See The Best The World Has To Offer - Travel to New Zealand

Everyone loves to travel, but if you have never had the pleasure of exploring New Zealand, you do not know what you are missing.

Both the north and south islands have plenty of activities for you and your family and friends to enjoy. Even if you do not have a traveling partner, you will still be awestruck by the beauty of the rocky coastline, the beautiful sandy beaches, and the majestic forests.

One Place You Should Visit in Baile Herculane Hot Springs Resort - La Vanturatoare Waterfall

One thing you don't have to miss if you ever come to Baile Herculane, thermal water/hot spings resort in Romania, is the "La Vanturatoare" waterfall.

Of course the main attraction of the resort are the springs but if you're looking for peace and beautiful scenery, you won't find that at the springs... The hot (and sulphurous) water is the same as ever but the small pools in which you can bathe are rather ugly - made of concrete during the former communist regime. I believe the last time someone attended to them properly was before 1989.

That's sad since the spa had notable guests (kings and queens from all over Europe) since it was founded by Trajan Emperor.

Lots of architecturally beautiful buildings are in decay and while some parts of the resort look forgotten, one can tell that the place used to be a busy resort where the elite came for treatment and leisure.

Anyway - as an outdoor lover you may be more interested into climbing and trekking than in the resort as a city.

Speaking of that - the are is home to one of the most popular rock climbing contests in Romania - Herculane Climbing Open (HCO), developed by Alternative extreme sport club in Timisoara. There are tons of limestone crags all over the place, hence a great concentration of sport climbing routes (bolted).

⇩Click the Play Button to see the cool waterfall (min. 5:00) ⇩


Climbing and Trekking Video shot in Baile Herculane - April 2011


How to get to the waterfall

If you get to the resort by train, and don't have a car, then you have to walk about 11 km North on DN67 D road until reach a bridge (at the tail of the accumulation lake). Carrying a GPS device may help you so here are the approximate GPS coordinates of this point: 44°57'50.53'' N    22°29'03.22'' E    elevation 241 m.

From the bridge you have a 45 minutes light hike up to the waterfall on a marked footpath (red cross mark I guess...). Approximate coordinates of destination ("Vanturatoarea"): 44°57'59.27'' N    22°28'24.42'' E    elevation 693 m. See pictures below for location details on Google map.

Beware of vipers

Baile Herculane is also known to be teeming with vipers - especially during hot days. The climate is sub Mediterranean and this enables creatures as vipers and small scorpions to live here.

You can recognize them by the zig-zag line on their back and the triangle shaped head. Some of them have a small horn as well. Wear boots and long pants and watch your step to avoid any unpleasant contact with them. The emergency phone number to call in Romania is 112.

For more pictures with reptiles from Herculane area visit this link (the guys holding vipers in their hands seemed to know what they were doing but don't try to do it yourself...).

Happy trekking! (Boy, does this sound evil after all the viper talk...) :-)

Happy New Year, Outdoorsy People!

Here's for a successful and joyful new year, full of outdoor adventures and new cool friends. Enjoy the party and have a nice holiday!

Thank you for stopping by and reading this outdoor blog and thanks for sharing your thoughts in the comments.

See you in 2011! :-)

Campsites and Recreation Parks in California - What's Your Favorite?

A fellow Highball Blog reader requested information about campsites and recreational areas in Northern California. Here's her/his exact words that were submitted through the survey form that asked What Should We Write About Next?:

Campsites and Recreation in Northern CA, Northern Meaning Above Williams CA

I believe the one who's able to give valuable information on this topic is you, Californian or not. So if you've been touring and camping in Northern California and found some cool sites or national parks that you could recommend, then I guess at least one reader of this blog will be happy to receive this info from you in the comments section below.

If you happen to know awesome outdoor sites (less known but worth visiting) in other parts of California, feel free to share those as well. I'm sure some of us will find that helpful.

Here is a list of resources/directories for state parks and camping sites (reviews) that I was able to find for you:

• The Camping Source - list of links to outdoor recreation websites
• California State Parks - information on parks listed by region (North Coast, High Sierra, Deserts, Orange County, etc), vacation planning, outdoor gear store
• Shasta Cascade Region - map of touristic sites in Shasta Cascade
• California Camping Review - "Here at CA-Camping-Review.com you will find photos, descriptions, addresses, telephones and emails for camping in CA, USA"
• Shasta Cascade Camping Sites - list of campsites in Northern California; each link takes you to a Google map, showing you the exact location of the site

What's the coolest place to go on vacation in Northern California? Thanks!

