Indholdsfortegnelse for Annual 2018 i Great Walks

WELCOME to the Great Walks Annual – our inspiration issue. Well, to be honest every issue is meant to inspire, but with the Annual we’re turning up the inspiration level to 11. First up we have the Great Australian Bucket List (starting pg14) and we’ve got some of the most inspiring walking trails you’ll ever see – from WA’s Cape to Cape Track to Tassie’s latest showcase walk the Three Capes Track and from Lord Howe Island to the Larapinta Trail, we criss-cross the continent looking for the most impressive walks around. Looking for something a little bit different? How’s the Wineglass Bay Sail Walk or the Kimberley heli-hike? Like your creature comforts? How’s the Bruny Island Long Weekend or the Murray River Walk? We’ve chosen over 30 Aussie walks…

WHEN I was a young fellow in 1989, I came across a battered old hiking magazine in the London pub I worked. In there I found a terrific tale about a couple’s walking adventure in Brittany and Normandy, inspired by this I decided to follow in their footsteps. The walk my mate and I set off for was a four-day hike from Rennes in Central Brittany to Mont Saint Michel on the coast of Normandy, a tidy 70km in all. We almost met disaster even before we'd made it to the start point with a chest infection almost stopping me in my tracks. Fortunately a local teacher spotted me suffering on the train and, along with his wife, looked after us for two days until we were ready to go…

“THE PERFECT SMALL BREAK, ITS 46KM SHOULD TAKE YOU AROUND THREE DAYS OF WANDERING DOWN COASTAL PATHS.” THE term ‘bucket list’ refers to a list of activities you want to do before you ‘kick the bucket’, but if that sounds too fatalistic just think of our list of 36 guided and unguided walks as a starting point for your next journey into the great outdoors. And so without further ado... Coastal Walks Cape to Cape, WA Walking the 125km Cape to Cape Track is an idyllic riot of calm bays, wildflower bursts, fascinating pioneer history, shipwrecks and a constantly changing display of flora and fauna. Interesting geography abounds – there are cliffs, caves, rock formations and headlands to delight even the most uninspired rock collector, and grade 4 tracks mean…

GRW: What is it about the Yukon that attracted you? RT: We really like taking our travellers to exciting, unique and relatively untouched areas. Nature, wilderness and wildlife are key focusses, mixed with getting to know the locals. The Yukon is a perfect match, with fantastic hiking trails, abundant wildlife, magnificent scenery, a rich human history. It’s a multi experience destination that changes throughout the year. Bears start appearing in May, as the snow starts to melt, and trails and waterways open. June till August is perfect for active adventures as the sun doesn’t set. And mid-August the landscape turns to vivid crimson, gold and red, skies change colour too, as the Northern Lights appear, dancing through the winter till April. GRW: What Yukon experiences are you offering? RT: We…

YOU may have heard of personality types in business and in relationships, but what about bushwalking personality? Wait, what?! Yep, National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW set up a fun online quiz for keen hikers to work out what their personality type in the great outdoors was. Through a series of questions, participants found out if they were either: The social walker who enjoys quality time with loved ones in their local NSW national park. The well-balanced traveller who escapes the demands of daily life with a relaxing nature walk in a NSW national park. The brave adventurer who plans their next big adventure in a NSW national park or... The wise explorer who explores new places and learn new things on a nature walk in a NSW national park.…

MY friend Amanda and I have just returned from a truly magical experience of Hinchinbrook Island’s Thorsborne Trail in Far North Qld. On the boat ride over the sun shone glistening on the ocean and we spotted three dugongs passing us. We arrived on the spectacular, impressively yellow Ramsay Bay Beach and suddenly felt the exhilarating experience of feeling truly alone. Not a sign of civilisation anywhere to be seen and no other people to crowd our fantasy of being lost from the world. I will be 50 soon and with a double knee surgery I’m much slower than my younger, fitter friend but we knew there was no rush. A leisurely hike took us to the first campsite Little Ramsay Bay with a croc warning sign leading us towards…

ON a clear, sunny day, I’m told that the view from the Col de Balme (Balme pass; 2195m) is one of flowered alpine pastures and glinting glaciers hugging Western Europe’s mightiest mountains. On this day though, low clouds clung to the ridges, soaked the meadows and reduced visibility to no more than a dozen metres. Moving by sense as much as sight, I shifted hesitantly along the trail until, after a couple of minutes, the soft outline of a building sprung out of the smoky grey. It was Refuge du Col de Balme and on a day as cold as this, its promise of a warm drink and a chance to dry out was welcome indeed. Between the 18th and early 19th centuries it was all the fashion among the…

I stand high on the mountain, gazing over the countryside, admiring every detail. It is the height of summer in Japan but despite the intense heat of the day, I pause to appreciate my surroundings. I take long deep breaths, close my eyes and absorb the smell, the warm breeze, listening to nothing other than the trees whistling in the wind and feeling my heartbeat lower. I question myself: has it really happened? Have I found what I have been searching for? I take a further moment to analyse how I feel, what I feel... I feel extremely calm (my heart rate lowers to 68bpm despite the uphill climb); at the same time I feel a little emotional and overwhelmed, but truly grateful to be here in this moment. Other…

