In this Issue

	Larapinta Trek
	2007 Trips
	Short Breaks at Dwellingup and Balingup
	In Search of the Queen of Sheba
	My Plans

In Other News

Larapinta Trek

I spent 2 weeks in April walking the Larapinta track in the west MacDonnell ranges. It's a very rugged track which extends for 220km west of Alice Springs. April was very hot, temps always around 33-35. The up side was that there was still water in the waterholes so most days we were able to cool off, even if we sometimes  had to share the waterhole with a myriad of tadpoles. There were some surprisingly steep ascents and descents and often we were scrambling up and down ceek gullies. If you're interested, click here to read more and see the photos.

2007 Trips

The November Cape to Cape is almost full and the Walpole to Denmark is already full. There are spaces in all other trips. Note that the Bibbulmun and Beyond is the pick of the best of Albany to Walpole. It was to include a day in the Porongorups but because of the devastating fire there this year I have decided to replace that day with the Bald Head walk in Albany. I did this walk for the first time in March this year and I was stunned. You have ocean on both sides of you, one side is King George Sound and the other the open Southern Ocean. In between you are walking along a limestone and granite ridge- it is a fantastic walk.

I'm not sure why the September Cape to Cape is not so popular this year- normally it's in October, so it's a couple of weeks earlier. This means it should capture the wildflowers at their best- I felt October was a litte late last year. It is also the best time of year to spot whales.

Short Breaks at Dwellingup and Balingup

Digital Dwellingup is a 3 day trip based at Banksia Springs in Dwellingup. We have Karen Castle, a professional photographer, who will coach you in how to get the best from your camera- digital or otherwise. During the day we'll be walking outdoors- either on the property where we stay, along the Murray River, or walking on the Bibbulmun track, but at such a pace you'll have plenty of time for photos. In the evening Karen will use a data projector to analyse your photos so you'll have instant feedback. This is a great opportunity to have a break in the bush and learn something too. Click here for more info.

Beautiful Balingup is a trip that is run each year based at Mullalyup Farm Lodge. We'll walk sections of the Bibbulmun track that we haven't done before and it's always a great get-away weekend with good food, lots of laughs and healthy exercise. Hopefully we'll have Adrian back again with his morning and afternoon yoga sessions. Often people round up a group of friends to share this weekend.

In Search of the Queen of Sheba

Some of you will know that I run activities for the Glyde-In Community Centre in Fremantle. Anyone can go on these trips, but they must be booked through the Glyde-In Centre, ph 93393964. This spring,  from 3-8 September, I'm doing a  trip to the Stirling Ranges, walking and orchid hunting. The Queen of Sheba is a beautiful orchid I've never seen, but am ever hopeful! The Glyde-In Trips are run a little differently in that we share food and transport, which makes them very economical. This trip is $730 which includes 5 nights' chalet accommodation, guided walks (including one by an orchid expert) and lunches.

I also run local day walking and canoeing trips for the Glyde and these don't always make it to my website. So check out their site or phone Ann  for a brochure.

My Plans

On May 19th I head off on the Karijini Trip, which promises to be a great trip. We finish in Broome where most of us are then going out to the Broome Bird Observatory for a couple of days. I return to Perth on June 5th. On Jun 20th I fly to Europe where I'm going to spend a month walking in the Pyrenees on the GR 10 and GR 11, along the border between France and Spain.

While I'm away Ginny will again be looking after my business, so call her if you need anything. For some of the time we may have Adrian (the yoga guru) and Marie helping too. They'll be staying at my house before their planned migration to Queensland.