Grampians walking holidays, Victoria, Australia

Minimal impact walking: We lead by example and encourage others to follow. We believe that we are doing our job well when our customers leave a tour having had a fabulous, fun filled holiday but also come away with a broader appreciation of and respect for the natural environment. Ideally they come to walk and leave as ambassadors for the environment. We stay on formed tracks, avoid trampling vegetation, insist that all rubbish is carried out, pick up rubbish left by others. Group sizes on self-guided trips are usually only two. On group guided trips the maximum size is 15 but there are two guides so we can split into smaller parties, limiting our impact.

We plan our walks to utilise toilets wherever possible and if not available, we provide clear instruction on burying waste and carrying out any sanitary items. We view wildlife from a distance and never feed native animals. We do not light fires in the bush and we do not allow people to smoke on walks. Our motto is “Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photos and a piece of someone else’s rubbish”.

We donate money to FOGGS. FOGGS (Friends of Grampians Gariwerd) works in close co-operation with local Parks Victoria staff to promote the conservation, protection and restoration of the Grampians National Park. Recent projects include walking track maintenance, environmental monitoring of prescribed burning locations in the National Park and various threatened species projects. The aim of FOGGS is to encourage and educate people to understand and enjoy, while conserving, the Grampians National Park.

Through annual and daily fees to national park authorities we provide revenue essential to the protection and maintenance of the parks we visit. We comply with the management strategy plans of each park.. We foster an understanding and appreciation of our fragile ecosystems. We adopt a carry it in – carry it out policy and pick up any litter left by others. We encourage minimal impact walking techniques that will ensure we leave nothing behind other than footprints and take nothing away but memories and someone else’s rubbish.