Friends of Nature Trail

Friends of Nature Trail is an informal group established by Nature Trail of local regular hikers of the Blue Mountains who are respected friends and neighbours of Nature Trail, as well as current and former guiding students of TAFE Ultimo College, and trusted acquaintances.

Friends of Nature Trail voluntarily offer up their time to participate freely on our Practice Trips which we undertake to first design, plan, and evaluate by on ground rehearsal of every proposed tour of Nature Trail before we consider offering as commercial tours to the paying public. We are most grateful for the participation, support and trust of Friends of Nature Trail, particularly during the early days of our establishment from back in 2013 to 2018, before we launched commercially in 2019. Special tribute is deserving of the late Jack Austin who had back in the 1980s established his informal interpretative bushwalking club ‘Jack’s Trackers‘.  In 2006, Jack inspired Nature Trail’s founder Steve (then aged 42) by generously sharing Jack’s insightful researched local history pro-bono with one interested other, Steve.

Local Blue Mountains bushwalking guide and historian Jack Austin on 30th June 2006, delivering Steve a private pro bono interpretative hiking tour around Katoomba’s Pulpit Hill’s colonial heritage dating from 1813. 

(Jack was my inspiration for establishing Nature Trail in 2013 and I am most grateful for the opportunity, Jack’s generous kind spirit and the memory).

 

These days Friends of Nature Trail are local regular walkers of the Blue Mountains who are respected friends and neighbours of Nature Trail management, as well as current and former guiding students of TAFE Ultimo College, and other trusted acquaintances. Friends of Nature Trail voluntarily offer up their time to participate on an ‘at cost’ basis on our Preparatory Trips which we undertake from time to time in order to explore, evaluate and rehearse each proposed tour before we offer it commercially to the paying public.  Friends of Nature Trail provide us with valuable pragmatic feedback in this regard.  Contribution by Friends of Nature Trail is considered vital to Nature Trail’s business development and quality tour offerings and is greatly appreciated.

Benefits of Registration

Registered Friends of Nature Trail benefit from enjoying the healthy exercise of hiking in the magnificence of Blue Mountains (or beyond), organised and led by our experienced and qualified Tour Director, Steve. Friends are not charged a tour fee, rather only incur minimal cost-recovery expense for a given trip which can vary.  Typical contributory costs include each participant supplying their own drinking water, suitable clothing and kit, meals, fuel share cost, plus any site entry fees and site guide costs if required.  The estimated total individual contributory costs are advised to participants well before each tour.

  • ‘At Cost’ participation on our preparatory Practice Trips
  • ‘At Cost’ participation on our Public Tours (subject to vacancy)
  • Authorship on Nature Trail’s website forum ‘The Craft of Touring
  • Authorship on Nature Trail’s website blog ‘Mountain Tracks
  • Other benefits include simply maintain health and fitness
  • ‘At cost’ opportunities to explore the Blue Mountains and Central Tables Lands with the advantage of a prepared and experienced tour leader, and riding in our dedicated tour vehicle, the P38 Range Rover ‘Excalibur’

Friends of Nature Trail are invited to join us on one of our Public Tours if and when a vacancy presents.  Participation is fairly on a first-come-first-served basis. Nature Trail thanks each and every Friend who has participated on one of our Practice Trips.  Everyone’s contribution including the many great tour photos, are genuinely contributing to the development of the Nature Trail tour operating venture, especially to this our website.

Nature Trail welcomes new Friends of Nature Trail

Anyone who is a keen to join us and who is a regular and fit walker, a current or former guiding student of TAFE Ultimo College, is invited to join us by contacting Nature Trail’s Tour Director, Steve, for a chat.

 

Enquire:

 

Phone us (within Australia):  1300 355 133

Email Us:   steve[at]naturetrail.com.au

 

  Registration Form