December 2019 - February 2020

Wild

Australia's Wilderness Adventure Magazine

Wild3 min read
From The Editor
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Daintree lately. This is only partly because this issue of mag looks at—as the third in our year-long series on Australia’s great environmental battles—the campaign to save it. No, more importantly, I’m thinking of
Wild4 min read
Wild Letters
Letter of the Issue I wanted to thank you for Issue #173 and the focus it drew to such an important issue. Although the Franklin River is an amazing place, it is not the important issue that I write about; it is instead the story of young Maya Bristo
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The European Triple Crown
I was recently fortunate enough to fulfil a long-held ambition—walking Europe’s three best long-distance trails in succession: the UK Coast to Coast; the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt; and Corsica’s GR20. Much as my mouth (and legs) watered at
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Paths of Joy
The start of the track was hard to find and we had to study our topo map carefully. Having parked next to an old gateway, we shouldered our packs and headed across the grassy, sometimes boggy flat to where we hoped the track started at the edge of th
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Crafting Your Life
@meganholbeck www.meganholbeck.com Some of my most memorable adventures have been the ones that have just happened with little planning or preparation. My husband and I spent three days exploring Mt Mulanji in Malawi, central Africa’s highest peak, i
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Sumac Ridge Siege
Bob.Brown.Foundation bobbrownfndn www.bobbrown.org.au There has been no reporting of the siege of the Sumac outside Tasmania. The Sumac Ridge runs south from the Arthur River in Tasmania’s takayna/Tarkine wilderness and is clothed in the most cathedr
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Monitoring Nature
Habitat loss and fragmentation and the spread of invasive species are major threats to biodiversity in Australia. Conserving habitat on private land is an important response to this threat. When private lands are protected for conservation, it increa
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The Battle For The Daintree
This battle we lost. It was a war, however, that we won. The fight in the 80s to protect the stretch of pristine rainforest north of Cape Tribulation and on up to the Bloomfield River is Queensland’s most famous environmental campaign. It followed in
Wild9 min read
Ten Crucial Pieces of Nature Writing
My conscious journey into the realm of nature writing began relatively recently while swooning through Inga Simpson’s Understory, a heartbreaking and heart-fortifying memoir, viewed through the refracted incandescence of nature. In hindsight, however
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Tim Cope
Tim Cope’s adventures sound more like biblical tests. He’s ridden a recumbent bicycle from Russia to China, spending 14 months living on a budget of $2 a day. Developed a taste for boiled goat’s head for breakfast. Spent four months crammed in a tiny
Wild6 min read
The Ultimate Line
How could the tallest single drop waterfall in Australia not have a highline on top of it? It was a simple question, posed by Ben Thegreywolf. Ben is a quiet-natured man, but when he speaks it is always time to listen. The problem was that he propose
Wild10 min read
Protect what You Love
“Guys, where is the raft?” We were roughly halfway into a month-long paddling and canyoning expedition down Peru’s wild and mighty Rio Marañón when we awoke to hear this alarming question. We’d slept heavily that evening. We’d run the crux rapid of t
Wild9 min read
Dusky Days
Out the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Euan. And heard him, too. He was toppling over in a mess of tree roots, and there was an accompanying mumbled grunt of pain. We’d been soaking wet, cold and exhausted for hours, and it had finally caught up
Wild12 min read
In Nansen’s Footsteps
For anyone in need of good calorific fare, (if you, for example, like us, are about to traverse Greenland’s icecap on skis), the Pilersuisoq supermarket in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, has what you need: Musk ox burgers. Whale steaks. Baby milk formula.
Wild8 min read
In Search Of Paradise
“It’s gone up to three now”, Laura says, doing an excellent impression of the world’s least enthusiastic auctioneer. She’s giving me the weather forecast while we pack for a six-day hike on Fraser Island, and in an hour it’s gone from one mm of rain
Wild13 min read
Mount Arapiles
Upon first sight—and yes, I feel guilty even typing this—it was somewhat unimpressive. Shimmering through the heat-haze rising from the long stretch of tarmac, the gentle bump upon the horizon was barely discernible. To be fair this was about 20km aw
Wild8 min readEarth Sciences
WALKING HANNELS SPUR & LADY NORTHCOTES CANYON
Get set for Australia’s biggest climb on this spectacular walk, followed by days of romping through alpine meadows and then a rock-hopping descent back down to the valley. Due to the dramatically changing altitude, it’s a walk of incredibly varied la
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Gear Talk THE NORTH FACE
Breathe easy. We all know Gore-tex is awesome. It keeps water out. But it breathes, too. Stop and think for a moment at how amazing that is, and how it stops you from getting too hot and sweaty. But as awesome as goretex is—so amazing that it’s becom
Wild2 min readFashion
Gear Test LOWE ALPINE
A different approach. I knew the Aeon 27 was different the moment I looked at it. The shoulder straps had no padding. Is this unusual? Absolutely. Even on the smallest of daypacks, those designed to carry a single vegemite sandwich and no more, paddi
Wild3 min readFashion
Keb Shorts & Abisko-Lite Pants
Top-of-the-line functionality For some fortuitous outdoor brands—through a combination of innovative product design, good marketing, and other ‘mysterious’ forces (which sometimes includes just good’ ol luck)—a particular product transforms from bein
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ACTIK Headlamp
A bright all-rounder First released in 2017, 2019’s iteration of the Petzl ACTIK delivers a great all-round unit suitable for most conditions. Let’s get to the important stuff first: maximum brightness. The new model jumps to a whopping 350 lumens; f
Wild2 min read
[Book Reviews]
Father and daughter duo, Angela and Mike Bremers have self-published what I have no doubt is the most comprehensive catalogue of human-powered journeys along the Murray-Darling River EVER written. If you (yes, I mean you) have paddled any significant
Wild3 min read
CamelBak
A sock, an IV bag, and a day that was hotter than hell: that’s what gave birth to one of the outdoor industry’s most iconic products. Back in August 1989, a paramedic named Michael Eidson was set to compete in a road cycling race in Texas. The event

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