About Us

Cherie Rothery (Chair)

I am the Chair for Wise Women Walking Club, and a walk leader for Big Heart Adventures. Both roles bring me a great deal of joy and satisfaction. 

I love the outdoors, admiring all the creatures around me.  I enjoy competing in Ultra events (50km plus) and when I am hiking, I particularly love the super steep climbs!   

One of my most memorable experiences was hiking half of the 500km ‘Walk the Yorke’ route as part of a seven day adventure race called, ‘S.O.S. – Sink of Survive’, with my team-mate doing the other half.  If we didn’t arrive at a particular town by 5am each day, we ‘sunk’ and were out of the race. Fortunately we both completed the 500km between us in the seven  days. The photo is me coming through Cape Elizabeth on my way to Port Hughes.

Kerry Strugnell (Vice-Chair)

I am passionate about wellbeing and connecting with nature in any way possible and through a friend I joined WWW four years ago.    

I enjoy being outdoors, travelling, socialising, working with children and community and promoting walking to colleagues and friends for stress release and enjoyment.   I love the philosophy of WWW and the sisterhood of walking together and supporting each other as women.

My goal is to keep walking, exercising and being active until the day I am no longer able too!

Nada Blachly (Treasurer)

My favourite walk in Adelaide is Chambers Gully.  I love it because there's a good balance of trails so you get to enjoy the surrounds and also feel like you've done a decent walk at the end of it.  There are lots of birds and creatures on the trail if you take the time to stop and listen. Plus an amazing view of the Adelaide plains from the top.

Outside of Adelaide, I would say my walk in Tasmania on the Tassie Trifecta last year was my favourite.  The walking trails are well maintained and there's a breathtaking view around every corner.  I felt like I was immersed in nature and surrounded by ruggedness and beauty every step of the way.

Kirstie Hawes (Secretary)

Kirstie is the Wise Women Walking Club secretary and also a walk leader for Big Heart Adventures.  Kirstie’s comment on this photo of her:

‘I'm standing on the summit of Mt Hotham in the Victorian Alps; I spent a couple of weeks here last year exploring the walking trails.

I particularly loved it as I was lucky enough to have two of my very favourite walking environments, mountains and snow pre-Winter.’

Kristen Willson

I have always loved being active outdoors. I am also passionate about preventative healthcare and the benefits that time spent outdoors has on both our physical and mental wellbeing.

I am so excited to now have the opportunity to be able to support others to get out on the trails, both as a leader with Big Heart Adventures and working behind the scenes on the WWW committee.

This photo was taken at Birendra Lake on my most recent trip to Nepal. Not only was the scenery stunning, but it was the most magical crisp day, with snow lightly falling and not a breath of wind. I felt like I was inside a snow globe!

Leah Reid

I am excited to become a member of Wise Women Walking committee. I have always enjoyed spending time outdoors and am passionate to share my love of walking and the benefits that spending time in nature has on all of us.

It’s difficult to pick a favourite walk, as all walks have something unique to offer, whether it be an epic view, quality time spent with others, perfect weather, sense of achievement or maybe just the simple pleasure of disconnecting from the daily norm.

This photo was taken from Mount Roy on a recent family trip to New Zealand where we hiked and enjoyed many a spectacular views of pristine landscapes.

Sandra Williamson

This is a photo of me about to start the Kumano Kodo Kohechi in Japan.  What an adventure!  Challenging, yes, but at the end of each day there was an onsen waiting.  By some onsen magic, all your aches and pains are washed away.  After a blissful night’s sleep on tatami mats, you wake up refreshed and feeling ready to take on the next stage of the pilgrimage.  Can recommend. 

Hiking was something I always wanted to do, but didn’t think I could do it.  Then a friend recommended Wise Women Walking.  Over about 6 years I’ve done many day walks and been on weekenders and two trips hiking in Japan.  My confidence has increased and I now have an entire wardrobe dedicated to my hiking gear.  The fresh air, sunshine and laughter with good friends are wonderful for wellbeing and I have never felt better. 

Lisa Murphy

Hi I am Lisa and I founded Wise Women Walking while creating walking and travelling experiences for women within our travel business Big Heart Adventures.  Over time this evolved and outgrew itself needing its own identity - now the Wise Women Walking program is part of a not for profit walking club and I am proud to see this program become more accessible to women who would otherwise miss out on the benefits walking in a group brings. 

I love being in nature and on the trails, it is truly my happy place and sharing with other likeminded women is where I learn the most.  About life, the world and myself. 

I love dogs, belly laughing, surfing and spotting fungi.  Walking helps my mental health and while I wear a few work hats as a leader, travel agent and support worker, one of the most rewarding is leading Nature Therapy and Forest Bathing sessions.

Amelia Murphy

Hi I’m Amelia!

I worked as an Intensive Care Nurse for 20 years. I absolutely loved it but it didn’t leave much energy or time for anything else in my life. I needed to do something different. So……….. Long story short, I went and became a volunteer cameleer and school camp facilitator, living in a swag west of Leigh Creek.

I came back looking to make some changes to my life. I hadn’t hiked or bushwalked before and wasn’t very fit but wanted to get back to being outdoors, especially the Desert!    Lucky for me, I found this wonderful group of Wise Women Walking. It really is the wisest, friendliest and most supportive group. Six months later I found myself in Central Australia walking the Larapinta Trail. That’s where I am in the photo.

I enjoy walking with WWW for all the positive benefits it has on both my physical and mental wellbeing. I like to do things differently, to take and explore the roads less travelled. I figured when there wasn’t a camel available, a really good way to do this was on foot so I better keep walking!

Tanya Lloyd

Hiking is something I have always loved and growing up in the Grampians region, climbing the peaks and walking the many tracks there was a great way to spend my childhood. Since then whenever I have travelled to other parts of Australia I never miss an opportunity to hike.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to live in PNG for a few years and while there was a member of the bushwalking group and did many hikes throughout the local region however, my greatest achievement was walking the Kokoda trail to raise money for the local hospital, which is where this photo of me comes from. This was taken on the last day about 5-6 hours before we finished. My motto in life since then has been ‘Nothing is as hard as Kokoda.’

I found the transition back to Australia quite challenging and so I joined WWW as a way to connect with other women with the added bonus of hiking and exploring the many new trails.