Indholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2020 i Great Walks

MOST summer breaks are filled with wonderful times with loved ones, and the break I had (and hopefully you had) was just that – but there was also the overwhelming sense of sadness and loss caused by the utter destruction of the bushfires that continue to burn as I write this (see our update on pg.9). The loss of human life, the thousands of acres of charred wilderness, the countless number of native species killed or injured, the destruction of many properties and people’s livelihoods has been so great there wouldn’t be a person in the country who isn’t affected directly or indirectly by what has happened. I know people who have lost their homes and others who have had to pack everything up and wait for the word to…

Adventure bound Hey guys! I’m so glad I came across your mag in a random newsagent! I’m new to walking and am heading to Indonesia next year for 12 months study. Yogyakarta in Java to be precise. I plan on doing some day treks and weekend walks. Can you suggest any? Also, I’m just reading this month’s winning letter from Liv Martins about their walk on the Camino de Santiago. And I’ve noticed your last edition had some info on it. Am I able to purchase that issue and have it sent to me? Thanks so much! Rick Creamer Hi Rick, thanks for your message. I have spent a bit of time in Indonesia and my favourite place to explore was Sulawesi. It’s an hour’s flight from Yogyakarta or Denpasar.…

THERE’S something quite mystical about Mount Buffalo National Park and every time I enter its realm I almost feel as if I’ve passed through a magic portal and entered another world. With its majestic granite boulders perched precariously atop massive outcrops it seems as if some giant hand has been at work here. Little did I realise that as the day wore on during our recent trip there, some of this mystique and magic would dissipate and some of its allure would be tarnished. But more of that later. According to Parks Victoria, “The Park is full of diversity and offers plunging waterfalls, beautiful wildflowers, snow gum forests, mossy plains, prolific wildlife, picnic areas and bush camping.” On our recent overnight trip to complete the Buffalo Plateau Circuit we certainly…

SO you’ve dreamt of walking one of Australia’s classic long-distance walks but haven’t had the time. Well maybe the first thing to do is a three or four day taster of the walk. Great Walks spoke to those in the know on how to experience some of Australia’s classic walks over a few days. Bibbulmun Track, WA (1003km) The track consists of about 58 sections and at the end of each section is either a town or a purpose-built campsite. But where to start for a long weekend walk? “During the walking season (Apr-Nov) there are a number of options. All of these can fit a long weekend timeline but some will require travel from Perth the day prior to get there in time,” said Steve Sertis, events manager and…

Flinders Ranges, SA Julie Wernigk, Warner Qld Camera: iPhone XS Julie: “I took this photo in the Flinders Ranges in October. My wife and I were on a guided walk for three days. We were taken by helicopter to the top of the Chase Range, set up our swags, settled into a few glasses of wine and sat back and enjoyed the beautiful sunset over the Flinders Ranges. No one else but us and our guide to take in the serenity. He cooked us dinner which we ate around the campfire. The next morning we hiked down the mountain. Amazing experience.” Gillespie and Rabbit Pass, NZ Daniel Carter, N/A Camera: N/A Daniel: “This is one of my favourite pictures from an 8-day trek I did of the Gillespie and Rabbit…

IF you laid all of Switzerland’s walking trails end to end they would stretch all the way around the world with some to spare; and thanks to the county’s compact size and efficient rail network you can get to the start of many of these walks in a matter of hours. Love cheese? Not only do the Swiss make some of the best in the world they even have a walk dedicated to it – the Alpine Cheese Trail! The country is best understood as a collective, the two biggest areas speak German in the north and Italian in the south, with climates and cultures to match. Typical of Swiss politics, each regional canton (like a county) runs its own affairs in a fairly decentralised system, which leads to a…

TWO thousand metres below the surface of the South Pacific, a fury of molten lava burst through the mantle and vented upwards. Boiling rocks from the heart of the earth rose through the incredible pressure of the deep. Over time, there built an underwater mountain that eventually, perhaps seven million years ago, reached the air above the sea with much steam and forceful spewing of liquid rock. The mountain grew to a great height over a large area – a giant shield volcano. Slowly, ocean forces eroded the massive area until it was a tiny fraction of its original size: an island outcrop from an underwater plateau. Over time, the few plants and animals that found their way across the open ocean to the island evolved to become the biological…

