Vegetarian recipes for the track

Ah, vegetarian backpacking food.

What a popular topic. In this article we follow up with some additional vegetarian recipes from one of our readers, Sonia.

Regular readers will recall the yummy Marrakech curried stew, the Massaman curry and how to dehydrate rice recipes Sonia shared in her first article: Vegetarian Hiking food. In this article we share four more fantastic ideas. Enjoy!

Satay noodles

Serves 2

Ingredients
Packet satay sauce mix
1-2 Tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk powder
1 x vegetable stock cube
salt and pepper
Undon noodles (90gms per person)
Dehydrated vegetables
Optional: chili powder

To assemble
In one plastic bag add peanut butter, coconut milk powder, stock cube, salt and pepper (and chili powder). In another plastic bag add vegetables (suggestions: mushrooms, capsicum, spinach, zucchini and eggplant).

To rehydrate
Add boiling water to vegetables. Cook noodles. Place contents of satay packet in pan, add peanut butter mixture and heat till a thick sauce develops. Add vegetables and combine.

Serve over noodles.

Hummus

6 serves

Ingredients
2 cups cooked / canned chickpeas
3 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbsp raw tahini
4 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp filtered water

Method
In food processor puree all ingredients
Add water gradually to reach preferred consistency
Dehydrate then place in blender and blend into a powder. This ensures a smooth hummus on rehydration
To rehydrate add water for desired consistency.

Teriyaki Tofu Crackers

Use extra firm tofu for this recipe.

Slice the tofu into thin (1/2 cm) strips.

Marinade in your favorite teriyaki sauce for 15-30 minutes, ensure you turn the tofu to marinate both sides.

Place on dehydrator trays or fruit dehydrating sheets and dehydrate at 55-60 degrees Celsius. Turn over every three hours.

When done the crackers will have lost their flexibility and become strong and brittle. These can be crumbled and rehydrated into stir-fries, rice dishes or eaten dry.

Mushroom risotto

Ingredients
2 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbsp olive oil
150 gms portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
150 gms white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 shallot, diced
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp finely chopped chives
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Method
In a saucepan, warm the stock over low heat.

In another large saucepan warm 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to saucepan and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add small amounts of the stock to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue this process, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Dehydrate and freeze (until needed).

Pack extra parmesan cheese and butter to serve.

Thanks again to Sonia, there are gems of ideas!

Have you got any bushwalking recipes to share?

Shoot us a comment below or send us an email, we would love to share them with our readers.

Everest Base Camp guide – what’s in a name?

Ok,

It’s time for a competition!

We need a title for our new trekking guide and would love your help.

Jay Reilly, our newly acquired son in law, has written a brilliant guide all about trekking to Everest Base Camp. It is currently with Bill Journee, our illustrious eBook designer, and is coming together beautifully. It looks magic. The only problem is we cannot decide on a title.

That is where you come in.

The competition is to come up with a catchy title (and subtitle if you can) for the new guide.

It’s that simple!

To enter, think up a title and either leave a reply below or a comment on our Facebook page. Don’t stress if you double up or have one the same as someone else (or just Like one on Facebook) this will help us decide the most popular title.

The broad chapter headings are listed below to give you an idea of the content. It is quite extensive and as someone who read the draft version recently emailed:

The book summarises about 100 hours of Google searching and chats I had with people who had been over there. For me, I am obsessed about being physically fit enough for the trek and so chapters 4 & 5 were fantastic.

The good thing about this eBook is the little tips for things that you wouldn’t figure out until you got there and thought ‘aha next time I should bring this

The prize? A free copy of our other new eBook Pick your Gear – Outdoor Photography for Beginners.

Yes, everyone who makes a suggestion or Likes one on Facebook will receive a free copy of Pick your Gear!

The best suggestion, that is the one we use for the book, will receive a copy of all our eBooks (Food to Go, How to Hike the Overland Track and Pick your Gear) and, of course, a free copy of the new Everest Base Camp guide.

Value? Around $60

So who is this Jay Reilly and what qualifies him to write a guide on trekking to Everest Base Camp?

