Ask just about anyone who is a non-hiker to name a long distance hiking trail and chances are they will say the ‘Camino’ and by default this means the ‘Camino Frances’. also known as the ‘Way of Saint James’ or  the ‘Camino de Santiago’, This well-known pilgrimage trail starts in France, crosses the Pyrenees mountains which straddles the border of France and Spain, and continues into Spain for a total distance of 780km long. This trail which was World Heritage Listed in 1993 takes most people around 35 days to walk. But did you know that there are over 200 ‘Caminos’ with a handful attracting the attention of keen hikers who want a different experience than that on offer via the Camino de Santiago.

In this episode we talk with hiker Sheila Lunter who joined the  828km Camino del Norte (the Northern Way) and the 321km Camino Primitivo (the Original Way) in a ‘choose your own adventure’ option to find out about these ‘lesser known’ Camino's.  

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When we think about hiking there are two pictures that typically come to mind. The first is of moving from place to place over multiple days, carrying everything on our backs, sleeping in a small tent, then moving on and repeating the process the next day. The second picture we think about is driving to a nearby destination hiking for part of the day with a ‘smallish’ pack, and then returning to your car before driving home. But why is that?

In this podcast episode we look at 'basecamping' as an alternative to create a different type hiking adventure whereby you hike from and return to a central location. www.australianhiker.com.au

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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.

The more I investigated the concept of long-distance hiking, the more I liked the idea of doing one of the well-known USA Triple Crown trails. The US Triple Crown is a goal that many long distance hikers set themselves and consists of the

You may be surprised to know that Australia has its own Triple Crown trails, even if they aren’t as well known, or for that matter an official thing. In this podcast episode we talk with hiker Kevin Moss to find out all about his experience in completing the Australian Alps walking Track, the Bibbulmun Track, and the Heyson Trail  in a single Calendar year. www.australianhiker.com.au

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In 2012 we hiked in Bhutan and at that time we were trying to decide between two hikes. One of the choices we were looking at was the 350 km Snowman Trek which in the end we didn't end up doing. This trek is one of Bhutan’s and for that matter, one of the world’s, best known treks taking around 24 days to complete the whole hike.

In today’s episode we catch up with hiker Jonty Crane to find out more about his experience on the Snowman Trek. For me this is a bucket list hike and one that I was keen to find out more about! www.australianhiker.com.au

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In mid 2024 Larissa and her husband Brendan, hiked 1047km along the length of Ireland predominantly on ‘The Ireland Way’. This is a trail that has come across my desk from time to time and when Larissa first contacted us towards the end of last year, this was a great opportunity to find out about Ireland’s long trail. www.australianhiker.com.au

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The new Southern Headlands Walk is a one way, 20km walk between Narrawallee and Burrill Lake located near the southern township of Ulladulla. The new walk combines stunning scenery, beaches, wildflowers, cafes and accommodation options for those who wanted to play and stay! In this episode listen to our on trail recordings to see what we were thinking about this walk in real time and then at the end of the episodse we discuss how to get the best from this walk. www.australianhiker.com.au

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No one plans to get lost or injured on a hike but every year our state and territory police forces, with support of organisations like the state emergency services, parks services as well as local volunteers, respond to incidents of lost or injured hikers. In many cases the outcomes of these incidents are just a minor inconvenience to all concerned but at the other end of the scale, there is occasionally the unfortunate loss of life.

In addition to the human outcomes, the resources of the organisations providing assistance are often stretched and taken away from other roles they perform. So how can you minimise potential issues on-trail and if you do become lost, what steps should you take to ensure you are found as quickly as possible?

In this podcast episode we discuss this important content with the hope that you will never need to use it!

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In 2018 Tim hiked the Bibbulmun Track as a solo male hiker, but what’s it like hiking the Bibbulmun as a solo female hiker? In this episode Gill takes control of the microphone and asks Trudie all about her experience on-trail, along with the reasons for undertaking this trip, and what she came away with from this long distance hiking experience. www.australianhiker.com.au

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Once you decide to start doing overnight hikes there are additional pieces of gear that you need to consider like a sleeping bag, tent and also some sort of light. By far the most commonly used light for hikers is a headlamp but with so many to choose from how do you decide what to purchase? In this podcast episode we discuss key considerations for choosing a headlamp for hiking but having said that you may find that you end up with more than one! www.australianhiker.com.au

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In January 2025 over the Australia Day Long weekend Australian Hiker headed up to Kosciuszko National Park to walk the newly opened Snowies Alpine Walk. We, more specifically Gill, completed the whole walk in three days and I played a support role due to injury completing about 18km of the 56km walk.

While this walk was designed to be done over four days from a number of hikers that I have both talked to, and seen, do this walk as a 'choose your own adventure' option, and this seems to be how people are approaching it.

This podcast episode includes a series of on trail recordings from our three day trip and at the end of the podcast we provide an overview of what we thought of this trail as well as discussing options to help you make your own journey that much better. www.australianhiker.com.au

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