FINDING NIRVANA _ Traditional Aussie Swag Camp.

Man, this is such a beautiful place, eh? It's just so pretty. Well, G'day Legends, hope you guys are doing well. So I decided to ditch the old backpack this weekend and chuck on the good old swag. It's the first time I'm doing one of these traditional swagging trips, so yeah, keen to see how it goes. So I've come to this really beautiful spot. Let's have a look at it, eh? It's absolutely gorgeous. Giant river oaks, this really beautiful river just sort of meandering its way through, and we're at the start of spring as well now, so beautiful weather. So I'm really going to enjoy this weekend. So how about we just make our way up a little bit further, trying to find a nice place to set up camp for the night, and then I'll go through a rundown of what I've got inside the swag and how I've got it set up. All right, well I think I've found camp for tonight. Looks like a pretty good spot. Let's get the swag off. Man, the old shoulder, that is pretty sore. Man, what a spot, hey? This is very nice, nice and tranquil. I think we'll do very well for tonight. Yeah, so quite a nice spot here. I was actually struggling a little bit trying to find a good campsite, so I've looked down that way, and although it looks nice and grassy and clear, it's in a bit of a ditch, and so it's quite wet and moist, and also it's quite uneven, the ground, so not really a good option to camp on. Also, just up here, you've got the ridge and the hill, and it's quite sloped, so you can't really camp up amongst the gum trees. And as it starts to flatten out down here, there's quite a lot of flood debris and a lot of lamandra and plants around, and also the ground's quite uneven. So it's actually quite difficult trying to find a big enough site that's open and clear, so although I don't really like to camp this close to a river, it's probably going to be my best bet. There's not meant to be any forecast of rain tonight. Tomorrow night's meant to be quite wet, but no rain tonight, so I think it should do me just fine. All right, so for those of you guys from overseas and wondering what the hell a swag is, this is a swag. Basically, a swag is a very iconic and traditional way to go camping in Australia, dates back to the 1800s, when people were sort of moving around the country looking for work, which is also known as on the wallaby track, when you sort of go out looking for work. They would, yeah, always carry a swag on their back. And so a swag is essentially just a canvas bedroll or a canvas tarp or sheet that they would sleep in at nighttime, and then in the morning, they'll roll it out. They'll have all their bedding inside of it, as well as their clothes and any other gear that they don't need access throughout the day. They'll keep that inside the bedroll, and they roll that up and then have a leather strap on the back. And you also have a dilly bag attached. Although I do have the dilly bag attached how it's traditionally attached, you should have it slung over your shoulder. I've just got it attached to the swag, which is not correct. I'm definitely going to be playing around with this setup. But the idea is you have a dilly bag over the front of your shoulder, which will keep your food and any other bits and pieces that you want access through throughout the day. And that's going to be one third of your weight at the front of you, and then the swag will be two thirds of your weight at the back. A really nice, well-balanced way to carry your load and actually walk standing upright rather than hunched over. A few other little interesting facts about the swag is you might have heard the song Waltzing Matilda. I'm sure every Aussie has heard that song, but if you're from overseas, definitely google Waltzing Matilda. It's pretty much the unofficial Australian anthem. But basically, Matilda is also another name for a swag, and waltzing just means to go out on foot. So waltzing Matilda just means to go out on foot with your swag. Another name for the swag is bluey. So you might have heard the term humping bluey. So humping just means to go out on foot as well. And bluey because inside the traditional swags, they would have a blue woolen blanket inside. And so that's how the swag got the name bluey as well. So quite an interesting history in the swag, and I'm definitely keen to try and do a few more trips. I've definitely got a few things I've got to tweak with it just to carry the load better. But it's a really nice way to go camping, just trying to go back to our roots. So I think I'll definitely try and do a bit more in the future. But how about we roll this out and we'll go through all the contents inside of it. All right, so to start with, I'll just show you what I'm carrying on my person. So I've just got my bushcraft knife and just my ferro rod, which I got from Core Knife and Tool. So I've just got that on me. And then I was carrying my billy as well. So inside my billy, I've got all my food. So it's a pretty handy way to carry your food. And now I want to get a haversack, but in the meantime, I've just got this bum bag that I got when I was in Brazil. Just before I went to Burning Man, I got this. So inside here, I've just got my water bottle and just my GPS as well. And then as for the swag, I've just got my bandana on the outside. And here I've just got my dilly bag. Oh, if I can get this bloody knot open. All right, and then just inside this dilly bag, just got a little first aid kit. Oh, GPS. So I thought my GPS was in here, but actually I've got another lens in there. I forgot. So I've got my GPS here. Yeah, just my spice kit, just some gin and tonic and a head torch as well. And as for the swag, so this leather strap, I got from a bloke who goes by the name of Howling Dingo on Instagram and on Etsy. He makes some really nice leather products in Australia. So worth checking them out. So on the outside, I've just got my titanium fry pan. So just in this first fold, just got a little chopping board, just with my enamel plate. I told you guys a story about the