nature - Inspired Adventures

Covering 7,692,024 million square kilometers, Australia is the world’s 6th largest country – offering trekkers of all experience levels endless opportunity to slip on those trainers and hit the ground to get in those training miles. How lucky are we? From mountains to seaside, Australia offers some amazing opportunities to get your heart pounding, whilst enjoying stunning vistas that are so characteristic of Australia.

New South Wales

Wentworth falls (Blue Mountains)

Bordering metropolitan Sydney, this iconic section of Australia’s Great Dividing Range is one of our favourite weekend getaways for training – an easy train ride from the CBD sees your landscape change from city skyline to mountain hues. The Wentworth Falls area offers trek variations ranging from 30 minutes to 6 hours. The classic Wentworth Falls Loop (6 hours) offers a moderate-challenging trek with LOTS of stairs – no matter which direction you tackle the hike, your legs will feel the inevitable burn that comes with stair training. With sweeping views of the valley, and multiple waterfall stops to encourage you to keep going, this trek is the perfect opportunity to train your leg muscles for those of you who are setting off on step-heavy adventures – Great Wall of China & Machu Picchu trekkers we’re talking to you!

Distance: 10.2km
Time: 6 hours
Track Condition: Steep
Difficulty: Moderate-difficult

Victoria

Kokoda Memorial Walk (1000 Steps)

With 1000 steps to traverse on this trek, you can experience a tiny sense of the exhaustion felt by the soldiers who battled the Kokoda track in World War 2. This makes it the perfect opportunity to test those knees in preparation for any upcoming adventures that involve steep inclines and declines, especially the Great Wall of China, and the Kokoda track itself!

Distance: 5km
Time: 2 hours
Track Condition: Steep
Difficulty: Moderate

Northern Territory

Litchfield National Park

An hour and a half drive from Darwin, Litchfield National Park offers a variety of day walks ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours, taking trekkers down winding paths to waterfalls and plunge pools, and back up again to tabletop plateaus and outback views. Most tracks found in Litchfield National Park are very exposed to the elements, and as such provide the perfect opportunity to practice trekking against the elements, especially prolonged cardio in hot conditions. For those of you cycling through SouthEast Asia, this could be the perfect opportunity to practice getting your heart rate up while battling hot and muggy conditions. Try completing a number of the different walking tracks in succession to create a longer workout!

Distance: 1-3.5km
Time: 30mins-2 hours
Track Condition: Steep
Difficulty: Easy-moderate

Tasmania

Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park

Tasmania – it’s a hiker’s paradise. It’s hard to pick just one trek, but we have to say Cradle Mountain is definitely up there with our favourites! Rising graciously over Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain boasts many different treks which allow you to challenge yourself whilst taking in the wonders of the ancient rainforest and alpine heathlands, buttongrass and beeches, icy streams and glacial lakes. We’ve narrowed down our recommendations for treks in the area:

Marion’s Lookout (3 hours)
Crater Lake (3 hours)
Dove Lake (2 hours)

And for those of you up to the challenge:

Cradle Mountain Summit Bush Walk (5 1/2 hours return)

Distance: Varies
Time: 2 hours-5.5 hours
Track Condition: Steep, rocky
Difficulty: Hard

Western Australia

Eagle’s View Trail, John Forrest National Park

Located in the John Forrest National Park just 30 minutes out of Perth, Eagle’s View Trail offers a moderately challenging loop trail, with some steep gravel sections breaking up the flatter ones, to keep you on your toes.

Distance: 15kms
Time: 6 hours
Track Condition: Steep, rocky
Difficulty: Moderate

Queensland

Whitsunday Great Walk

The Whitsunday Great Walk takes you on a 28km journey through Conway State Forest, starting at Brandy Creek, and finishing at Airlie Beach. While designed to be undertaken over 3 days – with camping facilities along the way – you might choose to tackle just one stretch.

South Australia

St. Mary’s Peak, Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges National Park

St. Mary’s Peak is the highest mountain in the Flinders Ranges National Park and the second highest peak in South Australia. Soaring to 1171 metres, St Mary’s peak offers breathtaking 360-degree views of the Flinders Ranges, Wilpena Pound and surrounding plains.

