The Barcoo River, Outback Australia…
Photo: Baz – The Landy
Red Earth and Blue Sky Country
In three weeks I depart for the desert areas of Central and Western Australia to travel into some of the most remote and inhospitable areas Australia has to offer.
“The Landy” will be pointed westward on what will be an epic journey taking six weeks to complete and covering over 10,000 kilometres in distance.
Travelling with a small group of like-minded people we will make our way towards the Gibson Desert in Western Australia where we will be assisting traditional landowners built some infrastructure, including shelters to use when they visit this remote part of Australia.
I have always been fascinated by Aboriginal Culture and the Australian Aborigines have a rich heritage and association with our great sunburnt country that dates over 40,000 years. Mind you, it was only in the late 1970s that an old couple, Warri and Yatungka, came in from the desert not too far from where we will be travelling, having lived a traditional lifestyle with no European contact.
You can read more about their remarkable story in the book “The Last of the Nomads” by WJ Peasley.
Our travel will be along remote tracks that are covered in spinifex grass, and much of it will be in areas where no tracks or roads exist. In fact, our main role is to mark a route into the area where the infrastructure is to be built enabling a group of people from Track-Care in Western Australia, who will be towing trailers with the construction equipment, an easier run into the region.
Whilst in the region we intend to do some off-track exploring of the travel route of some of Australia’s early explorers, and more specifically, the Calvert Scientific Exploring Expedition of 1896-1897.
Our small team is being expertly led by someone who has travelled extensively in the region over the past decade and it is due to his experience and familiarity with the region that he has been called upon by the Central Desert Native Title Services and Track-Care to assist in this undertaking.
As you would expect there is a reasonable amount of planning that goes into this type of expedition, including water and food supply, as well as vehicle preparation.
The Landy
The typical choice of vehicle, and one well suited for Australia’s harsh outback, is the Toyota Landcruiser in its various forms. “The Landy” has been specifically modified, including upgraded suspension, specific tyres, and additional fuel tanks, to enable long-range travel in the outback.
On this trip I will be carrying 400 litres of fuel for the remote area work we will be undertaking, which will total near to 2,000 kilometres, and will consume a total of around 2,000 litres on the trip by the time “The Landy” arrives back home in Sydney.
So be sure to drop by every so often to “Check out Where I’m travelling” (on the tab at the top of the page) and I will update on the adventure as communications permit!
Cheers, Baz – The Landy
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What happened to our pubs?
Have we gentrified our pubs so much that the life and soul of “the local” has all but disappeared?
The thought came to mind recently as I sat in the bistro of our local, a typical suburban pub in Sydney within walking distance from home.
I lamented that there wasn’t anything as simple as bangers and mash on the menu as I drank a beer served in a glass that would look more at home as a vase…
Let’s face it, there is nothing better than the company of friends and good pub food washed down with a couple of schooners of Fourex. Not some beer brewed with water taken from a stream on the eastern side of a mountain in some place I couldn’t pronounce even if I wasn’t into my third schooner.
I mean, what’s wrong with a good old Fourex? Okay, VB or Carlton Draught if you prefer and a Chardy for the girls…
Perhaps I’m showing my class here, (I did say class) but one of the things I truly look forward to is a trip into the bush, the outback, down a dusty track where you are likely to develop a thirst that can only be quenched with a schooner or two at day’s end in a pub that is most likely called “The Royal” or maybe “The Railway” or “Tattersall’s”.
Crikey, even Janet (Mrs Landy) has been known to down a beer or two in these revered establishments!
It’ll be nothing fancy mind you, a few bar stools here and there mostly occupied by Bluey and the boys who’ll tip their hats and give you a G’day as you step through the door. The menu simple, but tasty and its okay to toss your dog a couple of scraps to clean off the plate when you’re done…
The conversation is typical, but mostly amusing, no-one is taking it too seriously, or concerned that you are wearing the right clothes, after all shorts and singlets are the go, if you like, and you’re not going to need to mortgage ya’ house when it comes to your turn to shout!
Crikey, Mrs Landy and I have enjoyed some great moments in some out of the way places in the Australian Bush, The Outback – and we might have had just that one too many on an occasion here and there, but that is usually because our classic pubs in the bush are timeless, especially when the amber fluid flows and the banter ramps up!
Over the next couple of months “The Landy” will be pointed westward towards the remote Gibson Desert region and I’ll be making sure the route to get there is long and dusty as there is nothing better than dropping into a “real” pub at the end of a day’s drive just to say, G’day!
So where is your favourite “watering” hole?
Cheers, Baz – The Landy
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Ruins – In the Australian Outback
Flinders Ranges, Australia
Photo: Baz – The Landy
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The Gibson Desert – The Adventure nears…
The opportunity to visit an extremely remote and arid part of Australia came my way recently, an opportunity to spend time in country with a group of traditional landowners and aboriginal elders deep in the Gibson Desert region of Western Australia.
In less than a month “The Landy” will be pointed westward crossing sand dunes and making tracks as our small convoy travels deep into the desert.
We will make tracks where no other European Australian’s have previously been as much of this trip will be completely across country, no roads or tracks to follow.
It was less than 40 years ago that an elderly couple came in from this desert region after living a nomadic life with no European contact at all. Their’s is a remarkable story and told in a book “The Last of the Nomads” by WJ Peasley.
I vowed to visit this area one day…
And whilst I have had a sojurn from “The Landy Blog” over the past couple of months I look forward to sharing the stories and photographs as the trip unfolds…
Photos: Baz – The Landy…
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The Dog on the Tuckerbox
You’ve just got to love a foggy autumn Sunday morning with just a slight chill in the air…
Gundagai has featured in song, is famous for The Dog on the Tuckerbox, was the haunt of bushrangers in days long-gone and a favourite with poets…
Truly, a hidden gem situated on the Murrumbidgee River in country Australia…
Photo: Baz – The Landy
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A Gift of Flowers – from the Australian Outback…
A wonderful thing about the Australian Outback is the contrasting colours of the deep red soil, a never-ending blue sky and our beautiful wildflowers.
