Indholdsfortegnelse for October-November 2024 i Great Walks

“ LAYER UPON LAYER OF ROCK ART ILLUSTRATES THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF HISTORY ” WHEN travelling, we often think about that well-worn phrase; “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey”. Most of the time that is true. But when exploring the Northern Territory, particularly the Big Three – Kakadu, Arnhem Land and Katherine – it’s almost impossible for the walking to be about the journey when the destinations are so far apart and stand-alone wonders. Everything is bigger in the Territory and it’s hard to argue. Spectacular red-earth landscapes, rocky outcrops, snaking canyons, seasonal wetlands and water falls and waterholes that beg to be swum. In a loop trip we managed to visit three national parks in our adventure; Kakadu, Nitmiluk and Litchfield, and it’s not like you can walk…

‘YOU can judge an adventure by the number of curses in your journal.’ This one had a few. When I arrived at The Walls of Jerusalem carpark, my optimistically-oversized pack testing my balance, I never expected it to be easy. I aimed to cover 120km over eight days, on a circuit I’d created myself by stitching together the region’s most iconic trails. But even then, there was no knowing what was about to happen; an eight-day odyssey that traced 140km and nearly 10,000m of vertical ascent along the skylines of the Tasmanian Highlands. Enriching, painful, and overly grand. There were a number of places I wanted to see: The Walls, Mt Ossa, Pelion Gap, Twin Spires, Lake Myrtle. An impossible itinerary for a single trek, so that left me with…

Darren: “I first met Julie (now my wonderful wife) while organising a hike with a Victorian meetup group. The hike took us to Werribee Gorge State Park, a place Julie's group hadn’t visited before. They reached out to me for guidance, and that’s how Julie and I crossed paths. Our connection sparked many exciting adventures, including our marriage. Since that first hike many years ago, we’ve explored hundreds of trails across Victoria and have enjoyed many adventures together across Australia and overseas. Julie is the perfect hiking buddy because of her infectious enthusiasm for the outdoors. Her genuine love for nature and thirst for adventure are truly inspiring. Julie eagerly embraces challenges and trusts my judgment when designing new routes, even when they head into remote and rugged regions. Her…

AGORAPHOBIA CRUNCH, crunch, crunch. With every step taken, my hiking boots hit the rocky slopes on the trail, kicking up twigs and pebbles as I go. Inside those boots, bought new and specifically for my first overnight hike, my toenails are turning black, and the skin around them is tearing open to create little pools of blood. My partner walks beside me, but we walk in silence, and we remain that way for hours, perhaps just as a way to deal with the pain, or because so much is happening internally. Whatever it is, I’m not sure. What I do know is that it’s not from lack of love, but just that in this moment the silence feels just right. To some, it would seem like hell. But instead, I…

I don’t believe in ghosts but, striding south from Murwillumbah’s heritage railway station past old point levers and ancient track, it’s hard not to look over my shoulder for an approaching train. Nearly two decades since the last train roared over bridges and shouldered through darkened tunnels along the North Coast Railway Line, this Tweed Valley section of the century-old rail corridor between Murwillumbah and Crabbes Creek has been resurrected, the rusty rails transformed into a 24-kilometre hiking and cycling trail officially opened in March 2023. Get on track Shrouded in the sweet malty smell from a nearby sugar mill (a reminder of the ‘cane train’ that operated here in the early 1900s), we farewell the phantoms of twentieth century rail and step out along the smooth bitumen path. Fields…

BEHIND THE SCENESGINA CHICK What’s your earliest bushwalking memory? I think it was when I was about two, and Dad took me climbing up some ridiculous mountain, and had to scramble up a huge rock and carry me most of the way up it. I remember the view from the top. It felt like I could see forever. Where did you grow up and did you spend a lot of time in the great outdoors? I grew up in Jervis Bay which is on the NSW south coast. Back in the 70's and 80's nobody knew about it yet. We had a free-range childhood, and we were Gen X kids which meant there was little parental supervision. It meant my sisters and I were outside more than inside. Also, Mum…

