Walking Holiday for Singles

With so many tours seemingly aimed at couples and families, Soulfree Adventures hits the mark with its new guided walks for single travellers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Log (Press Release) – Jan 18, 2010 – Singles holiday travel in Australia is taking off and is accounting for an increased share of the travel market. With traditional demographics changing and an increased number of single travellers entering the travel market, it's time for the Australian tourism industry to improve its offerings to cater to this growing market.

Cashed up single travellers are looking for experiences aimed squarely at them and it seems a small Victorian walking tour company Soulfree Adventures has hit the mark with its latest offering. Aimed squarely at the Singles Traveller market Soulfree Adventures is offering a guided Great Ocean Road Walk for Single Travellers. Not families, not couples, just singles. This is a refreshing and welcome change. Single travellers no longer need deal with the awkwardness of mixing with couples. Singles travel allows singles to meet, mix and have fun together. What better way to do this than on a walking holiday.

Soulfree's Great Ocean Road Walk for Singles package starts and finishes in Melbourne. Soulfree lay on transport, guides, accommodation and meals. Their guides are highly experienced, know the Great Ocean Walk intimately and are adept at facilitating diverse walking groups. This walking package allows single travellers to see some great scenery and have a great time doing so.

This 5 day package is attractively priced at AUD$1499 with deluxe upgrades available.

Contact Soulfree Adventures for more details or visit their website via the following link: http://www.soulfreeadventures.com.au/g1007

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Soulfree Adventures | Australian Walking Holidays
Guided Walking tours
Self guided walking tours
Walking holidays for single travellers
Great Ocean Walk
Grampians
Great South West Walk
Bogong High Plains | Victorian High Country
Heysen Trail South Australia

View this full press release here

soulfree adventures: Portable Mobile Phone Chargers | How Good is This?

soulfree adventures: How Good is This?

Portable Mobile Phone Chargers | How Good is This?

MOBILE PHONE CHARGERS ~ A MUST HAVE "EXTRA" THAT'S NOW CHEAP AS CHIPS!!

In my last post I listed the Top 10 Extras worth taking on your next walking trip.

Well check this out: portable mobile phone chargers have come of age. I got this beauty from Aldi for AUD12.00 AND it came with 2 x Energizer Lithium batteries!! That's LESS than the cost of the batteries!!!

In terms of essential kit this little beauty now ranks high on my list of "must takes" & it goes with me on ALL searches and ALL extended trips. It uses the same AA cell batteries I use in my GPS. Plus it comes with a range of connecting leads to suit most mobile phones.

For searching where I'm often using my phone a lot and in the snow this can really drain your battery this is essential for giving my phone (Nokia E51) a quick "juice".

Spare mobile phone batteries are expensive. Now there's no need. Now you can pack one of these lil' "juicers" for the cost of a few coffees and head out bush safe in the knowledge that if your phone runs out, you can quickly juice it up in 30 minutes with this light & handy device.

Get one now!

Happy Trails

Soulfree Adventures | Australian Walking Holidays

List of Top 10 Extras to Take Bush Walking

It does seem strange in a sense to be posting this: usually as anyone who knows me can vouch, being an advocate of lightweight walking, I'm more often telling people to leave stuff out of their packs! I still believe most walkers pack too much, and maybe it's just me getting older, but seems to me walking is so much more enjoyable when you're not lugging a heavy pack around the bush.

I also subscribe to the "multi use" principle: everything you take should ideally have more than one use. E.g. walking poles are great. They take the strain off your knees, you can use them to set up a quick shelter with your tarp, I can use them to fashion a makeshift splint, they help you keep your balance on steep rocky terrain and crossing rivers, etc etc. Very useful items indeed!

(Picture: Andy guiding at JB Plain, 2008)
Even so I also subscribe to the "one luxury" principle: get your pack weight down, then put in one little luxury for you to look forward to on your walk: pillow, book, caffeine, whiskey, whatever but just that one little luxury amongst your otherwise monk-like austerity can make your life on the trail that much more enjoyable, especially on a multi day hike.

And so to my list. This is my list for walking, it differs in winter for back country trips on skis and snowshoes but here it is.

All these thingsI believe are very useful: perhaps you don't need them all, perhaps several can be packed in the designated group kit (if you're walking in a group) which is a good idea. Anyway here it is:

1. Duct tape
2. Portable mobile phone charger
3. Multi tool knife
4. Cable ties
5. Flint & striker
6. Elastoplast
7. Walking poles
8. Lightweight tarp
9. Bivvy bag
10. Caffeine

Did I miss any of your favourites?

