adventure travel

Suitable only for Masochists and Israeli Paratroopers

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Stretching between the villages of Salamaua and Wau in the island Nation of Papua New Guinea is a long-forgotten second world war track called “The Black Cat Track”.

It has it all…dangerous river crossings, swamps, cliffs, precarious rock-ledges, venomous snakes, and leeches that will suck the blood from your veins after the malaria carrying mosquito’s have finished with you…

The Lonely Planet guidebook describes the Black Cat Track as “suitable only for masochists and Israeli Paratroopers”.

This region of Papua New Guinea has some of the most spectacular jungle scenery on the planet and is the habitat of the country’s national emblem, the superbly beautiful Bird of Paradise.

I had to postpone a trek along the Black Cat Track a few years back due to civil unrest in the region, something it has been prone to from time-to-time, but I have been anxious to undertake this adventure and revisit a country Janet-Planet (Mrs Landy) and I lived in as newly weds many years ago…

Grey's Peak

And whilst I have not given up on my desire to climb amongst the world’s highest peaks in the Himalayas, the earthquake and tragic devastation it caused to Nepal and its people earlier this year has added a layer of complexity to that ambition!

But crikey, I need to “feed the rat” with adventure and an opportunity has arisen to join a trek along the Black Cat Track in May 2016 with a group of  Papua New Guinean Nationals – “Legends” as they are rightly referred to and ably led by Aidan Grimes.

Co-incidentally, it will be almost 10-years to the day that I walked the Kokoda Track with Aidan, a veteran of 100 traverses of the Kokoda Track; a track that is synonymous with Papua New Guinea and the battles fought by our brave and courageous “diggers” during World War Two.

It will make a change to the Australian Outback and snow covered mountain peaks…

What an adventure, hey!

So strap on your backpack and get your hiking boots out…there is plenty of training to be done…

Baz – The Landy

Such is the life of a desert dweller…

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Wow, 7-weeks in the Australian Outback, travelling this wonderful country of ours in a customised four-wheel drive may not be everyone’s cup of tea – but hey, for the adventurous, you’d love it…

And for the less adventurous amongst us, crikey, come on get on board, it is about time you got out of your comfort zone and gave it a go.

My recent adventure into the deserts of Western Australia involved a return journey of over 10,000 kilometres into some of the world’s most inhospitable country, crossing vibrant red sand dunes where no roads or tracks exist…

Sand Dune Crossing

But don’t be put off by the remoteness and harshness of the Australian Outback as the rewards for the traveller, the adventurer, is a landscape more bio-diverse and fragile than the Amazon rainforest.

The contrasting beauty of a rugged landscape, the colours that you will see can never be replicated in a painting or photograph, but the memory of a setting sun, the golden hue it creates as it gently slips below the distant horizon will imprint a lasting memory that will have you longing to return to this place…

Outback Australia

 

My journey took me across Australia’s interior on a quest to assist a group of like minded people construct a shelter and other buildings for the Birriliburu people, the Traditional Owners of the Little Sandy Desert and Gibson Desert region of Australia…

Mind you, it is also about the journey and there was plenty of opportunity for me to explore and photograph other parts of the Australian Outback as I made my way westward…

Now let me say, shovelling sand and gravel into a cement mixer, on a clay pan and under a scorching sun is hard work and won’t necessarily count as a highlight of the trip. But the opportunity to spend time with the elders of the Birriliburu mob in their country, on their lands, was well worth the discomfort – it will leave a lasting impact on my life!

Crikey, don’t get me wrong, it was a pleasure to assist, I’m just complaining about those aching muscles that were antagonised in the process…

Amongst the aboriginal people I spent time with were a number of elders who were born to nomadic parents in the desert, first generation desert people who lived, hunted and sheltered on the very lands we were on and without any contact with Australian’s of European descent.

One of the elders, Geoffrey Stewart, was born to parents Warri and Yatungka, a couple who engaged in forbidden love under tribal laws and whose story is recounted in the book “Last of the Nomads”.

Another, Georgina “Dadina” Brown, took us to the place where she and her family were discovered by  Stan Gratte, an historical enthusiast, in 1976. At the time Stan was retracing the route of a 19th century explorer.

Georgina is an accomplished artist with work on display in the Australian National Gallery and her story is recounted in the book Born in the Desert – The Land and travels of a last Australian Nomad. 

All were willing to share their country with us, showing where they roamed the desert with their families and explaining how they captured food and travelled from rock-hole to rock-hole to find water.

