Tag Archives: walking

Victorian Disability, Sport & Recreation Initiative of the Year Award

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Tonight I accepted this Award for the Walking and Rolling Together Project I led for Victoria Walks. It has been a privilege working with the awesome Victoria Walks team and recently retired EO Ben Rossiter. It has been a privilege to co-design and co-audit with so many people living with disability, their families and carers. Collaborating with Scope Australia, DSRV, RSV, RSAs GippSport, Sport North East and Valley Sport made all the necessary statewide connections possible. To the State Government of Victoria and Department of Sport and Recreation thank you for recognising our vision and funding it not once, but twice.

A closing statement: there are still many good people out there doing many very good things. Join them.

In Forests #02

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Forest walking, Mt Dandenong, Victoria.
What is it the forest says to me?
It says, “Dive in deep and gleefully!”
and oh I do so like to take that advice
because diving into a forest is oh so nice

I approach the edge excited each time
because when forest bathing the time is all mine
nearing the forest the world changes scale and shape
new dimensions appear: from 2D to 3D, into 4D I leap

as the colours of tree thin lands fade out behind me
the colours of the forest grow ever richer to see
and time seems to stop while immersed in this place
as the harshness of cities is quickly replaced 
by the soft light of beauty and amazing grace

the smells of the flora the anticipation of wildlife
the moisture in the air the freedom the relief
where I walk in peace awestruck and at my own pace
where I find so many reasons to pause and marvel in this space

I belong in the forest it puts smiles on my face
it slows me it soothes me it relieves me of haste

it gives me adventures I would never otherwise find
it welcomes and embraces me and I return all in kind
I embrace the ground cover the mid story and canopy
I welcome every insect bird and animal I see 
I soak up the sights of mosses lichen and fungi 
the waterways the water aquatic life and algae 

and I think if this is heaven in heaven I want to be
because then heaven is on earth to revere joyfully

Today’s d’Verse prompt is from Lillian: write a poem that somehow mentions, is set in, or is motivated by the woods / forest. As I hope you can see, I like nothing better than to spend time walking in forests.

Ariel is submarine

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Ariel was submarine once seen
where aquatic fossils scraped the sky
submarine is like a dream
of eternal meanderings passing by

like a book written within
like records of the past deep
until revealed or awoken
they have lain millennia asleep

Waterhole

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Water water
in that hole
I see water in that hole
been so dry a heavy toll
now I see water in a hole

drinking drinking 
drinking up
I keep drinking hands a cupped
all that water it’s going down
I keep drinking though it’s brown

walking staggering 
just how far
to another waterhole reservoir
the door of hope is now ajar
waterholes be my repertoire

heat and sun
pounding down
no further waterhole to be found
in the lee of boulders I go to ground
to die in shade without a sound


Walking and Rolling Together

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Please copy and share this tile to your networks and social media.
Please copy and share this tile to your networks and social media.

For the past three years I have had the pleasure of leading the Walking and Rolling Together project for identifying, assessing, photographing and describing potential accessible walking / rolling paths across our wonderful state of Victoria.

Victoria Walks’ unique audit tool, developed and co-designed by people with disability, and its application to the co-auditing process by and for people with disability, has resulted in seventy metro, regional and rural accessible walking / rolling paths being published as digital accessible walking / rolling maps.

We have made the audit tool free to download and use for discovering more accessible walking and rolling paths. It would be applicable anywhere in the world.

The project is coming to a close. People with disability and carers can now look up an accessible walking / rolling map and find out all about the accessible features. We are promoting this work as far and wide as we can to encourage everyone to share the accessible walking maps, to get outdoors and to enjoy nature.

We have created this resource for everyone. There is no doubt, walking and rolling can deliver amazing experiences as well as great health and wellbeing outcomes.

Native Daphne

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Native Daphne, Mangalore Flora Reserve, Victoria.
Budding native Daphne
very quickly had me
on my knees
if you please 
with camera focussing
happily

In Forests #01

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For lovers, North Creek, Strathbogie Forest, Victoria.
In forests we go walking to find the time for talking
to take us away from the city hustle ever stalking

I meet you on love’s wings at the perimeter of meadows
and I love you all the more as we enter soft green forest shadows

we take the paths less trodden to open new forest doors
we find our way to high places to meres and rugged moors

the ferns they point our way with glistening fronds a waving
guiding us through the timeless forest we find ourselves a weaving 
hand in hand we travel each a lovestruck wandering Gypsy
this time this place alone together precious magical and carefree

sun rays light the glades with golden shafts of wonder
we look aloft, laugh and dance beneath the forest grandeur

we lie down on forest beds and let our fingers do some walking
our hands our lips our tongue tips put a silence to the talking

again the language of forest love begins and with it our renewal
I’ll always be your forest love you my cherished forest jewel

when the forest loving is done and we must find our way back home
we’ll look forward to more forest talking and forest loving yet to come

Shoes

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Once I had one hundred pairs of shoes
so many shoes I didn’t know what to do with them all
How could I be fair to every pair?

