Thread: Fires

Originally Posted by Nathan F

Here here
Attachment 224208

and does it not all taste a little better - love the battered old billys - I have my old brew billy and look out any bloody drongo who trys to heat baked beans in it

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

and does it not all taste a little better - love the battered old billys - I have my old brew billy and look out any bloody drongo who trys to heat baked beans in it

The sights and smells of a campfire trigger a primal feeling of wellbeing in a hunter. The bush is not quite the same without one. Just be sensible.

Man smell will drift almost as far as smoke, so its a forlorn hope thinking that by not having a fire, the deer won't spook.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

and does it not all taste a little better - love the battered old billys - I have my old brew billy and look out any bloody drongo who trys to heat baked beans in it

Aye - gotta love wood smoke infused billy tea

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

For forum users I will try to clarify on monday a few anomalies this has bought up - DOC run a restricted season year around - but this web site does not seem to be able to specifically log into a specified DOC area - rather it will go to nearest town - I will do some home work on monday and see what the rules are - this is an important one as the consequences can be financially severe

okay from DOC website
Lighting fires on public conservation land
Introduction
Find out when and where you can light fires at huts, campsites and in the backcountry on public conservation land.
On public conservation land, you must not light any fires:

where there is a restricted fire season in place
during a prohibited fire season (fire ban), or
where signs say fires are not permitted.
The only exception is the fireplaces inside DOC huts which you can use any time.

At other times, you can only light fires in certain places and you must follow the specific conditions below.

Visit Check it's alright before lighting a fire to check it's safe, and get advice on reducing fire risks.



Lighting fires at campsites
Lighting fires in the backcountry
The "backcountry" refers to areas that are over an hour's walk from the nearest road end.

You can light campfires in the backcountry only if:

there is no fire ban in place, and
there are no notices prohibiting fires there, and
the fire is at least 3 metres away from trees and anything that could catch fire, and
the fire is smaller than 0.5 m in width and in height.
campfire-diagram-600.png
Backcountry fires must be under 0.5 m in size and have 3 metres of clear space around it

Some vegetation types are inherently prone to burning regardless of season. Be careful lighting around long grass, manuka, gorse and tussockland.

Portable fireplaces or stoves using solid fuel such as wood, pellets, charcoal or coal are not permitted on public conservation land. The incorrect disposal of ashes could cause fires..

so it looks as if one can have a fire in the back country under DOC,s rules provided the DOC land has not gone to a prohibited season- but you can see by the statements underlined its not well written -

Originally Posted by Nathan F

Here here
Attachment 224208

This is what I was talking about. I bought couple cast iron cookware for camp fire cooking, thinking someday maybe I could find my little secrete hunt place near water, I will carry them there and leave there since it is too heavy.

Alan Simmons got in the shit over a fire at vechile at road end some time back..... think Sue Gray may have got him off the hook????


last night of a big trip a fire is pure gold... nothing beats sitting beside a good warm fire ..but for crying out loud be sensible and safe
many years back I shot a hare 100 yards from moonlight n roses hut on way in..cooked it for dinner on open fire in campoven..after tea we headed out for look around,downwind of hut with smoke in my eyes I shot a stag not 500 yards from hut...

Originally Posted by Black Rabbit

This is what I was talking about. I bought couple cast iron cookware for camp fire cooking, thinking someday maybe I could find my little secrete hunt place near water, I will carry them there and leave there since it is too heavy.

hmmmm - dont leave cast iron to long out in scrub even if you have greased it really well - rusts fairly quickly

Originally Posted by Black Rabbit

This is what I was talking about. I bought couple cast iron cookware for camp fire cooking, thinking someday maybe I could find my little secrete hunt place near water, I will carry them there and leave there since it is too heavy.

Yeah I’ve got a cast iron camp oven too. It lives out of the rain well under the tarps in the wood pile. Great thing to have

@Barry the hunter. While you’re looking up doc rules regarding fires can you find clarification regarding the use of standing or fallen vegetation for fires. It’s getting late in the day but I seem to remember that where fires are allowed you basically can’t use vegetation originating from doc estate, certainly not native. Irrespective of what the rules say I like to think we’re all sensible about campfires when we’re out and about and I believe we’ve all possibly broken the ‘rules’ at some stage.

its our land,its our wood,its our heritage if I want to light a plurry fire and its safe to do so I plurry well will.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

its our land,its our wood,its our heritage if I want to light a plurry fire and its safe to do so I plurry well will.

yeah feel the same Micky Duck - fires are allowed back country so I guess common sense says dead wood all okay -

Good discussion - one that comes up on most trips.

I recall reading an article many years ago by a very intelligent historian/archeologist.
He described that the ability to make/use 'fire' was the second thing that differentiated man from other living organisms...the first being an 'opposed thumb'.
He went on to say that the ability to use fire enabled man to do things like cook otherwise inedible food, live in places that were inhospitable, provide protection from critturs that regarded humans as food, make implements, build things from materials that in their raw state were useless etc etc etc
He went on to say that at a subconcious level we are drawn to fire because it is/was the difference between life or death.....
For those that have open fires in their home or in the outdoors, have you ever noticed that guests are immediately drawn to them and most will take great pleasure in throwing fuel onto an already lit fire.....or will help to set a fire.......
He also said that the thought of 'fire' is indelibly imprinted on our DNA and it will take millenia to erase it.

He went into much more depth than what I have written but thats the gist of what he said.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

hmmmm - dont leave cast iron to long out in scrub even if you have greased it really well - rusts fairly quickly

Yes, but if you could prepare a new cast iron well for the first time, then there would `nt be any problems, but it has to be real cast iron. some of my ones, I just leave them outside, I did `t find any rusts, but the big steel pot 16 inches...now it `s fire pit.

Originally Posted by Black Rabbit

Yes, but if you could prepare a new cast iron well for the first time, then there would `nt be any problems, but it has to be real cast iron. some of my ones, I just leave them outside, I did `t find any rusts, but the big steel pot 16 inches...now it `s fire pit.

yes they are great if properly treated from new - and ones knows how to look after them - but sadly many dont - been to a lot of huts and there is a cast iron camp oven been left there but sadly rusted so badly cant be used - we always had aluminium camp ovens when I worked in the bush - much easier to look after - so Black Rabbit be good if you could tell us how you treat a new cast iron camp oven and how do you fix a rusted one ??