Interesting Articles on the Aussie Peace Walk Website

AussieWalk members and friends contribute many stories for the Aussie Peace Walk website. Here is a list of some of these stories:

How It All Began and Harry & Kathleen’s IML Adventure – dating back to 1990. Sadly Harry passed away in 2021 but his legacy lives on.

Meet a Master Walker – Elisabeth’s achievement in walking every one of the currently active IML walks (subsequent to this article she has now also completed the newest IML walk in Croatia).

Meet IML Walkers Yvonne & Jamie – what would have been a one-off event in Canberra that has turned in to a love of the IML through the friends they have made along the way.

Walking For Pleasure – combining a social outlet with physical activity for those who live in the Canberra and surrounding regions.


Sneak Peek – 2021 Aussie Peace Walk Routes

Have you entered the 2021 Aussie Peace Walk? If so, you might be interested in having a sneak peek at the various walking routes. If you select the rectangular box at the top right of the map, which is the “view larger map” option and you will then have the option to toggle on or off the various routes. This can also be done in the smaller version of the map by clicking the button on top left of the map (the rectangular one with the small arrow).

If you have not yet entered it is not too late to do so. Go to https://aussiepeacewalk.com.au/ and select the orange “Register Now” button. But hurry, online entries close at midnight (Canberra time) on Tuesday 23 March. You can also enter on the weekend of the event, but the entry cost increases.

Did you know that you can also download these maps to your phone (or hand held GPS)? There are several steps needed to achieve this, but they are all relatively simple:

  1. Save the 2021AussiePeaceWalkmaps to your computer (right mouse click to “save link as”)
  2. Then you can either email the GPX file to yourself or add it to your Dropbox, so that you can then access the file on your phone
  3. Open your email or Dropbox App on your phone and find the GPX file.
  4. You will need a mapping App on your phone. There are many options available, but we have successfully used myTracks for iPhone and OsmAnd for Android
    – these are the icons:
    myTracks App icon for iPhone   OsmAnd for Android phones
  5. If emailed – press and hold the file attachment and it will prompt you to open the file – you may need to select the preferred App
  6. If using Dropbox – find the file and select the 3 dots (…) to the right of the GPX map and you will see a number of options appear (eg Create transfer, Copy link etc) – scroll down until you see the Export option.
    When you click on Export you may see several App options and may need to scroll to find your mapping App.

Tips for using the myTracks App
When using myTracks over the event weekend, select the “file folder” icon at the bottom of the screen (3rd from left) and then select the desired track/map route.
To zoom in on your location, select the arrow icon at the bottom of the screen (2nd from right).
The world icon (2nd from left) will give you the option to change from standard map view to satellite or hybrid view.
Unfortunately the checkpoint locations are not visible in myTracks.

Tips for using the OsmAnd App
If you have more than one track loaded you can turn them on or off by pressing the button on the bottom left hand corner of the screen, choosing ‘configure map’, then ‘gpx track’.
When OsmAnd prompts you to download offline maps make sure you use WIFI (not mobile data) and have 600MB free on your phone, it downloads both Australia and Oceania. You don’t really need them, but it enables the app to work in areas that have no internet connectivity, and will be cheaper in the long run for data downloads.


80km Bondi Manly Walk

The Sydney Morning Herald recently published an article about developing the 8okm route from Bondi Beach (south of Sydney) to Manly Beach (South of Sydney), passing the iconic Opera House and crossing Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is already possible to walk most of this route, but it is not well signed in places, so we are looking forward to this full route developing further over the next few years.

AussieWalk already has IVV walks that cover part of this area: Spit Bridge to Manly 10km walk and part of our Sydney City 12km route. Plus we extend the walk up to 16km south from Bondi Beach to the Malabar headland. See maps and details on our Permanent Trails page.


Illawarra walkers enjoy a capital weekend

A group of walkers standing in front of the Albert Hall building.A wonderful weekend was spent in Canberra at the Walking Festival (CWF) by some walkers from the Illawarra region of New South Wales. Our walks in the CWF were wonderful and we all hope to be back next year. We have seen parts of Canberra we would not have otherwise seen — the Botanical Gardens were great and walking around the lake was wonderful. There were 18 of us, some first-timers, walking 5km, 10km and 21km. All having a great time. Thanks to the organisers and volunteers for a really enjoyable weekend — even the weather was perfect.

