DAY WALKS VICTORIA

Day Walks Victoria describes 40 walking areas around Victoria with a total of 96 walk variations. For each walking area, one walk is described in detail and a series of variations based on the main walk are also given if appropriate. Areas covered range from Portland, Grampians, Enfield Forest, Cape Otway, Aireys Inlet, Angelsea, Daylesford, Swan Bay, Point Cooke, Gellibrand Hill, Mt Macedon, Brisbane Ranges, Lysterfield & Churchill Parks, Dandenongs, Cape Schanck, Phillip Island, Mt St Leonard, Fraser National Park, Mt Baw Baw, Alpine National Park and others. For those based in Melbourne, 23 of the walking areas are within day walk distance of Melbourne. 192 pages, 129 colour photographs, and 40 colour topographic maps.

Since the first edition was published, Victoria has experienced several huge bush fires and floods. Some walking areas were severely affected and are still closed to walkers. The second edition therefore has many changes and a number of walking areas have been removed. These have been replaced with 7 new walks, whilst for another 6 walks, major changes to the walking route were needed. For another 4 walks, the walking direction has been reversed to make it easier to follow the walk as some track junctions are no longer obvious.

Walks range from 6.2 to 21.4km in length. Grades range from Easy to Hard and the grading is similar to that used by most walking clubs in Victoria so there is something for everybody. While many of the Easy walks are suitable for families, some of the Hard walks include off-track sections and are intended for experienced walkers.

The book is a full colour production with colour topographic maps. Map sizes range from half a page to 1 and a half pages for each walk and standard metric scales are used, 1:25,000 or 1:50,000. The guide also includes a 2-page key map of Victoria and a 6-page Walk Index designed to assist with selecting a walk. In addition, there are gradient profiles showing climbs and descents, all at identical scales to allow for easy comparison between different walks. All profiles also start from sea level, thus making it easy to visualise the overall elevation of each walk.