Squatters Dam

The viciously gusty wind of yesterday has abated thank God and today produces a gentle breeze with the occasional light gust. The sun is shining, the solar panel is producing its maximum 65W and the sleeping bag is airing on the washing line. Life is good.

This is a delightful campsite next to a small dam with good water, it's in State Forest but only just - 50m to my west lurks a Nature Conservation Reserve or a National Park by stealth as I consider them. National Parks need specific legislation to be created (difficult) NCRs can be established at the stroke of a Minister's pen (easy) but an excellent way for the Greenies to lock up the bush. NCRs have almost exactly the same prohibitive rules framework as do NPs.

Talking of Greenies... where the hell are you? Over the past few years I have spent months rough camped in these Ironbark Forests in central Victoria and I've only seen two other people and both of those were gold prospectors too. So where are all these Green Party members who voted for Adam Brandt in order that they could take their children for picnics in the "Pristine Wilderness"? Not bloody here, that's for sure!

However, Squatters Dam is all the more enjoyable for their absence. As mentioned, a small dam in a semi clearing two hundred meters diameter with good sky views and even a little grass. Located on the edge of the Pyrenean ranges it's high enough, at 400m, to catch the wind. No views from here but the few hundred meters one can see into the forest is pretty. It's a 4WD only campsite with an easy entry but the erosion control mounds would certainly stop a Commodore well before it arrived here.

Gold wise: clearly there have been some workings by the "Old Timers" but few of them. There is considerable quartz on the hillsides but little indication of serious prospecting. I suspect the name arises from some optimistic chums who decided to have a go on an already taken claim but soon discovered the ground would not pay. I suspect I shall discover the same... but then... they didn't have a GPX-4500 metal detector :)

Why a blog?

The intent of this blog is to document my travels around the Australian bush. Most of my bush travel is in Victoria and usually includes gold prospecting but, sometimes, I leave the detector and pan at home and just take off in the four wheel drive (4WD) to somewhere which takes my fancy.

Often I travel into places which are difficult to access and require a 4WD vehicle. Normally I travel alone and my camps are no more than a clearing in the bush, hopefully by a river or dam. I rarely see other people in these places and like it that way.

I have arranged this blog such that I can update it via e-mail. Although my campsites almost never have mobile phone coverage I do have a facility which allows me to send e-mail over HF Amateur Radio and that will work from anywhere on the planet - let's see you do that with your iPhone :)

Any "Comments" made in the blog are also relayed back to me via the same mechanism but please note I cannot directly reply to comments although I can make a new blog "Post". I have enabled anonymous comments but please put your first name or callsign in your comment in order that I know who you are. Also, be aware that comments are public and may be read by anyone.

Of course you may e-mail me directly, and privately, over the HF radio link but you will need to work out my e-mail address - hint: "winlink dot org" is the destination and e-mail should be sent to (@) my callsign.

Then you need to avoid the spam filter; this web page will assist:

http://www.winlink.org/HELP

**PLEASE** no attachments, images or HTML and the like - e-mail over HF is brilliant but it's slooow....

You have probably arrived at this blog via my website:

http://www.qsl.net/vk3ufo/

and that site will normally provide my current precise location on Google Maps via another miracle of technology - the Spot Messenger. Visit the "Bush radio schedule" page then click on the "My location" link to see where I am.

Jim - VK3UFO