One of Australia's best-known satirists, John Clarke, has died at the age of 68.

An ABC spokesman confirmed that Clarke died on Sunday while hiking in the Grampians National Park in Victoria. He died from natural causes.

The New Zealand-born comedian and writer regularly appeared on Australian television from the late 1970s onwards.

Along with Bryan Dawe, he became a household name after writing and performing satirical interviews on Channel Nine's A Current Affair and later the ABC's 7.30 program, mocking everyone from Paul Keating to George Bush.