I wore them in I wore them out
I wore them everywhere and all about
I put them on I took them off
I cleaned them and I watched them scuff
I kept them in the wardrobe I kept them on the floor
I looked at new pairs in shoe shops always buying more
I watched over them in case they walked out on me
although that would be quite a shock to see

I wondered how to share the wear
for so many shoes I’d bought with care
I wore them in evens I wore the odds
I racked them up and hung them from rods
I couldn’t work out how to be fair
to give each two an outing same as every other pair
so I put them in a line and started at one end
each day I would wear the next pair I did intend
the days wore on the line grew around the house
I walked in socks to each next pair quiet as a mouse

eventually I reached the very end 
at which point I must myself defend 
I came late to realising  shoes have no brains 
or feelings so there were no gains
from my actions bold and unreserved
my treatment of them was undeserved

I thought I would try a nonsense poem for a change.

Cloudy

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Sunrise and the clouds are silver, gold, pink or the brightest of whites
they promise new beginnings and I believe them
I say goodbye to the night
and the day is full of all that might be

sun fringed clouds speak of good fortune and hope
when I raise my eyes to see them things start looking up
silver linings

dark clouds rising are mysterious and foreboding
what danger is imminent?
how will it affect me?
I become watchful

ah, today black clouds shadow my father's angry face
it’s time to make myself scarce
there is no doubt about the turbulence ahead
for mother and me it’s time to flee the storm to come

I am grateful
the clouds have lifted from our little home
the windows and doors are open 
fresh air has once again surged through and purged too

my little window looks to the sky
there are omens in the various shapes passing by
I watch them, they guide me
to more  thoughts of what is to come by and by

Harro & Jack

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Walking and rolling 
with Harro and son, Jack
under giant California Redwoods 
in Ballarat
where they hold up the sky
and you marvel at that
but just being able to be there 
is something else to marvel at
for a father and son
called Harro and Jack
while creating another 
accessible walking map
it is my great pleasure 
to be part of all that

https://walkingmaps.com.au/accessible-walks

still life in the bush

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I love the way this dead eucalypt branch creeps out of the surrounding foliage, Strathbogie Tableland, Victoria.
sometimes an image strikes you
before you even take it
still life in the bush
make it!

Photography days #32.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Tableland walking

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Boundary Hill Road, Strathbogie Tableland, Victoria.
Walking Boundary Hill Road in dappled sun
from the Mannas and Blue Gums lining the run
the trees are magnificent and so is the landscape
when you are walking here the feeling is great

Photography days #30.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Sleep time / story time

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Father and son walking sleeping daughter, Tarralla Creek, Croydon, Victoria.
Baby sister is deep asleep
It is time for father and son
"Tell me a new story dad,"
"make it a really good one!"

Photography days #23.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Accessible walks are for everyone

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Accessible walk, Lake Pertobe, Warrnambool, Victoria.
Accessible walks are such a wonderful thing
getting all people out to enjoy nature and sun
for me, it is a matter of strategic dreaming
that I will publish each accessible walk for everyone

the pleasure I see in enjoyed natural spaces
and landscaped gardens designed for all
the smiles on all young and adult faces
as they embark on a walk at nature's call

feeling healthier and fitter for being outside
as they see the sights on a walk or a roll
and so much mentally better inside
breaking the chains of confinement is a worthy goal

If you are looking for an accessible walk in Victoria, this not for profit site is where we publish: https://walkingmaps.com.au/accessible-walks

Poetry days #25

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

A springtime view from Boundary Hill

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View from Boundary Hill, Strathbogie Tableland, Victoria.
Bucolic scenes
the stuff of dreams
where farmland meets
bushland seats