Our usual walk is from Coalcliff to Scarborough Pub across the Seacliff Bridge. And what a walk it is, running parallel to the ocean we see dolphins, whales, sea eagles and we’ve even spotted a seal. Our group comprises anyone who wants to walk, no invitation is required, you just turn up. We walk to Wollongong a couple of times each year and often to Austinmer for a coffee and muffin — sometimes a swim along the way. We have built strong friendships and seen each other through good times and bad. We extend our walking days to include other social get-togethers. Walking together keeps us physically fit and socially active as it always includes coffee.


Tiptoe through the tulips

Floriade 2017

More photos on the AussieWalk Facebook page

Floriade is on again in Canberra, and is celebrating its 30th birthday. This means that the Heart Foundation early bird walks are also on again, where you get the opportunity to complete a 45 minute walk around Floriade before the gates open to the general public. The walks are free, but a donation to the Heart Foundation is always appreciated – a collection tin is available at the walk.

Floriade early bird walks start at 8am each Monday-Saturday of Floriade, which runs from 16 September to 15 October 2017. There are no early bird walks on Sunday. Each walk is approximately 2.5km.  A number of AussieWalk and Walking For Pleasure members are assisting as volunteers to lead these walks, and we would love to see you there.

In particular, mark your calendars for these dates, when AussieWalk/Walking For Pleasure has a scheduled walk immediately following the earlybird walk:

Saturday 23rd Sep: complete the early bird walk then a lap of the central basin of Lake Burley Griffin.

Saturday 14th Oct: complete the early bird walk then a walk along Anzac Parade past the memorials, including two new memorials since we last walked here.

We meet near the crossing on Commonwealth Avenue – see the blue flower on the map below. Arrive 5-10min early to sign in, so you are ready to start the walk at 8am.


C2DW makes donation to Heart Foundation ACT

Two women from Canberra Two Day Walk presenting a cheque to two Heart Foundations administrators.

Kathleen Berg, OAM, and Diana Marshall, C2DW president, present a cheque to Tony Stubbs, CEO, Heart Foundation ACT, and Diane Percy, Walking and HeartMoves coordinator.

C2DW president Diana Marshall and event co-founder Kathleen Berg, OAM, presented a $3,000 cheque to the Heart Foundation ACT at the Women with Heart awards ceremony on 31 August.

“On behalf of the Canberra Two Day walk committee and the Canberra Walking Festival, I would like to thank the Heart Foundation for all of your invaluable support over the last year,” Diana remarked. “In particular I wish to acknowledge the support provided by Diane Percy and the national Heart Foundation Walking team. Your support of our event has enabled us to keep our event costs down, which we can then pass on to our participants.”

The cheque represents donations from walkers with AussieWalk Heart Foundation Walking, participants at the Canberra Walking Festival, and from Canberra Two Day Walk Inc.


Meet our walkers: Maria and Paul from the Netherlands

A man and a woman in front of a sign for Adelong Falls Gold Mill Ruins.

Maria and Paul will be walking in Rotorua (19-20 March) and in Canberra for the fifth time this year. Their previous visits were in 1999, 2006, 2010, and 2013.

Paul has one sister and two brothers living in Australia so they enjoy being with family as part of their visit. “But we also like to see a different environment and meet other walkers,” says Maria. “You meet other walkers who you see again at other events and even if you do not speak their language, you can still be friends.”

Maria has some school friends who emigrated to New Zealand “so it is nice to be able to visit there as well, as the walking events are close together we can do it on the same trip.”

The couple live in the Province of North Braband, in the township of Deurne, a municipal area comprising several small towns and approximately 30,000 residents.

They had already been walking in international events throughout Europe before the IML was established in 1986. “Our scope of international walking was extended once we joined the IML,” Paul notes. “Apart from Israel, China, Indonesia, and Lithuania, we have walked everywhere there is an IML walk.” Some of those countries include Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.

The pair walk regularly in certain locales such as nearby Nijmegen where Maria has walked 42 times and Paul 27 times. When Paul is not walking, he sets up his caravan beside the day four route and offers drinks to the walkers. They have also walked more than 30 times in Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. In 2014 they received their IML 150 medal award [for completing 450 walks] in Fulda, Germany.

At home, they have been members of the Limburg area of the KNBLO, the national walking association of the Netherlands, since 1961. The Royal Netherlands Walking Association organises the Nijmegen Four Day Walk which will celebrate its 100th event this year on 19-22 July. Walkers may choose from 30, 40 or 50 kilometre routes each day.

