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A Long, Long Walk On The Pier
From the beach, the Busselton Jetty looks like a long-ish wooden pier that’d be nice to take a stroll on. Get started and it suddenly seems like an endless walkway that you wish you’d just taken a picture of from the beach.
Truth be told, this pier off the summery beach town of Busselton is currently 1,841 meters (more than 6,000 feet) long; that makes it the longest pier in the southern hemisphere. It’s also got an underwater observatory at its far end but the A$22.50 ($16) entry fee seems too steep for what you get.
The Busselton Jetty’s been threatened--and partly destroyed--by cyclone and fire in recent decades, but now that it’s become a hot tourist attraction, the locals are taking great care of it. We recommend getting equipped with an ice cream cone from the beachside shop before attempting this walk.
Related Stories:
· Busselton Jetty [Official Site]
· Western Australia Travel coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Australia Travel / Walks / Hiking / Active Travel / → All Tags
Walk the Great Ocean Road
We've known for a long time that the drive along Australia's Great Ocean Road on the southeastern coast, west of Melbourne, is something special. Recently Tourism Victoria opened the Great Ocean Walk, a track that follows the Great Ocean Road for 90km (56 miles) and is starting to attract a heap of travelers.
Although the Great Ocean Walk runs parallel to the road, it's far enough away that you can feel like you're in the Aussie bush. The scenery's incredible, and the ocean views are all straight from expensive calendars. You can camp along the way or join a tour that will drop you off in the morning, pick you up somewhere else at the end of the day and take you to a nice hotel to rest those tired feet.
The Great Ocean Walk finishes at the Twelve Apostles, a famous Australian landmark consisting of huge rocks sticking out of the ocean. (Get it? They're the apostles.) In fact there are only eight of these Apostles left, but in typical laid back Aussie fashion, nobody cares, mate.
Related Stories:
· Great Ocean Walk [Official Site]
· Walking Australia's Great Ocean Road [UK Times]
· Australia Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: mtchm]
Tags: Tours / Walks / → All Tags
Mushroom Hunts
The Boston Globe heads out on a (non-magic) mushroom "foray" through a Maine forest. Most of the participants are searching for a 'shroom they can later pop in their mouth, but of course others are just there to see what's out there. The guide Sam Ristich, sounds like the bohemian teach you never had: "I'm not out only for a mushroom walk, I'm out for a walk of wonderment . . . . I look at everything. You must look above, and below, and on all sides." That last bit's good advice for just about any trip.
Related Stories:
· A woodland walk reveals wonders of nature often overlooked [Boston Globe]
· Upcoming Mushroom Forays [Boston Globe]
Tags: Travel Suggestions / Walks / → All Tags
An English Sidetrip: South Downs Way
Fodors clues us in to a great little escape just outside London that seems well worth the trip. If you're visiting London and feel the need to get out of the city, head to Amberley (about an hour south) and walk the South Downs Way.
The 100-mile-long trail covers the downlands of the area, you'll gaze at fields of barley, rye and summer wheat dotted by red-roofed farm buildings. Look to the smashing coastline and you'll see France across the English Channel. Visibility can reach up to 40 miles.
After the walk, stop in Amberley and check out the 12th century church and castle. There is also the Norfolk Arms Hotel there to spend the night---pssst, it's still the home of the real Duke of Norfolk. Rooms start at about $200 for a double.
You can get to Amberley by train from Victoria in London by South Central Trains.
If anyone's been there already--we'd love to hear about it!
Related Stories:
· Overlooked and Underrated: South Downs Way, England [Fodors]
· South Downs Way National Trail [Rambler's Association]
Tags: Reading / Walks / → All Tags
Kinky Does Austin
The Guardian has posted a little bit from The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic, Kinky Friedman's guide to Austin and its musical roots:
Sixth Street is frequented by the young and trendy. Fortunately for the rest of us, Sixth Street is also frequented by the old and the out of date (we prefer to call them retro), the rich and the famous, the exciting and the boring, the heroes and the scoundrels. You could find yourself pissing next to a Hollywood star, a rising politician, America's Most Wanted, or my future ex-wife. Be ready for anything.
Related Stories:
· My honky tonk town [Guardian]
· The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic [Amazon link]
Tags: Walks / → All Tags
Walk All Over London
As reported on our big sister site, HotelChatter, this week, Jennifer Aniston has holed up in London. In the very shag-fest hotel that she and ex-hubby Brad called it quits in.
We like to fancy ourselves relationship Dr.'s every once in a while (with not a spot of medical credentials)...
Perhaps she and Brad should have just gone for a walk and talked it through, a London Walk that is.
The Original London Walks runs walks all over the city, some with themes like the signature Beatles walk (love,love,love) a Shakespearean version complete with actors, and a Jack the Ripper nighttime stroll (watch behind you, Angelina!).
London Walks can specially arrange too. Ah, things could have worked out so differently for Hollywood's first couple...
More London Walking Post Break
