Five of us recently walked the entire 223km Larapinta Trail route west to east, including a highly recommended side trip. We took these notes along the way.

Why west to east? To all of us it felt more significant to finish in Alice Springs. That and it was less hassle not having to coordinate with a transport company*. A lot of ink has been spilled about walking east to west so the sun isn’t in your eyes. It wasn’t in ours ...

The creature challenge for readers this month is to identify the moth or butterfly in Ann’s excellent photo from the Gammon Ranges. For the moment, it could be either a butterfly OR moth – see below!

Butterflies and moths differ in their wings, antennae, body shape, activity patterns, and how they transform from larva to adult. 

The following is a brief account of a walk in 1992 round the perimeter ridge of Wilpena Pound completed by Steve Weir and Graham Dingley with Jan Dingley supplying back up support.

Anyone visiting Wilpena Pound can’t help noticing the broken ridge running all the way from Pompey Pillar to St. Mary’s Peak – that’s what makes it the ‘Pound’. It’s such an obvious feature that the idea of walking round the ridge probably jumps to most walker’s minds when they ...

What an epic:

‘The Aussie 10’ is a hike I’ve been planning for years: to summit the highest 10 peaks in Australia; but the timing to do this has been continuously thwarted. These mountains are all conveniently located within the Kosciuszko National Park, NSW. Also though, there are very interesting mountains in vicinity of the Aussie 10 – all about or above 2,100m, so my list of summits to ...

Members will no doubt be saddened by the widespread recent burn in Gariwerd / The Grampians. What started as two fires in late 2024 had by January 2025 merged into an enormous area in the central Grampians.

The map shows the final extent of the fires. Thanks to heroic efforts of firefighters, there was only minor damage to structures, but the toll on the bush and its wildlife was unavoidable. Special efforts have been made to ...

Whether we know it or not, ABW members owe a large debt to Peter Beer, who passed away in the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Sunday 22/9/2024. On joining in 1959, he and a handful of energetic, young members found a club entering its adolescence after foundation in 1946. It could not have been in safer hands.

Peter was one of those people who put their best into everything they do. He was a frequent and popular walk leader, and intrepid explorer of ...

The following article was written by Peter Beer in 1963. Much of what he wrote then is just as relevant and useful today. The things that have changed are interesting enough that I’ve added them as footnotes below. Ed.

The Pound is a large basin, some ten miles by four miles, drained only by Wilpena Creek, which is permanent near the Chalet[1]. The rock on the summits of the peaks is red quartzite and is underlain by purple slates in the ...

We packed our essentials into duffel bags and a day pack and were transported to Kathmandu airport after breakfast. After a 6 hour wait we were suddenly moving. There was a break in the weather and we needed to go immediately.

The flight to Lukla airport was 45 minutes but felt nothing like it. Upon seeing the welcome sign and airstrip, I felt the realisation of a dream was possible. So much needs to go right still but we are here, ...

Last month seven ABW members went on Nigel’s navigation weekend to the Hattah Lakes. We all came with map and compass at the ready and GPS devices nowhere to be seen. Here’s what we found:

So here’s what we learnt. Firstly, though, why learn this skill anyway?

Our ABW hearts had been collectively melting in anticipation of the 2024 Flinders Spectacular, and once again our objective was Mambray Creek’s Hidden George, the pantheon of rocky edifice pilgrimage.  For which Sammi Lanyon had dusted off her walk-leading Scepter and morphed we trekking minions into a yowl of bush bustling cavaliers.              

And whilst Sammi’s past Flinders Spectaculars had been four days long, this year’s Spectacular was down to just three, owing to some governmental campsite admin hick-ups,  therefore the itinerary was as follows:

Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby in good season

The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby Petrogale xanthopus is Australia’s prettiest macropod and largest rock wallaby. We’re incredibly lucky to live close to the stronghold of this arid zone specialist in the Flinders Ranges. Here, they are known as andu by the Adnyamathanha people.

Who can forget the sudden and unexpected joy of disturbing a pair in a gorge, to watch them seem to float over the boulders as they make their effortless escape.

The Via di Francesco or St Francis Way starts in Florence then continues on to Rome via Assisi.  This route is 550 km and takes 28 days of walking.  In October 2023, Martin, Bruce and I walked the southern section from Assisi and stopping at Rieti.  

Most of us are familiar with the exploits and misfortunes of the brilliant explorer and cartographer Matthews Flinders RN who sadly died in 1814 at the young age of 40.

After being held by the French on Mauritius for 6 years, he finally reached home and his wife in 1810 after having been away for 10 years.

As part of the great voyage of discovery, the Investigator was to chart those parts of Terra Australis (now Australia) not already charted by the ...

Mount Zeil is the most famous mountain you may never have heard of. Hiding away in the arid inland, it is not only the highest peak in the Northern Territory, it’s higher than any peak outside of the Eastern states. To be honest, it’s not much to look at, but the way it rises from the plain out to the west of the West MacDonnell ranges makes it a spectacular climb, and only difficult because of its remote location. 

All of ...

Are you thinking of joining ABW but put off by the idea of having to qualify? Well, join the club! That’s exactly how I felt when I first looked at becoming a member. 

I was a fit, experienced, multi-day walker and, to be honest, the thought of having to go on trial grated a little. Nobody likes tests.

Looking back, I now see a lot of good reasons why qualifying exists. And I also see that it didn’t make any difference to ...

Welcome to our first Tandanya magazine for a while, and a new beginning. A few words about this edition are worthwhile. 

Jules’s article is the jewel in the crown. It’s her words and photos from a travel diary, lightly edited and formatted into a web document. That’s also her photo on the cover. What makes it unique is the honest approach; there’s no bravado or exaggeration. Anyone planning the trip will get a clear view of the challenges ahead.

Lee’s article is ...

When hearing about a hike, the temptation to ask ‘how far are you hiking’ is innocent enough; however this question is fraught with uncertainties – and the truth is, there is no correct answer. As a South Australian completing the Heysen, I could cover 30-35km a day or 6km an hour if that section of track was favourable. For this Tasmanian Mt Anne Circuit, there were many sheer ridgeline-kilometres that took 2 hours to achieve each 1km. Timing and tyranny ...