“Wherever you walk there can be joy and there can be risks. And the risks can be quite unexpected!”.
Luckily for me I’ve just had the joy of morning walks while camping in Cape Range National Park, about 1500kms north of Perth on the WA coast. I like the morning light so I tend to go out very early for my morning walks. One morning, as I climbed the sand dune between my camping area and the beach, I jumped back in alarm as I was nearly knocked over by the largest kangaroo I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure who was more shocked the roo or me. It was a red kangaroo, which happens to be the largest of all kangaroos and the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia. Most morning weren’t quite so dramatic, but I was still lucky enough to see lots of smaller roos and wallabies, plus echidnas and wedge-tailed eagles, and out in the water, whale sharks, although it’s a little hard to walk with the whale sharks or the eagles…
“Walking is free, easy, fun, meditative and the perfect way to start or end the day”.
Walking can be perform anywhere at anytime, it can be used to break up the monotony of a day in the office or time on the couch in the evening. It gives you time to reflect, or to catch up with family or friends. October is also Walktober; Australia’s walking month. It’s not too late to join in! Challenge yourself or get a team together and see how far you can walk for the rest of the month. You can also ask family and friends to sponsor your efforts – all money raised will go towards Bluearth’s Active Leaders Program, which is getting more Aussie kids more active.
More information is available on the Walktober website and Facebook page.
Wendy Gillett is the CEO of Bluearth. Bluearth is a national health promotion charity on a mission to improve the health of all Australians and address the burden of disease that is associated with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
