The Call of the Hunt 1000: Reasons I Keep Coming Back

Photos by Gavin Kaps (Osprey Imagery)

I wasn’t going to do the Hunt 1000 last year. I’d had a big year travelling overseas for the Silk Road Mountain Race (SRMR) in August, along with other local bikepacking trips closer to home. I’d previously done the Hunt in 2023 (Melbourne to Canberra) and 2024 (Canberra to Melbourne), so I felt I had ticked those boxes.

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When you start doing things regularly, habits and traditions form, and sometimes it’s friends or family who notice and comment on it. A few friends asked if I was doing the Hunt 1000 again, and some others mentioned that they were signing up this year, too. I couldn’t imagine sitting at home and dot watching whilst they were out there having an adventure. You just want to be out there and be part of it as well—FOMO is real!

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I’d mentioned it to my husband, Dane, and he told me to go for it since I had the motivation and could take advantage of the fitness I had built during the SRMR. I had no annual leave left from work, but when my boss asked if I was doing the Hunt 1000 again this year, I took that as permission. The next thing I knew, I was signing up for my third edition. There are several reasons I keep returning to this event year after year:

Event Format

​As its name suggests, the Hunt 1000 is a 1,000-kilometre self-supported bikepacking event that crosses the Australian Alps, gaining approximately 25,000 vertical metres, with a grand finish rather than a mass start. You set your own challenge with your self-selected departure date and the goal to arrive in Melbourne along with the other riders on the last Saturday in November. Due to this format, the closer you get to the end, the larger the crowd of riders on the route grows. It creates a great social atmosphere where the dots all start to congregate, and you get to enjoy a beer or two with other riders and share stories of your ride. Many bonds and friendships are formed, and there are quite a few repeat offenders who show up year after year. Unlike a typical race, where you see each other at the start but might not cross paths with another rider, this is quite the opposite. It’s one of the biggest attractions for me.

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Some riders meet up and ride out from the start together on their chosen departure date. Others choose to ride alone. This year, I didn’t see another rider until about halfway through my second day, when I passed a couple of riders in the Jagungal Wilderness. I then didn’t come across another rider until my third afternoon. Even though you’re riding and camping on your own, the community and vibe that this event creates never leaves you feeling alone.

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I rode the final 35 kilometres of the route with mates who had started their ride earlier. We shared stories of our separate journeys as we rolled into Edinburgh Gardens together. Throughout the final day, riders gathered in the park, and finishers’ photos were taken at the rotunda as stories were traded over a beer.

A Different Route Every Year

​Whilst the event generally runs from Canberra to Melbourne, usually with Omeo as a good midway resupply point, organiser Dan Hunt does a great job of varying the route each year, keeping it interesting for riders who do the event multiple times. There’s usually a good hike-a-bike or two that most people wouldn’t seek out on their own planned adventures. It’s a great way to see new places, knowing that someone has done all the planning and research on your behalf.

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The route is released about two weeks before the event as the excitement and anticipation grow. I hadn’t been to Dargo before, but it was high up on my must-visit list. I was excited to learn that Billy Goats Bluff was also included on the 2025 route. Was I the only one excited by this? Dan had suggested allowing for a four-hour hike-a-bike to the top. Apparently, the views were meant to be worth it, but unfortunately for me, about two-thirds of the way up, the rain and fog came in. I still enjoyed it, nonetheless.

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Being a repeat offender myself, I like being familiar with some of the areas I have ridden through previously. It was great to see the platypus whilst having lunch on Beloka Road, near Benambra, in the same spot I saw it in 2024, as was chatting with Leanne at the Licola Store again, which the route also intersected in 2023.

Personal Challenge

​I love a challenge and don’t like to do things the easy way. I want to push myself and find out what I’m truly capable of. I believe that we can all achieve so much more than we think we can—if we want to, that is. Everyday life has become so comfortable for the fortunate among us, and I believe we need to step out of our comfort zones as much as we can to push ourselves and grow.

A lot goes into preparing for such a big event. Months are spent training on the bike. Time with family and friends is sacrificed to give you the best chance of success. I always love having an event on the calendar or a trip planned, so I have something to train for. It’s great motivation. However, events of this size require much more than just hours on the saddle. A lot of the time, it’s the mental side of things that brings people unstuck.

