2019-10-01 Wanderlust

TRAVEL SECRETS

wanderlust.co.uk October 2019 91

withexcellentwalkingtrails.In
2010,theAndrosRoutesproject
(androsroutes.gr)setaboutreviving
theoldfootpathsandmuletracks;
in2015,Androsbecamethe­irst
islandtoberecognisedbythe
EuropeanRamblersAssociation,
whichawardeditLeadingQuality
Trails(LQT)certi­ication.Notonly
arethepathswellwaymarked,
they’reglorious,uncrowdedand
culturallyimportant.Thesecond
AndrosOnFootwalkingfestivalwill
beheld5‰20October2019.
Sarah’slatestbook,LiteraryPlaces
(AurumPress),isoutnow

86

Walkwithwhales
inDirkHartog,
WesternAustralia
Phoebe Smith, Wanderlust
contributing editor, travel
writer and photographer
Standing in just two feet
of water I’m surrounded by sharks.
In the 25 degree heat the tepid
seawater feels chilling around my
ankles, but as I’ve been walking
across sand for the past 6.5km
the cooler temperature is most
welcome. I pull on my snorkel, turn

on my GoPro and minutes later am

­loating in a shiver of sharks.

There are not many hikes in the

world that you can begin with a

boat ride – where you’ll likely spy

mantas, dolphins and dugongs

• stop for lunch and snorkel with
  sharks, then end with never-
  ending views of the Indian Ocean
  as your backdrop while pods of
  migrating humpbacks seemto
  follow you. In fact, there
  stroll like the new Walki
  the Whales hike on eart
  sequestered on the isla
  of Dirk Hartog, in Weste
  Australia, just a 40-minu
  boat ride or 20-minute
  hop from the tourist tra
  Monkey Mia.
  Take two days or four, s
  the only accommodatio
  the island – a family run
  lodge – and keep your e
  peeled for the reintrodu
  hare-wallabies (part of a ‘
  to 1616’ rewilding projec
  all without a single
  soul in sight. Just one
  thing – please keep it
  to yourself.

88

Join a unique

pilgrimageto

CaminoIgnaciano,Spain

Murray Stewart,

author, Bradt Travel

Guides: Azores

The Camino de Santiago

has become a bucket list ‘must’ in

recent times, annually attracting

up to 200,000 pilgrims – religious,

spiritual or social. Those yearning

for a quieter ‘pilgrimage’ should

try the Camino Ignaciano,

a four-week trek from the Basque

Country to Catalonia in Northern

Spain. The walk follows the steps

of St Ignatius, the founder of the

Jesuits, who completed the route

in 1522. You won’t have the hordes

of fellow walkers to accompany

you but you will see some

impressive scenery along the way.

The updated Bradt Travel Guides:

Azores is out now.

89

Protectyourfeet

intheAmazon

Ed Stafford, explorer

Trench foot happens

when your feet are wet

all day and start to rot.

It can be totally debilitating. My

system when walking the Amazon

was to use a ‘foo-foo’ bag. It’s

a bag of medicated talc big enough

to allow you to put your entire

foot inside and massage powder

into every crevice. In the morning

Vaseline your feet and then put on

your toasty clean socks.

Expeditions Unpacked: What The

Great ExplorersTookInto The

Unknown (WhiteLionPublishing,

2019) is out now.

87

Shrink your food

to bitesize

Ed Byrne, comedian

If you’re planning

a long-distance

hike, my advice is

to get yourself a

food dehydrator

and prepare some

meals before you go.

Dehydrated meals

mean you’re carrying

far less weight than

you would otherwise,

however, pre-packed

freeze-dried fare

that you buy from

outdoors shops can

all begin to taste the

same after you’ve

been eating them for

a few days. You’d be

surprised how much

stu you can make at

home that will lend

itself to the process

of dehydration and

rehydration. Then, on

the day you plan to

eat a particular meal,

shove it into a wide-

mouth water bottle

with a bit of water in

the morning and by

the time dinner time

comes, all you have

to do is heat it up

for a minute or two,

which saves on fuel.

Bon appétit!

Ed is on his new If I’m

Honest tour now.

db

Peaceful path

Cregennan Lakes in

North Wales;

(right) walking the

Camino Ignaciano