The Island life

Back once again in Fiji, jewel of the pacific. and i have to say its absolutely stunning as always. Im based for the next 6 weeks on Drawaqa island, aka Barefoot island in the Yasawa chain of islands. over the nest coming weeks i will be helping prune the trees and palms,planting lots, outlining the safety for the abseiling station and doing a lot of scuba diving. This island is a marine sanctuary and has coral reef like I've never seen before, its a whole multicoloured world just teeming with life. I find the similarities to the arboreal world unreal, each type of coral is unique, many have tree like shapes and all house their own specific species of coral life. sound similar to trees? Its a also a world that is unseen by most- tree climbers/arborists see the canopies and scuba divers/freediver's so the depths. It is indeed a privilege to delve into this world, both worlds, as both a scuba diver and tree climber. Could i swap one for the other? no chance, both compliment each other, they take a level of skill to do safely, a calm head to enjoy them and despite being similar are also opposite for obvious reasons.  I also have to acknowledge how much a back seat my climbing has to take on such an island but wherever i look i see the glorious coral just metres away.
 Im looking forward over the new year to learning more about the coral reef, looking after the clams, reintroducing some hawksbill turtles we have been given, getting attuned to island life:its has its pros and cons- nothing can be wasted, you have to be resourceful, if you run out of something thats it, you've run out, and getting used to a slower way of life but also seeing the demands and strains that tourism puts on a small community of staff. seeing behind the scenes definitely changes your ideals of tourism. When the island has no freshwater and relies on a desalination plant-stress levels rise when it stops working!!! but you learn to stop, make a plan and fix the problem, stomping your feet about it will not help.
 But anyway, its time for a swim and then a cold beer. Vinaka :)

Spending the night sleeping in the Canopy

Being able to spend the night comfortably sleeping high up in a tree is one of life's great experiences. Waking up as the sun hits your face, the rustle of leaves and hearing the birds calling is a pretty special thing but what are the options for doing this-and whats the best one to travel with.
Possibly the most common 'tree bed' is the New Tribe TreeBoat but I'm going to say straight away that I'm 6ft 2 and i find it incredibly uncomfortable. I generally sleep on my side and the NewTribe creates a distinct bend in you back that makes this impossible. Its huge plus is that its reasonably small to transport. It is also a sole one person design. It is suspended hammock style, so needs 2 points of attachment at equal level for it to be used. options include mosquito cover and rain fly.
 The next level of tree beds are the Portaledge's.  PL's come from a few different manufacturers but all follow the same similar design invented by big wall rock climbers. I have PL's by Black Diamond equipment and Metolius climbing. Both are great items but they each have their own pro's and con's. It has to be said that neither pack down small, neither are cheap, neither are lightweight and if using the double version (mine are all doubles) then be prepared to get too know your climbing partner well!! Both (and all PL's) are suspended from one point of attachment and have a completely flat floor that enables you to sleep on your side or back. A totally separate storm proof fly is available for most models. Travelling with portaledges can be a pain due to the size as you get hit with excess luggage charge's due to length (over 1.5m i think) but there is extra room in the bag that you can then cram with extra gear-clouds and silver linings.....
 Setting up the PL can be a lesson in frustration and its definitely advisable to practice setting them up a few times at ground level before doing it at height, i'll sometimes, when practical, still assemble totally on the ground and then lift the PL up into position-lazy but easy. Once it has been setup a few times though, the fabric stretches and the whole task becomes a 5 min process.
Can i decide which PL I prefer between the Black Diamond and Metolius? not really. The BD is a tad bigger but a little bit more cumbersome to make up, the Metolius is lighter and easier to install. The BD has rubber bumpers for protection against rock faces and very important cup holder's- both can have the centre separation band lowered and stowed out of the way ( for obvious reasons). The fly on the BD (i use the deluxe cabana fly) is great and fully storm sealed but is cumbersome to install-I haven't tried the Metolius but it does appear to be a tad heavier and bulkier.

left- Black diamond twin portaledge. Right- Metolius Bomb Shelter twin portaledge.

*I hate having to say this but its always recommended to stay tied in whilst sleeping aloft.

Gear Portage

One of the issues with travelling with climbing gear is storage. The options of backpacks, haul bags, briefcases, suitcases, etc are near to endless but over time i have found a huge liking to the Metolius range of bags. The design of them is simple: super strong materials, minimal webbing straps and weather resistant ( but not water proof, at least not the ones i have tried). You need strong base materials as irrespective of how you fly, baggage handlers are going to try and destroy your bag and its contents inside-there are a huge amount of videos on youtube showing the care that baggage handlers dish out. 9/10 your bag is going to be at the base of a tree during the day and it is going to get branches drop on it. Excess webbing straps on the outside are also known to get caught on baggage trays at the airport and also get caught on every branch, twig possible whilst trekking through the bush in search of great climbs. Ultimate waterproofness to me is not a necessity as if needed, a dry bag can be used to store stuff inside your pack but having materials that can take a light drizzle without getting soaked is a huge benefit. One of the downsides to the simplistic design is they are not as comfortable as mutliday trekking backpacks- there is no high-tec air gap between you and the bag, the straps rely on your shoulders rather than your hips to take the load and if you do want anything from the bag, hope that you packed it at the top or else everything is coming out for you to get what your after. But the Metolius range i use are haul packs and not designed for multi day treks. I have a 80ltr Salewa backpack that fits like a glove but i hasn't taken many airports for it to start looking a tad frayed around the edges.

The brown(mescalito)and black bags(crag station) are perfect size for carry on luggage. The blue(sentinel) and grey(express) hold a large amount of gear despite not looking so big-the upshot of the strong design is that you can really cram gear in without fear of blowing seams. If weight allows you can get them shrink-wrapped together so that they fly with you as one bag ;)
 At times it would be nice to have wheels on them but all those wheels may add up to 1kg+ and that to me is better used with essential climbing gear ( and duty free of course) and is also something that is guaranteed to break sooner or later.....

Destination: Trees

Over the past 24 months I seem to of spent a lot of my time travelling around to climb trees and meet some truly amazing people. A few of these people ( who shall remain nameless) have been bugging me to start a blog about my travels, what I see, gear I use, how to travel etc and all of the good stuff sandwiched in between.
 But where to start??

I have been a climber for the past 15 years and have had the opportunities to climb and work in countries including New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Fiji, Vanuatu, United Kingdom, South Africa Mainland USA and Hawaii, USA.
 The climbing has involved tree pruning, tree removals, helicopter work, canopy research, arboreal lighting, volcano climbing, filming in trees, industrial rigging, festival setups and even UFO search missions-but thats a story all to itself.
 The tree climbing industry is full of brilliant people and crazy characters, ill be looking to get these friends involved with this and to tell stories of shenanigans around the globe but also the serious work that goes into being comfortable with working at height from rope and harness.
 The equipment that climbers use is also a major part of what makes each climber an individual, ill be going through the gear that I travel with, its pros and cons for me and why I ultimately use what I use. This will be by no means a 'what to use' just purely my opinions :)
 I have a feeling this blog will chart the story going into the future but also recall some of the epic expeditions and missions I have been fortunate to of been on. 2015 is looking to be a really busy year with more trips planned but at the very least I'm getting pretty handy at packing gear.......and that could be a good start to this story..