Would you camp using this traditional Australian swag method_.

Well, I think a storm's brewing. And it's so nice listening to the black cockatoos fly by. But yeah, g'day guys, hope you guys are all doing very well. So we're out here in another traditional swag camp this weekend, but man, today has been an absolute shocker. Honestly, it's been, oh, I can't even describe how bad it's been, I've just been driving around in circles all day. It's about 4.30 in the afternoon, so very late in the day. We got to this area about 10.30 this morning, but the park I wanted to go to had a closed sign on it, so I couldn't go there. There's some black cockatoos flying by, such a nice bird. But yeah, so that park was closed, and I tried to get to another state forest, there's a bloody paddock in the gate there, so I couldn't go there. Tried to get to another spot, there was a no camping sign there, and I tried to get to another spot again, and that spot was just not a good place to camp. So I finally come to this bushland around here, and it's actually surprisingly quite beautiful. It's actually really nice, like yeah, heaps of black cockatoos flying around, and quite a nice bushland. So look, it's not a bad option, but yeah, I just wish I had more time, eh? Like it's 4.30, we've got some pretty dark clouds moving in as well, I think we're meant to get about 20 to 40 mils worth of rain tonight, so. Yeah, pretty wet, so it's probably about time we stop dilly-dallying, and try and find a nice little place to set up camp. Roll the swag out, get a tarp up, and also, yeah, I'll show you guys how I got this, yeah, the swag set up for this trip, because I've done a few sort of mods compared to how I'd had it last time, and it's a much comfier way to carry it, so I'll show you guys that in a bit. So we've got the creek just running down the bottom there. I was thinking about camping down here somewhere, but it looks like there's a lot of shovel around, so probably not the best spot to camp, so I might actually go back up on top of this ridge just up here, where there's sort of nice open bushland, and yeah, we'll probably find a spot up there to camp. Man, I'd love to just camp up here on top of this rock shelf here. Such a nice spot up here, just looking out over the bush, you've got all the birds flying by. A really nice spot to spend the night. We'll have to just, yeah, roll the swag out, but considering it's gonna rain, it's probably not the best idea. Probably got a few puddles there, and I can feel, yeah, when it's gonna rain, it's just gonna all run off on top of this rocky outcrop, so probably not the wisest idea, so I think we'll either tuck back into the trees, or yeah, get a tarp above us. Well, a pretty spot for choice around here. There's so much nice open bushland. It's really lovely. I'm thinking I might go between sort of these two trees just here, probably string the tarp above there, and then yeah, we'll roll the swag out underneath, and we'll be able to have the fire just out here. It's a nice clear area as well, so I think it's a pretty good option. All right, so before I take this off, I'll quickly show you guys how I've got it set up, because I've sort of altered it compared to how I had it last time, and I think this is the more traditional way. From what I can tell, I've tried to read as much as I can about it, and look at pictures and stuff, and I think this is the more traditional way that the swagmen used to carry the swag, so first up up front, we've got the dilly bag. Inside the dilly bag, we've got a tucker bag with all the food, and any other bits and pieces you kind of want handy throughout the day, so I've got my rain jacket in there, I've got my first aid kit, my PLB, two beers, so all the priorities, and around here, I've just got a little bum bag, because I'm still yet to get a haversack. I'll probably get a haversack pretty soon, but inside the bum bag, which would be a haversack if I had one, I've just got my water, got some camera batteries, another lens, and I think that's about it for then there, and then, actually, I'll take that off for a sec, so I can show you guys how this works, so if you have a look at the back of it, so this strap here, last time I had this strap going from that shoulder across there, and it puts so much weight on that one shoulder, whereas this way, it's sort of, how do I describe this? Basically, with this dilly bag, this is tied to a tea towel, and so that way, the tea towel's nice and soft on your shoulder, and then that's tied, yeah, just up there, so