Great Walks recently stumbled upon this and we’re not sure if it’s an official pilgrim walk but the 600km/29-day Camino de Sydney sure looks like the real deal. During Covid lockdown, a couple of Sydneysiders, Brent and Giselle, who had booked to walk Spain’s Camino de Santiago had to put their plans on hold. Instead, they decided to visit parts of their own city and create their own pilgrim walk. The Camino de Sydney is broken up into seven stages and you can do the whole thing in one go or break it up into sections or day walks. Highlights include walking some of Sydney’s most beautiful beaches, discovering hidden gems in Parramatta and exploring parts of the Blue Mountains. You can even download a pilgrim passport from the website…

“ AS YOU CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN, THE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMS DRAMATICALLY ” AS winter’s cold breath recedes and the warmth of the spring sun returns, Mother Nature unveils one of her most dazzling gifts: a wonderland of wildflowers. In Victoria’s High Country, the Alpine Shire bursts into a spectacular display of colours, inviting hikers to witness the eye-popping seasonal transformation of the landscape. From the charming villages of Bright, Myrtleford, Mount Beauty, Harrietville and Dinner Plain to the majestic heights of Mount Hotham, Mount Bogong, and Mount Feathertop, the region blossoms into a kaleidoscope of floral beauty. And let’s not forget the Alpine National Park and Mount Buffalo National Park, which become living canvases where hills, mountains, and valleys are splashed with pinks, purples, yellows, and whites. To help protect these fragile ecosystems,…

THERE are many ways to discover Tasmania’s myriad of walking trails but if you fancy exploring them with a professional guide who knows the trails like the back on their hand then you’ll like this lot. Tasmania Walking Tours Tasmania Walking Tours (TWT) is a new, boutique, sustainable tour operator showcasing Northern Tasmanian coastal region where visitors can immerse themselves in stunning landscapes, wildlife, unique history and natural charm. What does TWT offer? Multi-day guided walking tours: In small groups you will explore Devonport, Narawntapu National Park, and Beauty Point. Your local guides will bring the rich history and wildlife of this region to life. Multi-day guided Woman’s Walks: Take the opportunity of time and space to be nurtured, simply relax and just be. Self-guided walks: This tour mirrors the…

MY earliest memories of bushwalking are with my dad on the Main Range near Perisher, NSW. He loved the High Country and was a keen artist with a particular passion for nature and photographing and painting our stunning snow gums. This pursuit saw us regularly wandering the main range and other beautiful landscapes, creating many special and fond memories. I’ve always loved time in nature, whether it be hiking, fishing, camping or any combination. It makes me feel great and its benefits are enduring. So, after more than 25 years in law, consulting and corporate, in 2021 I made the decision – perhaps wacky to some – to buy a small business and apply my corporate nous to something I was passionate about. That business was Park Trek Walking Holidays…

AS Great Walks readers well know, Australia contains dozens of varied multi-day walks. For the first time, a selection of highlights — the top 50 — have been compiled into a new guidebook, spanning the country with walks taking in coast, rainforest, desert, mountains, and everything in-between. Here are three multi-dayers we love. The Investigator Trail, Eyre Peninsula, SA 90km/4-6 days In a park almost entirely surrounded by sea, the Investigator Trail traverses the tip of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. The northern section along Proper Bay offers sheltered coves ideal for a dip at the end of warm days and quiet beaches teeming with shorebirds, while the east and south are more remote with sweeping sand dunes, limestone cliffs and the Southern Ocean crashing onto secluded shores. Inland, the trail…

WHILE most of us look forward to summer in the outdoors, relishing the thought of long days and fine hiking weather, that burning ball of hydrogen in the sky brings extreme heat and harsh UV rays, which translate to heavy perspiration, dehydration, and the risk of melanoma. The best summer clothing combines fabrics that wick sweat away from our bodies while protecting them from dangerous skin damage, keeping us cool, dry and safe. Here are some of this season’s top offerings. Outdoor Research sun gloves Unisex ActiveIce Chroma Sun Gloves – Paralleling the rise in trekking pole use came a rise in sunburned hands, so OR invented the Sun Gloves, made with ActiveIce technology. ActiveIce is a self-cooling fabric that not only feels remarkably fresh against your skin on a…

WHEN I was younger, I loved to challenge myself and push my limits, and adults called me fearless and brave. Little did I know how much I would need those character traits. Just after my 11th birthday everything changed when I became extremely ill after a tick bite. My pain level would get so high that my body would drop into an unconscious state multiple times a day. And to make matters worse, doctors doubted my symptoms. They said it was all in my head and that my parents should not give my behaviour any attention. They said the pain receptors in my brain would just magically return to normal and realise that I wasn’t actually in pain. I heard all kinds of discussions occurring at the end of my…

