australian bush

The Shed…

XPLORE - Out and About7 Comments
The Shed

The Shed…a place where tall stories can be told, a few laughs had, where you can grab a “coldie” out of the fridge to share with mates and if you are motivated it can double as a training gym.

Since arriving home from the Outback a few weeks back I have been heading up the driveway to “The Shed” in the pre-dawn darkness to exercise on my rowing machine and lift a few weights.

Don’t worry, I’m an early morning person…

Over the coming months my exercise regime in “The Shed” will involve high intensity workouts on the rowing machine and weight resistance training in preparation for my expedition to Papua New Guinea early next year.

And rest assured, there will be plenty of hill climbing with a 20 kilogram backpack and I could never go a week without getting in a couple of paddles on the surf ski.

And this weekend’s weather in the harbour city is set to be perfect for all kinds of outdoor pursuits…

Crikey, bring it on!

Baz – The Landy

(Photos: Janet-Planet)

 

 

 

 

 

Contrast and Colour – In the Australian Outback

Image XPLORE - Out and About11 Comments

Sunburnt Country

In the Australian Outback…

Photo: Baz – The Landy

How far would you drive for a milkshake?

Image XPLORE - Out and About7 Comments

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

Image XPLORE - Out and About1 Comment

 

 

Outback Australia

Home ‘ Sweet home, under the Milky Way….

Photo: Baz – The Landy

 

 

 

 

A Yarn Around the Camp Fire

Image XPLORE - Out and About10 Comments
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)

XPLORE - Out and About6 Comments

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

XPLORE - Out and About7 Comments

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

XPLORE - Out and About11 Comments

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?)

XPLORE - Out and About5 Comments
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

XPLORE - Out and About21 Comments

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?

XPLORE - Out and About8 Comments

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

Image XPLORE - Out and About

Australian BushFlinders Ranges, Australia

Photo: Baz – The Landy

The Gibson Desert – The Adventure nears…

XPLORE - Out and About14 Comments

 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…

A Gift of Flowers – from the Australian Outback…

Image XPLORE - Out and About7 Comments

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!), Wanaka, New Zealand

Working with Indigenous Australians…

XPLORE - Out and About16 Comments

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…

XPLORE - Out and About6 Comments

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

XPLORE - Out and About8 Comments

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

Courage, Endurance, Mateship, Sacrifice…

XPLORE - Out and About6 Comments

Kokoda Track 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

Australian Military

Everything has changed – really?

XPLORE - Out and About9 Comments

Scarborough, Australia

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…

The Metropole Hotel

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

Renovator’s Delight…

XPLORE - Out and About13 Comments

Renovators Delight

The “Old Homestead” Trilby Station, Outback Australia…

 

Photo: Baz, The Landy…

Love, in the Outback

XPLORE - Out and About18 Comments

Trilby Station

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.

Louth, New South Wales

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…

Louth, New South Wales

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)

Ocean to the Outback…

Image XPLORE - Out and About29 Comments
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

XPLORE - Out and About17 Comments

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…

XPLORE - Out and About32 Comments

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

Strewth – Bigger than Texas…

Image XPLORE - Out and About9 Comments

 

Plenty Highway

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

Photo: Baz, The Landy

 

Reflections…

Image XPLORE - Out and About10 Comments

The Camp FireAround the camp fire…

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

Dreaming…(again)

XPLORE - Out and About8 Comments
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

Yes Sir, No Sir…how high Sir!

Image XPLORE - Out and About3 Comments

TomOTomO is at Holsworthy Army Barracks for a few days of military experience. 

As part of his school curriculum he does military cadets and is keen to advance to a full military career in the future…

He loves the adventure and camaraderie, so good luck mate!

Photo: Janet-Planet

Wouldn’t be dead for quids…

Image XPLORE - Out and About8 Comments

The Bread-Knife, Warrumbungles, Australia

The Bread-Knife, it would be a great climb, but I understand it is not allowed these days…

Photo: Janet-Planet

A Flaming Red-Haired, Blue Eyed Beauty

Image XPLORE - Out and About28 Comments

Diamantina National ParkA parched earth, kissing the sky on a faraway horizon.

Photo: Baz  – The Landy

 

Edit: One of my good WordPress friends, Lavinia,  suggested this is a flaming red-haired, blue-eyed beauty, so I have retitled from “Blue Skies (In the Australian Outback)” – which was a tad boring, really!
Besides, I’m madly in love with red-heads! Baz 😉

Solitude…

Image XPLORE - Out and About14 Comments

Solitude - In the Australian OutbackAn earthen bed, a warming fire to stave off the chill and a canopy of stars to watch over you…

…solitude in the Australian Outback with a wonderful son!