What's your "must take" list?

Post a comment or drop me a line | enquiries@soulfree.com.au

Happy trails!

Soulfree Adventures | Australian Walking Holidays

soulfree adventures: Blisters when Bush Walking

soulfree adventures: Blisters when Bush Walking

Blisters when Bush Walking

If there's one thing that will ruin your day on the trail, it's the infamous blister!

Blisters are caused by friction, this friction generates heat and this heat initially creates hot spots which if left untreated, pretty soon progress into blisters. The blister itself is a fluid fiulled sack (the fluid is plasma). Blisters occur when things all gets out of whack: your boots could be too stiff so they don't move when your feet move, or your socks ruck up in your boots causing creases which rub. The foot sock and boot should all move as one. Common areas affected by blisters with walkers are the heels (pictured), tops and pads of the toes, and also under the ball of the foot. I would say the heels are the most commonly affected area for walkers.

Seems there as many treatments for blisters as their are hangover cures, so I won't be postulating one all embracing cure-all here; if it works for you, keep on doing it.

Predictably the best treatment is prevention. If you don't get blisters in the first place, you won't need to treat them, so let's have a quick look at what we can do to stop getting blisters in the first place.

1. Break your boots in before you go on your walking trip. I grew up walking in the 70's when walking boots were all made of leather. Out of the box they were as stiff as a board. Try walking in those for five days with a 20kg pack and pretty soon your feet started sporting a nasty assortment of blisters. The trick we learned was to break them in by doing lots of walking in them first: walk around the house, down to the shops, around the park, etc. Softening the boots up was also popular: after walking in your boots the trick was to stuff them full of tissue paper and leave them in a tub of water overnight. Then walk in them again the next day, then repeat. Of course doing the 20 odd river crossings of the Wellington River into Lake Tarli Karng tended to have the same effect! Modern boots aren't all stiff leather (though a boot like the Scarpa SL with a stiff shank certainly needs all this preparation) nevertheless it pays to break all boots in a little. If you don't, you take your chances . . .
2. Take care in choosing your socks for walking. Back in the 70's we really only had one choice: the good old Explorer. Now we are spoiled for choice. Make sure your sock is a firm fit and has good quality elastic. You do not want your socks falling down inside your boots. Should you wear two pairs of socks when walking? Old school thinking said yes, with some advocating a thick / thin combo, I used to wear two thick. Now I wear one thick. In my ski boots I wear one pair of long super thin socks (so I can feel the ski through the boot, it's a skier thing). Whatever your choice, make sure you have your boots properly fitted with the socks or sock combination you intend to wear walking.
3. Pre-tape. If you have been prone to blisters in the past, then it's a good idea to pre-tape using a compund such as Compeed or Spenco which you use to cover your blister prone areas. Personally I always do this on an extended ski tour as my ski boots are stiff and after all the effort prepping for the trip I don't want my trip cut short by blisters (really I don't want my buddies poaching my fresh trax!) . I rarely pre-tape for walking as I use soft boots and they're always well broken-in so I tend not to get blisters when walking.
4. Don't borrow or hire boots. On a walk / ski tour your feet are your most important item. If you get foot problems, chances are that's it, your walk's over. So if there's one bit of kit we should all purchase, it's a good pair of walking boots. Even for skiing if you're going to at all get into the sport, buy your own boots and have your inners specially moulded to your foot. Even the plastic shell moulds to your foot. If you borrow someone else's boots, you're setting your self up for more of these:

5. Look after your feet. As soon as you start to feel a hot spot developing, stop and treat it. Initially this might just require taping up using a gel pad like Compeed, a slippery frictionless tape like Sleek or using a gel based treatment like Spenco (the duck's guts!) If you don't stop and treat it, the hot spot will turn into a full blown blister. So don't worry about slowing your walking party for a tiny hot spot. Down the track you'll hold them up and cause much greater problems if you get full on blisters. So when you're with a group, think of blisters as a group issue not a personal issue. In this sense you owe it to the group to look after your feet and every group member should share this commitment. Also check your feet in your tent each night, look for hot spots, anmd importantly, trim your nails - you don't want them too long as they'll cut into the adjoining toes and give you more grief!

I'll leave treatment for another blog, so stay tuned!

Happy Trails!

soulfree adventures: HYDRATE OR DIE!

soulfree adventures: HYDRATE OR DIE!