Goodbye Sydney

Day 5 begins.

 Sydney has treated me well, as have the people in it. It was a short stay for this leg, but I will return after the outback.

 I made great new friends, Ariel and Mandy, as mentioned. I owe them a lot of thanks for helping me get my footing after landing in this crazy new world. Sydney is an interesting place. Many things are very different here than in Canada - internet access being a big one. Not many people are on home based internet connections it seems, but rather pre-paid wireless internet sticks.

 I had a great backstage tour of the Sydney Opera house yesterday thanks to an old friend I graduated from The Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology with, Matt Giusti. It was an awesome experience. In my opinion, a much better way to see the landmark than a paid guided tour. Vivd Fest is on this week here, so the place was hustling and bustle with stage crews getting prepped.

 Now I make my way to Newcastle via train. My last trip by public transit out of Sydney. Its a 158Km trip, which will give me a solid start on the some 3000Km trek up the coastline. After only a night in Newcastle I will begin my trek towards Coffs Harbor, where I will hopefully spend a few days to watch the Humpback Whale migration taking place right now.

  I have nearly all my supplies now, all that's left if cooking fuel and fishing line which I will get in Newcastle of Coffs. I found both books I was searching for and an excellent map for my route. The books are bush survival type guides on edible plants and animals in Australia. They are (and I highly recommend them to anyone thinking of doing a similar trip to mine);  the Bush Tucker Field Guide, by Les Hiddins, and Edible Wild Food Plants of Australia, by Tim Low.

These books are now my survival guides, my cookbooks, the centre of my survival. Along with these two books I have a third, Dangerous Creatures. This book outlines all the most deadly animals in australia, how to identify them, and how to treat their wounds.

 So here I go, with my feet on the ground, to face the lonely continent, across the wilderness, of Australia.

Welcome to Oz

            Here I am, Sydney, Australia – The other side of the world. 

            We landed about 8:30am yesterday morning. It was a much quicker process through customs than I had imagined – No complaints here.

            It’s a different feel down here, the people have a different vibe. Everyone, not just the Aussies, are very friendly and generous. Not even half an hour off the plane I encountered this when a very nice German girl approached to and asked if I was taking the train into town. I told her the truth, “I don’t have any idea where I am going.” She smiled and handed me a small, yellow card holder, inside were two transit tickets, valid for the next three days. I had money, I had transportation, I had a plan.

            After orienting myself and checking map routes I made my way into the city. It didn’t take long to get used to get a handle on train procedures – although having two identical cards that do completely different tasks is still a little confusing. 

            Later in the afternoon I met up with my new friends Ariel and Mandy, whom I had met through Couchsurfing.org. They were eager to show me around and things started off great. We explored the area surrounding them a bit, had a Thai dinner, an began making plans for the rest of the evening. Plans wouldn’t take us too far though. A night out on the town quickly turned into a much-needed very, very long nap.

            I’ll be leaving Sydney in other two or three days. The trip up the coast will be a gong show. Thanks to Sydney’s train system I should be able to make good time along the way. I expect to reach Cairns by roughly August 1st.

  For now though, its off to pick up the last of my supplies, gather some information on the lay of the land, and get exploring!

Final Countdown and NEW Sponsors!

3 Days till Australia!

 As I sit here sorting my gear one last time, dozens of thoughts fly through my mind - I can't rush it - I can't forget ANYTHING.
 I'm dropping gear, lightening my load - again.

 Another sponsorship has come through with some great new gear. Mad Outfitters, located in Barry's Bay, Ontario has set me up with a great OR Fleece and Columbia Quick-Dry Pants. As well, Ranger Tactical, who was the first to jump on board with the Adventure, has set me up with two fantastic knives on top of the gear they had already provided. The Remington Excursion - a great tough, all purpose utility knife, and the Tailwind Assisted Opener from United Cutlery - easy opening, one-handed action makes this a key tool to have on hand.

 The final chapter in preparation began about a week ago, when I arrived in Ontario. In a mad scramble I still was moving out of my house in Calgary the MORNING of my flight to Ontario. But we managed, fitting it all into a single 5'x5'x8' storage locker. And off to Ottawa.
 The remainder of my gear met me here over the last week - A sleeping mat from Exped and a set of base layers courtesy of Icebreaker Canada. 

 Its a relief to be able to sit back look at my kit and know I have more gear than I need sitting in front of me. So back to it - cut, cut, cut!

15 Days: Gear Selection - How to Choose a Pack

  3 Days till Ottawa.
15 Days till Sydney.

 With only two weeks left in Calgary I can really feel the pressure. Still so much to do. Luckily I have accumulated near all of my gear now, with only a few small items left. The big one this past week was my pack finally arriving. I decided upon the Atmos 50 by Osprey as my travel pack, with a Fluid 26 from Mountain Hardware as my day pack for around town, and shorter over night trips and adventures where I can (or need to) leave the 50L behind.

 Choosing the right pack is probably one of the top two most important decisions you can make when gearing up for a trip - with your choice of footwear coming first. Many different facts play into choosing your pack; trip length, climate, trip style (resort skiing v.s. long-haul backpacking), what gear you take with you, and your body shape/size.

 Because of the nature of my endeavor, I took many factors into consideration when choosing my pack -
These were; Weight - I need the minimal weight possible for a long period of time, Comfort - I need a well ventilated, comfortable pack to handle the warm, humid climate over a long period of time, Versatile - a pack that can change as quickly as I will, while taking the weight factor into consideration. Last, I wanted Simplicity - a slick, simple bag, where less is more.

 I do get many looks of bewilderment and confusion when I tell many people that I am wandering into the Australian Outback for a year with only a 50L main pack. Though, after the first few test runs of my stuffed pack, I have found that if desperation called, I could get away with even lass space... Its pushing it, but it is possible. 50L is comfortable, and leaves me with space for collecting along the way.

 So lets take a look at each factor one-by-one and see how the Atmos 50L meets these needs.

 Weight: Weighting in at only 3Lbs 3oz, the Atmos offers a fast-and-light feel with more than enough storage space. Compared to many typical backpacking packs which can rage up to 8Lbs or more, the Atmos 50 weighs in 9oz LIGHTER than my tent.

 Comfort: The trampoline-style back panel on the Atmos series offers great airflow between your back and the pack itself, reducing heat and sweat. Also, the light weight, yet sturdy, fixed hip belt and shoulder harness offer optimal comfort over the long hauls while keeping bulk and weight to a minimum. Though not everyone's body's are built the same, and some packs simply won't fit everyone, the Atmos 50L fits like a glove. For me, it slips on and feels more natural than most packs of this nature.

 Versatile: A year in the Outback? Anything can happen, at any moment. The Atmos 50 offers several quick-adjust features, such as; a removable top pocket, InsideOut side-Compression straps, removable Sleeping bag straps and gear loops - simple features, but effective in the field.

 Simplicity: This is Ospreys "Superlight Backpacking/Active Adventure" pack. It was designed to help you move quickly without sacrificing comfort. A fixed hip belt and shoulder harness cut weight, but also eliminate maintenance points on the bag. As mentioned earlier, side compression straps help keep the pack snug and streamline, and stop your load from shifting as the trip progresses.

 So all-in-all, the Atmos 50 stacks up to be a great choice for the trip. Super light and simple, but still comfortable and versatile. Lets see how it does in the field!