Indholdsfortegnelse for October - November 2022 i Great Walks

WELCOME to issue 104 of Great Walks, our Bucket List special. Simply put, a bucket list is a series of things to do before you die. It’s not meant to be doom and gloom, but rather a collection of unique ideas you’d like to accomplish in your life. It makes sense that some of the most common bucket list items are travel related. Travelling gets us out of our comfort zones and lets us discover a world beyond our own backyard. So, with this in mind we have some fantastic walks to put on your list. Starting in northern NSW, if you’re looking for the ultimate hut-to-hut bucket list walk we reckon we’ve found it on the Green Gully Track (pg 10), but it is a walk you’ll want to…

THE Green Gully Track is a 65km, lesser-known hut to hut, multi-day hike located in NSW’s Northern Tablelands in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. The park itself is world heritage listed, showcasing unique Gondwana Rainforest, sheer gorges, untouched rivers and an abundance of wildlife. Being here is like nowhere else. The featured cottages along the trail were originally used by stockman in the 1900s to shelter in while mustering cattle and the old stockyards can be found close by the huts. NPWS have done some basic refurbishment to the trail cottages but don’t expect much in the way of luxury! A night spent at Cedar Creek Cottage is factored in to allow walkers to arrive in no rush, rest and start their 17km journey the next day. We arrived at…

LOOKING for a bushwalk that goes on for many days, maybe weeks? One that really gives you the opportunity to focus just on the walk, allowing you to put other aspects of your life to one side? Then these Australia walks, all over 100km long, offer that. Just you and the track. Plus, we ask a number of Great Walks contributors what their Aussie bucket list walk is. Heysen Trail, SA The 1,200 km hiking Heysen Trail passes through some of South Australia’s most diverse and breathtaking landscapes, traversing coastal areas, native bushland, rugged gorges, pine forests and historic towns. It also passes through tourist destinations including the Barossa Valley and the stunning Wilpena Pound. The southern section, from Cape Jervis to Spalding in the Mid North, is ideal for…

MT Hotham is arguably the most attractive ski village in Australia and definitely one of the most popular. During winter, it is a glitzy and fashion-conscious resort, combining great skiing and infamous après-ski entertainment. However, during the warmer months it’s also home to a variety of summer adventures and the perfect location to explore the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort and the surrounding Alpine National Park on foot. The Hotham Resort provides year-round accommodation and facilities so hikers can easily access the surrounding walking trails and nature sites. An assortment of tracks and trails access some of Australia’s best views, iconic mountain huts, unique flora and fauna and some of the region’s richest history. Here, you will find some of Australia’s premier mountain walks including the Australian Alps Walking Track, Razorback…

LOOK, not everyone wants to carry a full pack and sleep in a tent on a multi-day walk. Some of you may have liked that sort thing in the past and are now content to have a few creature comforts on the trail and some of you may never have liked going ‘hardcore’. Either way, if you’re interested in luxury guided walks you’ll love these companies. Auswalk If you fancy trying Victoria’s new Grampians Peaks Trail then Auswalk will get you there and back. They offer several options but we reckon the 7-day guided walk is a winner. The unique landscape of the Grampians is the perfect platform for this one-of-a-kind hiking experience. The walk follows the best parts of the Grampians Peaks Trail from Mount Zero via Halls Gap…

WHETHER you want a gentle stroll or a physical challenge, a seaside ramble or a mountain vista, a long day’s outing or a short wander, Tasmania has a range of day walks to suit everyone. The walks are located throughout the state and can generally be accessed from major roads or waterways and include a range of environments. Bluff Hill Point-West Point, takayna / Tarkine wilderness The coastal hikes in takayna/Tarkine are wild. There is no other way to describe the weather, terrain, and views. The Roaring Forties (extraordinarily strong winds that come from the west near the fortieth parallel) rush at you from the ocean, driving enormous waves onto the beach. Hiking against these winds literally takes your breath away, and it is hard to hear the person right…

