The Great South West Walk

A comprehensive guide to the Great South West Walk, a 251km hike in south-west Victoria. The guide contains everything needed for the walk, including maps, track notes, history, geology, plants and animals, as well as what to take and how to get there.

Maps and track notes to 31 day walks along or around south-west Victoria's famous Great South West Walk.

The South West Coast Path National Trail (SWCP) measures a staggering 630 miles (1015km) from Minehead on the Somerset coast right round Devon and Cornwall to Poole in Dorset. The guidebook divides the route into 45 stages of between 12.5 to 37.5km, beginning and ending where amenities are available. Written by prolific outdoor writer Paddy Dillon, this guidebook is packed with lots of information for planning your walk, including clear step-by-step route descriptions and OS map extracts, public transport links, accommodation and facilities along the way. Also described is the 17-mile South Dorset Ridgeway, from West Bexington to Osmington Mills, which can be used as a scenic way to shave 42 miles off the total distance. This epic route takes in Exmoor National Park, five AONBs and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, besides various nature reserves and SSSIs. No other stretch of coastline compares for scenic splendour, historical sites and availability of refreshments, accommodation and public transport, making it easy to split the South West Coast Path into week or weekend-long sections.

What would move you to ditch your life and take off into the wild for six months? For Melbourne woman Laura Waters, it took the implosion of a toxic relationship and a crippling bout of anxiety. Armed with a compass, a paper map and as much food as she could carry, she set out to walk the untamed landscapes of New Zealand’s Te Araroa track, 3000 kilometres of raw, wild, mountainous trail winding from the top of the North Island to the frosty tip of the South Island. But when her walking partner dropped out on the first day, she was faced with a choice: abandon the journey and retreat to the safety of home, or throw caution to the wind and continue on – alone. She chose to walk on. For six months, she battled not only treacherous mountain ridges and river crossings, but also the demons of self-doubt and anxiety, and the shadow of an emotionally abusive relationship. At the end of Te Araroa (‘the long pathway’, as it is translated from Maori) it was the hardearned insights into mental health, emotional wellbeing and fulfilling relationships – with others as well as with herself – that were Laura’s greatest accomplishments. She emerged ‘rewilded’, and it transformed her life.

Walking map at 1:50,000 scale covering both Lower Glenelg National Park and Cobboboonee National park including the Great South West Walk.

The all-new, expanded follow-up to southwestern British Columbia’s best-selling hiking guidebook—now featuring trails on the islands and northern Washington. For nearly fifty years, David and Mary Macaree’s iconic 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia has been the province’s most popular and most trusted hiking guide, with more than 100,000 copies sold to date. Author Stephen Hui carries on the Macarees’ legacy in 105 Hikes in and around Southwestern British Columbia—an all-new, expanded follow-up inspired by their beloved classic. With an additional selection of trails on the Gulf Islands and in Washington’s North Cascades, options for hiking with children, and rainy day recommendations, 105 Hikes covers a wider area and wider range of abilities than its predecessor. Like the Macarees, Hui provides detailed information about how to get to each trailhead (including transit options, where available), distance and elevation gains, estimated hiking times, and points of natural or historical interest. But he also includes all-new features such as an at-a-glance summary of all the hikes in the book; tips for hiking safely and ethically; clear, topographical color maps; a rating system for hike quality and difficulty; Indigenous place names where appropriate; and shorter or longer options for every outing.