Australian Hiker is Australia’s premier hiking podcast as well as providing a southern hemisphere view on overseas hiking. We are Australia’s most downloaded hiking podcast with regular episodes being released every two weeks covering gear and trail reviews, hiking practice, recipes and skills. Bonus episodes will be released at least once a month and include interviews from the trail as well as with relevant industry and allied professionals. Let us do all the research for you.
Episodes
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
Every year Australian Hiker touches base with suppliers, importers and manufacturers of hiking equipment to find out what new and exciting products are on the market and well as to see how the industry is trending.
Gill and I were originally heading to the Industry Trade show in March of this year but due to a cyclone that show was cancelled. Over the past 7 weeks we have been catching up with five Australian based suppliers to find out about what gear has been recently released and what we can expect in the coming months.
At the end of these supplier interviews I briefly discuss where I see the outdoor gear industry heading. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
I follow a number of US based podcasts and blogs and one of the things that appears unique to the USA is the discussion on ‘fun’. It’s not that we don’t have fun in Australia but for some reason we just don’t seem to discuss it in the same way and we definitely don’t label it. But should we?
In this podcast episode we discuss the concept of fun as it applies to hiking and outdoor activities. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
No one plans to get lost or injured on a hike but every year our state and territory police forces, with support of organisations like the state emergency services, parks services as well as local volunteers, respond to incidents of lost or injured hikers. In many cases the outcomes of these incidents are just a minor inconvenience to all concerned but at the other end of the scale, there is occasionally the unfortunate loss of life.
In addition to the human outcomes, the resources of the organisations providing assistance are often stretched and taken away from other roles they perform. So how can you minimise potential issues on-trail and if you do become lost, what steps should you take to ensure you are found as quickly as possible?
In this podcast episode we discuss this important content with the hope that you will never need to use it!
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Feb 19, 2025
Wednesday Feb 19, 2025
Once you decide to start doing overnight hikes there are additional pieces of gear that you need to consider like a sleeping bag, tent and also some sort of light. By far the most commonly used light for hikers is a headlamp but with so many to choose from how do you decide what to purchase? In this podcast episode we discuss key considerations for choosing a headlamp for hiking but having said that you may find that you end up with more than one! www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jun 18, 2024
Tuesday Jun 18, 2024
Eating utensils are one of the most underrated and under-considered piece of hiking gear in our packs. For most hikers what we choose to use is often based around what our fellow hikers are using or what catches our eye in the store but there is so much more to think about when purchasing your eating utensils.
In this podcast episode we look at the considerations for choosing that perfect eating utensil for your outdoor adventures. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jun 04, 2024
Tuesday Jun 04, 2024
Hiking is very much an outdoor activity and with that you get both the good and the bad aspects of nature. The beautiful views, the animals, the sense of solitude and oh the insects! Sometimes insects can be so annoying that you feel you have no other choice but to quit your hike, if you can.
In this podcast episode we discuss what you can do to reduce the impacts that insects may have on your hike so you can keep on doing what you enjoy rather than focusing on the negatives. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
There’s a well known saying many people would be familiar with and that’s ‘It’s about the journey, not the destination’. But is this the case?
In this podcast episode we discuss this saying and came up with very different answers on what’s important. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Friday Mar 15, 2024
Friday Mar 15, 2024
Every year Australian Hiker touches base with suppliers, importers and manufacturers of hiking equipment to find out what new and exciting products are on the market and well as to see how the industry is trending.
This year the Expo was held in Melbourne over two days and provided a chance to catch up with suppliers face to face and to talk about the new gear and get up close and hands on. In addition we also caught up with a number of suppliers remotely as well as attending a travelling road show the week after.
In this our second episode of this series we finish up with our supplier interviews, talk about some great new product that's coming onto the market and then go onto some notable trends in the hiking and outdoor industry.
To get the best from this episode go to the Australian Hiker website on our episode page and go to the show notes to see images of what we are talking about in this podcast. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
Every year Australian Hiker touches base with suppliers, importers and manufacturers of hiking equipment to find out what new and exciting products are on the market and well as to see how the industry is trending.
This year the Expo was held in Melbourne over two days and provided a chance to catch up with suppliers face to face and to talk about the new gear and get up close and hands on. In addition we also caught up with a number of suppliers remotely as well as attending a travelling road show the week after.
To get the best from this episode go to the Australian Hiker website on our episode page and go to the show notes to see images of what we are talking about in this podcast.
In next week's episode, episode 285, we'll bring you the second half of these interviews and also talk about where we see the industry heading. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Valentine's Day, while once considered just another American holiday, is now firmly entrenched in Australian culture. The day is usually associated with chocolate, flowers and dinner out, but is this just lazy romance? Why not change things up a bit by thinking outside the box and blending hiking with Valentine's Day for a romantic date out bush!
