Mountain Journal

Long distance walking tracks have a strange allure. They wind through incredible landscapes and offer us time out, an opportunity for reflection and challenge, and a chance of meeting ourselves, others and the land itself.

There are, of course, many great long distance walks in Australia. Some well known like the Overland Track in lutruwita/ Tasmania, and some less known such as the Penguin to Cradle, which starts at Bass Strait on the north coast of Tassie and allows a connection with the Overland, or the McMillans Track, which follows an old route cut through the mountains of Victoria.

Then there is the Bibbulmun Track in WA, which stretches 1,000 km from Kalamunda in the Perth Hills, to Albany on the south coast, winding through the heart of the scenic South West of Western Australia.

Of course, it is the Australian Alps Walking Track (or AAWT) that stands out as our premier long walk, stretching almost 700 kilometres from Walhalla near Victoria’s Latrobe Valley almost all the way into Canberra. Unlike many famous long distance walking tracks, the AAWT is very much a solo effort. Rather than there being mass numbers of walkers starting each day, it is possible to go for days on end without meeting another human. In some sections the track is sketchy or overgrown. The track goes through or past very few human settlements so resupplies can require a bit of work to organise.

Continue reading “Why did you walk the AAWT?” →