I had such a great time doing my 12 Hike challenge in 2018 so I’ll definitely do it again this year!
My list:
1. Go North – I’d like to extend my travels from the end of the great North Walk to Nelson’s bay. Overnighter. I’d essentially follow the Federation Track North route. I’ll seek an alternative if return transport is an issue. Done! Go North to Tin City!
2. Go South– Otford to Wollongong either overnight or split into two walks. This is a section of the proposed Great South Coast Walk. I can work my way down this full 660km route over many years and have already done the Bundeena to Otford section (The Coast Track).
3. An urban hike– I’d like to connect the end of the great North Walk to the start of The Coast Track (Cronulla). I would likely follow the route of the Great Coastal Walk, Federation Track South route, or try a route of my own. Likely over two days. Failing that, any urban walk that’s interesting will do.
4. A lighthouse Walk Done!Sydney Coastal Walk: Watsons Bay to Coogee Beach
5. A new national park or reserve. Visit somewhere new.
6. A long trail (>30km) Harbour to Hawkesbury track or Six Foot Track are likely candidates.
7. Bag a Trig– Hike to a trig point Done! Willunga Trig
8. Geocaching: Find a box in the bush Done! February: A month for Geocaching!
9. A Heritage trail (Canberra?) Done! Woodnutt and Windybank: History on the Berowra Track
10. Aboriginal site – likely in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Done! The Wonders of Berowra Engraving Tour
11. A waterfall walk. This cannot be a repeat of any of 2018 walks!
12. A new view. A lookout or summit view that is new to me. Done! New Home, New Walks!
This year I am adding some options to swap out any of the above.
Option: Hike to read. Hike to a nice spot and settle down with a good book for an hour.
Option: Overland Track
Option: Any overseas walk!
Option: A return to the snowy mountains
I think that’s a fairly packed plan for the year! If I do items 1-3 I will have connected Nelson’s Bay in the north to Wollongong in the south which would be a lovely chunk of Australia to have marked on the map! Let’s see if I can do it!
About the 12 Hike Challenge
The idea is to create a list of twelve achievable hikes or hiking themes. At least once per month I/you shall head out on a hike, each one different in length of trail, destination and level of challenge. There is no need to complete them in any particular order, the goal is to make it fit into my/your life without pressure. The aim is to have variety and reward.
The rules:
-There must be at least one hike per month for twelve months. Doesn’t need to start in January, any twelve month period will do. The idea is to get out there regularly. There may be twenty or thirty in total if eager.
-Multiple goals cannot be combined into one hike – there must be twelve seperate hikes even if the criteria have been met on another walk. It’s more fun this way!
– There are no distance requirements for each hike. An overnight hike can be 5km or 30km. The destination, time and personal abilities will decide.- Leave No Trace principals must be followed.
– Hikes can be challenging but should not exceed abilities. A safe hike is a fun hike.
Why not take on the 12 Hike Challenge yourself?
Solo Hiker 
Great challenge. I am considering incorporating it into my year, Thanks for the inspiration!
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That’s great! I thoroughly enjoyed myself last year and was able to tick off some big goals. I find having a plan for the year is a strong motivator. Have fun in 2019!
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Exciting plans! I hope you reach your goals and look forward to read about your adventures.
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You can add the ferry from Nelson Bay to Tea Gardens, then walk up through Myall Lakes NP to Seal Rocks (great camps at Mungo Brush, Johnsons Beach, Shelley Beach and Yagon).
Also for your list of walks: the Jatbula Track and the Larapinta, both in NT – two unique Australian highlights. But winter or close to winter only!
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Yeah it would be good to just keep extending the walk north and south.
I really want to do the Larapinta – doubt I’ll get there this year but I’d like to start ticking off some of the big ticket trails. Maybe next year.
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Just to continue on from ianlarge’s idea of the Seal Rocks walk, this can be continued right through to Forster almost continuously along beaches, lakes shore and headlands. Great part of the world.
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That would be amazing- I may get there
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Just something to for you to check out on aerial photos.
There are the remains of an old road (I think the national parks are trying to make it disappear) from the Seal Rocks Road to Cellito Beach (Sandbar) which starts about 800m east of where the service road through Myall Lakes NP joins the Seal Rocks Road. It is a great way to get through, avoiding a long road walk around through Bungwahl (around Smiths Lakes).
I spent a day a while back checking the area out, and the road was still quite distinct, but with fallen logs and regrowth.
It’s isn’t shown on maps, but can be seen on aerial photos – not obvious in the aerial photos in Google Maps, but is visible in Apple Maps and also in Six Maps (https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au) – a great resource.
It leads straight to the southern end of the beach, before looping around along Smiths Lake. I think it is an old forestry road, and there are some minor tracks leading off it to some of the isolated beaches on that bit of the coast – probably used by fishermen when there was still vehicle access into the area.
Probably more information than you need or want, but might be of use!
See you out there.
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Thank you. I can see a faint track at the bottom of cellito beach. I can also see a road marked sandbar Rd. So a couple of options maybe. Looking at the pictures though I’m wondering if it’s possible to cross the gap in the sandbar at all? Is it really low at low tide and just a damp foot or is there wading required?
Thanks for this – it’s making me plan!
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Firstly, this is the background on the bar at Sandbar Beach (from tourist info.):
“Sandbar Beach is accessed either by 4WD, canoe, kayak, boat (Smiths Lake) with some limited car parking available at the camping ground. If parking a car there is quite a distance to walk before you hit the beach. This too is a remote stretch of beach with a stunning sandbar separating Smiths Lake from the Pacific Ocean. This bar is often manually opened by council when the lake fills up with rainwater and again naturally in big seas.”
It normally isn’t open, but a check with the Mid-Coast Council should help you find out for sure. At the moment Smiths Lake is very low.
As far as getting from Sandbar to Blueys Beach, I doubt if there is access along the coast, but I live in Forster so in the next week or so I’ll talk to some people I know down that way and see what I can report back.
You’ve got me going now!
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There looks to be private land at the south end of blueys beach. Do you happen to know if the headland can be traversed with crossing private land? Looks ok from the aerial photo.
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