Now I know it's very pleasant sitting around a small fire or a "chuffer" chewing the fat and putting the world to rights, but why do some morons have to get so carried away and build bonfires bigger than Ben Hur ?
Just over nighted at Nerren Nerren rest area in NW WA and two camper trailers came in and proceeded to harvest every bush, branch or small tree within cooee of their camp, then lit the biggest fire which was at times a little scary, even from a few hundred meters away ! plus as most of the wood was still green and growing the smoke to became a problem too.
Best bit was it lasted about 40mins because of its size and whatever excelerant they used to get it going !
What is it with these idiots, is it just because they can and they know that in a remote spot they will never be challenged for their stupidity.
Lately seeing so much of like actions I lose faith in the future human race.
Makes it very hard for following campers to find a few sticks to boil a kettle.
I too like to have a fire on a cool night but part of the enjoyment is sitting close & poking & prodding the coals. You just can't do that with a huge bonfire that you can't get within 15 feet of without losing what's left of ones hair.
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Neil & Lynne
Pinjarra
Western Australia
MY23.5 Ford Wildtrak V6 Dual Cab / 21' Silverline 21-65.3
A while back we camped at Fitzroy Falls in Morton National Park NSW. We were completely by ourselves until someone turned up on a very hot windy day. Early that evening they lit a huge bonfire which had flames 10ft high at times. At 9pm they threw a massive amount of wood on the fire & retired to bed. We stayed up until 2am the next morning watching it finally burn down to a safe condition. They packed up next day & left it still smouldering, it took 2 days to go out. IDIOTS!
We can't understand why some travellers have to light a fire everywhere they camp, even in hot weather. Some of them jump out of their vehicle on arrival & start hacking into the bush before setting up camp. WHY?
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Cheers Keith
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts, of beauty rich & rare. We'll be out there enjoying it somewhere, camped by ourselves much of the time.
I agree with all of you, concerning inconsiderate travellers.
I must have been born lucky, or not travelled enough. I have not come across other genuine travellers, who did not show cooperation and consideration to others.
I did talk to some people once at Uralla Fossicking Area rest camp, because it was summer, (in the West there is normally a total fire ban in summer), not realising that NSW has a day to day fire ban, which changes with the weather.
After explaining to me that they were allowed to have a fire, while piling up enough wood for a bonfire
I explained to them, that the large bonfire they had piled up, and planned to ignite, would result in many unhappy and irate campers, if the sparks landed on their vehicles, the people in question, cooperated by having a small normal fire
I have also stopped at Nerren Nerren rest area. IIRC the last time I was there, it had been upgraded from a normal cleared bush area, (soggy in the wet), with a few small fireplaces, to a hardstand gravel area
I hope that the bonfire was not on the hardstand
Tongue in cheek
let us hope that the people in question, were townies (scared of the dark), and that they do not venture out from their lighted environment, very often
We like to have a fire like most campers, and I hate to see ashes and crap left by stupid people . it makes my blood boil,I cut a stainless steel 9 gallon keg in two and drilled air holes around the side , welded four nuts on the bottom of it , and made four llegs that screw into it.
Its smaller than the typical gas bottle ,its light and it does not rust , there's a catch plate that fits under it ,
When the ash dries out you can put the ash in a bag to dump it.
The fire was in the bush to the North of the hard standing, what irked me more than anything was their indiscriminate destruction of growing bush, not dead wood but actual green shrubbery, which by just the nature of the lack of regular rain in this area, struggles to grow.
These morons were committing environmental vandalism, and no I'm not a tree hugging greenie, just a concerned witness to thoughtless idiots.
If a fire is your thing, and yes I too have enjoyed a pleasant hour around my chuffer, bring in some wood or collect the dead stuff lying along the roadsides, don't chop down growing stuff.
I also like the way our campers light there fire almost anywhere a few feet away from where the last camper lite his fire. Not real clever as they leave burnt patches all over the camping reserves. Some of the more popular sites it hard to park your van and pull your awning out with out standing a patch of ash.
