Camping in the Aussie outback

[Folcwigga]

Hi all,

Just got back from Australia at the beginning of the year, and now i'm heading back again. Last time i was there i was driving so just threw a tent, spare food, spare water, etc, in the boot and set off. This time i'm going to be doing some hiking tracks and need some advice about the right gear to bring. I was thinking of just doing what i did in the TA, a sleeping bag inside a bivi bag, a roll mat, and a basha to keep the rain off. Then i remembered just how many insects, mosquitoes, snakes, and various stinging and unpleasant things there are in Australia. With that in mind i'm thinking it might not be a good idea to sleep on the floor and in the open, so any suggestions? I was thinking of the Ray Mears set up with a hammock, mozzie net, and tarp, but i've never used any of them before. I need to keep it as lightweight as possible as i'll be carrying all my possessions on my back as well.

 

[bopdude]

Not a lot to say having not done it, but as you say, I would keep off the ground, slithering and crawling 'friends' aren't the only floor dwelling problems that bite, hammock would be my choice with net fastened at all times, even when not in it.

 

[ReamviThantos]

Good on you sport. Look forward to your future report and photos hopefully forthcoming. Perhaps a hooped bivi tent with mossie mesh and light weight tarp/hammock would be the combination to cover all eventualities. Good luck.

 

[alpha_centaur]

DD Hammocks do ahammock "travel hammock" that you can either use on the ground as abivi tend or off it as a hammock.

This might be the best compromise. You might find yourself somewhere without trees.

Looking forwards to the photo's when you get back

 

[bopdude]

Good point above /\ /\ /\

 

[rik_uk3]

Your best bet would be to find Australian hiker forums and ask there, they have the local knowledge you need and a Brit site like BCUK won't have.

http://www.bushcraftoz.com/forums/forum.php

http://bushwalk.com/forum/

sort of forums.

 

[santaman2000]

Your best bet would be to find Australian hiker forums and ask there, they have the local knowledge you need and a Brit site like BCUK won't have.

http://www.bushcraftoz.com/forums/forum.php

http://bushwalk.com/forum/

sort of forums.

+1 to this advice. I'd also reccomend you be specific with your questions as they might omit some things simply because they take for granted that you'd already know.

 

[birchwood]

I have camped all over Australia , the first times pre `sewn in groundsheet and mozzie net` tents. Only creature I had in the tent was in the desert and was a very small scorpion. I would take a small lightweight freestanding tent as it gives you more options.
1, camping on the beach, or anywhere with no trees.
2, staying a night on a site,(a great one in Katoomba for instance) to do your washing,have a shower,visit a town to stock up,visit local stuff,getting back to the airport.
3, more room if it is raining

Just my thoughts.
Depends on where you are going.

 

[rik_uk3]

Thats the thing birchwood, you have been and maybe several others here on BCUK but not a lot have and the OP needs specific help from people who do these trips on a regular basis based on his planned location and time of year. Your both lucky to have done or be doing such a trip, I envy you both.

 

[ex Member swampy99]

Mate have a look at my you tube site http://www.youtube.com/user/leecaulfieldmarsh?feature=guide . I live in Queensland and most of it is based on being in the Aussie area. But saying that it all depends on where you're going the north is tropical the south is temperate so you could camp in a rainforest so hammock etc or go for a bivi bag down south. If you need any advice give me a shout.

 

[rik_uk3]

Or you could kit yourself out like this

[video=youtube;_7RBJia7Q-w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7RBJia7Q-w[/video]

 

[Folcwigga]

Thanks for the suggestions, i'll definitely have a look on that Aussie camping forum as well.

Regarding where i'm going, i'm starting off down south in Melbourne. I want to head over to Tasmania and do the overland track in Tasmania - http://www.australia.com/explore/itineraries/tas-overland-track.aspx

After that i'm going to head up the east coast, and at the other end want to spend some time in either northern Queensland - exploring Daintree maybe - or one of the national parks around Darwin. Tasmania is apparently pretty cold, whilst Daintree is a full on rain forest, so i understand i'll need to compromise a bit and find something that will work in both extremes.

 

[Folcwigga]

Here's a couple of pics from driving around in WA. Like i said, i saw plenty of sites but was never more than a day trip away from either the car or civilisation, so didn't need to prep much really.

