Are we hiking or bushwalk?

[mikethepike]

I was recently reading someone's unpublished, very detailed and lengthy history of bushwalking in a given location in Australia and not once does he use the term 'bushwalking' but sticks exclusively to 'hiking'. This seemed odd to me as, over the years, I can't recall any of my associates ever talked of going 'hiking'. To me, hiking conjures up pictures of scouts and guide girls walking along pretty English country lanes and rights-of-way and only out for the day or overnight and I have hiked in England. Just on checking this forum, I see that while a search for 'hiking' brings up 170 pages of posts, 'bushwalking' brings up 262 pages so the latter is in more common usage. I also suspect that the 'hiking' may get more used in print than spoken because it's a much shorter word to type. The Kiwis tramp and that's it. Do any of you talk about going for a six day hike or going hiking?

[mikethepike]

..or bushwalking? You can edit the content but not the title! Apologies and I'm sorry I wasn't more careful.

[taswegian]

For me it's always been bushwalking.
But then I "walked into Waterfall Valley". Certainly wouldn't have "hiked into..."
But have heard the use of "a fair hike", as in being "a long way (walk)" or a long climb up such and such.

Bushwalking for me it is, or just plain 'gone bush'.

[GPSGuided]

If walking on a road, then I am hiking. If not on a road and in the "bush", I am bushwalking. All the "hiking' threads must be by our Kiwi friends here.

[stry]

Bushwalk !!

And a little more fuel for the fire - Track - NOT trail

And for GPS - kiwis tramp, not hike.

[whitefang]

I have always referred to it as hiking, bushwalking is somewhat of a new term to me. Then again, that might be because when I first became interested in hiking/bushwalking I was finding information on international websites rather than Australian ones.

[north-north-west]

Bushwalk !!

And a little more fuel for the fire - Track - NOT trail

+1

To me, 'hike' and 'trail' are Americanisms, though 'trail' seems to be the prevailing usage on the mainland except in Victoria. Never used the terms growing up in Tassie, it was always 'walk', 'bushwalk' and 'track'.

[phsculpture]

It's hiking for me these days. I grew up in Australia, but spending the past 12 years in the US had an effect. Hike vs bushwalk, cell vs mobile. I'm all for fewer syllables. Less chance for the flies to get in.

[icefest]

I have always referred to it as hiking, bushwalking is somewhat of a new term to me. Then again, that might be because when I first became interested in hiking/bushwalking I was finding information on international websites rather than Australian ones.

A bit of this, and a lot of whatever happens to get typed first - they are entirely interchangeable in my head.
I will almost exclusively say 'track' though.

@phsculpture and a refusal to use adverbs....

[puredingo]

It's bushwalking. If I use the term "hike" it's simply to describe any number of means of covering a distance.

For example, The drive to Sydney is a fair hike from home,

The off shore reef is breaking but it's fair hike out there if your paddling.

Bushwalking can only mean one thing...walking in the bush. Like I've hiked up a few skirts in my time but I've never bushwalked up any...I think???

[north-north-west]

Like I've hiked up a few skirts in my time but I've never bushwalked up any...I think???

Oh, the double entendres one could make out of that . . .

[corvus]

For me it's always been bushwalking.
But then I "walked into Waterfall Valley". Certainly wouldn't have "hiked into..."
But have heard the use of "a fair hike", as in being "a long way (walk)" or a long climb up such and such.

Bushwalking for me it is, or just plain 'gone bush'.

As an incomer(45 years ago) I used to Hike in Europe (some of them rambled ) however now that I am a Tassie I bushwalk even when I am not in the "bush" when walking especially on the Central Plateau where there is no "bush" Bushwalking is a misnomer so I think the use of Hike is legit and 'gone bush' is going feral in today speak I believe
corvus

[Miyata610]

Hiking.

But I do sometimes use the term bushwalking.

[puredingo]

Like I've hiked up a few skirts in my time but I've never bushwalked up any...I think???

Oh, the double entendres one could make out of that . . .

Karen Pini springs to mind for some reason

[Scottyk]

Kiwis go Tramping
Americans/Europeans go Hiking
Australians go Bushwalking
Simple as that in my opinion. Anything else is just Un-Australian!

[mikethepike]

Kiwis go Tramping
Americans/Europeans go Hiking
Australians go Bushwalking
Simple as that in my opinion. Anything else is just Un-Australian!

Good on ya Scotty! That's telling 'em!

It's hiking for me these days. I grew up in Australia, but spending the past 12 years in the US had an effect.

I have always referred to it as hiking, bushwalking is somewhat of a new term to me. Then again, that might be because when I first became interested in hiking/bushwalking I was finding information on international websites rather than Australian ones

C'mon you guys! It's time you converted and started bushwalking!

But have heard the use of "a fair hike", as in being "a long way (walk)" or a long climb up such and such.

Yes, come to think of it tasw., I have exclaimed "That was a fair old hike today" but that would be after a long day of walking rather than on a long pack-carrying day when I'm more likely to exclaim "Sheesh! I'm shattered!"