 Baz – The Landy

 

 

 

 

Dope on a rope (In the Blue Mountains)

Image XPLORE - Out and About11 Comments

If you don’t live life on the edge, you risk taking up too much space…

 Besides, the view is always better at the edge!

 Baz – The Landy

 

Beer – Magical and Medicinal

XPLORE - Out and About13 Comments

Outback AustraliaLike a couple of old Holden cars in the Australian Outback, I was feeling just a little rusty and worse-for-wear this morning as I headed out on a 10-kilometre pack walk with the mandatory 20-kilograms strapped to my back.

In the pre-dawn darkness the kookaburra’s were just stirring in the Harbour City, laughing as I trudged on up the hill…

As part of my training to prepare for two climbing expeditions to Nepal in both the pre and post monsoon periods in 2015 I pack-walk between 10-20 kilometres with a 20-kilogram backpack every other day, and do sprint running on the other days.

Unfortunately, a recurring injury I have suffered over the past 12 months or so has been a tight calf-muscle in my left leg. Well to be more specific, and for the medically inclined, it is the peroneus muscle group.

Over the weekend “The Kiwi” was in town so there was plenty of training on Saturday in the mountains and given the extreme heat a few beers were consumed at the day’s end!

Water would have been better wouldn’t have cut it…

Of course, many will know “The Kiwi” as my partner in endurance events both in Australia and his homeland of New Zealand, and he is the bloke who has dreamed up a 250-kilometre run, come walk, from Newcastle to Sydney in March next year – apparently in 60-hours!

Oddly, 250-kilometres seems to figure often in the things he dreams up, last time that number came up it was a 250-kilometre cycle, run, and kayak from the west to the east coast of New Zealand’s south island.

Yes, these plans have usually been hatched over a few beers, and you’d think I would have learnt by now that one always needs to be cautious of Kiwis’ bearing gifts of free beers…

Crikey, I wouldn’t have it any other way though!

But on beers, the pain in my left calf muscle was absent on my pack walk at silly o’clock this morning, confirming, I’m sure, that beer is full of magical medicinal properties – truly, nectar of the Gods’.

Well that is the story I’m sticking with anyway, let’s face it – when you’re on a good thing!

 Photo:  Baz – The Landy (on Trilby Station in Outback Australia)

Cordillo Downs – Outback Australia

Image XPLORE - Out and About8 Comments

Cordillo Downs

 Cordillo Downs Woolshed, Outback Australia

Photo: Baz – The Landy

Postcard – From the Outback

Image XPLORE - Out and About7 Comments

Anne Beadell Highway

The Australian Outback – crikey, how good is it, hey!

Photo: Baz – The Landy

Watagan Mountains (The Australian Bush)

XPLORE - Out and About7 Comments

The Watagan’s is a great place to spend a weekend or  few more days hiking.  Situated just to the north of Sydney, it is a lush mountainous area full of wonderful flora and fauna.

We hiked a familiar route, the Great North Walk, overnighting at  Barraba Trig, a picturesque site that overlooks the famous Hunter Valley wine growing region from its vantage point high on a ridge top…

The girl’s, Janet and Leah, packed their men, TomO, me, brother-in-law Ray (the Kiwi) and young Aubrey, off on Saturday afternoon, before glamming up and heading to a beautiful French restaurant in Newcastle…

And what an awesome effort by nephew 5-year old Aubrey, he walked half of the 25 kilometre hike!

And the Kiwi showed some great endurance carrying him and a 20-kilo pack the rest of the way! Mind you he did run 100-kilometres of this route just a couple of weeks back in 20-hours!

The Australian Bush hey, you’ve got to love it.

 Photos: Baz – The Landy

Jungle Juice (In the Australian Bush)

XPLORE - Out and About9 Comments

Wollombi AustraliaDr Jurd’s Jungle Juice, Wollombi, Australia

Photo: Baz – The Landy

 

 

The Billabong

Image XPLORE - Out and About2 Comments

Trilby Station

 Situated on the Darling River not too far from the small township of Louth, Trilby Station is a working sheep station and home to Gary and Liz Murray.

The Billabong is a prominent feature of the property.

Situated a short stroll from the family homestead the billabong requires a flood event on the Darling River to fill with water.

In recent times this has occurred in 2000, 2011, and 2012, and when it does the homestead is isolated and at times has required the family to be airlifted to the safety of higher ground.

Mind you it has not always flooded so regularly.

Gary’s father, Dermie Murray, who was born in 1929 at Dunlop Station on the Darling River, was 21 years of age before he saw the mighty Darling break its banks in flood.

