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View Full Version : An Austrailian Triple Crown...in One Year?



colbys
02-15-2006, 00:50
Ok Im Just Throwing This Out Here,i Dont Know If Anyone Has Ever Done This,or If Its Possible(hey ,they Said A Calender Year U.s. Triple Crown Wasnt),im Not From Oz Or Down Under Or Whatever The Slang Term Is These Days..
Ive Been Surfing The Net And From What I Can Tell,the 3 Longest Hiking Trails In Austr...are The Bicentennial Trail(4750 Miles),the Heysen Trail(approx 750 Miles),and The Bibbulmun Track(650 Miles).
Would It Be Possible To Do All These In A Calender Year?
6150 Miles,compared To Skurka's Trip ,doesnt Seem Like Much,and Flyin Brian And Matt's Triples Were More Miles,so I Would Think It Would Be Doable..
Of Course,i Dont Know Much About Weather,terrain,and The Sole Fact That A Foreigner Would Only Have A 6 Month Visa,there Are Alot Of Logistical Problems Involved...
Not Sure If These Are The Most Popular,but As Far As Length They Seem To Be The Most Miles Possible.
What Does Everyone Else Think?

Nokia
02-15-2006, 03:19
I think it's possible. Dpends I think on how much of it is in the desert/outback. Oh and I think it's amazing that you capitolized every word in your post! :)

Squeaky 2
02-15-2006, 07:08
i have been to the oz outback. 6,000+ miles would be very tough due to the water problems. i have heard stories about a trail from near adelaide to cairns. it sounds like the bicentenial trail you mentioned. i heard that water sources are so far apart you need pack animals. it sounds like a hell of a challenge. i also met an ozzy guy named Matt on the AT in 03 who hiked a 1500 mile trail near the west coast around the perth area.

colbys
02-15-2006, 11:36
the one near perth is the bibbulmun track.looks like an easy one compared to the other two.im sure a person could blow through that one quick.although water is sometimes hard to come by there also.and also alot of brush fires in the summer,and bad winds fanning the flames.
yeah it does sound like a hell of a challenge...if i get a wild hair and i win lotto,maybe ill think about it,might even get my own interview on trailcast!!! what a great thing that is!!

Ridge
02-15-2006, 15:14
I've hiked in Australia and can tell you its fantastic. Long trails usually always have private property sections to cross. Trail reroutes, due to fire or fire threat, logging, etc. is common place and usually done at the last minute. The reroutes are hard to follow, as are the trails sometimes. The locals are friendly and very helpful. Water is usually found. Water tanks are set up at different locals, usually shelters. I carried a sierra zip wood burner stove and I'm glad because of the trouble with obtaining stove fuels.
GPS units and maps and the knowledge of how to use the two together is highly recommended. Don't try a trip like this without the knowledge of navigation with or without a GPS and maps are an absolute necessary as is a compass. Also, the big problem, is getting a visa to stay in the country long enough to hike these trails. Usually 90 days and you're out of there. I don't have a clue how to get around this problem, except to marry an Aussie and take them with you.

Ridge
02-15-2006, 15:28
If anyone has the answer on how you can stay in Australia (legally) long enough to hike a long trail, I would like to hear it. Remember, marrying someone from Australia is not an option for me. I also know the gov there is tough on those who violate their visa laws.

Squeaky 2
02-15-2006, 15:45
work visa's are your best option, i got one to travel oz, they last for 12 months. there is an age restriction, after which its harder to obtain. it used to be 27. go to your nearest australian embassy and see what they can do. if you take all the details of you plan and tell them you want to hike 6000+ miles in oz they will do all they can to help.

colbys
02-15-2006, 20:25
yeah,with the work visa,dont you have to show em a certain amount of money in your account to support yourself,and if youre there on a supposed "work" visa,dont you have to kinda report your earnings?or could you just take off and go hike.
this is food for thought,and im half joking,but if you use pack animals on the bicentennial trail,wouldnt that be a supported hike and wouldnt be a very purist thing to do.i mean shame on the person who doesnt hike every blaze of 4,000+freakin miles and rides on a donkey who also carries his water so said person can survive... jackass blazing.....gasp!!!
ill make sure to call "friends of the bicentennial trail "and report you for being supported and not a purist..

fiddlehead
02-15-2006, 22:28
i say go for it. but water will be scarce. When i hitchiked across Austrailia in '93, i met a guy who was pushing a cart full of water crossing the whole continent. It is very dry and very hot and no shade for much of it. Try to have fun!

titanium_hiker
02-15-2006, 23:07
the bicenntenial trail is not meant for hiking- it is a horses trail. The resupply points are too far apart for footwalker to manage.