WORDS OF WISDOMKATRINA ‘KIT KAT’ HEMINGWAY A good night’s sleep sets you up for a good day’s hike. Conversely, a good day’s hike sets me up for a good night’s sleep. Eight hours was the norm for me on the Pacific Crest Trail. Covering great daily distances with a heavy load is exhausting. After setting up camp, finding water, and cooking my evening meal, it’s hardly surprising I fell asleep in an instant. But did I stay asleep? Let’s talk about sleep systems. A sleep system comprises an insulation and warmth layer. Insulation refers to your sleeping mat or inflatable pad. Warmth refers to your sleeping bag, quilt, and clothes layering. Ultralight hikers favour high warmth-to-weight ratio products to keep pack weights low but never compromise on safety to save…

WHERE NEXT?100 TOWERS PATH, SARDINIA Made up of 1,000km of mostly oceanfront trails circling the island of Sardinia, the ‘Cammino 100 Torri’ – or 100 Towers Path – might not be Italy’s most famous hike, but it’s certainly one of its most spectacular. This epic round-trip journey, filled with blood-red sunsets, ancient architecture and stunning beaches, departs from the city of Cagliari on Sardinia’s southern-tip. The 100 Towers Path takes walkers past fishing villages, old chapels, castles, salt pans, abandoned caves, ponds and desert-like sand dunes, with views of Sardinia’s translucent waters never far away. The full experience takes 45-60 days to complete. But for those short on time, it can easily be broken up into smaller trips (see pg 70 for guided walks there). The main highlights are of…

“THIS WALK TAKES YOU THROUGH THE HEART OF OVER 600,000 HECTARES OF WILD, CHALLENGING COUNTRY” Overland Track, Tas 65km/5 days The Overland Track is Australia's premier alpine walk. This exhilarating and for some, life-changing, journey attracts walkers from across the globe. Beginning at the iconic Cradle Mountain and ending at Australia’s deepest lake – Lake St Clair, this 65km/5-day trek takes you through the heart of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, part of the magnificent Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Most bushwalkers finish their journey at Narcissus Hut at the head of Lake St Clair where they board a small privately run ferry (prior booking required) to reach the Lake St Clair Visitor Centre at Cynthia Bay. Or you might choose to walk the 17.5 km length of…

AUSTRALIA is an ancient and diverse continent, with incredible landscapes, wildlife and stories. Within our bounding oceans are the wetlands of Kakadu and the high rocky peaks and rolling plains of the alpine regions. There are the east coast’s winding coastal heathlands and the tall forests of the south west, south east and lutruwita/Tasmania. Rainforests dot the land from the Daintree to lutruwita/Tasmania’s the takayna/Tarkine, contrasting with the desert and ranges of the centre. Each of these has its own culture, ecosystems, beauty and threats. From this wide range of natural beauty and diversity, the Wilderness Society has identified a collection of special places holding natural and cultural values that are unique on a global scale. Called ‘Nature’s Elders’, these places have unique evolutionary lineages, species found nowhere else in…

THIS MONTH’S WINNING PHOTO Tarkine, Tas Fiona Haines, Pullenvale Qld Camera: iPhone 11 Fiona: “A stunning morning in winter on the Pieman River at Corinna Wilderness Village, Tarkine, west coast Tasmania. Cruised on Arcadia 11 for 19km to the river mouth and then a walk along the wild beach.” Pine Valley, Overland Track, Tas Matthew Magee, Samford Valley, Qld Camera: iPhone11 Pro Matthew: “We realised the night before that the sunrise would light up the mountain range, so we got up before dawn and took our stoves down to the helipad where we made hot chocolate and watched the sun rise over the moorland. The perfect conclusion to a great week on the Overland Track”. Myall Lakes National Park, NSW Kim Haschek, Gloucester NSW Camera: Samsung Galaxy S21 Kim: “After…

“IT PROVIDES TIMEOUT TO RECONNECT WITH ONESELF” AS a young bloke in Orbost, Victoria I was surrounded by bush, and spent a lot of time in it. I used to do solo hikes to nearby farms along the Snowy River and later join with my cousins to explore railway viaducts along which the old steam engine would do its daily run from Bairnsdale. They were big adventures for a small boy. I was conscripted into the army for National Service for two years in 1965. It offered such a smorgasbord of opportunity for travel and adventure I forgot to get out until 21 years later. I served in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and the United States as an exchange instructor in airborne logistics. Qualified in HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) parachuting…