To get to the summit you have two options:

Direct route: 14km, 6 hours return
Inner trail: 21.2km, 9 hours return

Both trails are challenging, with steep inclines – requiring serious hiking experience. Appropriate footwear is must for this adventure – ankle support please!

Feeling inspired?

Keen to tackle an Inspired Adventure’s trekking challenge? See our adventures here.

@INSPIREDADVENTURES

[mgl_instagram_user username=”inspiredadventures” cols=”6″ number=”6″]

It’s no secret that our planet harbours some unbelievably stunning places. From Iguazu Falls in Argentina to the Great Barrier Reef in our own backyard, Earth is not short of natural beauty. However, there are some natural wonders in this world that you won’t actually believe exists. From the scary to downright strange (a lake that’s pink anyone?!) here are the top five place you seriously won’t believe are real.

Door to Hell, Derweze, Turkmenistan

As its name suggests, this fiery pit in Ahal Province, Turkmenistan conjures all manner of biblical Armageddon imaginations.

A natural gas field in the middle of the Karakum Desert, the Door to Hell was named by locals for the fire, boiling mud and orange flames that bubble in a crater spanning 70 metres.

This incredible phenomenon isn’t a portal to the underworld, however, and thankfully only releases a pungent smell of sulphur, rather than all the evils of the world.

It was actually unintentionally created by Soviet engineers in 1971. Thought to be a substantial oil field site, engineers began drilling in the area to assess the gas reserves available. Pleased with what they discovered, they set about storing the gas. Shortly after, the ground beneath the rig collapsed, leaving behind a large crater.

Fearing the release of poisonous gases, the engineers thought it safer to burn the gas off rather than risk further extraction. Expecting the fire to burn out within a few weeks, they never anticipated that over 40 years later it would still be alight.

Slope Point, New Zealand

Predominantly used for sheep farming, there are no roads leading to Slope Point on New Zealand’s South Island, making it only accessible by a 20 minute walk marked by dilapidated yellow indicators. It’s a harsh and abandoned landscape. So why go there?

Well, under the intense power of cold southwesterly winds that blow up from Antarctica, the trees of Slope Point were forced to reassess their need to grow vertically. Realising they would never rise victoriously, the conceded to growing horizontally.

The incredible sight of trees twisted, warped and forever shielding themselves from the relentless lashings journeying from the icy lands at the end of the Earth is just another reason to visit our neighbours across the Tasman.

Bioluminescent Bay, Puerto Rico

Imagine kayaking in the Milky Way and that’s what it’s like to skim the waters of Puerto Rico’s Laguna Grande, also known as Bioluminescent Bay.

Tucked in a natural reserve on the northeast tip of Puerto Rico, Laguna Grande is a pristine ecosystem teeming with marine life. However, It’s at night that the waters truly come alive.

This psychedelic phenomenon is triggered when oceanic phytoplankton are disturbed in the water and generate an ultramarine illumination.

Gotta love nature!

Lake Hillier, Australia

On Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia, lies a 600 metre long pink lake. Don’t worry, we’ll forgive you for thinking you’ve stumbled across a lake of strawberry milk, even though that’s exactly what Lake Hillier looks like.

Surrounded by a rim of sand and dense paperbark and eucalyptus, this incredible lake is separated from the Southern Ocean by a thin strip of vegetated sand dunes. There are many science-y hypotheses about how the lake gets its colour, however, none have been definitively proven.

Interestingly, the lake was discovered by Matthew Flinders in 1802 and was named after a William Hillier, a crewmember who passed away during the expedition.

Hallerbos, Belgium

Dutch for Halle forest, Hallerbos in Belgium is famous for its bluebell carpet that covers the forest floor for only a few weeks each spring.

Occurring naturally, this breathtaking field of flora is punctuated by tall beech trees and undulates gently for as far as the eye can see. Among the bluebells lie the tiny flowers and clover-like leaves of the wood sorrel, while wild garlic can be smelled before it is seen.

This otherworldly transformation truly must be seen to be believed.

What have we missed? Tell us some other unbelievable places you know about!

Feeling inspired?

Visit the Inspired Adventures Calendar and find a charity challenge perfect for you