In this podcast episode we look at some of the considerations for combining hiking and romance. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
If you do longer hikes, particularly ones that involve going off marked trails or if you hike in unfamiliar areas, you may be required to make some assumptions. The problem with assuming is you don’t always get it right and as the old saying goes, if you assume you can end up making an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’.
In this podcast episode we go through a multi-day example and look at the positives and negatives of making assumptions when planning your hikes.
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
The term staycation was first is thought to have been coined in 2005 and has now come into common usage and while there are a couple of definitions it essentially means taking a holiday with limited travel and staying close to home.
In this podcast we discuss the concept of taking a hiking 'staycation' in your local area and at what options you have for getting out and about without necessarily having to break the bank. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
The intent of a shakedown hike is to try out new gear or new processes prior to a trip so you can iron out any bugs, familiarise yourself with new systems, balance your pack so that it’s comfortable, and assess your fitness in terrain similar (or worse) than what you have planned. But how many of us ever do them and should we really bother?
In this podcast episode we look in detail why, and when you should do a shakedown hike. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
It’s that time of the year when you start to consider gifts for that special hiker in your life. In previous years we have looked at the full gambit of Christmas gift options covering every price range including some very high-end options.
This year for the first time we focus on the lower end of the pricing range with gifts under $100, that fall into the 'stocking stuffer' category with something that everyone can afford. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
On 11 November 2023 Australian Hiker celebrated its 7th birthday. In this episode we reflect on our past year, and look at where we are heading over the coming year. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
In this podcast episode we talk about unexpected and sometimes negative interactions with animals on the trail. The focus on this episode isn’t on snakes as people might expect but rather on those animals that are often described a 'cute and fluffy' and use that reputation to steal your food and damage your equipment. At some stage this interaction will impact on all hikers so what do you need to know to minimise this impact? This episode discusses just that.
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Aug 01, 2023
Tuesday Aug 01, 2023
It’s August and for various reasons we’ve found ourselves having done less hikes than we usually would have so far into the year and believe me its not for lack of trying. While its easy for us to get out bush thats only because we live a few hundred meters away but due to both work and personal reasons we just haven’t had the opportunities to walk and review as many new hikes as we would like.
In this podcast episode we look at what micro adventures are and how they be used to get you out bush even when you don’t think you have the time. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
If you are hiking for any length of time get used to not being as clean as you usually would like. Having said that you do need a level of cleanliness and while you do need to clean yourself all over from time to time, there is a focus on areas such as hands, the face, armpits and groin are areas that will need more regular cleaning.
In this podcast episode we discuss a simple option for keeping 'cleanish' on trail. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Australia is a large continent with just about every type of environment and vegetation you can imagine ranging from coastal, to alpine, to forest; and then there’s our semi arid and arid regions which make up around 70% of the continent. While the practice of planning hikes is the same no matter where you are, there are some specific considerations that hiking in the semi arid and arid regions of Australia require. In this podcast episode we look at what these are. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Most of us are very used to the concept of 'Use By Dates' or 'Best Before Dates' when we go shopping but many commercial outdoor foods also come with these labels. Due to COVID I ended up with a large number of 'out of date' meals and thought that I'd see how they went. Are these labels just cautionary recommendations or can you just ignore them?
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
The old saying of ‘early to bed and early to rise’ originated over 6oo years ago at a time where making use of the daylight hours was particularly important in a largely rural society. While this saying is still relevant in agricultural circles today, it’s also applicable to many other aspects of our lives, including hiking.
Our sleep patterns are unique so this podcast episode looks at the are pros and cons to each type of sleep regime from a hiking perspective.
So what are you? Night owl? Rooster? Or a bit of both?
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
When you first start hiking there are so many things to consider and often our focus is around things like gear selection, food or how to go to the toilet on the trail. While these are all important there are a number of other factors like getting a good nights sleep that come into play.
Factors that impact our sleep quality include staying dry, protection from strong winds, and the site itself. Hikers with a lot of experience know what to look for but between spending your first night in a tent that you have put up yourself and gaining all that experience and there are often a lot of bad nights of sleep that everyone goes through to gain that experience. This podcast episode discusses setting up your tent at the end of the day to help with getting the best sleep you possibly can. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
Australian life expectancy has changed over the last century. In 1900 the average life expectancy for an Australian male was around 55 whereas now it's just on 80 years (women enjoy an additional four years). As I get older I’m becoming increasingly annoyed at societal expectations about how I’m supposed to behave. So while aging does impact on our physical endeavours is it a barrier to hiking?