Jay started visiting the Khumbu Valley (where the trek to Everest Base Camp is located) in 2002 as a commercial mountain climbing guide. Since then he has led around 20 mountain climbing and trekking expeditions in the Everest Region. He has summited Ama Dablam (6856m) 5 times out of 9 attempts and Pumori (7145m) twice and actually holds a record for being the only Australian to do so.

During his guiding exploits, Jay spent most of his time in the Khumbu Valley and has an intricate knowledge of its moods, politics and people.

Jay is somewhat of a Nepal expert, having dealt with storms, injuries and illness, both altitude and otherwise – as well as now having a good understanding of the way Nepalese bureaucracy works.

Apart from being in the Khumbu region, Jay spent a lot of time hanging out in Kathmandu between mountain climbing expeditions. His knowledge of the city and his ability to get off the tourist trail make him a sought after leader and guide. Recently his travels have centred around facilitating Australian school students performing community service work in Nepal.

Finally, to get you rolling on a title, here is a broad outline of the contents:

When to go – the best season and why
Health – vaccinations, altitude, acclimatisation
Training for the trip – yes, you do need to be fit
Gear and equipment – what to bring from home or what is available there
Guided v independent – helps you choose what is best for you
Kathmandu Survival Tips – enough said
Tips for the Trail – independent advice from an expert
Costs – setting a budget
Local contacts – trusted people who have worked with the author
Suggested Trek Schedule – yes, finally you are on the trail!

That’s it! What title would catch your eye if you were searching for a guide on trekking to Everest Base camp?

Leave your suggestion below or on our Facebook page

The competition closes on Monday 26th March at midnight (AEDST) The winner will be announced soon after, as will instructions on how to grab your prize for participating.

(Oh, for anyone who is interested, the guide will be ready in under 4 weeks. We will let you know details soon about registering for an advanced copy discount)

Funny encounter at Cradle Mountain

Regular readers will know we went for a wander around the Cradle Mountain area over the New Year. It was a great trip, we really enjoyed ourselves, especially just taking our time and only doing short days. The weather was quite hot for Tasmania and it was a relief to not have a schedule to keep.

We did have a funny, if not weird, experience at the end of the walk.

Arriving back at the Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre we were approached by a rather frantic fellow enquiring if we would sell him our Helinox walking poles.

After a quick chat we discovered that Cathy and Geoff were about the start hiking the Overland Track. They had travelled to Cradle Mountain via a local busline and someone…..had left Cathy’s walking poles in the bus. It, and the poles, were now on the way to Hobart via Strahan. Basically they were gone, not to be retrieved until the end of the walk.

This was ok, except, the walking poles were also their tent poles……..

Six Moons Lunar duo single skin tent - note the "tent poles"

It is a bit of a weird story but Cathy and Geoff had bought our Overland Track guide and the walking poles on our recommendation as they were regular readers of this site.

We got to meet some readers face to face! It was fantastic!

Over to Geoff from an email he sent on their return home:

Cathy and I have not stopped talking about our chance meeting with you in the visitors centre carpark at Cradle Mountain on the 3rd of Jan, the timing of your return to your car and the fact that the poles were identical to Cath’s felt like a minor miracle to us. You can see how critical the poles were by having a look at the attached shot of our tent !!

We had the most fantastic time on the OT (attached is also a pic of us on the summit of Ossa) with too many highlights to mention, what a beautiful place it is, our expectations were far exceeded and the highlight that we hadn’t anticipated was the people we met along the way and the friends we have now made.

Geoff and Cathy on Mt Ossa - Tasmania

Thankyou sooooooo much for your kindness which gave us the ability to get started straight away. We were touched by your desire to see us get going and the excitement for the track that you briefly shared with us. We had a fantastic late afternoon walk through the alpine heath past Kitchen Hut with the sun lowering and the landscape turning to a burnt orange colour. We made it to Waterfall Valley at last light with enough time to put up the tent and have some dinner.

We tented every night and took the walks each day slow and easy, admiring the big and the small beauty along the way.

