It has been quite a while (over two years) since I first posted this. Time for an update. There are now over 100 ‘ideas’ to try out. Most will save you money or at least improve your outdoors experience; nearly all of them are my own ‘inventions’. Hope you find something useful to you. 100. …
Cheap, light, quick, simple and tough – and almost self-inflating. What’s not to like? Here are the two most outstanding features. Wonderful. 15″ x 5″ when deflated. 33″ x 72″ inflated. 3 lbs. Tubes 200 denier. Floor 400 denier. The nearest competition I guess is the Ultralight version of this one: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2017/01/02/new-diy-pack-raft/or Klymit’s Pack Raft: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2016/04/23/klymit-packraft/ …
If you have made a ‘faux’ pack raft (as here and here) as I have you will have had the same problem with the paddle. The cheap (Intex) rafts come with a set of oars which need to be converted into a double bladed paddle (which will fit in a canoe drum!) I tried several …
The Lower Latrobe is a delight particularly like now when most of Gippsland’s rivers are too low for a canoe trip. From Thom’s Bridge (Morwell) to Lake Wellington (Sale) is approximately 165 km (by river) or about 8 days paddling at our normal speed (4 km per hour) and five hours per day. Of course …
We knocked off early on Anzac Day to have a stroll along the Wirilda Track from the W3 ‘road’ downstream. (I am still recovering, slowly). You can put a canoe in here and with some difficulty paddle down to the old Morwell pumping station at Wirilda Park. The river used to be clearer (and may …
Adventure Pro. This is a great site for information about canoeing just so many wonderful streams in Australia. In this particular section they showcase little known and difficult sections, or ‘steep creeks’ such as the Moroka which I have copied below (hope they don’t mind). This is the section I talked about hiking/pack rafting in …
This is a truly wonderful section of the river. One of Australia’s greatest treasures and one of our last wild rivers! It took us fourteen hours (paddling and portaging) to make it from Meyers Flat (15 minutes below Waterford by canoe – but easier to put in) to the first take-out point at Angusvale. The …
Della and I had a foreshortened trip on the Wonnangatta River upstream of the Moroka confluence when she developed a bad chest infection on the second night out which turned out to be pneumonia. Fortunately I had brought along the Alpacka ‘Fiord Explorer’ raft, their ‘moose boat’ as they termed it (now the ‘Mule’), so …
Supai Adventure Gear say, ‘At just 14 ounces, our pack raft paddle is the lightest on the market…When combined, our pack raft (24 ounces) and paddle (14 ounces)…weighs an astonishingly light 38 ounces (2 lbs, 6 ounces).’ If you want ‘light’ these guys are the place to go! https://www.supaiadventuregear.com/ Their pack rafts range from US$299-349 …
I recently bought one of these for $A20 (July 2018) from K-Mart to play with. I wanted to practice some seam heat-sealing with something available and cheap before I began modifying an expensive hiking pad: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/axl-air-down-pad/ . I had in mind that I would probably be able to make an inflatable pack frame with one …
This guy made 8.5 which is pretty awesome. What a wonderful addition to DIY watercraft this hobby is: https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/aboard-a-gourd/
This is the simplest and cheapest way to make sure you don’t lose your hearing aids on a hiking or canoeing trip (such as this). Works with any BTE (Behind the ear) type hearing aid. Bulldog clip, (dyneema) string, two simple slip knots. Attach clip to back of shirt collar. Cost: cents. Cheers. 3 grams …
Packrafting the Thomson River Gippsland Day #2: After a delightful night’s sleep on My Neoair (Womens) mat on the soft warm sand snuggled in my little poncho tent, I awoke to a morning you only dream of. Look at the quality of the light behind me! A camera can only capture a faint taste of …
Packrafting the Thomson River, Gippsland #1: This is probably the best weekend trip in Victoria. It may be mid-winter now but soon you should be planning your wonderful spring/summer trips – and this should be one of them! You start this just downstream of the historic Brunton’s Bridge where the road of the same name …
Isn’t Amazon wonderful? Jeff Bezos deserves to be the richest person who has ever lived (which he is!) When I was doing the post below I found this excellent cheap packrafting day pack for US$16.99 (Feb 2018) which just about has to be a ‘must have’ to add to the G4 free below. It even …
‘Go light; the lighter the better, so that you have the simplest material for health, comfort and enjoyment.’ So he said way back in 1884. A ten pound canoe way back then! There are so many treasures you can download for free from Project Gutenberg or the Internet Archive for example. I mentioned some others …
We returned to this beautiful section of the river again this year for a three day trip. Last year we canoed it in two which did not really give us enough time to savour it. With just a 2WD vehicle you can canoe down from Eaglevale to Kingwill in 3 days, another 3 days to …
Canoe Wonnangatta: Kingwill Bridge to Meyers Flat Read More »
Nearly 6″ of rain had fallen in the Wonnangatta River catchment recently. The river was still ‘up’ so I reckoned this would be my last opportunity this summer to canoe this section of this wonderful river. Yes, you can hitch a ride in. NB: You can check the river heights here and assess how many …
This is the very first tick either myself or one of my animals has acquired in Southern Victoria – even though I hunted with hounds here for over thirty years and have owned as many as a dozen and a half dogs at a time. I used to see tiny ticks infecting the ears of …
Posted Monday night on Facebook: ‘Listen to the birdsong: 6:30am Monday morning in one of the most remote spots in Victoria, Wonnangatta River Alpine Nat Park. From Melbourne it would take you 7 1/2 hours by car (1 1/2 of them 4WD) and either a solid day’s hiking or 4 hours in a pack raft …
