Great Walks

IT’S a long time between issues. When I was finishing off the April-May issue wildfires had finally been extinguished and we were counting the cost of the devastation – more than 11 million hectares (110,000 sq km) of bush, forest and parks across Au

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

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 n

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 th

Time: 3 day | Length 45km | Grade: easy-moderate Day 1 – Telegraph Saddle to Refuge Cove: 5hr/16.6km Day 2 – Refuge Cove to Roaring Meg: 9hr/27.1km Day 3 – Roaring Meg to Telegraph Saddle: 6.5hr/18.6km ■

SPENDING time with family is always an interesting experience when you live on opposite sides of the planet. What better way to connect with each other than to go out into the Welsh winter and walk to an island of Love. Anglesea is an island off Nort

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 scr

GENNY WINS A PAIR OF LEKI WALKING POLES WORTH $210! 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

Time: 3-4 days | Length: 56km | Grade: moderate Day 1: Smoke-ho carpark to Ces Clark Hut (10.3km, 4-5 hours) Day 2: Ces Clark Hut to Moonlight Tops Hut (9.7km, 3 hours) Day 2: Moonlight Tops Hut to the Pororari Hut (19.1km, 5-7 Hours) Day 4: Poro

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 t

“Of all the climbs up the mountain, the route known as ‘The Rear Admiral’ was considered the most challenging.” – PATRICK MERRICK “It’s a tough scramble so you’ll just have to grin and bare it!” – BRIAN MUNTZ “Honestly, the rash is definitely startin

“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 night

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: Not to be confused with its near neighbour, the

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

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 ver

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 fo

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. H

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 f

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,

Need to know: All images courtesy of Australian Photography’s Photographer of the Year awards. The comp is open to anyone, so if you’d like to enter this year’s comp visit australianphotography.com ■

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