Bushwalk Australia

What is THE best book to buy for walking in the Blue Mountains. I'd prefer to just buy one, but happy to purchase more than one if that's going to give the best information.
We have topo maps.
Ditto Snowy Mountains
Cheers

Hi Onestepmore,

This is one "Best Bushwalks Kosciusko National Park" by Harry hill, Harry has written a quite a few books on the KNP area.

Tony

" Take A Walk in the Blue Mountains" by John and Lyn Daly.
I own there latest book. Its a good read with good details on the walks.

Blue Mts - it depend on whether you want to do daywalks or longer walks.

For a good range of walks (and some longer ones) - the 2 volumes of "Bushwalks in the Sydney Region" cover a fair bit of the Blue Mts. They are very good value from the NPA online shop ($15 for the two) -

http://www.npansw.org.au/index.php/shop ... egory_id=6

For daywalks, some of them are probably no longer in print. Good ones are -

A Day in the Bush - Sydney Region Bushwalks (Les Higgins and Tony Rodd) - covers the greater Sydney region - but about 50% is Blue Mts
Blue Mts Best Bushwalks (Veechi Stuart) - has 60 daywalks in the mts - quite good, an attractive book.
How to See the Blue Mts (Jim Smith) - more for experienced bushwalkers, may be no longer in print?

Megalong Books at Leura is a good place to find bushwalking books on the mts -

http://www.megalongbooks.com.au

Dave

I have John and Lyn Daly books, because they cover areas others don't, but they're definitely not the best around. Really small maps, too much text, not enough pictures, unclear browsing. It's more a yellow book of walks : you get the info, but you can't decide where you want to go just by looking at it, it's a book you only read when you have no choice. The "Day walks Sydney" by Chapman (content here : http://www.john.chapman.name/syd-p003.pdf) includes 30 pages on the blue mountains, it's certainly much better explained and laid out that the "take a walk" series.

Hi onestepmore

There are a good choice of books out there good for different needs. What kind of walking are you looking for? Overnight wilderness hikes? short walks with kids? detailed tracknotes or just a vague idea - etc.

I have a list of NSW guidebooks I have (I am sure there are more - this is just my library) - I have included a vague review for each.
http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking/ge ... plate_id=1

Both regions have a few of books - and there is also lots of info online.

EG
Jim Smiths books are a great for understanding the history of the area.
The Daly's (take a walk) books usually cover large number of walks but are light on details and maps - wide variety of walks
Chapmans books are are focus on a select number of better walks with good maps
The NPA books are old but cover a good variety of walks - with no photos but good line maps.
Harry Hills books generally focus on the best of and have pretty good maps as well.
Geehi club book is good for stitching together longer multiday walks.
My books tend of focus on shorter walks.

So you can see there is a bit of choice depending on your needs.

There are also some good online info for these two areas as well.

Matt

wildwalks wrote:Hi onestepmore

There are a good choice of books out there good for different needs. What kind of walking are you looking for? Overnight wilderness hikes? short walks with kids? detailed tracknotes or just a vague idea - etc.

I have a list of NSW guidebooks I have (I am sure there are more - this is just my library) - I have included a vague review for each.
http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking/ge ... plate_id=1

Both regions have a few of books - and there is also lots of info online.

EG
Jim Smiths books are a great for understanding the history of the area.
The Daly's (take a walk) books usually cover large number of walks but are light on details and maps - wide variety of walks
Chapmans books are are focus on a select number of better walks with good maps
The NPA books are old but cover a good variety of walks - with no photos but good line maps.
Harry Hills books generally focus on the best of and have pretty good maps as well.
Geehi club book is good for stitching together longer multiday walks.
My books tend of focus on shorter walks.

So you can see there is a bit of choice depending on your needs.

There are also some good online info for these two areas as well.

Matt

Matt, it would be so cool if you do trip reports on some of the other bushwalking destinations in Australia, such as the Larapinta Trail.
Love your site, came in very handy on my last trip down Sydney.

Hi Phillipsart

Thanks so for your kind comments. I am wanting to expand wildwalks into other areas - it does take a lot of time and money to keep it ticking over. I am playing with a few different ideas on ways to to add classic walks such at Larapinta and OT etc. I see the need for a reliable resource for bush walks across Australia - and the 1000 walks I have documented in NSW just scratch the surface.
Thanks again

Matt

"Snowy Mountains Walks" which is written by the Geehi Bushwalking Club is available from a lot of outdoor stores (or just ask for it to be ordered). About $35 ish.

It is really good and has detailed info on walk suggestions from Thredbo area right up to Jagungal and Kiandra. Also has good photos and even some info on ski touring and routes in the area.

Thanks for the good advice guys. I've ordered a couple for each region - looking forwards to reading and planning. We're focussing mainly on overnight and longer day walks (our kids are older and have walked a fair bit), working up to doing some longer multi day walks as we get more experienced, and get familiar with some new bits of gear I've purchased over the past few months.
Bonnum Pic (in the Nattai) defeated hubby and daughter on Sunday at the end - couldn't find the route for the last 800m (the GPS track looks like a crazy snail trail) and it was becoming dangerous in the wet.
Planning a trip to Kossie in April, from Charlottes Pass. 6 Foot Track as well when it cools down a bit.

Check out Gleebooks at Blackheath. Hannah carries all the good hiking books including gear books, survival guides, local area notes and track notes.

She will also order anything you want and have it in quicker than almost anyone else in the mountains. I recently asked for the Ultimate Hikers Gear Guide and she got me a copy within a week.

Gleebooks was great Wolfix, theirs arrived the soonest!

Hi Onestepmore

I just noticed the particular walks you where interested in these pages might be of interest (there is a printable PDF as well)
http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-and-hiking-in-nsw/kosciuszko-np-south/main-range-walk-charlotte-pass-to-mount-kosciuszko.html
http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-and-hiking-in-nsw/kosciuszko-np-south/summit-walk-charlotte-pass-to-mount-kosciuszko-summit-trail.html
(these two are also in my book)

http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-and-hiking-in-nsw/blue-mountains-katoomba/six-foot-track.html

Happy walking

Matt

Thanks for the specific links Matt. We always find your Wildwalks site to be really helpful
Cheers

All good suggestions - I confess I ended up buying several for each area. I found some excellent second hand copies of latest editions too.

Hi onestepmore

Thanks for your kind words - glad they are helpful.
I am a book collector junkie too I recon if you can get just one tip for a good side trip or something then the extra money is worth it. Besides it is fund just planning and reading about walks.

Matt

I just saw your question about BM walking guidebooks. You might like to check out my website www.mountainmistbooks.com for my range of 8 Pocket Pal guides. Latest last year was Great Walks at Mount Victoria. It covers some forgotten tracks!

Our book Take A Walk in Kosciuszko National Park has over 50 walks, including 7 multi day walks. It also describes the complete Australian Alps Walking Track that runs right through Kosciuszko so there's plenty to pick from. One of our favourites is the five-day Southerm Main Range Circuit. The maps are all 1:50000 or 1:100000 and do include grid lines and kilometre points. There are also gradient profiles for all the walks.
John

Thanks for the link PocketPal, and also thanks John - I eneded up buying several of your books and found them really useful, especialy the one you mention above. Great work - keep 'em coming!