it Canberra Bushwalking Club Newsletter May 2019 Canberra Bushwalking Club Inc GPO Box 160 Volume 55, Issue 4 Canberra ACT 2601 www.canberrabushwalkingclub.org GENERAL MEETING INSIDE THIS ISSUE 7.30 pm Wednesday 15 May 2019 Presentation ................... 1 Weston Creek Uniting Church, 16 Parkinson Street, President’s report .......... 2-3 Weston Membership Secretary’s report ......................................... 3 The Great South Coast Walk Review April presentation ......................................... 4-6 Australia has a number of long-distance walking trails, e.g. CBC Committee ............. 5 Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia, Heysen Trail in South Australia, Larapinta Track in the Northern Territory. These are primarily inland Obituary D. Large .......... 7 tracks and there is no comparable long-distance coastal walk on the Narjong WaterHealing eastern seaboard. Those who know the beautiful coast-line of southern Ceremony ....................... 8-9 NSW would appreciate it is a prime candidate for such a walk. Walk/trip reports .......... 10-20 Fifteen years ago, David and Pennie Briese walked from Sydney to Mallacoota along this coast-line and discovered that the walk was Activity Program ............ 21-30 feasible. Their trip was the genesis for the concept of The Great South Bulletin Board ................ 31 Coast Walk, linking the many individual tracks, beaches, forestry trails and pathways to create a 650 km journey along the beautiful and CBC Publication Policy link to unspoiled South Coast. website ............................ 31 Join David who will describe the walk and what has been done in Link to Bushwalking NSW recent years to raise its profile and one day establish it as one publications .................... 31 of Australia's iconic walk experiences. IMPORTANT DATES • 15 May—General meeting • 22 May—Committee meeting • 22 May—Articles for inclusion in June 2019 It close Canberra Bushwalking Club It—May 2019—Page 1 President’s Report Honorary Life Membership for Linda Groom memberships through the activity program. One popular initiative is the program of walks for families that is encouraging a new generation of bushwalkers. Linda has been an active promoter of the Club. She has given many hours of her time at fairs and other events to raise awareness of the Club and to encourage bushwalking. Her energies were recently engaged in a cause that many in the Club feel is important: the protection of the Kosciuszko National Park from damage by feral horses. Linda led the Save Kosci walk, involving 200 walkers (including many CBC members), from Sydney to the summit of Mt Kosciuszko and raised awareness that will hopefully affect current legislation. Over recent months, I have been approached by not one, but three independent parties who have wished to recognise Linda’s contribution to the Club through Honorary Life Membership. I have worked with the initial nominators as well as a group of long-standing members and the CBC Above: Portrait of Linda. Below: Linda leads 200 supporters to summit of Mt Kosciuszko. Linda Groom joined the Canberra Bushwalking Club in 1976 and, as well as being an active member, soon became a dynamic activity leader, sharing a great sense of variety and adventure. Since then, she has led the second most walks in the Club and in recent years has been our most prolific leader. Linda’s walks are always well attended because people know they will be excellent. Linda was a deserving recipient of the Greg Buckley Award in 2012 for her contribution to the activity program. Not only is Linda a great activity leader, she has also led the club through several initiatives. Linda was Club President from 2013 to 2015. As President, Linda established and improved relationships with other clubs in the ACT and NSW. During this period, she initiated the project that brought about our new Club website, which includes tools designed to assist leaders to coordinate with participants, something other clubs are now attempting to emulate; this was a complicated task, not only to create a useful system, but also to encourage its adoption. Since 2015, Linda has held the demanding role of Walks Secretary, injecting new ideas and encouraging new (Continued on page 3) Canberra Bushwalking Club It—May 2019—Page 2 (Continued from page 2) Committee to evaluate that nomination according to the guidelines published on the Club website. Those guidelines suggest a number of criteria that can be used to measure a worthy HLM candidate and Linda has shown to be exemplary in all of them. I have not seen anything but support for this nomination. Left: Linda and CBC friends atop Mt Kelly C1980. Above: With Anoulack Chanthivong MP at Glenfield . At the general meeting on Wednesday 15 May we will vote together to ratify this award. If you have been influenced by Linda’s efforts within the Club, I invite you to attend and participate in the meeting. Michael de Raadt CBC President Membership Secretary’s