Geoffrey shared some “Dreamtime Stories” and permitted us to view some magnificent rock art located in a gorge not too far from where we were based in the desert.

I have been travelling Australia’s vast outback region for many years and have always recognised it has a “spiritual beauty” to it.  But this trip has been special in a way that I never thought possible and has helped me view life through a different lens, putting a different perspective on life…

We live in a society that insists we plan our lives away, where we have an insatiable appetite for instant gratification, and need the latest gadgets, where we are able to visit a supermarket for our daily food needs with little thought as to how it arrived there…

It was refreshing to observe another perspective on life from people whose ancestors’ have inhabited our sunburnt country for over 40,000 years – a people whose philosophy of living in harmony with the environment is the pathway to ensuring a sustainable existence.

No, not necessarily an easy one, that’s for sure!

Most importantly, this trip and time spent on country with the Birriliburu mob has reinforced something that modern day living often has us overlook and that is the only moment you can live in is the one you are in.

Such is the life of a desert dweller…

Baz – The Landy

As a footnote:

The Birriliburu Lands are an Indigenous Protected Area not open to the general public. I visited at the kind invitation of the Elders of the Birriliburu People. 

Contrast and Colour – In the Australian Outback

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Sunburnt Country

In the Australian Outback…

Photo: Baz – The Landy

How far would you drive for a milkshake?

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Who remembers the days of real milk bars and real milkshakes – milkshakes made with malt and filled to the brim with real milk and dispensed in the traditional metal tumbler?

As a young lad growing up in Far North Queensland, FNQ to the initiated, I can remember my father taking me on a Saturday morning ritual to check the mail at the post office followed by a milkshake at our favourite milk bar.

I suspect Dad was never interested in what the mail brought, in fact I don’t ever recall him opening it, but boy did we savour those milkshakes.

So it was to my great surprise that I discovered Bell’s Milk Bar in our iconic Outback town of Broken Hill.  Now I have written often about the rich history of “The Hill” and on sojourns to and from the Outback we always take the time to stop over, if only to stand on the western edge of this great town as the sun cast its last rays on a red ochre coloured landscape.

But somehow I had overlooked this gem that is caught in a 1950s time warp.

Needless to say I wasted no time in ordering a chocolate malted milk which I savoured with great pleasure as Janet and I wandered around looking at the memorabilia that has been collected over the years…

Plastic tables, plenty of chrome, even the old heavy black phones!

Without a doubt it is now on our must-do things when passing through “The Hill” in fact we’ve made a mental note to ensure it is the first thing we do as “The Landy” heads into town…

Crikey, I’d drive the 1,200-kilometres from Sydney any day to fill-up at Bell’s; to reminisce of days long-gone, of those moments with the “Old Man” in downtown Townsville drinking our liquid gold through a paper straw, the silence punctuated only be the slurping sounds of a quickly disappearing shake.

So take my tip and be sure to include Bell’s on the itinerary next time you are passing that way, you won’t be disappointed!

Photo Baz – The Landy

Under the Milky Way – In the Australian Outback

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Outback Australia

Home ‘ Sweet home, under the Milky Way….

Photo: Baz – The Landy

 

 

 

 

Sand Goanna – In The Australian Outback

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Reptiles

An Australian Sand Goanna, deep in the desert country, Outback Australia…

Photo: Baz – The Landy

Kata Tjuta – The Olgas

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Kata Tjuta
Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta means “many heads” in the local indigenous language and the area is sacred under Tjukurpa and Anangu men’s law.

 

Photo: Baz – The Landy

Footnote: The “T” in Tjuta is silent…pronounced Kata (T)~juta

A Yarn Around the Camp Fire

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Dingo – Outback Australia
Baz – The Landy
Around the Camp Fire – Outback Australia
Outback Australia
Desert Rose – Outback Australia
The Landy

Incredibly rugged and tough; yet exceptionally colourful and beautiful…

No, not me you silly billy, I am referring to the Australian Outback.

I am, slowly, with great emphasis on slowly, making my way home, after my journey across Australia and into country with the Birriliburu People, traditional owners of much of the Gibson and Little Sandy Desert region of Australia…

My time on country with the Birriliburu Mob has been a wonderful experience and I look forward to sharing the experience with you, but for now, let me share some photographs of our magnificent Sunburnt Land – our island continent that time forgot!

Photos: Baz – The Landy

Footnote: My travel into the Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area was at the invitation of the Elders and Traditional Owners; access is not generally granted.

