My first bushwalk

My first real bushwalk that I can remember was with Girl Guides.

I started Girl Guides when I was 7 and did it for five years. I was part of the 3rd Ingle Farm group in South Australia.

We did a lot of cool stuff like camping, bushwalking, kayaking, rock climbing and abseiling. But it was bushwalking that really stood out for me as being the most enjoyable.

It was here that I learnt a lot of my skills and I owe it to my guide leader, Brown Owl, for teaching me all I needed to know in survival skills.

In Guides we learnt things like;

-How to set up a tent.

-How to tie knots.

-Basic first aid.

-What to do if you see a snake in the bush.

-How to be prepared.

-How to use a compass.

-Navigational skills.

-Phonetic alphabet.

At the time as I was so young, I didn’t really pay much attention and was pretty much a brat!!! I mucked up a lot when I became a teenager (as you do) and I ended up quitting as it wasn’t a “cool” thing to do in high school. But some of the stuff clearly sunk in because I have a lot of knowledge that I remember from back in Guides.

Morialta falls, SA.

Morialta falls in Adelaide was my lucky first! It was here that I experienced the wonders of bushwalking for the first time on a rock climbing expedition with Guides. When I was young it seemed to be a massive walk to the waterfall with giant cliffs on either side. When I returned as an adult I realized that the waterfall wasn't as spectacular as I remembered and the walk was quite easy. The walks are still enjoyable and the waterfall is nice, even though its small!!

If you live in Adelaide check out Morialta falls, its a nice place to take kids and offers decent walks if you're a bit more adventurous!!

VIC walks at a glance

In Victoria I lived in Bendigo so most of my recent walks are centered around the town. I also have done multiple trips to the Grampians NP and a few random walks around Victoria. One of my greatest walks I have started but not yet finished is the goldfields track which goes for 210kms from Bendigo to Ballarat. Here I've compiled a brief list of all the walks I have done in Victoria.

Bendigo surrounds;

Bendigo bush
Bendigo is surrounded by bush which makes walking and exploring really easy. I'll talk about my regular areas and where I walk with my dogs.

Crusoe reservoir and no.7 park
A nice area rich in history, abundant bird life and two reservoirs.

Goldfields track- Bendigo to Ballarat

I've separated the track into four walks, two of which I have already completed.

Bendigo to Mt Alexander 
The first leg of the dry diggings track. An epic walk on relatively flat ground,  plenty to see and do.

30 kms, 8hrs.

Mt Alexander to Castlemaine
Another epic walk, Mt Alexander was a good climb but wore me out and I struggled get to Castlemaine, blisters are not fun!

28 kms, 9hrs.

Castlemaine to Daylesford- TBC
Haven't walked this section yet,  it should be promising. This time im going to split the walk over two days and camp overnight, it will be my first overnight walk.

Daylesford to Ballarat-TBC
The last leg, yet to be completed.

Grampians NP;

I've been to the Grampians several times,  the place is amazing and offers a variety of walks for all skill levels. I've done a new walk every time I visit, and there's still plenty I haven't done yet! Natural disasters have closed a lot of the tracks, but there are still plenty of accessible walks.

Pt 1- First visit.
I went with a friend who didn't really want to do much walking so we did a few small walks, and I also did one big one on my own. A lot of the area had been hit by fires the previous summer but didn't affect the walking tracks much.

Pt 2-After the fires.
Bush fires had wreaked havoc once again, this time causing significant damage. I did a few more well known tracks including the pinnacle and the balconies.

Pt 3- After the floods. 
Yet another natural disaster hit the area, this time flood damage. Silverband falls dramatically changed and a lot of the park was inaccessible.

Pt 4- Most recent.
The park is still recovering from all the damage mother nature decided to inflict. I checked out areas that hadn't been affected in the northern part of the park. Also ventured down a closed track (naughty I know!) One of my best trips to the Grampians.

Rest of VIC;

Hanging rock
I've been to hanging rock several times, its a nice short walk with pretty cool views. There's a nice story about girls that went missing and an in depth information centre.

Macedon ranges
I stumbled across a short walk when hanging rock was closed one day. It lead to a memorial area with a great lookout over the region. A good short walk.

NSW walks at a glance

One of the best things about living in Armidale is how close it is to the national parks in the region. There are so many options for bushwalking and camping.  Ranging from day walks to multi-day backpacking treks, some of which are only 30 minutes drive away. So far I've only done a few day walks, and by day I mean walking as far as I can from dawn to dusk.

Heres a list of walks I have completed in the New England region, how far I walked and how long it took me to do.

Armidale and surrounds;

Ebor falls 

Short and sweet with spectacular views and  two awesome waterfalls.

2 km, 1 hr

Point lookout 

One of my favorite walks with breathtaking views to the Pacific Ocean.  A myriad of tracks to choose from.

12km, 8hrs

Wollomombi gorge 

Highest waterfall in NSW, second highest in Australia. Great walks available and eagles circling above.

6.5 km, 5 hrs.

Dangars gorge  

My first solo walk, nice views, lyrebirds and a 500m death walk to the river below.

19km, 8 hrs.

Gara gorge

I walked half of this in the dark trying to catch the sunrise. Failed miserably but a nice little walk none the less.

9km, 5 hrs.

Armidale state forest

A regular walk of mine because I can take my dogs, yay! Not a NP but still worthy of a mention.

2.5-5 km, 1-2hrs

Walcha and surrounds;
Budds mare and riverside

Quite isolated and hard to get to (in hindsight I should not have taken my Daewoo lanos!) But the drive is worth it, spectacular views especially early morning.  

18km, 9hrs

Apsley falls

A nice easy walk, a bit too crowded for my liking. The waterfall was nice....

1 km, 0.5 hrs.

Tia falls

A lot less visited than Apsley falls but just as nice. Options to walk further but I was just too tired. One I would like to return to.

2 km, 1 hr.

So theres the very brief overview of the walks I've completed in NSW. In my next posts I will talk in depth about my experiences on each walk, keep an eye out and feel free to comment.

Happy bushwalking!!

A welcome note

I love bush walking and exploring all Australia has to offer. So I've decided to share my experiences by starting a blog. For me writing is not something that comes easy so hopefully what I write is both interesting and maybe a little bit enlightening. I hope to inspire people to get out and enjoy our beautiful country, see the local fauna and flora and maybe learn a little along the way.

For me getting out in nature offers a chance to get away and release all that pent up energy that comes with life! Its refreshing, exhausting and immensely pleasurable. If I could do it as a job I definitely would! It also gives me a chance to improve my photography skills. I love watching birds, and photographing them is even more fun! My camera is an essential part of my kit.

I intend to write about the walking tracks I have completed. A lot of the time it's really hard to find information about the tracks I want to do so I end up just winging it. Hopefully I can give interested walkers a bit more insight into some of the tracks I've done.
So far I've only walked in New South Wales and Victoria but hopefully I will be able to explore the rest of Australia in time (It's definitely a huge goal of mine!)