WALKS IN MELBOURNE, FEB-JUN 09

Some of you at some point have expressed an interest in walking with us. Our walks range in length, but although many of these ones are quite long, they are not (usually) extremely challenging in terms of hills or terrain. We walk at a reasonable pace (i.e. not extremely slowly, but definitely not speedily), and I stop to take a lot of photos. The main point of these walks is to have cups of tea out of a thermos, and consume delicious picnic food in lovely settings.

If you would like to join us, these are the walks we have planned. You will likely need to arrange your own transport, but if other people are coming they might have cars, etc. ANYWAY. Here is our plan until June, which may change. If you’re interested in joining us, leave a comment here with your details, or email us.



Sunday 8th February
Thornbury – Coburg Lakes Reserve (Return)
8km
Walking along the Merri Creek bike path: flat, sealed
Public transport available halfway and at other points if you need to stop
Afternoon walk, leave at 3pm, afternoon tea at Coburg Lakes
BYO water, tea and a snack


Sunday 15th March
Maroondah Reservoir (nearly Circular)
21km

Walking along dirt roads: unsealed, some steep hills in the first half
Private transport needs to be arranged
All day walk, leave Melbourne around 8am
BYO water (for whole day), tea, lunch, snacks


Sunday 29th March
Thornbury – Western Ring Road (Return)
22km

Walking along the Merri Creek bike path: sealed and unsealed, flattish
Public transport available near path at several places
All day walk, leave around 9am
BYO water, tea, lunch, snacks


Sunday 26th April
Kinglake West – near Hazeldene (One-way)
22km

Walking along dirt roads: unsealed, hilly
Private transport needs to be arranged for drop-off and pick-up
All day walk, leave Melbourne around 8am
BYO water (for whole day), tea, lunch, snacks


Sunday 10th May
Federation Square – Thornbury (One-way)
23km

Walking along the Yarra and Merri Creek bike paths: sealed, flattish
Public transport available to most sections of the route
All day walk, leave Feddo around 9am
BYO water, tea, snacks (BYO lunch advised, although there are places to eat along the way)


Sunday 24th May
Olinda Walk o’ Doom (Circular)
It ends with an enormous, enormous hill. And we will jolly well defeat it. It’s actually not as long as these walks, it’s just that the first time we attempted it was the first long walk we did together and it was 35 degrees or something. And there was this hill. This huge hill.


Sunday 7th June
Two Bays Walk, Dromana – Cape Shanck (One-way)
20km/26km (depending on progress)
Walking along paths and roads: sealed, unsealed, boardwalks, some long climbs
All day walk, leave Melbourne very early
Private transport needs to be arranged for drop-off and pick-up
BYO water (for whole day), tea, snacks, lunch


Sunday 21st June
Thornbury – Rosanna (One-way)
19km

Walking along Merri Creek path and Yarra trail: sealed and unsealed, flattish
All day walk, leave around 9am.
Public transport available at a few points along the path, including end
BYO water, tea, snacks, lunch (advised, though there are a few places off-path to buy)

***

If you want to join us, you will need to bring the following things. This list may seem very serious business, but you do not want to be caught without these basics.

• Water. It’s really important to have enough to last you either the whole walk or until the next water-point. For a full day walk without any water points, you will need AT LEAST one litre, with more waiting at the end. Carrying two 600+mL bottles is advisable.

• Good, broken in walking shoes (cross trainers or sneakers are fine, sandals only on city walks, hiking shoes or boots are excellent so long as they’re broken in)

• Appropriate clothing (jeans aren’t great, and be aware of thigh chafing if you wear a skirt or dress)

• Appropriate weather-specific gear, especially on long, remote bushwalks – what you carry is all you have (minimum in all autumn walks: raincoat, scarf, beanie; sunhat, sunglasses, sunscreen)

• Bandaids for possible blisters, and consider bringing a small first-aid kit on remote walks (painkillers, any specific medication you might need)

• High energy snacks (nuts, dried fruit and chocolate are the usual recommendations)

• Lunch! This is clearly the most important bit! Usually we bring a thermos of tea (please BYO tea or coffee!) and a variety of tasty vegetarian morsels to share. Leftovers, legume-based salads, potatoes, rice dishes, quiche: all these are delicious. Let us know your dietry requirements, and remember your cutlery!

• Enthusiasm and willingness to talk about random shit, a camera, your phone so you can text people and say you're eating lunch on a mountain or something.

• A sense of your limits, and confidence in voicing them. There is no shame in having to stop to rest – in fact it is very important. We always pause at least once or twice to “look at the view” when we’re going up a hill! If things are getting absolutely too difficult, there is almost always the option of a shorter route, catching public transport, getting your chauffeur to pick you up early, calling a taxi, or turning back.

• Water. Don’t forget it, or I won’t let you walk with us. *Bossy/serious man is bossy/serious*

. . . I don't think I've forgotten anything! Yay! It would be fun if you can come along!