The classic 40km walk in Victoria, offers an abridged taste of the epic 650km Australian Alpine Walking Track. It links the historic mining township of Walhalla to the pristine snowgum environment of the Baw Baw National Park plateau and its nearby resort village. With a summit at one end and a river valley at the other, you can choose from two very different experiences on the trail – the traditionalists’ uphill route or the downhill route over a plateau to Walhalla. The two-day end-to-end itinerary journeys through alpine plains alive with native wildflowers, twisted snowgums, towering mountain ash, and pre-historic myrtle beech. Bushwalkers pass through a wonderland of geological formations at Mushroom Rocks, see the ruins of Talbot Peak hut, cross mountain streams and wild rivers and pass through fern…

IT would be disingenuous of us not to talk about the current bushfire crisis and editor Brent touched on it on pg3 but here is the latest on the fire as we went to press with this issue. More than 5000 grass and bushfires have destroyed more than 8.4 million hectares of land in NSW, Vic, Qld, SA, WA and Tas. At this stage, 23 people have lost their lives – including four firefighters whilst in the line of duty – and a further six people are missing. The fires annihilated 1823 homes with extensive damage to a higher number of homes and properties (This number is likely to rise). “While each one of the properties destroyed is a tragedy for those impacted, more than 1200 homes in the direct…

Time: 2 days | Length: 27km | Grade: moderate-challenging Day 1: Gorge Day Visitor Area to the Monolith 2.5km/45min The Monolith to Mt Dunn 5km/2hr Mt Dunn to Mollinsons Galleries via Og Gog Magog & Eagle Point 10km/4.5hr Mollinsons Galleries to Rocky Creek campsite 4km/2hr Day 2: Rocky Creek campsite to Macs Point via Rocky Creek Track 9km/3hr Macs Point to Lake Catani Campground via Long Plain Track 12km/3.5hr Lake Catani to the Gorge Day Visitor Area 3km/1hr…

YOU might think hopping naked into traditional Japanese hot springs – or onsen – with your fellow hikers might be a challenge to your Australian sensibilities, however, you’ll find any modesty quickly fades away as the hot mineral waters ease your tired body. Great Walks was in Japan for a week exploring Kyushu, the most southern of the country’s four main islands and it was an education in a beautiful ancient culture as well as an exhilarating hiking experience. The onsen hot spring baths are just one of the daily rituals you get accustomed to. And don’t worry, onsens are male or female only, no mixed genders. Bars, Buddhas & bushwalks After a nine-hour flight from Sydney to Tokyo and another 90 minutes on a domestic flight to Kyushu we…

FROM an airplane window Jordan looks a tad on the barren side – a flat desert-like land, monochromatic in orange. Descending into its capital Amman, I can’t help but wonder how its terrain could sustain a long distance hiking route, but in 2013 the Jordan Trail was unveiled. Stretching 640km between Um Qais in the north to Aqaba in the south it runs virtually the entire length of the country. Jordan is a young state on ancient soil. From 1946 it’s been an independent and largely peaceful kingdom that sits in the rocky desert of the northern Arabian Peninsula, a land chock-full of archaeological ruins so old they make your head spin. To through-hike its new trail would take 30-40 days but I’m doing a selection of highlights on a…

PUT the passport away because our island home boasts many smaller islands scattered from the Tasman Sea through to the Indian Ocean, offering wonderful walking opportunities. Here are some of our faves. QUEENSLAND 1 Fraser Island, Fraser Island Great Walk – 90km Stretching over 123km in length, this World Heritage listed island has an area of 184,000ha to explore. Situated next to the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and alongside Kakadu, Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, formed by shifting sands over millions of years. Walk the 90km Fraser Island Great Walk between Dilli Village and Happy Valley taking 6-8 days to complete or split it into sections for shorter walks to enjoy at a slower pace. Make a stop at Lake Boomanjin – the largest perched…

Biolite Firepit Tenuously included here as a centerpiece for people sitting around on furniture, the Biolite smokeless Firepit is a fantastic addition to your camping kit, although you’d need to hire a porter to carry it. The battery pack powers a row of fan jets which help control combustion of the (wood or charcoal) fuel, effectively rendering it smoke-free, at least in theory. I wouldn’t rate it 100% smokeless, especially after the addition of new wood, but it is very good. You also need to keep the fuel below the jets, so bring an axe if you’re buying those sacks of wood from a petrol station on the way, as they’re just a tad overlarge. The battery pack lasts for 24 hours on low speed, unless you’re charging phones and…