And speaking of beauty, my wonderful partner, Janet (Planet), spends countless hours photographing our wildflowers on our trips to the “interior”.
Um, yes…countless! Some time ago, another beautiful person, Lavinia of Salmon Brook Farms, along with her partner, Rick, planted a memorial garden on their farm in America dedicated to the memory of Janet’s sister, Marion and her father, Archie.
Tragically, Marion lost her life to Meniere ’s disease a number of years ago, and Archie, well Archie lived a wonderful life passing away just before his 99th birthday in 2013. Since Marion’s passing, Janet and her sister have dedicated much time to supporting sufferers’ of this disease through fundraising under the banner “Marion’s Artree”… In her most recent newsletter, which you can view on her blog, Salmon Brook Farms, Lavinia wrote… “It has been said by many that gardens link us from the physical to the spiritual”. And crikey, ain’t that just so true… For sure Lavinia and Rick, you are true testament to the motto we love so much! “There are no ordinary moments; no ordinary people; no ordinary lives…” From the bottom of our hearts, thank you… Baz (Big bad), Janet (Planet), and TomO (the wonder boy!), 
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Weather beaten and sun-drenched…
Photo: Baz – The Landy, in the Corner Country, Outback Australia…
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Looking for a mate…
Photo: Baz – The Landy, in the lower Blue Mountains, Australia.
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Working with Indigenous Australians…
The opportunity to visit an extremely remote and arid part of Australia came my way the other day, an opportunity to spend time in country with a group of traditional landowners and aboriginal elders deep in the desert region of Western Australia.
“The Landy” will be pointed westward travelling deep into the desert region, crossing sand dunes and making tracks as our small convoy travels deep into the desert.
We will make tracks where no other European Australian’s have previously been as much of this trip will be completely across country, no roads or tracks to follow.
They say one door closes and another opens and crikey, isn’t that the truth!
Recently I wrote a piece on “Fate, are you a Believer” after forgoing a trip to climb a 6,500-metre peak in Nepal, but missing the terrible natural disaster that devastated the country following last week’s earthquake; a tumultuous event that has sadly taken the life of many Nepalese people.
I was due to arrive in Nepal last Wednesday, as it turns out the day our son, TomO, broke his kneecap in the school gym.
And yes, he is making a great recovery…thanks!
Mind you when I’m not climbing I am travelling the great Australian Outback, photographing a parched red earth that stretches from horizon to horizon, kissed by a deep blue sky that provides a canopy over our sunburnt country.
As fate would have it, I received a telephone call from an acquaintance this week, a fellow kindred spirit and outback traveller who is assembling a team of people to assist a group of traditional owners, indigenous Australians, build a structure to house a pump in an extremely remote part of Australia; an area rich in aboriginal history and culture, but rarely seen by European Australians.
It was less than 40 years ago that an elderly couple came in from this desert region after living a nomadic life with no European contact at all. Their’s is a remarkable story and told in a book “The Last of the Nomads” by WJ Peasley.
I vowed to visit this area one day…
Strewth, I’m more excited than a rooster in a hen house and there isn’t a lot of time to prepare so I’d better get cracking – I look forward to sharing the stories and photographs I capture in between wielding a shovel, pick, and hammer!
Photos: Baz – The Landy…
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Dawn, in the Australian Outback…
I could never tire of watching the sunrise, especially in the Australian Outback…
Photo, Baz – The Landy, Welford National Park
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Abandoned – in the Australian Outback
Photos: Baz – The Landy, in the Australian Outback…
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Silhouette…
A Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo playing silhouettes by the Darling River in the Australian Outback…
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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The Darling River – A National Treasure
As regular visitors to the Darling River area in western New South Wales it was hard not to notice on our most recent visit how much the river level has gone down over the past few months.
Many Australian outback travellers will be familiar with the section of the river from Bourke to Menindee which is an enjoyable drive and a great way to spend a week or two. Just meandering across the far-reaching plains on the dusty track that follows the Darling…
Recently we spent a few days alongside the Darling at Trilby Station, a large sheep station not too far from the river port of Louth. Its owners, Gary and Liz are welcoming hosts and the Murray family can trace their settlement on the river back six generations to 1860 – truly, a pioneering family!
In days long gone river boats gently steamed their way from the coast to Bourke, their owners’ plying trade and carrying much needed supplies to the small communities that were established at varying intervals along the river. On the return journey, loaded with bales of wool, the boats were gracefully navigated to the sea port situated a long way from the dusty and, at times, desolate interior.
I am sure many will remember the Australian mini-television series “All the Rivers Run” that was based on the novel by Nancy Cato. Whilst it was centered around the Murray River, daily life on the Darling would have been much the same.
As my kayak gently rocked in the shallow waters on a cooling breeze, the sound of the rustling leaves on the river gums transported me to another time as I drifted downstream from our camp. I could hear the laughter of people long-gone, the toil of the boat crews ensuring the boiler had a head-of-steam, and the gentle sound of the paddle on the steamers as their river boat captains navigated their way along the river, skilfully and carefully avoiding hidden and submerged obstacles…
Camp Fire by the Billabong – Outback Australia
In times of drought and lack of rains further north many boats were trapped as the river turned into a series of water-holes as it dried up. Although in the days of the River Boat the Darling flowed far more freely than it does today as there were no weirs to hinder the gentle flow of the water, no cotton farms sucking the life from it or the surrounding country that depends on its precious water for survival.
Cotton farming arrived into the region in the 1960s after the Boon and Buster families established themselves in and around Bourke.
The fifty years since that time has seen a steady decay of the Darling and the greater Murray-Darling basin. One has to question the wisdom of growing cotton on the world’s driest continent at the expense of degrading the water in our rivers – some will rightly call it vandalism.
I am a avid student of aboriginal culture and histories, striving to read, learn and listen to as much as I am able to absorb. In April 2010, aboriginal people whose traditional areas border the Darling, Macquarie and Bogan catchment areas formed a group to ensure their views on river management were heard.
The following quote from Phil Sullivan, an Ngemba traditional owner, struck a resonance with me and perhaps it will with others.
