In answer to a comment: The best canoe shop undoubtedly is ‘Capacity Sports’ in Bay Rd near Westfield Southland. No-one locally has much. There are many to chose from, but also many that are not very good. I think you should borrow a couple of ours first (we have a variety). No-one much has improved […]
I love Gippsland’s rivers. There are so many where a week or more’s placid canoeing can be had. I think it would be a good idea to replace the Bible and the Koran in church and mosque with the book, ‘Canoeing the Rivers & Lakes of Victoria’ by Chris & Yvonne McLaughlin! It is three
We bought a tray back camper from fourwheelcampers.com in California sometime back. We have just been away in it and found it brilliant (especially the bed). The gas fridge kept everything nice and cold. We have a space heater and a water heater with an outside shower. We may add a rooftop solar panel to
Only 13 Kilograms! Now available in Oz: Velcro on a silnylon skirt and THIS could be just about the perfect one-person touring white water canoe: http://www.oldtowncanoe.com.au/canoes/packangler.html, and now that Della needs to be paddled http://www.theultralighthiker.com/pack-raft-saves-the-day/ THIS could be our new two-person touring canoe for flat water and moderate rapids. Can easily see us spending a leisurely
On a more cheerful note, I am always delighted at the way ‘nature’ exploits any change as a positive: we have a puddle outside our bedroom window created by the device which flushes the bird poo off the roof every time it rains instead of putting it in the tank. It is a treasure, an
Back from four days’ hiking in Wonnangatta-Moroka area with a young American friend, Steve Hutcheson whom I met on the Dusky Track earlier this year: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/a-friend-i-met-on-the-dusky-track-fiordland-nz/ The rivers were flooded and difficult to cross but the weather beautiful. Probably sub-zero of a night but warm and comfy for us thanks to my Tyvek tarps and
I’ve just spent four lovely days in the Wonnangatta-Moroka NP track clearing and blackberry spraying. Two guys had decided to camp in one of my spots and use all my firewood. Apparently they think I am a public servant as they did not replace it even when asked. The things you see when you have a
I have been thinking it would be a really good weekend to canoe the Thomson River given the projected (over 30’s) temperatures even though there is not a lot of water (suits me). Unfortunately my wife Della no longer feels confident enough to canoe the Thomson, so I am thinking about going by myself which
We celebrated the sale of our farm with a week’s holiday touring Tasmania in February. Strangely we did not walk the South Coast Track again but we did camp in the Franklin-Gordon and Arthur wildernesses amongst other things. This sounds a lot better than it is, particularly the Pieman-Arthur and Tarkine wildernesses which as far
Steve’s back prevented many planned activities in 2010 but it has improved a bit so we have been more active this year. For example, in early March we walked the South Coast Track in Tas with a friend, Kerri Cleaver. This was to be a shake-down for the Dusky Track in 2012 but it was