the idea, I'll take it off so I can show you guys how I put it on, yeah, so basically, that's how it looks. So we've got the dilly bag with the tea towel tied to it, and then that tea towel's tied to basically the strap of the swag, and then you've got the strap here, so it's kind of like a backpack, that's how you kind of think of it, so you put this strap on first, and then swing that around, and then put that over that shoulder, and then like that, it's actually really comfortable, it might look a bit funny, but it's actually a really comfortable way to carry your gear, like it's having sort of, the idea is that you have about one third of your weight up the front, and two thirds at the back, and that way, you kind of walk nice and upright, you're not sort of like slouching over like you do with backpacks sometimes, you kind of walk nice and upright, and yeah, I guess the idea of this is it's kind of like a backpack, you kind of have these two straps that come over each shoulders, which kind of shares the load, so it's actually a pretty effective way to carry your gear, it's so funny that like, no one does it anymore, it's obviously backpacks are pretty bloody handy, but yeah, I'd love to try and sort of revive this kind of swagging history, I think it's a really interesting part of our history, so I'd love to try and do a bit more of these videos, and maybe other people might be inspired to do some as well, so, how about we get this off, I might even grab the camera and give you guys a bit of a close-up of how it's sort of set up, yeah, so far, I'm quite enjoying it, I haven't obviously walked too far, but yeah, doesn't seem to hurt at all, it seems to be quite comfortable. Alright, so I'll give you guys a bit of a close-up, so yeah, just the dilly bag, that's just tied to the T-towel, and that T-towel is tied to a carabiner, and then the carabiner's also attached to the leather strap, so that way, I figure the carabiners are good, so that way you can sort of just take them off nice and easily, rather than having to sort of undo knots and things like that, so, yeah, it's only the first time I've used it like this, but yeah, so far, so good, and I think it's a good start, I'm sure there's other things I'm gonna be able to improve on, but it's definitely a good start. Far out, there are so many morsies around, I didn't even bring any air guard, actually, I didn't bring any pants either, usually I bring the zip-off pants to this, but I left them at home, because it's summer, so I didn't think I'd need it, but, bloody hell, they are everywhere. Yeah, this is gonna be a fun night. All right, well, I can already hear the thunder, so, I think this rain is gonna be at any moment, so, as much as I sort of love to take my time and explain everything, I think I've gotta try and get a tarp up pretty quickly. I'll try and explain it as I go. All right, so I've just got my titanium fry pan just sort of tucked into the, where the straps were, and so just in the fold, I've just got a little chopping board, just my saw, you guys see that, hopefully? Yes, and then just down the bottom here, I've just got my three-by-three-meter Alton Goods tarp, we've got a, yeah, Alton Goods ground sheet. I've also got, yeah, the Alton Goods box bug net, which I haven't actually used yet, so, I'm actually pretty glad I bought it. Like, obviously, I'm into swag, so I could zip it up, but being summer, and this sort of doesn't have any fly mesh, when you zip it up, it can get pretty hot inside, so I think what I'll do is I'll have the tarp up, and then I'll, yeah, roll this out, but then I'll probably put this box bug net over the swag, and you can tuck it in underneath the swag, so no cribbing coils, you can sort of crawl up, but also give you some good protection from the mozzies tonight, and that way I can sort of have the swag open as well. Just quickly, down here, I've just got some electronics, I think I've got my headlight, and just like a power bank, and charge, and stuff like that. Got a little hit flask full of tawny, which is a must, and then just here, a little speaker, because I like my music out here, which is not everyone's cup of tea, but each to their own. Just inside here, I've just got my metho stove, some metho, and just some cleaning up stuff, like a little scourer, and another little tea towel, just a little small towel, just in case I need to wipe something down, because it's going to be raining tonight, and then just my Flint steel kit, and some tinder in there as well, so. Yeah, oh, and then