Have you looked at the trails in Tasmania?

Rick Bayley
02-16-2006, 00:13
A few points:

1. I never met a hiker with anything good to say about the Bicentennial Trail. It was devised primarily as a horse trail and avoids wilderness areas and involves a lot of road walking. I have heard this is an irritating as it is never far from the ridge of the Great Dividing Range, coastal mountains that run North-South. There is talk of putting in an amazing hiking trail that runs this route and I can imagine this would be a really special experience. However, it's just talk. Some guys have hiked the ridge of the Dividing Range, but these are hardcore machete-wielding bush bashers rather than regular hikers.

2. Most Foreigners can stay in Australia for up to 12 months if they apply in their home country via an Embassy or High Commission. It is only the electronic visa which is valid for 90 days although this can be extended to a maximum of six months online these days once in Australia on payment of about $100 (more or less). It is easy to do, I should know: I'm British and did it myself last July. Staying in Australia for 6 months is much easier than trying to do the same in the US: you guy really make us jump through hoops. Unfortunately, Americans can't get the working visa for one year, nor can anyone over 30. You don't automatically have to shack up with a local to stay for any length of time but many of them are quite attractive, so it's worth a go.

3. I thru-hiked the Bibbulmun Track for the second time over 7 weeks last year. It is one of my favourites and is very much like the AT, in fact they even stole the idea of the 3-sided shelters, though these are newer and the basic design has been improved upon. All the campsites are well maintained, they all have water tanks which are regularly checked.

The trail is also like the AT in that it is primarily a forest walk, this is not your average Australian bush, there's a a lot of tall timber only slightly shorter than the Redwoods of California. These huge eerie white trees are truly spectacular. It can be too hot to hike comfortably in mid summer (Dec, Jan, Feb). However I did it in the winter and had a lot of wet weather and temperatures not far above freezing on many nights. This ain't no desert! The trail is easy walking and folks like Squeaky would just blow through it. It is only about 600 miles long and I would thoroughly recommend it to those pining for another forest trail like the AT. The last 120 miles or so is on the wild and raging shore of the Southern Ocean, which is pretty amazing. I kept a journal www.trailjournals.com/bib

4. There is a long trail in New Zealand, Te Araroa, which will be completed by 2008. By a spooky chance ,I met the guy on the Bibbulmun Track who was involved in pushing this trail forwards on a national level. The Kiwis are throwing a lot of time and money at this one and it WILL happen. Michael and his partner also kept a journal of that hike in Oz and you will find it next to mine at TJ. Why not shoot him an email and ask for the latest news on Te Araroa? I'm not sure how long it will be exactly, 1500 miles springs to mind.

Yup, there could be an Australian or Australasian Triple Crown (The Heysen Trail is a goer) but unless you did follow the, not really recommended, Bicentennial Trail, it would be much shorter than the US version. It is very easy to whip up media coverage for this kind of thing in Australia, so it's a good idea for anyone going for glory..... happy trails

colbys
02-16-2006, 14:05
hey thanks for all the info.yeah ill check out the one their building in new zealand.

Nean
02-16-2006, 14:51
A few thoughts and a little info. The NZ trail is on my list too! I love that country. www.teararoa.org.nz (http://www.teararoa.org.nz)

An Aussie visa is much easier to obtain for Brits, Canadians, etc. For us Yanks (it doesn't matter N/S to them) it is more difficult. They want to see $$$. Been twice and not done yet.

Ridge
02-16-2006, 22:09
A few thoughts and a little info. The NZ trail is on my list too! I love that country. www.teararoa.org.nz (http://www.teararoa.org.nz)

An Aussie visa is much easier to obtain for Brits, Canadians, etc. For us Yanks (it doesn't matter N/S to them) it is more difficult. They want to see $$$. Been twice and not done yet.

You are absolutely correct when you say its easier for the Brits and Canadians to obtain visas of custom design, 'bout like US citizens going to the US Virgin Islands for a year. It's much tougher(damn near impossible) for a Yank to get one for Australia, not sure about NZ.

colbys
02-16-2006, 22:18
great site on the te araroa.just makes sense for nz to have a long distance trail like the AT,the country is taylor made for it,with all the outdoor activities there.cant wait for it to be done,time to start a 2008 thru hiker te araroa fund in my bank!!!