Photography days #21.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Dew

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Strathbogie sunrise
I accept the dew of early morn as through golden hour I walk
the brittle sun of dawn is come
to break on every dewy stem and stalk
an ascending wave it pushes away nights waning mantle of grey
seeking out each shaded hollow where the sprites of night still play

as my feet dampen and my spirits rise with every step I take
i feel the joy inside of me stir peacefully to fully awake
the first touch of warmth upon my skin bodes well for another day
i turn my face to far horizon where sun breaks cover with glorious rays

vivid pinks and yellows dress the sky in resplendent heavenly garb
the first full shafts of light to pierce the dew delight with rainbowed prisms and shards
they brush the earth with tantalising grace promise of the day to come
I consider that prospect as I return to the place where I came from

my home upon the hill does beckon lit in tones of gold
breakfast awaits and children’s smiles call me back to the fold
as I return in new light I reflect on mornings journey through rising mist
toward embracing tasks ahead, now worry off my list
as mornings clarity prepares me for the next path 
I am to tread
this moment of pure atmosphere  also readies me 
I am dewly led

Poetry days #12.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Wombolano

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Wombolano walking track
A dreamy filter diffuses the sun
path, walking and sun all become one
the foliage the light the green and the gold
wombolano morning a sight to behold

Photography days #12.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Mt Stirling, Victoria

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Photography days #11.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Snowline

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Above the snowlike looking toward the Paps, Timbertop, Victoria.
for the clearest view
here's what to do
climb the highest mountain
to just above the snowline
where the trees fade away
on a clear blue day

Photography days #10.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Autumn at Alfred Nick

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There is a garden in the Dandenong Ranges
I call it Alfred Nick
after its long departed owner 
who bequeathed it to our state

There are many gardens in the Ranges
but this one is the pick
of autumnal Ranges' splendour
vivid colour above 
below lying thick

I drive the winding roads most every autumn
with camera in my hand
at the gates I pause
deeply breathe crisp mountain air
in anticipation of trees so grand

there is a lake in the Ranges
in the garden I call Alfred Nick
in autumn leaves make artful arrangements
on the surface 
ephemeral so be quick

in this magical place full of growth and life
the photography is opportunistic
where human design and nature's creations
blend native, exotic and mystic
where ethereal mists linger and clear
for ambient blur and clarity rarely seen
in one place at one time 
without ever repeating

every visit is unique
every visit is a joy
every vista a delight
reigniting the spark in 
every nature loving 
man, woman, girl and boy

For this week’s dVerse prompt Punam has asked we poets to write of autumn. My favourite season. The prompt speaks of love, so I present one of my autumn loves – Alfred Nicholas Gardens in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Buildings of Melbourne #03

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A gallery of 10 images. To see each full image click on any photo, then click the arrows to scroll.

Photography days #08.

All work is my own and copyright. I do not use AI or wish for AI to use my work.

Mountain man

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Cathedral Range, Victoria
Of the mountains 
of the peaks
of the hills and valleys steep

I the mountain
man of woodland
keep my forest keep

in the rivers 
in the lakes
in the waters deep

I bathe and water
fish for supper
pull my oars asweep

i am a hunter
and life preserver 
at loss in grief I weep

at end of day
abed I lay
to drop to restful sleep

Poetry days #07.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Wetlands watching

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Birding at Winton Wetlands
we look this way
we look that
we raise our binoculars
we have a chat
we love the birds
everywhere we see
delightful birds
we watch with glee

Poetry days #07.

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Merimbula

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In Merimbula the birds
don't need too many words
to describe their grace and beauty
let's just say they are all mighty

Photography days #06. For the walking map and description I have published on Victoria Walks see: https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/5767

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.

Mr Unknowable Self

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Finding your unknowable self, Lysterfield Lake walk
What is that thing you have concealed at the back of the darkest shelf
Mr Unknowable Self
what is it you have hidden away
is it for a rainy day
is it for a special time or special friend to reveal
is it honestly come by or is it something you steal

who are you Mr Unknowable Self
and the secretive part of you
neither pauper nor with wealth
covert and invisible to all including yourself
fearful of understanding 
a past that might never heal 
committed to hiding away the things not to be revealed

so how are you Mr Unknowable Self
are you content with never knowing
never believing in yourself
will you practice deceit all your life to avoid one likely fact
if you explored the things you don’t want to know 
you with yourself
might that make a peaceful pact

so take down that thing from the darkest shelf
open it to the light
make sure it is dealt
with to relieve you of your plight

Poetry days #05. For the online Lysterfield Lake walking map and description I have published on the Victoria Walks web site click: Lysterfield Lake circuit walk

All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.