Camping with the family

We've been going camping.

More photos:

The map we'll try to keep updated

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At the end of the world, we went for a ride

Took Eve for a ride along the Yarra River, to watch the end of the Mayan calendar and the Great Galactic Alignment.

At 11am, the moment that was said to be the alignment, Eve nursed a guinea pig and I rare feeling of contentedness.

Ocean swimming in Melbourne, we miss Darwin

Here's a photo of Eve, that may as well be Darwin. Ocean side down here is nothing like the Top End, but Eve carries the spirit.

A desperate search for snow, but a lovely camp out

Ron picked me up on Friday arvo, and we head into the Upper Murray, approaching the Main Range from the West. We camped at Tom Groggin first night.

Caught the lift up from Thredbo the next morning, and trekked up Mt Kosciusko, then across toward Mt Townsend, in search of skiable snow. We found a few runs, but it was pretty sparse. 

We missed the lift back down, the walk hurt. Drove round to Island Bend where we met Thor, Robbie and Karen and a few others. They'd set up Thor's hot tub next to the Snowy River, and at about midnight I overcame my phobia of sharing a bath, and enjoyed a sensational experience under the Milky Way drinking a beer.

Great snow, skiing Hotham, testing Peak Oil Jackets

At last, we had the opportunity to test the 2 prototype jackets in snow and blizzard conditions out back of Mount Hotham Victoria. Here's a video we made on phones, from the 2 days skiing testing:

Outback Hotham

So what did we learn?

We first pulled one of the jackets out of the bag when we stopped to put chains on the car. Yep, being canvas we could confidently chuck the jacket down in the mud and rocks, and not worry about pressing a hole in it.

Our first day was spent resort skiing. We're happy to confirm both prototypes kept us warm, dry and protected, including on the slow lift rides over the ridge and into the howling southerly that blew all day.

The unworn surface of the oiled canvas seemed to catch and hold the needle and stella snow flakes a bit, compared to the plastic jackets around us, but we suspect that's because the jacket was new, with the surface being kinda furry. By the end of the second day, we noticed the surface was starting to get that signature shine of a worn oilskin, and snow fell away.

The Riri Aqua zips worked beautifully! They set, glide and unset effortlessly. Easily the best waterproof zip out there. We'll change the placement of the zip though. We thought to end the front zip at the neckline, leaving the studs and plackets to close the neck, and keep it free and flexible. We wanted to avoid that slight stiffness that a zip can bring to the neck, but we concede this is not a big enough problem to warrant loosing the ease of the zip. In future makes, for the jackets that have the Riri Aqua zips, we'll place them up over the neck, and leave off the plackets and studs.

The difference between the Peak Oil Jacket prototype 2 and 3 is in the sleeve. On the 2 we set the sleeve in, meaning a seam runs over the shoulder and under the arm. On the 3 we used a raglan sleeve, where the seams run up to the neckline. We think the raglan fits better and offers more freedom of movement, but we'd like to work a bit more on the set-in sleeve, and experiment with a removable sleeve design.

The pockets. We reckon 4 pockets on the front is overkill. We didn't use the 2 lower pockets at all, and the vertical zip was difficult to manage. Either we'll leave off the lower pockets, or rethink their placement to reflect the rarity of their use. The two breast pockets where very useful though, and the vertical Aqua zips made them easy to access with a pack on.

The hoods covered well, and in these conditions they're a must have - both fully on, or half up the back of the head with the collar all done up. We're looking for a better way to do hoods though, that fits them to all different head and neck sizes, that blocks all wind, and keeps fitted on a moving head. We're also conscious that some people like to remove the hood, we've got a few ideas...

We're not sure the Ventile lining needs to be sewn in. We're thinking to try a removable lining so to make it washable and replaceable, plus the added versatility of using the liner alone, or swapping it for insulation.

Finally, the weight question. These jackets are heavier than their plastic counterparts, but we honestly didn't notice a difference. We spent a day resort skiing, followed by a pretty big day back country, which had us wearing them in a full range of situations and body temperatures. They packed down into our bags no trouble, and seemed to feel nicer than the plastics when we wore them climbing out of a valley.

