Saturday, April 24, 2010

Pilgrims Progress: linking it all together

There has been a tremendous response to the Camino program on ABC with almost 50 applications to join the two Camino Salvado pilgrimages that follow the Pilgrim trail. Whilst this is very encouraging, we do have to remember that the Trail is still very much a work in progress. At this stage, although there is a theoretical path out of Walyunga Park to Lower Chittering, in reality there is no trail there: Stock Road may appear on the maps, but it has never been constructed and at present, its just wild bush and a few fences! The City of Swan is looking into creating an emergency fire route that we could use as a track, but that may take several months.
Also, for those who wish to walk the route themselves, there are no shelters or camping grounds once you leave the environs of Perth or Bindoon, and public transport out of New Norcia can be as frequent as Halley’s Comet!! In other words, anyone planing to walk the Trail needs to think about overnight transport to take them to places where they can stay and transport to bring them back to Perth from New Norcia. In our next round of funding applications, we will be looking at providing shelters at appropriate sites for those who wish to walk the Trail unaided.
We will also be looking at ways of how to best learn the Histories and Spirituality of the areas the Pilgrims Trail passes through. One suggestion has been to use local WiFi networks that can be picked up on iPhones etc: all suggestions would be most appreciated!
Thanks for all your support and encouragement: and please keep the feedback coming: it really does make a difference!

Monday, April 5, 2010

ABC Compass Program

The Compass program went to air on Good Friday and the critics verdict is that it was fantastic: the winner of the Oscar for the best visuals goes to the Pilgrim Trail which was show-cased superbly!! If you missed the program you can click on the following link and watch it online:
http://www.abc.net.au/compass/s2848582.htm
Even without promoting the Camino Salvado Pilgrimage that follows our trail from St Josephs Church in Salvado Rd, Subiaco, they have already had well over a dozen applications for the walks later in the year: and these are people from just about every State in Australia: in other words, the Pilgrims Trail is now a National Identity! And all in under one year: that’s some achievement to be proud of. But there is still so much to do and improve upon, and we need your help and your input because a trail needs people: and we need you to help us to help them have a memorable experience.
If anyone is interested in joining the St Joseph’s Camino Salvado later this year, then click on the following link to find out more:
http://caminosalvado.com/