Table of contents for Annual 2022 in Great Walks

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 to confront oppressive weather day in day out and a body constantly screaming at you to stop. Ever since returning to Australia in the wake of the pandemic, I felt limited for thru-hiking objectives. I was ready for my alter-ego “Chippy” to surface once more. Fortunately, the perfect opportunity presented itself this winter to invest in such an endeavour. With my contract coming to an end, some cash squirrelled away and endless time, I set to scheming. I wanted a suffer-fest vibe in the mountains, one…

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, announced to us he wanted to be a mountaineer, and the mountain he wanted to climb was Mount Everest. As lofty as that dream was, as parents, we took it in our stride to make his dream come true. We had very little mountaineering experience ourselves and Gabriel had even less. So, we started training by climbing mountains nearby, mostly in the Grampians National Park. While Gabriel walked and climbed himself, my husband, Graham carried our 2-year old son, Zac in a…

NEED TO KNOW 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 12-24km and leading along the course of the iconic Moselle River. The walk starts at Perl, a border town connecting Germany, France and Luxembourg and there are plenty of opportunities to explore small towns, vineyards and inns along the way. The walk can be done independently and there are companies that will transport you gear so you can enjoy each stage carrying just a day pack. More info: en.visitmosel.de/hiking…

Back Country Cuisine Chocolate Brownie Pudding 150g 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. The addition of boysenberries with the chocolate sauce is bellissimo. RRP: $14.99 Website: backcountrycuisine.co.nz Hilleberg Helags 2 person tent Available in two-person and three-person versions, the Helags are lightweight, spacious and impressively strong. Two vestibules give you flexible access and maximum usable space. Don’t let its lightness fool you, at 2.4kg (two person) and 2.6kg (three person), it’s capable of handling unexpected rough conditions as well. Nicely ventilated because of its outer curved bottom construction, it’s also…

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 Schneeberg, whose highest point is over the border in Germany and translates as ‘snow mountain’. Next up is Gulperberg (155m): “That’s really a mountain, with a statue of Mother Mary on top, looking over the town of Gulpen – maybe the most mountainous mountain, with a cone shape,” says Toon Hezemans (60), one of the trail’s creators. Then it’s Hakkenberg (200m), where “the half-timbered houses in the valley make the ‘mountain experience’ complete”, according to the walk’s guidebook. The trail then crosses into Belgium, where, during…

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 wallet. Why not look a little closer, and take on what’s called the State 8 Peaks, walking the summit of each state and territory’s highest mountain as a challenge for the new year? Travelling to each one will be much easier on a road trip, train or plane, and you can gain a deeper knowledge of the colourful landscapes within our own backyard. Uncover our country one state, one step, and one summit at a time. Set your knowledge to new heights as you…

THIS MONTH’S WINNING PHOTO Jatbula Trail. NT 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." Moke Lake, South Island, NZ Grant Woollett, Redcliffe Qld Camera: Motorola Moto G7 Grant: “Captured just after dawn in July 2022. We were in the Queenstown area and looking for day walks with alpine scenery that were feasible in winter and discovered the stunning Moke Lake circuit which was simply breathtaking in the early morning light.” Seven Mile Beach, Coffin Bay NP, SA Carlos Jimenez, West Pymble NSW Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT30 Carlos: "Having a 4WD (and knowing how to use it) really opens…

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 Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966, consisting entirely of his own notes and hand-drawn maps, has become the standard reference to 214 of the fells of the English Lake District. Among his 40-odd other books is the first guide to the Coast to Coast Walk, a 300km long-distance footpath devised by Wainwright which remains popular today (see break out). But there is one long-distance walk he designed that almost never made it to the public eye, the Pennine Journey and this is where our story begins. The winds of war…

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 completely stoked when we spend it outdoors together. We take her on the majority of our outdoor adventures and that bond shared outdoors is an amazing feeling. It doesn’t have to be a long walk to be a good walk with them. They’ll have fun wherever you take them, because you are with them. Try these fur-friendly walks and adhere to the dog rules of the area. This allows them to explore a place, manoeuvre a technical trail and be exposed…

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 NP. My friends and I had planned to complete a four-day circuit starting from the ski station at Guthega, up on to the Main Range, and coming back past Charlotte’s Pass. We checked the weather forecast which said that the wind would be strong, with some rain and possible snow flurries. Nothing we couldn’t handle. We started walking at about 10am, the wind was quite brisk but not particularly notable, and by 5.30pm we had made good time, ending up getting further than we had expected. The…

CROSSWORD AUSTRALIA Across 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 _ river flows from Mt Kosciuszko’s slopes to the Vic coastal town of Marlo (5) 10. _ Falls in Girringun NP, Qld, is Australia’s highest waterfall (8) 13. NT’s 62km Jatbula Trail snakes through the famous Nitmiluk Gorge, formerly known as _ Gorge (9) 16. Tas’s takanya Trail is a 22km running event held in Aus’s largest sub-temperate rainforest, _ (7) 18. A great magazine! (5,5) 20. Built for ‘The Man from Snowy River’ films, _ Hut can still be found near…

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 of the walks, having only been bushwalking for a short time. My friend was booking the huts for the walk in southwest Tasmania and then realised he needed to put in two other names. The plan then evolved quickly over the next six weeks. I was off on my first ever overnight, multi-day, carry all your gear hike – in middle aged years, with dodgy knees and not good with heights, but always up for an adventure and a challenge. And it was a magnificent…

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 and state park and offers stunning views of the surrounding rolling mountains. Its alpine architecture is nestled amongst the twisted snow gums and the village offers a variety of year-round cafes, restaurants and accommodation options. An important feature of the region are the historic huts of the High Country which occupy some of Australia’s prime real estate. In the Bogong area of Alpine National Park there are nearly 60 huts and hut ruins scattered all over the landscape. These quaint, rustic and iconic mountain huts are part of the…

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 of the south-east maritime trade winds causes the mountain to create its own weather. Moisture laden winds are deflected to higher and colder altitudes, so weather windows are infrequent and have to be seized when presented. At 1359m Mount Barney is the second highest peak in South-East Queensland and not one to be taken lightly. That means not climbing in adverse weather, so a blue-sky day was a gift for hikers. Only trouble was, I wasn’t climbing it that day. I…

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 1989, and every modern hydration reservoir some thirty-odd years later, and there are a lot to choose from, owes a design debt to that IV bag. That mountain biker’s resultant company – Camelbak – is now one of the largest and most famous in the outdoor hydration sector. There are pros and cons to using a reservoir. On the one hand, crucially, you stay more hydrated because it’s easier to grab a sip. No removing the pack, reaching around, or asking a friend to…

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 remember his wife Deborah Love who had died of cancer prior to the adventure. The book is, therefore, also a meditation upon death, suffering, loss, memory and healing. The memories of Deborah operate with a number of other recursive stylistic traits that play against the linear, outward progress of the journey logged through maps and dates. Here are some of our favourite quotes from the book: “And only the enlightened can recall their former lives; for the rest of us, the memories of past existences are but glints of…

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 have to walk the next day! I only fell in love with hiking as a young adult, hiking through the mountains with friends, eating delicious cheesy meals, sharing stories around a campfire, and hiking up to paraglider launch sites or fly-fishing remote lakes in the French Alps. I made a promise to myself that no one would leave our Alpine Nature Experience hikes feeling like I did when I was a rebellious teenager.…