A Long Way Walkin’ in Australia by Tom Hayllar
Tom Hayllar is a teacher, writer, bushwalker, caver, and adventurer. He has climbed inaccessible mountains in New Guinea, explored remote cave systems in New Guinea and the Philippines, walked across isolated Himalayan and Nepalese high country, and trekked lonely stretches of Alaska.
In 1975 he was the first person to walk the 11,829 kilometer journey around Australia, and three years later he became the first person to traverse Australia on foot along its widest point from Cape Byron to Steep Point.
Tom Hayllar just loves to walk, but the journeys are enriched by the characters, landscapes, and even the hardships experienced along the way.
Here is how and why it was a long way walkin' in 1985 when he made the diagonal journey walking from Wilson's Promontory by the Tasman to where the Timor Sea laps the cliffs of the Northern Kimberley.
This walk, like his other long distance walks in Australia, is authenticated by the Guiness Book of Records.
ANZEC Member - Tom Hallyer
Interests and activities: walking, caving, writing , family life. I am a member of the Explorers Club of New York; The Coast and Mountain Walkers of Sydney; The Sydney Speleological Society. Long Walks in Australia : An Around Australia Walk beginning in 1975 and finishing a year later, give or take a few days. Distance around 7456 miles (approx.12,000 kms) During 1976 to 1088 : Several walks : an East-west walk , Cape Byron to Steep Point, WA, a diagonal walk , Wilsons Promontory to Kalumburu WA . These walks are authenticated in the Guinness Book of Records, Australian Supplement 1986 and in several other years. Coastal walks : Cape York to Cairns , Cairns to Derby . Caving : A Julia James , SSS expedition to the Atea cave system, Muller Range, western New Guinea. A Brad Warren and SSS expedition to the Palawan caving area in the Phillipines. Books : “The Star Mountains” In this book I described the mountain Range in which six Aussies and 25 trusty NG people climbed the highest summits and made the first crossing of the Star Mountains. “A Long Way Walkin’ in Australia.” , a walk of several months from Wilsons Promontory to Kalumburu , WA . A walk to Cape Londonderry was added on later.