Just by way of information, the last night we camped at Narcissus hut to catch the ferry the next morning at 9.30am to connect with a 10.30 shuttle but were finally advised at 10.30 am by uhf that the ferry service had been cancelled for the day (due to weather) so we missed our shuttle and walked the final leg to Cynthia bay and spent the night there (in a spa cabin !!) and got the shuttle to Launceston the following day (Paul Grigg was very helpful in this regard). We found by talking to various people that there is a growing dis-satisfaction with the hotel / ferry operators at Cynthia bay and that there is an increasing chance that the ferry cannot be relied upon.

None of this bothered us at all as we had some flexibility at that end and nothing could detracted from the walk we had had, we enjoyed the lakeside walk actually and found it quite spectacular and beautiful. If advising people I would suggest that you allow enough time to walk out (it took us 4.5 hrs) and catch the ferry if it turns up.

Negatives always turn into positives and because of ours and others delays we all had a great meal together in the resturant (about 10 of us) with others we had met on the track which was a great way to finish.

Next day we returned to Cradle Mountain Lodge for 3 nights to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary which was “luxury plus”!

Our little exchange in the carpark is now a rich memory and a fun part of the story as we tell family and friends about our trip.

Geoff and Cathy with the poles and our card!

Thanks Guys, it was a pleasure to meet you and fantastic you had a great trip!

By the way, we gave Geoff and Cathy the poles, Mox from Helinox had given them to Frank as a sample. He kindly replaced them on our return because we love them and don’t go anywhere without them!

Oh, and if you want to read more about the Six Moons Lunar duo single skin tent , Geoff posted an article over on the Bushwalk Australia site, great information.

Energy snack for your next trip – Flapjacks!

We have been corresponding with one of our readers Julia. The hot topic was hiking food, of course!

Julia is living in Spain and gets out and about doing day walks and longer trips all around Spain and the Pyrenees. It sounds like a great spot to be, and the trips, magic.

She was checking out Food to Go and decided we needed another snack recipe and shot it through to share with you all.

Let us introduce the Flapjack.

Over to Julia:

I checked out the ‘snacks’ part and found that there is something missing, so I thought I’d send it to you. It is called the ‘flapjack’, which is a very rich energy bar. I got the recipe from some English hikers and now we all make it. We are even planning a ‘flapjack competition’!

We just can’t go out there without it anymore and it is super simple to make. I cut the flapjack up in squares, the size of an energy bar, and wrap them up individually. They are soooo good and very healthy as well.

The recipe:

275 grams oats
100 grams light brown sugar
125 grams of nuts, dry fruit etc. (ginger)
150 grams unsalted butter
4 table spoons of honey
(sesame seeds)

——-

Mix the oats, sugar, nuts and dried fruits (cut up in small bits) in a bowl (I add grated ginger root as well)
Melt the butter and honey
Add them all together and mix well
Put in oven dish or cake tin, press together (I sprinkle sesame seeds on top and smooth them out with the back of a spoon)
Bake for 40 mins. at 180ºC (no.5)
Cool in tin and cut into squares while still warm.

——-

I hope you will try it and like it as much as we do!

Thanks very much for sharing Julia, we will try it out, looks yum.

Do you have a favourite snack you love to take on a hiking trip?

Have you got a recipe to share?

Drop a comment below and share your ideas with other Our Hiking Blog readers (and sweet lovers)

A Novice Tramper in New Zealand – how to get on the trail safely!

For a complete beginner, going from a casual day hike to a well-planned multiday tramp, as they are called in New Zealand, can be a daunting task. In this article, we will help you make the jump with advice on the essential backpacking gear that you will need to acquire in order to be safe, self-sufficient and comfortable. We will then focus on organizing a walk in New Zealand: with its majestic scenery, first grade tracks and handy backcountry huts, this is perfect tramper country, from beginner right through to expert.

Enjoy the ride.

Backpack

As a tramper out on a multiday hike, your average load will probably be around 10-15 kg. To make the heavy load bearable, it is essential to have a comfortable pack.

A hip belt is a must have. Prefer one that is wide and well padded.
Pick a pack that also has a good adjustable back harness.
60-70l is a good size for most people.
Make sure the fabric, zips and buckles are sturdy.
Never buy a pack without trying it on first, and never try it on empty. Ask a salesperson to help you adjust the belt and straps if you’re unsure of what you’re doing.
Don’t forget the accessories. Some packs come with an integrated rain cover, but many don’t. Make sure to get one, and grab a pack liner as well in order to make your pack as waterproof as possible.