“Water to me is the essence of life. And I’ve got to respect life, and I’ve got to honour life. If I don’t honour it and look after it, then it’s going to take my life away from me. It’s going to take the very essence of who I am away from me.
So that’s why I honour the river, the water, and give respect to it. Because in the end if I don’t look after that… then me and my family and my tribe and the gift that’s been given to us is going to be whittled away.
I got to give honour and I got to give respect to that, first and foremost. And then everything else will fall into place. It’s like a bit of a foundation.” 
The Darling River should be treated as a natural treasure for all, not dammed with weirs so the water can be whittled away on an agriculture crop that may have some economic value, but a huge environmental cost.
Whether visiting for the first time or returning to explore further, take your time and enjoy the Darling, a mighty river that breathes life into a parched and ancient land…
Cheers, Baz – The Landy
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Rustic, in the Australian Outback
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Fate, are you a believer?
A couple of months ago I decided to put aside my climbing ambitions in Nepal this year after my sister, Debbie, was diagnosed with advanced cancer.
Instead Deb and I went on a road trip a week or so ago with our mother to the Queensland country town where she grew up, having a wonderful time together as a family.
Last Wednesday, TomO, the crown prince, broke his patella, his knee cap as it is more commonly known, in a bad fall in the school gym.
Needless to say it was a traumatic time for Janet and me to see the little bloke in so much pain.
This happened on the day I was due to arrive in Kathmandu to climb Mera Peak and just ahead of the tragic news overnight of a severe earthquake involving large loss of life in Kathmandu.
TomO had surgery on Thursday to repair his patella and all went well and he is recovering at home with lots of ice-cream! Unfortunately this will keep an active young man on the benches for the next few months, but the young bounce back quickly!
My climbing partners on this trip to Nepal headed to Lukla just prior to the earthquake and I’ve had news they are okay…
Janet has always been behind my mountaineering ambition and adventures one-hundred percent, but gave me a hug this morning and said,
“Glad you didn’t go you were needed here for reasons we didn’t know at the time…”
If it had not have been for Deb’s condition, which we would change in a heart beat if we could, I would have been in Nepal. But despite her condition Deb is still looking out for her little brother in ways that big sister’s do and perhaps only the “universe” will ever understand…
Our thoughts go out to all those affected in Nepal and if you are able to support the wonderful Nepalese people via a relief fund, please do.
Baz – The Landy
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Courage, Endurance, Mateship, Sacrifice…
This morning, just prior to the rising of the sun, Australian’s for all walks of life gathered in the parks of our cities and our small country towns to honour the men and women of our military who made the ultimate sacrifice so we may enjoy the life we do today.
A life in Australia that is governed by a democratic process and free from many of the troubles that we see around the world today.
As I stood silently by the Memorial in our local park the sun was piercing the eastern horizon on a glorious morning, the Kookaburras’ were heralding the arrival of a new day and I thought how lucky am I to have grown up in this great Nation of ours.
Our outback travels take us through many small towns and communities in this vast country of ours and it was from these places that the young men of a new Nation enlisted to serve the Empire…
Bluey and the Boys, people just like you and me, men, just boys, that didn’t think twice about serving King and Country.
Today marks the 100th Anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli, Turkey, in 1915, a place where the term ANZAC was forged on that small wind swept peninsular, stained forever with the blood of our brave and courageous…
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.”
Lest We Forget
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Everything has changed – really?
Do you ever get that sense that wherever you look these days something has changed, perhaps for the better, often for the worse?
Seemingly, technology has made life easier for us, if you know how to use it!
Crikey, I have just worked my way through that whopping big manual that came with the VCR recorder and now they tell me they’re finished, kaput, and useless.
TomO, the crown prince, said it belonged in a museum anyway, adding that in fact that most of the contents of our house were starting to resemble a museum collection.
Strewth, isn’t that something else that has changed, the cheek of the young people these days…
And how about fast food?
Hell, I remember when fast food was a Chiko Roll and a can of coke from the local fish and chip shop. These days we’ve got so many choices that a bloke would starve before he got around to making up his mind.
Hey, what about GPS and smart phones?
Talk about change, I never had any problem finding the corner store, but seemingly the young and not so young need one to navigate around the local mall these days. And besides what was wrong with the old paper maps that you could spread across the bonnet of the car and then spend an hour chasing across a paddock after that big gush of wind turned it into a sail?
But they call this progress, change…
On a recent road trip, dubbed “Ocean to the Outback” we visited my mother’s hometown of Bundaberg situated on the east coast to the north of Brisbane. Fay reveled in the visit and we spent time visiting the property that her Grandfather owned and ran cattle on when she was a young girl. “The Springs” as it was known due to a spring fed creek on the property is now a scout camp.
As a young adult she worked in the Metropolitan Hotel in downtown Bourbong Street, the epicenter of the town. Mum insisted we stop, have a beer and a good old-fashioned counter-lunch.
I remember as a kid having a can-of-lunch there. At least that is what I thought they called it. It was a few years later when a cute barmaid in a small country pub fell into stitches of laughter when I ordered a can-of-lunch that I made the discovery; it was a counter-lunch.
But I’m digressing and Janet is peering over my shoulder asking about the cute barmaid…
There was much reminiscing as Fay walked through “The Met” and we were fortunate to spend some time with the owner who loved to hear about how the pub was in the days gone by.
As we sat down to our can-of-lunch and a few beers, Mum looked around and said that it had all changed, it wasn’t the same anymore, she said. You couldn’t see the old stairs that took you up to the accommodation rooms and the old kitchen had gone.
Sometimes things have the appearance of having changed, but maybe when you delve just below the surface you see that nothing really has changed after all – maybe it is just a matter of perspective!
As I sipped my beer I looked around and thought…
“Surely nothing has changed”
After all the main bar was full of people chatting, laughing, enjoying a meal…
And of course, drinking an ice-cold beer!
I’m betting nothing has changed at “The Met” in the last hundred years…
Do places or life generally really change or just our perspective?
