Blogs from Australia, Oceania - page 14

I was cold last night, but the camp looks good in the morning sun. I don’t need to start too early, but the 1st 7.5 km today are uphill all the way to the Eight Mile Gap (1150m) and I want to do this before the day gets too hot. The walk is a steady climb but not too steep so I find I can keep walking without needing too many breaks. It takes me about 3 hours to the gap where I stop to rest and check to see if I have phone reception. While I’m sending my messages 2 couples arrive in 4wds towing caravans. I talk to one couple, they are off to Refrigerator Gap and are volunteers for the Oscar 100 event that is on this weekend. From now it is all ... read more

I slept Ok and there were no storms during the night. I am getting quicker at breaking camp and today I'm off walking at 7:30am. The initial 2km are slightly uphill but on a good track. From there it is a short ascent up to The Nobs which is probably my first real viewpoint of the hike. The track down to the High Cone campsite and saddle is quite steep in places but I reach there at 10am and stop for a rest. I also go looking for the nearby water source but as I expected there is evidence of moisture but no actual water that I can find. The next section of the track is hard work as it is very overgrown with numerous trees down across it as result of bushfires. Though it is ... read more

I am not indigenous by blood, yet I am Aussie through and through. How is it that indigenous art from a culture that has inhabited our sunburnt country for 40,000 to 60,000 years fascinates and grabs my soul so profoundly? I look into the Shailyn Peris Bungle Bungles "Purnululu" hanging above my screen monitor and drift into its allure...into ancient country that I have trekked in the physical and the spirits of the Dreamtime inhabit. But as a white man I am not supposed to have any place in the Dreamtime. Yet I enter that spiritual realm and am welcomed to take my place around the campfires where we become one. Where art overcomes prejudice and indigenous culture becomes the baton that may not be passed to me by right...but I take hold of nevertheless...and embrace. ... read more

I have not done much long-distance, multi-day hiking, apart from a couple in the Himalayas and some in South America when I was travelling. Now that they have the time, a few of my recently retired friends have been quicker on the uptake than me and have been doing some great long treks. So just after Christmas, after I walked a section of the 13-day Grampians Peak Trail, I thought I ought to stop thinking about treks, get my act together and actually try to do one. The next question was which one. The only long treks in Australia I knew of were the Overland Trail in Tasmania and the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) from Victoria to the ACT. As I live in Melbourne, I thought the AAWT might be the most convenient and after ... read more

Tour Day 96-99 – What will I do in Perth? Several day trips looked like interesting possibilities – the Wave Rock, York, Wildflowers, and Aboriginal Cultural Day Tour from Perth (12 hours 30 minutes); the Margaret River, Caves, Wine and Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse Tour from Perth (13 hours 30 minutes); Pinnacle Desert Sunset and Night-time Stargazing Tour (8 hours) and the Rottnest Island Round-Trip Ferry (7 to 8 hours). Did you notice the length of each? Of course, there is always the ever-present Perth Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour, but the web site sucks – no route map, no list of bus stop locations, no hours of operation, etc. But first, I had some business to do – deal with two double charges by service providers, try to get my Facebook and my secondary email accounts functional ... read more