Outdoor Magazine

the amazon, ablaze

WARNINGS ABOUT the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest have been doing the rounds for decades. I can remember frightening statistics routinely trotted out by teachers and text-books in the 80s: “the Amazon is losing an area the equivalent of an MCG every 10 seconds”, or something of equal mind-bending scariness. And now, with the election of a new regime in Brazil, after years of corruption by the mob he ousted, the new President Jair Bolsonaro is seemingly emboldened to enact land clearing policies that have re-awakened everyone’s childhood fears of Amazon deforestation. It’s tempting to think, “here we go again, another issue to get our knickers in a twist about”, but isn’t it just another part of the same problem? Ineffectual and useless leaders aided by a toothless and completely defanged media?…

our peregrinating pensmiths

CATHERINE LAWSON Journalist, editor, author and adventurer Catherine Lawson travels full-time with photographer-partner David Bristow and their daughter Maya. Captivated by wild places and passionate about their preservation, these two storytellers advocate a simple life and document their outdoor adventures to inspire all travellers, but especially families. JARROD RAWLINS Jarrod works as senior curator of the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Tasmania. During his time off he likes to chase beauty elsewhere, not in art, but in nature. For him that means venturing out into the snowy, wild Tasmanian winter, whether that’s Frenchmans Cap or the Overland Track – sometimes against his better judgment. MEGAN HOLBECK Megan is a Sydney-based writer constantly trying to squeeze adventure into her life. Currently her escapes are bite-sized – ocean swimming, camping, sailing, trail running and…

outdoor magazine

Editorial Editor Aaron Flanagan Deputy Editor Sam Richards Senior Designer Janina Roque Production Manager Danielle Beadman Contributors Ash Gray, Richard Bowles, Bel Smith, Catherine Lawson, David Bristow, Jarrod Rawlins, Megan Holbeck, Jack Phillips, Matt Williams Digital Marketing marketing@emprisegroup.com.au Head of Marketing Lauren Grigg - 0436 407 493 lgrigg@emprisegroup.com.au Digital Marketing Executive Shilpa Balakrishnan sbalakrishnan@emprisegroup.com.au Marketing Coordinator Rebecca Lamplugh rlamplugh@emprisegroup.com.au Marketing Coordinator Craig Gonsalves cgonsalves@emprisegroup.com.au Marketing Coordinator Will Hayward whayward@emprisegroup.com.au Advertising Enquiries sales@emprisegroup.com.au www.emprisegroup.com.au Head of Partnerships VIC/SA Christopher Jefferson - 0477 775 020 cjefferson@emprisegroup.com.au NSW - Serena Prasad - 0429 489 615 sprasad@emprisegroup.com.au Danielle Gowan - 0435 065 325 dgowan@emprisegroup.com.au QLD - Heath Parry - 0412 957 475 hparry@emprisegroup.com.au WA - Ian Glyde - 0447 318 114 iglyde@emprisegroup.com.au Private Advertising www.tradervs.com.au/sell Customer Support support@emprisegroup.com.au Executive Group Chief Executive Officer Robert Gallagher rgallagher@emprisegroup.com.au Chief Financial Officer Matthew O,Meara momeara@emprisegroup.com.au…

when a national park isn’t a national park

One fine July day, a group of us are setting off on a day walk in the Scottish Highlands, not too far from the Queen’s holiday home, Balmoral Castle, over the windswept moors of the Cairngorms. Clouds zoom across the sky, sending spotlights of sunshine careening across the scrubby, calf-high heath and illuminating the mosaic of the moor: swathes of brilliant purple flowers, grey charred vegetation and the verdancy typical of new growth. This patchwork is crafted by farmers, whose burning practices encourage new heath to grow, as well as plants that provide food for red grouse, deer and flocks of sheep that dwell on the moors. Huffing and puffing up the tallest hill of our walk, I drag my eyes away from the vista to spot a dead mole lying in…

eat my dust, winter

People are goldfish when it comes to recalling previous winters. Personally, I’m flabbergasted by the shortness of the days each and every year. I can picture Earth rotating around the sun on its titled axis, so I ought to lift my game. Perhaps my annual shock is down to the scale of the change. In Melbourne, on the summer solstice, the sun rises at 5:55am and sets at 8:40pm, affording 14 hours and 45 minutes of daylight. Compare that to the winter solstice, when the sun rises at 7:36am and sets at 5:07pm, affording nine and a half hours. That’s a staggering loss of five hours and 15 minutes of daylight, or 33 per cent. In Tas, the discrepancy is more extreme; whereas up north, changes are less dramatic. Oh how…

an adventure you can feel good about

“My partner and I got married at the boatshed out the front of Pinetrees Lodge 13 years ago,” owner of the lodge, Luke Hanson, tells Outdoor. “At that time, in between the boatshed and the beach there was eight metres of sand dunes. Now, that’s all eroded away. One day we might lose this iconic building, purely because of coastal erosion. We would argue it’s climate change induced. We feel, like a lot of other islands and coastal regions, that we’re right at the coalface of the issue.” Immediately, I can tell – from the passion in Luke’s voice and the way in which environmental issues like this one personally affect him and his fellow islanders – that the ecologically-inspired initiatives he is on the cusp of sharing with me come straight…