"Charles was also a modern day adventurer, taking an expedition across the Simpson Desert with Warren Bonython in 1973 - a time when the desert was just starting to open up to vehicles...It took them 32 days, they walked 463 kilometres and they pulled 250 kilos..The pair went without camels or packhorses, instead pulling behind them an aluminium trailer containing their food and supplies"--Obituary for Charles McCubbin ABC Gippsland, 23 June, 2010, Internet.
The gripping first-person account of one woman's survival in Joshua Tree National Park against the odds. "A vibrantly physical book"—The Guardian • "Uplifting and brave"—Stylist • "A riveting account of loneliness, anxiety and survival"—Cosmopolitan In 2018, writer Claire Nelson made international headlines when she fell over 25 feet after wandering off the trail in a deserted corner of Joshua Tree. The fall shattered her pelvis, rendering her completely immobile. There Claire lay for the next four days, surrounded by boulders that muffled her cries for help, but exposed her to the relentless California sun above. Her rescuers had not expected to find her alive. In THINGS I LEARNED FROM FALLING Claire tells not only her story of surviving, but also her story of falling. What led this successful thirty-something to a desert trail on the other side of the globe from her home where no one knew she would be that day? At once the unbelievable story of an impossible event, and the human journey of a young woman wrestling with the agitation of past and anxiety of future.
In his book DESERT WALKER, Denis Bartell, recipient of the Order of Australia and The Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year Gold Medallion 1994, relives many of his adventures into the outback of Australia. Tag along with him as he walks, boats, four- wheel drives and rides camels though some of the harshest terrain in the world. "The stuff legends are made of" Overlander Magazine December 1977 "Australia's most respected outback adventurer" Overlander Magazine May 1983 "Dick Smith landed his helicopter and climbed out to meet the adventurer he had been seeking." Australian Geographic June 1986 "A contemporary Australian explorer and one of the quintessential characters of Australia's inland." The Australian November 1994
In desperation, I look up into mum’s face. A small face – a loving face — And the lights go out. Her face is the last image I will ever see in my lifetime. Blind since the age of seven, Nick Gleeson has spent his life learning to ‘see’ without seeing. Growing up in the working-class Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows, Nick’s young life was defined by touch and smell: learning the shape of each shoe so he knew left from right. Holding the huge, rough hand of his father. Smelling the well-worn vinyl in the family car. Gently feeling the smooth top and soft underbelly of a mushroom he has picked. When Nick meets Peter Bishop, Creative Director of Varuna, the Writers’ House many years later, he has led an amazing life of physical adventuring. He’s scaled basecamp at Everest and the top of Kilimanjaro; he’s been a Paralympic athlete, a marathon runner, a skydiver. And, most recently, he’s been on an expedition to the Simpson Desert. In a unique blend of memoir, conversation and insights into the writing process, together Peter and Nick have collaborated to share Nick’s compelling life journey with its many challenges, loves and losses. The Many Ways of Seeing is an inspiring true story about determination in the face of hardship, the importance of trust and friendship and the wonderful relationship between a mentor and writer.
An eclectic collection of 11 global walks and hikes, the book includes destinations on every continent but Antarctica. From one-day saunters to two-week odysseys, readers will find the in-depth story behind each trail, combined with detailed maps and a visual feast of archival and contemporary images from contributors located around the world. Climb the Stairs of Repentance to the top of Mount Sinai, the Holy Peak of Moses, or retrace the journey of the stampeders of the Klondike Gold Rush as you scale the Golden Stairs of the Chilkoot Trail. Catch the “Long Look” across El Despoblado as you stand at the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains in Texas. Walk in the Dreaming tracks of the local Arrente as you trek the Larapinta Trail along the spine of Central Australia’s ancient MacDonnell Ranges. Or follow delightful paths through sheep paddocks and woodlands filled with bluebells and birdsong along Great Britain’s Cotswold Way. But it isn’t all about the hikes and the history. There is plenty of practical information on Internet resources and recommended reading along with suggestions on what to do before or after the hike. Learn about local fauna, regional food specialties and unique customs – like the sensuous rituals linked with maté tea in Patagonia or the grizzly tradition of the SourToe Cocktail in Dawson City, Yukon. So lace up those boots and get moving. Or put your feet up and read all about it from the cozy comfort of your living room. The choice is entirely yours.
The objective of this project is to encourage new ways of thinking about the meaning and significance of space. It follows a desire that has been expressed and theorized by Henri Lefebvre - and by extension Edward W. Soja - to remove Spatiality from the margin of the "Trialectics of Being" and to bring it into the "Trialectics' fold" alongside with - and of at least equal significance to - Historicality and Sociality. The thesis focuses on how space of the Pilbara region in Western Australia is produced in contemporary Australian writing, film, art and through "lived experience". The thesis argues for an understanding of space as essentially dynamic.
CHINA Their “Three Gorges Project” engineering masterpiece hasn’t gone as well as the world was told on CNN by the Communist Party. A disaster would be a more accurate description. Furthermore, an environmental disaster as well. The rice growing region has been decimated for years to come accounting for nearly 20% of their own rice output and India cannot make up the shortfall. This translates to 400 million Chinese with no rice to eat. Three retired US Navy Seals were hired to swim into the fjords along the south coast of China’s rugged shorelines to recon the activities there which are beyond the eyes of US satellites above. What the Seals discover and photograph and return to a fishing junk, then transmit back to a secret facility in South America, is the evidence needed to begin plans for retaliation. A major theft and resulting world war would begin. Great Britain’s family would abdicate their throne as a result. The Middle East would be shocked. Washington D.C. would be partially cleansed of graft and a “Countervailing Force” would manifest itself somewhere, somehow. But who, or what is it?
Whether it be through far-flung deserts, luxuriant forests or majestic alpine terrain, when we choose to walk rather than fly or drive, something wonderful happens: our awareness and appreciation of the natural world begins to grow. It can be the faint sound of a gently meandering stream, the distinct smell of decaying leaves on a crisp autumn morning, or even a bowl of cereal that never tasted better than when eaten on a mountaintop at sunrise. Whatever your hiking dreams and goals may be, this book will inspire you to plan and realize your your journeys.
