Great Walks

I have many favourite walks. But one of my favourites was something very simple. It was my daily walk with our staffie, Elvi. After moving to the country last year my partner Holly, Elvi and myself got into a morning routine, leaving the house at 6.3

The name might be tongue-in-cheek but there’s plenty of ups and downs on this 100km walk. It starts at the town of Kerkrade (2hr from Rotterdam), with the first goal being the top of Wilhelminaberg (225m). After that, you head to the foothills of Sch

THIS April adventure all started when I received an unexpected email from a fellow bushwalker. The subject line read ‘Frenchmans Cap’. I rang my friend straight away and asked who this French bloke was and what am I doing with him? I don’t know many

THE slow pace of normal life doesn’t quite satisfy me. I yearn for moments that force my subdued senses to feel undoubtedly alive. For me, trudging along a very long distance trail provides that outlet. You can’t help to really feel alive when forced

IT’S in human nature that we strive to achieve an incredible feat. One such conquest is to climb the highest peaks of the world, which for many, is unachievable due to skill, health and time. It can challenge your mind and body, not to mention your w

ASK any bushwalker, snow-skier or mountain lover and they will all tell you the same thing – “Falls Creek is the prettiest alpine village in Australia”. Situated on the Bogong High Plains in Victoria’s northeast, the village is enclosed by national a

IT was July 2020 and we were living in Ballarat, Victoria with two little boys, aged 2 and 4. It was the start of the pandemic and what was to become a series of lockdowns which would last for two years. One evening, our 4-year old son, Gabriel, anno

Natalie Bennie, Cecil Plains Qld Camera: Samsung S20 Natalie: "It was a particularly early start on day three of the Jatbula trail, NT. I was taking in the lightening sky as my walking buddies collected the day’s water supply." Grant Woollett, Redcli

CHERYL (71): “I met my Kym when we were both working in Local government in 2013. We’d had contact in the workplace previously, but in a chance conversation one day, we discovered we were each interested in hiking and particularly in walking the Cami

Embedded in the beautiful natural and cultural landscapes in the Rhineland-Palatinate region, the Moselsteig Trail is one of Germany’s most diverse long-distance hiking trails. The 365km walk is broken up into 24 stages varying in length between 12-2

AUSTRALIANS may not be familiar with the name Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991) who is regarded as the grandfather of long distance walks in Great Britain. Wainwright was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial

AS dawn broke, Mount Barney lit up with an orange glow even though our campsite was still in darkness. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the last of the stars were fading leaving only a full moon to set behind the mountain. Being right in the path

THERE’S nothing like the bond you share with your dog – case in point editor Brent McKean’s tribute to his beloved dog Elvi that passed away recently (pg 3). As I write this my dog Chino lies by my feet, content with the slow moments at home but is c

WE’VE come a long way since a mountain biker (and EMT professional) in Texas ‘borrowed’ an intravenous drip bag from work, stuffed it into a sock which he pinned to the back of his shirt, and pulled the length of tubing over his shoulder. This was 19

Because we are not one to turn down dessert, and because you always deserve a treat when you’re camping. Simply add half a cup of boiling water to the pouch, then stir and stand for 10-15 minutes for a gluten-free and mess-free after dinner treat. Th

WITHIN the world of adventure activities everyone understands that there is inherent risk involved, but we usually think in the beginning that “it will never happen to me”. I would think this to myself all the time until my recent trip to Kosciuszko

THE Snow Leopard is a 1978 book by Peter Matthiessen. It is an account of his two-month search for the snow leopard with naturalist George Schaller in the Dolpo region on the Tibetan Plateau in the Himalaya. Matthiessen frequently digresses to rememb

GET some sun on your shoulders and check out these two glorious day walks in the Sunshine Coast. Have you ever yearned to hike in the English countryside? You know the image – green rolling hills, walking right-of-ways through farmers’ fields and int

MY earliest hiking memory is of growing up in France. My dad took my brother and me on a day hike on a forest trail to a hotel when we were in our early teens. I hated every minute of it … so much so, that I asked mum to take me home so I did not hav

AUSTRALIA’S top ten peaks are located in the southern end of the Kosciuszko NP, NSW. Most can be accessed from Thredbo Village with the remaining peaks from nearby Charlotte Pass. A camping option is popular for those wishing to camp close to the pea

1. The 1545m rocky mountain at the north end of the Overland Track, Tas (6) 2. The floral emblem of NSW (7) 3. A hard 5-day hike in Vic, the Feathertop–Bogong _ (8) 6. Victoria’s animal emblem, the critically endangered Leadbeater’s _ (6) 8. The _ ri