I wonder if you are more likely to become unstuck driving a vehicle in
the outback than you are doing a real bushwalk.
I never had any qualms about doing week-long bushwalks on my own in SW
Tasmania when I was a uni student. I saw no-one during the first 6
days of a walk to Melaleuca via Precipitous Bluff and no-one at all on
a traverse of the Wilmot and Frankland Ranges.
There were no GPSs or EPBs in those days, but I had access to maps and
guidebooks, the requisite skill, physical ability and bushwalking
gear, and I knew what I was doing. The downsides were not having
anyone to share the load with [meaning I was carrying up to 30 kg] and
not having anyone around when things got tricky.
It's important to know what you can do, what you are doing, what you
need to have and where you are going before you venture out the door.
That said, it is definitely worth venturing out the door.
Regards, Laurie.
On 10/10/2008, at 2:26 PM, john hammond wrote:
I find myself sitting here contemplating that poor blokes demise and
i realise the risks i have taken in my pursuit of birds. Chasing a
night heron has taken me into a swamp chest deep in water and
sinking in the mud. If those waders of mine had filled up with water
or i had become stuck i am sure it would have been game over. I
often walk for a couple of hours into bush land with no water back
up or even a snake bandage (usually wear shorts). My wife never
knows where i am and i do all this because i assume nothing will go
wrong and i will be back safe and sound in a couple of hours. On a
desert trip it would be just like me to get caught up in the thrill
of the chase and leave the water back at camp thinking of nothing
but that "grass wren". I guess a tragic event like this wakes some
of us up to the fact that even close to a city it doesn't take that
long to take yourself to a place where no one can hear you
scream.... John
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