60 Great Short Walks: Words and Pictures

[whynotwalk]

G’day all – I’ve been asked by Parks & Wildlife to source stories and images of Tasmania’s 60 Great Short Walks. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=1315

The idea is simple. PWS wants to develop an iPod/iPhone/iPad App (along the lines of the existing Bird in the Hand App) that has stories, images and maps of the 60 Great Short Walks.

So … do you have:

• good images of these walks that you would be willing to allow PWS to use? (Sorry, glory is the only payment … plus acknowledgement, of course)?
• some words (impressions, recollections, descriptions, even a poem) that might vividly describe some aspect of the walk?

If you answered yes, simply post your words and/or pictures on this topic/thread. If the App idea goes ahead, and if your words or pictures are chosen, I’ll PM you to sort details.

And if it doesn't go ahead, our forum will still get some great info. and images on these great (short) walks! Win/Win!

cheers

Peter

[ollster]

I meant NOT what I was after!!

Lol. OK, I'm not really going to wax lyrical, and most of my photos are rubbish, but I think The Sentinels and Mt Murchison MUST be on that list. 62 Great Short Walks?

[Son of a Beach]

The discussion about platform specific mobile apps versus WWW pages/apps which are either generally viewable on any HTML compliant device or tailored per platform using CSS or different sites, has been split off to a new topic of its own.

So... back on topic. Has anyone got any words or pictures to donate to the PWS cause here? (Whatever form of distribution/publication it eventually takes).

[whynotwalk]

Thanks Nik - let me give people an idea of what they might contribute here. Using Cradle Mt Summit (Great Short Walk #32) as an example, I have a quick story and some photos.

So a contribution might go like this:

"We climbed Cradle on a fine spring day. The mountain draws many walkers, not all of them ready for the challenge. We passed a number having difficulties with the steep dolerite scree that leads to a snowy amphitheatre beneath the final tower. One couple chose to be satisfied with the northward view from the scree rather than the 360 degree summit vista. While there is nothing technically difficult about any of the scree, it does involve a certain amount of rough-house hauling of yourself up fridge-sized boulders. The contrast with the duck-boarded approach walk is too stark for some. On the other hand the dozens heading for the summit this day included children as young as seven or eight."

Then some sample photos, such as those below, could be added. Simple ... over to the talents within the forum!

cheers

Peter

Climbing the steep scree up Cradle Mt

Entering the snowy amphitheatre beneath the summit

On the summit

[Phil]

Hi Peter

I have followed this topic and have had a bit of a chuckle at the way it has been hijacked over the past couple of days. Now that Nik has seemingly sorted it out I thought it was time to stop being lazy and put my hand up; I'm sure I could do something like you have shown for the following:

Shadow Lake circuit, Lake St Clair, Mount Rufus, Crater Lake circuit, Cradle Mountain summit, the Nut, Hollybank, Duck Reach, Tamar Island, Liffey Falls, St Columba Falls, Wineglass Bay lookout........well maybe not all of them but I could do a few!

Send me a PM after you get some feedback and let me know.

Phil

[north-north-west]

Yeah, I could add plenty about quite a few of them, as I've done more than 40. Might even be able to dig out one or two decent photographs.
Rather nice of the authorities to give us the chance to get involved.

[whynotwalk]

Thanks Phil, N-N-W and others who have PM'ed me about this. I will be going through your offers and the list of walks, and will get back to you in the next week or two,

cheers

Peter

[iaindtiler]

Hartz Peak walk. i'm not the best with words so wont be any speech, i'll leave that to others. but . . . this is an easy half day walk, with great rewards. both Lake Esperance and Ladies Tarn are 2 min detours from the track and well worth a tranquil look. usual colourful alpine vegetation. the view from top o Hartz peak is 360 degress, into the south west and Federation peak, and off to the east and the coast. a great half day walk, not tough at all.

[tasadam]

Hartz Peak walk. i'm not the best with words so wont be any speech, i'll leave that to others. but . . . this is an easy half day walk, with great rewards. both Lake Esperance and Ladies Tarn are 2 min detours from the track and well worth a tranquil look. usual colourful alpine vegetation. the view from top o Hartz peak is 360 degress, into the south west and Federation peak, and off to the east and the coast. a great half day walk, not tough at all.

Seems to me like you're pretty good with words, a great write up. Fantastic pictures too.

[whynotwalk]

I agree with Adam - great pix and good words too, iaindtiler.

Thought I should give an update on this "60 Great Short Walks App." project. You may remember I asked

do you have:

• good images of these walks that you would be willing to allow PWS to use? (Sorry, glory is the only payment … plus acknowledgement, of course)?
• some words (impressions, recollections, descriptions, even a poem) that might vividly describe some aspect of the walk?

I am still in the early stages of looking through the pictures that have been sent in by around 10 forum members (and others). I'll try and report gaps when I'm further advanced, in case any of you can fill them. As for words, these are a bit slower in coming, so if any of you have some words about your experiences, feel free to post and/or PM.

I do warn people not to expect the App. to appear any time soon! This is being done in spare time and on a small budget. That said, it's going to be fun getting there!

cheers

Peter

[teddesampa]

this is such a great idea, hope the app gets off the ground

[stepbystep]

This App is now available from the iTunes store. A nice resource for tourists and those of us that like to fill in lists!
There are several photographs from forum members and a nice acknowledgement to the forum.

A big congratulations to whynotwalk for making this happen eventually. Well done.

Not sure about Android versions, maybe for later release?

[tasadam]

A big congratulations to whynotwalk for making this happen eventually. Well done.

+1

It's a big app, I needed to hook into the WLAN as it was too big to install via 3G, 105MB.
But, now to check it out!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/60-great ... 52496?mt=8

[iaindtiler]

Ahh, great to hear it has arrived, congrats to whynotwalk. have been following this thread for the years. i'll have to buy an iPad thing now

[whynotwalk]

Thanks guys - great to have it out there at last. Yes Adam, it is huge - over 100MB - 'cause it has so many of your's, Dan's and other's photos

Find a wifi connection folks, and spread the word. Yes, it's free and no, there isn't an Android version yet (Sorry, the shoestring only stretches so far.)

Thanks to all on the forum who contributed images, words, and ideas.

cheers

Peter (now having some time off in WA)

[whynotwalk]

i'll have to buy an iPad thing now

Yes Iain - you'll have to, so you can see a couple of your images in their full glory Thanks for your contribution!

[Son of a Beach]

Well done Peter! And thanks for your credit to this site in the acknowledgements.

I've only looked at it very briefly so far, but it appears to be easy to navigate and use, and well presented.

Congratulations to the photographers and all the contributors. There's some great shots, and they way they fade slowly in/out, etc looks great in the track notes.

[ffourie]

Oh wow, looks like I've been a bit slow (way slow) to jump on this one. Ever since I first got my hands on the 60 Great short walks booklet I decided I want to put together my own version, but with better pictures, together with GPS location etc. I've slowly been building on my list, and have quite a few good photographs to contribute. Is this pretty much a done deal now, or will contributing photos be an ongoing thing?

[whynotwalk]

Yep ffourie, it's pretty much done & dusted. A second (paid) version may come out later, with more images, interpretive elements and fuller gps use. But for now the call for images is closed - unless you want to share some via the twitter button,

cheers

Peter