Our annual photograph competition and Christmas social meeting was held this week, and we had a great selection of photos from members.

I’ve been making movies of trips for some years, and I share them with other walkers on the trip. Many of the movies consist of still shots and video clips – a few are all still shots only from scanning old slides. Here are some of these movies, dating from 1990 to 2015. Enjoy.

The River Murray is the 15th longest river in the world (2,520 kilometres) and the 3rd longest navigable river – 2,224 kms from the bottom of the Hume Dam to Goolwa - but in fact a kayak or other (very) shallow vessel is capable of starting from Bigarra located between Khancoban in New South Wales and Corryong, Victoria, thereby adding some 200 kms to this figure. While still 100 kilometres from its true source, this part of the “river” is not navigable because it is little more than a stream over rocks.

ABW has opened lots of doors for me since joining 16 years ago to get back into my long lost interest of bushwalking. As well as walking and kayaking, ABW also offered bike riding activities, especially in the warmer months. These range from social day rides to extended touring and camping rides in the Flinders Ranges and elsewhere. Like a few other members I now enjoy the full range of bike riding from mountain bike to road riding.

I had the chance to go to London with the family for 10 days and I was determined to get a country walk or two in during this time. I began my internet research and quickly found the website of the Saturday Walkers Club. I highly recommend it if you find yourself looking for an easy way of getting out of London and enjoying a walk in the countryside.

Armed with a borrowed mountain bike and trailer, I set off on May 1 to do the Mawson Trail. I had allowed 15 days. Two others were with me - Brian Slater, the only ABW member who joined this ride, and purely by chance Adam Taylor; a young man who was riding from Melbourne to Darwin via the Oodnadatta Track.

We all know that person - the one whose pack seems to be a lot lighter than everyone else's. And they don’t seem to be wet, cold or uncomfortable. How is it that they’re carrying all the same essentials with a lot less weight and bulk? Here are a few new ideas to help you reduce your load.

Spring nights are getting shorter and warmer, so you are less likely to get hypothermia when viewing our splendid spring stars. You will still need to rug up when you walk away from the campfire to catch our spring gems. This spring, most of the bright planet action is in the morning skies, so you have to be prepared to get up early.

We were advised that the logbook on Cleft Peak in the Gammon Ranges was full so we organised a trip to put a new logbook and a replacement ABW designed metal container.

A research exercise into the locations and state of logbooks and containers placed by Adelaide Bushwalkers on summits in the Flinders Ranges.

Earlier this year, just before the Nepal earthquake, nine club members completed a 21 day, lodge-based walk through the Tamang, Langtang, Gosainakund and Helambu regions north of Kathmandu.

A trip report of a kayaking expedition down the “Toop” - the Toupnein Creek - a centrepiece of canoeing in the Lindsay River Area, an offshoot of the Murray River.

Heating food and hot drinks is an everyday task during bushwalking. It is not difficult but there are times when naked flames are banned and it is always impossible to take fuel on commercial aircraft. So is there an alternative?

A look at the hiking packs of members on a recent ABW hike down Onkaparinga Gorge.

This is an expanded version of the President's Report given by Mark Proctor at the May 6th 2015 Annual General Meeting of the Adelaide Bushwalkers.

During a recent Adelaide Bushwalkers walk down park's 15km of river valley, it came as a bit of a shock to see that it is being colonized by prickly pear cactus.

Winter has long dark nights, ideal for viewing our splendid winter stars. It is also bitterly cold, but do take time to rug up and walk away from the campfire to catch our winter gems. This year, three bright planets dance with the Moon in the evening skies.

We responded to the Australian Government's consultation on the Draft Walking Strategy for Kakadu.