MY earliest memory of bushwalking is of Mum taking my younger sister and I for a walk in the Puketoki Scenic Reserve near Tauranga in NZ’s North Island. I was about five and we got lost and ended up walking a lot further than Mum had planned. However, I really enjoyed the adventure of it all, with the shade, and smell of the bush and the leaf-covered tracks through it. My role at Back Country Cuisine is Sales and Marketing Manager. We’re a small company at the bottom of the South Island, which means we have multiple roles. For me this means dealing directly with people who eat our meals via email and social media, our distributors in Australia, Chile and South Africa and our retailers in New Zealand. Making…

Diary entry: 28 May 2022 - Day 26: Beedelup ‘Red light on lined pages Belly full of rehydrated Constant sounds of adjustments Bubbling brook in the distance.’ HOW do you summarise a 56-day journey, a slow journey, one that has allowed you to breathe and be in your own mind and body? Ample space and rhythm allowing reconnection whilst the surrounding air is so crisp that the end of your nose goes numb. Fungi and granite underfoot, with tingle, karri and jarrah trees towering above you. This is an attempt to describe the magic of ‘the green tunnel’, the Bibbulman Track, 1000km from the Wagyl Kaip and Southern Noongar region town of Albany to Whadjuk Country at Kalamunda. While I’m no amateur hiker, with many long-distance hikes under my belt,…

DERRIN: “Lynne and I met at high school at the start of 1975 when I moved to Geraldton and have been friends ever since. We started walking together in 2011 and so far have walked in France, Spain, Portugal, NZ and Australia, close to 3000km of trails together now, and with any luck that’s not the end of the list. Lynne’s the planner and details person before we head off, and, having been friends for so long, we know the essence of each other so there is no pretence and no need to fill the silence. She will pick me up when I’m having a hard day and it’s a very easy flow between us in sharing responsibilities. She’s the morning person so she sorts morning routines and makes sure…

“THERE WAS NOWHERE ELSE WE COULD STOP FOR THE FOLLOWING 1,100KM AND WE NEEDED TO BE AS READY AS POSSIBLE” AS the plane glided down to the runway during a rare rainy day at Uluru, I reflected on the last time I had been here. Eighteen months had passed since the completion of the first half of my walk. Originally intending to cross Australia, the Western Australian borders had closed as I reached Port Augusta. Left with no other choice, I turned north, walking through the desert to reach the crown jewel of Australia and my finish line for that journey, Uluru. Now we were restarting, my thirst to reach the Indian Ocean beckoning me to finish the crossing. This time I wasn’t alone. My partner Emma deciding to join…

BACK TO BASICS I used to think that a compass was a strange, mystical tool; a sort of esoteric wand that only select wizards had the ancient wisdom to use. It didn’t help that I grew up in a culture that told me map and compass navigation was a skill that belonged to ‘boy’ scouts; as though the techniques were somehow gendered and bestowed to only 50% of us. As a teacher of navigation and author of How to Navigate – the art of traditional map and compass navigation in an Australian context, I can assure you it’s not alchemy, rocket science or even brain surgery. The secret is in recognising it’s often our own lack of confidence or misguided belief that it’s too hard, that gets in our way.…

AT 3776m Mount Fuji, or Fugaku, on the island of Honshu, is Japan’s highest mountain. Mount Fuji’s exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow covered for five months of the year, is a cultural icon and frequently depicted in art and photography. It’s one of Japan’s three Holy Mountains and the government has classified it a Special Place of Scenic Beauty. It was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural 2013. According to UNESCO, Mount Fuji has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”. So what’s it like to hike up? We’ll if the old Japanese proverb ‘there are two kinds of fool: the fool who hasn’t climbed Mount Fuji and the fool who has done it twice!’ is anything to go by it’s…

SOMETIMES you don’t see what is right under your nose, and in our case, it was the Swan River. We have walked parts of the river over the years but usually our focus is longer trails in the Perth Hills or further afield. One day we asked ourselves what if we do the whole thing and hike the Swan River, or at least, most of it? Can we even do that? The much-loved Swan River geographically and culturally divides Perth’s northern and southern suburbs. Therefore, we would hike along the northern and southern banks of the river, making it one big loop. To the Whadjuk Noongar people Derbarl Yerrigan (meaning Swan River) was and still is important spiritually. Evidence of Indigenous occupation of the Swan River Plain dates back at…