Risk of stuff getting stolen

[GPSGuided]

That will do fine!

[Penguin]

pretty rare in nz, sometimes it can be a case of the person taking the wrong item by mistake,,, i know one or two people who have done it...
one person left their camera behind sitting o a sign on mount ruapehu, they walked right round the mountain and five days later the camera was still there...
i've heard one second hand story of an expensive camera being stolen on the kepler track, and thats all i can recall... i've never had anything stolen. tend to keep my gear near where i'm sleeping, if you're using a drying room, i get my gear out early, if youre doing a popular walk you might want to consider not taking your best items that are likely to get nicked..

Gas stove at Angelis hut, while we were in the hut. Another party got up early and we we arose the stove and cylinder were gone. Out gear was nowhere near their gear so it would be a real stretch to say they got mixed up.

Had stuff pinched while camping at the Fall's Festival - does that count?

Came across a group on the OLT that had food stolen from pack while they were on a side trip and had left packs on the side of the track - a significant amount of food - that is very sad.

[icefest]

Food getting stolen on the OLT sounds more like birds. They'll unzip your pack and remove everything for a tiny bit of food.

[Penguin]

Nup - that happened to me at barn. The thieves were two legged but much large - alot of food was taken.

[Solohike74]

Have people had stuff nicked from huts on the OLT?

Yes had a base layer taken. Probably a backpacker. However, in those walking through on the same day as me was another backpacker, a young German, who was eating a can of food a day, he would put the cans and his steel mug on the rack over the hut heaters.

I've used car camping areas on the Alpine Way in winter, and also in State Forest/National Park (but cannot be seen driving past) and was all ok. I stayed in a backpackers in Jindabyne and had food pinched.

I think the great majority of bushwalkers are honest. That said, I have another story to tell.

The other day I was coming from the Schlink area down to Horse Camp Hut. An acquaintance was heading up from Guthega to meet me and spend the night at the hut. He was followed up by an extremely drunk and itinerant man who had been loitering, belongings scattered outside, at the Guthega carpark. This bozo had a 30 litre day pack and a 5mm foam mat, and I was sufficiently concerned to keep a close watch on my gear and the liquor I had with me. A man in the other party coming up to say hello to me chased off bozo with a lot of coarse language and threats. Bozo was just generally hanging around and disrupting our ambience, much like a drunk in a local park near home.

[cooee]

Been watching this thread for awhile, I think the statute of limitations has now passed to fess up.

1994 Adamsfield Tas.

Walked in via the Gordon River Road, back in those days you couldn't get a 4wd close. Parks had mound earth at the start of the track and besides, it was that overgrown it wasn't funny. Its a fair walk in, planned to camp for 3 days and have a real good look around. Found the rubbish tip, WOW.
Anyhow, day 2 we left our campsite for a day walk. Arrived back at around 3pm to find my new Eureka Expedition caddis our thermarests, chairs, stoves, Macpac sleeping bags GONE.....

Doubted myself for about half an hour where we camped, but no, all gone.
Walked out arriving back at the car well after nightfall. Lucky I packed the head torches.
Back to Hobart...
Was really p15ssed, when we got back to Hobart on a spur of the moment decision called into the Police station. Not that they could do much, but felt a little bit better for it. At the front desk was a member that l knew well from Anglesea Barracks. We use to have a lot of Police functions at the McGee Club.

Explained what had happened and this is where it turned for the better. He gave me his card and told me to ring him once we got home. All the way back to Geilston Bay my wife and l wondered, WHY.
Rang him when we got home, only to be told you had your gear stolen from home, my answer was no, from Adamsfield like l told you. No you had your gear stolen from home, like you told me at the Police station. Finally the penny dropped.

Yes that's right, great. I'll be around soon to do a Police report.
When he got there he told me to smash the garage window. Which we did. To cut a long story short, claimed it on the house insurance.....

Its not what you know but who you know. Mind you would not do it in this day and age.