Report 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 Number membersof 100 50 0 Jan-14 Jan-15 Jan-16 Jan-17 Jan-18 Jan-19 Membership stands at 367 at 27 April 2019 New members. Brett Hegarty Justin Stone Melinda Walker Glenda Snape Lesa Nathan Robert Walters Judith Elliott Meghan Bergamin Mac Kirby Canberra Bushwalking Club It—May 2019—Page 3 Review—Trekking the Dolomites – the Alta Via 1 presented by Mike Smith This presentation by Mike Smith at our April 2019 di Braies, set amidst pine forest with the General Meeting was reviewed by Terrylea soaring Dolomite peaks in clear sight. Their Reynolds. first encounter was a very steep uphill climb on a scree slope, sometime river bed, in hot In August 2018, Mike and Annette Smith, weather which later changed to a torrential Terrylea Reynolds and Janet Duncan trekked downpour and frighteningly close electrical the Alta Via 1 (AV1) in the Dolomites and thunderstorm. It was tough going but discovered that it had more to offer than this prepared them well for the days ahead as it was spectacularly exposed portion of the Southern fairly typical of the ascents and descents to Italian Alps would at first suggest. come. In fact, by the end of the 11 days they had trekked approximately 120 km, climbed As one of the largest exposures of dolomite about 6400 metres and descended about 7500 rock on the planet the Dolomites have been metres. granted World Heritage Status by UNESCO in recognition of its dramatic geological features, Despite the Dolomite Mountains supposedly spectacular views and unique offering some of the best weather in the Italian landscape. Consisting of 21 peaks this Alps the summer months can be mountain range rises above 3000 m and extraordinarily unpredictable. Days varied features sedimentary rocks and limestone from having plenty of sun requiring the towers, pinnacles, needles, plateaus, lakes, application of lashings of sunblock, to morning screen slopes, deep narrow valleys and exposed fog and mist, spectacular afternoon rain storms ridges. and even overnight snow. The guide books had warned the team to expect changeable weather Mike and Annette had previously walked in the and so, fortunately they were well prepared Lake Garda and Colvara areas of Italy and so with all manner of clothing in their packs. This were familiar with the terrain, but it was a first proved to be good advice since the morning of for Janet and Terrylea. During Mike’s Day 3 found them opening their Rifugio presentation we learned that it’s a brave man window to see that it had snowed heavily indeed who decides to tackle not only such overnight completely obliterating all signs of challenging terrain but also to trek this area for walking tracks and making the planned 11 days with three women as companions. journey over Forcella Del Lago too dangerous The AV1 starts at a beautiful alpine lake, Lago (Continued on page 5) Elevation profile of the Alta Via 1 Canberra Bushwalking Club It—May 2019—Page 4 CBC Committee 2018-19 (Continued from page 4) President: Michael de Raadt as it involved going down a very steep and [email protected] constrained pass. After much discussion, the 0410 233 090 foursome donned backpacks and, with a couple of Americans, made their way back to Rifugio Treasurer: Melinda Brouwer Pederu. They’d had lunch there the day before [email protected] and were able to catch a taxi, bus and a cable-car to their next destination, Rifugio Lagazuoi. Walks Secretary: Linda Groom [email protected] Lagazuoi proved to be one of their most 6281 4917 interesting experiences as this area holds the remains of fortifications, bastions, tunnels, General Secretary: Jenny Stewart trenches and machine-gun posts built by the [email protected] Austrian troops in their fight against the Italians during the First World War. It was here that the Membership Secretary: Mac Kirby four adventurous trekkers met Andreas and the [email protected] Baron, replete in lederhosen, who was also the 6288 7863 proud owner of a Dutch Hen named Coco- Chanel. The Baron provided a proud history Training and Safety Officer: Pete Hegarty lesson of the area’s fierce mountain warfare in [email protected] this hostile alpine environment where there was limited cover, glacial ice, extreme winters and Conservation Officer: Cynthia Breheny avalanches. In fact, in December 1916 over [email protected] 10,000 soldiers on both sides were killed in this conflict with some of the deaths caused by Web Manager: Andrew Meers avalanches set off intentionally by the firing of [email protected] artillery shells and detonating of underground mines. Trench warfare had the highest mortality Editor: Gabrielle Wright rate. [email protected] Day 5 proved to be extremely difficult walking as the widespread snow fall from the days before Assistant Walks Secretary: Keith Thomas resulted in them having to slowly and gingerly [email protected] descend over ice and steep switch backs with +64 27 535 6176 signage along the route leaving much to be desired.