Hiking Tropical Australia
Queensland and Northern New South Wales
by Lew Hinchman

Hiking Tropical Australia is the first and only comprehensive guide to walking the island continent's eastern tropical and subtropical regions. The book covers an area roughly 1600 miles long beginning around Grafton, in northern New South Wales and reaching to the lower portion of the wild, rugged Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland. Coverage also extends inland to include national parks such as Girraween and Carnarvon that lie in the transition zone between tropical and outback landscapes. Featuring over 100 maps and pictures, the book divides tropical Australia into six zones defined by ecology and topography: the eastern and western scenic rims; sand, sea, and islands; escarpment and range; the granite belt; and far north Queensland, above the Tropic of Capricorn.

The book should be of special interest to Americans and other foreign visitors to Australia for several reasons. It is designed for vacationing hikers who want to do and see a lot in a relatively short time, but who prefer to remain within a relatively compact area. It features an introduction responsive to visitors' special concerns, such as how to find and reserve campsites, what gear to bring along, how to afford the trip, and when and where to write ahead for permits. It gives all distances in both metric and U.S. measurements.

Travelers will find precise directions for reaching all the parks and trails; difficulty ratings and notes about the special attractions of each hike; as well as vivid descriptions of what they will encounter along the way. Some samples of what visitors might choose to explore:

•  Immense sand blows reminiscent of the Sahara, but within a stone's throw of the deep blue Pacific
•  Hundreds of waterfalls tumbling through the gorges of Lamington and Springbrook National Parks, including Elabana Falls, pictured on the front cover
•  Sandstone gorge and side canyons of Carnarvon National Park, resplendent with Aboriginal pictographs, palm groves, and cascades
•  Cloud forests atop Mt. Bartle Frere, Queensland's highest peak.
•  Tropical Australia's premier wilderness hike along the beaches and through the forests of Hinchinbrook Island
•  Wildlife observation locales such as Noosa National Park, famous for its koalas, and Eungella National Park, where platypuses are regularly sighted.

Lew Hinchman is an experienced outdoorsman and writer, who has been hiking trails in the United States and abroad for over 25 years.