In this podcast episode we discuss the impacts of ageing on hiking. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
I've been hiking and camping for many years and I've found that my tastes in food have slowly but steadily evolved, changing bit by bit which is to be expected. Recently however my on-trail diet has gone through a revolution rather than evolution which has changed the way that I hike. In this podcast episode we look at what's changed in my diet and the impact this has had.
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
This podcast episode covers the key aspects of choosing rain gear for hiking. We deliberately haven’t gotten too carried away with the technical aspects because in all honesty, there’s so much technical information that you just don't need to know! So what do you need to know when choosing rain gear? Listen to find out
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
On 11 November 2022 Australian Hiker celebrated its 6th birthday. For many of us the past few years has been one of disruption and as an overactive planner this has driven me up the wall sometimes. In this episode we reflect on our past year, and look at where we are heading over the coming year. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
It’s that time of the year again when you start to consider gifts for the special hiker in your life. In this podcast episode we talk generally about gift options for that hiker in your life and identify some key options to consider including spending nothing at all! www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Jul 27, 2022
Wednesday Jul 27, 2022
Every year Australian Hiker touches base with suppliers, importers and manufacture of hiking equipment to find out what new and exciting products are on the market and well as to see how the industry is trending. In this years episode the pandemic is supposedly over but we are still doing these interviews virtually as we catch up with 4 of these suppliers.
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
For many hikers and campers when we first start out it's common to go with an organised groups or club, or with a more experienced friend who can show you the ropes. Typically if there are any campsite bookings required these will often be done for you, magically happening in the background, and unless you look in more detail you can be forgiven for thinking that you can camp anywhere you like. However this is not always the case with Australia's various states and territories each having their own rules and regulations on where you can and can't camp and because they vary its hard to keep track of all the rule and regulations that apply to each state and territory particularly because there are always exceptions.
While I've been camping as a hiker for many years and know the rules for my local area I often find that when I travel interstate I find my knowledge lacking and potentially I'm opening myself to a fine or to being moved on. The rules and regulations that apply in each state have been developed for good reasons, usually based around protection of the environment. In this podcast episode we provide a brief overview of the various state and territory rules and regulations to help with planning your overnight adventures. www.australianhker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday Jul 06, 2022
Wednesday Jul 06, 2022
When I think of hiking in Australia and build a mental picture of what that looks like one factor that always comes to mind is the heat. While a bit of warmth can make a hike enjoyable too much can reduce this enjoyment and even impact on our safety. Having said that it's not just the heat that we need to think about but rather all the weather extremes including the cold. While cold weather hiking is something we tend to associate with Europe or the USA, it is also something we need to consider in Australia. In this podcast episode we look at hiking in cold conditions, what we can do to avoid it, and in the event that we do get cold what we should do to keep warm. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Wednesday May 04, 2022
Wednesday May 04, 2022
In every hobby or activity we do there is always an ‘unofficial uniform’ and with hiking it’s the down jacket. But did you know that sometimes the ‘down’ jackets we see, while looking very similar, are made with other materials, sometimes natural alternatives like wool and sometimes synthetic materials; which is why these jackets are often known generically as ‘puffy/puffer jackets’. In this podcast episode we look at the pros and cons of the different insulation options on offer when choosing a jacket for warmth and hopefully provide a bit more clarity in helping you choose a jacket. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
For many people transitioning to overnight hiking or camping brings a lot of new considerations. Where do you go to the toilet? What do you eat? What additional gear do you need? While we will usually think about the big items like packs, tents and sleeping bags (the Big 3), the ancillary items like pillows often tend to be an afterthought. For many hikers, pillows tend to be considered a luxury but the ability to get a good night sleep depends on a number of factors and comfort is a big one. These days there are many pillow options available to us – which one you use is really going to depend on your desired level of comfort. In this podcast episode we take a beginners look at pillow options for hiking and camping. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
In this episode we bring you a series of recordings from a recent overnight trip on the Canberra Centenary Trail. While i've done plenty of one day trips this was my first overnight backpacking trip and one with some sharp learning curves that will make me rethink the way I not just ride in the future but also hike.
At the end of this episode we discuss what I learnt on this trip and what I'd do differently next time I head out on two wheels. to get the best from this episode go to the Australian Hiker website and look at the show notes for episode 209 to see some on trail images www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
Bikepacking can best be considered as an allied form of backpacking and instead of walking your chosen route on foot you undertake your journey with the aid of a bike, travelling at a different speed, seeing the landscape in a different way. In this episode we provide an introduction to bikepacking and the opportunities it affords. www.australianhiker.com.au
Australian Hiker can also be found on our various social media platforms