Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2022 i Great Walks

IT appears as a marble on the horizon, taking form as I inch ever closer, nestling into prominence in my imagination as a serrated dragon’s spine. I envision walking along the rocky ridge of Perrins Bluff and peering over the sheer drop at the end. Unfortunately, it’s too far away to reach on this trip, especially given the melange of flora and boulders sprawling before me. Speed isn’t necessarily an ally in this part of Tasmania. I’ve come here with my friend Steve. We’re five days into a six-day sojourn following in the footsteps of Florence Perrin. She was reportedly the first white woman to climb many of the peaks in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair region (home of the iconic Overland Track, see break out). Between 1914-17 she climbed…

WALKING amongst 300-million-year-old geology, crystal clear pools, caves, gorges and seeing Indigenous artworks in their natural state was just part of this 30-day multi-hike trip done recently in the far north west of Australia in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. After flying to Darwin, NT a short flight is necessary to Kununurra, WA which became our base camp in between each of the five hikes. It is important that you prepare, book in advance and line up all National Park, traditional owner and private operator approvals and permits. To start this adventure, we had to travel through three states and territories so we considered ourselves blessed that we dodged the global COVID pandemic restrictions, lockdowns and outbreaks lurking at the time. There were nine experienced bushwalkers in our group…

THE past few years have been hard on everyone. Battling the bushfires then the pandemic, we’ve had park closures, border closures, lockdowns and restricted travel bringing the country to a standstill. Now it’s a new year and things are (hopefully, fingers crossed) on the up. With walking trails and campsites open and operating we’re able to get away and hit the trails for the summer holidays! So wipe the dust off your camping gear and fill your 45L backpacks to the brim. Try these multi-day walks in your own state, or if borders are open why not travel interstate for a new trail to explore. Victoria 1 The Australian Alps Walking Track 655km one way – Alpine NP to Namadgi NP, VIC-ACT-NSW Let’s kick this off with a bang, starting…

MOST Australians wouldn’t have heard of Christine Thürmer (54), a long-distance walker from Germany who has hiked over 53,000km, making her probably the most hiked woman in the world. The former manager gave up her job and apartment 13 years ago and since then has mainly spent her time hiking, cycling or canoeing across Europe, America or Australia. When Great Walks caught up with Christine she was preparing for her next trek from Germany to Finland – around 1800km. Her pack weighs just 5kg. With an unpretentious matter-of-factness and sparkling energy, Christine Thürmer dismisses the ‘higher-farther-faster’ clichés and latest high-performance gear. And she is convinced that any healthy person can do what she does. GRW: Thru hiking – or long-distance hiking – the way it’s done on the big trails…

WATER is a frustrating thing. While it sustains life, it can also make things very uncomfortable in the blink of an eye. Just a small amount of H2O in the wrong place can be the difference between warmth and hypothermia, or between sleeping in the cosy hut and under a soggy bush (and that’s not even taking into account $1000 for a replacement phone). Being clever humans, we’ve invented ways to prevent these inconveniences, but you may be surprised to learn that all dry bags are not created equal. Each product was tested for waterproofness, reliability, weight and ease of use, and assessed for durability. Water resistance is generally given as an IP (Ingress Protection) rating, e.g. IP67. As per this chart, the first number refers to dust ingress, and…

Victoria has some amazing lighthouse walks, think Cape Otway Lightstation on the Great Ocean Walk. Another lovely one is the 12km return walk between the lighthouses at Queenscliff and Point Londsdale (pictured). Queenscliff, a 30min drive from Geelong, is a pretty seaside town on the Bellarine Peninsula. The walk can be done in either direction but if you want to feel the sand between your feet go at low tide else use the walking path. Queenscliff’s famous Black Lighthouse is one of only a handful in the world that is unpainted black stone, and it’s the only black lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere. The current lighthouse at Point Londsdale was built in 1902 replacing a number of navigational aids that have been around since 1852. Both lighthouses cover a treacherous…

Time: 6 days (this could be extended to incorporate Pelion West and Perrin’s Bluff) | Distance: 53km | Grade: Moderate/Hard (mostly off-track; navigation required) Day 1: Approach using the Arm River Track – the only major route from the east to the central part of the Overland Track. Follow to the junction of Mt Oakleigh Track (just past Lake Ayr), detour to Mt Oakleigh summit for wild-camp; 12.5km Day 2: Retrace steps down Mt Oakleigh, head to Pelion Hut. Follow Overland Track west towards Frog Flats for roughly 500m. Look on the left-hand side of the track for a tree with a vague mark – this is the turn-off for Paddys Nut. Follow a vague track through bush until coming out onto plains, then SSW (roughly) until a plateau east…

HERE I lie, soaking in a tub of scented bubbles, the gentle force of water jets massaging weary muscles. Deep Creek Conservation Park proved a worthy adversary today. I tackled its bush tracks and battled the 600m+ elevation, calmed by birdsong, mesmerised by forests of golden wattle and sweet wildflower carpets and revitalised by a gentle sprinkling at Deep Creek Waterfall. When our guide, Tim Grigg, said there was only 500m to go to reach Tapanappa Lookout, he failed to mention that the path was almost straight up However, out of breath and sweating buckets, we beat it! Sort of. Would telling you that the lookout was just half way on a 12km loop ruin the story and diminish the sense of satisfaction we felt at having reached the peak?…

