Originally posted on doctormowgli:
An article popped up on my social media feed recently. It listed 13 reasons why I shouldn’t worry about stupid things like money or security, and should ‘just travel’ instead. As I read through the list, I felt a familiar rage building up inside me. Want to know why? Cracks neck,…
Category: Tall tales of epic adventure
Plastic boats and plastic oceans
Last month I signed myself up for a Marine Debris Kayaking Challenge off Kooragang Island. My new-found love of kayaking had run headlong into my guilt for always declining my friends’ repeated invites to Hunter Intrepid Landcare events. I had run out of excuses. It was time to give it a go. This was the…
A new obsession
A few weeks ago, I wrote that I wasn’t sure how I felt about the white water kayaking. Since then, I have bought a second-hand paddle and a second-hand boat. I have had unexpected paddling lessons from friendly Olympians and I’ve been around the whitewater course in an inflatable boat more times than I can count. I have had…
Upsidedown, underwater and a bit uncertain
Dear Kayaking I’m still not sure how I feel about you. I could learn to love you. But it will have to be that creepy-upy kind of love. You see, rock climbing took me in right away. It was love at first sight. Climbing provided me with a constant stream of reassurance. Each time I…
We went chasing waterfalls
For a long time I only had one CD in my car. It was one of the Triple J’s Like a Version albums. It got played on climbing trips, camping trips and trips to the supermarket. One of the songs was a cover of the TLC song, Waterfalls. If you want to listen to it,…
50 shades of green
I spent most of my time in Germany marvelling at how insanely green everything was. I am used to the steely bluish-green of eucalyptus leaves. I am used to the faded green of tired sun-bleached sugar cane. I am used to dark green sea-weed on white sandy beaches. But the bright greens of the forests…
Bumbling round the ‘bungles
It all started on a dark and stormy night. The rain was closer to horizontal than vertical when Bekket and I locked the front door of our sharehouse behind us. We exchanged cheeky grins and a quick thumbs up, then sprinted down the street to the spot where Bekket’s car was parked. The back of the car was…
Achtung Kamele: Climbing in northern Germany
Earlier this year Dirtbagjens was invited to speak at a conference in Germany. It was the perfect opportunity to visit his family and check out his native habitat. I immediately booked flights and did my best to squeeze as much German into my brain as I could. I found one really great podcast called Coffee Break German, which I listened to…
Lacquerhead – a tale of projecting, training and video making
Last weekend I sent my project, a short and dynoie climb called Lacquerhead (25) on the central coast. It was super fun and I learned a lot during the process. Firstly I learned that structured training for climbing works really well. The weeks before I climbed Lacquerhead was the first time that I actually stuck…
Coastal climbs and boutique beer
Dirtbagjens has been experimenting with film lately. I can sense a new obsession developing. We had to buy a box for all the batteries, SD cards and camera lenses that are multiplying in our tiny apartment. New attachments and other gadgets are being 3D printed as I write this. Last weekend all the cameras made…
Climbing through the monsoon
Earlier this month I switched from being a corporate dirtbaglawyer to an environmental dirtbag lawyer. In the gap between jobs, dirtbagjens and I made it over to Thailand for a week of climbing on beautiful limestone. We also experimented with film for the first time. Dirtbagjens turned the trip into our first short travel film:…
Stupid grins
‘You have to try the tree jump. It’s awesome.’ That’s when I saw that worrying grin spread across Starkey’s face. ‘Seriously, you’ll enjoy it’ The grin got wider. It’s the kind of grin that warns you that whatever he’s suggesting is slightly mad, somewhat terrifying, possibly painful and probably survivable. I usually see that grin at…
