Sounds interesting, seeing as I work just up the road I will probably pop in and check it out at lunch.

Rather than 'apply' a cream or similar, I'd look to be fixing it internally with an antihistamine if it gets really bad and won't go away. As Eve says, it can probably be put down to increased blood flow at that particular hour of the morning and will likely ease as your body clock adjusts. I'd definitely be taking some antihistamines with you…[Read more]

As Eve says above, you need to be very much up front with yourself and your Doctor and ask them to give you the brutal, honest truth.As someone who has been diagnosed myself, I know the process that one must go through in order to determine specific degrees of asthma. If you have medium to severe asthma, I would suggest you forget about embarking…[Read more]

I just read about it here.So sad. Condolences to the family.

Sounds like a nice, cruisy training walk! I'm going to get out and go for a few walks for training also, but it looks like my first 'walk' is a three day circuit from Perrys to Lockleys and back!

A quick note about carrying stuff on the outside of your packs (poles, sandals etc) is that anything that swings can make your life a little harder when you walk as the inertia tends to mean you over-rotate when walking. This doesn't sound like a lot when walking a short distance or over flat ground etc, but when you are at the point of…[Read more]

Wow You're at the opposite end of the spectrum to my trekking partner and I – we travel light. Meaning we'll be doing Kokoda with a grand total of around 12kg of gear each including water!With that said though, there is no 'wrong' way of doing things, we just like to rough it. No sleeping mats or deodorant and very minimal spares of anything.…[Read more]

I'm thinking of doing it with my girlfriend for kicks. 25k's isn't that long. Will most likely head off from Milson's Point I'd say due to it being the closest one to where we live.

Hi all,Just wanted to respond and say that we did the trek last weekend. My partner and I overloaded our packs (mine by two and a half times!) to 20kg and 25kg and managed to walk it without too much of an issue, although the uphill at Perry's at the end of the day was a fair struggle for me (all those damn stairs!) and took me about half an hour…[Read more]

If it was me, I'd be doing longer but less intensive training in the mean time. So go for a long walk as opposed to doing a run. Those little muscles will fix themselves, and so long as you haven't done yourself any lasting damage it will heal up on its own. With regards to pulled muscles, you should ease off on the stretching of the affected…[Read more]

Re smarttraveller.org, register whenever is convenient for you. I've made plenty of OS trips and they really only want to know the dates that you will be out of the country and which country/countries you will be travelling to so that they can find you in case of an emergency. So you can register 12 months out, or the day before. Whatever works…[Read more]

He sure looks satisfied! Haha

Tom – Yeah I know that it is a single night only camp site, but often those places are fine with multiple consecutive nights so long as each day you pack up and move off the site itself, thus allowing anyone else who comes along to take your spot. I'll give the Park a call and check with them before we go though.Peter – I think we'll go with our…[Read more]

Thanks for the confirmation guys, the only down side is the lack of fresh water at the campsite. I'm currently thinking that I'll get a water tank, fill it with fresh water (probably about 40L worth?) and stick it in the back of the car which I can park near the camp site. That way we have a source to refill each night and a place to ditch food.…[Read more]

I think the local site does a double deal with 2 pairs for $130 or something along those lines. A quick search ought to confirm though.

Ah! I've seen these on eBay and had thought about asking around about them.They're available locally for around $65-$80 a pair or internationally (from the US) for around $40 a pair including postage. Some links below:LocalInternational

Thanks for all the help guys, I'm pushing myself to my absolute limit at present with training and I can feel myself get fitter with each passing day – phew!Looks like I'll be buying trekking poles then. With this in mind, I'm of the opinion that one ought to do the trick (assuming I buy a decent one) and I like the thought of having at least one…[Read more]

Ah ok. Thanks for that Netties.Re gaiters, I figured as much. But thanks for confirming Mrs Moo.

Thanks for the replies guys! Will be going to pick up my pack from Anaconda this weekend, it looks like they've got a 20% off sale on Deuter's.Also, thanks for the advice on the poles. Will see if I can borrow one for a trek and see how I go before we leave, but at this point I think I'll do without. Although 39thdecendent's point on getting…[Read more]