Best bushwalks in each state in Australia

Best bushwalks in each state in Australia

Well, here are my personal favourites anyway. Would love to hear about yours!

This time of year remains one of the best times to get out and about, and our country has such a wealth of wonderful tracks on which to lose yourself for a couple of hours, or a couple of days. I've been blessed to have walked in every state in the country, and although there are still many, many more tracks to explore, here are my current favourites. (Although the great thing about any list of 'favourites' is that it can change.)

ACT

With everything from snow-capped mountains covered in alpine vegetation, to wetlands, the ACT has a lot to offer the keen bushwalker. My favourite walk though is a fun little gem, found in my book Top Walks in NSW. It's called Square Rock, and finishes with a short climb up a ladder to an extraordinary 3D rock playground on the edge of a precipice. Views, wildlife and a bit of an adventure - all in a few hours. 9km return. Definitely recommended.

Square Rock, ACT

NSW

Admittedly I've done much more walking in my home state than any other, and so I have a much wider choice. My top 63 walks are in Top Walks in NSW. But my absolute favourite walk in the state remains the century-old National Pass. With dramatic cliffs, sensational views, plunging waterfalls, rainforest and NSW's only endemic bird species, it's a brilliant walk at any time of year, and in any weather. Allow half a day for the steep 6km loop.

The wonderfully precipitous path on the National Pass, Blue Mountains.

NT

So many great walks to choose from, from desert country to tropics, and my pick of the bunch is a little walk that few do. I haven't done it for a few years now, so I hope it is still as good, but my memories of doing it with my parents, a child in a backpack on my back, and a pregnant wife, are very vivid. It's called Chain of Ponds, is a 3.5km loop, and is in Trephina GorgeNature Park. Trephina Gorge itself is worth wandering up too - all within the less-visited East MacDonnell Ranges.

QLD

A couple of weeks ago I returned from the only "great walk" in Queensland, the new four-day Scenic Rim Trail. I do love those highlands in the south-east part of Queensland, and my favourite walk is actually on the other end of the Scenic Rim, in Lamington National Park. It's the 17km Tooloona Creek circuit, leaving from O'Reilly's, or the walk through to Binna Burra,  via Tooloona Creek rather than just the Border Track. There are Antarctic beech trees, gorgeous rainforest, and birds galore. A solid day out for those not used to walking, but a joy nonetheless.

SA

I must admit my walking experiences in SA are limited, and I am still hoping to get to that bushwalking mecca of the Flinders Ranges. I've had some great experiences though on Kangaroo Island. But my favourite walk is way up in the north-east corner of the state, along Cullyamurra Waterhole near Innamincka. Wonderful outback scenery, birds such as brolgas and the sad history of Burke and Wills. At the top of the waterhole are some extensive Aboriginal engravings. Camp along the waterhole and just explore as far as you want.

TAS

Oh, again, so, many walks from which to choose, and I've been blessed to have experienced so many. Cradle-Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is a favourite area to hike (how good are the Twisted Lakes?), as is Mount Field National Park. One of the most popular tourist sites in the country is the Tahune Airwalk on the Huon River, a raised platform walk on forestry land, 90 minutes drive south of Hobart. Just near it, however, is Hartz Mountains National Park, an untamed sub-alpine wilderness, with swirling winds, changing moods, and, if you hit it on the right day, some of the best views over Tasmania's south-west forests. Few people go here, and you will need to be well prepared, but the five-hour walk up Hartz Peak is an absolute cracker.

The track less-travelled: Hartz Mountains National Park, Tas.

VIC

From alpine areas to wild coastline and wonderful koala-filled forests along the Great Ocean Walk, as well as one of my favourite national parks in the country, the Grampians, Victoria has been known for many years as the best state for bushwalking in the country. My favourite walk is the multi-day 35km  loop to Sealers Cove and Refuge Cove in Wilsons Promontory National Park. Gorgeous remote beaches, wildlife including wombats, and some of the nicest coastal scenery in the country. It's no wonder this is such a popular national park for Victorians.

WA

Again, what a wealth of riches in this vast state, from the subalpine peaks of the Stirling Range National Park (again, one of my favourite national parks in the country), to the towering karri, marri and jarrah forests, to the floral bonanza of Fitzgerald River National Park. But I'm going to jump to a walk way up in the Kimberley, in Purnululu National Park. The multi-day walk up Piccaninny Creek, past one of the most beautiful and iconic landforms in Australia - the extraordinary Bungle Bungles - this walk will probably see you wading through waterholes, avoiding wildlife such as snakes, and dodging prickly spinifex. It's the only gorge within the park that you are allowed to explore, and I've met people up there camping for nine days. But even a hike one day in, then setting up a camp and exploring from there, will see you deeply immersed in one of the most spectacular parts of the country.

As always, I'm keen to hear from others - particularly so I can keep a lookout for my next walks.
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