A couple of tips for cold, wet camps. We had one such in the Jameson River valley one Christmas.Caelum wrote:absolutely - specially when traveling in the cooler climates of aus, or in the wet. Though i'd likely rather jump inside my tent in a sleeping bag if i'm cold in the wet
1. Light groundsheet/tarp slung between some trees for rain shelter.
2. Fire built just on the down wind side. Wet wood? Yep, but no worries. Take a sardine tin (empty) and fill it with meths (not shellite!). Light it and build kindling and small sticks around it teepee-style. Gradually add bigger and bigger branches to the teepee all the time. The meths will keep burning like a Trangia burner and eventually dry out all the wood.
We ended up with a lovely fire in the rain, and stood by it under the tarp to dry our clothes - while-you-wear style
This site was a similar camp, in winter in the lovely Hughes Creek valley near Seymour
Yes, a National Parks camp in the Brisbane Ranges near Anakie, Vic. It's a basic site for the walking track through the park (we had permission to use it). There are plenty of these basic bush campsites with fireplaces, toilets and water, in State Forests and public lands in Victoria Tassie and NSW, not sure about Qld. Try to get a copy of Camping in Victoria and similar Boiling Billy Guides to other statesCaelum wrote:Looks like a proper camping site that one - not sure how many of those i'll come across on my trip... in the more populated areas(ie, not in the middle of the desert) probably fairly often, and in those cases, yep, fire would be welcome if there's no ban.
To tell you the truth those iron fireplaces are more of a nuisance than anything. In more remote areas or true bush camps you just need to clear a suitable fire place and collect firewood for fuel. The desert regions will have some areas where you can gather wood for a cooking fire.
