John reflects on Warren Bonython's contributions to South Australia, and his connection to Adelaide Bushwalkers.

The “Wollz” was a vernacular term coined by Paul Godfrey to shorten the “Wallpolla”, an intricate, interlacing system of waterways just upstream from Lock 9, and south of the main Murray River (downstream from Mildura/ Wentworth). There is a boatramp with sandy edges just east of the Lock, and only a short paddle to enter the maze of creeks. The first creek is the Mullroo that takes off north after a major lagoon system. This twists and winds and has various blind ending offshoots before joining the Wallpolla Ck. Trevor Moyle was the other member of the exploratory team and had spotted the waterways on a topo map.

After courting controversy with my previous article, I thought it appropriate to perform some experiments on myself, as is the tradition of all the finest Australian troublemakers!

What a wonderful adventure a small group of ABW members had in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area where there are basically no trails but instead, an adventure playground for the fit, the cautious and the astute navigator. We returned scratched, battered and bruised so must have had a good time with a few of those “this looks doable moments” from the boys which equated to “what am I doing here” moments for me!

Walking in Bateman’s Bay a couple of years ago a self-confessed ecologist opened his back pack to show me its contents. It was full of rubbish. He pulled out a can and explained that wherever he was in the world, he always carried a bag and picked up any rubbish he came across so as to leave any place he visited in better condition than before he came.

I am constantly being asked if I like my Aarn Pack and why I like it. My response is, “I love my Aarn Pack and would never go back to a conventional pack”. Not one to write formal reviews I felt it is time to enlighten the unenlightened and I say that without prejudice because here in South Australia we have very little exposure to the product being the only state lacking a retail outlet for Aarn Packs.

The final frontier… starts at your feet! I have to agree. There has never been a more exciting time to be a light-weight bushwalker. Gone are the days of the heavy and cumbersome canvas packs and huge and bulky tents. The quality and technology of even the humble sleeping mattress has finally reached space-age status with the application of high-tech lightweight materials and special insulation coatings.

These days, we are surrounded by excellent technical resources – both material and informational – ...

A campervan trip around Tasmania was the catalyst for my joining ABW. After several days of hiking near Cradle Mountain with some friends there was talk of the Overland Track and I thought that sounded like a great goal to aim for. I did some research and decided that ABW looked like the best group to join to work towards my goal whilst enjoying some of the walks available around South Australia as well. My first club walk was the new member’s weekend in Kuipto.

I joined ABW in May 2015 with previous experience camping and hiking, albeit very separate activities. Turning the big ‘4-0’ prompted me to set a new personal challenge and as I sat in the cinema watching ‘Wild’, I decided overnight hiking was going to be my new ‘thing’. I started trawling the internet for a hiking group abundant with good looking, successful, well dressed 40 year old single males ….but I found ABW instead.

Renowned art photographer, Harold Cazneaux, probably is best known in South Australia for his 1937 photograph of a large old river red gum near Wilpena Pound. Cazneaux titled the photo “Spirit of endurance”. Since 1991 when Cazneaux’s grandson, Dick Smith, funded a plaque on site, the location of the tree near Wilpena Creek has been easy to find.