geoff's blog

Shelter is one of the most basic of human needs but I still see people everywhere thinking that you can buy a cheap family sized dome tent and think it will work as adequate shelter. Instead what you get is a big sail that's not waterproof and likes to fold flat with any level of wind.

I've also noticed a disturbing trend in the last number of years with family campers in Australia during summer. They cover their tent in at least 1, usually more tarps to keep them waterproof. Not only adding to the set up time, but putting extra pressure on that already stressed out cheap fibreglass tent poles.

These so called shelters also take forever to set up compared to most other tents. You need to feed poles through loops, hooks and guy out every conceivable pole intersection and use 18 or more pegs.

If you want to camp, buy a decent tent. A good hiking tent, or a family size canvas tent. Forget those budget large family dome tents unless you want to end up like this photo in the middle of the night. Which isn't a great way to get your family convinced that camping is good fun.

The poor people in this photo were having their very first camping experience and bought this tent. No doubt some expert from an large family camping store suggested it would have great space and be easy to set up!

Our overnight bushwalk up Mt Solitary in the Blue mountains was a great success. It was a fun time exploring the bush with the kids and doing Bear Grylls (Man vs Wild) impersonations. We think that Daniel (6) may be youngest to summit and camp up there. It was a big effort for the kids to do the scrambling up the knife edge and we found the climbing was their favourite part. I guess there are no surprises there.

We playing with a new toy the Go Pro Hero cam (HD) to give a bit of a different perspective for the video.

Each kid had to carry some of their own gear. Daniel carried his sleeping mat (therm-a-rest prolite 3 3/4) and fleece sleeping bag liner along with his own clothes and some water for along the way. I continued in trying to carry a little as possible and started ended up carrying 7.5kgs. We both slept in the single person tarp tent scarp 1 (from Henry Shires). It worked well for the both of us, if a little tight on space. I think I'll have to tell Carrie I'm getting the scarp 2 so I can "take Daniel off her hands" a bit more!

We ate dehydrated Mexican fiesta beans which is a big success in the bush after walking all day. Lunch was salami sticks, crackers and cheese with a little bit of condensed milk for a quick hit of energy before the big climbs. Interestingly the big climb up the golden stairs back to the car was done with much enthusiasm and required very little encouragement.

As a hiker and a media producer I love this video. Great tips on how to make your very own hiking documentary video.

As the weekend draws near it's time to get the details together for this trip which hopefully we can still do it with my son feeling sick. I've also found another record of some kids doing this walk with the youngest being 7.

Each trip I ask a few questions and do a bit of research to ensure safety and enjoyment.

What weather should I expect and be prepared for?

Weather can make or break a trip. I find that when I know what to expect and come prepared then the trip is enjoyable, even if it's raining the whole time. The two sites I mostly visit for Australian weather information are Bureau of Meteorology and Weatherzone.