Australian Hiker

It's the 7th of July, 2026, and in a few weeks’ time I’ll be commencing my southbound journey on South Australia’s Heysen Trail. This trail is Australia’s’ longest dedicated hiking trail spanning approximately 1200km from Parachilna in the north, to Cape Jarvis on the coastline in the south. It has everything I love about hiking from arid landscapes to a coastal connection and everything in betwee...

The Coast Track is located in Royal National Park on the southern side of Sydney. This is a walk I have been trying to do for a number of years but for various reasons I could never quite make it! Recently Gill and I picked the perfect weather window and had a spectacular day doing this 27km walk in a single day. So much so, this walk will be added to our top 10 walk list in the next time we updat...

The Portuguese Camino spans 625km from Lisbon in Portugal to Santiago in Spain but rather than doing the full walk many people opt for the shorter 260km Portuguese Coastal Way running between Porto and Santiago and which takes most people 12 to 14 days. In this podcast episode we catch up with Canberra Based Hiker Mary Wiley-Smith who late last year undertook her own adventure on the Portuguese Co...

In 2018 I undertook my first really long distance walk spending 35 days walking the 1000 km Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia. In preparation for this walk I spent the 18 months prior setting myself a number of physical challenges to see what I was physically capable of. The aim of these challenges wasn’t about breaking or setting records it was about working out how much annual leave I needed...

Over the past seven years, after some failed hikes, some ever worsening issues with my right leg, and much not so subtle badgering from my wife Gill, I finally decided to see a specialist only to discover that I needed my right hip replaced. Now the reason for me releasing this podcast is that as an information driven individual I need all the facts that I can find and after searching the internet...

In this final episode of our series on my  journey on the Great South West Walk we look and at my pre-trip expectations and compare them to the reality of my on-trail experience. In addition will provide recommendations to assist you if you are planning on doing this trip yourself. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hike...

This podcast episode contains a series of recordings on my Great South West Walk starting from my return to the trail after my rest day In Nelson, and finishing on the final day of my trip on my return to Portland. Podcast episode 347 titled 'expectations vs reality' episode looks at my pre trip exceptions after the trip and compares them to the reality. In addition I offer suggestions on how I co...

This podcast episode contains a series of recordings starting from my travel day prior to my trip to the end of week 1.  For the first two days there are multiple recordings and for the first time on one of our trips we will then be doing a single daily recording.  Week two's episode is due for the second half of the trip is due for release on Tuesday 6 May, followed by our 'expectations vs realit...

As this podcast goes to air I am just a few days out from starting my journey on the Great South West Walk in southwest Victoria. In this episode I talk about the trip planning and discuss my pre trip expectations; and hesitations! www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hi...

Throughout Australia much of our wilderness areas and reserves are managed by the relevant government agencies and while to do the best they can with limited resources they also rely on the support of enthusiast volunteer groups and individuals to assist, often undertaking work that government is unable to. In today’s Episode we catch up with Jon and Justine from the Tasmanian Volunteer group Wilc...

Recently I’ve come to realise that at some stage I may not be physically able to do every walk on my list and even though the plan is to do 3 long distance walks a year for the foreseeable future at some stage as I get older I’m eventually going to slow down. So quite arbitrarily I estimated that I have about 30 long distance walks left in me in addition to all the short walks. As such I’ve come t...

On the 2nd March 2026 Australian Hiker has gone through a major change and in this short episode we want to update you, our listeners, with what this change is and where we are heading in the short to medium term. We are also seeking your input about what you would like to see. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Fa...

When you think about Transylvania the name Dracula comes to mind. But did you know that Transylvania was originally part of Hungry and only incorporated into Romania after World War one. More importantly Romania is home to the Via Transilvanica long distance hiking trail which was officially launched on the 8th of October 2022. At that time the trail was 1400km but at the time of this interview co...

The concept of pack weight for your hiking adventures is one of those topics that has the potential for heated debated when you get a group of hikers together. Everyone will have an opinion but this question is like asking ‘how long is a piece of string’? Which is just a way of saying that the answer is impossible without more specific information. In this podcast episode we look at the concept of...

The 154km West highland way is one of Scotland’s best known hiking trails and in fact is listed as one of Scotland 'Great Trails'. Having said that if you aren’t familiar with hiking in the UK then you may know much about this trail. In this podcast episode we talk with Aussie hiker Susie Ashton-Davies about her 8 day 'end to end' trip undertaken in September of 2025.   www.australianhiker.com.au...

Australia is a country of sun lovers; if we aren’t at the beach, we’re out bush, if we aren’t out bush, we are usually outside doing something if the weather is warm. As I write this article we are in the middle of a heatwave over much of Australia and with that some intense UV so I’m spending my time indoors, planning for upcoming hikes and putting together podcasts like this one. If however the...

Iceland is a destination that you don’t tend to hear too much about when it comes to hiking so when Aussie hiker Sarah Groves contacted me late last year, I was keen to find out more. Over a 12 day period Sarah and her group hiked 160 km on some of Iceland’s Hidden Trails. In this podcast episode we talk with Sarah about her Icelandic adventure. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can al...

In early 2025 I came across the term Land snorkelling and it definitely piqued my curiosity about what it was because as a term its probably one that most hikers aren’t really familiar with, at least by name, even though they may be familiar with the practice. So what is Land snorkelling, what defines it and why should this form part of your hiking practice? www.australianhiker.com.au Australian H...

Over the past 18 months we have caught up with New Zealand Hiker Jonty Crane about several of his adventures, many of which are on trails that fall outside the ‘norm’. This interview is no different as we talk to Jonty about the Ladakh Sky Trail in Northern India, a trail that most people would have never heard of and one that is classed as ‘strenuous’ reaching altitudes over 5000 meters. www.aust...

Ask most hikers to name some European hiking trails and the 170km Tour Du Mont Blanc hiking trail will often crop up. This trail includes sections through France, Italy and Switzerland, and circumnavigates western Europe’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc. For most hikers this trail, which starts and finishes in the Chamonix Valley, is undertaken in around 11 days but it can be done in a quicker, or s...

On 11 November 2025 Australian Hiker celebrated its 9th birthday. In this podcast episode we reflect on our past year, and look at where we are heading over the coming year including our long distance hiking plans for 2026. www.australianhiker.com.au/   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twi...

It’s that time of the year when you start to consider gifts for that special hiker in your life. In previous years we have looked at the full gambit of Christmas gift options covering just about every price range. In this podcast episode we take a bit of a tongue in cheek view of what you can do for that hiker in your life beyond spending money. www.australianhiker.com.au     Australian Hiker can...

The 2025 Outdoor Retailer Australia Show was held on 14-16 October 2025 at EPIC located minuted form the centre off the city. For various reasons the last time that this ‘trade only show’ was held was in 2019 and is a chance for Australia’s outdoor wholesalers and manufacturers to showcase their new and existing products to Australia’s outdoor retailers and allied media and Australian Hiker attend...

Gill and I have been meaning to walk the Mount Dromedary Summit Trail, also know as Gulaga located between the coastal towns of Narooma and Bega. While easy to navigate this walk certainly gets the heart rate pumping being almost all uphill from start to the destination point at the summit before making your way back down. We didn't have any preconceptions about this walk but came away surprised a...

One of the things I love about doing this podcast is hearing about people’s stories. I particularly love hearing about hikers creating a ‘chose your own adventure’ where they cobble together walks or undertake walks in a different way all to keep it interesting. In this podcast episode we talk with “self-proclaimed saunterer”, Greg Keaney, who over the past two years walked along Australia’s east...