One-hour walks

Walking is a wonderful way to improve your health. At U3AM, there is a one-hour walk scheduled every day from Monday to Friday. With 5 different tutors, these all start at 9:00 am and cater for various levels of fitness. All have vacancies.

Monthly walk

For those wanting a greater challenge, there is also a half-day walk held on the fourth Wednesday of each month. These start from various locations in the local area. The walks are not difficult, but participants should be able to cover about 10 km within 3 hours with a stop for morning tea along the way.

The tutor

The leader for the monthly walks is Zak Fakhri. Zak has an interesting background. Born in Bangladesh, he moved to Pakistan when the civil war started in 1971. He went on to study in Canada and then worked in Canada, the USA and Bangladesh. Zak came to Australia in 1983, almost by accident. On a work-related trip to Los Angeles, he took up a fantastic Qantas deal for a stopover via Sydney. He said he fell in love with the country even before the plane had landed. Ten days later he was back in Australia, and this has been his home ever since.

Settling first in Sydney, he took up bushwalking in his mid-30s to improve his fitness and to satisfy his love of nature and the great outdoors. He came to Melbourne about 14 years ago and, since retiring, has gone from a weekend walker to an avid walker on most days of the week. He has done leadership and first-aid training as a longstanding member of the Maroondah Walking Club.

The April walk

Setting off from Westerfolds Park (Porter Street entrance) we made our way via the Yarra to Pettys Orchard where we stopped for a well-earned drink and chat. We saw kangaroos and a multitude of birds along the way. My husband Greg and I joined the walk as guests. Aside from Zak there were only 2 other participants, so it was a very select group. However, what we lacked in numbers was made up for by the congenial company, perfect weather, and a great sense of achievement at the end of the walk.

Participants’ views

Our fellow walkers had joined the monthly group because they felt it would be good to stretch themselves to do more than the one-hour walks, to further explore our beautiful local area, and to enjoy the social interactions that are possible with the longer duration.

Future walks

Future monthly walks will be along the Mullum Mullum Creek, Koonung Creek and Main Yarra Trails.

More information

For more details about all walks offered by U3A Manningham, consult the course information section of the website.

Jenny Johnstone
Editorial Team, U3A Manningham