Real Trail Talk

In this episode we have a bit of a discussion about fitness, injuries and our experiences before Donovan has a chat with Rowan Smith from Summit Strength about helping hikers with their preparation, training, strength and injury prevention plus a whole lot more.

We are joined by Alex Garner from Intents Offroad to discuss the famous Gibb River Road in the Kimberley. Stretching 660km between Derby and Kununurra, this old stock route explores some beautiful country including Windjana Gorge, Mitchell Falls, El Questro and Purnululu National Park.

We are joined by Rod Annear to discuss the next section of the Munda Biddi between Nala Mia Campsite at Jarrahwood to the track town of Manjimup.  Riding on old rail formations, roads, vehicle tracks and single track you visit Nannup, Donnelly River along with being introduced to the Karri Forest for the first time. 

With Easter providing a good opportunity to get some more bang for your buck with regards to holiday leave, we both set out on different adventures across the country. Don headed north to swim with the whale sharks and check out Mount Augustus while Mark flew over to Tassie for a two and a half week road trip around the Apple Isle.    Have a listen to hear all about our trips and what's expected i...

We are joined in the studio by Josh Carr , videographer extraordinaire and hiking enthusiast about his adventures around WA and Tasmania. A talented filmmaker, Josh explains what goes into making one of his stunning videos and what drew him into making films about hiking.

We are joined by the President of HikeWest, Dave Osborne, to talk about the upcoming WA Hiking Expo that is being held on Sunday the 2nd of May at the Perth Hills Discovery Centre in Mundaring. A celebration of hiking, trail running and the community, we discuss what has gone in to organising the first event and all the challenges of postponing due to Covid. https://www.wahikingexpo.com.au/   Than...

We are joined by Michelle Ryan to discuss her new dehydrated meal company, Feed the Hike. Providing tasty, fresh and smartly packaged options for the trail, we talk about why she created Feed the Hike, the journey to get to this point and what's in the future. As a special offer for Real Trail Talk listeners, use the code REALTRAILTALK15 for 15% off any purchase on the website for the month of Mar...

The next episode in our Munda Biddi series discussing the section of the track taking you from Collie to Nala Mia with special guest Saf Flatters from Bark and Spark .  Exploring the stunning Jarrah forests of Wellington National Park, including one of the more entertaining downhill stretches, the trail then heads into the Ferguson Valley for rolling farmland and orchards before arriving in the ap...

In what was an unexpected year for the world, we sit back and discuss the year that was, our trail adventures and then get into a Q&A.  Welcome to our first wine sponsor, Green Door Wines and as a special offer for Real Trail Talk listeners simply enter TRAILTALK at the checkout for a 10% discount on your first online order.

The next episode in our Munda Biddi series discussing the section of the track taking you from Dwellingup to Collie.  Taking in some really nice Jarrah forest, this section is unfortunately blighted by the ongoing destruction of the forests by Alcoa and their bauxite mining operations.  To read more about the section and see some great photos check out The Long Way's Better

Running between Mundaring Weir and Northam, the historic Kep Track follows the old rail trail as it winds through the forests, towns and farms along the water pipeline. This 75km trail is best experienced on a bike so on a rainy November day, we loaded up our mountain bikes to discover what this trail was all about. 

After a long break we have returned with Mark giving an account of his four week road trip where he hiked the Cape to Cape, ticked off several hikes on his to-do list around Walpole, Albany and Esperance and finished with a fun weekend at the Pemby Trail Festival.  To hear Mark's response to several previous episodes plus get a sneak peek of the content that will be coming to The Life of Py over t...

This week we are joined by Dave Osborne from WalkGPS to discuss off-track hiking, what went into creating the depth and breadth of walks on his website and the state of bushwalking in Western Australia.

We are  joined by Risk Expert Alan de Souza, who also happens to be father to Donovan, to discuss the topic of risk and how it relates to trails, government and decision making. Stay to the end for a quick Q&A on what Donovan was like as a kid. 

The second episode of our Munda Biddi series sees us joined by Jake from Intents Offroad to discuss the Jarrahdale to Dwellingup section of this 1000km cycling trail.   Taking you through the Jarrah forests of the Darling Range, there is some lovely cycling mixed in with mining and forestry operations.

We sit down with Neil McCulloch from the First Hike Project , a not for profit organisation that takes newly arrived youth from refugee and migrant backgrounds out on hiking trips in the Australian bush to help introduce them to the outdoors and build confidence. Discussing what is involved with the trips, who participates and the effort required, this was a really fascinating chat with a man that...

In this episode we interview Jess Beckerling from the WA Forest Alliance to discuss the threats facing the forests of the South West of WA, the transition away from native logging, the future of the forests and how you can help save their beautiful ecosystems. 

Hopping on the mountain bike for 2020, Donovan has started a sectional end to end of the Munda Biddi, a 1000km long distance trail running from Mundaring to Albany. Running North to South we are doing a series on the track starting with the Mundaring to Jarrahdale section that runs through the Darling Range. 

Our mission for this episode was to come up with the ultimate South West Road Trip given a time frame of roughly two weeks that could be realistically accomplished. We both map out our hypothetical routes and discuss how we would fill each day (which of course included a lot of trails). 

In this episode we get into a discussion about hiking gear, what we use, how we came to choose that gear, a brief chat about ultralight gear, sustainability and what gear we'd like heading into the future. 

After finally finishing his sectional end to end, Mark discusses his thoughts on the entire Bibbulmun Track and how life has changed over that time. 

We are joined again by WA outdoor adventure enthusiast Shavaurn to discuss the world class snorkelling locations up and down the northern part of Western Australia. With some of the most stunning spots in the whole of the state (and perhaps the country), the snorkelling at places like Ningaloo is beyond amazing. 

We are joined by WA outdoor adventure enthusiast Shavaurn to discuss the various snorkelling spots around Perth and South West. With summer meaning a break in the hiking season, we like to get out into the water and explore a different type of scene. Thanks to the Leeuwin Current there is a variety of sea life and coral to see so close to shore.

The second of our two Great Walks of New Zealand discussions, we talk about the Tongariro Northern Circuit that was completed by The Long Way's Better at the end of 2019. This four day hike takes you around the active volcanoes of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe (used as Mt Doom from Lord of the Rings) with public huts along the way to stay in.  Hear all about the adventure as Donovan and Alis...

In this episode we are joined by the other half of The Long Way's Better to discuss their Christmas expedition on the Abel Tasman Coast Track in New Zealand. This 4.5 day coastal hike is a relaxing escape from the usual rigours of multi-day hiking with stunning scenery, nice huts to stay in and some casual distances on each day.