Suggestions for a Bushwalking Vacation

[bds232]

I am planning a (~3-4 week) trip to Australia with my father for this April. We like to do moderately long day hikes (10-23 kilometers, depending on the elevation gain). Our goal is to explore as many different interesting terrains as possible, with the secondary objective of observing unusual flora and fauna. I've done some research online, but there is so much information (and so many possibilities) and I do not know where to start. I would like to visit the tropical rainforests of northern Queensland, but apart from that I have not decided which places I would like to see.

What region(s) of Australia should we go to? Any suggestions for a plan? What are the most spectacular day hikes in Australia?

Thanks!

B.

[Drifting]

I would absolutely do at least one night in Lamington NP, if not more. Those antarctic beech trees are just mystical! There's a walk you can do, from O'Reilly's Guest House to Lamington NP that is highly regarded, or you can do one of two circuits from O'Reilly's. You've never seen birds like you'll see there.

In Tassie there's heaps- Walls of Jerusalem and something in the Tasman NP might suit. Also the Freycinet Circuit and Maria Island.

A lot of the Aussie Alps have been burned out recently, and are less attractive than they were once. But the track to Mt Feathertop from near Mt Hotham in NE Victoria is to die for, as in the easier hike to the Niggerheads or one of the High Country Huts on the periphery of the Bogong High Plains. For a true aussie experience- a corrugated iron hut complete with brumbies (wild horses), you can't go past the Bogong High Plains.

If you really want to do a bit of walking, you can do Mt Bogong.

Also, Wilson Prom NP on the south coast of Victoria is to die for, or so I'm told (never got there)

Good luck choosing! Just be careful, the Aussie bush is a fair bit different to other places, and poses it's own set of risks. Where are you from and what sort of experience do you are your Dad have?

[Son of a Beach]

Also, Wilson Prom NP on the south coast of Tassie is to die for, or so I'm told (never got there)

Just to clarify... I think Drifting meant to say south coast of Victoria (or otherwise, I'm very much geographically confused. ).

[WarrenH]

bds232, G'day. Visiting in April, is a good time of year to be visiting the South East Coast and ranges of Oz.

If you are looking forward to seeing the rainforests of the wet tropics? ... while on your way South to Tasmania? I'd like to suggest that you walk in some of the World Heritage Rainforests Parks of New South Wales and in the cool temperate, warm temperate and Gallery rainforests of East Gippsland in Victoria. These rainforests are 'as-equally-impressive-as' the wet tropics, for beauty and the feelings that go with it. If you like exploring, the Great Escarpment and the Great Dividing Range will knock-your-socks-off. Walking good distances on buff tracks, isn't what Oz is (necessarily) all about. Here in the SE there is still huge amounts of room, for just exploring. Most times when you walk you will see no one else.

There are something like 13 different rainforest types and 12 of them are in New South Wales. Places like, Washpool, Werrikimbe, Mount Seaview, Iluka, the Dorrigo Escarpment, the Beech forests of the Allyn River, the Mount Warning Caldera which includes the Nightcap Range, and Lever's Plateau (all of the MaCleay Overlap rainforests actually), to name a few places that are worth a look.

If you really want to get serious, here in the SE of Oz? ... the Budawang Ranges, the forests of Monga and Currowan Creek, the gorges of the Shoalhaven in SE NSW, Errinundra Plateau and the 'Wilderness Sandpatch Region' south of Mallacoota and the giant sandhills of Croajingalong south of Cann River at Point Hicks, all in SE Victoria are very nice ... the water is pristine. These last few places are all off the tourist maps, for travellers visiting Oz. I used to be a professional bush walking guide. I've seen Europeans cry at Croajingalong and say things like, "I always wanted to walk in the Sahara Desert, I never thought that I would but I don't need to now, this is a total surprise, sob, sob, sob!"

Have a pleasant and safe stay in Oz. Enjoy a few wicked walks and hire a 4WD if you really want to see this country.

Warren.

[jcr_au]

This list could go on forever.

If you want to see some really tall temperate rainforest within easy reach of one of our capital cities the "walk into history" near Warburton, just outside Melbourne is well worth considering.

Also parts of the Great Ocean walk, west of Melbourne, could be done as day walks.

When you're planning your itinerary, just keep in mind how big Australia is.

This link gives a bit of an indication

http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscien ... mpared.jsp

john r

[Taurë-rana]

Then there's the MacDonnell Range gorges in Central Australia, Katherine Gorge and walks you can do in Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks in the NT which will blow your mind just to mention a few, if you want to walk in the heat.

[north-north-west]

Also, Wilson Prom NP on the south coast of Tassie is to die for, or so I'm told (never got there)

Just to clarify... I think Drifting meant to say south coast of Victoria (or otherwise, I'm very much geographically confused. ).

Nah, the Prom's just an oversized version of Freycinet, so it's a fair enough comment.

[wello]

Wilson's Prom is really worth a visit. Great campsite at Tidal River, but book early in April. Many options for day walks along coastal or inland routes. Granite peaks, white sandy beaches, blue waters - just great. There's reasonably tame wombats in the campsite too.

Another option (you'll be spending a lot of time getting around if you do all the suggestions here!) would be Wilpena Pound in northern South Australia. The weather should be nice and cool in April and a long circuit walk around the outside of the pound, over St Mary's peak and back through the middle would be worth considering. The Pound is a very interesting feature, looks a bit like an asteriod impact crater, but is actually a bowl structure of folded sediments.

If you're in the Lamington area (NSW/ Queensland border) Mt Warning would also be well worth a look. Rain forest clad volcano (long extinct) with a steep plug of rock forming the summit. Great views from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast.

Wello

[north-north-west]

The trouble is, Australia's such a big place, and so diverse, that if you try to see too much you'll spend most of your time husstling from one place to the next rather than out there enjoying it.
You'd be better off picking four or five areas, and exploring them in a bit more depth. Saves travelling, gives a greater chance of seeing the more unusual things.

Wet Tropics - either the Darwin area (Kakadu or Lichfield) or FNQ (Mossman Gorge, Cape Trib, Athertons). There are a lot of good short walks on the way from Darwin to Kakadu, and also within the park. There, you get the rainforest, savannah, wetland plains and scarp country, so it's a good mix. Also great for birdlife. Lichfield, however, is closer, smaller, and has some of the best waterfalls in the country. And, just for something completely different, if you decide on FNQ, take a detour out to Chillagoe. It's . . . well, yes, different. Very.

Dry Tropics - Nitmiluk (Katharine Gorge, including Leliyn). Spend a day paddling up the gorge, canoe hire is cheap and it's the best way to explore. There are also some good tracks up on the scarp, but it's stinking hot any time of year during the day. Visit Leliyn (Edith Falls) and do the walk up to Sweetwater Pool. It's the northern section of the Jatbula Track, and a brilliant, seldom-visited place. Again, great for birdlife - even if the rare birds invariably appear when you're on the open-sided dunny with your camera gear well out of reach. *grrrrr*

Sub-tropical Rainforest - Lamingtons/Border Ranges. You can walk forever there. Plus Wollumbin, which is an easy walk and best done very very early in the day, as it's very popular. Or further south in the NSW wawterfall country.

Desert/Rock country - Alice Springs, MacDonnells East and West (Standley Chasm and Trephina Gorge are close and typical), and Wattarkah. Or the Flinders Ranges for a different take on Australia's arid lands.

The Prom, despite the crowds, is worth a visit. One of the few parks in Victoria where you pay to get in. Lovely beaches, good mix of terrain.

Then spend at least two weeks in Tassie, 'cause that's the best. April's a good time for fagus, too.