Photos: Baz – The Landy
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Dusted and Rusted…
In the Australian Outback…
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Renovator’s Delight…
The “Old Homestead” Trilby Station, Outback Australia…
Photo: Baz, The Landy…
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Love, in the Outback
One of the great things about travelling in Australia, apart from the wonderful colours of a never ending blue sky and the parched red-earth of the Outback, are the characters you meet.
And of course there is no better place to meet them than at the local pub.
On our travels we enjoy dropping into the “local” as you’ll most likely find a warm welcome and usually the publican will be a wealth of knowledge on the area…
Shindy’s Inn, situated in the small township of Louth, is one place you are sure to get a warm welcome! Centrally located on the banks of the Darling River it is the focal point of this small community, and it is little wonder why. The owners, Dave and Cath Marett, make all visitors feel at home just like they would a local.
Founded around 1859 by Thomas Andrew Matthews, Louth was a stopping off point for the river boat crews plying their trade along the Darling River.
Thomas, or “TA” as he was known, was married to Mary who passed away at a relatively early age in 1886, and to mark her passing he commissioned a monument be made from granite and with a large cross at the top.
What makes this monument quite special is that on the anniversary of her death, the cross, when viewed from the home they lived in, shines brightly from the reflection of the setting sun. And at other times of the year this extra-ordinary phenomenon can be viewed from varying positions around the town.
Apart from being quite an engineering achievement and not to mention it had to be made in Adelaide, well over a thousand kilometres away and transported by paddle-steamer on the Darling River back in the 1880’s, it has an ethereal feel to it.
Recently we camped alongside the river just a short walk over the bridge to Shindy’s Pub.
Just ahead of sunset Dave took us to the place where we could view the glowing cross do what it has done every other day for long over a century – it shone brightly, so bright that it was almost difficult to look at it.
To see is to believe, as they say, and we stood quietly during those few minutes before sunset, seduced by the hypnotic flicker of light radiating from the cross…
Sometimes you just need to “scratch” the surface a little in these out of the way places just like a prospector would searching for those little glints of gold. And the rewards can often be far greater than a finding a nugget at the bottom of the pan!
So be sure to drop by “The Shindy” if you are in the area and say hello to Dave and Cath.
And perhaps in the golden hue of a setting sun you can drink a toast to a remarkable man, Thomas “TA” Matthews as the love of his life casts her eternal glow over an ancient land…
Photos: Baz – The Landy
(updates a previous story)
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Swimming, between the flags
Moore Park, East Coast Australia…
Photo; Baz, The Landy
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Australian Wildlife – The Dingo…
The Australian Dingo, at home in the Australian Outback…
Photographed in the Channel Country, far Western Queensland.
You’ve just got to love the landscape, the flora and fauna, that makes the Australian Outback what it is!
photo: Baz – The Landy
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Lazy days on Australia’s East Coast
Scarborough is a small village situated on the northern end of the Redcliffe Peninsular where the fishing fleet brings its daily catch to market and the days move at a slow pace; perfect!
I always have a sense of returning home as I drive along the Esplanade with its sweeping views of Moreton Bay to the east and Bribie Island to the north – wouldn’t be dead for quids, hey!
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Kangaroos in the paddock
No mistaking it – this is Australia, and how unique is our wildlife, hey!
Photo; Baz – The Landy
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Ocean to the Outback…
Kylie’s Beach
Trilby Station, Outback Australia
the beach
Camp-fire cooking over coals
scones
The Surf
One of the great things about Australia, apart from the laid back nature of the people, is the diverse landscapes in our sunburnt country.
The beauty of our never-ending beaches where one can walk for miles and feel the golden grains of sand between your toes, to the ochre red colours of the Outback…
In a couple of weeks we will be heading off on our first trip of the year and themed from The Ocean to the Outback.
Starting close-by to the World Renowned Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world we will make our way inland to Trilby Station, a large sheep property situated on the mighty Darling River in Outback Australia…
Hey, it will be great to have you along, so I’ll give you a shout as we are heading down the driveway in “The Landy” – strewth, if we’re lucky Janet-Planet might cook up some of those great scones of hers over a camp fire!
Photos: Baz – The Landy
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Vagabonds, Scoundrels and Highway Robbery
Vagabonds, Scoundrels and Highway Robbery, along with the shout “Stand and Deliver” would send a shiver down the spine of many in days past as bushrangers were an integral part of the Australian landscape.
Recently, we had the occasion to travel into the beautiful Southern Highlands region of New South Wales. Our destination was Tarago, a small town located on the eastern side of Lake George which has a couple of historic buildings in its midst, including a quaint Anglican Church and at its epicentre, the “Loaded Dog Hotel”.
Nearby is the Woodlawn Mine, which produced gold, copper and zinc up until 1998, providing employment opportunities to the local community. Today, the site hosts a “Bio-reactor” which converts waste product, transported by rail from Sydney, to methane gas. And given its proximity to the political capital of Australia and its resident population of politicians, the hot air produced may very well be matched by that coming from Parliament House.
The Loaded Dog, which takes its name from the story by Henry Lawson, has had many visitors since opening its doors for trade in 1848 and amongst these have been the well-known bushrangers, Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner, and the Clarke Brothers.
It was at The Loaded Dog that this infamous bunch planned a robbery of gold being transported from the Majors Creek Gold Mine – the planned heist never unfolded but needless to say there was plenty of romance, skulduggery, a murder, and a brush with the “law”.
Tarago is a destination in its own right and an easy drive from Sydney. And if you enjoy live music the pub hosts some great Australian talent in the front bar regularly on a Saturday evening. I imagine the scene may be as boisterous today as it would have been back in the days of the visiting bushrangers!
Alternatively, if you have the time it is a pleasant way to detour if you are travelling to the New South Wales south coast region, which you can do via Braidwood along the King’s Highway. Just outside of Braidwood is a beautiful free-camp spot by the Shoalhaven River where we stopped for a leisurely lunch amongst the travelling caravan groups.
The Australian Bush is full of interesting towns and Tarago is well worth making the detour for, even if just to visit “The Dog”.
