Australian Hiker

Every year Australian Hiker touches base with suppliers, importers and manufacturers of hiking equipment to find out what new and exciting products are on the market and well as to see how the industry is trending. This year the Expo was held in Melbourne over two days and provided a chance to catch up with suppliers face to face and to talk about the new gear and get up close and hands on. In addition we also caught up with a number of suppliers remotely as well as attending a travelling road show the week after. To get the best from this episode go to the Australian Hiker website on our episode page and go to the show notes to see images of what we are talking about in this podcast. In next week's episode, episode 285, we'll bring you the second half of these interviews and also talk about where we see the industry heading. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Threads Austra

The 116km Malerweg Hiking Trail, also known as the “Painters’ Way” is located near Dresden/Pirnain Saxon Switzerland, Germany. In this podcast episode we catch up with hiker Mike Railton who undertook this walk in 2023 to find out about this multi-day European 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 Threads Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Youtube

Valentine's Day, while once considered just another American holiday, is now firmly entrenched in Australian culture. The day is usually associated with chocolate, flowers and dinner out, but is this just lazy romance? Why not change things up a bit by thinking outside the box and blending hiking with Valentine's Day for a romantic date out bush! In this podcast episode we look at some of the considerations for combining hiking and romance. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Threads Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Youtube

This walk can best be described as an urban coastal walk and one that provides a great overview of the Kiama region of the NSW South Coast inlacing its Indigenous, European and geological history. While you can do this walk over two days it's best to think of this as a long day walk. Listen to this podcast and follow along in the write up to see how we went on the day. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Threads Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Youtube

If you do longer hikes, particularly ones that involve going off marked trails or if you hike in unfamiliar areas, you may be required to make some assumptions. The problem with assuming is you don’t always get it right and as the old saying goes, if you assume you can end up making an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’. In this podcast episode we go through a multi-day example and look at the positives and negatives of making assumptions when planning your hikes. www.australianhiker.com.au   Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms Australian Hiker Facebook Australian Hiker Instagram Australian Hiker Threads Australian Hiker Twitter Australian Hiker Youtube

In today’s episode, episode 279, we talk with Hannah James about her recent 5,000km journey down the east coast of Australia – a journey that came to be known as the Long Way South. This is one hell of a story so strap yourselves in! 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 Youtube

The term staycation was first is thought to have been coined in 2005 and has now come into common usage and while there are a couple of definitions it essentially means taking a holiday with limited travel and staying close to home. In this podcast we discuss the concept of taking a hiking 'staycation' in your local area and at what options you have for getting out and about without necessarily having to break the bank. 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 intent of a shakedown hike is to try out new gear or new processes prior to a trip so you can iron out any bugs, familiarise yourself with new systems, balance your pack so that it’s comfortable, and assess your fitness in terrain similar (or worse) than what you have planned. But how many of us ever do them and should we really bother? In this podcast episode we look in detail why, and when you should do a shakedown hike. 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

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 Austral

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 Pintres

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