Author Archives: jiarna

It’s interesting growing a garden in Tennant Creek. We gave the wet and dry seasons as we are 500km north of the Tropic of Capricorn. During the dry season, plants need regular watering but the temperature is not high, so it’s manageable. In the much hotter wet season, it is fortunately also wetter, so useContinue reading “Tropical gardening”

Well, I guess it’s about time that I posted something about the 2011 conference in Perth.  It was held on October 11-14 and I think it was the best one yet.  As CRANAplus has grown, the conference organising has more and more become a staff responsibility, with a subsequent improvement in the quality and feelContinue reading “Report on CRANAplus Conference 2011”

I used to think government handouts were a good idea.  After all, we pay taxes so the government can do the job of running the country, and it’s nice to get some money back.  When I was a farmer in the late 1980s, it was useful to get subsidies to help with drought, bushfires andContinue reading “The Nanny State”

This year, the CRANAplus annual conference will be held in Perth.  I submitted a paper “Dealing with uncertainty in clinical practice” which was held in reserve as the organizing committee had more papers than they needed.  This was a good thing, as it wasn’t too long ago that CRANAplus struggled to get enough papers toContinue reading “CRANAplus Conference 2011”

Day 5 Our last day on the island dawned clear and cool.  We got up early as this was to be the longest walk of the hike, about 24km with our packs.  The planned route took us from Central Station to Basin Lake, then Lake MacKenzie, then along an old tramway to the remains ofContinue reading “Hiking on Fraser Island – Day 5”

Day 4 Day 4 of the 5-day hike dawned fine and clear at Lake Wabby Walkers’ Camp.  After breakfast of hot oatmeal porridge, we packed up the camp and stashed the packs in a dingo-proof steel box.  Then it was a short, easy backtrack to the Lake Wabby lookout to view the battle between theContinue reading “Hiking of Fraser Island – Day 4”

Day 3. We awoke early on day 3 because it was time to get ourselves organised enough to set up camp in daylight.  This meant we needed to break camp in the morning, have breakfast, and set off by 0800. The motivator was an ooportunity to detour 6.5km from our trail to see the largestContinue reading “Hiking on Fraser Island – Day 3”

Day 2.  We awoke at 0700 to find our campsite wet with rain.  It must have been a good sleep, because I never noticed the rain on my hiking tent overnight!  Everything except the tent flies kept dry.  The food was locked in a steel box to keep it away from dingoes and goannas, andContinue reading “Hiking on Fraser Island – Day 2”

In early July 2011, I spent 5 days hiking on Fraser Island accompanied by two of my three daughters.  Laura (15) and Claire (11) donned their backpacks and camping gear for our first major hiking trip together. In April, we hiked two sections of the Larapinta Trail near Alice Springs as a warm-up, but thisContinue reading “Hiking on Fraser Island – Day 1”

Over the long weekend at the end of July, the Harts Range Amateur Race Club hold their annual race day at their race course near Harts Range on the Plenty Highway.  It is a family weekend, with events and entertainment for children and adults.  Catering is a mix of BYO and a canteen kitchen usuallyContinue reading “Harts Range Races”