All up, we're stoked the prototypes worked in the conditions we're designing for. They're confidently tough, perform well in snow conditions, feel good when active, and the weight didn't bother us on these extended day trips. This first test has shown us we're on the right track, and with a few minor tweaks we'll have a jacket we're proud to put out to market.

Move to Melbourne

We were sad to leave Darwin, it really is a lovely place. Yes its hot, but the public pools are free, the shopping centres have aircon, the sunsets are magic, and the people are open hearted.

We moved to Melbourne where Leigh took a job at La Trobe University and Sunshine settled in to the idea of having another baby. We live in a nice house in Ivanhoe, Leigh rides to work each day.

Fishing

Gary from work, took Jon (also from work) and I out to see his cousin Greg - a NT Ranger out at the Mary River National Park, and his mate Chippy. Fires were burning all around this day. We went fishing on the Wildman River, along paper bark river banks. We could see big barramundi swimming past plenty, but could only hook 3 on the lures, and none on the live bait. A spear is definitely the better way to catch barra in the dry season, a time when they hibernate.

Here's the video

Living in Darwin now

Ant mound on the way up to Litchfield NP

I took a job at Charles Darwin University, working in the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development.

We moved up here in March, and have settled into a very large house in Wanguri, on the North side of Darwin.

Our lounge room

We have native bees in our brickwork!

Stingless, native bees, make tasty honey

Our shipping container arrived a couple of weeks ago, and we've finished unpacking it, and are feeling much more comfortable now. Unfortunately my bike of 13 years was stolen from the front yard within a week of unloading it.

Unloading the container

We live very close to Casuarina Shopping Centre, which has all the mod cons, including a Philippine food store that serves Sunshine her fav, halo halo.

Halo halo at Casuarina Square

Sunshine has scored a job in a local design company, and Eve has found a day care that she likes.

We're all liking Darwin much more than we thought, with lots of swimming pools to visit, including free ones with water slides (Leanyer pools), and amazing national parks to visit. We all visited Litchfield National Park in March, but it was technically still inside the wet season, so swimming was limited. We'll definitely be going back out there, but on days when crowds won't.

Florence Falls, very crowded

Wangi Falls not open for swimming

Yesterday I was invited fishing in Kakadu, and caught 3 barramundi all over 60cm! Kakadu has very impressive rock formations I'd like to explore, and many rock art sights as well. Its a bit more of a committed trip though. It can be done in a day, but multi day if family comes too.

My first barra

The days are cooling off a bit now.. lovely mornings but the days still warm up. We caught the tail end of the wet season, and that was very hot. Not looking forward to the next one! Luckily we have a small pool in our backyard, to help with the cooling off. It will need ice in it on the very hot days though.

Leanyer Pools

Our backyard pool

Climbing in the Northern Territory

http://climbingnt.net.au

While traveling around Australia, who edits Wikipedia and Google places?

My family have been driving through the Victorian and New South Wales alps the past few days, and I've noticed fantastic historical information is often held in unexpected places. Like in pubs, usually hanging all manor of historical artifacts, most notably early settler photographs, but equally as interesting, the trophies and symbols of the sport and industry in the area. I sat in a few, eating my angus steak, and feeding little Eve the chips, and sometimes asking the publican what the background to the images were.

"Oh!" she'd say, "that's the big snow of 52" or "thats the 1902 VFL team, yeah I don't know what the name was of the black fella in the front, no one wrote his name down!"

In these towns there was nearly always an individual, association or information centre who was the local authority, and almost never was it a library or out-of-towner.

This had me thinking about who Wikimedia Chapters target when they run workshops. It seems to me that galaries, libraries, archives and museums have a limited amount of motivation beyond cataloging certain forms of information, and not much in the way of the forms of information I saw on walls. Pubs, historical societies, tourism information centers, and the like, have something more in the way of motivation, esspecially to inform their visitors about their towns. And slowly, more and more of them are becoming reluctantly aware that Wikipedia (and it's information reformatted into Google Maps, Facebook, and personally printed travel guide books) serves that motivation well. With their smart phones updating their locations, navigating roads and discovrring back country, reviewing what they see, eat, do, and where they stay, tourists are using new forms of information to find their way.