also, underneath here, I've just got my flannel, I've got my shemagh, and then inside the swag, oh, also, if you're wondering what kind of bedroll this is, this is made by Winchester, and yeah, this is an adventurer bedroll, if you want to have a look at it. And we've just got my Cedar Summit quilt, a cinder quilt, and just a little inflatable mat, and then just a self-inflating, yeah, furrow mattress, so. Oh, and lastly, just got my bushcraft knife, which is made by Core Knife and Tool, this is the Bushman, and just a furrow rod, as well, attached to my belt, so. Yeah, that's all my gear, so how about we get the tarp up before it starts pouring? All right, now, just for the ridgeline, it's got a little loop tied to the end of the line, just pass that around the tree, and we'll just pass this line through that loop, so it creates another loop, just put a stick through it, and just, yeah, tension that down. It's a very nice, easy knot to get done, you just gotta pull that out, and the whole thing comes undone. Whoops, forgot to press record. Let's just do that again. All right, so we're just gonna pass this line around the tree, and with this line here, we just do a little trucker's hitch, and with this line, we're just gonna run that through the trucker's hitch. Actually, a few people told me to, rather than doing a little knot at the end, kind of you run this through the loop twice, when you pull on it, it sort of cinches down on itself, so we'll give that a try. Man, that's pretty good. Man, you gotta love the comments on YouTube, eh? Sometimes they're pretty bad, but quite often, they're pretty helpful, so I had a few people tell me to do that, and yeah, nice and easy. All right, that's nice and taut, so we'll get the top over it. Thunder is rolling. Pour any moment, eh? Got that feel to it. Anyway, this should give me plenty of cover for tonight, and what I'll do now is I'll roll out the ground sheet, and then we'll chuck the swag on top of the ground sheet, and then we'll set up the box bug net to try and sort of keep some of those mozzies away. Also, just with the bug net and the ground sheet, it's also got these little snap buttons, so you can snap them together, and then the bottom of the bug net has probably about a 20 centimeter or so skirt, so that way, you can sort of tuck that underneath, and you've got no chance of anything sort of crawling in there with you. All right, well, she's all done. Give you guys a bit of a look inside. I'm actually very glad I bought this bug net, eh, because I don't know if you guys can tell, but there's so many mosquitoes on it already. Gosh, they're absolutely severe out here, but yeah, at least I should be able to get a good night's sleep with this. It's pretty cool. Like I said, never used it before. I've used, like, the bell-shaped ones, but this box one's pretty cool. It gives you a lot more space inside. Yeah, can you see how it goes tonight? Bloody hell. Look how many mosquitoes there are. They are insane. Man, I really wish I bought some pants now. Bloody hell. All right, we're gonna have a fire about here. There's quite a bit of leaf litter around, so what I'm gonna do is just, yeah, be extra careful and safe, and just clear a nice, big sort of tomb raider circumference right around the fire. All right, well, there you go. Got it back to bare earth, and about a two-meter circumference around the fire, so yeah, that should do. That thunder is pretty threatening, but so far there's been no raindrops, but I can see in the distance really dark clouds, so I dare say probably in the next half hour or so, it might start raining. So I might try and, yeah, just gonna have a quick little fire, just to cook up dinner. I'm expecting it's gonna rain pretty soon, so I'm not gonna worry about having it all night, but I don't need to, so I'm gonna try and get a fire going just to cook up dinner, and if I can get that done, then I'll be happy. Now, because there's not a whole lot of tinder around here, plus everything's still pretty soaked, I've just got some fibrous material in here. This is from the cabbage tree palm, so I'm just gonna use that to, yeah, get the fire going. Bloody hell, man. These mozzies, I am absolutely crawling in them. Ooh, almost. Everything's a little bit wet, so it's a little bit difficult to get it going, which is a bit smoky. It hasn't stopped raining for, what, about three weeks? So today was the first kind of sunny day, so everything is still just absolutely drenched. I'm actually surprised I could even get a fire started, to be honest. And