When we asked our community for some ideas for podcasts and articles one of the innovative topics raised was doing a hike where we only turn in one direction. Recently we put that into practice and while we thought that we would have a bit of fun with this walk we didn't expect to learn some things about ourselves and our hiking skills along the way. In this podcast episode we lay out the ground rules for this hike, bring you a series of short on trail recordings from the hike, and finish off with a 'Lessons learnt session'. For us this was unique walk and one that we were glad that we did. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

It’s that time of the year when you start to consider gifts for that special hiker in your life. In previous years we have looked at the full gambit of Christmas gift options covering every price range including some very high-end options. This year for the first time we focus on the lower end of the pricing range with gifts under $100, that fall into the 'stocking stuffer' category with something that everyone can afford. www.australianhiker.com.au  Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

On 11 November 2023 Australian Hiker celebrated its 7th birthday. In this episode we reflect on our past year, and look at where we are heading over the coming year. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

In this podcast episode we talk about unexpected and sometimes negative interactions with animals on the trail. The focus on this episode isn’t on snakes as people might expect but rather on those animals that are often described a 'cute and fluffy' and use that reputation to steal your food and damage your equipment. At some stage this interaction will impact on all hikers so what do you need to know to minimise this impact? This episode discusses just that. www.australianhiker.com.au Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube  

Previously we’ve interviewed authors Andrew Grune and Evi O on their Sydney based books Day Trip Sydney 52 Nature Adventures, and Dog Trip Sydney 52 Dog Friendly Nature Adventures. These guidebooks provided simple and easy to understand guides to their respective walks all with some very great imagery. In today’s episode we catch back up with Andrew and Evi about the release of their new Melbourne guidebooks, Day Trip Melbourne 52 Nature Adventures, and Dog Trip Melbourne 52 Dog Friendly Nature Adventures that now cater for Victoria’s capital city. www.australianhiker.com.au  Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

In October 2023 Gill and I took part in the Kokoda Challenge at Lake Macquarie, NSW. The aim of the Kokoda Challenge is to raise funds for the Kokoda Youth Foundation’s programs and the great work they do. This episode consists of three segments with the first being an interview with the Kokoda Youth Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Johllene Elson who shares more about her organisation, the work they do and what the Kokoda Challenge is all about. The second segment of this episode involves a series of recorded interviews about our experience on the day of our Kokoda Challenge which includes interviews with other participants as well as with an event volunteer to get their perspective. And finally, Gill and I do a wrap up of the Challenge and talk about how we found the event and the organisation. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

I first fell in love with long distance hiking in about 2014 and surprisingly it had nothing to do with the movie ‘Wild’ that was released in the same year. I’m a goal-oriented person and the whole concept of hiking for multiple weeks or months was something I could aspire to, if I was allowed. The more I looked into the concept of long-distance hiking, the more I liked the idea of doing one of the well-known Triple Crown trails: Appalachian Trail Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail In all honesty I don’t think I will get around to doing all three of these trails, but I can live vicariously through other hikers who have. In this episode we catch up with hiker Simon Morris and get a firsthand introduction to these three trails that make up the US based Triple Crown. www.australianhiker.com.au Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms  Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

It's Saturday the 30 September 2023 and earlier this morning the Australian Hiker Podcast reached a major milestone passing the 1,000,000 download mark. Who would have thought when we launched Australian Hiker in November 2016 that we would get to this point? In this podcast episode we look back over the past crazy seven years and talk about where we're heading into the future.   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

Australia is a large continent with just about every type of environment and vegetation you can imagine ranging from coastal, forest, arid to semi-arid; and then there’s our sub alpine and alpine regions which make up less than 1% of the continent. The practice of planning hikes is the same no matter where you are however there are some specific considerations that hiking in Australia Alpine regions of Australia require. In this podcast episode we look at what these are. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

The Thin Green Line is a global not for profit organisation that exists to support park and wildlife rangers in their fight for conservation and is solely dedicated to supporting Rangers and their families in what can sometimes present them with life threatening challenges. In this podcast episode we catch up with Amanda Dudgeon to discuss her journey  "Walking the Thin Green line across Oceana" hoping to be a catalyst that initiates meaningful change for Oceana rangers. www.australianhiker.com.au