[corvus]

Why not mark your gear"with stolen from" a surname and ph no.
corvus

[Strider]

Cooee that is disgustingly dishonest and frankly little better than the person that stole your gear in the first place. Just because you go ripped off doesn't give the right to rip someone else off.

[geoskid]

What I find hardest to fathom is the thinking/actions of the Police Officer. Everything to lose, nothing to gain.

I've never had anything stolen. When bushwalking, if going for a day walk everything goes in the tent zipped up.

When car camping at busy places like Dora Point, or Bakers Beach for days, the kids have bikes, fishing rods, boogey boards,
kayak strewn around the campsite and never had a problem.
I like to think there is a code amongst campers - but I suppose there is always a risk of someone not operating by the same code.
I am probably most careful in busy huts.

[dannydanny]

cooee - Probably a bit dishonest, but I would have done the same and I can certainly see where the cops are coming from. Over the years I have 4-5 surfboards stolen, a car stolen and another crashed into by a drunk driver who then ran off, car windows smashed, tyres slashed and earlier this year my entire pack (packed for a five day trip to the WOJ) stolen from my house while I slept. All up it's probably totalled over $10-15K and I have just had to take it and move on. People tell me I should get insurance, but it doesn't fit with my lifestlye - rarely in the country for very long, I rent, could barely afford it... Cops are always helpful and you can see the frustration on their faces when they say things like 'I'm pretty sure I know who has done this but there is little chance of getting your stuff back'... Having a fully loaded pack, with all your walking gear, knicked just hours before you were set to head off on a trip that had been months in the making hurts big time.

[cooee]

I know it was the wrong thing to do, but that was almost 20 years ago. Times have changed and so have the people.

[Onestepmore]

It's ok Cooee, I forgive ya. Years ago I'd slid off my slimy muddy dirt road up in the Yarra Ranges and ended up in the ditch and damaged the back panel. My hatchback door was previously rusted. The repairman said 'Do you want this fixed?' I said, 'Errr, yeah I guess', thinking we'd have a discussion of extra costs etc. He knew I had full insurance. Then he whips out a mallet and puts a big whopping dent in the bottom corner of the lift up door. Lol not much I could say after that. It all got fixed.....

Last edited by Onestepmore on Tue 12 Nov, 2013 5:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[perfectlydark]

More of a. concern for the police involved. As for you, its your duty as an australian to claim everything you can from those insurers

[stry]

Old saying from ski tourers of the '30s

"The higher you are on the mountain, the less chance of meeting a (person who's birth would be regarded as illegitimate) "

May not be word perfect, but the idea is clear.

[davidmorr]

In thirty years, camping in the bush, NP campgrounds and caravan parks, I have only heard of one thing being stolen. This was a camera stolen from the tent in the middle of the night while the owner went to the loo. This was a caravan park in Moree.

Ofc, I am cautious. If I am near the car, anything valuable gets left in the car, but not tents/sleeping bags/etc. If I am in the bush. I will take my camera with me but everything else is left in the tent. It helps that all my stuff is well used and even a bit tatty. But good quality gear still works even if it looks a bit tatty.

[sim1oz]

We've never had stuff stolen yet, not even in the OLT huts or caravan parks. The only other base camping we have done was at Stapylton campground (Grampians), O'Briens Crossing (Lerderderg) and Kooyoora State Park. Other than that, we usually pack up all our gear and take it with us because we are not coming back the same way. I think I'll cry the day something does get taken. Most people are great, but it only takes one person to nick stuff. Like davidmorr, when base camping we always take our valuable with us.

[walk2wineries]

Had my car (with car-top tent) stolen from a commuter car park near an enormous shopping centre. Found a week later, the police think it was stolen to allow theives to detach the securely locked down mountain bike on the back. Previous car broken into at John Forrest Park in WA, wetsuit etc stolen. Returned from a shower at caravan park at Pt Augusta and surprised an indiginous youth going through my belongings. Never had anything nicked when camping in less urban environments although I'm personally quite good at misplacing things....

Certainly there are areas now where I prefer to park/camp at a truckstop or free camp distant from town rather than use town facilities and run risks. Pity.