Bushwalk Australia

I notice its very represented here. Is this due to the site formerly being Tasmanian based or the state does have a much greater general hiking popularity ? I was thinking a lot of Australia, no offence to my fellow mainlanders is often so damn large, hot, dry, brown and spaced out, hiking may not have the local interest levels. Could be totally wrong about that.

Far fewer than there used to be. But we have the bast walking in the country, so it's only fair we have the most - and the best - active bushwalkers.

north-north-west wrote:Far fewer than there used to be. But we have the bast walking in the country, so it's only fair we have the most - and the best - active bushwalkers.

you're dreaming...

I see increased forum activity coming...

Max -Tasmania, yes Tasmania, oh that's great, Tasmania. I just have one question.
Chief - what is it?
Max - what's Tasmania?

Lamont wrote:Max -Tasmania, yes Tasmania, oh that's great, Tasmania. I just have one question.
Chief - what is it?
Max - what's Tasmania?

Just one question... what are you talking about?

ILUVSWTAS wrote:

Lamont wrote:Max -Tasmania, yes Tasmania, oh that's great, Tasmania. I just have one question.
Chief - what is it?
Max - what's Tasmania?

Just one question... what are you talking about?

Methinks the mainlander is quoting something that he finds somewhat amusing. Quotation marks would have helped clarify this but were sadly lacking and led to your (and my) confusion on his comment.

doogs wrote:Methinks the mainlander is quoting something that he finds somewhat amusing. Quotation marks would have helped clarify this but were sadly lacking and led to your (and my) confusion on his comment.

Ah I see... have you spent time amogsnt them? You seem to have a decent grasp of their strange lingo....

I forget the great sage Maxwell Smart sometimes needs introduction. Missed it by that much.
Between bushwalks you should check him out.

ILUVSWTAS wrote:

doogs wrote:Methinks the mainlander is quoting something that he finds somewhat amusing. Quotation marks would have helped clarify this but were sadly lacking and led to your (and my) confusion on his comment.

Ah I see... have you spent time amogsnt them? You seem to have a decent grasp of their strange lingo....

As a matter of fact, yes I have. I was part of a scientific study team to assess why 'mainlanders' cannot drive round bends at more than 30km/h
Turns out they don't go bushwalking often enough to know what bends are!

One is tempted to say "bends?" What are "bends".
But one might have needed to drive across the Nullarbor to really get that.
Or perhaps the road from Hobart to Queenstown by contrast. Although I suspect that is a dig at slow drivers the locals have encountered?
[Is that more the case for travellers from other countries...?]
But then - I am the one who happily drives across half of Tas to go for a day walk while the locals think it is a major undertaking...

But seriously - after 14 odd trips to Tasmania, one might think I was a Tasmaniac.
And I note a few current inhabitants with the Tasmanian super walker label did not start out walking there.
But in answer to the original question - it probably has to do with how internet blogs work or don't.
So yes - Tasmania is a bushwalking magnet - particularly in the Australian Summer.
And the number of different and dramatic walks in such a small area sets it apart from the rest of Aus.
And yes - having been setup as Bushwalk Tasmania, it clearly got a major user base from there before other blogs and facebook etc proliferated.

On another thread someone has asked about it all going quiet and that is true. But looking at how often older articles are accessed, I suspect a lot of newcomers are happy just to use it as a reference source rather than contribute.
I am just happy that it has a relatively pure bushwalking focus and is happy to store my notes and photos for posterity.

Well Said Eggs. It is a wonderful place down here and I wouldn't live anywhere else. We do come across alot of mainlanders who have lived here purely for the bushwalking. The lifestyle is just a bonus.
Being a born and bred Tasmanian I can say I've driven 5hrs to do daywalks then 5hrs home again. But it isnt alot of fun.

I know people who have lived on Bruny island for 20 years and the true locals still call them Johnny come latelys.
I'm not sure where 14 trips puts you eggs but you may have a way to go yet before you get a local tag...

ILUVSWTAS wrote:I know people who have lived on Bruny island for 20 years and the true locals still call them Johnny come latelys.
I'm not sure where 14 trips puts you eggs but you may have a way to go yet before you get a local tag...

