Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2020 i Great Walks

Gemini May 21 – Jun 20 A strange man with a South American accent will try to offer you something to make you go faster up the hills. Think twice. Cancer Jun 21 – Jul 22 You need to change your socks more often. It’s highly likely you’ll lose friends the next time you take your hiking boots off the around the campfire. Leo Jul 23 – Aug 22 That bad case of flatulence you have can be chased back to the dehydrated chicken vindaloo you made before you left for the Snowy Mountains. Virgo Aug 23 – Sep 22 That reoccurring dream you have of circus clowns in tutus wrestling mermaids is affecting your sleep in a tent. Seek help. Libra Sep 23 – Oct 22 You’re growing nose…

ARGUABLY one of Australia’s best winter hikes to undertake is NT’s mighty Larapinta Trail – especially for anyone averse to snow, rain and icy cold winds. The trail takes you 223km across the West Macdonnell Ranges to experience all of the harshness, peace and solitude of the desert. Winter is the best time to visit the region; the skies are clear blue, the day temperatures hover around 20C°+ during the day but dip close to zero at night. While it is possible to hike in either direction I’m biased when I say that from Alice to Redbank is the best direction to head in, as after all, this was the way the track was originally designed. Bushwalkers can take their time on the trail with most taking anywhere between 9…

AS the months get colder, we tend to stay indoors – choosing our fluffy home socks over our hiking shoes and opting for the warm robe instead of the Gore-Tex. But winter shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the great outdoors*. The fresh air is good for you, it helps improve endurance, boosts the capacity of your heart, burns calories and reduces stress. Step outside this winter on walks that will make relaxing on the comfy couch afterwards with a warm drink or a glass of red totally worth it. “ HARTZ MOUNTAINS NP IS PART OF THE TASMANIAN WILDERNESS WORLD HERITAGE AREA. ” Halls Gap to Borough Huts, 33km – Grampians Peaks Trail, Grampians NP, Vic Looking for overnight hikes this winter? There’s something so invigorating about waking up in…

“To the left, on higher ground, a pile of stones… on one of them a large black spider, spread-eagled, asleep in the sun. She had always been afraid of spiders, looked round for something with which to strike it down and saw Sara Waybourne, in a nightdress, with one eye fixed and staring from a mask of rotting flesh. An eagle hovering high above the golden peaks heard her scream as she ran towards the precipice and jumped. The spider scuttled to safety as the clumsy body went bouncing and rolling from rock to rock towards the valley below. Until at last the head in the brown hat was impaled upon a jutting crag.” – Picnic at Hanging Rock, Joan Lindsay “The felon Rufus Dawes had stretched himself in his…

“My boss is going to fire the employee with the worst posture. I have a hunch, it might be me.” “I don’t suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.” “ I RECENTLY DECIDED TO SELL MY VACUUM CLEANER – ALL IT WAS DOING WAS GATHERING DUST. ” “ AS I GET OLDER AND I REMEMBER ALL THE PEOPLE I’VE LOST ALONG THE WAY, I THINK TO MYSELF, MAYBE A CAREER AS A TOUR GUIDE WASN’T FOR ME. ” “The other day I asked the banker to check my balance, so she pushed me.” “I didn’t realise how bad of a driver I was until my sat nav said, “In 400 feet, do a slight right, stop, and let me out.” “ DON’T TRUST ATOMS, THEY MAKE UP EVERYTHING.…

This park is a vast area rich in Aboriginal and European heritage stretching from the banks of the Darling River, across the plains and over Mount Gunderbooka. It features woodlands, floodplains, sandhills and the rugged Mount Gunderbooka rising 500m above the park, which is of great significance to the local Ngemba Aboriginal people. Be sure to take Mulgowan (Yappa) Aboriginal Art Site walking track to see some ancient Aboriginal rock art up close. You’ll find the striking sight of weathered red soils against bright blue skies makes for excellent landscape photography and, as this image shows, the nightscapes are incredible. Also you’re bound to see a range of birdlife along the park’s walking tracks. There are great places for camping or you can stay in the historic Redbank Homestead. To…

PRACTISING social distancing in my lounge room this Easter, I kept thinking about what I was missing. You see, for the last 20 or so years my mate David and I try to do an annual multi-day bushwalk. In the early years this did not really happen but for the last 13 years we have managed to almost do this. A 2020 trek was planned in January, but the bushfires put paid to that. We then planned for Easter, but the coronavirus came along. So, I just spent Easter reminiscing about our earlier bushwalks and chuckling about past misadventures. As two office-bound Sydney lawyers in our 60s, we enjoy walking in the wilderness away from everyone. David has been a keen bushwalker most of his life. For me, this came…

AUSTRALIA is blessed with a diversity of landscapes to keep even the most prolific of walkers busy for a lifetime. For bushwalkers looking for multi-day trips, up to a week, here are some of the best: 1 Kanangra to Katoomba, NSW Not to be confused with its near neighbour, the comparatively easy Six Foot Track (of a similar distance), this 45km “route” (as opposed to track), is for experienced navigators and bushwalkers only. Traditionally walked south to north, this adventure will stretch your map-reading abilities, along with your quads and knees as you ascend and descend over 1350m through the rugged Kanangra-Boyd Wilderness to cross the Coxs River into the Blue Mountains National Park. The soaring orange face of Kanangra Walls at the start, puts you a long way from…

