Developing A Spatial Model Of Probable Hiking Experiences Through Natural Landscapes

The natural landscape is an arena for a wide array of recreational activities. Recent changes in hiking behaviour in wilderness settings have been attributed to changes in tourists' attitudes, personalities and life styles. Modern tourists are not only looking for quality but also a variety of leisure products and experiences and a style of product delivery compatible to their life style. Tourists patronise those areas that offer diversity of natural and cultural attractions and a variety of experiences in an easily legible, navigable and accessible geographic space. This paper investigates characteristics of terrain surfaces in order to develop a spatial model of hiking experiences around the Pinnacle walking track in the Grampians National Park. In situ measurements of feelings and experiences were determined via a questionnaire administered to a group of adolescent aged students hiking on a track. The paper shows the development of a set of predictors derived from surface features and surface cover that can be used to predict potential hiking experience. Factor analysis has been used to identify a smaller set of dimensions that explain most of the variance among input variables. Finally, a predictive spatial model of hiking landscapes has been developed from input maps over the entire geographic space. The developed spatial model of probable hiking experiences is suggested as an alternative strategy to ease mounting pressure around existing walking tracks.