I lived and worked in Mt Gambier for a while. There was a funeral notice in the local paper regarding a prominent gentleman farmer and well known business man from the area.
In part the funeral notice said ************************************* "While not a local MR ########### had lived in and around Mt Gambier for the last 45 years"
To be local it seems your grandparents had to have been born there

doogs wrote:I was part of a scientific study team to assess why 'mainlanders' cannot drive round bends at more than 30km/h

It’s that black ice on an early autumn morning! One rental car totalled two decades and more ago. Grrrr!

GPSGuided wrote:

doogs wrote:I was part of a scientific study team to assess why 'mainlanders' cannot drive round bends at more than 30km/h

It’s that black ice on an early autumn morning! One rental car totalled two decades and more ago. Grrrr!

I remember back in the 1970's that the road running north out of Queenstown was bitumen on the straights but dirt on the bends. I was told by a local that it was to give more grip in the bends on frosty mornings.

doogs wrote:As a matter of fact, yes I have. I was part of a scientific study team to assess why 'mainlanders' cannot drive round bends at more than 30km/h

I spent more than thirty years on the big island trying to work that out. I think it comes down to the fact that most of them never learnt to drive properly. They're either too urbanised or unaccustomed to winding roads.
Unfortunately, far too many younger Tasmanians are much the same these days.

north-north-west wrote:

doogs wrote:As a matter of fact, yes I have. I was part of a scientific study team to assess why 'mainlanders' cannot drive round bends at more than 30km/h

I spent more than thirty years on the big island trying to work that out. I think it comes down to the fact that most of them never learnt to drive properly. They're either too urbanised or unaccustomed to winding roads.
Unfortunately, far too many younger Tasmanians are much the same these days.

This bloke must have been coming back to Hobart after a bushwalk in the north of the state..
https://www.police.tas.gov.au/news-even ... -liawenee/

eggs wrote:One is tempted to say "bends?" What are "bends".
But one might have needed to drive across the Nullarbor to really get that.
Or perhaps the road from Hobart to Queenstown by contrast. Although I suspect that is a dig at slow drivers the locals have encountered?
[Is that more the case for travellers from other countries...?]
But then - I am the one who happily drives across half of Tas to go for a day walk while the locals think it is a major undertaking...

But seriously - after 14 odd trips to Tasmania, one might think I was a Tasmaniac.
And I note a few current inhabitants with the Tasmanian super walker label did not start out walking there.
But in answer to the original question - it probably has to do with how internet blogs work or don't.
So yes - Tasmania is a bushwalking magnet - particularly in the Australian Summer.
And the number of different and dramatic walks in such a small area sets it apart from the rest of Aus.
And yes - having been setup as Bushwalk Tasmania, it clearly got a major user base from there before other blogs and facebook etc proliferated.

On another thread someone has asked about it all going quiet and that is true. But looking at how often older articles are accessed, I suspect a lot of newcomers are happy just to use it as a reference source rather than contribute.
I am just happy that it has a relatively pure bushwalking focus and is happy to store my notes and photos for posterity.

Thanks for the serious reply, one in a thread is always good.

I suspected the diversity and compactness would contribute.

here we have the rainforest trails and reef islands but you don't see a lot of guys going real cross country multi-day. Too heavy going.

On the serious side, I think the variety and dramatic scenery, accessibility and most importantly, it's typically a lot cooler during the holiday seasons. IF TAS was situated north of Cains, I doubt there'd be as much bushwalk following during summer.

doogs wrote:

north-north-west wrote:

doogs wrote:As a matter of fact, yes I have. I was part of a scientific study team to assess why 'mainlanders' cannot drive round bends at more than 30km/h

I spent more than thirty years on the big island trying to work that out. I think it comes down to the fact that most of them never learnt to drive properly. They're either too urbanised or unaccustomed to winding roads.
Unfortunately, far too many younger Tasmanians are much the same these days.

This bloke must have been coming back to Hobart after a bushwalk in the north of the state..
https://www.police.tas.gov.au/news-even ... -liawenee/

It would have been on the straight stretch. Anyone can drive fast in a straight line. Even in a Civic.

I have to believe the police are exaggerating there, a Civic doing 200kph ??
Must have been the super sports version.

Moondog55 wrote:I have to believe the police are exaggerating there, a Civic doing 200kph ??

You have to allow for the tailwind.

