I'm a pretty hopeless fisher. I've got all the gear but rarely catch anything. My favourite line from a John Williamson song goes, "Workin' hard at bein' lazy, no bait on the line". If you ever see a post from me about catching fish - ignore any advice given. But I can catch yabbies. And the kids had a great time doing it.
I grew up with two feet firmly on the ground and I don't expect to grow sea legs in a hurry so what do you do when you go camping with a sailing freak?
You make and race sailboats. Small ones.
This turned out to be a great afternoon of camping activity for the kids and adults. We formed teams and used plastic bags etc for the sails, sticks and some old bamboo for the boats and tape and cable ties to stick the whole lot together.
As you can see some went better than others. Suspicious that the sailing freak's went the fastest - he must have sabotaged our boats...
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.
It's been too long since I've had some outdoor goodness thanks to more back surgery. So it's time get out and take my 6 yo on an overnight hike. He's done a fair bit of car camping but just one bushwalking trip with only 15 minute walk, but this time it's different. It's about a real hike, albeit an easy one. It's a chance to do some real walking and scrambling and stay out under the stars bushwalking style. There'll be no soft comforts like big tents with camp kitchens or camping trailers here (so of course Dion won't be coming).
We've got some friend's kids (8 and 11) coming along (and their mum) which will help with the motivation along the walk when Daniel gets tired plus they'll provide a fun atmosphere all around - share the bushwalking love I say (read as "convert those smelly dirt bike riding kids to real bush adventure").
I've selected a short and simple walk - Mt Solitary return via the Golden Staircase on Narrowneck plateau in the Blue Mountains. Here's my reasons:
I've done this trip many times with friends and newbies (it was even my first overnight bushwalk - done solo)
It's physically easy with a brief bit of fun scrambling up Mt Solitary (about 7km each way)
There are campsites along the way meaning if he gets too tired we can bail early
It's interesting with a bit of a climb, some caves and good views of the Jamison valley
