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Welcome to the Walking Stories page. Here are the openings of a selection of available articles, all of which can be tailored to your requirements. Email for more information about these and other destinations/story angles or forthcoming adventures. AUSTRALIA The Cape Crusader - Margaret River, Western Australia As I set out on a multi-day walk in southwest Australia, covering the first of the 135km between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste at an enthusiastic clip, I tend towards Mae West's contrary take on a common saying: that "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful." The Margaret River region's most famous "good thing" comes in red and white varieties and is poured from bottles into stemmed glasses. But between the vineyards and the Indian Ocean is a coastline that surfers would probably prefer was not publicised, and strung through the rough hewn headlands, crescent bays and remote beaches is the Cape to Cape (walking) Track (C2C). Heaven on Earth - Walls of Jerusalem National Park, Tasmania The Walls of Jerusalem are as near to heaven as I am likely to get. But not the centuries-old walls that encircle the troubled Biblical city or the afterworld common to the faiths that uneasily share it. On stepping through Herod’s Gate into Walls of Jerusalem National Park I approach a sensory nirvana of mountains that dwarf walkers, of crisp air perfumed with alpine herbs, and of silence so profound it makes my eardrums hum. On The Edge On The Tasman - Tasmania Just centimetres from my booted toes the ground drops precipitously into the Tasman Sea, land meeting water more than a hundred metres below. Behind me is a 4km walk through forest and heath, ahead a vista which carries my gaze from battlement-like sea cliffs on my left to a south-curving bight that ends in a foot-shaped cape and neighbouring rock island, beyond which the next landfall is Antarctica. And rising from the sea between the deepening blue and me are fantastic dolerite formations, clusters of stone columns and a solo rock needle that looks like it has been thrust through from below by a subterranean seamstress. Welcome to Cape Hauy (pronounced "Hoy") on the Tasman Peninsula, arguably the most spectacular section of Tasmania's boastfully beautiful coast. Great Explorations - Queensland “Never work with animals or children,” warned the great W.C. Fields, but Australia’s explorers would have accomplished little without animals. Camels, in particular, were vital to expeditions and to major works, including constructing the Overland Telegraph and the Ghan railway, named after the Afghan cameleers. So there is a double shot of history with me as I set off on a trek through outback Queensland in Edmund Kennedy’s footsteps with leader Tim Daniel, Kennedy’s great, great nephew, Richard Boyle, and six pack donkeys. Bronson, Charlie, Fat Albert, Sonny, Jack and Pumpjack, named after the mechanism that converts a windmill sail’s rotary action into a water pump’s up-and-down, will carry our provisions for the next three weeks. Stepping Into The Blue - Blue Mountains, New South Wales It was a dark and stormy night. Perfect for fireside murder mysteries but, alas, not for a walking holiday. Checking off elastic bandages (two), spare socks (one pair), whistle, water bottle, I imagined my boots squelching through mud for a week. My sister and I had alighted from the train in Mount Victoria eager to see the country described in our walking notes. Sunday dawned so damp and dreary we wanted to stay in our beds. Instead we wrapped up and stepped out of the Hotel Imperial into Blue Mountains mizzle (misty drizzle)... Walking Through Time - MacDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory Two days past full, the rising moon is still a huge orb that outshines the stars strewn across the sky and white-washes the river red gums. Moon shadows of our 4WD and unrolled swags stripe the pale river sand. Night lightens into day around six next morning, when our guide’s dingo howl rouses us from canvas-covered sleeping bags for muesli and toast. We’ve already discarded second layers of clothing when Adrien leads us into dry Jay Creek, leaving Liam, his support, to move camp along the Larapinta Trail... Fraser Island on Foot - Queensland A hundred and sixty-eight years after Captain James and Mrs Eliza Fraser were shipwrecked and landed on Great Sandy Island, there being captured by aborigines and the Captain killed, the island renamed in their honour is still a great place to have adventures. Twelve years after a dingo stole my towel off the beach and I laughed so much I nearly drowned in the sea (only later did I hear about the sharks), I’m back on Fraser Island. And half an hour after being dropped off at Lake McKenzie, its famously blue water moody as rain threatens, my companion, Michelle, and I are standing among rainforest palms and majestic satinays... Mountain Rescue Retrace - Queensland “Lost Stinson - reward offered.” “Many conflicting reports.” “No trace discovered.” The disappearance of Stinson aircraft VH-UHH between Brisbane and Sydney on 19 February 1937 grabbed the nation’s attention and fuelled huge headlines. Bernard O’Reilly’s trek through the McPherson Ranges, his discovery of the plane, nine days after cyclonic winds brought it down and about 600km from the NSW coast where “reliable” sightings had concentrated the search, and his dash for help after finding survivors, was the stuff of legend. It made O’Reilly a reluctant hero and his beloved mountain home a household name. It was from O’Reilly’s Guesthouse that Bernard set out on 27 February 1937 to find the Stinson. Sixty-five years later, eleven of us set out to retrace his journey, leaving the glow-worm lights of a much-expanded mountain retreat... My Precious! - Carnarvon Gorge National Park, Queensland Weary after our first pack-carrying day, and wondering how the second will treat me, I need a cuppa to fully appreciate my surroundings. Slivers of blue sky show through the canopy of river she-oaks and Rastafarian cabbage palms. The towering sandstone cliff below which we are camped echoes our voices. And Carnarvon Creek burbles as it refines the near-perfect gorge carved through Australia’s Great Dividing Range. Go To Top of Page |
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