Sleeping Bag

There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep to make you feel good. And if you want to have any of those when out in the bush, you will need to get a good sleeping bag that will keep you safe and warm.

Down bags are the warmest, the lightest and the most compact. Unfortunately, they are expensive and won’t keep you warm when wet, a problem that is made worse by the fact that they take a long time to dry.
Synthetic bags are cheaper and will retain heat even when they are wet. They also tend to dry more quickly. However they are both bulkier and heavier than down bags of the same temperature rating.
Make sure the temperature rating of your bag abides by EN13537 norms otherwise it may be wildly optimistic. The rating should give you temperatures for comfort (relaxed sleep), lower limit (sleeping curled on yourself for extra warmth) and extreme (survival). For 3-season use in New Zealand, try to pick a bag rated 0°C to -5°C.
If hiking as a couple, try to get a left zip on one bag and a right zip on the other. This way you’ll be able to zip your bags together.

Tent and Sleeping Mat

These 2 key items may not be as important in New Zealand as they are elsewhere, thanks to a widespread network of backcountry huts:

If you only intend to stay in popular, pre-booked Great Walk huts, packing a tent and mat is not necessary.
If you intend to stay in more remote huts, it is recommended to take a tent and mat in case the hut turns out to be full, or an emergency arises.
Camping is the alternative of choice for those who are on a budget and/or want to get away from the crowds.

Should you decide to camp or at least carry a tent as a safety measure, keep in mind the following:

Choose a 3-season tent that is well-ventilated and truly waterproof (>5000 mm water column). Check the dimensions to make sure you can both lie down and sit up inside. Roomy vestibule(s) are a big plus for pack storage and/or cooking in bad weather. Regarding weight, aim for a tent that works out at 1 kg/person, i.e. a 2-person tent should be around 2 kg.
Consider getting a groundsheet, or footprint, to further waterproof the tent floor.
A sleeping mat is essential for comfort and to insulate you from the cold coming from the ground. You can get either a foam mat that is light and cheap but bulky, or an inflatable mat that is heavier and more expensive but more compact and more effective.

Other essential gear

Food and cooking. Small gas stoves are cheap and convenient. Pack enough canisters for the duration of the trip. The less crockery you have, the lighter your pack will be: a billy can take care of all the cooking. Don’t forget plates, cups and cutlery. Food should be light and easy to conserve, for instance: muesli for breakfast, nuts for snacks, cheese and salami for lunch, dehydrated meal for dinner. To make the load lighter, leave all packaging at home, carefully measure the quantities needed and pack them in Ziploc bags. For more information about tramping food check out Food to Go
Footwear. Get proper tramping boots that will support your ankles. Full leather boots will be the most durable and the most water tight, but they are also the heaviest and the most expensive. Lighter Gore-Tex boots may be a better alternative. Consider bringing along a pair of sandals for creek crossings and relaxing at camp.
Clothing. Always be prepared for the weather to turn nasty. Clothes that will keep you dry and warm are essential: always take a good waterproof jacket with a hood, a warm jumper and a beanie. If you’re heading for the mountains, add thermals, gloves and gaiters. Always pack spare clothes so that you can change into something dry to sleep. Prefer fabrics that will dry quickly (jeans are a no-no).
Miscellaneous items. Map, headlamp, first aid kit, toilet paper, rubbish bag (everything must be carried out)… make a list and double check before you go!

With the gear out of the way, you will then be able to concentrate on organizing your walk.

Transport

There is one warning to keep in mind before you fly to New Zealand: they take biosecurity seriously. Declare all tramping and camping gear to customs. The easiest way to go through quickly and with no drama is to clean all your gear beforehand – be especially mindful about soil left on tent pegs or boot soles. If your gear isn’t clean enough, you may be in for a wait as it gets fumigated.