Hobo Stove Test - Video

This article follows my blog post on how to make a hobo stove.

I had a hard time getting the water to boil as all the wood I used was either wet or damp. For this reason this first test is not relevant. The water became hot enough for the broth to get done but that's not satisfactory for me - I want it to get to boiling temperature.

The design seems to be good - with the tin can and the fire grate. However I would add some more lateral holes (air intakes) for a better ventilation and more efficient burning. The triangle holes at the top of the can allow the flame to get out and envelop the pot - which is a nice thing to watch as you're cooking your meal outdoors.

I must stress that I had about 1.5 liters of water in the pot. Perhaps I could have got a cup of water to boil in a few minutes. I normally cook a consistent broth for two or three persons when I go mountaineering and camping so I needed to see how the hobo stove would handle such a task.

It took me about 30 minutes to get the broth to an edible state... I guess this time can be improved with dried wood and some small adjustments to the design of the stove. It's crucial to have a constant flame hitting the pot.


Try to make your own hobo stove and leave me a comment or a video response with your experience. Cheers!

How To Make Your Hobo Stove

A hobo stove is a style of improvised heat-producing and cooking device frequently used by hobos, tramps, the homeless, and backpackers. It is constructed out of a discarded Tin can of any size by removing the top of the can, punching a number of holes near the upper edge, and punching corresponding holes in the opposite base. Fuel is placed in the can and ignited. Convection draws air in through the bottom orifices and expels smoke from the top holes. Improved heating is encouraged by placing the bottom holes facing the wind. Food preparation is often performed on the top of the stove on a cooking surface that also acts as a lid, however many variations exist where cooking is performed on the inverted base of the can. The main benefit of the hobo stove is its ease of construction and versatility. The stove itself can be constructed out of a variety of materials; paint cans, food tins, buckets, and large drums being most often put to that purpose. Further flexibility lies in the fact that anything combustible can be used as a fuel source. The hobo stove is able to use many fuels but most common is either dry twigs or a Buddy Burner which allows burning of liquid fuels like melted wax or kerosene. The hobo stove reached the height of its popularity during America's Great Depression. Source of text and image: Wikipedia

It's ironic that the hobo stove was popular during the Great Depression and I've come across it not a long time ago - when the world is passing through another great economic depression (it seems that we're all depressed or something). People get ingenious when times are hard and the hobo cooker is an expression of ingenuity and resourcefulness.

Why To Make Your Own Hobo Stove?

• It's cheap. You can make it more or less sophisticated but the main advantage is you can use whatever you have. And you're bound to have in your household at least an empty tin can. You can also use a paint metal box, a bucket, a broken vacuum flask - you name it. I recommend the tin can as it's the cheapest to get and the metal it's made of is easy to cut with a normal kitchen knife. Buy yourself a can of sliced pineapple, enjoy the sweetness and use the tin for your hobo stove project.
• Fuel efficiency. The hobo stove allows you to boil water or cook your meal when outdoor camping with very little fuel. This is because both the smoke (which is hot) and flame are directed to your pot or metal cup. No energy is lost in the process due to the construction of the system - it acts as a fire gun as the airflow enters the bottom of the stove and fuels the burning flame, pushing it upwards.
• It's easy to set up. Let's say you're outdoors and want to spend the night outside in a bivouac and you also wanna prepare your meal. You would have to build a fire and then figure out a system for hanging your pot above the fire. If you make your suspended arm out of wood it might catch flame and burn before your meal is ready. The hobo stove saves you the head ache. Light a small fire inside your can and you're done. Just place to pot on top and you're cooking already.
• Works with any fuel. Even if you can only find dried grass, or dried leaves or dead reed you can still boil your water on the hobo cooker. As long as you feed it with fuel it will get the job done.

I will carry it in my outdoor adventures from now on as an alternative to the costly gas bottles for the camping stove. I love the cleanliness of cooking with gas but some old school gadget won't do me any harm. And since I love making fire so much, this will be my new toy to play with :-).