Dermie and his lifelong partner now live further downstream and nearer to the township of Tilpa.

We have been fortunate to visit at times when it has been full, but as is often the case in Australia’s semi-arid regions the billabong is now dry once again.

Gary and Liz are wonderful hosts and you can camp down by the river, or by the billabong, and if camping is not to your liking you can stay in one of the stockman’s cottages, or the shearer’s quarters.

If you are ever visiting the region, be sure to take the time to visit Trilby Station, where you can just sit back and relax as the Darling River gently flows by…

Photo: Baz – The Landy

The Nindigully Pub (In the Aussie Bush)

Image XPLORE - Out and About6 Comments

Outback PubsDon’t ever have one beer here, have at least half a dozen 😉

Photo: Baz – The Landy
ps: I do promote responsible drinking, mostly…

Postcard from the Outback

XPLORE - Out and About16 Comments

Outback Australia At times it is difficult to find the right words to describe the majestic beauty of the Australian Outback.

The landscapes, the vibrancy of the colours that stretch from one horizon to the other, the patchwork of flora that knits this parched and ancient land together.

The Sandy Blight Junction Track in central Australia is certainly one place that will leave visitors struggling to find the right adjectives to describe its beauty.

The track, which was surveyed and built by the legendary adventurer Len Beadell in 1960, starts approximately 70-kilometres east of the remote Giles Weather Station on the Great Central Road, and winds its way to the Kintore Range some 300-kilometres to the north.

Central Australia

Despite seeing himself as simply a man of the bush with a love of the Australian Outback, Len and his bush craftsmanship are revered around campfires in the outback where tales of his exploits are frequently recounted.

Of course earlier explorers had passed this way and evidence can be seen towards the northern parts where a tree blazed by the somewhat controversial explorer William Tietkens can be viewed.

The Sandy Blight, which takes its name from the eye disease more commonly known as Trachoma, a disease that Len suffered whilst making the track, will take around three days to complete and adventurers’ who make the journey will be rewarded with an ever changing landscape.

Australian Outback

Travelling east along the Great Central Road from Giles, the Scherwin Mural Crescent will come into view signaling that the track north is not too far away. The explorer Ernst Giles named this remarkable rock outcrop after the Princess of Scherwin and it is quite spectacular when viewed in the early morning sunlight.

Making your way onto the track you can expect your senses to be piqued by a visually invigorating landscape of a deep red coloured soil contrasting against a vibrant blue sky and framed by magnificent Desert Oak trees.

Not long after turning off the Great Central Road a rocky track will take you to the Bungabiddy Rock Hole where you will be tempted to laze in the coolness of the rocky gorge, or the more energetic might take a walk to the top of the ridge that overlooks the waterhole.

Continuing north the countryside changes from stands of Desert Oaks and rocky outcrops, to numerous sand dunes that will put your driving skills to the test.

A highlight of the Sandy Blight is a drive to the top of the Sir Frederick Range where you will be rewarded with a 360-degree vista of the surrounding country.

Outback Australia

I have vowed to return to the summit of the range to enjoy a full moon rising over this sunburnt land and to marvel as it slides gently below the western horizon the morning after.

And not to be missed are the sun’s rays caressing the eastern face of Mt Leisler at the northern end of the track as it rises to signal the dawn of another day in the Australian Outback…

Whilst the Sandy Blight Junction Track is remote by any measure, it is not necessarily a difficult trip.

Preparation is the key to a successful trip and shouldn’t be taken lightly when travelling in a remote environment. Ensure your vehicle is well prepared for the rigours that it will face on the corrugated roads, that you are self-sufficient for food and water, and have a comprehensive first aid kit.

You’ll also need to have the appropriate permits for travelling through aboriginal land, and importantly, be sure to observe the requirements they place on travel through the area, especially on the carriage and consumption of alcohol.

Permits can be obtained from the Central Lands Council and the Ngaanyatjarra Lands Trust.

And crikey, don’t forget to take your camera – the folks back home will not believe just how spectacular the Australian Outback is!

 Photos: Baz – The Landy

 

 

 

A Writer’s Retreat

Image XPLORE - Out and About7 Comments

Kylie TennantKylie’s Hut, Crowdy Bay, Coastal Australia.

It is here that Australian fiction writer Kylie Tennant penned the novel Man on the Headland, a wonderful story in which she portrays Crowdy Bay and the man who built her the hut, Ernie Metcalfe.

Many of Kylie’s novels bordered on documentaries and she wrote in a way that sought to bring attention to her readers about poverty and disadvantage.

She died in 1988.

 Photo: Baz – The Landy