Take A Walk Publications and Adventures

07/08/2024

Sailing ships and hiking trips don't usually go hand in hand but we are just about to start our Italian trip with a week sailing along the Croatian Coast with a great bunch of friends.

03/11/2023

Another visit to a volcano national park in Costa Rica. This one Tenorio Volcano NP

03/11/2023

Another great day in Costa Rica with a group walk to the view point below Arenal Volcano.

11/10/2023

Great view through the maple leaves from our apartment window in Whistler. There’s just a light dusting of snow on the mountains here and a bit warmer than Jasper.

08/10/2023

A day trip from Jasper to the Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Icefield

19/07/2022

Figure 8 Pool - just one of the fantastic walks along the rocky foreshore in Sydney's Royal National Park. For all the details, just check out Take A Walk in Southern NSW & the ACT https://takeawalk.com.au/

10/07/2022

Special Offer! For a limited time, just purchase the hard copy of Take A Walk in Southern NSW & the ACT and receive an e-book copy absolutely free.. Just go to our website and click on the first book cover to buy both books for just $34.95. .

01/07/2022

How does a Caribbean holiday sound in May 2023? Interested? Just check our website for all the details. https://takeawalk.com.au/guided-walking-holidays/

02/04/2022

Just pulled up at a great campsite beside Lake Cargelligo. Time for a walk along the lake.

17/11/2021

Just a few months ago all we could do was dream about international travel but now - we can actually start planning. Roll on 2022!

14/10/2021

We sold the caravan yesterday. It was only on the market for one day!

12/09/2021

Repost - Ect4Health

As we approach Summer

Snake Bites in Australia

That bite of summer has well and truly come early this year and with that heat, comes snakes.
3000 bites are reported annually.
300-500 hospitalisations
2-3 deaths annually.
Average time to death is 12 hours. The urban myth that you are bitten in the yard and die before you can walk from your chook pen back to the house is a load of rubbish.
While not new, the management of snake bite (like a flood/fire evacuation plan or CPR) should be refreshed each season.
Let’s start with a
Basic overview.
There are five genus of snakes that will harm us (seriously)
Browns, Blacks, Adders, Tigers and Taipans.
All snake venom is made up of huge proteins (like egg white). When bitten, a snake injects some venom into the meat of your limb (NOT into your blood).
This venom can not be absorbed into the blood stream from the bite site.
It travels in a fluid transport system in your body called the lymphatic system (not the blood stream).
Now this fluid (lymph) is moved differently to blood.
Your heart pumps blood around, so even when you are lying dead still, your blood still circulates around the body. Lymph fluid is different. It moves around with physical muscle movement like bending your arm, bending knees, wriggling fingers and toes, walking/exercise etc.
Now here is the thing. Lymph fluid becomes blood after these lymph vessels converge to form one of two large vessels (lymphatic trunks)which are connected to veins at the base of the neck.
Back to the snake bite site.
When bitten, the venom has been injected into this lymph fluid (which makes up the bulk of the water in your tissues).
The only way that the venom can get into your blood stream is to be moved from the bite site in the lymphatic vessels. The only way to do this is to physically move the limbs that were bitten.
Stay still!!! Venom can’t move if the victim doesn’t move.
Stay still!!
Remember people are not bitten into their blood stream.
In the 1980s a technique called Pressure immobilisation bandaging was developed to further re**rd venom movement. It completely stops venom /lymph transport toward the blood stream.
A firm roll bandage is applied directly over the bite site (don’t wash the area).
Technique:
Three steps: keep them still
Step 1
Apply a bandage over the bite site, to an area about 10cm above and below the bite.
Step 2:
Then using another elastic roller bandage, apply a firm wrap from Fingers/toes all the way to the armpit/groin.
The bandage needs to be firm, but not so tight that it causes fingers or toes to turn purple or white. About the tension of a sprain bandage.
Step 3:
Splint the limb so the patient can’t walk or bend the limb.
Do nots:
Do not cut, incise or suck the venom.
Do not EVER use a tourniquet
Don’t remove the shirt or pants - just bandage over the top of clothing.
Remember movement (like wriggling out of a shirt or pants) causes venom movement.
DO NOT try to catch, kill or identify the snake!!! This is important.
In hospital we NO LONGER NEED to know the type of snake; it doesn’t change treatment.
5 years ago we would do a test on the bite, blood or urine to identify the snake so the correct anti venom can be used.
BUT NOW...
we don’t do this. Our new Antivenom neutralises the venoms of all the 5 listed snake genus, so it doesn’t matter what snake bit the patient.
Read that again- one injection for all snakes!
Polyvalent is our one shot wonder, stocked in all hospitals, so most hospitals no longer stock specific Antivenins.
Australian snakes tend to have 3 main effects in differing degrees.
Bleeding - internally and bruising.
Muscles paralysed causing difficulty talking, moving & breathing.
Pain
In some snakes severe muscle pain in the limb, and days later the bite site can break down forming a nasty wound.
Allergy to snakes is rarer than winning lotto twice.
Final tips: not all bitten people are envenomated and only those starting to show symptoms above are given antivenom.
Did I mention to stay still.
Repost Ect4health
https://www.facebook.com/Ect4Health/

