Great Walks

THERE are great walks and there are Great Walks – and one of the greatest was only a few short steps. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the first moon landing when Commander Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin (89) landed

I was thrilled when I received the Feb-Mar issue of Great Walks in the mail courtesy of my subscription which I have had ongoing for a few years now. It’s always a great read but this issue was particularly timely. My husband, some of my family membe

I have just devoured the June-July issue of Great Walks. Absolutely brilliant. I loved the photos of the pack horse trip through the Vic High Country (Snowy River Wandering). However, the reason I am writing to you today is about the article by Rik S

“IT is a snail badge,” my walking companion enthused, “to remind us to take our time and enjoy the journey at a snail’s pace”. I was about to start the Great Ocean Walk with three girlfriends. We had all trained for the walk, but it is fair to say th

THE NSW GOVERNMENT will expand the national parks estate by 200,000 hectares over the next two years if Matt Kean, the Energy and Environment Minister gets his way. In a Facebook post in late August, Mr Kean said his goal was necessary to shore up pr

DO you remember your first multi-day bushwalk? Was it somewhere that touched your soul and drew you back? I can remember feeling like I’d walked into Willy Wonka’s factory. My jaw dropped and I was astounded by the everlasting gob-stopping views in a

REWIND 150 years to when hooves trampled the plains bare and where tongues drank streams dry. Native plants took temporary leave and native wildlife became locally extinct. That was until this patch of South Australia’s sun-seared outback was taken u

HOW to choose your favourite child? Impossible, I know, especially when they are all so special. That’s how I feel about the Grampians, having spent a solid few weeks walking there this winter – it’s just one spectacular walk after another. But if yo

I RISE. I rise and take my place between the earth and sky. Standing tall on two legs, chest high and chin up, I breathe and let the world in. I am a pillar, a receptacle and a witness to the world. My lungs relax and release, mountain air whistling

I HAVE always loved the idea of walking the Heysen Trail, but at a distance of 1200km from Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula to Parachilna Gorge in the Flinders Rangers, where does one begin? A new guided walk, the Southern Ocean Walk allows you

K’GARI (aka Fraser Island) is right on our doorstep – the biggest sand island in the world and a unique World Heritage listed site. K’gari, traditional homeland of the Butchulla people, possesses such incredible diversity of landscape and plant life,

PEERING into the tea cup, it’s as though I’m willing the leaves to whisper shipwreck truths. We’re sharing morning tea, about to embark on three days trekking the famed Great Ocean Walk. Earlier, on the three-hour bus trip from Melbourne’s CBD, I’d r

DEBORAH WINS A SET OF LEKI WALKING POLES WORTH $210! Jill: “We recently discovered a gem of a walk on the west coast of Tasmania. Climb above Tullah to Mt Farrell and a grand view overlooking the three lakes Mackintosh, Rosebery and Herbert.” Andrew

Problem: “My head torch won’t switch on, and the battery case is stained with a weird blue-white powder.” Diagnosis: Batteries, especially cheap ones, can leak in situ and corrode the contacts, rendering the lamp useless – a criminal waste of good g

FROM Hans Deuter’s humble German Post Office bag in 1898, to leading the world with the first nylon backpacks in the 60’s, this German manufacturer is a company working hard to meet the new lightweight demands of today’s bushwalker. The Aircontact Li

A chilly Tuesday in July saw Great Walks jetting off to Melbourne for the Outdoor Retailers Association Exhibition at Melbourne Showgrounds, where the brightest lights of the outdoor gear retailers come to show off their wares. Rain drummed the pavil

Editor of Great Walks’ sister publication Australian Sporting Shooterand author of Bushwalking Basics, Marcus has spent much of his life in the outdoors. ONE of my favourite parts of NSW is the Shoalhaven River near Bungonia in the Southern Highland

To calm down or clear our minds sometimes we need to “walk-it-out”. After losing his younger brother, author Jono Lineen set off on the ultimate walk-it-out, a 2700km solo trek across the Himalayas. He walked for months until everything ached, but by

NEVER underestimate the power of a book to change a life. After all, it happened to Sarah Hyde. Sarah never imagined she would one day walk 1450km along the Rabbit Proof Fence. After all, it is a pretty daunting way for a Sydney girl to connect to co

I started hiking when I was about 10, in Venezuela where I grew up. I recall climbing up mountains such as Mount Avela and discovering the many landscapes of my country from jungle, to grasslands to high alpine. When I was 12, I hiked up to the summi

SYDNEY is a truly beautiful city, with its deep harbour, golden beaches and extensive network of national parks and reserves. And, as these two day walks show, you are never far from quiet-running creeks, inspiring views, native wildlife and pure wil

CLEAN water is something we take for granted and don’t think much about. In reality most water is never actually clean as natural water sources contain some minerals and bacteria. While many contaminants have little effect on us, there are some that