What is so annoying is that many free camping areas have dedicated fire pits for the firies to use for their evening fire, but so many decide to light up somewhere else and we end up with the problem that Radar points to - as well as potential bush fires.
We last saw stupid firies on the way across the Nullaboor. These 4 young people pulled in to the free camp area (on the SA side) and while still light, proceeded to break off green branches from the few scrub trees left by others. I wandered over and found out they were from Denmark (backpackers) and they had been doing this from the time they arrived in Sydney ! I pleasantly explained to them that we live in an arid country and most cherish our bush and certainly don't break it down to attempt to light a fire with green wood. They got the message and we had a few drinks to ensure that didn't think I was just a grumpy old prick (and the 2 young ladies were very attractive lol). When I asked them how they had managed to get green wood to burn, they explained they poured petrol over the fire and threw a match on it and then just sat round the side of the fire that wasn't blowing off smoke. Hopefully, they didn't destroy any more living flora or cause any bush fires
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
We like to have a fire like most campers, and I hate to see ashes and crap left by stupid people . it makes my blood boil,I cut a stainless steel 9 gallon keg in two and drilled air holes around the side , welded four nuts on the bottom of it , and made four llegs that screw into it.
Its smaller than the typical gas bottle ,its light and it does not rust , there's a catch plate that fits under it ,
When the ash dries out you can put the ash in a bag to dump it.
I can make one for $2000
If someone wanted you to make one, does the 9g keg need to be supplied full?
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
Well , I have to say I'm a firie . Not a bon firie it has to be said but within reason I'll have a camp fire at every opportunity .
Dont see the problem myself . Sure , dont inconvenience others and stay within fire regulations , but otherwise there is nothing better than an open campfire .
I don't think even that tempting offer would be good enough Troopy .
P/s the fire that is contained in a medium sized container has one huge advantage over the ground fire , you dont have to burn as much timber , so you don't have to find as much,or carry as much timber, which can save you a lot of mucking around especially when it's hard to find ....
-- Edited by Ron-D on Tuesday 3rd of May 2016 06:06:16 PM
Love a camp fire and will attempt to have one every night, summer or winter, (if permitted), however we responsibly DO NOT take any wood from anywhere near camp sites, and certainly not living wood, and always try to re-use an existing fire site. Usually I dig a fresh hole 300x300 x200mm and transfer and bury the old surface ash. At a depth of a 100mm or so you reach the unburnt charcoal left at the bottom by the previous camper. Perfect base from which to quickly gain some nice glowing coals in your fire for cooking etc.
We carry an old piece of hard wearing loop pile grey carpet approx. 1 meter by 2 meters. It serves two purposes.
1, it is our door mat and we never have to worry about mud or sand in the van. Wipe the feet thoroughly at every entry regardless of what might be stuck to your footwear. When we move on we give it a good beating with the hand and roll it. If it gets muddy we hose it. If it get really frayed and worn out we bin it and get hold of another offcut/scrap of carpet (best is it is free).
2, when driving to our next stop and we are within 50km of stopping we pull over if safe on spotting a dead/burnt/fallen tree on the side of the road, (and when you really look they are everywhere). Broken pieces approx. 1 - 1.5 meters long and 100mm thick are wrapped up in our door mat retrieved from the tug boot and with a couple heavy occy straps we bungy it to the draw bar. There is our wood supply for a couple of nights, simple.
Oh and we reuse collected tourist brochures and pamphlets as kindling and I use one Little Lucifer brand tea-bag sized firelighters, individually wrapped and no stink or smelly fingers. You chuck them in the bottom of a drawer and when used you just light the wrapper and toss it in the kindling. Coles and Woolies have them often on special for $2 for a 20 or even a 50 pack.
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-- Edited by Hylife on Wednesday 4th of May 2016 09:43:24 PM
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