THIS could have been one for the Darwin Awards. A Colorado hiker who got lost on a trail ignored calls from search and rescue officials who tried to locate them for 24 hours because ... wait for it... he didn’t recognise the number that called them repeatedly. Lake County Search and Rescue officials described the ordeal, which happened on Mount Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak. Officials said the hiker set out at 9am (local time) on October 18. By 8pm, they began searching for the hiker when someone reported he hadn’t returned from the walk. “Multiple attempts to contact the subject via their cell phone were unsuccessful,” the Facebook post said. Officials said a team of five set out at 11pm to search for the missing hiker and stayed out until…

ARE you thinking of graduating from time-tested car camping setup to off-the-beaten-path wild camping? Despite both scenarios involving sleeping in a tent, there are many differences between the two, and I’m not even talking about the frequently-discussed issue of gear weight (and associated expense). No, if you’re thinking of ditching the 4WD and striking out on your own two legs, there are a few other things you may want to consider. Tent If you’re a regular car camper, I’m guessing you own a large and comfortable tent for the purpose. It may be anything from a three-person Aldi special to an OZtrail mansion with multiple bedrooms, a living space, a water closet, study and billiards room. Either way, you’re going to have think smaller. One or two-person hiking tents are…

“I REMEMBER WALKING ALONG SOME ROCKS, A VAGUE STUMBLE, A SHARP PAIN AND THEN THE DREAMS BEGAN” NEVER again will I dispute it when someone states that a task is as easy as falling off a cliff. I fell off a cliff and it was so quick I don’t remember how it happened. However, the aftermath of a cliff fall is anything but easy. I’ve been hiking for over 20 years and have undertaken many adventures around southeast Qld, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. The Wonderland Circuit in the Grampians is my all-time favourite hike; although Mt Barney would be a close second due to its proximity to my home, with a variety of challenging routes and phenomenal views. I’m also a bushwalking instructor and youth leader and have learnt what…

LESS than a kilometre after setting out on a decomposed granite track in Girraween National Park, I pass a detour to the Castle Rock camping area. Soon after, abundant purple pea flowers appear on both sides of the trail, near eucalypts and between small granite outcrops. The colourful display continues sporadically nearly all the way to the turnoff for two of the day’s hiking destinations, The Sphinx and Turtle Rock, a granite pinnacle bearing a large balanced tor and a turtle shell-shaped monolith in the southern part of the park. The royal-hued beauty, native sarsaparilla, isn’t the only wildflower to decorate the forest alongside this path. Yellow and rusty-hued peas, shrubs heavy with blushes of pink, lavender-hued spiny kangaroo apple, and buttery daisies all catch my eye, while violet and…

GREAT Walks has always prided itself on being a visual medium. Each issue is filled with colourful, inspiring images provided by our great team of writers, but also our readers have opportunities to contribute. Our Wilderness Photographer of the Year presented by Nokia takes this to a whole new level! We have been talking about such a comp for a few years and after many months of planning we opened our inaugural competition to Great Walks readers and the greater public in April this year. We received over 500 entries and we want to thank each and every person who entered. It can be a pretty scary prospect putting your beloved images into a comp for the world to see, so thanks again. Of course in the end there can…

AFTER completing the busy Queen Charlotte Track and Heaphy Track, we wanted to hike somewhere different this time. The St James Walkway looked a little different – promising a quieter and gentler sub-alpine hike. Built in 1981, the St James Walkway does not attract the high profile of the country’s Great Walks and is little known outside the country. Located in the Lewis Pass area of the South Island, the walkway provides a 66km end-to-end bushwalk over five days. It travels through beech forest, sub-alpine grassland, meadows and four river valleys. The valleys are surrounded by alpine mountain ranges and separated by two mountain passes – Anne Saddle (1136m) and Ada Pass (1008m). Five serviced huts are positioned along the route. A large section of the walkway is shared with…

MY earliest memory of being in the outdoors is fishing for flathead at Sussex Inlet, on the South Coast of NSW as a 4-year-old in 1989. I came to work for GME after working for a large multinational company in the consumer electronics industry for 11 years. I was looking for a new challenge. GME advertised a Marine Product Manager role, and I jumped at the opportunity to combine my lifelong love of the outdoors and my experience in electronics. As Australia’s only emergency beacon manufacturer, GME has a unique perspective on the type of terrain, conditions and challenges bushwalkers might face here. We are constantly engaging directly with our customers to understand their specific use-cases and requirements from our products, and feed these back to our engineering teams to…

0430. Wednesday morning. The sound of thunder echoed up the valleys of the Budawangs’ northern end. Two young men woke up and hastily packed their gear and readied themselves for a hard day’s walk. The sun came up, the tent was quickly stowed and an interminable slog began. We had lost the trail in the thick overgrowth of the rainforest south of Watson’s Pass on the way to Hollands Gorge, resorting to map-and-compass navigation. We were confident of where we were and knew exactly where we needed to be, but were having difficulty finding a navigable route. Taking our path slowly and steadily we descended small creeks until we reached the junction between Camp Rock Creek and Holland’s Creek and the small campsite there that had been our intended destination…

Need to know: camminodeiborghisilenti.it/en…

JUST a quick trip up the F3, Bouddi NP near Woy Woy offers an opportunity to walk wonderful beaches in solitude, within sight of Sydney. Bouddi means “heart” in the local Aboriginal dialect, and it’s not hard to see why the area is so named with so much to fall in love with. The walk begins from the carpark next to the Maitland Bay Information Centre and, depending on how keen you are to get your feet wet, you can either take the 1km walk to Bullimah Lookout, which on a clear day gives glorious views from Putty Beach all the way to Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower, or leave that for the end and head straight down to the magnificent crescent-shaped beach at Maitland Bay. A great place for a swim,…