Table of contents for Issue 156, Nov-Dec 2016 in Wild

“Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings.” Joseph Conrad’s seminal work is a tale that describes man’s return to a more primal state when left without the structure provided by civilisation. The plot, and sentiment, is reflected in the movie Apocalypse Now, which may be more familiar to some readers. While both of these narratives are set among non-Australian environs, nevertheless we may look upon our own vast interior as a place of mystery – a place that hides dark secrets of its own. Given its recent colonial history, it’s easy for that concept to ring true. And yet, every time someone takes it upon themselves to leave our populated…

As the snow belted down outside, six male mountain pygmy possums (or MPPs) waited for morning to arrive from within specially designed transport boxes. At daylight, two snowshoe-wearing scientists carried them out into the Mount Buller ski field. Digging through the fresh snow, they eventually found their destination: a sub-niveal space and boulderfield that was to become their home. October 2010 was a significant time for an iconic Australian alpine species. It also heralded a shift in how conservationist scientists manage threatened species. The MPP, or burramys, is Australia’s only alpine-restricted mammal with regional populations at Mount Buller, Mount Hotham to Mount Bogong (including the Bogong High Plains), and the Mount Kosciuszko area as far north as Cabramurra. As a general rule, MPP do not live in trees. I vividly…

The first job that Rachel Davey held after finishing Year 12 was working as a travel consultant. Inevitably, helping others achieve their dreams of international adventure led the naturally inquisitive young lady to dream of exploring the world for herself. Reaching the age of 21, Rachel put her savings together and set off on her first big overseas experience. “I applied for a 12-month working holiday visa for Canada and I was ready to take on the world,” Rachel says. “I had asked a few friends to join me on the adventure, but travelling the world just wasn’t on their agendas. But it was the only thing on mine.” Rather than wait for someone to decide to accompany her, Rachel set off alone and spent time travelling and working…

The next time you curse the bidgee widgee stuck to your pants or the grass seed drilled into your socks, consider the incredible diversity of seed shapes and sizes. These often-small packages contain all that is needed to give rise to a new plant – an embryo, a seed coat and a food source. I think it is pretty amazing that a grand old red gum arose from one tiny seed. ANATOMY Seeds come in a vast array of sizes and shapes, from tiny dust-like orchid seeds, acacia seeds that can be made into flour, fluffy grass seeds, large cycad or pandanus seeds that may take years to germinate. Some come encapsulated in tasty flesh, others have hooks and spines. Some seeds are round, others pointy and elongated, some are…

Fresh vegetables are often overlooked when it comes to planning a menu for an extended bushwalk. However, the list of suited vegetables is lengthy, from carrots to spring onions and snow peas to cucumber. There are many vegetables that will keep for more than a few days in your pack, that are relatively easy and quick to prepare and cook in the field, and only a small amount will add a fresh zing to often stodgy menus. Cabbage is one of these vegetables, but its benefits go further still, in that cooking with it often requires the addition of no or very little water, therefore making it suited to walks where fresh water is scarce. CABBAGE AND CRACKED WHEAT Serves 2 This is an adaption of a traditional Lebanese dish…

SCENIC MEMORIES Your article on the scenic rim walk (‘A very scenic suffering’, Wild 155) brought back memories of when my friend Byron and I did this walk 60 years ago. Things were different then. We had no guidebooks, descriptions of previous efforts, GPS or maps. There were fewer tracks and more scrub bashing back then. We just relied on what we knew plus a hazy idea of what we didn’t know. Some things stand out in my memory, like for instance getting off the right route up the west side of Mount Barney and having a pretty scary time getting to the top. Another scary time was that after we picked up a food cache from Border Loop railway station, we decided to avoid climbing up and over the…

“WE’RE TAKING SHARKS OUT OF THE OCEAN AT AN UNSUSTAINABLE RATE, AND FOR NO GOOD REASON.” The US-born Eric Cheng is often described as a Taiwanese American underwater photography specialist, but looking at his long list of entrepreneurial and philanthropic achievements, it would be more accurate to call him a polymath. Having been born in 1975 in Madison Wisconsin, Eric went on to study at Stanford University. In the time since then he’s not only become a name in the drone photography industry (he is currently serving as director of drone company, DJI), he also owns and manages Wetpixel, an underwater photography community website. He is also currently serving as ‘head of immersive media’ at Facebook. On the side of marine conservation, he has served on the board of directors…

