A few weeks back, I cued up a trip to Nightcap National Park, about an hour from home.  I set up a simple shelter and tested out some gear...  Nightcap was a great destination, and camping in the rainforest was a dream come true for a frustrated explorer.  Read more in my main write up... 


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 Found this the other day:



I'm going to restore it...give it a new handle and re-profile edge.  Its actually a very sound head, it just needs some cleaning up.  Its a hefty weight, nearly 2.8kgs.  It'll make a very effective felling axe.  Stay tuned for the end result...


GB















 

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This one is a gift for a friend.

 

See more pics here from the Knife Gallery...


GB

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Stumbled on this recently and was blown away.  View it in HD mode if you can.  Sit back for three minutes and fall into another world of images. (The video has restrictions on size when I embed it, check his website for a larger version)

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk6_hdRtJOE


This guy also has some simply stunning work on the Aurora Borealis.  Follow his links above.


GB
 

 


 

 

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You may remember a few posts back I flagged an up and coming forum for bushcraft, based right here in Australia... well its finally a reality and is in full swing!  Its going to be a very important site I can tell, so get in to it, sign up and be a part of what will become a very large community of like-minded people.  There's sections for bushtucker, edged tools, gear... there's something for everyone...  



See the site here.

GB



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For those in the know, Mora has a very distinct place in the world of bushcraft.  Recommended, tested and used the world over, these simple and practical knives are a very useful tool and superb value for money to boot.  I recently purchased the Mora Scout and is available in five different colours.  Here's mine (in red):



Blade: 100mm
Handle: Plastic
Sheath: Plastic/Rubber
 
Mora of Sweden have long and rich heritage in the knife making business...too long to go into in detail, read about it all o...
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Lightweight, affordable, easy to use and well designed. Thats the sum of this great little stove I bought the other week, there's not much more to it than that...  



Splash in a bit of meths to the centre of the stove and simply using a match or lighter, ignite the fuel.   Give it a few seconds and the power of physics means the gases expand in the gape between the fuel holder and the outer wall and the pressurised vapours escape in a jet like form through the holes in the top... all very cleve...
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We had slid and stumbled and fallen and scrambled and shuffled and grasped and scratched our way what seemed like all afternoon.  We'd sniffed the cold air till our noses ran; there were twigs in our socks and scratches on our hands, but it was worth it.  The steep bank we had just negotiated levelled just enough to reveal the treasure we had unwittingly stumbled upon.  It might as well have been Shangri La itself, we didn't care it was probably listed on any map you buy in a supermarket, it ...
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Saw these Antarctic Beech trees earlier today at Springbrook National Park.  I had some work on the outskirts of the park and couldn't resist a quick look in....excuse the (not so) great quality of the pictures...was stuck only with a phone.



These Antarctic Beech (Nothofungas moorei) are ancient remnants of the long lost continent Gondwana.  Preferring cooler climbs they are isolated to a very limited population in southern NSW and here in the Gold Coast Hinterland.  They can grow up to 50m in...
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So here's another awesome tinder, this time a natural choice…  Thistle grows wild in the fields and paddocks over here, and as it seeds it produces a fine cotton like fluff that is the bees knees for tinder.  Here's a look at it in the field as it grows:

 

 

Once its picked, its best to loosen the fibres a bit before you try a spark.  Of course a match makes light work of it, but with a good firesteel you get a great result anyway.  You can read about firesteels here.

Check out this youtub...

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