IN 1973, our family of five simply tumbled into the biggest walk of our lives. My husband John suggested it; we thought it sounded interesting and it was on. At that time I had never heard of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. We had three daughters, Cassandra (14), Rebecca (12 and a half) and Emily (just turned ten), who were all used to walking from a young age. By then we had been living fairly roughly in Europe for three years or more so that John, an architectural historian, could study the building process of Chartres Cathedral, 80km southwest of Paris. That was his passion and the greatest early Gothic church in France. We had left Australia, school and John’s architectural practice behind to follow his passion. I had…

Nestled in the arms of the pristine Ningaloo World Heritage Marine Park, all 50,000 hectares of Cape Range NP burst at the seams with sheer red cliffs, sealed access roads, pristine coastline (featuring reefs so close they can accessed from the shore for snorkelling) white rocky walking tracks and rare wildlife. The cape is home to the endangered black footed rock wallaby, euros, emus and perenties. If marine birds are your thing don't miss the shorebirds, mangrove fantails, mangrove whistlers and yellow white eyes at the Mangrove Bay Bird Hide. Walking tracks around the park are many and varied, including the popular Mandu Mandu Track which takes you deep into the dry gorge. Walks are best from May to Sept, with access an easy 40km from Exmouth. For more info…

THE WINNER OF the Life’s An Adventure comp from the last issue is Denise Gilmartin of Eltham Nth, Vic. Denise wins a guided walk with her favourite hiking buddy to either Wilsons Prom, the Grampians or the Great Ocean Walk. Life’s An Adventure has a great choice of Australian destinations for a pack-free walking experience where you stay at first class accommodation and get plenty of creature comforts. By the way, don’t forget to enter this month’s comp on page 4! lifesanadventure.com.au WORLD EXPEDITIONS HAS launched a new-look website featuring an enhanced search facility, expanded trip pages and a straightforward booking process. There are several highlights for the new website, including the addition of a user friendly ‘Adventure Finder’, allowing customers to narrow their trip search, and an improved ‘Search’…

“WHITEHORSE IS THE CITY WITH THE LEAST AIR POLLUTION IN THE WORLD!” IT’S a tradition that’s been around for almost 50 years. The sourtoe cocktail has become a must-try at the former Yukon gold mining town of Dawson City and it’s exactly what is sounds like: a human toe preserved in salt, used to garnish shots of whisky. The first toe belonged to a miner and rumrunner named Louie Liken, who had his frostbitten appendage amputated in the 1920s. Fifty years later, in 1973, Yukon local ‘Captain’ Dick Stevenson found the jar containing the toe and took it to the Sourdough Saloon where he started plonking it into punters’ drinks. And now it was my turn. The motto for Canada’s Yukon province is ‘North of Ordinary’ and after joining…

Twin Falls Creek, NT Chris Burt, Carina Qld Camera: iPhone 5C Chris: “After dropping her pack, my trekking friend Robyn enjoyed a cooling rest beside Twin Falls Creek NT during our 9 day Kakadu Escarpment Trek in July. There were plenty of cooling swims along the way.” Hi Chris, we liked the spirit of Aussie adventure you’ve captured in your photo of your hiking friend – a well-earned coating of dusk to be proud of! – Ed CHRIS WINS A SET OF HELINOX WALKING POLES WORTH $156!…

“NOTHING COULD HAVE PREPARED US TO HEAR A DIAGNOSIS LIKE THAT.” LIKE many other people, the idea of writing a book has long been a dream of mine, but to be honest, I always imagined it would be a children’s novel, not a memoir! But that all changed last August, when I returned home from five months trekking the Great Himalaya Trail in Nepal and was offered a book contract to write about my life and recent adventures. I leapt at the opportunity (how could I not?!). What a wonderful privilege indeed. For the next five months, I sat myself squarely down on my new chair, and poured the light and shade of my life – particularly colours from the last 10 years – into the keys of my laptop.…

PARTICIPATING in any charity event has its benefit, as you’re not only experiencing something unique and fun, you’re also helping out a worthy cause. And when walking or trekking becomes a component of the event, you’re also getting fit and possibly achieving a personal goal. So here are 24 charity walking events you should put your hand up for. Oxfam Trailwalker 2018 Take on 100km in 48 hours for Oxfam. This is regarded as the world’s toughest team event, so train hard and you’ll reap the rewards. There also 50km walks at some events. • Melbourne 23-25 March • Brisbane 22-24 June • Sydney 24-26 August • Perth 2018 dates not released yet. trailwalker.oxfam.org.au Coastrek 30km and 60km events, raising money for the Fred Hollows Foundation – what’s not to…