A Yarn Around the Campfire – With a Queen (Bee)

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Uluru

With almost 3,000 kilometres under the belt, and a couple of beers along the way, “The Landy” pulled into Ayers Rock this morning just in time for ‘smoko…

And I must say, I had a pleasant evening at the Kulgera Pub last night, so if you are heading up or down the Stuart Highway be sure to drop in.

Now I know some of you have been wondering how do I pass the time following the white line along the blacktop for these sort of distances, especially as Janet-Planet, the wonderful Mrs Landy, hasn’t joined the trip yet…

Yes, her presence in “The Landy” is always engaging and enlightening…

Well I’ve got quite a comprehensive music library consisting of around 10,000 songs so I’ve plenty to choose from, but oddly, I have listened to very little music on this trip and have spent most of my time tuned into ABC Country.

Yes, the Australian National Radio Broadcaster…

Now before you go knocking it, give it a go I say, there is plenty of topical stuff they talk about, and yes I had to endure a couple of business reports giving a read on the value of the Australian dollar. I suppose the boss will be pleased to know that I tuned in but crikey, thought I had left the trading desk behind!

But anyway, the topics are far-reaching, some serious, others amusing. One I listened to was a standout though. It was an interview with a bloke who works for the Department of Agriculture and his speciality is bee keeping.

We all love honey right?

Hey, before I get on with this yarn, don’t windmills transport you to the Australian Outback in a nano-second…

Outback Australia

Anyway, predictably the interviewer had to get a Winnie-the-Pooh joke in early, it was an oldie, but still an oldie, if you know what I mean.  But this bloke wasn’t going to be detracted from the topic…

Besides, I’m sure he has heard them all.

Actually, lets not call him “he”, but as I can’t remember his name let’s call him Cyril, ok?

Well Cyril gave a fascinating account of bee keeping to the point I’m sure he had people running out ordering a hive. Did you know they post Queen bees around in the mail, yep, postage stamp attached.

It kinda puts a new spin on airmail, I guess..

Anyway, Cyril recounted how he first became interested in bee keeping at the young age of 10 years and was encouraged whole-heartedly by his parents. He eventually went on to do some agriculture studies that were the pathway to a life-long career and passion.

And clearly, Cyril was passionate about this, let there be no mistake about that!

But the clincher for me in this whole interview, and it had me in sticthes, was his account of how, as a teenager, he had a beehive in his bedroom.

Yes, that’s right, a beehive in his bedroom.

Cyril had a hole cut out in the window for the bees to come and go and glass panels in the hive so he could observe the behaviour of the bees. Oh, don’t worry, there wasn’t a dark side to this story, no sting in the tale, so to speak…

Seriously, I tried to sneak all kinds of things into my bedroom as a teenager and let me say I was stung on more than one occasion by an ever-watchful mother – but a beehive in your bedroom?

Okay,  I get it, some of you might like a bit of honey in the struggling paddock, just to sweeten things up a bit, but I’m betting you scooped it out of a jar, not straight from a beehive at the bottom of the bed!

But Cyril’s story is just so far out there I think he gets away with it…

Well thanks Cyril, odd as it may seem, your interview was a highlight for me as I stared down that endless white-line and it helped me pass the time away as I travelled through the Australian Outback; the Bush…

Anyway, as I mentioned, I’m at “The Rock” which is a first for me despite extensive outback travel and interestingly, it is mostly referred to as Ayers Rock in much of the signage around the Yulara Resort, rather than Uluru as it is now known. I find some comfort in that as I grew up knowing it as Ayers Rock.

Not that I can’t respect change, but I will take the liberty of referring to it in the way I have always been accustomed…

But there will be no climbing for me, I will be content to get some great photos of it as the sun sets on another outback day…

Speak soon…Baz

Photos: Baz – The Landy

A Yarn Around the Camp Fire

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Camping in Australia

There is something very satisfying about heading down the driveway, out of the “rat-race” and into the heart and soul of this great country of ours.

And it was time to do just that, the day to head off to the deserts of Western Australia had finally arrived…

Rest assured I was eager, departing before the kookaburras’ were stirring, the neighbours no doubt awoken by the familiar sound of “The Landy” edging down the driveway..

Mind you there is the mundane of actually getting out of the city, but before long “The Landy” was pulling the TVAN up and over the Blue Mountains, along the Bells Line of Road and through the small apple growing community of Bilpin, on what was a cold start to the day.