that sky is getting pretty dark, hey? So if we can try and build a better pot. That, oh my goodness. Sorry, but these mosquitoes, they are massive. Bloody hell. But yeah, we'll try and build up a little bit of coals, and we'll get the fire, get the fire going, get the dinner cooked up. But I think I've earned myself a beer, so let's go grab one of those. Ooh, she is sticky. To be honest, I don't think I'm even gonna really wait to build up a bed of coals, because these cards keep moving over, and I'd rather cook dinner before it starts pouring, so. If it burns, it burns. Look, I'm pretty used to burnt food these days, so. Tonight I've just got some crumb cutlets, and some broccolini, and some Dutch carrots. I did have some like mashed potato, like a packet mashed potato, but I honestly cannot be bothered to boil up the water and make that up. I think, yeah, the broccoli and the carrots and the cutlets are gonna do me just fine for tonight. Man, that just got dark so quickly, hey? It's gonna rain any moment. But anyway, tonight we've got two beers, which is a bit of a treat for me. So first up, we've got the Grifter Pale Ale, which is probably my favourite beer. It's such a great beer. And then next up, we've got the Cornhill Brewery Southwest Sour, which is such a nice drop. It's a bit interesting. It's not everyone's cup of tea, the old sour beers, but when I first had it, I wasn't quite sure about it. But after a few, it really grows in you. And honestly, this is such a delicious drop. It's definitely, especially during summer, it's such a nice beer just to drink on a nice warm day. So, might start off with that one, and then yeah, go off into the Grifter after. Oh, that wind's just started to pick up. It's starting to sort of move up this hill here, so I'm just a little bit cautious of the fire and any embers being blown off. So what I'm actually gonna do, I'm pretty much gonna dismantle the fire. I think I've got enough coals to try and get dinner cooked up. Oh, there's the rain as well. Oh, this is gonna be a bit tricky, guys. See how we go. I've also got my bottle of water and stuff next to me in case anything does sort of waft into the distance, but I think we should be all right. I'm just gonna take off these veggies and we'll get the cutlery on. All right, well, that rain's starting to get pretty heavy now, so I'm gonna grab a rain jacket. Oh, actually, what have we got right here? Pretty handy. One side's done, so we'll flip that over. Oh, man, these look so bloody good. I am so keen for this. Even if it is raining, I'm still keen for it. How many more? The veggies? Definitely look a little bit worse than when. Pretty burnt. Oh, this fish just rained and held out for like 10 more minutes. Starting to get pretty heavy. Hello? Okay, see you, Mum, bye. Well, trying to get a reception out here. Nothing like a call from your mum on a Saturday night, just to check in. All right, well, I think this cutlet's done, so let's heat that up. But first, I'm gonna put this fire out. Oh, man. Today, nothing has gone to plan, eh? It's been an absolute disaster. Well, it is what it is, and to be honest, I'm actually still having a really nice time, so. I'm just chucking on some mint jelly onto the lamb cutlets and the veggies. You cannot beat mint jelly, eh? It is so good. Oh, man, that rain is really starting to get heavy now, eh? So, I'm just gonna quickly eat this, and then I'll crawl back onto the tarp. Oh, man, you cannot beat lamb cutlets, eh? Oh, that is so bloody tasty. Yum, yum, yum. All right, well, that rain is getting pretty heavy now, so it's about time I put the camera away, because that is only so waterproof, so yeah. Anyway, I'm gonna catch you guys in the morning. Oh, wow. I don't know if you guys saw that lighting just then, but anyway, as I said, see you guys in the morning. Bloody hell, what a day. Well, good morning, guys. So, last night, man, that was a very wet night, eh? That was absolutely pouring all night. It's probably one of the wettest nights I've had out in the bush, but I managed to stay nice and dry under the tarp, and surprisingly, it was actually a really comfy sleep, eh? The mat, this mattress is so comfy to sleep on, and just falling asleep to the rain under the tarp was a really nice way to fall asleep, so not a bad night, which is surprising, and yeah, it's about 7.30 now, so let's check the weather report. We've got some reception. It seems like the rain is well and truly set in for the next week, so no chance of really clearing up, so it's probably about time we