RUMMAGING through my mum’s bookshelf while in South Africa recently, I found a book titled Life at the Cape By a Lady, first published around 1870. The lady in question was Louisa Ross, my great-great-grandmother, wife of Dr William Ross, surgeon to the leper colony on Robben Island. Inside was the story of Louisa’s grand excursion on Table Mountain. “Ah me! How tired I am! Every bone in my body is aching with a tremendous journey, and yet what a glorious day it was” she begins. Curious, I started reading. I’ve climbed that mountain many times, although I now live in Australia. Louisa and her party, with “three coolies carrying provisions and rugs”, set off from Cape Town at 1 am in October 1861 beneath the light of the moon.…

ITALY is a source of constant amazement for me with its fantastic landscapes, people, history, food, wine – and pathways. I’ve called it home for well over 40 years, but I never tire of exploring on foot and inviting walkers to do likewise through my guidebooks. Here are 10 of my favourite routes. Believe me, it was a hard choice. Northernmost Italy is part of the alpine chain and the dreamy pale Dolomite mountains are top of the list. Here the rock transforms into flaming pink and orange as it catches the setting sun, the enrosadira effect. Walkers are well catered for thanks to a network of rifugio huts. Almost next door, the vast Stelvio National Park has darker mountains and scattered glaciers, enjoyed from panoramic ridges. Continuing west following…

I am dishevelled. Sweat is running down my back and my ankle is aching. I cut a solitary figure standing in the centre of the tourist office in the small harbour town of Muggia as the sun dips into the west. I sigh. “I’m here. I made it.” Uncomprehending stares from the two lasses behind the desks. “I started in Grossglockner and now I’m here. And I would like a picture. Please.” are the next, almost coherent sentences I spit out. The penny drops and I am welcomed most warmly by Angelina and Klara. The Alpe-Adria Trail I have completed a solo walk along the 750km Alpe-Adria Trail (AAT), an international long distance hike starting amongst the towering peaks of the Hohe Tauern National Park in the Austrian Alps, crossing…

The Skyline Traverse follows a thin rim of an extinct volcano in Mount Kaputar NP near Narrabri, NSW. The 3km walk from the carpark to the summit of Mount Yulludunida is moderate level and provides some of the most beautiful views of the area. If you are comfortable with heights and exposure the full Skyline Traverse continues around the rim which is an advanced level walk, or more accurately a scramble. This is a big call but for me it was one of the best walks I’ve done in the country. NEED TO KNOW Be awed by towering forests, breathtaking rock formations and stunning scenery at Mount Kaputar NP. Roughly 1 hour's drive from Narrabri in northern NSW, Mount Kaputar is an explorer’s paradise. nationalparks.nsw.gov.au…

IF you'd been around 35,000 years ago for the last Ice Age you could have walked from Victoria's Wilsons Prom along a range of hills sticking out of the Bass Strait and ended up in Tasmania. This land bridge, part of a massive ice cap, was eventually flooded as sea levels rose 10-15,000 years ago, leaving a chain of islands, the largest being Flinders. Due to this geological event, Flinders and the other 51 islands that make up the Furneaux Group became a virtual Noah's Arks for flora and fauna. For bushwalkers it's a picture postcard gem of unlimited possibilities. Great Walksspent four days discovering the best walks the island offered. Life's a beach Coastal walking trails north or south of Settlement Point on the island's central west coast are…

PAUL Walsh is a British photographer who works on personal projects and commissions throughout the UK and internationally. Recently he returned from walking the Camino de Santiago and photographing his journey for his new book Walking With Strangers. Paul takes five with Great Walks. GRW: What was your idea behind producing Walking With Strangers? In 2003 I was living in Spain and a friend suggested we walk the Camino de Santiago. I was unfamiliar with it at the time, but later found out it was a long-distance pilgrimage across the north of Spain. I walked from Pamplona to Santiago de Compostela and enjoyed the experience so much that it made a deep, long-lasting impression on me. The pilgrimage passed through beautiful landscapes, but it was mainly the other pilgrims I…