In this podcast episode we discuss our pre-trip expectations for the Western Australia Cape to Cape Track and compare them to the reality of the trip itself. This was very much a trip of two halves so we got more of an experience than we expected. In this episode we discuss how the trip panned out and make some recommendations that will help you get the best out of this experience.  www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube  

Back on trail again on the Western Australian Cape to Cape Track. This episode includes recordings from the final 2/3 of this 128.7km trail and provides a real time overview of our on trail experience. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

It’s August and for various reasons we’ve found ourselves having done less hikes than we usually would have so far into the year and believe me its not for lack of trying. While its easy for us to get out bush thats only because we live a few hundred meters away but due to both work and personal reasons we just haven’t had the opportunities to walk and review as many new hikes as we would like. In this podcast episode we look at what micro adventures are and how they be used to get you out bush even when you don’t think you have the time. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

If you are hiking for any length of time get used to not being as clean as you usually would like. Having said that you do need a level of cleanliness and while you do need to clean yourself all over from time to time, there is a focus on areas such as hands, the face, armpits and groin are areas that will need more regular cleaning. In this podcast episode we discuss a simple option for keeping 'cleanish' on trail. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

Australia is a large continent with just about every type of environment and vegetation you can imagine ranging from coastal, to alpine, to forest; and then there’s our semi arid and arid regions which make up around 70% of the continent. While the practice of planning hikes is the same no matter where you are, there are some specific considerations that hiking in the semi arid and arid regions of Australia require. In this podcast episode we look at what these are. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

Most of us are very used to the concept of 'Use By Dates' or 'Best Before Dates' when we go shopping but many commercial outdoor foods also come with these labels. Due to COVID I ended up with a large number of 'out of date' meals and thought that I'd see how they went. Are these labels just cautionary recommendations or can you just ignore them?  www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

The old saying of ‘early to bed and early to rise’ originated over 6oo years ago at a time where making use of the daylight hours was particularly important in a largely rural society. While this saying is still relevant in agricultural circles today, it’s also applicable to many other aspects of our lives, including hiking. Our sleep patterns are unique so this podcast episode looks at the are pros and cons to each type of sleep regime from a hiking perspective. So what are you? Night owl? Rooster? Or a bit of both?

When you first start hiking there are so many things to consider and often our focus is around things like gear selection, food or how to go to the toilet on the trail. While these are all important there are a number of other factors like getting a good nights sleep that come into play. Factors that impact our sleep quality include staying dry, protection from strong winds, and the site itself. Hikers with a lot of experience know what to look for but between spending your first night in a tent that you have put up yourself and gaining all that experience and there are often a lot of bad nights of sleep that everyone goes through to gain that experience. This podcast episode discusses setting up your tent at the end of the day to help with getting the best sleep you possibly can. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

Australian life expectancy has changed over the last century. In 1900 the average life expectancy for an Australian male was around 55 whereas now it's just on 80 years (women enjoy an additional four years). As I get older I’m becoming increasingly annoyed at societal expectations about how I’m supposed to behave. So while aging does impact on our physical endeavours is it a barrier to hiking? In this podcast episode we discuss the impacts of ageing on hiking. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube

Living in Canberra I have a strong connection to the NSW south coast and since my late teens I have spent a lot of weekends walking along this part of the coastline as well as spending a lot of time both on, and under the water. So, while there is no end of shorter walks available on this part of the coast the newly opened 35km Murramarang South Coast Walking Track was one that just resonated with me, and we couldn’t wait to check it out ourselves to see what sort of experience that it would provide as a multi-day walk. In the first 1/3 of this podcast episode, we catch up with Tom Pinzone from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to get and introduction to this newly created walk. In the second section of this episode, we bring you a series of on-trail recordings from our recent trip and what we thought as we progressed along the track. followed by our post walk review and what we thought about this trail. To get the best from this episode follow along with the written version complete with on trail images to provide some context. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker LinkedIn Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Pintrest Australian Hiker Youtube