stop dilly-dallying and get up out of bed, and we'll get some brekkie into us. All right, it's time to cook up some brekkie, so I've just got my Toks alcohol stove. I'll just add some metho to it. This is just my Pathfinder stove stand, and once again, a link to all the gear I use is in the description below if you guys want to check it out. Oh, man, it smells so bloody good, eh? So keen. All right, I think that's about done. Oh, the rain seems to have held off for the moment, which is good, but I forgot some salt, so I'm just gonna have to make do. Still pretty tasty though. Oh, man, that rain is really starting to come down. It is absolutely boring. Yeah, that's probably one of the main reasons why I love sleeping underneath the tarp is the fact that you can pack everything up. You've got plenty of room to pack up. Everything stays nice and dry, and then right at the end, you just gotta take your tarp down, whereas if you're inside of a tent, it's really hard to keep everything nice and dry, because by the time you roll your wet tent up and you gotta set your tent up again the next night, the tent stays soaked, and you're trying to put your bedding in a wet tent, and I feel like everything just gets all wet, so I think this way, it's nice and versatile. Keeps everything nice and dry in your bivvy or your swag, and yeah, it's only ever that your tarp gets wet, and that doesn't matter, because you just set that up, and everything's nice and separate, so it's definitely my favourite way to camp, for sure. But yeah, we'll get all this packed up, and then yeah, we'll get the tarp taken down, try and brave this rain and walk back out of here. Doesn't look very fun out there. Just in that little fold there, just put my chopping board and some saw. All right, I'll show you guys how to sling the swag over your shoulder den, because that's the biggest trick of this thing, is showing you how to swing it. So you just grab that strap, put that on that shoulder, and let that bag come around the other shoulder. And with this tea tower, you actually spread it out a bit, where it kind of shares the load over your shoulder a bit easier. So yeah, there you go. A pretty unique and interesting way to go camping and hiking. Looks a little bit funny, but trust me, it's actually surprisingly comfortable. You're not sort of slouching over at all. And with this thing, it can kind of swing around a bit. So what I've read, you can actually just tie a little bit of string, and just tie a bit of string from there to that corner, and that stops it swinging around. Or you just sort of put it under your arm, like I was doing yesterday when you're hiking. I like it, eh? It's definitely a unique way to camp, but I'm very keen to keep this up and do a few more like this. Right, now time to get out of here. All right, boys and girls, well, I think it's time to say goodbye. Look, I'm not quite sure about this trip, eh? It's a bit of an interesting one. I don't really know how this video's gonna be turning out, but starting the walk-in at four o'clock yesterday afternoon isn't ideal. Oh, man, yesterday was just an absolute disaster, honestly. Driving around in circles for hours. But look, anyway, it's still a nice night spending out in the bush. It was nice to test out the sort of mods to the swag, and I think this is a pretty good setup. I'm very keen to do a few more trips like this in the future. And yeah, nice little night out in the bush. Even though it was absolutely pouring rain, it's still a very beautiful little bushland to come and spend the night in. So yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed it. Also, I wanna say a big thank you to everyone who watches, eh? Because I think, actually, probably by the time this video's gonna come out, I think I've cracked the 90,000 subscriber mark, which is pretty incredible, eh? I honestly cannot believe there's 90,000 of you guys who actually like to watch me stumble around the bush. That's pretty insane. So yeah, honestly, guys, I cannot thank you enough, eh? From the bottom of my heart, I really do appreciate it. But if you guys haven't subscribed, please do, because I'd love to crack that 100,000 subscriber mark. I'm almost there. I just need a few more people just to hit that button. So if you guys haven't done it, please do. Also, if you guys get some enjoyment out of these videos, you'll love to support the channel. There's a Patreon link, which is in the description below. And yeah, I think that's about it for this trip. So yeah, until next time, guys. Hoo-roo.