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My endless search for pristine wilderness

Below are some journal entries I wrote whilst out camping. I have a sketch book and pencil to help pass the time at night. When there is no electricity and it’s cold out, I usually climb into my tent early, but it takes a few hours to fall asleep, as I am in bed way earlier than I am used to. Having a journal also helps me remember my different adventures, and what I was thinking at the time. Also, reading old entries is basically a form of time travel.

Journal entry

In my search for pristine wilderness, today I arrived at a certain unique river. The whole river is probably only a few kilometers long but is contained entirely within a national park. I walked for two hours, along an overgrown trail, through stunted heath to towering forest. When I arrived at the river the water was like a sheet of black silk weaving and pulsing through the forest. It was swollen from the recent rain and the water was clear but black like tea.

…the water was like a sheet of black silk weaving and pulsing through the forest. It was swollen from the recent rain and the water was clear but black like tea.

I have set up camp in the only space I could find in this crowded forest, a small sand bank right beside the river. I cooked dinner on the fire. The night is still. In between the sound of crickets chirping I can hear the waves of the ocean crashing in the distance. The moon is bright tonight, illuminating me through the thin walls of my leaky tent. The forest surrounding me outside is cramped and dark. 

Random thought

No dessert tonight. Must remember marshmallows or custard and fruitcake next time.


Whilst I am out here no one is telling me what to do. The only routine to follow is the rising and setting of the sun.

Journal entry

Had dinner and climbed into bed early. I’ve got a mad case of the first night jitters. It kind of feels like homesickness. I just want to get up and go home. If I was home right now, I would be bored, trapped into the monotony of working life; this is my escape. Whilst I am out here no one is telling me what to do. The only routine to follow is the rising and setting of the sun. The day is mine and I am its master. Ignore the jitters and go to sleep.

Random thought

We’re all full of fears. Some people are just better than others at pretending they’re not.

Journal entry

It was a decent slog to the river today. All access is via a barbed wire fence signed PRIVATE PROPERTY. How is it that this is the last remaining stretch of this river that is surrounded by intact forest instead of cleared farmland and someone has locked it up all to themselves. I find ownership of land a weird concept. How can you own a river? You can’t own it. You’re just here for a while to look after it to pass onto the next person after you’re gone.

Journal entry

It has been a tough day. I have caught no fish. I’ve not even seen one. It has been raining non-stop. The landscape has been challenging and difficult to traverse and my knee and foot are starting to cause me some pain. My tent is a piece of crap. I can never seem to get the pitch correct. Always leaking when it rains. But it has been worth it just for the landscape alone. The water is crisp, clear and dark. Boulders the size of houses are strewn along the river, like a collection of giant’s marbles. I sat and watched a herd of goats feeding along the river. Goats are quite playful, but also really smelly. One old billy goat had a particularly powerful odour. He had a long shaggy coat that was probably once white, but was now a splotchy shade of beige. He smelt of old breath and stagnant bin juice. Of death, decay and shit all at once. The stink was offending me and all the other forest animals, I think even the fish too. Isn’t nature grand.

My tent is a piece of crap. I can never seem to get the pitch correct. Always leaking when it rains. But it has been worth it just for the landscape alone.


Random thought

Why go camping and fishing? To connect with the universe? To gain insight into self? Following some primal instinct? Or is it just the romance of adventure?

Journal entry

Today I returned to a river I haven’t seen for 12 years. This place made such an impression on my 16-year-old self, that I feel like it influenced much of my life choices afterwards. I was young and impressionable when I first came to this place. I was intrigued by the rainforest and savannah, its beauty, its dangers, the seemingly endless and untamed wilderness captured my imagination. I became addicted to wilderness and adventure, and fly fishing was my vessel to experience these things. Here I am again, 2500km from home, after 12 years, camped on the same sandy bank along this river. It’s like a homecoming. I’m reuniting my dreams with my memories.

Random thought

I can’t believe I like muesli now.

Journal entry

Discovered a small creek today. Following it upstream it was like I had entered into a different world compared to the main river channel.  The forest closed in over the top, creating a shadowy understory; the water clear and fast flowing. Fish were under every log jam and undercut bank. Eager to pounce on any food that floated past. The banks were steep and closed in around me. I have a love addiction with creeks. Not far from the creek I was amazed to discover a large horseshoe lagoon, only 100 metres from where we have been camped, but camouflaged by the tall grass and trees. Teeming with crocodiles no doubt. Back at camp and there is sand and dirt everywhere. On every inch of my body, my sleeping bag, my tent and my food. This is the downside to camping for weeks on end. The plus side is I don’t care at all. 

Random thought

Growing up, you are discovering the world. Every new experience is exciting. Do we ever stop growing up? New experiences become harder to come by.



jonowinnel.com

From the moment I could walk my father dragged me around the countryside fishing, camping and hunting. He took me across Australia, through the desert and from the top to the bottom.  A love and affection for the natural world was soon engrained in me. Unsurprisingly, I am now an obsessed fly fisher, a biologist and completely addicted to exploring new places. The desire to see what’s around the next corner keeps me going and I enjoy documenting and photographing this process. I want to show people the simple beauty in physical places and inspire a love for it.



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