I elected to take the TVAN Camper Trailer on part of this trip to give some comfort on the journey to Central Australia and back again, especially as Mrs Landy will be joining me when it is time to point “The Landy” homewards. Otherwise it will be a swag roll to sleep under the stars whilst in the desert…

Nyngan Camp Similar to recent trips to Australia’s centre I headed west on the roads less travelled visiting the small rural towns of Tullamore and Tottenham, in the New South Wales central west. And central it is, as the route passes close by to the geo-graphical centre of New South Wales not too far from Tottenham.

At the risk of being called anti-social, it is quite pleasant driving along by yourself and it is something I greatly appreciate from time-to-time as it provides a welcome escape from the close working quarters on the currency trading floor of a major Australian bank – my usual haunt in between the weekends.

I even got to argue and debate with myself, and win a few of those exchanges during the day!

The sun was starting to head towards the western horizon as I reached the outskirts of Nyngan and a camp, the first of the trip, by the Bogan River. Before long I had the camp established, pulled out a chair, sat back, and relaxed!

Here I was, finally released from the shackles of urban living in Australia’s largest city, Sydney and the phone rang!

No way, it couldn’t be work, surely?

Although a call on a Saturday is not unheard of, it was Mrs Landy and the Crown Prince ringing to see how the first day Out and About was!

Perfect, thanks!

Baz – The Landy

A Yarn Around the Camp Fire

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The Camp Fire

“A Yarn Around the Camp Fire” is an opportunity for you to take a front-seat ride in “The Landy” as it heads into some of the most remote parts of Australia, for that matter – the world.

After all, Australia’s remote location on the globe is matched equally by the remoteness of its sparsely  populated outback…

It will be a journey that will take us across our sunburnt land towards Uluru and beyond to the Central Deserts of Western Australia…

We’ll travel to a place where time has forgotten, where the hot scorching sun parches a landscape that is as beautiful as it is rugged. A country inhabited over the millennia by Australian Aborigines and crossed in more contemporary times by explorers’ who challenged themselves to discover what was in the Australian interior.

You will get a camp fire view of the setting sun as it slips gently below an orange tainted horizon, and if you are an early bird, watch a rising sun cast its first rays of light over the windswept land, a mug of piping hot tea in hand.

But for sure, you’ll get to experience the teeth shattering corrugations of the Great Central Road as “The Landy” makes its way westward, and at day’s end, quietly slip into a deep slumber under “The Milky Way”.

During the next few weeks “The Landy” will cover over 10,000-kilometres across a landscape that will transport me from the urban living of Australia’s largest city, Sydney, across the Australian Bush and into the vibrant and colourful Australian Outback.

The Landy

Now perhaps there will be some who are thinking, is this city slicker meets the outback?

Crikey, who knows…

Mind you, I’m as comfortable in the outback as I am crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the daily commute to the office, having travelled to many remote parts over the years flying light aircraft or driving “The Landy” – our mode of transport that has morphed as time advanced.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Okay, I do agree, the good old ‘Fender hasn’t changed much in the past 50 years, seemingly, so we’ll just say I use the term “morphed” sparingly.

And despite the opportunity to view the magnificent Sydney Harbour each day, I won’t miss that daily dodgem car run!

But I am digressing…

Along the way I will be travelling with a group of like-minded people, sharing a few laughs around the camp fire and I’m sure, fixing almost as many punctured tyres as there are flies buzzing around.  Importantly, I will be spending time with the Traditional Owners and Elders of the Birriliburu Country to assist them in building some “back to country” infrastructure.

Our travel will be along remote tracks that are covered in spinifex grass and frequently travelling where no tracks exist, where a never ending blue sky caresses the ochre-red earth on a faraway horizon.

And don’t go worrying if you haven’t heard from me for a while, rest assured, I’ll be around the camp fire at day’s end, recounting, laughing, and dreaming!

Whilst we live in a modern society with plenty of gadgets to keep us all in contact, sometimes they just don’t work in the Australian Outback – well that is what I told my boss anyway, so best I continue to run with that story…

I’ll welcome your company in the front seat of “The Landy” as the journey unfolds and don’t worry about long lapses of silence, it’s okay –  the sounds of the Australian Outback will more than compensate for the lack of chatter!

And if you are stuck at home in-the-armchair, be sure to drop by every so often, I’ll be updating the blog as the journey unfolds and you can check out where I am as “The Landy” rolls along the bulldust by simply clicking on the “Map – Where is The Landy” tab at the top of the page.

Anyway it is almost time to get under way, so buckle yourself in and give Mrs Landy and the Crown Prince, TomO, a wave good-bye…

Photos: Baz – The Landy

What’s in a Name (Hey?)