How To Make a Hobo Stove Out of a Tin Can

• Get yourself a tin can and cut a row of holes at  the bottom and another row at the top, just under the lip of the can. I recommend to cut triangle shapes as you can see in the pictures below. Have the bottom triangles with the tip pointing upwards and the top triangles with the tip pointing downwards. 
• Make a front large hole for feeding fuel into your hobo stove. Make it large enough as to be able to put through small pieces of wood, pine cones, etc. However, when you light the fire you are more likely to feed the fuel from the top and only add sticks through the front hole after the pot is on the stove, later on when the fire has traction.
• Think about making a grate for the fire to rest on. A hobo stove might work without it as well but the grate will enhance the burning and will provide better ventilation, bringing oxygen to the flame and giving the proper uplift for the flame to hit your pot in full power.
• You can make the grate out of any sheet of metal. I used a piece of zinc sheet (used in roofing) that I punctured with a nail and then cut it with a special scissor (my father has these tools for his construction work). If you can't find a zinc sheet, use another tin can for this - cut the top and the bottom lid, cut the cylinder along it's seam (height), roll it flat and then puncture it. Cut it in a disc shape and leave four legs on which it will rest (suspended) on the bottom of your hobo stove. The ashes will pass through the grate leaving the fuel un-smothered to burn effectively.
• Drill or puncture four holes for passing through two tent pegs. The pegs will hold any narrower cup you may carry with you while mountaineering or adventuring in the wild.

Please note that you can also build an alcohol hobo stove which works on the same principle but uses alcohol as fuel. The alcohol burns in a smaller metal cup (can be made of a beer can) which is placed inside the larger tin can.

Hybrid hobo stove made by Brant Dempster (The Limb Reaper on YouTube) - a friend and rope access master from Pennsylvania - USA.


Pictures of my DIY hobo stove

This is no product placement - that is, I wasn't paid by the tomato sauce company to show their product on my outdoor blog :-). Imagine me writing this advertising copy:

Wanna make a hobo stove? Buy Hobo Tomato Sauce, use the can as a stove and enjoy your pasta with this wonderful sauce made from specially selected tomatoes. Disclaimer: Making a hobo stove may lead to injury or sneezing. Don't eat too much pasta or you'll get fat even though you may think of yourself as big boned.

Some pictures were taken by phone. Please excuse the questionable quality.

Go outdoors and prepare your meals on your hobo stove!

Trail Running & Mountain Biking - CPNT Brasov Promo Video - GoPro HD - DIY Glidecam

Here's a short promo video that I made for my friends in CPNT - youth and sport club in Brasov. This clip shows two of their outdoor activities: trail running and mountain biking. They also engage into climbing, trekking and other mountain sports but this action video is supposed to be a digital brochure for their mountain running competition - Marathon 7500 in Bucegi mountains.

If you happen to know any company that you think might sponsor this event please shoot me an email so I can hook them up with CPNT. The more sponsors the event has, the better the prizes you'll get if you hit the podium!

The video was shot with GoPro® HD Video Camera, edited with Magix Edit Pro 11, and I used my DIY glidecam for smooth shooting and image stabilizing. My laptop couldn't export in HD this time - some memory error issue - and that's why the footage looks pixelized...

If you can't import or you can't edit your GoPro HD videos, try to convert the MP4 files to MOV or AVI with MPEG Streamclip.

Go trail running and show us what you got!

DIY Glidecam - Steadicam Update: Wing Nuts

Test Video - Shot with My DIY Steadicam


Everything I know about building a DIY steadicam is now is in this new guide. Learn how to get amazing cinematic video with this cool gadget that you can build using parts from your local hardware store.

If you don't like the material, no worries. I'll give your money back and you get to keep the guide. Guaranteed!

	Printable PDF document Instant Digital Download 60 Days Money Back Guarantee  Prompt Refunds No Questions Asked One Time Payment/No BS 2 FREE Bonuses: How To Build a DIY Camera Slider 3 Ways To Get Clients as a Videographer (you'll be surprised to find out what the first method is...)

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Since I'm no longer selling the DIY Highball steadicam, you may wanna check out these other camera stabilizers. Click on any picture.Check out the stabilizers on Amazon Canada, Amazon.UK and Amazon.DE.
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This post completes my first article about how to build your glidecam for shooting outdoor videos.

I recommend you use wing nuts for fast adjustments of your DIY glidecam. This is especially helpful when you want to change the camera on the top of the system - the glidecam must be rebalanced with every camera. The wing nuts will allow you to add more weights (washers) and to loosen the bolts when you need to slide them in their channels. The balance of the rig can be fine tuned better by sliding the weights than adding additional weights.

Another thing you can do faster with the wing nut setting is to lower or raise the gravity center of the glidecam. I do this by changing the position of the bottom plate (first picture below) closer or further to/from the gimbal. I simply loosen the nuts and slide the plate on the threaded bar, then I fix it in place tightening the wing nuts against each other, holding the plate between them.

 Wing-nut and bolt for fixing camera on upper plate 

The bolt goes into the threaded hole - tripod mount of the camera

 

Wing nut, bolt and washers glued together

Go outdoors and shoot your adventures!