Great Walks

WELCOME to issue 86 of Great Walks featuring our annual New Year/New Walks special where we showcase walking trails opening up this year and new destinations from some of our favourite walking tour operators. We managed to do Sydney’s Bondi to Manly

I loved your Camino special on the last issue. My best friend and I have been toying with the idea of doing one of the great pilgrim walks in Europe and after reading Patti Miller’s story (Slow travel and the kindness of strangers, GRW Annual) about

I enjoyed reading the latest Great Walks Annual, especially the Camino special. My sister and I walked the Spanish Camino five years ago after her husband died. My sister Sharon was feeling incredibly lost after losing her husband and couldn’t find a

NSW ENVIRONMENT MINISTER Matt Kean announced that Radiata Plateau in the Blue Mountains will be incorporated into the State’s national park reserve system, ensuring its protection. He said the newest land purchase would protect the last remaining und

AFTER 12 hard days of trudging through loose rocks that have felt scores and generations of Nepali locals passing through, nothing quite tires me from the awe-inspiring, majestic Tsum Valley, Nepal. A region bordering just 10km shy of Tibet, Tsum Val

WE all know that nature and catching up with friends are important to keep us connected and feeling alive. A group of four friends and I decided to take that ‘thought’ to a different level three years ago when we planned hiking trips along sections o

A surfer crosses the path after a cheeky morning session; children learn to sail, their boats bobbing in the harbour; and mates pull a kayak down to the water’s edge for an arvo paddle. Sometimes there are no people at all, just scrubby coastal heath

THERE have been a lot of crazy predictions about the year 2020. While we don’t yet live on Mars, still don’t have robotic slaves (does Google Home count?); we also haven’t grasped the use of teleportation – thankfully so, because then we wouldn’t be

THEY puffed up the hill towards me, straining under their huge packs. After a 20km day, the effort clearly showed on their faces and in their gait. I’d encountered these siblings almost every day of my walk so far, and every day I’d tease them by cas

Take the chance to walk the Coast to Coast Walk on a self-guided nine, 12 or 19 day tour through the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors NP. Avoiding the urban areas, this trail has you focusing on the high ground. If you’re pressed f

Lucinda: “My Dad and I completed the Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island in July (that’s right, this was taken in winter!). This photo was taken was on the first day, and my Dad called this “the perfect North Queensland beach photo”. The four day

SUMMITTING is such an evocative word and reaching the summit of Mt Walsh (703m) evoked a feeling of both accomplishment and deep contentment. Like all summits though it doesn’t begin at the bottom of the mountain, here’s how ours began in late Septem

A rooster crows in the misty morning air and somewhere in a distant village its call is answered. Silence follows, except for the steady tramp of our boots on the cobblestones worn smooth by those whose path we follow. We jump when a bell clangs loud

THE wide geographical area to the east of Melbourne encompasses a breathtaking range of environments. The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountains about 40km east of Melbourne’s CBD; further east again is the Yarra Valley and Yarra Ranges. Phillip

KARIJINI is one of the largest national parks and arguably one of the most spectacular in WA. However, one thing you learn about travelling in this state is that wherever you’re going, it’s bound to be a long way from anywhere else. Karijini fits nic

IT doesn’t matter if you’re doing a local day walk or taking on something mammoth like the Camino de Santiago, knee pain will to turn a beautiful day out into a nightmare. And unfortunately, it is an incredibly common issue for hikers. If you ever ex

We absolutely loved this when we saw it in person at the Outdoor Retailers conference – it’s just so darn satisfying to use. Rubberised grips keep the kit sitting firmly on whatever rock/office desk you perch it and the whole kit and caboodle nests s

SLIP, drop, SNAP! That’s how our fourth day in the stunning Victorian High Country changed its course from one of a simple final descent to the trailhead, to something quite other. After hearing one of my fellow walkers call my name, I looked up to s

This hardback sheds some light on a few favourite reptiles in their natural habitat. Flick through 240 pages filled with frightening, majestic and beautiful photography of crocodiles, lizards, snakes, tuataras and turtles, as World of reptiles explor

TO many, the ideal evening activity in the outdoors is to sit around a campfire. The flickering flames attract people like moths to a flame. So why have campfires been banned in many wilderness and popular camping places. One reason often given by ma