Melanie Ball's thirty-year career as a travel writer fell off the back of an overland expedition truck in Africa during the 1980s but her love of hiking – or bushwalking as it's called in Australia - dates back to when she toddled off into the grassy paddock behind her childhood home. Since then she's worn out several pairs of boots clocking up thousands of kilometres in big-sky deserts, dripping rainforests and wind-scoured mountain tops, across all Australia’s states and territories (and around the world). Melanie has written two books, Top Walks in Victoria and Top Walks in Australia (published by Explore Australia), and Top Walks in Tasmania will be released in October 2018.
Separated from the rest of the country by expanses of treeless plain and desert, Western Australia boasts a cornucopia of native flora and fauna that evolved in isolation making it a great place for bushwalking. Many species are unique to the state and some unique to pockets of it. The wildflower extravaganza that rolls south down Australia’s largest state from June...
People have traversed the world’s biggest island on foot for more than 40,000 years, following traditional trade routes and ancient songlines. So bushwalking in Australia has a fabulously rich cultural history. Laying that over landscapes dating back to prehistoric continental breakups gives you a hiking destination without equal. Step off the highways and byways and you can leave footprints in...
Victoria, Australia’s smallest mainland state, similar in size to the United Kingdom or half of California, is blessed with more diverse bushwalks than any other state or territory. And that’s not just a deliberate inflammation of Victoria’s traditional rivalry with neighboring New South Wales, and between their capitals, by a life-long Victorian. Bushwalking Victoria is hard to beat. Wedged into...
Australians discuss “The Territory” in terms of the Red Centre and the Top End. Both offer distinct bushwalking Northern Territory experiences. The “red” in the former is a heads up to the colour of the sand, ancient mountain ranges and the iconic, mythic monolith, Uluru, that rises from Australia’s arid central plains. But the colour card of reds also includes...
Once joined to the mainland by a land bridge and now separated by infamous Bass Strait, Australia’s island state serves up a feast of bushwalking Tasmania delights, from starter strolls in primordial rainforest to main-course wilderness treks that test survival skills. Tasmania is the pick of the country’s bushwalking destinations. It’s the place to immerse yourself in convict history, explore mountains...
South Australia is the driest state on the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Most of it is designated as arid zone and only the state’s south-east, home of the famous Coonawarra wine region, gets good rainfall. Such extremes mean you can enjoy very different bushwalking South Australia experiences a few hours’ drive apart. You can tread the rippled floor of a...
Plan your bushwalking adventure in Queensland. Queensland has, over many years, been promoted as a travel destination by a string of catchy slogans that ask questions – where else but Queensland? – and boast – beautiful one day, perfect the next. And the Sunshine State, as many still call it long after that number plate tag was superseded, has appeal...
“Bushwalking,” the uniquely Australian term for what other nationalities call hiking, trekking, tramping, and rambling, originated in New South Wales, where the First Fleet landed its predominantly involuntary “settlers” in 1788 and the country’s first national park was gazetted 91 years later. So bushwalking New South Wales is a perfect match. Combine the state’s pedigree with Australia’s iconic Blue Mountains...
Sunday worship in the Ethiopian highlands, in a church carved out of solid rock – with the help of angels! Tucked into the shadows of hand-hewn columns, I was mesmerised by ancient Christian rituals dating back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, or so the legend goes!
Bill Bryson, for his open-minded travel style and consummate story telling skill. His yarns would have me laughing so much I’d cry and time would fly so quickly I’d reach my destination way too soon.
Slow down, venture off the main drag and look through every open door and window.
Outback Australia, for its age, extremes and often quirky inhabitants – human and wildlife!