Serious beachcombing requires time, fitness and agility, a keen eye and a minimum amount of hiking gear to make the expedition enjoyable. For an all-day hike, a large backpack with the requisite lunch, first aid kit, map, water, mobile, rain coat, pocket knife, etc. will all ensure that your efforts are made easier and that there is ample room to carry any booty which is found en route. For the serious and technically minded semi-professional beachcomber add a hacksaw, a very sharp knife and even some cable ties to strap on your booty. A PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) can add a measure of safety and even a PFD lightweight yoke is not beyond reason. The more gear I take the more confident I am at going it alone and into remote places.

Herein lies a beachcomber’s collection, amassed over many years, of some of the better examples of what the oceans have spat forth on many a desolate shoreline along the coastline of south eastern Australia. With five buoys in my collection having originated from Argentina, I can truly claim to have an international collection courtesy of the mighty Southern Ocean.