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The Landy
The Old Workhorse
No mistaking it
Red Rover
The original Landy
The Old Workhorse in the Outback
The “New” Landy

Seriously, who would call a blog “The Landy – Out and About Having Fun”?

Someone challenged me on this just the other day and it is quite simple really…

“The Landy” came about as a consequence of owning three, four-wheel drive Land Rover Defenders over the years. And there is no doubting the ruggedness of this great marque and its capability to tour around our great Southern Land, to travel into our remote outback.

As you can see “The Landy” has morphed over the past decade or two and is now a  sleek looking Toyota 79 Series Dual Cab, customised for long-range and remote area travel with a range of over 1,500-kilometres.

Mind you, that type of range can be dwarfed by the distances from civilisation in the Australian Outback…

Oh, and yes, thank you, I’ve recovered fully from the “Defender” era, although the bank balance remains in rehab after years of supporting the Land Rover specialist’s retirement fund…

Crikey, you have got to love the old Defenders though, and having owned three it would be hard for me to argue that I don’t still have a fondness for them, especially “Red Rover” but they take more work to keep them on the road than it does to keep your mother-in-law happy…

And strewth, not to mention the expense.

Clare, my dear mother-in-law, only costs me a bottle of good champagne once a year, and even then I get to drink it anyway…

Whilst I’m reluctant to refer to the new vehicle as “The Landy” that’s for sure; the owners’ of either marque, Toyota or Landrover, would never forgive me,  but “The Landy” reference has stuck, so “Baz – The Landy” it is…

“Out and About Having Fun”

Photos: Baz – The Landy

Red Earth and Blue Sky Country

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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

What happened to our pubs?

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Gulf Savannah

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

Ruins – In the Australian Outback

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Australian BushFlinders Ranges, Australia

Photo: Baz – The Landy

The Gibson Desert – The Adventure nears…

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 The Great Victoria Desert

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.

 

Outback Australia

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…

Working with Indigenous Australians…

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Anne Beadell Highway

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.

Outback Australia

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…

Dawn, in the Australian Outback…

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Sunrise

I could never tire of watching the sunrise, especially in the Australian Outback…

Photo, Baz – The Landy, Welford National Park

The Darling River – A National Treasure

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Trilby Station

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.” Trilby Station

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

Fate, are you a believer?

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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

Renovator’s Delight…

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Renovators Delight

The “Old Homestead” Trilby Station, Outback Australia…

 

Photo: Baz, The Landy…

Ocean to the Outback…

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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

Vagabonds, Scoundrels and Highway Robbery

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Targo

 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

Red dust in your pants…

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Welford Sand Dune

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

Are we being ripped off?

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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.

Fox Glacier

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

Reality – It is what we choose to believe

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Mountaineering

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!

To Climb a Mountain

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Southern Alps, New Zealand

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

Strewth – Bigger than Texas…

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Plenty Highway

A termite mound “bigger than Texas itself” along the Plenty Highway, Outback Australia.

Photo: Baz, The Landy

 

Nepal Mountaineering Expeditions – Gearing up

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DSCN0576

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

Simplicity, the greatest luxury of all…

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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.

Shapes (In the Australian Outback)

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Sandy Blight JunctionPhoto: Baz – The Landy, on the Sandy Blight Junction Track, Outback Australia

Reflections…

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The Camp FireAround the camp fire…

Photo: Baz – The Landy, in the Great Victoria Desert, Outback Australia.

Romantics, Lovers…

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Cullyamurra Sunset

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)

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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

Stand-off (I’ll stare you down)

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Gibson Desert, Outback AustraliaThe remote Gibson Desert, Outback Australia.

Photo: Baz – The Landy

Delicate beauty…in a sunburnt land

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Desert Flowers

You can find beauty anywhere, sometimes you just need to look…

 Photo: Janet-Planet (In Australia’s Great Victoria Desert)

 

 

 

A Thorny Devil…

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Thorny Devil

Don’t be so cheeky, I said a Thorny Devil…

For a Horny Devil ring 1800-BAZTHELANDY.

 Oops, just kidding, Janet has spotted the mischief unfolding here…hang-on, she’s ringing my cell phone 😉

 Photo: Baz – The Landy, in Australia’s Great Victoria Desert (It really is called a Thorny Devil)

The Dreamtime…

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Welford Sand Dune Lay back on the dune, close your eyes and enter the “dreamtime”…

Photo: Baz – The Landy