THE big day is finally here. After months of saving and training, and two weeks of dehydrating, you’ve finally made it. The planning, spreadsheets, endless packing (and re-packing) are now behind you and you’re stepping out on your big bushwalk. Nothing can stop you. Actually, quite a few things can and here are some that probably should. WEATHER: As much as the BOM do their best, the unexpected does happen and sudden storms, flash floods or unexpected heat waves can occur. Whilst explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes famous adage, ‘no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing,’ is fine to a point, if your safety is threatened by wild electrical storms or gale force winds, especially when walking high, exposed terrain, it could be time to pull the pin. ILLNESS:…

Fact checking In the story Hiking in the Harbour City (GRW Dec-Jan 2020) the writer says Australia’s only mainland colony of fairy penguins is near Manly, Sydney. In fact, fairy penguin colonies remain on the Australian mainland in Victoria too. There is one near Port Campbell in Western Victoria and a much loved one at St Kilda in the heart of Melbourne. Paul Swain We are sailing I was privileged to be a participant on the recent maiden voyage of Aurora Expeditions’ Greg Mortimer in Antarctica. The whole ship’s crew from Captain Peter to the cabin and galley staff and expedition team, from leader Greg Mortimer himself, to all the specialists and zodiac drivers were very accomplished and extremely friendly. It was an amazing experience. Thanks to Aurora and all…

IN 1991 I was lucky enough to spend my dental student elective working in rural Nepal. I had always wanted to return to this interesting and beautiful country, so when a post popped up on my Facebook feed earlier this year saying that an organisation called Trekmedic was desperate for a dentist to join their team for an expedition to Nepal in October I was in. Trekmedic is an Australian based not-for-profit that sends small groups of health professionals out to villages where they set up mobile clinics to treat villagers who normally have very little access to healthcare. The availability of lollies and Mountain Dew at the villages ensures a huge amount of dental decay and infection so they are always very happy to have a dentist as part…

THERE seemed to be a hex on arrangements for our hike along Tasmania’s South Coast Track. It began with my walking partner Tom being dubious about the seals attaching the soles of my boots. In an outdoor shop in Adelaide the attendant, younger than my boots, declared them fit for purpose. “You’ll get another ten years out of these!” rings in my memory. We bought tickets to Hobart and a flight on the only airline into Melaleuca. About that time, one of the operator’s twin-engine planes crashed near the Western Arthur Range, killing the pilot. After a brief suspension, flights resumed. The third unscheduled event was a series of lightning strikes which triggered bushfires across heritage wilderness areas. The South Coast Track was closed. It re-opened five days before our…

THE first time I walked the Overland Track a Tasmanian devil stole one of my leather hiking boots from outside my tent in the middle of the night. Half asleep and barefooted, I chased the animal across the grass at Waterfall Valley until it let the boot go, slightly chewed but still wearable. That was back in 1997. I walked the track a second time in January 2009 with my girlfriend Yasmin. I had been working as a bushland regenerator and was mad on plants and animals. At least half my 20kg backpack was reference material: bird books, plant books, maps, guides on mammals and even a history tome. It rained and many of the books got wet – and weighed even more. The third time I walked the Overland…

“Crime in multi-storey carparks. That is wrong on so many different levels.” “THE GUY WHO INVENTED AUTOCORRECT HAS DIED… RESTAURANT IN PIECE... ” “It all starts innocently, mixing chocolate and Rice Krispies, but before you know it, you’re adding raisins and marshmallows – it’s a rocky road....” “I WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND FORGOT WHICH SIDE THE SUN RISES FROM, THEN ” IT DAWNED ON ME. “Sometimes I wake up grumpy; other times I let her sleep.” “SOMEONE STOLE MY ANTIDEPRESSANTS. WHOEVER THEY ARE, I HOPE THEY’RE HAPPY. ” “I OWN THE WORLD’S WORST THESAURUS. NOT ONLY IS IT AWFUL, IT’S AWFUL. ” “Then God said unto John: ‘Come forth and receive eternal life.’ But John came fifth and won a toaster.” “I took out a loan to pay for…