As you know we have recently spent ten days car camping there. As this was Della’s trip, I will mostly let her tell it: ‘And so we have been to Scotland…Such a trip, to the land that bore my parents and countless generations of ancestors before them, has been a dream of mine for as […]
Canoeing the Macalister Gorge (from Basin Flat to Cheyne’s Bridge). When the river height is approx 1.7 metres on the Licola Gauge and the weather is in the twenties (as it is later this week) it’s time to go. This is probably my favourite section of this wonderful river, and I confess I have completed
This was one of my father’s favourite sayings, by which he meant you must stand on your own two feet and ‘shift’ for yourself. Never delegate such responsibility to someone else. So, for 40 years I have been fixing my own cars. For example I have been rebuilding a sequence of Subarus since circa 1978
I have fiddled with this before but without a really satisfactory result which meets every need. It is easy enough if you have adjustable poles or the type which one section from another pole can be added to the first one, but the method below works whatever type of poles you have. I have played
Tractional security just got even lighter. The new version of Vargo’s ultralight crampons weigh a little over one ounce each (32.6 grams) as compared with their previous version which was around twice that. They have these plates on either side to keep them located (also lugs under) They look pretty grippy here on one of
It is lambing time again here (Aug 2023) and it is so nice to go out and around the ewes and lambs on the hill to find they are all alive and well – none eaten by foxes (though we had one stolen by an eagle yesterday). This is why: our entire property is ringed
I doubt anything else about camping has changed so much as sleeping. When I was a lad I always just slept on the bare ground. As a bit of a sissy, my only concession to comfort was to dig the traditional hip hole (which was derided by tougher-minded types) then maybe lean my head on
We have had a spate of burglaries on rural properties around here. Even our next door neighbour had a break-in and a car stolen recently , so we decided it was past time to upgrade our front gate security (at least). We are also thinking about security doors and window screens in the future as
(Della): Sharing some winter joy in my garden. When I first created my rose garden 30 years ago, I was sad to see it so bare and drab during the colder months. After retirement, I worked on finding things that would add winter interest, and this afternoon’s warm, setting sun helped to reward me for
Recently I bought a couple of cheap approx 40 litre packs from Amazon for less than US20 each. I thought these would be a good recommendation to someone who wanted to begin hiking on a small budget. The first thing you need after all is something to comfortably and reliably carry your stuff in. I