I ONCE had the unique opportunity to spend the night in the mountains of Tasmania during a blizzard. A potential emergency was developing involving an injured bushwalker stranded with her partner and their guide on the cirque below Cradle Mountain. High winds and driving snow meant it was unlikely a rescue helicopter could get there to assist. The three of them were holed up in a one man tent with just one sleeping bag. I was working as a hiking guide and had just returned home from a trip when I received the call to action. Within an hour a colleague and I were ready to depart. We drove out of town and into a grey rain being blown across a black night. It was the type of night that…

“ THE COLOURS OF THE TRACK’S WILDFLOWERS FILL MY HEART ” ON the last night of my eight-week hike along the Bibbulmun Track I meet Andy, whose blue eyes radiate kindness and knowing. I had hoped for a hut to myself and some time for reflection on my last evening, so felt slightly jarred on arrival to find three men setting up in the three-sided shelter. But Andy, like so many of the other chance encounters I experienced on the track, manages to enhance rather than diminish my 1000km walk. Discovering he is a retired zoologist I quiz Andy about his career – which has spanned many decades and almost every ecosystem across WA. He spins an engaging yarn about his research into a tiny freshwater fish – the ‘spotted…

WE ALL KNOW the effect Covid-19 has had on Australian businesses – none more so than the wonderful walking tour companies. It’s early days but Great Walks wants to start promoting these walking tour businesses again, so with this in mind we asked a number of companies what their plans were post-lockdown. Hidden Italy walking tours “IT’S BEEN A tough couple of months for everyone but particularly for the Italians. Fortunately, there are signs of improvements. As far as Hidden Italy, I must say it’s been a little quiet around the office. That said, this lull has been a great opportunity to catch up: eg upgrading our 22 self-guided roadbooks and apps and even starting a book. We have also been busier with social media: the idea is to celebrate…

ON Friday the 13th, I flew to Melbourne with the intention of walking to the most southerly point of the Australian mainland. It was a journey I’d planned for some time. A couple of years ago, my wife and I and our two young daughters drove around the country trying to tick-off the compass points along the way. Byron Bay on the east was easy. Cape York not so much. Steep Point on the west eluded us, although we came close enough to touch, and the southerly point involved too much walking for two and six year-olds. So, a few years later this was my chance, and as a bonus, I was going to walk it with an old friend I don’t see much any more; both of us busy…

THE 15-year life of Great Walks magazine had not, until early this year, seen the launch of a New Zealand Great Walk. That all changed with the opening of the Paparoa Track, the first new Great Walk in 20 years, the first to be purpose built from scratch and the tenth in total. Like an iPhone launch there were many queueing for the experience. Unlike an iPhone launch it was hardly a smooth opening. The South Island’s notorious weather made certain of that. A landslide delayed the planned grand opening on 1 December and West Coast rainstorms pushed the date back ever further. Finally, on 1 March, the Paparoa Track stuttered into reality. With a booking for that first week, I regularly scanned the DOC social media pages, nervous the…

THIS MONTH’S WINNING PHOTO GENNY WINS A PAIR OF LEKI WALKING POLES WORTH $210! Purnululu NP, WA Genny May, Hornsby Heights NSW Camera: Lumix G9 Genny: “During a spectacular hike along the remote Piccaninny Creek, in the Bungle Bungles, we detoured up the Whip Snake Gorge. This dramatic narrow gorge ended with a rock pool that offered this beautiful tiered reflection in the stillness of the early morning.” Stromness, South Georgia Ray Gallagher, Benalla Vic Camera: iPhone 6 Ray: “I was privileged to tread in the footsteps of Shackleton, Crean and Worsley to Stromness, the whaling station in South Georgia. In awe of their incredible journey, feats of endurance and the stunning landscape we had hiked through. The requirement to wear ‘muckboots’ made the terrain ‘interesting’!” El Camino, Spain Lorraine…

AS I write these words, the COVID-19 pandemic is in full swing. Aside from the obvious health consequences, we outdoor enthusiasts are suffering from cabin fever, a condition that usually finds temporary relief in the buying of random outdoor gear for future adventures, real or imagined. However, at present even this retail remedy is stymied – due to transmission risk and low sales, most outdoor stores have shut their doors voluntarily. It doesn’t help that the government classifies tents and packs as nonessential shopping – ridiculous! However, there is a loophole – online shopping. While we can’t visit physical stores, the internet is there to maintain our sanity. While online has always been an option, it’s more important than ever to shop Australian. Our outdoor stores need us, and the…

I can still hear the words of my old bushwalking mentor ringing in my ears. “Never buy a pack with a zipper”. That philosophy was based upon two fundamentals of traditional pack mentality, being water ingress and weight. Standard zippers by their very design, allow water to pass between their interlocking teeth and due to their metal or plastic materials weigh more than a fabric that you might normally see in backpacks, like cordura, canvas or nylon. I get it. So how could my 20-year passionate anti-zipper proselytising become so completely turned around that the pack I reach for most weekends is now the 47L Macpac Rhyolite and features a 62cm zipper that runs the full length? My preferred style of backpacks has always been the simple, single compartment. One…

“ THE TRAINING FOR EVERY CLIENT CHANGES PER THEIR NEEDS AND GOALS ” MY earliest hiking memory is doing bushwalks with my dad on our local trails in Garigal National Park, NSW. We used to go hunting for tadpoles, exploring the rivers and gorging ourselves on trail mix. Those are memories I really will treasure forever. Initially, I fell into personal training for trekkers when I returned to Sydney after living abroad and I got a job in an altitude gym. Here I was exposed to hikers, trekkers and mountaineers of all shapes and sizes who were preparing for some incredible goals. But quickly I realised there was one big problem … no one really knew how to prepare! The information available to them online was pretty rubbish. And most…