This issue aside, traveling in and around New Zealand is easy:

The country has 3 main international airports: Auckland and Wellington on the North Island, Christchurch on the South Island. From Australia, you may also catch direct flights to a few smaller airports: Queenstown and Dunedin on the South Island, Rotorua and Hamilton on the North Island.
Connecting domestic flights service a number of other cities such as Nelson, near Abel Tasman National Park.
You can also get around by rental car or bus. If planning your trip in advance, Naked Bus will provide unbeatable fares based on a simple principle: the earlier you book, the cheaper you travel.
Great Walks and other popular tracks can be accessed thanks to shuttle buses that will drop you off and/or pick you up at trailheads. Just ask the local information center (i-site) for a list of operators.

On-track accommodation

Although the romance of setting off into the bush for a few days might trick you into thinking you can just go without further ado, this is not quite true: on-track accommodation will usually need to be sorted beforehand.

If you’re doing a Great Walk, you will need to book everything in advance, whether you’re staying in huts or on campgrounds. This also means you have to work out your itinerary first, as you will need to know at which site you will be staying each night of your walk.
Booking is easy to do online on the DoC website. In New Zealand, you may also book your walks from any i-site, and take the chance to pick up advice at the same time.
Make sure you book early to avoid disappointment if you intend to do the most popular tracks during peak season: the Milford, for instance, is fully booked months in advance.
Outside of Great Walks, things are a lot more laidback and aside from a few exceptions there is no booking system. Huts are split into 3 categories: basic (bunks, water supply), standard (+ table and benches, wood heater below bushline), serviced (+ heating and sometimes cooking stove). Basic huts are free, but to stay in other huts you will need to pre-purchase nightly Hut Tickets (NZ$5 for standard huts, NZ$15 for serviced huts) or a Hut Pass (NZ$122 for 1 year or NZ$92 for 6 months). Tickets and passes can be bought from i-sites, DoC offices and many camping stores.
Neither the tickets nor the pass guarantee you a spot in the huts – outside of Great Walks, huts work on a first come, first served basis. If the hut happens to be full, you’ll have to try to squeeze in or put up your tent outside instead.
You can camp on those non-Great Walk tracks for free most of the time. The only exception is camping by a serviced hut, which is charged NZ$5 a night. All campers are welcome to use hut facilities.

Safety

Last but not least, keep these simple safety tips in mind before you go, and don’t forget them once on-track:

Always make sure you have everything before you go – checklists are a must.
Pick a track suited to your fitness and experience level – if in doubt, start with an easy Great Walk then gradually work your way up to harder tracks. New Zealand is not a flat country, so always be prepared for steep bits, even on easy walks. Estimates given on signs are always for actual walking time, and don’t account much for dallying and taking longer breaks.
Be mindful of the weather – if the forecast is for heavy rain or other difficult conditions, you may want to reconsider going, especially if the track involves creek crossings.
Rivers are dangerous – if in doubt about your ability to cross safely, turn back. Never go into a flooded river.
Take at least a day’s worth of extra food – if you get stuck, you’ll be happy you did.
Make your intentions known – give your full itinerary and due date to a trusted person so they can sound the alarm if you don’t make it out in time. All huts have logbooks, make sure you leave an entry in all of them so that rescuers may find you more quickly should an emergency arise.

That’s it – you are now fully equipped to start your own adventure in the wilds of New Zealand. Make sure it’s a good one!

What do you think of the list?

Have we overlooked or missed anything?

Have you tramped in New Zealand? We would love you to share your experiences, shoot us a comment below.

Stephanie Cotteret is a freelance travel writer and photographer who is currently enjoying many “tramps” in New Zealand. She is a regular contributor to Australia-Australie.com , France’s leading website for Working Holidaymakers and backpackers. Check out her photography portfolio online , or contact her on toothbrushnomads[at]gmail[dot]com.

South Coast Track Tasmania – Trip report and great photographs

Sometimes we come across fantastic trip reports and this one about the South Coast Track in Tasmania is a winner.

Maintained by “The Sons of the Desert”, this site is interesting, quirky, well written and contains some really great information.

We suspect very clever people , who can actually write and photograph, are behind it.

