Great Ocean Walk

So we made it back! 3 days on the Great Ocean Walk was great fun. We covered a little over 30Kms in average weather but it was still good to get away.
Day one took us from Apollo Bay to Elliot Ridge, walking along the coast line until the very end when we headed up hill (Steep) to the camp, nicely nesteled in the bush. It took about 3 hours with stops, and although we were not in any rush it was still a good days walk with fully loaded backpacks.
Day 2 was much easier. 11.6Kms but a nice gradual incline for about 6Kms and then all down hill to Blanket Bay. All in bush and very overcast but still good (until my feet flared up and gave in!). The camp site was another well set up site though with plenty of bushes to make you feel as though you are on your own.
Day 3, and Jo headed off with the other 2 for a beautiful days walk to the Cape Otway Light House. Very bummed I missed it as it sounded like the best day of scenery and best weather too! Givent hat I was not walking we loaded the packs up in the car and they travelled light for a welcomed easy day.
All in all I can highly recommend the Great Ocean Walk to any reasonably fit walker. We'll be posting some 'Dry packaged meal' reviews too. Very amusing!

Getting ready for the Great Ocean Walk

Over Easter weekend we have decided to do a few easy days of walking down the Great Ocean road. The Great Ocean Walk to be more specific. I say easy days because we're only looking to do 2 nights and 3 days of walking, at 10kms per day, so its not going to be any stress, that is for sure.
We've already started preparing what we're going to be taking and trying to keep weight down is a prime consideration. We'll be carrying lightweight 60 litre Backpacks (XE60) and splitting up the tents too. The hope is to get away with about 8-10 kilos each. We've actually cheated and organised a food and water drop for the second night to try and keep the weight down. It is a holiday weekend after all ;-)
I've decided to go smelly and only take one spare set of clothing to keep weight down too, so hopefully the others can cope with it all.
I'll update later in the week!

New Samples

Finally the finished samples of the new Travel Backpack and the Day Pack are on their way here for final sign off!
Now I just have to hope that everything discussed in China is done???
I'll keep you posted!

How to pack a Backpack for comfort

How to pack a Backpack for comfort

 

Backpacks can become very uncomfortable very quickly if not packed and fitted correctly; this article explains the basics of how to pack your backpack for comfort.

 

The key is weight distribution no matter what type of pack you have. You want to keep the weight as close to your body as possible and in an area that doesn’t cause excess strain on your back and shoulders. This centers the weight with your natural center of gravity and transfers the weight down your spine to your hips allowing your hip / waist belt to transfer the weight to your strongest muscles, your butt and upper legs! So…

 

Place your heaviest items as close to your back as possible and in between your shoulder blades and above. If you’re trekking rocky or more difficult terrain, try not to place heavy items above your shoulders as this could throw you off balance.

Next, radiating outward, place your medium weight items and then finally your light weight items, as per the diagram.

Red indicates heaviest items, orange medium weight and then light orange is light weight.

 

I usually start by placing my lightest items at the bottom. Things like sleeping bag and light clothing etc. Also things you may need during the day and when you reach camp.

Next, put some of your medium weight items that you won’t require right away and build up to where your heaviest items will go.

Then place the heavy items in and pack light and medium weight items around them to the extremities of the pack.

When everything is in, make sure you tighten all of the compression straps to secure the load. Again this helps keep the weight close to your body.

 

Complimenting article “How to fit your backpack for comfort”

 

 

Wilsons Prom

Over the weekend Jo and I went to Wilson Prom in the south east corner of Victoria for a few days of walking and camping. What a great weekend it was! We took our XE350 Sleeping bags to make sure we were plenty warm as people warned of the quick changes in weather down there. They were right! We endured a massive Thunder and Lightening storm on the Friday night with torrential rain but we were very warm.
The next day we did a great 9Km walk from Tidal River camp ground to Little Oberon Bay. Amazing views all of the way around and the bay when you get there is beautiful. Well worth the walk in the heat. Lucky for us we had plenty of room for water and snacks in the the XE60 backpack. SO comfortable too!

Winter Olympics

So I've been getting into the winter olympics of late. I was really looking forward to it starting and now that it's here, it's hard to work in the office! I find myself with the lap top on the dinning tabele so I can watch the TV. The guys on the half pipe are unbelievable and those crazy Luge people... got to have a screw loose for that one! I would love to try it one day.

How to fit your backpack the Xtreme Earth way, for comfort!

Carrying a backpack can get very uncomfortable; especially if it’s not fitted correctly. There is a common misconception that you should carry a backpack with your shoulder straps tight to your body in order to take all the weight. Not so! This is where you will find the best way to fit your backpack for comfort.