[Lizzy]

I bushwalk or hike but in NZ I tramp.... Weird. But I like to follow a track not a trail.....

[ILUVSWTAS]

Kiwis go Tramping
Americans/Europeans go Hiking
Australians go Bushwalking
Simple as that in my opinion. Anything else is just Un-Australian!

Agreed.

[wayno]

don't ask me! I'm a tramper...

[Picaro]

Kiwis go Tramping
Americans/Europeans go Hiking
Australians go Bushwalking
Simple as that in my opinion. Anything else is just Un-Australian!

Lets go walkabout.

Bushwalk or hike is to my mind, a day trip, or maybe an overnighter.

A journey is a trek, a walkabout, or a safari.

As for tramping, you'll not see the good girls doing it !

[Lindsay]

The British go rambling, or hillwalking, or just walking.

[photohiker]

The French:

randonnée
nf
(=sport) hike, hiking no pl
faire de la randonnée to go hiking
(=excursion) walk, ramble
une randonnée pédestre a walk, a ramble
une randonnée à vélo a bike ride

The Germans seem to Wandern

The Norwegians: Vandring, fottur.

The Swedes: fotvandring and fotvandra

I think we have permission to use our own words, and bushwalking suits the country...

[Empty]

If you go for a walk and you are in the bush then you are bushwalking. If you go for a hike and you are in...... See doesn't work does it?

On the other hand I googled "tramp" and didn't find anything about walking. Got to get me a better internet filter.

Now I am just rambling.

[north-north-west]

Lets go walkabout.

As good a term as any for some of my trips - the 'rambles' where I more or less make it up as I go along. And as Australian as it gets.

[Scottyk]

On the other hand I googled "tramp" and didn't find anything about walking. Got to get me a better internet filter.

Try this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramping_in_New_Zealand
I have Kiwis that I work with and they all ways ask me if I have gone tramping in my break. I kind of like the term.

[walkabout]

gone walkabout, or bushwalking, on a track.

[mikethepike]

I've just had some discussion on this topic with a local bush walks historian and he informed me that hiking was the term used in the Boy Scouts and of course there, the term was adopted straight from its usage in Britain and it's reasonable to see how scouts who later on kept up their interest in bushwalking, probably continued to call it hiking. He also considered that, in the early days of bushwalking in NSW and Victoria that there quite some debate on which of the two terms to use. Where there were no tracks, they were often literally 'bushbashing' to use a colloquial term and that experience has little connection with what most people would think of as hiking. Ditto for Tassie except for where the walking is on tracks which, for most walkers, is most of the time.
He also reminded be that in the US, they go backpacking.

Now I am just rambling.

Rambling sounds like walking in an idyllic place in a heterogeneous countryside with some bits of pleasant scrambling, definitely no heavy rucksack but cane picnic basket and poetry book optional and maybe a nice country pub at days end! I like it!

[GPSGuided]

Ok, anyone knows the origin of the word bushwalking?

[Hallu]

The French:

randonnée
nf
(=sport) hike, hiking no pl
faire de la randonnée to go hiking
(=excursion) walk, ramble
une randonnée pédestre a walk, a ramble
une randonnée à vélo a bike ride

The Germans seem to Wandern

The Norwegians: Vandring, fottur.

The Swedes: fotvandring and fotvandra

I think we have permission to use our own words, and bushwalking suits the country...

Yeah in French randonnée is the only word we use, hence the tracks going all over France and marked with white/red striped being called "GR" = Grande Randonnée. Strangely enough, "randonnée" means "running enthousiastically", which is probably why the French walk so fast (I don't). A trendy word right now in French for a long multi day walk in mountainous areas is a "trek" and going "trekking", which ironically isn't much used in English. If you check wikipedia it says :

A trek is a long, adventurous journey undertaken on foot in areas where common means of transport are generally not available. Trekking should not be confused with mountaineering. In North America the equivalent is backpacking, while New Zealanders use the word tramping.

which relates to a kiwi walking book I had which said that basically kiwis call a half-day walk a "walk", a day walk or an easy overnighter a "hike" and a tough multi day journey a "tramp". We can see here that some people think that bushwalking is for rough off track exploring as well, but most Australians use it for anything and generally don't like the word "hike".

Now, do Aussies and Kiwis have a term for "mountaineering" ? I've only heard Americans use that one, while Brits seem to use "mountain climbing" and the French "Alpinisme" which became "Alpinism".

[Orion]

I try to go with the local dialect so it's track and bushwalking in Australia. But to me bushwalking always sounds a bit too close to bushwhacking, which is what we in the USA call what you call bushbashing. And also I think by "bush" you just mean wilderness as you're bushwalking even when there are no bushes around. Your bush is our wilderness or backcountry. And we say backpacking instead of hiking if it's more than one night out. Is there a different word for bushwalking if you're carrying sleeping gear?

I like the Aussie sayings. Gone cactus is one of my favorites. And so many slangs that end in "ie" like Tassie and footy, it's so very cute.