Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Why walk?

That's a fair question: why walk in wild places? Trains, planes and automobiles can take us nearly anywhere we want to go, much faster too.
I recently heard several walkers talking on an ABC Radio Eye program. One talked about walking in the Wollemi and the Blue Gum Forest. Another, amazingly, walked right across the Simpson Desert, dragging a sled across the sand with the supplies that would keep him alive. Another talked about Mungo National Park, over on the far west side of New South Wales. Another talked about the Larapinta Trail, west of Alice Springs. And the Overland Track in Tasmania, linking Cradle Mountain with Lake St Clair.
The best way to connect deeply with these majestic places is on foot. Driving through them is like getting a 2-paragraph summary of a novel. Flying over them can be jaw-droppingly amazing, but it's still a summary, albeit full of design elements and geological formations you don't see any other way. Only by walking in a place can you intimately know it and respect it. I want to talk about some of the places I've walked, in this blog.
Do you walk in wild places? Why do you?

2 comments:

Vicki said...

I walk because I have a beautiful backyard that I want to enjoy. My favourite walk is the Giant Stairway and up Furber Steps - it is so strenuous there is no room in my head for stress. My other favourite is the Grand Canyon in Blackheath. I love seeing wildlife in their natural habitat. When walking through Leura Cascades last week (on my way to Katoomba Falls) I saw the most beautiful lyrebird....

Alba said...

Along the hallway at home can be pretty wild - never know if it's going to be a dog, cat or child pouncing!