Way more bang for buck in Tassie. The only 'wilderness' to rival it(in my experience) would be the Kimberley, I returned yesterday from there, but I can attest that traversing Tassie is a lot easier, the heat over the last Cpl weeks has been intensely energy sapping...Tassie you can change trip plans with an hours notice before leaving home and still have an excellent trip in(almost) any weather.

you don't say if you've been to Tasmania yourself. If you have been you'd understand why its so popular.... if you're a bushwalker its like being a kid in a toyshop. where do you start? the options are endless and amazing, without having to cover endless distances to get to those options, the weather in tas makes it easier to walk for a larger part of the year than most of the rest of aus, provided you're prepared for the colder part of the year..

I agree with the Kimberley being a great place to walk, in some aspects as good a walking experience as Tas with the advantage or predictably good weather and amazing swimming holes that can be used in winter. The roads are straighter too.

Tekker76 wrote:Bushwalking in Tasmania. I notice its very represented here. Is this due to the site formerly being Tasmanian based or the state does have a much greater general hiking popularity ? I was thinking a lot of Australia, no offence to my fellow mainlanders is often so damn large, hot, dry, brown and spaced out, hiking may not have the local interest levels. Could be totally wrong about that.

I don't think anyone answered the OP's Q - this is OK. I can't tell if some respondents are acting smugly, or cryptically humourous.

I think a working week may make a lot of people disinterested in hiking, as does a fear of the unknown Australian bush, as well as beer culture - gotta stay home for the barbie... That said, I reckon there are at least 40 very active walkers in my bushwalking club, and I know 40 more who I can contact to bushwalk or do related activities - and non of them contribute to this forum. Because they are bushwalking/canyoning/kayaking/cycling/travelling/gardening.

Wollemi wrote:

Tekker76 wrote:Bushwalking in Tasmania. I notice its very represented here. Is this due to the site formerly being Tasmanian based or the state does have a much greater general hiking popularity ? I was thinking a lot of Australia, no offence to my fellow mainlanders is often so damn large, hot, dry, brown and spaced out, hiking may not have the local interest levels. Could be totally wrong about that.

I don't think anyone answered the OP's Q - this is OK. I can't tell if some respondents are acting smugly, or cryptically humourous.

I think a working week may make a lot of people disinterested in hiking, as does a fear of the unknown Australian bush, as well as beer culture - gotta stay home for the barbie... That said, I reckon there are at least 40 very active walkers in my bushwalking club, and I know 40 more who I can contact to bushwalk or do related activities - and non of them contribute to this forum. Because they are bushwalking/canyoning/kayaking/cycling/travelling/gardening.

Yes the number of people active on this forum are no where near the numbers out walking. Tourism Tas reported some 45,000 people walked the track during the peak season of 2016/17 (I know that they are dodgy TT numbers but it provides an indication).

My thoughts are that the population has become suburban to the extent that few like doing challenging activities where you are likely to be away from a shower or the internet for more than a day. Probably why the Three Capes Walk is so popular.

I've hiked a bit all over Australia, and yeah Tasmania offers the best. From week walks to day walks. Nothing compared in mainland Australia. Victoria has a lot of bushwalking, like in the Aussie Alps, the Grampians, on the coast, but it's more spread out, same in NSW, while Tassie has huge chunks of wilderness. In the NT, there's a lot of wilderness, but bushwalking isn't very developed. There's the Larapinta trail, a few hikes here and there in national parks, and that's it. I'm sure if Arnhem Land were more accessible, with big cities within a 2 or 3 hours drive you'd see a lot more bushwalking there. Tasmania is a medium sized island with a lot of different terrain, from mountains to wild rivers and coastline, and a few towns like Launceston and Hobart, from which you can access that wilderness. It's just perfect for bushwalking, with great maintained tracks.

potato wrote:

Wollemi wrote:My thoughts are that the population has become suburban to the extent that few like doing challenging activities where you are likely to be away from a shower or the internet for more than a day.

I had this exact experience last week where I was describing my planned Larapinta trip to a group of friends and one of them got all enthusiastic and was just about to start planning her leave. She then asked “but where do you shower?” On being told that there were no showers each morning and night she immediately said there was no way she could do it.

(And yes, I’m aware there are one or two places where you can have a shower while on the Larapinta).