10/09/2021

Have you ever had the sole fall off your hiking boots?
Chances are that the boots had a polyurethane moulded sole and you hadn’t worn the boots much at all. That sounds a bit counterintuitive but if you leave your boots in a shoebox, or in cupboard for months at a time, there’s a good chance that a chemical process called hydrolysis will cause the soles to disintegrate.
This problem occurs with many expensive, well known brands so it’s not a cheapness issue.
If you wear your boots regularly, the problem is less likely to occur.
So, if you are planning to join one of our Take A Walk Adventures walking holidays when we are allowed to travel again (or set out on a multi-day hike in Australia) and your boots are more than four to five years old, you should replace them.
So, don’t buy two pairs of boots at a sale and leave one pair in the cupboard until the first pair wears out. Chances are that the second pair will wear out without ever being worn.
That’s definitely not what you want if you are coming out of a protracted lockdown and are looking forward to hitting the trails again soon.
Cheers
John & Lyn

27/08/2021

This is worth a look

15/08/2021

Due to increased interest in our Southern NSW and ACT book, we are now giving you the option to purchase an e-book with your hard copy for just an extra $4.95.
Just go to our online store for all the details.
https://takeawalk.com.au/bushwalking-books-by-john-and-lyn-daly/

20/06/2021

It’s now time to start planning your trip to Kosciuszko in the Spring. This stunning walk along the Southern Main Range is best enjoyed as a four-day circuit walk but you can visit many of the major features by basing yourself on the range and doing day walks with just a day pack. Just go to https://takeawalk.com.au/bushwalking-in-kosciuszko-national-park-australian-alps-walking-track/ and click on the book cover to load a summary of the text, as well as a complete walk index. Then start your planning!

18/06/2021

Dreaming of a fantastic post Covid Adventure?
We have now rescheduled our ‘Historic Portugal’ trip for 10 October 2022!
Check our website for all the details.
https://takeawalk.com.au/guided-walking-holidays/walking-in-portugal/
Let’s hope we can travel by then.

23/03/2021

What an experience. At the Mareeba drive in theatre you can stay the night for the cost of your two movies. Just $12 per person. I didn’t know we still had drive ins left in Australia

19/03/2021

You can’t visit the Top End without visiting the Quinkan art site near Laura. Unfortunately the guided tours have not started up again after the Wet season

16/03/2021

The beautiful Bloomfield River Falls at Wujal Wujal south of Cooktown. So pretty you have to say it twice

11/03/2021

While we were enjoying the stunning rainforest of the Daintree, a local (native white-tailed rat) was busily chewing through the wiring harness under the bonnet of the Prado. So, with the Prado on the truck and the caravan being towed, we headed south to Mossman. Hopefully, the repairs will be completed in a day or so and we can continue our North Queensland road trip.

07/02/2021

This is a great little video about the dangers of climbing Mt Barney which is definitely on the list of 'must do' walks for many bushwalkers. They are right - there is no easy way to climb Mt Barney JD

There is no easy way to climb Mount Barney and preparation is the key to a safe and enjoyable visit. The video only takes 4.5 minutes to watch but it could s...

01/02/2021

The Sphinx always looks good from Turtle Rock. Girraween National Park

01/02/2021

It’s great to see so much water at The Junction in Girraween National Park. Underground River was raging

23/01/2021

A nice easy walk out along the Winder Track in Main Range NP. Not a lot has changed in the last 10 years

20/12/2020

We have just added images of our walk on stage three of the AAWT – Thredbo to Tharwa Visitor Centre, Canberra.
https://takeawalk.com.au/australian-alps-walking-track/
Many sections of the track are still closed after the fires, but you can still start thinking about your preparation for the best long-distance walk in Australia. You won’t be sorry!
Track notes for the complete track are available in Take A Walk in Kosciuszko National Park.

30/11/2020

After a 6am start this morning we managed to complete the Mt Mathieson circuit before it got too hot. The hydrotherapy pool is looking good now

30/11/2020

After a balloon flight over the Serengeti and an ultralight over Victoria Falls the next best thing was a glider flight from Boonah taking in the sights of the Scenic Rim. It was great to have an aerial view of all the peaks we have climbed over the years.

27/11/2020

Another day walk to Mt Cordeaux and Bare Rock to get the old knee moving again. The hydrotherapy pool at Boonah is looking good again this afternoon