I plan a yearly solo overnighter stitch-up trip filled with hike-a-bike and river crossings, just for fun! I head out to a beautiful valley, not too far from home, called Bendethera. To get to and from Bendethera, there are hours of relentless hike-a-bike that most of my bikepacking buddies wouldn’t consider joining me on. Even my mates on dirtbikes and 4WDs who visit there shake their heads at me in disbelief.

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I’ll head out in the rain and wind to strengthen my mind and test my gear to ensure I’m prepared for everything and anything. During the previous two years on the Hunt 1000, I’ve probably encountered some of the worst possible weather, with chest-deep river crossings in the pouring rain (thankfully with the assistance of other riders at the time), and hours of hike-a-bike through peanut-butter mud. Training the mind allows you to deal with these situations when they arise.

​This year, the rivers through Jagungal were manageable when I crossed them on my own. I didn’t really come across a rider to pedal with until I hit the Murray River, which borders New South Wales and Victoria. This was on my third day of the Hunt 1000 at about the 353-kilometre mark. I’d crossed the Murray River the previous two years and not had a problem before, so I knew the best place to cross.

With rain the previous day, it’s always an unknown how the river levels may have changed. That morning, I watched other dots cross the river. By the afternoon, when I arrived, the river had risen. I walked out about halfway without the bike and gear, and the current was strong. Being vertically challenged and on my own, it wouldn’t have been a safe option, so I backtracked and headed for the bridge on private property, which was marked on the route as a backup.

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On my way back, I came across another rider and explained the situation. We headed back to the river and assessed it together. Again, walking out without the bikes, we decided that with two of us there, we could probably make the crossing by keeping the bikes overhead, which meant two trips with the bikes unloaded. The river was about hip-deep for me.

Learning to Prepare for Anything

“Prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” they say. When everyone kept telling me I was due for good weather this time, I responded with, “It’s the Hunt 1000. The weather is always bad!” I was mentally prepared. I did get pretty lucky this year; some riders who left earlier than me found snow and hail!

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Then there are the logistics to plan for. I love spending time studying the route and working out how long I think it will take me. This year, I had already decided to do it one day faster than the previous year to challenge myself more. Even with my targeted nine days, I had a few shorter days, so I could have pushed longer days and taken less time again.

There can be three to five days without resupply, depending on your pace, so you need to be able to carry enough food to get you through. Researching shop opening hours and pub mealtimes is key. I always carry a spare meal and extra snacks in case of an injury or mechanical. Knowing where you can get water and planning how much to carry at any one time is important. This is also dependent on the temperature, the weather at the time, and the terrain. I’m probably a bit over the top when it comes to planning, but I have a wicked spreadsheet that serves me well.

Self-Satisfaction

There’s nothing more satisfying than achieving your goals, knowing all that effort has paid off. I love knowing I can prepare and carry everything that I need to survive. We don’t need much, just food, shelter, and water. The simplicity of bikepacking reminds me of that. Being in beautiful, wild, remote places with no phone reception ticks all the boxes for me. Being in the wilderness really is my happy place.

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You can achieve all this alone, too. The first time I was going to enter the Hunt 1000, it was with a friend, but her circumstances changed, so she could no longer make it. I had a choice. I could wait for another year when a friend could join me, or just do it alone. This was the turning point for me, and I entered alone. I was nervous and scared of the unknown. At that point, I hadn’t even camped a night on my own, but that was all about to change.

My first overnighter alone was at a spot in the local national park I was very familiar with, and I survived that first solo camp. My next mission was straight out to Bendethera, as mentioned above. I think I experienced one of my lowest moments on a bike that weekend, with a stitch-up route, heat, fatigue, and stress. I remembered messaging a friend to say I’d never go back there again before I had even arrived. By the time I got there and had calmed down, then hiked back out again the next day, I knew I was unstoppable! That became my benchmark. If I can do that, I can do anything. The confidence and satisfaction I had after those trips and my first Hunt 1000 truly shaped who I am today.

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There aren’t that many women who participate in bikepacking events, although that number is growing. One thing that has always inspired me is seeing other women achieve great adventures on their own. By getting out there and doing these things, I hope to encourage and inspire others to do the same.

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​Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the Hunt 1000. The only thing currently known about the 2026 edition is that the route will head from north to south again, with a finish in Melbourne. What trails will the route follow? What will be the challenges? What will be the highlights? And, more importantly, will you be there?

Further Reading

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