This is actually easier than you may think!  I find it best done in 2 steps.

Step 1; fitting whilst your backpack is still empty…

·        Measure you back length from the top of your hip bone to the top of your shoulder. Make sure you measure to the middle of the shoulder, not the edges.

·        Use this measurement to adjust the height of the back harness system. Measure from the middle of the waist strap to the ‘roll’ of the shoulder strap and adjust the height until you reach the desired measurement.

·        Loosen all of the straps and fittings right off (except the ones just adjusted for the back harness system) so that when you put the pack on, it is very loose fitting

·        Put your backpack on your back and tighten the waist belt snug around your waist, making sure the middle of the waist belt is sitting over your hip bones.

·        Pull the shoulder pad straps down toward your waist until the shoulder straps sit comfortably around your shoulders. If there are any gaps around your shoulders, then you will likely need to adjust the back harness system lower to adjust for the gaps.

·        When fitting snug around your waist and shoulders, then clip your sternum strap into place and adjust it so that the shoulder pads are sitting off the ends of your shoulders and feeling comfortable.

·        You are now ready to move on to step 2

Step 2; Pack your backpack and refit when full…

·        Firstly put your backpack on; I usually try and do this whilst sitting on a bed or edge of a chair

·        Your waist belt should now clip together in the correct position as earlier fitted, snuggly centered over your hips

·        Adjust the ‘Lower Load Stabilizer’ straps on the waist belt so that they bring the backpack into your body

·        Now stand up and check that the backpack is still sitting comfortably on your hips (not sagging too low onto your butt!) with the back waist belt pad firmly into the small of your back. If this isn't the case take the pack off and make adjustments to suit until you get it correct.

·        Whilst standing adjust the shoulder straps so that they are snug around your shoulders but not with much pressure on them. This will make sure that you don't cut off the circulation in your arms and keep you comfortable for longer periods

·        It may pay to clip the Chest strap across at this point. This allows you to adjust the width of the shoulder pads so that they don't sit too far out onto the points of your shoulders. This again will make it more comfortable for longer periods

·        Now adjust the ‘Upper Load Stabilizer’ straps. These pull the top of the pack in towards the body so that the weight isn’t sitting too far back throwing your balance out. Pull these in so that the pack is just sitting against your back. Don’t pull too tight as this will make the pack spring away from your body putting undue pressure on your shoulders!

 

You should now have a very comfortably fitted backpack! Even so, we all get fatigued when carrying loads over distance, some small adjustments of the shoulder and chest straps can make quite a difference when this happens. Failing that, you need a rest stop to take the pack off!

Also be aware of your things moving around in your pack. This can contribute to weight shifting and making your pack uncomfortable, (See the article ’Packing a backpack for comfort’) so make sure you pull all of the compression straps nice and tight.

 

How to fit a backpack for comfort

Backpacks can become very uncomfortable very quickly if not packed and fitted correctly; this article explains the basics of how to pack your backpack for comfort.

The key is weight distribution no matter what type of pack you have. You want to keep the weight as close to your body as possible and in an area that doesn’t cause excess strain on your back and shoulders. This centers the weight with your natural centre of gravity and transfers the weight downward in line with your spine to your hips allowing your hip / waist belt to transfer the weight to your strongest muscles, your butt and upper legs! So…

Place your heaviest items as close to your back as possible and in between your shoulder blades and above. If you’re trekking rocky or more difficult terrain, try not to place heavy items above your shoulders as this could throw you off balance.

Next, radiating outward, place your medium weight items and then finally your light weight items, as per the diagram in the link.

I usually start by placing my lightest items at the bottom. Things like sleeping bag and light clothing etc. Also things you may need during the day and when you reach camp.

Next, put some of your medium weight items that you won’t require right away and build up to where your heaviest items will go.

Then place the heavy items in and pack light and medium weight items around them to the extremities of the pack.

When everything is in, make sure you tighten all of the compression straps to secure the load. Again this helps keep the weight close to your body.

