Martin Fisk has walked the 145km Canberra Centenary Trail four times but always discovers something new on it.
Like the National Rock Garden at the arboretum. Or the Aranda snow gums. Or Spoonville on Isaacs Ridge.
And he's walked bits of the trail plenty of times. It doesn't need to be tackled all at once.
"The thing about the walk is, I've done it a few times in five days which is a hard 30km a day walk or you can just do little sections," Mr Fisk said.
"We've driven a car, walked a section and then called an Uber to drop us back to the car."
And the trail, he reckons, is like an invitation to visit a new part of the national capital.
"Canberra people, while we're very active, we can tend to be quite limited to our own little environment. I've lived here for 20 years and I had never walked up One Tree Hill [near Hall]," he said.
"So it's a really good incentive to get out and see parts of Canberra that you ordinarily wouldn't see."
With his keen eye and enthusiastic attitude, Mr Fisk was a shoo-in to write the second edition of the ultimate guide to the trail, Walking and Cycling Canberra's Centenary Trail, which is out now.
He's updated the work of Nina Hvoslef and Tallis Didcott from the first edition, giving some insider knowledge of locations along the loop, which showcases Canberra's nature parks as well as its urban and rural environment.
Mr Fisk also donated his payment for his work to Menslink, the Canberra not-for-profit organisation he helmed for 11 years until his retirement last year.
The Bonython resident first completed the full length of the trail in 2021 as a fundraiser for Menslink, called the Menslink Great Walk, joined by other CEOs and community leaders.
"And having done the walk, I probably bought the original version of the book and fell in love with the walk," he said.
The trail, officially opened in 2013 as part of Canberra's centenary celebrations, was created as a seven-day walk or three-day bike ride.
But the guide also divides it into 16 shorter routes, showing where you can join and leave the route.
It also details which part of the trail you can take your dog and the best places to go with children.
The guide also has activities for kids to complete on the trail and pictures of birds and animals to look out for on their journey.
It even shows how you can walk or cycle from one cafe to another on the route.
"You can cycle the whole way and there are sections where they deviate and it's walkers only. So Mount Ainslie, Majura and Black Mountain are walkers only, everything else is bike," Mr Fisk said.
Updating the guide had been "a labour of love" for Mr Fisk. He hopes more Canberrans get out and explore it.
"There's so many things to do," he said. "And the trail itself is amazing because you get this unique perspective of Canberra."
- Walking and Cycling Canberra's Centenary Trail, Second Edition, is published by Woodslane Walking Guides. It is available in book shops and online.