And if in the area, beware of that cry “Stand and Deliver”, after all you are only about 75-kilometres from what might arguably be the hang-out of Australia’s modern day bushranger, Canberra!
Photo: Baz – The Landy
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Red dust in your pants…
Mountaineering is all about going up, and down mountains, and isn’t that a reflection of life in general!
There are the highs, and the lows…
As many of you will know I have been on a mission to climb amongst the world’s highest mountain peaks and this year I had two trips planned in Nepal. But isn’t it funny how priorities in your life can change!
Recently I wrote about my sister, Deb (Merle) and the illness she is courageously facing.
Well, I’m pleased to say that her treatment is progressing in line with expectations, but there are good days and not so good days.
But her spirit is amazing!
A couple of weeks back I was sitting on the couch, pondering life in general, as I am inclined to do, and realised that I no longer felt the compelling urge or need to head to Nepal this year, but I wanted to go touring the great Australian Outback with my family…
And yes, I’ve never needed any encouragement to get Out and About – my love of Australia and the Outback is almost as great as the love I share for my family, for Merle…
I know many of you have been “rooting” (that is the US expression isn’t it – makes me chuckle though! ) for me to get up the mountain and I appreciate the support, and who knows, the desire may return, but I have things that have far important to me as a person right now…
I know you will understand.
Hey, that doesn’t mean I can’t go climbing in the Blue Mountains, so there is still some scope for “More Dope on a Rope”.
But strewth, I love the Outback, so I have reset my website back to my other passion!
Photo: Baz – The Landy
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Are we being ripped off?
Camping in a tent on the side of a mountain at heights above 6,000 metres has a number of considerations to take into account.
Selection of the site, safety from environmental factors, and of course, staying warm is paramount!
Much of my camping above the snow line has been in New Zealand’s mountain huts, and whilst it can still be cold, the huts provide protection from the elements. So up until now my sleeping bags have been sufficiently warm enough.
But they are unlikely to provide the protection I need for this year’s two expeditions to Nepal which involve camping above 6,000 metres. So I have needed to add another sleeping to the many that already reside in our “gear room”.
There are numerous choices available from the obvious manufacturers’ such as The North Face and other popular brands. The quality produced by North Face is first rate, and this is a piece of equipment that shouldn’t be driven by cost considerations.
You want the best and it won’t necessarily be the cheapest!
But I am very reluctant and discriminating when it comes to supporting these major brands due to the differential pricing they have in place. Dependent on which country you reside in it may cost more, despite the product being precisely the same.
Try and buy a sleeping bag from the North Face in the United States and you find that it will direct you back to the Australian website and the price increases considerably.
This is a hotly debated topic in Australia covering a range of major companies!
I like to support local businesses and Australian manufacturers, whom are a dying breed mind you due to the high cost of producing anything in Australia, but a company I have supported many times is One Planet.
One Planet is an Australian based manufacturer of sleeping bags of extremely high quality and I have used and tested them on my mountaineering trips to New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
Without hesitation I contacted the company’s owner and asked would he make me a specialist sleeping bag suitable for temperatures of around minus 20 degrees Celsius – yes, no problem was the reply; we’ll get on to that straight away…
Today I took delivery of this important piece of equipment, which came at a cost far less than the equivalent from the major global brands here in Australia.
Hey, I can’t wait to be wrapped up all snuggly and warm inside it on a Himalayan mountain!
Photos, Baz – The Landy
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Reality – It is what we choose to believe
Do we underestimate the power of the mind, the power of positive thought?
Is anything possible, without limitation, if you give your mind’s eye a vision and allow it to believe you have already achieved it?
Okay, it will take much more than an hour or so in the lotus position every other day telling yourself you are a brain surgeon before you get to pick up a scalpel, but it all starts with a vision, right?
My countdown for this year’s two expeditions to Nepal is well underway and I am undertaking plenty of physical activity to prepare and rest assured the body is feeling it sometimes.
But just as important as my physical preparation is that I am mentally prepared. And to take my mind off the 20-kilogram pack strapped to my back when I am out walking at silly o’clock I fill it with visions of standing atop those mountain peaks.
I picture myself telephoning my family, telling them I have summited and returned to the base-camp safely and sharing different aspects of the climb with them whilst sipping a warm mug of Sherpa tea.
Those conversations with my mind, with Janet and TomO, go right down to the detail of what is said!
Oh don’t worry, I’ve been practicing many other aspects of mountaineering these past few years, after all there are things to be learnt and practised – but that just reinforces what the mind knows it can do, right?
There are people who believe in positive affirmation, some who are not sure, and others with whom no amount of discussion will convince them it does. But let me share my own personal insight of why I know it does.
It was the mid- 1970s, I had just left school to join one of Australia’s largest banks and a month earlier I celebrated my 15th birthday. At the time the company produced a quarterly magazine called “The Etruscan” and in the very first edition I received was a story describing a day in the life of the people who undertook the bank’s money market operation…
I was enthralled, I wanted a job like that so in my mind’s eye I play-acted the people in the article, not that I actually had a clue what they really did, after all it was a short article, so I just made it up as I went – I was a natural.
Perhaps it was a bit unusual for someone of my age to be getting into this esoteric stuff, but that is what daydreamers do and I am a daydreamer. And I’m sure many will agree that a very fine line exists between dreams and reality confirmed by the days you wake up thinking, the dream I had was real….
Shortly I will have spent 40-years with this institution. Yes, 40-years, it wasn’t a typing error and for most of that time I have been managing and trading currencies in the bank’s money market operation.
You see a few years after convincing myself I was a natural at doing whatever it was they did, and following a set of events which were unrelated, I “woke” up in the bank’s trading room in front of a trading screen…
My vision of how it worked all those years ago is quite different to the sophistication of today’s global financial market, but that is just detail. I didn’t have to get the detail right all I had to do was to chant that mantra long and loud, to have a vision, to daydream and play act my part.
To simply believe!
After all, reality is what we choose to believe in…
Climb-on!
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High Altitude Climbing and Acute Mountain Sickness
I have been researching the impact that high altitude climbing will have on my body, what I can expect, what I can do to assist my body’s ability to cope.
