding to fire or undertaking prescribed burns, working with community…