Nean
02-16-2006, 22:20
When I went to NZ you didn't need a visa, just a passport.

titanium_hiker
02-17-2006, 01:17
Be careful with that statement, Nean. all most countries require a visa. It's just that many countries (like the US, Australia etc) have agreements that the visa is automatically given to you because of your US/Australian passport. Of course, this is the regular short visa most of the time. Also other countries give you the visa on arrival (they put it in your passport).

So, it can look like you don't need a visa, but in fact, you probably had/have one.

TH

titanium_hiker
02-17-2006, 01:19
Well, I guess I'd better state my credentials- I have lived in Bolivia, South America for most of my life, and know a thing or two about traveling. Currently residing in Australia. I worked as a "data entry person" - one of my jobs was finding people's visas in their passports and entering the details.

TH

Rick Bayley
02-17-2006, 11:06
Titanium Hiker is right, everyone needs a visa to go to Australia.

Most people get an electronic visa (ETA) which is available online and costs US$20. (It is valid for 90 days). There is no stamp in your passport but your passport number will be checked electronically against a database when you arrive in the country. If you want to extend this visa for another 3 months to make a maximum of 6 months you can also do this online later on but the fee is quite steep; I can't remember exactly how much, but it could be as high as US$100.

It is all very easy to do and you don't need to go to an office or provide any supporting information. These ETA visas are more like an entrance ticket than a US-style visa. They are really a cash raising exercise for the Australian government. Take it from me, Americans can also stay in Oz for 6 months this way. I had an American girlfriend last year and it was her who told me you could do it all electronically because she'd just done it herself. I had extended visas in Australia in the past and it meant lining up in offices clutching your bank statements or whatever. Not anymore.

I have a sneaky feeling that if you apply for a 6 month tourist visa through your embassy before you go then you won't have to pay the hefty fee for an ETA extension, but check this. www.ecom.immi.gov.au/visas/jsp/index.jsp?visaType=VSS

Yes, Brits, Canucks, Irish, Japanese, Swedish, Dutch and a whole host of others can get a 1 year working visa if they are under 30. This has never been available to Americans. This is the only visa category in which Americans are discriminated against.

But hey guys, you can get a lot of good hiking done in 6 months. If you put this Bicentennial thing on one side, none of the trails are particularly long. I was there for 5 months last year and hiked: The Great North Walk', The Larapinta Trail, Bibbulmun Track, Great South West Walk. If you put it all together it totals about 1000 miles more or less. My favourite was probably the Larapinta Trail in Central Australia: a wilderness walk along one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth in truly wild territory. As I said, the Bibbulmun Track is perfect for those pining for the AT. In fact, I would never have hiked the AT in 2004 if I hadn't have done the BIbbulmun. It made me realise that hiking 2000 miles was possible after those 600 had been so much fun.

So no more excuses about visas, just start saving your pennies!

titanium_hiker
02-18-2006, 00:26
re saving your pennies- remember stuff will seem cheaper to you because the aussie dollar hovers around 60 UScents.
So just basically halve the prices and feel rich. However, there are lots of things that are cheaper to get in the US though, even with currency manipulation.

neo
02-18-2006, 09:39
flyin brian did it in 2001:cool: neo


http://royrobinson.homestead.com/Triple_Crown.html

Ridge
02-18-2006, 13:22
I been doing some checking on US citizens going to Australia. If you are between the ages of 18-26 yrs old you may have a chance for a 1 yr work visa. Which you have to have a job and work at least 3 months. These visas are very hard to get for folks from the US. We have no reciprocal agreement with Australia. Short of this you are basically out of luck unless you can find someone from down-under to marry.

Ridge
02-18-2006, 13:25
flyin brian did it in 2001:cool: neo


http://royrobinson.homestead.com/Triple_Crown.html


I think this thread was talking about "Australia's Triple Crown" not the US.

neo
02-18-2006, 15:45
I think this thread was talking about "Australia's Triple Crown" not the US.

ok thanks:cool: neo

Rick Bayley
02-18-2006, 16:40
Quite right. Gear is much more expensive in Australia and there isn't the range of quality you find in the USA. This is especially true of ultralight gear. I would have thought that Australian climate was tailor made for ultralight most of the year, but the products are very hard to track down.