And importantly, to be able to recognise the onset of Acute Mountain Sickness in its more serious forms.
Acute Mountain Sickness, AMS as it is often referred to, is the effect the declining number of molecules of oxygen in the atmosphere has on our body as we ascend in altitude. It can range from a mild illness, to the more severe life-threatening forms of the illness, such as High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE).
The latter two conditions require immediate attention and descent from altitude otherwise death is the most likely outcome.
I’m not intending to go into a great discussion on either, nor am I qualified to do so, but as part of my journey “To Climb a Mountain” I want to gain a better understanding of both conditions.
High altitude is defined as 5,000 to 11,500 feet, very high altitude 11,500 to 18,000, and extreme altitude as 18,000 feet and above. At extreme altitudes physiologic function will outstrip acclimatisation eventually.
My reading has taken me across a wide variety of topics, but the one that caught my attention was the connection between muscle and the requirement to fuel our muscles with oxygen when under exertion.
Over the years I have trained as a power-lifter for strength purposes and I have achieved results I am happy with. As a consequence I have grown muscularly and currently weigh-in around the 95 kilogram mark. This has given me a good power-for-weight ratio and has enhanced my speed on the kayak over the short to mid sprint distances.
The Shed
Power-lifting has helped me develop strong legs, especially my quads through squatting, and dead-lifting.
Will this muscle help, or hinder me on the mountain as I trudge up the side of an 8,000 metre peak?
When exercising, the body, or more specifically the contracting muscles have an increased need for oxygen and this is usually achieved by a higher blood flow to these muscles.
And therein lies the dilemma as I see it.
Due to the less dense air at altitude the number of oxygen molecules for any given mass of air will drop. Consequently, mental and physical performance will decline, and the larger the muscles, the larger the requirement for oxygen to prevent muscular fatigue…
So what can I do?
There is not a lot that you can do to prepare for the effect of AMS, some people will adapt and perform better at altitude than others and this is hard to predict from one individual to another.
What I can do is decrease my muscle mass, and whilst that will mean a decrease in overall strength I can try and maintain the power for weight ratio balance.
The upshot of all this is that ahead of my expedition to Nepal in April I will deliberately take around 10-12 kilograms out of my frame…
The climbs in Nepal will be done without the aid of supplemental oxygen.
I won’t be changing my training routine greatly, I will maintain some weight training, rowing and kayaking, and importantly, a daily walk of around 10-kilometres with a 25-kilogram backpack at silly o’clock in the morning (that is 4:00am).
The best way to control weight change, either gaining, or losing, is via your diet and that starts in the kitchen.
Baz – The Landy (In my home gym in the “Shed”)
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To Climb a Mountain
Have you noticed that I have retitled my blog?
It started as a chronicle of my mountaineering journey so it will now be known as…
“To Climb a Mountain…with Baz – The Landy”
Mind you, I have approached this decision with some trepidation…
They say it is bad luck to change the name of a boat as it may anger the Gods of the Seas, and given I will be climbing in a “Sea of Mountains” this year, caution is king!
As many will know I have been on a journey to climb amongst some of the world’s highest mountain peaks and have spent a good deal of time in recent years training and progressing to the point where hopefully I can reach out and touch the sky from an 8,000 metre peak in the Himalaya’s.
They say it is all about the journey and I’m a great believer in that notion. I am climbing mountains because I enjoy standing at the top and looking out, and down – the freedom this brings me is overwhelming…
And who knows where this journey will take me, Janet (Planet), and TomO!
I am heading into a pointy end of the journey with two trips to Nepal this year so I now want to bring greater focus on the journey and hence the name change.
Think of it as chanting a mantra!
Every time you see it, just say “To Climb a Mountain…” – I am firm believer in the power of the universe and that it will help me greatly.
Okay, so I’m a little weird, you knew that anyway, right!
And crikey, are you kidding me? I’ll need all the mantras and support I can get my hands on so don’t hold back!
Oh don’t worry, I’ll still post some of those Outback Australia photos from time-to-time that many of you have come to love, after all I live in the greatest country in the world and I’m happy to share it with you…
And rest assured, I’ll still be handing out a bit of a cheek when the circumstances warrant it.
But as for bad luck in changing the title.
I don’t think so, with all you wonderful people supporting me, and I’m overwhelmed at the support I am shown, there is no way bad luck will get in our way…
Stay focussed now, Baz!
Photo, Baz – New Zealand’s Southern Alps
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Stone the Flamin’ Crows – We’re going out with a bang
Crikey, talk about seeing the year off with a bang.
In a few hours-time Sydney Harbour will be engulfed in a blaze of colour as the world’s greatest fireworks show lights the southern sky…
A very happy New Year to all you wonderful people around the globe from the down-under crew…
Baz, Janet-Planet, and TomO the wonderkid!
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Strewth – Bigger than Texas…
A termite mound “bigger than Texas itself” along the Plenty Highway, Outback Australia.
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Nepal Mountaineering Expeditions – Gearing up
The call to climb amongst the highest mountains in the world has been echoing in me for a long time.
The allure of standing on top of the world and looking out, and importantly, looking down, has proven far too great to ignore these past few years…
I had expected to be in Nepal in 2013 and 2014 after spending 2012 and the early part of 2013 training in New Zealand with the world’s best high altitude experts.
But, somehow life has the propensity to throw a curved ball every so often, and I’ve had a couple to catch over the past 12-months!
Whilst New Zealand has some of the world’s most magnificent mountain peaks, it doesn’t have the altitude of the Himalayas’. My ability to adapt to the altitude is an unknown, but it will be put to the test on two expeditions to Nepal in 2015.
The first will be in April to climb Mera Peak, which stands at 6,476 metres, 21,246 feet, and in September I will attempt Himlung, a peak that stands at 7,162 metres, 23,497 feet.
Both of these climbs will be done without the use of supplemental oxygen, but there will be a rigorous acclimitisation process to ensure the best chance of success.
And hopefully these climbs will set-me up for an ascent of Cho Oyu, an 8,000 metre peak bordering Tibet and Nepal.