They have been members of the Wiehengebirgsverband Osnabruck in Wesser, Germany, for 48 years, and the Fulda Walk Club in Germany for 19 years. The duo even led their own walking group from 1961 to 1993.

Paul and Maria are extremely keen walkers, racking up 1,000 kilometres annually. “In our walking books, we have records for more than 50,000 kilometres so far.”

Apart from normal walking events, we also do long distance walking. Our longest trek was from Deurne to Lourdes in southern France where we walked about 1,300 kilometres over 40 days with a full backpack,” Paul adds. Long distance walking usually features routes of 160 kilometres or more over a number of days. There are also events like the Kennedy Marches where walkers must complete 80 kilometers within 20 hours.

When they aren’t walking, they enjoy bicycling. “In our younger days we also did a lot of swimming,” Maria recalls. She volunteers with the Red Cross while Paul assists numerous people with completing their tax forms and answering correspondence.

Four adult walkers seated and one man standing in front of a caravan.

Four Australian walkers enjoying Paul’s hospitality during the Nijmegen walk.




Four days in France: the Randonnee de 4 Jours in Chantonnay

A photo of a man with signposts overhead.IML walker Anthony (Tom) Buykx has participated in 18 of our C2DW events. He has also walked in 20 other IML countries including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and the USA.

A walker for over 60 years, Tom enjoys the IML walks for many reasons including his friendship with other walkers, a sense of achievement at the end of each walk, the experience of visiting other countries and his collection of IML medals and awards.

A member of the Catholic Walking Club of Victoria, a bushwalking group, he has completed more than 20 walks with his club so far this year. An earlier version of this story appeared in the August 2015 edition of the Catholic Walker, the CWCV newsletter.

R4JCV, the Randonnee de 4 Jours en Chantonnay Vendee, is a four-day IML walk around Chantonnay in the Vendee department of France. Chantonnay is a country town (about 8,600 inhabitants) in western France, about 1 and 3/4 hours by train and bus from the historical city of Nantes.

Every year, commencing on Ascension Thursday (a public holiday in France), the town is host to walkers from all over Europe, with a sprinkling of visitors from further away. I think I was the only one from down under in 2015. Earlier this year, at the IML walks in Rotorua and Canberra, I had met a French walker who rekindled my interest in the Chantonnay walks which I had done once before, in 2008.

And so I arrived in Chantonnay on Tuesday, 12 May 2015. Because I had made my travel arrangements fairly late, I had been unable to get accommodation in town. Thus I finished up in a hotel five kilometres out of town, in a wonderful setting on the shore of a lake. In this hotel I happened to meet the same Frenchman again. He kindly offered me transport to and from the start/finish.

Each day there were five routes, three of which qualified as IML walks. I opted for the 21km/day routes. The walks all began well out of town so each morning several buses lined up to take walkers to their starting points. The walkers’ guidebook showed very simple sketch maps of the routes, but they were all so well sign-posted that maps were not necessary.

Alongside the narrower paths and tracks the grass had been cut to facilitate the walking and in a few fields a path had been cut through the growing crop. There was much variety in the countryside here: grassy meadows with cream-coloured cows, ploughed brown fields with young green plants coming up, here and there a vineyard, patches of forest, a lake, a stream. The country is quite undulating, the roads and tracks are often hedged with shrubs and trees, and if not hedged they provide lovely views.

Every six or seven kilometres there was a rest area and/or checkpoint. The rest areas (“ravito” in the local lingo, an abbreviation of “ravitaillement”) were well set up with tables full of fruit, chocolate, brioches (a bakery product that is not quite bread and not quite cake, but very nice), muesli bars and drinks (but no cups!) all for free. Walkers had to provide their own cups, and to promote this the organising walking club sold quite nice souvenir cups for a few euros each. The entry fee was 24 euros.

On Ascension Thursday, 14 May, we started from somewhere south of Chantonnay. It was overcast and there was some rain from time to time. Some of the tracks were quite muddy, but everyone seemed to cope with the conditions. The route passed only one village, and then really only its outlying houses.

In the afternoon, the weather cleared up nicely. By then I had reached the finish in the local park, where walkers received a “sandwich”, a drink and an apple. The local brass band provided entertainment and the local traders had set up stalls to supply more food and drink. There was a happy atmosphere, just like we have in Canberra at the end of each day, but with many more people. I was glad to catch up with several walkers whom I had met on previous IML walks in other countries.

