Properly fitting appropriate bushwalking footwear is the difference between enjoying a hike and vowing never to step out again. Uneven trails and pack-carrying can hammer ankles and good boot support is important on some walks (walking poles help too). Boots also protect against jutting rocks and sticks and MAY deflect a snake bite; they can, however, be hot in warm...

The biggest mistake bushwalkers make, says Sgt Ian Colless, Coordinator of the Blue Mountains (NSW) Police Rescue Unit, is inadequate planning and preparation. “They don’t take enough equipment, don’t know where they are going, and don’t have basic navigation skills.” Essentials for safe bushwalking. “Walkers should wear high visibility clothing,” he adds. Because hikers who wear blue, grey, black and similar hues are almost...

Regulars have been holidaying at Cape Conran Coastal Park, in east Gippsland, for years and newcomers rarely stop at one visit. It’s a perfect place to kick back with a book and ramble around rock pools. Or to expend more energy surfing and scuba diving. Tread the Dock Inlet Loop and you’ll quickly realise that it’s also a top bushwalking Victoria destination. Pink...

Cathedral Range, a 7km-long stand-alone ridge of sharply tilted sedimentary rock, two hours’ drive northeast of Melbourne, is a fabulous Victoria bushwalking destination – but not for beginners! It is exposed – baking hot at summer’s height, wet and cold in winter, with occasional snow – and the terrain rocky. Hiking here demands alertness and surefootedness. Your reward for these...

Travelling between coasts and even within Australian states and territories involves covering vast distances and people continue to tour Australia by car/4WD despite rising petrol costs and the falling price of airline tickets. Epic Australian hikes ensure walkers don’t feel left out. The daddy of them all is the Bicentennial National Trail (BNT), a multi-use track – horses, hikers and...

Summer temperatures soar in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park but frosty winter nights can thaw to crisp mornings heralding sunny afternoons perfect for walking. And the pick of the walks is the easy 9.5km Lake Mournpall Circuit, a bushwalking Victoria opportunity to step out in near-desert country. More than 200 bird species have been identified on and around the Hattah Lakes, a...

Why slog up Victoria’s highest mountain and immediately head down again when you can camp up top? Granted, spending a night on Mt Bogong (1986m), in Alpine National Park, involves walking beyond the summit to pitch a tent and carrying more than a day pack. When you can sleep among snow gums and dine under crystalline stars, however, doing it as...

Hiking from Mt Hotham to Falls Creek, two of Victoria’s major ski resorts, is becoming a bushwalking Victoria favourite. Why? Tree-less alpine high plains and majestic ridges in multiple shades of blue; white mountain gentians, yellow billy buttons and elegantly striped snow gums; butterflies, birds and feisty brumbies (wild horses). Taking in a leg of the long-distance Australian Alps Walking Track, in Alpine National...

The Goldfields Track (GT) commemorates and celebrates Victoria’s 19th century Gold Rush, a mass migration of people from around the world that increased the young colony’s population eight-fold in ten years to just over half a million. A shared mountain bike-walking trail, the 210km track links the historic cities of Ballarat and Bendigo, powerhouses of alluvial and deep-reef mining respectively. And along the...

A place of spiritual significance to local Aboriginal people, who call it Garriwerd, the Grampians mountains are a hugely popular destination for bushwalking Victoria. Spectacularly tilted, cracked and weathered, the saw-tooth ranges rise from the state’s volcanic western plains. The north of Grampians National Park is a popular hang-out for rock climbers and abseilers but the 2.2km return Hollow Mountain (Mount Wudjeb-Guyan) trail...

Some traditionalists hate walking poles, complaining that they damage the environment and make too much noise. But a growing number of converts and devotees now rarely hike without them. Used correctly, poles assist with balance and lateral stability (helpful when crossing streams or rocky terrain and traversing steep hillsides), and lessen the strain on knees on descents (a kindness to...

The Great Ocean Road is justifiably renowned as one of the world’s great coastal drives. But only on foot do you become part of the drama and begin to understand why the Great Ocean Walk (GOW) is a big-name in bushwalking Victoria and Australia. Only at walking pace can you fully appreciate the difference between balmy summer calm and wintry...