I am confident of my ability to adapt; certainly I don’t expect expedition life will be a problem given my remote outback experience and the hardship that often brings.
Training is in full swing, but as always, remains a work in progress, and I will be spending time climbing in the wonderful Blue Mountains in the weeks ahead…
The first ascent of Mera Peak was made on 20 May 1953, using what has now become the standard route from Mera La and no subsequent ascent occurred until 1975. We will just miss the anniversary of the first climb in 1953 by a couple of days.
We will have two camps on the mountain, camp one at Mera La and camp two, our high camp, at 5,800 metres. Our summit day will typically start before dawn and we are hopeful to summit in 4-5 hours. Some fix rope will be used near the summit where it becomes very steep.
As 2014 draws to a close, grab your climbing harness and a rope, or perhaps if you prefer, a coffee or tea and a nice comfy couch.
Either way please be sure to join me in on these climbs; one step at a time, we can do it together…
Baz – The Landy
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A letter to Santa (Strewth!)
Who remembers writing a letter to Santa and posting it to the Big Fella at the North Pole?
I certainly do and the list was always long…
Mind you, the wrapping paper or bag the present came in often got more attention than the present itself…
These past few days TomO and I have been getting hints from Janet-Planet about what she would like for Christmas.
Teasing her we said it was completely out of our control and that she should address a letter to Santa, care of the North Pole, ensuring it gave an account of her behaviour throughout the year, a prerequisite for any letter to Santa.
Of course, all along assuring her we would take care of posting it… 😉
Not surprisingly, for behaviour she simply put “exemplary”.
Who are TomO and I to argue the toss on that one; no guessing where most of the mischief in our household has its genesis.
And yes, it is true, Janet-Planet is always on her best behaviour, well mostly, as you would expect from the girl-next-door!
Anyway, we headed to the shopping centre, um, the post-box I mean, with the letter in hand and as we drove TomO went through the list.
It was fairly straightforward really and we’d be out of the shopping centre and back home in record breaking time…
Chanel No 5, tick.
Phew, this shopping for presents is easy right?
There is a very good reason for sticking to a tried and proved formula of buying Chanel No 5 for every possible occasion; Christmas, birthdays, I love you gifts…
Apart from being a lovely gift, it does take a lot of the guesswork out of shopping for a present!
Mind you, the wonderful lady at the Chanel Boutique did throw a curved-ball when she asked if I wanted the “Classic” No 5, or the “Light” version of the eloquently beautiful fragrance…
Crikey, what had I been buying for the past 30-years?
I took a punt on the Classic, after all, Janet-Planet is truly a classic in every sense of the word.
You can’t get it wrong, right?
Wrong…!
Working our way down the list to the final item we were convinced there was some sort of mistake. Surely, this can’t be right?
A “clutch-bag”…
I’m sure we both had that perplexed “boy” look on our faces.
You know, the one that all mums are familiar with…
“Where are my undies I can’t find any” look…
The only “clutch” we know of is in the big truck we use for touring the Australian Outback in and we’ve spent plenty of money on it to make sure that things like “clutches” don’t fail.
But, Janet-Planet is an exceptional person and we thought that maybe she knows something we don’t, after all she has been driving it a lot lately given I’ve “stolen” her car to drive to work in…
And seemingly, she only wanted the “bag” that the new clutch would come in. Each to their own, I guess, but I understood where she was coming from based on my own childhood memories of wrapping paper and presents…
Anyway, I am rabbiting on far too much and risk keeping you from your own Christmas festivities.
So cutting a long story short, here we were, two young men, well one young’un, and another young at heart, standing in the midst of a busy shopping mall, perplexed beyond belief.
Just when all appears lost and we are about to head off to the local motor vehicle spare parts shop a wonderful friend, whom we’ll just call Lisa, recognises the anxiety on our faces and offers to help.
I suspect her credit card had been working harder than a one-arm wallpaper hanger judging by the size of the shopping bags she was carrying. So why not send in mine as a substitute while hers took a rest on the bench?
Anyway, Lisa pointed us in the right direction – an upmarket boutique, assuring us they sell “exquisite clutch-bags”.
Crikey, talk about being confused!
But hey, we’d been thrown a life buoy and we were holding on for grim life despite a flashing thought, perhaps similar to one has when drowning, of what an “upmarket boutique” might do to a credit card…
We headed to that boutique feeling as nervous as a frog in a food blender, after all we still had to choose a clutch-bag, and at that point we were wondering how we let Lisa get away so quickly.
Crikey, I would have bought her one as well if she had come along to help us choose. But perhaps she just needed to go and find a quiet corner of the mall where she could have a good laugh…
Mind you, aren’t we counting our lucky stars that she came across us at that critical time!
Can you imagine, a new clutch for the truck under the Christmas tree, and Janet-Planet receiving the cast off bag it came in for a Christmas present…
I’m sure she would have loved it, that is the person she is, but we boys are hopeful she will like this clutch-bag even more so!
Merry Christmas sweetie…from your boys!
Photos: Baz – The Landy
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Romance – In the South Pacific
If sipping a cocktail as the sun gently slides below the water and warm balmy nights fanned by a cooling breeze excite you, then Ratua Private Island is the place for you.
We’ve not long returned from a week on this tropical island paradise where Janet-Planet, TomO and I swam with turtles and lazed in warm turquoise coloured waters, fringed by white sandy beaches and coconut trees.
I even had an encounter with a wonderful marine mammal, a dugong, whilst out on a stand-up-paddle board as the sun was spreading its last rays of light on the day…
The dugong pictured is most likely the same one I saw and was photographed by another guest on the island.
Yes, it is a long way from the mountains and the Australian Outback, but hey, as long as you are with the ones you love…
And what makes it even more special to visit is its French owner donates all profits to a foundation he set up to fund the education of the children of the surrounding islands.
Ratua Island, Vanuatu
200 year old beach cottage
Photos: Baz – The Landy, and the Dugong courtesy of “Jim” who photographed it during our stay…
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Bark Art…
Nature can create the most beautiful artwork…
Photo: Janet-Planet, an abstract look at a tree, in the Australian Outback…
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Cancer and Courage, our Mount Everest
Courage is a very powerful word when you look behind its meaning…
“…to have courage is to have the ability and willingness to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation”.
