It wasn’t just the hiking that I loved, though. I’d fancied myself as an amateur photographer for years, so I wanted to share photos from my hikes online and show people the incredible beauty I was finding right on Melbourne’s doorstep. There wasn’t a lot of solid information online about hikes around Melbourne either in those days, so I started meticulously recording every detail of my hikes. That’s how Bushwalking Blog came to be. I’m creative at heart and had loved making websites since I first started doing it for bands back in 1995, at the age of 14. So it’s no surprise that I started blogging as a way to bring my passions together.

Soon I was writing for Great Walks Magazine as well, and it wasn’t long

before Bushwalking Blog started building an audience and a community. I’ve never been one for joining bushwalking clubs and didn’t know anybody with quite the passion for hiking that I had, so it was amazing to feel like part of a community. I’ve met and kept in touch with some incredible people through blogging, and even way back then I was getting emails from people telling me that Bushwalking Blog had inspired them to change their lives, the way I’d changed mine.

The realisation that I had a voice that I could use for good is probably what has kept me going all this time. I don’t hide the fact that Bushwalking Blog is a business, but it’s only a business because if I can build it up enough I’ll be able to quit my job and put everything I’ve got into it. A small percentage of the content is paid for (this is always disclosed in the blog post), and I do serve up the occasional banner ad as long as the advertiser is relevant, but this does little more than covering costs.

In 2013 I started to offer PLBs for hire through Bushwalking Blog, figuring that if it has to make money then I should offer something beneficial. My PLBs have now been to every corner of Australia, offering peace of mind to hikers who don’t get out enough to justify purchasing their own PLB,

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and probably peace of mind to their loved ones awaiting their return.

More recently, I started sharing all the outdoor gear bargains that land in my in box, under the name Aussie Outdoor Deals (on Twitter and Facebook). This is also attracting quite a bit of interest and positive feedback.

With those two ideas under way and at least mildly successful I had the confidence to go for something bigger. It was time to start the thing I’d had in my head for years. So in September 2015 I launched AussieHikingTours.com.

Ever since my guided Inca Trail trek, I’d loved guided tours. It’s not considered cool in the outdoors community, but I get so much out of a hike when there’s a knowledgeable guide, not to mention a diverse group of travellers to share the experience with. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love setting off into the bush for a few days by myself, with everything I need to survive on my back, but guided trips offer something different and equally valuable to me.

For people like me, and for others who love nature but would never go hiking without a guide, I wanted to spread the word about the incredible range of guided and assisted options available in Australia. I also wanted

to show international hikers that Australia is an amazing destination for hiking holidays. Most of all, I wanted to make the process of finding, comparing and booking a hiking tour as easy as possible, especially for the most popular areas where choosing between the similar tours offered can be a challenge.

I hope that, through all of my online creations and the articles I write for other publications, I’m helping increase the popularity of hiking in Australia and, therefore, helping to protect the awesome wild places we have left.

Neil exploring the Kings Canyon Rim, Northern Territory

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