I might be running a Wikipedia and Commons training session in Hobart in a few weeks, and if I can, I think I'll try and target these people more. If such work ever was a paid gig, it would be a lovely way to travel around Australia, teaching towns folk about editing the big wikis, and helping them to improve articles about their towns and significant sites, then moving on to the next town.

Maybe Australian towns will be more open to this in a couple of years. We are after al, expecting to see a stronger internet culture developing off the back of nation-wide broadband connectivity.

Packing up, moving on

I lost my job, ending 23 December (thanks UC). So, we bought a shipping container and filled it with our stuff. We'll store it and hit the road until we know where we are.

20 foot high cube empty

Amazing that it all fit!

Visiting Blenheim Beach

I spent many happy days on this beach when I was a kid. From age 5 I'd go visit my Nannies and Pa, catching the train to Nowra with my sister, where we'd get picked up and taken to Vincentia. My Pa would wake us up at 6 every morning, to patrol the little beach for litter. We'd get back to the house by 7 or 8, where Nannies would be preparing a breakfast of muesli, toast and cut oranges. Yum, we loved these breakies. Then Pa would take us back to the beach where we'd swim and play cricket nearly all day. When I was a little older, Nannies taught me how to paint with oils.


So many more happy memories of this place, I'd almost forgotten them to a life of silly busy-ness.

Now, 30 years later, with baby Eve in tow, there's no more breakfasts by Nannies, and Pa rarely leaves the house. We get back there far too rarely, how did I let life get so busy? Now I'm missing this special place.

I realized on this trip, this place is the closest thing I have to a sense of home, a place with our history in it, with our early life memories, and happy ones too.. I so wish I could spend more time there, playing with Eve in the same place I played when I was a kid.

Shaggy and shag bay

Mount Townsend

A few weeks ago, Robbie, Thor and I camped out on Watson's Crags, and admired the view and long steep runs coming down off Mount Townsend to Albina Lake and Lady Northcoat Canyon. Yesterday, Thor and I walked and skinned out to Townsend, and easily found the long line down. A fantastic line it was too! And we're talking late October here! People are sweating it out on the beach, just 3 hours drive from here!

The night before we drove up the Charlottes Pass, and camped under the veranda of the chalet. Next morning we walked to Seamam's Hut, dropped down to the Snowy, climbed up to Townsend, Dropped down below Lake Albina, climbed into Little Austria, Dropped down next to Club Lake and back to the Snowy River up to Charlottes, and home by 730pm.

MAP


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FOOTAGE

Outback Watsons

Thor, Robbie and I camped at Island Bend on Friday night, so we could get an early start from Guthega, up Mount Twynam. The walk to the suspension bridge over the Snowy River was almost completely without snow. Reliably the snow was all the way to the river on the other side though, and our climb to Twynam and then onto Watsons Crags was straight forward.

The winds on Saturday were to be very strong through the night, so we dug in up a north arm of Strzelecki Creek. With an outstanding view across Carruthers Peak to Mount Townsend, we sat drinking miso soup, discussing our next trip all the way to Townsend.

The skiing was beautiful spring corn, delivering us far down steep valleys, for punishingly hot climbs back out. A great weekend.

Here's a video I made of it.





Here's the map




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And the photos start here (click right).

Outback Old Matt

Old mate Matt Jones, down from the Northern Territory, or more recently - Queensland, came with me into another type of Australian Outback, up Guthega Trig for a little walk, and a look, and a try at skiing. Can't say he enjoyed the skiing part, but I think he appreciated the views.