A day of grey on north coast New South Wales. Steady rain has been falling since before dawn. Under a heavy sky the forest is filled with shadows. By mid-afternoon, my wife, Dale, and I can take the cabin fever no more. All jacketed up, we walk along the track to the bay. Clouds curl across the high ridges. They spill through the treetops, trailing like campfire plumes. It’s a version of the scene James Cook noted from the deck of HMB Endeavour two-and-a-half centuries ago. Sailing past, the headland was ablaze and smouldering. Thus this spot was duly charted as Smoky Cape. Our path wends down through stands of sheoak and banksia with not an ember in sight. Their sodden trunks look inky-dark against the dripping green foliage. Walking…

Back in issue 154 you might remember the below table  TRAINING PHASES You’ll notice that the specific, or as we call it ‘peak’, phase is much shorter than your base. Especially when you’re short on lead-in time for your trip, it’s important to build your base fitness, not your peak. As a simple analogy to follow, your base fitness training can be thought of as a foundation. There’s no point to building anything without a strong foundation, right? But today we’re assuming you’ve all been keeping up with your base fitness and instead we’ll take a closer look at building specificity into your adventure training routine for trek, trail, mountaineering or whatever it is you love doing. For this element of the training schedule, the adventurer tries to emulate the…

1.Womens Tropic Comfort Crew $69.95 A three-quarter top with UPF 50+ sun protection from Patagonia with Polygiene® permanent odor control. Ideal for summer activities of all kinds. www.patagonia.com 2.273ml Doppio Commuter Mug $32.95 Stainless steel, polypropylene and silicone vacuum mug from GSI features a press-fit lid that ensures you won’t spill a drop of your favourite drink, no matter what the activity. www.spelean.com.au 3.Charging Station Light $159.95 This basecamp LED lantern from Moji emits up to 250 lumens and can be powered by AC, lithium ion battery or standard AA batteries. www.seatosummit.com.au 4.Kompressor Speed $199.95 An easy-to-access 500ml soft flask is strategically placed on the shoulder strap, along with a 2L reservoir in the internal compartment, this Marmot pack is designed for hydration on the trail. www.allsports.co.nz 5.Mens Quandary Shorts…

LET MY PEOPLE GO SURFING (INCLUDING 10 MORE YEARS OF BUSINESS UNUSUAL) by Yvon Chouinard (Penguin Books, $29.99) A decade since Yvon Chouinard released the first edition of his memoir, Let My People Go Surfing has now been updated to include additional details to cover Patagonia’s development in the intervening time, as well as some more thoughts of the author’s regarding the future of industry. For those who haven’t read the original, this book provides a lively autobiographical account of Chouinard’s early days as a blacksmith, a climber and how he came to found Patagonia, interwoven with equal measures of environmental philosophy and business-minded pragmatism. For those who have read the original, this update brings the great man’s vision of the future into even sharper focus. ‘The original intent in…

Old maps show that the Belfast Beach Reserve between Warrnambool and Port Fairy, on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, was proclaimed a public common in 1861. 155 years later, this reserve is seen as an open go for big business. Semitrailer-sized horse floats are arriving from inland horse studs and the coastal reserve is being pounded by thousands of hooves from dawn to mid-morning each day. The owners and trainers have no publicly flagged permission and are paying the squeezed-out public nothing for the privilege. A beautiful stretch of Bass Strait’s beaches has been turned into a training track; the public common has been privatised. No warning. No consultation. No thanks. It took a while for the generous local beach-goers, fishers and occasional pony riders to realise the enormity of the…

The Great Australian Roadtrip is considered a rite of passage. You’ve got a broad experience base in the outdoors, so it seemed a foregone conclusion that you and your best mate would take a few months to travel the country, trying to fit in as much as possible before the cash runs out. Packed into your old four-wheel-drive, you thought you were well supplied for the most dangerous leg of the journey – a long-haul drive on a barren desert road. Unfortunately, a few breakdowns have since led to delays of about one day, but you’ve managed to keep the old workhorse going. That is, you managed to keep it going until it dies once more and no amount of tinkering gets the engine to turn over. You have enough…