15/12/11: Other great inventions: the (1) Themarest Neo air (regular 370g) shown made into a chair using the (2) Big Agnes Cyclone Chair (150g) in the photo: ‘Tyvek wigwam’! All that is needed to make this scene perfect is Bacardi 151 (and Della, of course!) 15/12/11: The faux & real pack raft & the Tyvek […]
When we lived at Tarwin Lower we once hunted a house-sized dead whale on the shore of the inlet with hounds. We put foxhounds and bloodhounds right INSIDE the whale and shot nearly twenty foxes, some of which even came out the blowhole. Whether they were vixens making the traditional cry, ‘Thar she blows’ accurate
A friend thinks that reports of ‘black pumas’ etc may well be ‘thylaceo leo,’ the marsupial lion (there being no large black cats anywhere in the world only spotted ones) but this is a VERY long bow, though it would be nice. In 50+ years in the bush I have never even seen a large
Crepuscular birdsong why? Interesting to see this question answered in the latest New Scientist: it is because there is a temperature inversion then and sounds transmit better. Hope to live long enough to hear it again in our silent bushfire-ravaged forests. Bee-eater Wonnangatta River just above Waterford Bridge (Jan 2018). Update: Further to my post
I am currently trying Ainsley Harriott’s Southern Cajun Gumbo Cup of Soup for breakfast. Yum! Some people ask what food I take hiking. This is too hard a question for ONE post but here’s a tip which also works well for a snack or lunch. Combine a sachet of 2 minute noodles sans flavour sachet
Cooking oil fire: really important lesson. Who would have thought it could so easily be turned into something like a nuclear explosion? Only 34 seconds, please watch:
There is a ‘new’ tomato called a ‘kumato‘ apparently originally from the Galapagos Islands which is interesting – though this may be spin. It is deliciously sweet. I recommend you try some, & save and plant the seeds. it is a small tomato so you should still get a crop if you are quick.
Best gadget we have bought in the last year a 5″ Bebook reader but you can now get the new Sony 6″ model for about the same weight @ 160g but it won’t fit in your shirt pocket. It does not require you to pirate books but it sure makes reading a lot cheaper if
I bought a $40 raft (Intex) from Clark Rubber and reinforced it with a layer of poly tarp which can be attached to it with polyethylene tape (from greenhouse suppliers), ‘Gaffer’ or ‘Duct’ tape. You could also use tarp clips if you prefer. This makes it well-nigh indestructible. The tarps come in three weights: 100grams/square
We have the ‘Fiord Explorer’ which is a bit heavy but takes two. I took it down the Seaforth River in Fiordland afer a 3.5 day hike in! For a one person boat you could try the ‘Alpacka‘ or the ‘Scout’ (if you are as small as Della). These boats will handle any water you
