I'm not doing things like other people do, I don't often go fishing or doing BBQ in Summer but rather start doing it in Autumn and Winter. In Summer time, there are too many fishermen on the wharves and the water is crowded with boats and jetskis. From Autumn, the crowd is thinning because the weather is colder but the fishes have been fed by Summer fishos and are bigger, yay!
This year I wanted to try crabbing, in our area, we are not allowed to use any type of crab traps so the only way is to use a hand line at the end of which you attach the bait. You leave the bait for 10-30 minutes and slowly pull it back to see if a crab is holding on to it.
So on that day, San and I took our kayaks and went to a local crabbing spot and stopped at a secluded beach to have our lunch.
It's not easy! Our landing net was too short and we ended up spooking crabs before we can even scoop them up. After failure upon failure, we ended up returning home but on the way back to the launch point, I managed to get a Flathead for dinner.
After packing up the gears in the car, San wanted to play a little bit on the sand and I did some rock balancing while waiting for him.
During our trip to Vietnam at the beginning of the year, a big branch fell down in front of our house. We left it there for months before I finally decided to chop it into pieces and keep the wood for fire. San loves handling the hatchet and helped me get the job done. He was exhausted at the end.
But it was worth the effort when at night we can make our little fire in the homemade fire pit
We often start or end our BBQ with marshmallow roasting, what a treat!
Mean while, my wife prepares the ingredient in the kitchen before giving them to me for cooking them on the fire.
The fish was delicious with crispy skin. As it was chilly that night, so I burned some wood in the Chiminea for extra heat.
San saw people cooking stuffs in a Billy pot when going camping and wanted to do the same. But today is Anzac day and the camping stores are closed. So I decided to make my own Billy using an empty baby milk powder can and some aluminium wire.
The Billy is held by some branches I cut in the backyard. The main branch was held in place by sticking it in one of the holes in the bricks that compose the fire pit. The other end is cut at an angle and I made a little indentation for the next branch to sit in.
A second shorter branch, which will actually hold the Billy pot has a little hook (branch forking out) at the bottom and on its length, I've cut three notches at about two inches apart. These notches allow me to adjust the height of the Billy above the fire.
That short branch is then suspended against the first branch and the Billy is then hooked at the bottom. The weight of the Billy is enough to keep things in place.
Here is a video explaining it better than my description above. The way I cut my notches are slightly different from him but the concept is the same:
San and I will do some breakfast one morning and I will post some photos of the Billy pot in use.
That is our bushcraft at home experience 😅
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