 

[Folcwigga]

Just realised i'm topless in both of those pics, apologies or those of you with style.

 

[ex Member swampy99]

Mate Tasmania is just like the UK for its climate that is why a lot of Ex Pats live there. And Daintree is proper rainforest so you need jungle kit and treat it like jungle. That is why the ADF do there jungle training there. For info in jungle go and have a look at www.junglecraft.com.my Paul knows his stuff. If you go from march to november that is the dry season so shouldn't be that wet. Temps still from 20ºC at night up to 30ºC+ during the day on most of the east coast and the top end and the NT.

 

[Folcwigga]

I'm starting off down south and won't be getting up north for at least a couple of months, so my plans for up there are very vague at the moment. I've been in northern Queensland and northern WA before so i know what the climate is like, just not done much camping/hiking up there before.

Just having a look at the junglecraft site, so far it seems to be just what i'm looking for.

 

[birchwood]

Thats the thing birchwood, you have been and maybe several others here on BCUK but not a lot have and the OP needs specific help from people who do these trips on a regular basis based on his planned location and time of year. Your both lucky to have done or be doing such a trip, I envy you both.

Well pardon me for trying to help.
As I said it depends on where the op was going.
I also said I gave my thoughts from my experiences.

 

[Goatboy]

I like Mr. Pratchetts views on the fauna: -

"XXXX is also called the Terror Incognita. Almost all animals and plants in XXXX are dangerous; when Death requested a book about the dangerous creatures of XXXX from his library, he was subsequently hit by a large pile of books consisting of the various volumes of "Dangerous Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Fish, Jellyfish, Insects, Spiders, Crustaceans, Grasses, Trees, Mosses and Lichens of Terror Incognita", the total books going up to Volume 29C Part 3, while a request for information about the harmless creatures merely produced a note saying "Some of the sheep". The land is inhospitable because the flora and fauna all hate you and there is never any rain. It is a baking-hot land of red sand."

Hope you have fun, I think New Zealand is safer!

TTFN
GB.

 

[Aussiepom]

Thanks for the suggestions, i'll definitely have a look on that Aussie camping forum as well.

Regarding where i'm going, i'm starting off down south in Melbourne. I want to head over to Tasmania and do the overland track in Tasmania - http://www.australia.com/explore/itineraries/tas-overland-track.aspx

After that i'm going to head up the east coast, and at the other end want to spend some time in either northern Queensland - exploring Daintree maybe - or one of the national parks around Darwin. Tasmania is apparently pretty cold, whilst Daintree is a full on rain forest, so i understand i'll need to compromise a bit and find something that will work in both extremes.

Hi Folcwigga,

Sounds like you're going more 'bush' than 'outback'. The outback is, basically, desert. Yes there are trees, but you may find suitable hammock sites hard to come by. Remember, eucalypts drop their branches without warning - even healthy ones, so best to avoid sleeping under them where possible.

Your setup of sleeping bag, bivi, etc will be fine, even if you're in the outback, as long as you use a bivi with a built-in mossie net. There are plenty about. The only thing I would suggest is to add a good robust ground sheet, something such as canvas. You could even use it to rig up a small sun shade during the day.

Up in the rainforest is a different matter of course. A hammock would be the way to go.

If you do decide to go into the outback, another thing to bear in mind is the amount of water you'll need to carry. This would be the heaviest weight by far in your pack, and even then, your routes would need to be fairly limited.

These are all very general comments, but there is a BushcraftOZ forum if you want to ask some more specific questions.

 

[mrcharly]

I'm an ex-pat from WA.

Tassie can be cool and definitely damp. Depending on where you go, mossies might be a problem.

A hammock with insect netting could work - but bear in mind there are stretches of Tassie more akin to upland bogs than forests, so location is important.

For the rainforest in queensland, if I were you I'd take a hammock. Lots of trees, the snakes aren't fun and it can rain a lot, making ground boggy.

Apart from that one thing to bear in mind that the ground in australia can be very rocky with almost no topsoil, so a free-standing tent is a very good idea. Depending on time of year, one that can be pitched outer-only can be useful, giving shade and ventilation.

Carry water at all times. Lots of water. Many areas have total bans on the use of anything other than contained-fuel stoves, so you can't use a wood-burning stove.

Carry lots of water.