Australian Mountains: The Best 100 Walks

Tyrone Thomas + Sven Klinge

Hill of Content 1998
A book review by Danny Yee © 1998 https://dannyreviews.com/
In Australian Mountains Thomas describes the "best" one hundred Australian mountain walks, with Klinge advising on some trips that involve cycling. Their subjective ranking is based on scenic value, accessibility, height, difficulty, and other such factors. For the curious, their top five are Federation Peak, Mt Gower (Lord Howe Island), Mt Barney, Mt Feathertop, and Uluru.

It is hard to judge, since I have done only fifteen of the hundred walks myself, but the selection of walks does seem rather biased. More than a third of them are in Victoria, only four are in Queensland, and none are in Western Australia. Of Western Australian and South Australian mountains we read that "their remoteness and lack of visitors cause them to fall outside the parameters of this guide", but elsewhere remoteness seems to be a positive criterion for inclusion, so I suspect this simply reflects the authors' experience.

The walk descriptions include sketch maps, summary information (the relevant topographic maps, the grade of the walk, etc.), and fairly detailed track notes. The latter stick closely to pragmatics, without excursions into history or ecology, and range in length from a couple of pages on the easier walks to sixteen on Federation Peak. The information provided is, as far as I can tell, accurate and up to date. A selection of colour photographs rounds out the volume.

While browsing through Australian Mountains I noted down quite few walks for future reference, and if my plans to drive around Australia ever reach fruition, it is a book I will probably take with me. If you like mountain walking and either live in Australia or are planning an extended visit, you're sure to find some interesting information in Australian Mountains.

May 1998

External links:
- buy from Amazon.com
Related reviews:
- books about Australia + Australian history
- books about bushwalking
%T Australian Mountains
%S The Best 100 Walks
%A Thomas, Tyrone
%A Klinge, Sven
%I Hill of Content
%D 1998
%O paperback, maps
%G ISBN 0855722800
%P 381pp,16pp colour photos