Freedom. Far From The Madding Crowd And Miles And Miles From The Nearest Set Of Traffic Lights...

Far from the madding or the maddening crowd and even further from the nearest set of traffic lights a hundred and eighty kilometres away,
The Flying Tortoise wakes to another beautiful sunrise at one of the most wonderful places on the planet.
There are shellfish to be collected when the tide is low and fish to be caught whenever.
Freedom. Who could wish for anything more.
I think simplicity is the key to happiness but what would I know...

Antago. It's A Crazy Fishing Event In Mali...

Among the scattered boulders in the parched Dogon County in Mali, there's a small village by the name of Bamba.
Each year as the dry season reaches its peak, there's just one sacred pond remaining and that's full of Catfish.
Fishing throughout the year is not allowed until the special day when the crazy ritual of Antogo takes place.
On this day many hundreds of men from Bamba will jump into the lake with their cane traps and their bare hands to catch as many as they can. The fishing frenzy will last for about fifteen minutes.
The women of the village meanwhile are making themselves ready for the feasting that will take place that night.
Climate change has happened here and the once lush green landscape has become dry and unusable.
The water of the lake was in past times considered sacred and was populated by good spirits that would keep the villages supplied with tons of fish. Not any more.
Those good days are gone and this small lake remains the last vestige of a once fertile land.
Photos by Matteo Bertolino. There's more to know here...

The Most Gorgeous Little Rustic Fishing Cabin. For When The Fish Aren't Biting...

If you're ever in Montana and I guess most of you are or will be at sometime or other, wouldn't you just love to spend time in this gorgeous little rustic cabin with its Sod roof.
It's been beautifully built from local natural materials and designed by Miller Architects.
Who'd care about the fish biting...

The Flying Tortoise Has Been In New Zealand's Far North Again...

As many of you know, Tokerau Beach on the Karikari Peninsular in New Zealand's Far North is one of my favouritist of places to freedom camp and these images will remind you why.
I've been here for a couple of weeks trying to catch some fish.
But that's another story...

Simple Camping Made Simpler...

Old style camping at Uretiti has been great fun over many years for David and Ivy.
They'd bring their cute little caravan or their tent, a simple gas ring for cooking up freshly caught fish, some toast or a cup of tea .
They'd eat their cheese, their sandwiches, their watermelon and they'd go to bed happy.
Now, Field Candy are making a Yummy range of tents that look like food.
The plan is to go camping and if you get hungry and you've forgotten your provisions, simply eat your tent then go and sleep with someone else in their tent.
Take a hike over here and here to have a look at others on the menu...

Catch Of The Day...

Relatively new to motorhoming and freedom camping but well experienced in life, Lyndsay and Bruce arrived at this remote beach in New Zealand's Far North and as TFT was the only other vehicle here, asked me if it was safe.
I told them the natives were friendly and they decided to stay.
We chatted a while and the irony of these two worrying about their safety here amused me.
They had spent seven years in Afghanistan on Aid missions.
In the midst of war zones.
On a number of occasions they had both been held at gunpoint by the Taliban and the Mujahaden.
They had had their vehicles seized and had been terrified captives more than once.
They had ducked bullets on the streets of Kabul.
The concern for their safety here didn't last long and they were rewarded for their bravery by catching a number of good sized Snapper and this superb Kingfish.
Guess what I had for dinner...