More photos

Here's his first turn on video:

And a frozen traverse back:

And, the map with route marked, and media embedded:

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Guthega, Farm Creek, The Paralyser, back to Guthega

Thor and I headed out expecting powder, but were disapointed to find rain washed snow, breakable crust, and an all over ice sheet. Climbing up Farm Creek to the saddle and then around to The Paralyser was lovey though, easy going, through beautiful snow gums. Taking our time allowed the sun to soften the snow in time for a great fun cruise back down through the trees. We spotted some nice looking intermediate and accessible terrain for when the snow is good.



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Guthega Trig, Consett Stephen Pass, Mount Tate

I got up at 5 this morning, and rode to Thor's, from where we drove to Thor's mate Billy, and we all headed up to Guthega for a windy day on the Trig to Consett Stephen Pass, and onto Mount Tate. I was on some borrowed leathers and skinnies, and had a bit of a bad time on them, wishing for my solid fatties and plastics, with trusty skins to get me up there. Billy was impressive though, his skills in leather ankle boots and skinnies, better than most new-school skiers I've seen. Check out the reo he pulls on the cornice, first time without the camera was even better. Finding these perfect snow slopes off Gill's Nob made the day. Video was shot and edited all on the phone!




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Eve turns 1

Eve had her first birthday party yesterday. About 30 people came baring gifts for her "time capsule" - a box of gifts and symbolics for her to open on her 18th birthday. Sunshine weaved her usual magic with nibbles, sweats and decorations. We cooked hamburgers on the BBQ.

Photos start here...

Chris breaks his foot rock jumping, waits 27hrs in emergency.

Waiting to be transfered to Canberra Hospital

Very strange. Chris has jumped here before, and there were 8 people jumping the afternoon we arrived. Chris jumped holding a camera on his head, which might have meant he went deeper, and it might have been he didn't jump out, either way he clipped a rock, compound fracture in the foot.

The video

I carried him out of there (100m climb over 1km) - he was in a lot of pain. Here's a video of the carry and a look an early look at his foot.

The carry

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Took him to emergency (7:30pm), then took Sunshine and Eve home. I uploaded all the photos and videos and fell asleep. Woke at 1:30am and went in to find him sitting in the waiting room, wound not cleaned, needing stitches, still in pain, with a basic bandage compressing on his swelling (no ice), foot not elevated.

I hit the roof! In no time he was in getting xrayed, given stronger pain killers, and the whole waiting room (about 15 people) were put through in the 30 minutes Chris was being seen to. Someone there at reception had completely fucked up. Everyone was very apologetic, explaining that their triage system wasn't working... I will get to the bottom of that story.

Chris arriving at Calvary

Because he'd gone 7 hours with an uncleaned wound over a fracture, they checked him in on an antibiotic drip for the risk of infection. Next morning we went in to see him at 7:30. They had just decided to transfer him to another hospital because they couldn't deal with compound fractures. He waited until 11:30 before being transfered to Canberra Hospital, and waited there until 2:30pm before being wheeled into a room... he still awaits specialist consultation, his wound is not stitched or cleaned.

Update: 6pm, almost 24hrs since checking in at Calvary, 8 hours since being transfered to Canberra, and Chris has still not been seen by a specialist at Canberra. I have spoken to the manager of Emergency Department Canberra Hospital who seemed to be initially unaware of Chris' ordeal at Calvary the night before. He assured me that a specialist would see Chris tonight and that he would go into surgery to clean and stitch the wound. Unfortunately this means another 48hrs stay over at Canberra, after surgery. He made no offer to keep me updated.

I also spoke to the Coordinator at Calvary, June Mo and made her aware of the saga, and to see if there was anything she could do to make Canberra more aware of Chris' history at Calvary, and to speed up the consultation. All June could do is look into the Calvary notes, and shared concern at the 7 hour wait before xray or adequate primary care. She couldn't comment on the 8 hour wait so far at Canberra, or why Chris was transfered to Canberra so late.

Update: 11:30am, Wednesday 19 January. Chris is out of surgery, wound has been cleaned but he will be held for at least 48hours while they test swabs for bacteria and infection.

After the operation

Update: 9:20am, Saturday 22 January. Chris came home last night, with a bag of antibiotics and pain killers. Got a call last night however, to go back to the hospital and get a different set of antibiotics of something.