Wentworth Falls author Veechi Stuart is set to launch the 11th update, and the third official edition, of her bestselling book Blue Mountains Best Bushwalks.
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The book has sold 50,000 copies since it was first published with 61 walks in it, by Woodslane Press and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2004. It has practical walk descriptions from Lithgow to Glenbrook, Jenolan Caves and Mount Wilson.
Surprisingly the books have proved a panacea for many bored couples looking for something to do on the weekend, she said.
“It wasn’t my aim as a marriage counselling device, but more than one couple has said it’s been really great for their relationship,” Ms Stuart said.
She said many had chosen to tackle the entire book, setting aside the weekends for a year, to do it.
“A lot of people adopt it as their way to discover and explore the Mountains as a primary source”.
Ms Stuart is a former Herald columnist who has lived in the Mountains for more than 20 years and written several other Sydney bushwalking guides. The first Mountains edition took a year to write and the second edition was published in 2009 with eight reprints with minor additions.
“It was inspired by me and a publishing colleague identifying that there was no current walking guide, still in print, for the Blue Mountains, that covered the walks available in an accessible and easy to understand manner,” she told the Gazette.
“This book fills the gap between the scant detail provided by tourist brochures and the hardcore bushwalking guides where you need a compass and rope. This book reaches a broader audience, including families with kids and people who only want to walk one or two hours.”
But the book also includes several full-day walks, plus one overnight walk, for those who want to be challenged, she added.
The Herald has called her bestselling Mountains bushwalking guide an “indispensable companion”. She said the newest edition has more up-to-date information which was important for bushwalkers safety.
“I do re-walk every walk for a new edition: sometimes there are not many changes, but there is almost always something that can be improved, such as more detail on the maps … more info about the history. I also sometimes modify walk routes and with each new edition I add two or three new walks,” she said.
The book will be launched by the great historian of Blue Mountains bushwalking Jim Smith on Saturday October 8 at 4pm in the Parlour Bar at Hotel Blue in Katoomba.
“Jim Smith’s book, How to See the Blue Mountains, first published in 1982, was my introduction to bushwalking in the Mountains, as it was for thousands of other people. Without this book, I would not have discovered so many of the walks that I have come to love.”
There are 65 walks in the book. Her favourite walks are in the Grose Valley (the Blue Gum Forest) and she said she tries to avoid long stretches on fire trails and chooses circular routes and walks based on beauty and natural features.
With this edition she has also launched a new website [www.bluemountainswalks.net.au] which allows people to download the walks as single PDF files or as chapters.
The book also has detailed maps and colour photos with grades, times and ascents and some descriptions of flora, fauna, history, geology and ecology.
The book is available for $29.99 from bookstores, newsagents and visitors centres.
Ms Stuart is set to write for the Blue Mountains Gazette Review in coming editions.