With “the Son’s” permission we have linked to a couple of their excellent images and stolen some amusing and enlightening pieces of text.

Please read the full trip report, it is well worth your time if you are planning the South Coast Track or just want to see why you might never go there….or, just live the adventure vicariously.

In no particular order, some images and selected quotes:

But as we descended the south-easterns side of the mountains two things happened. The first was that the flora went from alpine to rainforest! A complete, dramatic change which contributed to making the thousand metre descent quite challenging. The other thing was that the well made track ended; that was the last of well made tracks until the final day.

So what we were left with was descending what was alternately a muddy trench or a root filled running watercourse down a thousand metre descent all overgrown with rainforest undergrowth. The horizontal distance was about 2k; it took almost five hours.

Top of Ironbound Ranges looking toward Louisa Bay and beyond

We then walked on to our intended campsite at Prion East. When we had almost achieved it we found that (not for the first or last time) storms had destroyed the track work, and there was a twenty metre almost vertical sand and slippery rock climb to get to the campsite. When we got the campsite, we found that there was no water: the only water was in soaks at the bottom of the climb!

Mmmm, water is king!

The people who came in the other direction arriving at Granite Beach camp were shellshocked. It started with a relatively tolerable 600m climb through moderate mud and up waterfalls laughingly called track. But when we got to the top, there was a traverse across the ridge line for a few km that was extraordinary. Many people were getting in the mud up to their waists. I managed my thighs but no higher.

South Coast Track mud - fun in the sun (or rain)

Interesting how psychology changes: at the cold moment I would have paid thousands to be transported back to civilisation. Warm in my sleeping bag I would have paid a lot *not* to be transported out and miss out on completing the walk!

Cold is bad, warm gear is great!

We hope you enjoyed the article over at The Sons of the Desert site. Many thanks to them for granting permission to share the information here.

Have you hiked in mud or water like this?
Enjoy or never again?
Shoot us your thoughts and experiences below, we love to share.

The Overland Track weather

Congratulations and many thanks to the Bureau of Meteorology!

Drum roll…… the Overland Track now has its very own weather forecast.

Yep, a specific seven day forecast for the Cradle Valley. It includes forecasts for “the Overland Track area”, New Pelion Hut and Lake St Clair. Up until now we have always relied on the Mt Reid and Lake St Clair forecasts. That left about 80km in the middle!

Head off to the B.O.M. site to check it out – Cradle Valley forecast.

Because this is a very short note, we thought some indulgence with a series of “weather” photos taken along the Overland Track might be fun.

Barn Bluff topped lightly in snow. This trip was in winter heading back to Cradle Mountain from the Walls of Jerusalum.

A wet day on the track as a walker tries to use a plastic poncho to protect his camera gear….

This was a trip in July, lots of the track was like this. Snow shoes weren’t necessary but the snow and ice was very slippery.

Speaking of ice, we loved these patterns.

This shot was on day five of a quick trip through from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair. We had not seen the top of ONE range in four days because of low cloud, rain and fog. As we headed out on the boat, out came the sun!

Echo Point, a top spot to camp when the lake is low.

Ah, the last day on the track on a February trip. A few of us rinsed out some clothes or swam in them to freshen up. It was a beautiful day as we camped at Echo Point.

What sort of weather have you experienced on the Overland Track?

Have you had all days of sunshine, a mix of sun and snow or just terrible weather?

Shoot us a comment below or post your Overland Track weather images on our Facebook page. We would love to see them!

See and Learn with Cheap Car Rentals

Rent a car from www.carrental.com.au that will drive you like you’re at home to the largest City in Australia. The immense City of Sydney will make you see fantastic tourist destinations and learn many attractive outdoor adventures that will fully complete your holiday. Due to the vast land covering the city, you need not just a car to breakdown at the middle of your excitements but a completely equipped motorhome that will make your travel fast, comfortable, really safe and absolutely won’t be missing a thing in your itinerary.

Your first hundred miles from the airport will drive you across the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. From this beautiful bridge, you will see the excellent view of the places you will be going into. Surely, your motorhome will give you a stop at the Sydney Opera House. Its breathtaking beauty and design will truly impress your creative mind. The architectural design amazes not only local tourist, but many well-known artists, architects and engineers worldwide.