Everything else is cheaper but not dirt cheap, maybe not much difference in food in supermarkets. Save those pennies!

Ridge
02-19-2006, 01:18
A hiking trip to Tasmania would be a good option due to the proximity to all the trails there. An excellent read of just such a trip can be had at
http://www.ozhiker.com/tasmania/index.html

Another option is NZ South Island.

titanium_hiker
02-19-2006, 02:17
flights to NZ are cheap (if you want to leave at some ungodly hour in the morning)

TH

Nean
02-19-2006, 05:02
flights to NZ are cheap (if you want to leave at some ungodly hour in the morning)

TH


I would love to....:D

Ridge
03-12-2006, 20:49
I wish I had walked this track instead of the several short ones in the Blue Mtns. This is a mountainous track, beautiful scenery, lots of well maintained and equipped huts. This track goes thru the Snowy Mountains and Snowy River areas of southern Australia. This is the one to do, even more so than the ones in Tasmania. A standard 90 day visa will let you do the trail and then some.


Australian Alps Walking Track (http://www.remotetech.com.au/bushwalk/alpswalk.html)a 655Km track (407miles) from Walhalla in Victoria to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. Avg walking time around 45days. I think it has been done by several people in the 24-30 day range.

A-Train.(NZ).2005
03-12-2006, 21:57
A few thoughts and a little info. The NZ trail is on my list too! I love that country. www.teararoa.org.nz (http://www.teararoa.org.nz)

An Aussie visa is much easier to obtain for Brits, Canadians, etc. For us Yanks (it doesn't matter N/S to them) it is more difficult. They want to see $$$. Been twice and not done yet.

Guys I can update you on the NZ trail situation. The total length is going to be around 2600km (1.6 km = 1 mile). Its about 80% complete as of early march 06.

Currently they are in the process of building the trail.. the key barriers are lack of funds and the sensitivities surrounding private land use. Negotiations are difficult but ongoing..

They plan to have a 'legal pathway' by 2008.. but I wouldnt hold your breath. They also planned to have this in 2005.

Recently they were assisting hikers in their endeavours to hike the trail using a combination of the existing route and roads.. their website has links to hikers that have done it - most from overseas countries.. but that is no longer the case. This is due to some recent situations where some hikers used private land that they werent supposed to which was still under negotiation and hence setback those negotiations.

I have been in touch with them as recently as this week and they have made it clear that at the moment they are focusing on getting the trail completed by 2008 and will not be supporting other hikers / thruhikes until this is done (this is not necessarily a bad thing) bc of the risk to their land negotiations. They are pretty clear about this (I think by realising their naiveness by letting others hike and how it could potentially affect trail build).

Hence.. they have closed ranks a bit. I'm sure this will pass. Keep watching their website.

I'm a kiwi in NZ so I'll keep watching the situation and also let you know if I hear anything new.

Aramis
03-23-2006, 04:31
The Australian Alps Track has only a couple of towns (ski resorts really) on the route, so people have to bury food caches along the way prior to walking it. Kind of takes the fun out of it for me.

The Overland Track is on the Backpacker Trail (tourists with backpacks) so it's rather busy in summer. I went through there solo in mid-winter and it was great. I didn't see another person for six days.

The South Coast Track is really cool, but was badly over-used in places when I was there about 15 years ago and is probably worse now. Large sections of the 'track' had eroded into a creek bed deeper than I am tall, and with three metres of rain a year it turned into a creek (complete with waterfalls) with monotonous regularity.

The BNT appeals to me because it's so disorganised, and it's routed so you can resupply as you go. I don't mind a bit of back road walking if I don't have to deal with interference from park rangers. Australian national parks are so ridiculously over-regulated and over-managed that they've become little more than venues for commercial adventure tourism. I really don't see why I should have to buy a permit to camp on public land. That's what taxes are for.

titanium_hiker
03-30-2006, 08:04
heheheh. except our government is all about tax cuts...

there is more not one single "holy grail" trail, but what I would suggest would be to pick a national park and cover it... through and through. that would be cool.

Went hiking the other week- Mt. Howitt, McAlister Springs- oh, and you will probably need to carry a lot of water- the springs are drying up. Hopefully we'll get a good snow this season.

What Aramis says about hiking in winter and not seeing a soul- this is useful. 1) it's wet, so there is water around in abundance (muddy track, yes) and 2) it's June July August- a summer break for the northern hemispherians.

titanium_hiker