When you think about Transylvania the name Dracula comes to mind. But did you know that Transylvania was originally part of Hungry and only incorporated into Romania after World War one. More importantly Romania is home to the Via Transilvanica long distance hiking trail which was officially launched on the 8th of October 2022. At that time the trail was 1400km but at the time of this interview covers just on 1600km in distance. The aim of this trail was to give travellers the chance to discover various parts of Romania in quite a unique way - different regions with their history, people, culture, landmarks, and stories. On launching it was designed to be the trail that unites.

In today’s episode we catch up with Alin, one of the team involved in creating this trail, along with Siobhan and Geoff, two Australian Hikers who undertook this walk to get different perspectives on this relatively unknown trail.

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The concept of pack weight for your hiking adventures is one of those topics that has the potential for heated debated when you get a group of hikers together. Everyone will have an opinion but this question is like asking ‘how long is a piece of string’? Which is just a way of saying that the answer is impossible without more specific information.

In this podcast episode we look at the concept of pack weight and discuss considerations for determining what this means for you.

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The 154km West highland way is one of Scotland’s best known hiking trails and in fact is listed as one of Scotland 'Great Trails'. Having said that if you aren’t familiar with hiking in the UK then you may know much about this trail. In this podcast episode we talk with Aussie hiker Susie Ashton-Davies about her 8 day 'end to end' trip undertaken in September of 2025. www.australianhiker.com.au

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Australia is a country of sun lovers; if we aren’t at the beach, we’re out bush, if we aren’t out bush, we are usually outside doing something if the weather is warm. As I write this article we are in the middle of a heatwave over much of Australia and with that some intense UV so I’m spending my time indoors, planning for upcoming hikes and putting together podcasts like this one.

If however the conditions are with you and you are getting outside hiking, then you need to put some thought into sun protection, with head protection being on the top of the list. In this podcast episode we look at the main types of head protection available on the market and what you should consider when choosing that perfect hat for your outdoor adventure. www.australianhiker.com.au

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Iceland is a destination that you don’t tend to hear too much about when it comes to hiking so when Aussie hiker Sarah Groves contacted me late last year, I was keen to find out more. Over a 12 day period Sarah and her group hiked 160 km on some of Iceland’s Hidden Trails. In this podcast episode we talk with Sarah about her Icelandic adventure. www.australianhiker.com.au

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In early 2025 I came across the term Land snorkelling and it definitely piqued my curiosity about what it was because as a term its probably one that most hikers aren’t really familiar with, at least by name, even though they may be familiar with the practice. So what is Land snorkelling, what defines it and why should this form part of your hiking practice?

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Over the past 18 months we have caught up with New Zealand Hiker Jonty Crane about several of his adventures, many of which are on trails that fall outside the ‘norm’. This interview is no different as we talk to Jonty about the Ladakh Sky Trail in Northern India, a trail that most people would have never heard of and one that is classed as ‘strenuous’ reaching altitudes over 5000 meters.

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Ask most hikers to name some European hiking trails and the 170km Tour Du Mont Blanc hiking trail will often crop up. This trail includes sections through France, Italy and Switzerland, and circumnavigates western Europe’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc. For most hikers this trail, which starts and finishes in the Chamonix Valley, is undertaken in around 11 days but it can be done in a quicker, or slower fashion depending on the experience you are after.In this podcast episode we talk with hikers Joe and Annie who undertook this well-known European trail in August of 2025. www.australianhiker.com.au

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