Over many years of bushwalking in Australia I have come to appreciate the eucalypts more and more. Instead of seeing just gum trees, that constant dull green background, I have grown aware of the diversity of these trees from the giants of over 100 feet, wide and shady to the dense thickets of mallee, smooth or rough barked, the ever changing varieties of colour of the trunks, the weird shapes that branches can form and of course, that ever-present myrtle ...

The idea of a walk in Japan had been discussed for many years by Ben McInerny and me. Our occasional research hadn’t turned anything up that we were looking for. The Kumano Kodo and Japanese Alps seemed to provide for walks of about four days length and we were wanting something longer in order to make an overseas trip more worthwhile. Googling turned up endless brief videos and articles by ‘influencers’ who had been paid or supported to do short walks ...

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.

This year the growth was particularly high and here we are admiring our work after slashing the grass to find our trail beneath it. L to R Tim, Iain, Paul, Lorraine. Photos by ...

Back in December 2015, my son Thomas who was seventeen at the time, and I undertook a four-day loop 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 ...

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.

On our way to Swan Lake Campground via the extensive dune system

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:

where the breakdown of urine and faeces is too slow where the volume of ...

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 ...