Great Walks

AS Great Walks hurtles towards issue 100 (Feb-Mar 2022) we have plenty of wonderful walks to inspire you before that – and this issue (No. 95) is no exception. we head ‘off the radar’ and showcase some of Australia’s finest walks you’ve (probably) ne

WITH many beautiful walks of the world off-limits due to travel restrictions, I have been reminiscing about amazing Australian walks my husband and I have enjoyed. One such walk was the 8.6km/5hr return Punamii-Unpuu Trail. Following Mertens Creek to

Named after one of Australia’s best known landscape artists the Heysen Trail, at 1200km, is our nation’s longest dedicated hiking trail. From humble beginnings at the small fishing town of Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula to the ancient rock for

MY adventure began the moment I boarded Coral Expeditions’ Coral Discoverer from Hobart’s Sullivan’s Cove. For the next 11 days, I’d be indulging my senses, as we cruised along the coastline, taking in the sights and sounds of Southern Tasmania, and

“OH, really?” drawls my work colleague when I explain where I’m going for Christmas. The ambivalent intonation coupled with a blank expression serves to identify yet another dedicated hiker who has never heard of this extraordinary place. I can’t rea

Distance: 20.5km | Time: three days | Grade: hard Exploring Mugii Murumban is not a set, end-to-end walk; it's a collection of meandering, out-and-back journeys, mostly bashing through scrub and scrambling over rocks. These can be in search of known

WITH international borders pretty much closed to us (hopefully NZ has stayed open), Australia’s iconic multi-day bushwalks like Tassie’s Overland Track and NT’s Larapinta Trail are reaching their quota. So how about trying one of the country’s lesser

1. Solitary Islands Coastal Walk, 60km – Coffs Coast Regional Park, NSW 2. Nadgee-Howe Wilderness Walk, 55km – Nadgee Wilderness Reserve, NSW/VIC 3. Investigator Trail, 89km – Lincoln NP, SA 4. Black Range Trek, 28km – Mount Remarkable NP, SA 5.

NOW that you can cross the ditch it’s time to showcase some wonderful parts of Aotearoa and first up is Banks Track in the South Island, 31km of ever-changing vistas, views and variety. This 2-3 day walk follows farmland and forest, over an extinct v

Raymond: “The mighty Transfagarasan is a paved mountain road crossing the southern Carpathian Mountains of Romania. After a fun day of zippy driving, we stopped at the top of the pass to pause and take in sunset, and were greeted with the most gorgeo

THE Sentiers de Grande Randonnée, ‘great hiking trails’, are a network of long-distance walks criss-crossing France and some of its regions such as Corsica (GR20 – see last issue) and Reunion Island, off the east coast of Africa (GR22). The official

IN January 1910, an Austrian-born man with a luxuriant black moustache climbed Cradle Mountain. Looking over the pristine lakes, rugged mountains and buttongrass plains he was smitten by the beauty of the Tasmanian highlands, declaring in his thick a

HOW did your favourite track get to be what it is? Usually, it’s through red tape, dreams, schemes, planning, love and a whole lot of wonderful volunteers. We hunt down the stories behind six iconic Australian walks. In 1969 the Perth Bushwalkers clu

GROWING up in beautiful Aotearoa (New Zealand) the rainforests, caves and hiking trails were a key part of my childhood. My first memory of hiking and carrying my own pack was on the Heaphy Track. My twin sister, Kirsten, and I hiked into Heaphy Hut

LIKE a silent sentinel the isolated sandstone plateau, Mt Solitary, stands upright and alone in the Jamison Valley below Katoomba. Looking for an epic trail with dramatic views, our group of six made this our goal and so early one Thursday morning we

THERE are no alligators in Alligator Gorge. No crocodiles, either. This was the first thing I checked before dragging my husband four hours north of Adelaide for an anniversary hike, since our overseas travel plans had been thwarted by the pandemic.

I run a variety of guided walks and adventures in Kosciuszko National park, trying out different equipment in the Australian Alps in all seasons. In summer I run lodge and camping based walks to Australia’s Ten Highest Peaks, plus walks some of the h

IN Great Walks most recent readers survey we found out that many of you use a car with some off-road features to get to your favourite hiking spot, so we thought we’d give you a rundown on the ideal car setup for bushwalkers. Take a look at your clo

THE rugged Wollemi wilderness has lured me in again with its contrasting promises of serenity and adventure. I was here with a group last spring but this time I’m on a solo walk and my goal is the remote junction of the Wollangambe and Bowens Creek c

GROWING up in New Zealand my earliest bushwalking memory was walking the Abel Tasman Coast Track with my family. It’s a spectacular walk along a coastline full of golden beaches. The bunks in the huts were full, so we ended up sleeping on the veranda

With domestic travel and outdoor experiences soaring in popularity, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is urging bushwalkers to re-familiarise themselves with safety tools, especially if travelling alone, and encouraging new and less-

THE GME 410G Personal Locator Beacon is suitable for all land applications, coming with an industry standard internal battery guaranteed to operate for seven years from acquisition. With a signal accuracy leading rescuers to less than 45m from its po

THERE aren’t many things I love more than camping with the family and for the trip to succeed it has to start with having the right gear to make my family comfortable. So when I was invited to test out Macpac’s 6-person Solstice tent I was hoping it

HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, was a passionate advocate for experiential learning. The award program that carries his name continues his legacy. And there would be very few people in Australia, especially those with an outdoors bent, who

AN overnight walk that starts and ends at the same spot sounds perfect. That way you don’t have to worry about swapping vehicles or trying to work out how you’re going to get home. So with that in mind here are our 10 favourite overnight loop walks t

The fog has risen from the sea and crowned The dark, untrodden summits of the coast, Where roams a voice, in canyons uttermost, From midnight waters vibrant and profound. High on each granite altar dies the sound, Deep as the trampling of an armored