Cheap car rentals will drive you to your next stop – that would be at Marramarra National Park. This place will make you feel the difference between real nature and the urban jungles in the cities. It is just the best place to take a real nature hike with endless verdant landscapes that will thrill your trek to the max. A brief stay at the coastlines will increase your excitement to wild surfing, sun bathing and jumping night at the bonfire.

The Sydney Aquarium – the heaviest tourist destination, will give you an up close experience with the wild and rare aquatic life. You will learn how native and endangered marine live together as you view them through over 160 meters of underwater tubes. This could be a great family and educational tour at the same time.

With Cheap car rentals, you will see, learn and love the many God-given gifts of
Sydney.

New walking shoes – stepping out in style!

We are approached quite frequently by businesses keen to promote their ideas and/or products via our website. We have a policy of not accepting everything that come our way for a number of reasons. For example, we don’t want anything not related to the outdoors filling up the site with junk.

Recently we were contacted by Natureshop.com, who loved Our Hiking Blog and when we perused their website, we found we loved them.

Nature shop is a carbon neutral online retailer selling products with a strong environmental and social ethos. A quick glance at their about us page will make you aware of how committed they are. They specialise in a variety of footwear and gear such as
Merrell footwear or Teva sandals and shoes

Johanna Beach - Great Ocean Walk - Frank used Teva walking shoes for a few trips here guiding, they were excellent

They did offer us a product each from their extensive range and we are both very excited now that our parcels have arrived. I am looking forward to trying out my new Merrell Siren’s while Frank opted for a pair of Teva Event M’s. We will let you know how these styles go, with consideration to comfortable and durability, two of the essentials of good footwear.

In the meantime we suggest you have a look at Nature shop . It great that they have done all the research about how the products are made and that everything availabIe has been produced in an environmentally responsible manner. It’s also good to know in this age of consumerism that when we go shopping the some profits are use for good.

Oh, and they offer free return shipping and a long return policy. Quite a positive approach.

Do you buy much gear online? How has your experience been?

We’d love to hear about your experiences.

Sue

Lake side for New Year’s Eve

It was very hot in Tasmania over the New Year period. We usually hike “out of season” when the days are cool and the nights cold and clear. It usually rains or there is heavy weather.

On this trip, out back of Cradle Mountain to celebrate New Year, it was HOT! We struggled with the heat and reflections off the hot track.

Looking back at Lake Rodway after the climb out from Scott Kilvett Hut

It was fun, of course, great fun!

We headed into a Lake not too far from the Overland Track and set up camp. Being a bit circumspect here as the area is delicate and there are no toilets so it is not a campsite we would want to see overrun.

Camping on the beach

It was late afternoon by the time we had set up and the sun was starting to drop thankfully.

The start of our New Years sunset fireworks

We had carried in plenty of nibbles, some wine and a small bottle of Coke (to mix with the bourbon of course)

The sunset started to change

Alone on the beach, it was calm and warm. The mosquitoes decided it was time to wake up.

The cloud patterns were amazing

As the evening progressed we enjoyed a chicken curry and rice for dinner. Nice and simple for a quick bushwalking meal.

The show really started to include reds and orange

The show started to include reds and oranges

The red wine was tasting quite good but our friends, the mozzies, were very hungry. This was made worse by our small supply of bug repellent.

Sunset hit its peak, this is one of about 30 images

It was an early night with us, well asleep before midnight. We stayed for two nights at this spot, enjoying a relaxed New Years Day. The trip out to our hire car at Cradle Mountain was broken up by a night at Waterfall Valley. We met lots of great people heading off to walk the Overland Track. It was fun to watch them set up on their first night out.

All in all, a terrific way to spend New Years Eve as part of a short Tasmanian holiday.

What did you get up to on New Years Eve this year? Were you out and about with friends, camping, bushwalking or working?

Shoot us a comment below, we would love to hear what you got up to.

Oh, if you want to check out more photos of our Tasmanian holiday, Sue put up an album over at Our Hiking Blog facebook page. They include Maria Island, Hobart, camping and eating!

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