Our Hiking Blog: the greens

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Do you know Tasmania? No? then find out!

Want to get to know Tasmania?
Would you like to walk in a beautiful rainforest?
Stroll along a deserted ocean beach?
Climb a rugged mountain peak?
Camp beside a hidden tarn?
Ski across a drift of newly fallen snow?
Follow a meandering river through a misty gorge?

Then the Launceston Walking Club could be for you and their 44th Spectacular Wilderness show is definitely worth attending.

(Click on poster to get a full size view)

The show, on late this month, is a great way to see why we all love bushwalking in Tasmania.

The main feature this year will be the official launch, by Senator Bob Brown (one of Our Hiking Blog's national treasures) , of the first two DVD's of the clubs 16mm movie collection. One movie from each DVD will be featured in the show.

We can't make it, but maybe you live in Tasmania or will be visiting Launceston between the 25th and 29th May. Feedback from this spectacular event has always been wonderful so please try and support the Club and enjoy their Multi Media Wilderness Extravaganza!

Ian, from the Launceston Walking Club, is keen to present to show "on the mainland" in (possibly) November and we hope to arrange one in Geelong. Anyone who lives in the southern States and is keen to attend, or discuss with Ian the possibility of a show near you can contact us here by email. and we will forward your email.

Related Posts:
Joining the Greens
The River Runs Free - book review

Other Links:
Launceston Walking Club
Bushwalk Tasmania Forum

The River Runs Free - a great read about saving a wild river and more.

Tasmanian wilderness adventures?
Rafting the Franklin in a leaky boat?
Beating the government and saving a magnificant wild place?
The evolution of "the Greens" in Australia?

The River Runs Free has all this and more!

Sue has been immersed in a new book this weekend. Totally immersed. She read it from cover to cover in under 24 hrs.

She loved the stories of not only the battle to save the Frankin River from being dammed, but also of the author's adventures in the Tasmanian Wilderness.

The book, by Geoff Law, is The River Runs Free and it is published by Penguin.

'Law is one of Australia's great outdoor adventurers, authors and advocates.' - Bob Brown

Sue was so impressed by the stories in the book she immediately wrote to Geoff Law. As you can see from her story below, Tasmania and Wilderness have been a large part of our conciousness from the time Geoff started volunteering with The Wilderness Society right back in 1983.

Her email was as follows:

Dear Geoff,

After reading a review in The Age I bought a copy of your book The River Runs Free on Saturday afternoon and have just finished it at 11:40am Sunday morning. WOW!!!

In January 1983 my husband and I went to Tasmania for a two week holiday. We had been very aware of the campaign to stop the damming of the Franklin and joined the Wilderness Society in 1982. As mainlanders we had not been exposed to the negative sentiments toward those who were against the dam and were horrified when we spat on in Strahan and refused service in several business establishments. On returning from holidays we convinced family members to begin a letter writing campaign condemning the damming of the Franklin - arguing although they may never see the Franklin one day our children might want to, once convinced they became very committed.

We have always been enjoyed camping and have spent many hours under canvas. Our children joke frequently about their cheap holidays, but even now as adults the girls still find some time to join us briefly in the bush. Over the years our commitment to the environment has continued to grow as we realise the importance of wild places to our sense of well being.

In 1994 we returned to Tasmania with our children. We showed them places of incredible beauty and magnificence. We encountered animals so unafraid of humans they were almost tame. We watched enviously as bizarrely clothed people wondered off into the distance behind Cradle Mountain and emerged from the undergrowth around the edges of Lake St Clair. My third trip was very brief, accompanying an America student teacher to Hobart for a long weekend. We did manage a road trip to Cockle Creek, stopping at Dover for dinner. Even in that short amount of time she was able to appreciate Tasmania’s specialness. It wasn’t until 2002 I became initiated into the wilds of Tasmania and walked the Overland Track with my husband and our 17 year old daughter. It was quite bizarre to find a NO DAM triangle on a large tree at Frog Flats and to think it may have been there for 20 years. The triangle has since been removed. This is the link on “Our Hiking Blog” where she catches up with the tree again.

I/we have returned to Tassie many, many times since, to go walking in wild places and will continue to do so. Both of us chose to celebrate our 50th birthdays in Tasmania - my husband with a small group, walking the Overland. While I invited a group to walk the circuit around Cradle Mountain via Scott-Kilvert Hut. My brother-in-law at 52 had never seen snow until then. In December, we are planning to do the walk you describe in chapter 25 with our 17 yo son (having done it in June 2007 with our eldest daughter).

In November our eldest daughter will complete her studies in Outdoor Education and her final “trip” will be to raft down the Franklin. It is amazing to think without the dedication and hard work of so many, this wouldn’t be possible. How prophetic was the statement I made to my parents and siblings in 1983.

We take pride, that we in some very small way helped to make this possible and we would like to express our admiration and to say thank you to all who work so tirelessly to keep wild places wild.

Related Posts
Bob Brown Video- how he joined the environmental movement
"Our Hiking Blog" joins "The Greens"
The Spirituality of Bushwalking - one man's reflection

Bob Brown video

Now first of all apologies to our hiking purists for posting this video but I could not resist for two reasons. The first was that I wanted to learn how to post YouTube video's just for fun...and lets face it we havn't been hiking for a few weeks so the boredom levels are rising !!

The main reason I have posted this, is to show those of you who don't know, how Bob Brown got involved in the environmental movement in Australia. The work that he has done for the environment, especially in Tasmania, deserves hero status. Today I stumbled across this video that was created by Australian Filmmaker Mark Shea. Mark has a website called Overlander tv which is a travel vlog featuring travel documentaries from around the world. He recently interviewed Bob for this video.

It really appealed to me because of our love of Tasmania, the fact that Sue's dad Graeme once landed a plane on the beach at Lake Pedder (before it was flooded for hydroelectricity) , and we were in Strahan at the time of the blockade Bob talks about in the video. Thanks to Mark for the video.

Joining the Greens - or putting our votes where our mouths are...

Well, big decisions have been made in the Hiking Blog tent over the last few weeks. We have been committed to the environment for many years, especially more so in recent years as we hike in some pristine areas and our children grow older and the possibility of grandchildren looms on the (HOPEFULLY) far horizon.

We had never taken the final step and joined a political party but the decision was made and we have joined the Australian Greens - we assume this makes us officially Greenies a tag we are very proud of , thank you.

Why you may ask?
....well many reasons , too numerous to bore you with here. In summary, we are sick of both main stream parties taking the moderate line and not making hard decisions regarding issues such as green house emissions, logging, alternate fuels, human rights and education. We don't like the way Mr Howard has run Australia. While we may be travelling well, as are many of our friends, there is still a lack of social justice and lack of improvement in conditions for the "bottom" 5% of the population. The loss of a wider "community" feel is palpable.

So there we go, official Greenies and proud of it. If you want any more information about the Australian Greens, here is the link to their website,