In 2013, an enthusiastic group of ARPA Bushwalkers went to Italy to experience the pleasure of walking in the Dolomites.  By all accounts, that tour was most enjoyable.  So when Peter Blackman from Italy by Design, who organised the 2013 trip, offered to arrange another Dolomites trip, it was not surprising that fourteen RASA Bushwalkers put up their hands to go.

On 15 August 2024, the walkers met Peter and his colleague, Stefano at the Gruner Baum Hotel in Bressanone/Brixen to be briefed on our trip through the Dolomites to Venice.  We spent five nights in Bressanone then moved to the Hotel Cesa Padon near Arabba for three nights, and finally three nights in the Hotel Dinesen American in Venice. All of our accommodation was good quality three and four star hotels.

For most of the trip, the weather was fine and not too hot, although more humid than we are used to in Adelaide.  We had one day when it rained most of the time after morning tea, otherwise the weather was good for walking, helped by the fact that we were walking at an altitude of about 2,000 metres much of the time.  However, it did get a bit hot and sweaty in Venice.

Our walking program started with an easy introductory walk from our hotel through the streets of Bressanone, out of town through the vineyards and orchards to the 12^th century Novacella Abbey, and then back to town, about 8kms in total.  After the warm up, we hit the mountains for three days of fabulous walks – Mt Plose (14km), Odle Mountains (11km) and Sass Putia (11km).  The walking was not too difficult, mostly undulating and not too steep, although the altitude made for solid walking.

The trails were often roads or tracks, although there were sections through forests which were rough, dodging the rocks and roots.  But we were rewarded constantly with fabulous mountain scenery.

While the walks were not long, we usually stopped at a refugio for morning tea, ordering a cappuccino or a drink of choice.  Most days, we also stopped at a refugio and ordered lunch from the menu. At Sass Putia, we took a picnic and enjoyed the wonderful views. These stops meant that we had long days, getting back to our hotel after 4.00pm.

We had two other walks in the Dolomites. The first was a 9km hike to view the Marmolada, the highest peak in the Dolomites. The walk departed from Passo Pordoi, which is also extremely popular with road cyclists and mountain bikers, as well as skiiers in the winter.  The walking trail was very busy, sometimes resembling the old Rundle Street crowds, for those that can remember. But, as we came to expect, the scenery was great. (After the walk, seven of us took the precipitous cable car to the top of Sass Pordoi for more great views of the surrounding countryside).

Our last Dolomites walk started in Corvara, where we caught the cable car to Col Alto.  This is a big skiing area with many cable cars/ski lifts in the vicinity.  Our walk looped around and finished back in Corvara, about 11.5kms later, once again wowed by the mountain scenery.  The novelty of the day was a lesson in making hay Italian style on the steep mountain slopes.

After the delight of the Dolomites, we descended to Venice where we had two days of guided city tours, giving us an insight into the less touristy parts of Venice, but still allowing plenty of time to compete with the masses around the tourist hot spots like St Mark’s Square.,

No camp report would be complete without some comment on the food and dining.  In general, the breakfast buffets had many choices of a wide variety of foods which should have satisfied all tastes.  Similarly, the lunches and dinners were good with the dessert buffets at the Gruner Baum Hotel in Bressanone deserving a special mention.

Finally, thanks to everybody who was involved for making it a great trip.  In particular, thanks to Ann for her efforts in organising the tour.  Also, thanks to Peter and Stefano for guiding us safely though all of the walks and travel, from Bressanone to Venice.  (Peter indicated that he would be happy to do it all again so if anybody is interested, they can get in touch.)

We had a great time.