When I started out rock climbing, back in the mid 1970s, there were a handful of leading Aussie climbers who immediately captured my admiration and fed my teenage inspiration. Chris Dewhirst was one of those climbers. Dewhirst had established some of the hardest climbs of the 1960s and early 1970s and his name is still… Continue reading Everest, Guns & Money
Author: Glenn Tempest
Glenn is an accomplished adventure writer and photographer and has authored a number of popular bushwalking and rockclimbing guidebooks. Glenn is the big kahuna at Open Spaces and lives in Natimuk (next to Mt Arapiles and the Grampians) with his partner Karen and two Burmese cats, Sushi and Pinot.
Have Parks Victoria Really Banned Scrambling in the Grampians National Park?
Just before last Christmas Parks Victoria finally released the Greater Gariwerd Landscape Management Plan. Unfortunately in Parks Victoria’s haste to ban rock climbing across significant areas of the park they also appear to have banned scrambling and in doing so they have effectively closed three of the best adventure walks / scrambles in Victoria. Two… Continue reading Have Parks Victoria Really Banned Scrambling in the Grampians National Park?
Parks Victoria Halts New Grampians And Arapiles Guidebooks
To all of our loyal wholesale and retail customers it is with a great deal of regret that Open Spaces Publishing has made the decision to halt work on all of our planned rock climbing and bushwalking titles for the Grampians National Park and at nearby Mt Arapiles. Our business moved to Natimuk in the… Continue reading Parks Victoria Halts New Grampians And Arapiles Guidebooks
Is This Australia’s Oldest Rock Climbing Photograph?
The Grampians have been in the climbing news a lot lately after Parks Victoria initiated the world’s largest rock climbing bans (over 50% of the region’s best climbing) and with no consultation with the climbing community. To say these have been tough times for the climbing community is an understatement. Coincidentally I have just finished… Continue reading Is This Australia’s Oldest Rock Climbing Photograph?
Grampians National Park: Safety Ropes, Bushwalking and Special Protection Areas
This article was added to on 10 March 2021 to include a letter from Jason Borg at Parks Victoria. Many of you are probably aware that Parks Victoria have initiated sweeping rock climbing bans across the Grampians National Park in what are called Special Protection Areas (SPAs). At Open Spaces we have received a number… Continue reading Grampians National Park: Safety Ropes, Bushwalking and Special Protection Areas
Following the Wombat Poo Trail
Over the years I’ve developed a fascination for wombat poo. Nothing weird, more as a subject matter for my camera as opposed to collecting them for things like making paper with (which is apparently done commercially by some mob down in Tassie!) My native Victoria is home to many thousands of wombats and this amiable… Continue reading Following the Wombat Poo Trail
Open Spaces Tree Change
It’s been a tough ten years in print publishing as the internet revolution continues to change the way we create and distribute information. Traditional printers across Australia have been putting off large numbers of staff or closing their doors for good. Wholesale distributors and book shops have been similarly affected. The introduction of smart-phones and… Continue reading Open Spaces Tree Change
Healthy Parks, Wealthy People
Victorian National Parks Camping and Accommodation Fees – Regulatory Impact Statement The Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) has released a proposal for a user-pays approach to charges for camping and roofed accommodation in parks and reserves managed by Parks Victoria. Victorians are invited to provide comment on the regulatory impact statement by 22… Continue reading Healthy Parks, Wealthy People
Dog in the Mists
Back in 1964 my father wrote a short story for possible publication in England’s Popular Camping magazine. It was rejected by the editor and the original type-written manuscript was all but forgotten. It must have meant something to my dad since he carried it with him when he migrated to Australia a couple of years… Continue reading Dog in the Mists
Law Unto Himself
Last Monday Open Spaces in conjunction with the Victorian Climbing Club saw the release of Michael Law’s autobiography (of sorts) at Thousand £ Bend at Little Lonsdale Street. It was a wild Melbourne night of heavy rain and hail, yet despite this almost 70 people turned out to listen to one of Australian climbing’s most… Continue reading Law Unto Himself