other week when I was in the Piligar. So I've got a little, yeah, hand net here just because I wasn't sure if you'd get some yabbies in this river. So I thought I'd bring this along with a little can of tuna. If I get some time, I might just try and chuck it out and see if I get any yabbies. But I don't know if, yeah, well, I think it's a little bit too early in the season. It's still what, just the first, it's like the 3rd of September at the moment. So quite early. So it's probably gonna be a little bit too cold for him, but we'll see how we go. Just a little hip flask with some musket in it. Yeah, so then, yeah, like I was saying, in here, I've just got some of my clothes. So I've just got a shemagh with my, what do you call them? Thermals, just to wear when I'm sleeping. A flannel and also a dryzer bone as well. So like I was saying, tomorrow is meant to have a bit of rain. So I might need that while I'm hiking out tomorrow. And then in here, I've just got some little bits of rope, some cordage, my flint and steel kit. I've got just a silky gomboi saw. Just my washing up and your scourer and a few other bits and pieces. Now I've got a tarp also. This is actually hoochie. So like I said, it's not meant to rain tonight. There's no real trees I can really tie off to. So I'm not gonna probably bother with this. I'll see how it goes. But I don't think I'll bother putting up a tarp but a tarp's always good to bring because even though this is essentially waterproof, you can just sleep in this in the rain. It's not that comfortable because every time you try and want to get in and out, you're just gonna get everything wet. So it's always good to carry a tarp with you so you can string that up above you and then sleep underneath the tarp in the swag. And then I've just got my little pouch that's got all my other bits and pieces like water filters and stuff like that. So yeah, my little speaker. But yeah, and then inside here, I've got an inflatable pillow just with my quilt and then just an inflatable mat as well. Actually, I forgot to even mention what swag this is. So this is actually by a brand called Winchester. They're a UK brand which is, I know a lot of you guys think it's a bit sacrilegious to have a UK swag but I saw it cheap on eBay. These are usually about $900 and I saw it on eBay for like, I saw Gumtree for about 350 bucks or something. So I was gonna jump it. I've been looking at it for a while so I jumped at the opportunity and yeah, I really like it, it's good. It actually doubles as a hammock. It's got these little slits back here that you can put a stick through and tie it to a tree and actually use it as a hammock which is pretty cool. I haven't done that yet but yeah. So anyway, that's the bedroll. I'll get this set up and get this all tied up but yeah, pretty nice and simple way to camp. You basically just roll it out and your bed's done. That's the beauty about swags. So it's got this little hoop just to keep the material off your face. Then on the side here, they've just got these little pins that you just put that in and yeah, so that's done. Nice and simple, eh? Man, this is such a beautiful place, eh? It's just so pretty. It's just that light. It's just like dappled through the water and through the trees. Oh man, so nice. It's one of those places where you can just sit down and do absolutely nothing and be content. I've seen a fair few animals today as well. Seen a couple of dozen kangaroos. Heaps of kangaroos around. Saw an echidna before. Lots of birds out. Man, what a nice day to be out here. All right, we'll use this dried up lemandra to get the fire started. Now always remember, watch out for snakes when you're sticking your hands inside of a bush. All of this dried up grass here, so that should also do to help get the fire started. Try not to get any damp bits. All right, so I've got about an hour or so until it gets dark. So I figured I might just chuck the net in with some tuna and see if we can catch ourselves a yabby. Like I said before, I'm not that hopeful just because it's still quite cold and from what I read, yabbies don't really come out until the warmer months. But I figured why not just give it a crack anyway. So what I'm going to do is I'm actually just going to put a few punctures in this, place that inside the bottom. Sorry, place that inside the net and then tape the handle to this stick. And the idea is I'll just let that sit out in the water and hopefully the yabbies come up and then I can just lift that up and hopefully scoop them up. So we'll see how we go. And that water is very cold. So I'm very doubtful that the yabbies are going to be awake just yet this early in the season. But we'll leave it there for a little bit and see how we go. All right, so I'm going to be cooking pasta tonight. So I'm just going to get some water. Now, rather than filtering it with my other filter, I thought I'd bring along my Milbank bag. And so for those who haven't seen or know what a Milbank bag is, it's basically an old school way to filter water. So what you do is you submerge the bag, let it soak through. So once the bag is soaked, then just scoop up some water. Now, just wait a few moments so all the water on the outside of the bag drips off. And what this bag is doing is just getting rid of any sediment or particles in there. So you still have to boil the water, obviously, but this just removes any sediment. So you can either just tie this up to a tree or you just hold it. It only takes a few moments. So if you've got a fire going, you're just sitting around camp, this is a good way to filter large quantities of water. All right, sweet. So that's enough water for the pasta. So we'll get the fire going soon and then we'll get this on. All right, so I'm going to have the fire about here. And then I've got these little wire sticks to drive into the ground. So that way I can hang the pot over the fire. So what I'm going to do first is just scrape away some of this topsoil and I'll keep that aside. So that way tomorrow, once I put the fire out and scatter the ashes, I can put that topsoil back on. I've also got a little patch of grass here that I'll pop back over it tomorrow. No lock in the Abbey front. All right, so I'll just get out my flint and steel, some charcloth. Now, when I was up in the bush just before, I came across some quartz. Now, in Australia, flint is quite rare. I'm pretty sure from what I've read, there's only one place in South Australia where you can get flint from. But quartz, you can find pretty much anywhere, at least around Sydney at least. