hiking the aussie way

Audley clients Rosemary and Christopher take us on their journey of three distinct overnight treks through Australia

By Audley Travel

April 19^th, 2018

Our goal was to experience Australia, to smell her trees, to taste her fine wines, to walk over her dusty red earth. The caveat was that we didn’t want to share this moment with hordes of others. Luckily we only had to provide this vague guideline and Audley specialist Matt was able to hand pick the experiences that would let us get to know Australia in the intimate way that we envisioned. Through three different hikes Matt designed an itinerary that exposed us to Australia’s varied landscapes, making sure that each four day trek was isolated and far from crowds.

the maria island walk

Our first walk took us on an expedition through the towering eucalyptus forests, dramatic sea cliffs, and convict historical sites of Maria Island National Park. Starting in the already sparsely populated Hobart, Tasmania we traveled onwards to Maria Island where traffic disappeared and the population diminished to all but a few excited trekkers. Covering eight miles of ground each day we delighted at the sight of wild wombats and kangaroos while we experienced Tasmania as few get to, wild and untouched.

Christopher and I on day one of the hike

the great ocean walk

The Great Ocean Road is no longer a little known secret for some of Australia’s best coastal views. So instead of joining the masses we decided to take to the smaller walking paths that hug the shoreline which permit no more than 900 walkers a year. Based out of a lovely lodge we cumulatively walked thirty five miles in four days, spotting few others the entire time. In order to enjoy the famous view of The Twelve Apostles our organized trek ended with a helicopter ride that saw us looking down on the iconic rock structures. From above we saw groups of tourists that we were unaware even existed as we had been hiking.

The famous Twelve Apostles viewed from a helicopter

Christopher and I on The Twelve Apostles Walk

Remnants of a shipwreck on The Great Ocean Walk

Cheers to an incredible group and an incredible trek!

the arkaba walk

Our last hike found us sleeping out under the stars next to the dusty red rock escarpments of the Finders Range. The Arkaba Walk winds its way through the Southern Outback in a private nature conservatory just outside of Uluru- one of Australia’s most recognizable landscapes. Daytime found us delighting in sights of wild kangaroos while nighttime found us starring up as the Milky Way stretched from horizon to horizon across the pitch-black sky. The trail was often unmarked as our guide brought us to hidden areas well worth the effort, once again we saw Australia in all of her glory showing off it seemed just for us.