The Tale of Some Shonky Shoes

Names have been disguised to protect identities.

Shonky: poor, dubious quality, unreliable (Wiktionary)

If ABW has another pre-loved (or hated) gear sale like the one held at the General Meeting in February last year, it could pay you to be there as it just might just be another buyers’ market. But that said, such markets are often a case of ‘buyer beware’and so it was and I wasn’t, so I’ve learned a lesson and now perhaps, ...

Recently we had a working bee on the Bill Lindsay Trail which will need attention in late Spring every year after the spring  growth. I appeal to all leaders to consider posting a walk for November of each year that includes time to tidy up our trail.

Back in December 2015, my son Thomas who was seventeen at the time, and I undertook a four-day hike in the Jagungal Wilderness area in the Northern Kosciusko area of NSW. One of our aims was to climb Mount Jagungal, but through some poor planning on my part, we missed that goal. I wrote an article in Tandanya at the time about the trip and you can read that here.

Ten years on and my son is now twenty-seven and I’m nearing ...

I was keen to hike the GSWW because I wanted to experience the freedom of a longer hike. New to pack hiking in 2025, I had previously only completed the Great Ocean Walk and a few weekenders, so the idea of staying in my tent, carrying everything I needed, for two weeks was appealing.

What I hadn’t anticipated was the challenge of constant wet boots.

Our walk started at Nelson and ...

We’ve all walked their trails. They’ve helped us install our water tanks. But who are they?

The WTSG arose out of an initiative of the Royal Geographical Society of SA (RGS) in 1990 to provide good information for tourist regions of the State. Visitors to National Parks if asked what they want to do, will answer “We’ll go for a walk.” But where? What? –- ½ or 1-day walk?

‘Bush Walks’ and ‘Country Walks’ were recognised as an essential component of the ...

In the past year I have been on three ABW walks where leaving faeces behind was not the right thing to do. However, if it wasn’t for Snow Week, the thought would not have even crossed my mind. Yet, despite the unpleasant subject, it’s becoming something that more of us need to consider.

Why? There are probably three environments where it is best to follow ‘Leave No Trace’ principles:

Editor’s note: this article was inspired by a conversation in the pub after an ABW meeting. The observation was made that first aid kits are a source of much worry and self-doubt. So the idea was born: why not ask our medically qualified members what they carry!

Here are the results. The respondents are nurses, a doctor and a vet. Even among these, you will see a fair variation in what is taken. However, there is no doubt that all these ...

This is an extract from Living Off the Land – A Manual of Bushcraft, 1944, updated 1967 by H.A. (Bill) Lindsay, one of ABW’s founders. While some of the methods detailed here are far too destructive for everyday use, they may serve well in an emergency.

When the average civilised man, who knows nothing of the bush, finds himself stranded in scrub country, he is usually under a heavy handicap because he has what can be called ‘the water-tap outlook’. In ...

Katrina “Kat” Jensen passed away peacefully and on her own terms on 24 September 2025, after many years of living with Motor Neurone Disease.

Known to many Adelaide Bushwalkers (ABW) as Kat Vogt, she is fondly remembered for her brilliance, creativity, dark humour, infinite curiosity, and remarkable courage.

Brought up in Hawthorndene, she was educated at Blackwood High School, Flinders University and TAFE.

Her childhood was carefree roaming the local streets & bush lands. Her first degree was teaching (years ...

Eleven Adelaide Bush Walking Club hikers, led by the amazing and well organised Jules, gathered at the Flinders Chase Visitor Centre. Boots were laced and packs loaded, ready to take on the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail — a 66-kilometre journey through one of South Australia’s most beautiful landscapes. 

Before setting off, we met with a park ranger for a briefing that informed us about the campsites and the land we were about to traverse. The ranger spoke of the devastating 2019–2020 ...

Memoirs of a different approach to Edeowie and surrounds, May 2024

Saturday, 25 May 2024

We arrived in the Flinders the night before, settling into Brachina Hut on Edeowie Station. A modest little shelter tucked off a side track about 8 or 9 kms down Brachina Gorge Road. It’s the kind of place that doesn’t ask much of you, and in return, gives you peace, quiet, and a fine base for walking.

Come morning, we packed up and drove ...

This was going to be my worst night on a walk, and my hardest experience walking ever.

Earlier this year (in April) I undertook an 8-day loop walk starting from Round Mt carpark on Tooma Rd.

I was by myself, mainly arising from deciding quite late to do the walk. I had an ambitious plan that included most of Australia’s highest peaks. My first night (pictured above) was up Mt Jagungal, and then a couple of days enjoyable off-track walking across ‘The Rolling Ground’ ...

Club members will be aware of our water tank project in the northern Flinders Ranges.  It originated from Warren Bonython’s bequest of $10,000 to ABW after his death in 2012.  Warren was a longstanding patron of the club and the project was led by our then new Patron Duncan Chessell ably supported by the committee and members.  All of this is well documented in Tandanya and the Club Facebook page.  Tank locations are recorded on the club website here.  The tanks were installed in 2019 ...

With nearly two years of high school still ahead of me, and with a few long day walks in the Adelaide Hills to bolster my sketchy confidence, I bravely walked into a room somewhere behind the SA Museum. 

It was early 1965 and my purpose was to attend an ABW General Meeting. As I entered the room, I was immediately struck by how everyone was older than me, with a moderate spread of years either side of thirty or so it ...

Let’s make eating the highlight of the day!

Here is a list of over 50 tried and trusted recipes suitable for preparing on an overnight walk, with the food carried in the pack. No fresh meat, chicken or fish are included in recipes because of their vulnerability to contamination.

Quantities of ingredients in recipes are on the assumption that bushwalkers are usually hungry on a walk. Amounts may need to be varied depending on the nature of the trip or appetites of ...

Everyone knows protein is important on hikes. If you don’t factor enough in, your body may not adequately manage its wear and tear. The result is a gradual loss of strength and endurance instead of a gain in fitness. It isn’t a big deal for just a few days but the longer the trip, the more it matters.

The amount needed is up for debate, but it’s somewhere between 30 and 80g per day. But like so much in nutrition, we ...

It’s right in the middle of the peak South Australian walking season, so I’ll keep this brief. You’ve got trails to walk.

The headline article is the sort of thing we all want to see a LOT more of. That is, stuff by you, in your voice. I can’t tell you how much I love this article. Just read it and see for yourself.

Mike has then written an entertaining piece about the big pond at Wilpena. It’s so great to ...