'Park not paddock': bushwalkers complete epic 36-day protest over brumbies

Protesters walk from Sydney to Mt Kosciuszko to draw attention to increasing damage feral horses are doing to national park

It is not a precise way to measure public sentiment. But as five seasoned bushwalkers made their way on foot through the New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro's electorate of Monaro, taking several days to reach Charlotte Pass before hiking up Mt Kosciuszko itself, they received more words of encouragement and support than opposition to their message.

The walkers were walking in protest against legislation shepherded through the NSW parliament by Barilaro in June that declared feral horses, or brumbies, a protected heritage species in Kosciuszko national park.