On Friday, 15 May, the buses took us to a point west of Chantonnay. The first part of the walk was along the forested edge of a large artificial lake. There were people fishing in the lake and camping on the shore. Fishing and hunting are popular pastimes in France — along the tracks I often noticed signs advising vigilance in the hunting season.

The second “ravito” was in the grounds of Chateau l’Auneau where the owner had three vintage cars on display. This property and several other areas we walked through were clearly marked as only open for the day of the walk.

After my return to the park I watched a local folk dance group, mostly senior citizens, go through their elegant paces. I met up again with my French friend, but now to say “au revoir” because he had to be home over the weekend. To get back to my hotel, and for transport on the Saturday and Sunday, I had already put the hard word on the driver of a busload of Belgian walkers and he readily allowed me to travel with them. Yes, walking unites us — “nos jungat ambulare” is the motto the IML.

On Saturday, 16 May, we commenced our walk somewhere northwest of Chantonnay. In anticipation of a forecast sunny day I had bought sunscreen in town, but it was overcast all day. The day’s route was through gently undulating farmland with fields of wheat, barley, oats, rye, and canola. It was very open country and I did not mind the cloud cover. There were two villages on our route, but, as the other day, we did not go through them, only their outskirts. I think it might have been nicer to walk through the village centres, to see their streetscapes, squares, churches and Saturday busy-ness.

At one point we came to and walked alongside a railway line until we had to cross. it. A marshal was stationed here to guide us. There were two ways to do it, he said, but one of them was illegal — over the embankment and rail track. The other was through a culvert under the line. There were steps to get into and out of it, but with only about 1.2 metres [four feet] from wet floor to stony ceiling it was not easy to get through. I was not the only one to knock my head painfully.

The day’s entertainment in the park was provided by a dance group from Barcelona, a city only fairly recently admitted to the IML. There was also a stall where one could sample Spanish goodies, sausages and wine, a good promotion for their walking event.

On Sunday, 17 May, we had our first perfectly sunny day which was wonderful. We were taken east of Chantonnay and started walking at Lake Rochereau. The water was very still with lovely reflections, including those of Chateau Launay. After crossing a tributary flowing into the lake we made our way up to the chateau and the first “ravito” for the day in a barn in its grounds. Once again we skirted the outer parts of a village, this one Sigournais, and eventually we walked back through the centre of Chantonnay to the finish. There were many family groups walking the shorter distances this day, obviously enjoying a good Sunday outing.

At the finished I received a medal and a certificate and had my IML passport stamped. [Note: In all IML events the participant has to walk every day of the event. Most IML walks are run over two days, but some take place over three or even four days.] On the lawns of the park there were signs in the shape of old mileposts showing the names of other IML towns and their distances from Chantonnay. Of course, Canberra and Rotorua were the most distant. This afternoon the local pipe band (bagpipes are not exclusively Caledonian) made themselves heard, albeit not quite like the Scotch do it.

The following day I travelled to the other side of France for a six-day walk in the Jura Mountains near the Swiss border. [But that’s another story ….]

A photo of Lake Rochereau in France.

Lake Rochereau



Buen Camino part 2

Photo of a man standing on El Camino in Spain.Mark Schipp concludes his story …

Inspired by the experiences of many other walkers from our group who have done the pilgrimage (some more than once!), I walked the Camino in June. I had been planning to do the walk to mark my 50th birthday but once I started to think and read about doing the walk I had to do it this year.

From Paris I took a train down to Bayonne where I waited a few hours before catching a bus to the traditional starting point of St Jean Pied du Port but, as I got off the train, another passenger saw that I was a pilgrim and he offered to drive me in his car to St Jean because he had been a pilgrim himself. My first experience of “the Camino provides” occurred before I had even started!

I had never been to Spain before (and do not speak Spanish) so was not quite sure what to expect. The countryside varies from flat dry agricultural land to beautiful green rolling hills and dark forests carpeted with ferns and mosses. I was fortunate to have good weather, largely overcast, with a few warm days and a couple days of rain. The worst parts of the walk were one night of bed bugs and getting bitten by a dog one day — but all Camino stories include bed bugs and dogs! I had a real sense of achievement once I had crossed the Pyrenees on the first day. I met many other pilgrims (some of us kept together, some we saw only for a day or two) and I was amazed at the size and ornate beauty of the churches in what are sometimes quite small towns.

