The “Red Centre” truly is Red!

Posted on August 17, 2019 by marilyn

WEST MACDONNELL RANGES NP – 7 – 17 August 2019
For years I’d looked at Meg McK’s trips to the West MacDonnell Ranges (in the Northern Territory west of Alice Springs) and for one reason or another could never go on them.  So when this trip appeared on the CMW calendar, I was maybe first or second to book in!.  I stressed a bit about carrying all the food that would be needed for a multi day walk AND my tent, but then Jeff signed on and I was able to sleep under his fly (saving 1k of weight).  So, then I had other things to stress about, it’s been ages since I did a walk longer than four days! Continue reading →

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Do you think we should take a rope?

Posted on July 14, 2019 by marilyn

MORTON NATIONAL PARK – 13 & 14 July 2019
Tail Race Creek > Shoalhaven River > unnamed spur > unnamed side creek > Water Race Creek
“Do you think we should take a rope” – that’s Murray questioning me as we’re walking out the door … everything I’d read and heard about Tail Race Creek said “hand-line is useful” and I had one in the pack, so hadn’t even considered taking along a rope.  Murray was happy to carry the 60m rope and Emma said she was happy to carry a couple of harnesses, so I said “what the hell, if you’re happy to carry them, great”.  Sometimes Lady Luck is on your side, and this was one of those times.  Continue reading →

Posted in Abseiling, Bushwalking, Canyoning | Leave a comment

I’m really over commercial snack bars!

Posted on July 7, 2019 by marilyn

DEHYDRATING SNACK FOODS – With a couple of multi day trips coming up, I decided it was time to get the dehydrator out to see if I could come up with some light weight snack foods as I’m well and truly over the bars I’ve been eating and can’t find ones that are any better.  Some of my snacks have been so successful, I’ve had to make a second batch cause I keep snacking on the finished product without even going on a bushwalk! Continue reading →

Posted in Recipes | 6 Comments

Walking in the Wollemi isn’t a piece of cake

Posted on June 30, 2019 by marilyn

WOLLEMI WILDERNESS – 29 & 30 June 2019
Putty Road > Kooroo Creek > Tinda Creek > Culoul Creek > Culoul Range Fire Trail
I’ve always admired those early bushwalkers who explored the Colo/Wollemi Wilderness without a GPS to back them up – just using a map and compass.  It only takes one small thing all expectations of where you are on the trip can be wrong, why we don’t hear stories of huge errors on their trips is surprising.  This was one of those trips, not that it involved us getting lost, but my expectation of where we were did add a further 4 hours onto our trip on Sunday.  But, more about that later … Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking, BWOC | 4 Comments

FreezeFest – Sil’s introduction to canyoning

Posted on June 23, 2019 by marilyn

NEWNES PLATEAU 22 – 23 June 2019
Yes, I know, it’s the Winter Solstice, what was I thinking going canyoning? The idea for the trip was circulated three weeks ago, when the weather was amazingly mild, but then, a week out Marcia said it could snow and I started to get cold feet (literally and figuratively).  I wasn’t going to go ahead with snow forecast (I had a reason for that), then the threat of snow went (whew!) but the forecast low temperatures didn’t improve.  What to do? Continue reading →

Posted in Canyoning, MSS | 4 Comments