The word courage has been casually discussed around our dinner table amongst family and close friends in the context of my journey to the mountains, a journey that one day will lead me towards the summit of Mount Everest, fulfilling the dream of a young boy who has always believed that anything is possible – just believe in that dream!
This week my sister Debbie, who is affectionately known to us as Merle, and I spoke about my journey and what it meant for her. Whilst she is an exceptionally talented musician and accomplished athlete it seems she never got that climbing and mountaineering gene.
And rest assured, I never got that musical gene. If they handed out awards for singing in the shower I’d still go home empty handed.
But as we spoke on the telephone tears rolled silently down my face…
Recently, Deb was diagnosed with cancer, a cancer that has taken a significant hold on her body in a relatively short period of time.
And here she was encouraging me to chase my dream, assuring me that she took great strength from my dream and my journey – and making me promise that no matter what happens to her that I must continue on my journey.
As we spoke she explained that the cancer that has infected her precious body is her own Mount Everest.
She reached out and said…
“Baz, take my hand and we will climb our own Mount Everest together, one step at a time, for that is the only way”.
Deb, Merle sent the following note to her many friends recently and I want to share it with you. I’m hopeful that it will inspire, inspire those who perhaps face their own Mount Everest…
Yes, courage is a very powerful word and I learnt its true meaning this week…
The Beginning of a New Chapter
By “Merle”
I am beginning a very important journey. So much to achieve, new directions to take, challenges to overcome, happiness to be found….endless opportunities to grab hold of. A time to redefine, evolve and embrace life to the fullest.
With the love and support of my family and dear friends, long standing and new, it will hopefully be a celebration of the human spirit that lives within us all. I am blessed that I have today and the time to make each moment count… moments that we can reflect and smile upon. Moments of “BEING” whatever that may be and wherever it may takes us.
I will be taking each precious day at a time and endeavouring to seek all the happiness and joy each of them bring. I will be promoting and encouraging all who know me to do the same. My one wish and only wish is for everyone to not focus on the disease (that is the doctor’s job) it is what it is. Find the love, joy, precious “ididocic” (idiotic) moments filled with laughter and all the happiness in the world during this time. NOT EASY…CHALLENGES NEVER ARE…DEFINITELY DOABLE!!!!
I understand this is a big ask for all who stand on the perimeter of watching someone they love go through this. To me, it is counter-productive to dissect and try to analyse and make sense of this disease consuming my body. It would obscure the human spirit that defines ME as a person…I am most afraid of losing sight of who I am in all this. If you can help, it would be beneficial not only for me, but ALL of us, please participate however and in whatever way you can to… HELP ME…REMIND ME…REMEMBER AND ENHANCE THE MEMORIES!!! For after all, this chapter is NOT ALL ABOUT ME. It is about ALL of us and what we gain from this experience.
CONFRONTING…yes, very much so. If not confronted we have not the opportunity to overcome this.
SCARY…mmmm!!! I imagine it could be at times. I do believe, always have, that knowledge and sharing is powerful. The understanding gained and shared puts things in perspective and allows you to take away or minimise the “scariness” to some degree.
SAD….definitely, we will all feel it. Sadness is a positive emotion, I believe it shows how much we truly treasure, connect and love each other. It is an emotion to not hide…we cannot be BRAVE all the time, that would be counter-productive, and we would go insane. Release the tears, smile and begin again.
“IDIDOCIC” MOMENTS…Yes please, lots and lots of them!!! Also remember past “ididocic” experiences and share with everyone who will listen. Laugh, BIG belly laughs and rejoice!!!!
I am looking forward to the moments we will all share and I am truly blessed, humbled and consider myself the most fortunate person on this earth to have such beautiful people in my life. Thank you for being you and hold on…this journey is going to be a big one with lots of opportunities.
Love Merle x x x
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Simplicity, the greatest luxury of all…
Ratua Island, Vanuatu
200 year old beach cottage
Ratua Island, Vanuatu
And what better setting could there be to float away in a lover’s dream…than a remote South Pacific Island?
Photos: Baz – The Landy, on Ratua Private Island, Vanuatu.
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A South Pacific Getaway…
Photo: Baz – The Landy… 😉
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Out and About (Making tracks…)
Photo: Baz – The Landy…Out and About!
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Help I Need Coffee!
…I’m trusted to push buttons on a machine all day long, buying and selling billions of dollars’ worth of foreign exchange on world markets.
But do you reckon I can work out which button to press on the coffee machine to get my morning fix – just as well I’m dyslexic (just kiddin’ boss…)
Climbing mountains and jumping out of planes is a walk-in-the-park by comparison…
Baz – The Landy (Just musing out aloud!)
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Shapes (In the Australian Outback)
Photo: Baz – The Landy, on the Sandy Blight Junction Track, Outback Australia
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Reflections…
Around the camp fire…
Photo: Baz – The Landy, in the Great Victoria Desert, Outback Australia.
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Romantics, Lovers…
Sunsets are for romantics, for lovers…
For those who dare to lose themselves in the moment, entwined in a lover’s embrace as one, an embrace as warming as the colours of a setting sun…
Photo: Baz – The Landy, in a lover’s embrace with Janet-Planet 😉
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Dreaming…(again)
Arthur River Sunset, Outback Australia
Arthur River, Outback Australia
Full Moon Rising Arthur River, Outback Australia
Crikey, this place is sure to make you as happy as a dog in a hub cap factory…
The sun slips gently below a western horizon as a full moon rises above the eastern horizon at Arthur River, Outback Australia – and not another soul in sight!
Photos: Baz – The Landy
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Stand-off (I’ll stare you down)
The remote Gibson Desert, Outback Australia.
Photo: Baz – The Landy
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Delicate beauty…in a sunburnt land
You can find beauty anywhere, sometimes you just need to look…
Photo: Janet-Planet (In Australia’s Great Victoria Desert)
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