I was very impressed with the friendliness of the locals along the route and I always found people going out of their way to provide directions and assistance. The path cuts through a number of villages and in some cases right through farms so you have a good opportunity to see rural life in Spain — always interesting to a veterinarian from the Agriculture Department! I greatly enjoyed seeing farmers with their flocks of milking sheep.

I arrived in Santiago after 28 days with some time to spare so I walked on to the coast and visited the towns of Finisterre and Muxia. In ancient times, as today, pilgrims carried back home a scallop shell from one of these towns as a sign of having successfully completed their pilgrimage.

To prepare for the Camino I increased my regular walking around Canberra and a few times I walked with my backpack loaded up with weights. A good piece of preparation was doing the St Clements pilgrimage from Yass to Galong over three days in April with others from my walking group. Most guidebooks recommend taking about 33 days to cover the almost 800km from St Jean to Santiago but I walked a little faster than this, averaging 30km a day. Initially I was not confident I could cover the distance in the time I had available. Later I found that on some afternoons there was no accommodation remaining where I had planned to stop and so I had to walk on further. Some days where I had planned to walk only 25km I ended up walking 40km.

People walk the Camino for a variety of reasons. Some are true pilgrims carrying out a religious activity, others are interested in the exercise, or the sense of achievement, or in meeting new people. Some walk to have an extended period of time for free thought, or to recover from divorce or bereavement. I found it difficult to articulate why I was doing the walk when I was struggling with blisters, interrupted sleep or loneliness, but having completed the walk, I feel a real sense of accomplishment and confidence to do something similar in the future.

End of part 2.
Photo of a man followed by a flock of sheep in Spain


Buen Camino part 1

Photo of a concrete walk marker with scallop and a backpack.Mark Schipp, our vice-president, also walked the Camino during the northern summer. Here is part 1 of his story.

The Camino de Santiago is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes ending at the city of Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. The most popular route (70% of all pilgrims) is called the Camino Frances which begins on the Franch side of the Pyrenees in the beautiful village of St Jean Pied du Port and ends almost 800km later at Santiago. This little exchange was heard in St Jean in the pre-dawn:
“Excuse me, which direction do I take?”
“One kilometre down and then 800 up!”

The route became established in the 9th century and has been growing in popularity over the past 20 years, reflected and reinforced by documentaries, books and films about The Way. The remains of St James, one of the apostles, are said to be housed in the cathedral in Santiago. Popular pilgrimage years include those where St James Day (25 July) falls on a Sunday. Last year (not a holy year) 215,880 pilgrims received their compostela in Santiago, generally during the spring/summer/early autumn seasons.

A compostela is a certificate showing that the pilgrim has completed at least the last 100 km of St James Way. Last year twice as many people walked only the last 100km rather than started from St Jean. Pilgrimage can be done on foot (87%), by bicycle (12%) or by horse (1%). Most walkers are over 30 years of age and there is an almost even split between the sexes. Australians are the 10th most common nationality on the Camino.

The route is very well catered for as small villages are coming back to life in order to service the needs of pilgrims. Cafes, bars and albergues (dormitories) are popping up along the route. Most days there is a cafe or bar every 5 or 10km, although there are a few sections with longer stretches where the walker is advised to carry food and water. The route wanders through some beautiful scenery across the Spanish countryside, including ancient cities with magnificent cathedrals.

Accommodation is usually in the form of bunk beds in dormitories and is relatively cheap at 5-12 euros per night. In some albergues you may cook your own meals while others provide a fixed price pilgrim’s menu (three courses, wine and bread for about 10 euros). So this is not an expensive holiday. To access these albergues you must show your credencial (pilgrim passport) featuring stamps of the places you have visited (a nice souvenior at the end of your trip). Your credencial is used in Santiago as evidence of your pilgrimage to obtain your compostela certificate.

Most pilgrims carry their packs, decorated with a scallop shell, but some choose to use a service that transports your pack forward so you only need to carry a day pack. This is a very useful option if you have blisters or a steep climb ahead of you!

The Way is very well-marked with yellow arrows pointing the direction and supplemented by the sign of the scallop shell along the route where it follows main roads and in more urban environments. There is a good mix of walking on formed paths, alongside crops or along the old Roman road.

End of part 1.

Photo of a compostela certificate