Samoa Tsunami

So I just happened to be in Samoa the the other week for my mates 40th Birthday. What a beautiful place it is too! We started out trip on the main Island of Upolu, along the south coast in a place called Coconuts Beach Resort. Fantastic place, at least it was! Unfortunately when the earthquake hit and the consequent tsunami came, Coconuts was all but wiped out. The fortunate thing was that we had checked out and moved over the Island of Savaii. Although the earthquake was furious at 8.3 on the Richter scale, there was no real damage over there and the Tsunami damage was almost nothing, due to the fact that Upolu took the brunt of it and sheltered us. It was so sheltered that I was snorkelling in the afternoon!
I feel very sorry for all the people that were effected though. They are already on eof the poorest nations in the world and could have done without this. The only saving grace is that it was a relatively small part of Samoa that was effeceted and there is still plenty to see and do there. They need your tourist dollar, so if you were thinking about going and now lookingto put it off, DON'T! Just go, it's great!
When all the drama of false alarms and evacuations had passed, we got to explore some more of the Island. Wow! It has over 450 volcanic cones on the island and is built largly on coral reef and lava flows. Despite all this it's still very green, very tropical. The snorkelling is great, good surf spots, the walks through the rain forrest are great and the peo0ple are so friendly. Love it!

Melbourne to Sydney & back

Over easter weekend we drove just over 1600kms! We packed our sleeping Bags and off we went. On Thursday night we drove to a little place called Ettamogah to see and stay at the famous Ettamogah Pub. Famous from cartoons and for being rickety! Very funny night. Just chilled at the bar and had dinner. Locals went a little quiet when we first walked in but got right back to playing pool pretty quickly. Dinner was cheap and good. Just what you need after 3 hours of driving!
Friday we got on the road by 10am and drove all the way to Upper Colo in the Blue Mountains. Great drive with differing scenery along the way. We stayed at a friends place (on an outdoor education centre) where we went wandering to cheack out the bush scenery and later did a tree rope climb and flying fox. Definately the highlight of the weekend, as I'm just a big kid!
Sunday we started back but via Canberra. Our nations mighty capital! It seems to be a big mistake putting Canberra there as there isn't really anything around it and it feels a little flat and boring at first but then there is the museums. It seems that is the reason for Canberra. The war memorial is very good and quite facinating and then there is Questacon, the kids science museum. That is wicked! Well worth a visit even for adults. Lots to see and do, it's very hands on!
After a couple of nice nights (including karaoke) we headed back home to Melbourne. 6hrs 40mins later we're home again.
Great weekend!

Driving to Sydney

Today Jo and I are off to Sydney. We're driving about 3 hours tonight and then the final 5 or so hours tomorrow. It may seam a little crazy at first thought but I'm sure it's goign to be fun! We're going to stay at the 'famous' Ettamoga Pub. How much fun will that be! I'll fill in the details after the weekend. Happy easter to all.

Munich 2007

Before you all ask, no I wasn't in Munich for the October Fest! We did drink a lot of beer whilst there though.
Such a great city to visit with lots to do and see.
We stayed in a Backpacker hostel that was really central for just Euro13 per night. Very clean and tidy and from what I understand this is the norm in Munich outside of October.
Munich is filled with loads of great buildings. If you like architecture, you can spend days just wondering around the city admiring the buildings. In between all the great architecture is loads of Beer Halls and Beer Gardens too. A fantastic was to break up your day! I visited the famous HoftbrauHaus in the city centre, an architcetural masterpeice in itself, for a quite a brew to break the day. Several hours later, Wencke (my travel partner) and I stumbled out of there a wee bit smashed but with some good memories (if we could remember in the morning) plus we met some good people in there!
Whilst on beer, we also spent a day in the city park where there happens to be the famous 'English Beer Garden'. It was a surprisingly hot day and so to cool down we (again) drank a few steins of beer. Although this did help to cool us down we needed extra help. Running through the middle of the park is a river. Many locals came to the park and river bank to sunbathe (many nude) and so we decided to join them. The river was so inviting I ended up in there in my undies. As it turned out the river was also freezing!
Things to do there?
Bike tours are great. There are so many to choose from it's crazy but a great way to see the city. There are also many night time Pub tours you can do. Again, a great way to see the city by night and meet a lot of great people.
If you're feeling a little more adventurous there is the 'Nightclub' district at the end of the underground line. Everybody in Munich knows how to get there, so just ask around! Clubs to cater for all kind of taste. We staggered out as the sun was coming up and I can say that I had no regrets!
Munich is a real party town! Get yourself there if you like to party.

First post!

Well given that this is a new blog and this is my first post, I guess I'll start with a little bit of travel history.
I've been very fortunate in my life to have had parents that loved to travel and as kids they would take me and my sister away to various places in the UK and Europe for family holidays (I was born in England). We weren't well off by any meens but some how they always managed to make a great week away somewhere. We even did a couple of British Holiday parks like in that TV program 'Hidy Hi'.
I guess this is where I got the travel bug from. Thanks mum and dad!
After moving as a 10 year old to New Zealand, you suddenly realise what a great and diverse world we live in and it just makes you want to see more. So I did!
I guess this is where I'll leave it for now and follow on with some travel spots and memories.