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to give the old quartz a go tonight and see if we can get a spark from it. Man, those frogs are pretty noisy, eh? There we go. All right, time for a gin and tonic. Oh yeah. Man, those frogs are that loud. It's definitely going to make for an interesting night's sleep. But anyway, cheers guys. Oh, that is too bloody good. So tasty. So I've got the Young Henry's gin tonight. I haven't had it for ages, eh? But it's actually the gin that got me into gin in the first place. And I saw it on the shelves yesterday, so I thought I'd grab it. And man, it's such a good drop. If you guys out there like your gin, then definitely I want you to check that one out. Man, what a spot, eh? I think I definitely locked out with this one today. Such a beautiful area. So nice and tranquil, eh? Even with the noisy frogs, it's such a beautiful spot. Just having that stream just beside you. And these beautiful river oaks, eh? Oh, I absolutely love camping amongst river oaks or kasserinas. Just adds such a nice vibe, especially in the afternoon light when you just get that nice dappled light along the bank and on the water. Man, you can't beat it, eh? But anyway, I think it's about time we get some grub on pretty soon. So I need a pretty decent bed of coals. And for tonight, I've got the Scotty Special. I've got my signature pasta dish, which I absolutely love. So yeah, very keen to get that on. All right, so first up, we'll chuck the billy on and we'll get the water boiled up. All right, so for the Scotty Special pasta, we've just got the spaghetti here, some mushrooms, sweet potato. Some broccolini, some garlic, some olive oil, got some parmesan cheese, and then some butter. So it's a very simple pasta. It's not the super saucy pasta. The butter is basically the sauce. So super tasty. So very keen to get this on. So first up is we'll chop up the sweet potato. Just chop up the broccolini. Oh, he's a nasty looking spider. I'm not quite sure what spider that is. It's a pretty decent size as well. Oh, come on, mate, shoot. That is the worst place to stop. Come on, mate, bugger off. I bet, yeah, he'd go somewhere else, eh? All right, so this is what camping in Australia is like, guys. I'll just add the garlic. There's always a good dollop of butter. Let's taste the pasta. Yep, yeah, it's good now. Take that off. All right, I'm just going to add the remaining butter. Just let that melt down. Now I'm just going to add the pasta to it. Obviously, you could add meat to this if you wanted to, but I tend to keep it just as veggies. I've just got some parmesan cheese here. Just sprinkle some of that on. So yeah, there you have it, the old Scotty's special pasta. I am so keen for this, so let's dig in. I'm not going to lie, that spider kind of spooked me out a bit. I'm a bit reluctant to sit down on the ground, considering he crawled right into the firewood pile behind me. But it's all part of being out in the bush, eh? Oh, I am so keen for this. Honestly, such a nice dinner, eh? Very simple, very quick. Definitely recommend you guys trying it out. Maybe some pine nuts would be nice with it. All right, well, I'm going to devour this, eh? So let's call it quits for tonight. Fingers crossed I don't get bitten by a spider in the meantime, and I'll see you guys in the morning. All right, so I've just got some avocado on toast here, and here I've just got some goat's cheese. I'll just sprinkle that on. Just from a Swaggy's pantry, just grab some salt. I'm just going to put a little drizzle of balsamic glaze. Just chuck the bacon on. I don't usually have bacon for breakfast, so this is a bit of a treat for me. If you don't want to put bacon on, mushrooms is a really good alternative. And lastly, we'll just top it off with some green stuff. So it's got some rocket here. Oh, there you go. Looks pretty damn tasty. All right, so I'll start off by just folding that end in a little bit, and I'll either dry the bone down, followed by my shemagh, my fano. I can just grab my other little bits and pieces, just tuck them in there. Now, the trick is trying to keep it nice and tight. Keep those edges folded in. Now, when rolling off the swag, it's all in the knees, eh? Try and sort of move forward with your knees to try and keep it nice and compressed. Then the top end, just fold that corner in as well. Try and squeeze all the air out. I'll just chuck these other larger items just in that last fold. There we go. All right, legends, probably about time we wrap this one up. Got some pretty dark clouds moving in, and I can already start to feel the rain. It's meant to get really heavy today. It'll be nice to try and get out of here before it starts bucketing down. So yeah, on that note, I want to say a big thanks to all you guys watching. Hope you guys enjoyed this one. I had an absolute ripper of a time, eh? Such a beautiful place to come and camp, and it was really nice to sort of mix it up with the swag this trip. Definitely keen to do a few more swag trips in the future. But yeah, if you guys enjoyed this video and you haven't subscribed already, I'd love for you guys to subscribe. I'd love to try and crack the 100k by the end of the year, so hopefully you guys can help me out. And also, if you guys find some enjoyment in these videos and you'd love to support the channel, there's a Patreon link in the description below as well, so I'd love for you guys to check that out. So yeah, anyway, on that note, let's wrap this one up, and I'll see you guys in the next one. Hoo-roo!