It’s not easy being a farmer these days

Posted on June 8, 2026 by marilyn

TIMOR, NSW – 6-8 June 2026
In Australia, if farmers aren’t having droughts in our rural areas, there’s the occasional flood, wildfires and then there’s the government deciding that they’ll take over big swathes of their land, build horrific towers on it, give them a pittance for the land and expect the farmers to just roll over and agree. Not that they can stop it! Who’d be a farmer? Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking, NHVSS | 4 Comments

Bushwalking in my “backyard”

Posted on June 4, 2026 by marilyn

STRICKLAND STATE FOREST – 4th June 2026
Well, not quite my back yard, but close enough.  A day out in a State Forest close to home looking for Aboriginal art, sounded perfect for a “fitness walk”.  Jeff B and Alan C joined us, having a group of only four was just right for “stopping and starting”, thanks John for putting this walk on the MSS calendar. And, surprisingly, not too many leeches. Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking, MSS | 4 Comments

Heaton State Forest – known for being leech infested

Posted on May 21, 2026 by marilyn

HEATON STATE FOREST – 20 May 2026
With almost two weeks of rain behind us, I wasn’t sure that this day walk would go ahead. There was muttering of “mud, leeches, and rain” from some, and it ended up that it was just Trish and me.  But when you’re doing an exploratory trip, with just the two of us I didn’t have to worry about people either “white anting me” or just complaining – bonus. Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking, BWOC, MSS | 4 Comments

Still in search of “grassy meadows”

Posted on May 13, 2026 by marilyn

DHARUG NP – 13 May 2026
Back in 2023, I visited a creek in Dharug NP looking for some items that I’d found on one of Ray Meisterhans’ maps.  The items that we’d found were amazing.  I then poured over his maps and added a trips to my wish list, one of which looked like a dead easy day walk.  I might have underestimated the trip when I persuaded Trish and Jeff to join me – and Jeff would claim that some of the description was “ambiguous”- in my defense, I thought it would be a good adventure. Continue reading →

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How much abuse can one cave take?

Posted on April 30, 2026 by marilyn

MT ETNA, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND – 20-30 April 2026
As a general rule, a person who’s never caved before doesn’t wake up one morning and think “I’m going to go caving” and off they go.  You’re usually introduced to caving by someone who’s already been caving, like a friend or your parents.  And, generally, when you take a person who has never been caving you teach them to “leave no trace” and “caving softly”.  This is why, when I visited Johansen’s1 Cave at Mt Etna, it was disappointing to discover the amount of graffiti and unnecessary (and often incorrect) navigational directions in the cave. Continue reading →

Posted in Caving, MSS | 14 Comments