Not dead yet...........

Hello all
After a long break between posts I thought I had better do some sort of update.

After all, with in excess of 45,000 views of this blog, how could I possibly not continue.

Quite a few things have changed since I last posted. Since March I have been working in the South West Forests Region of Western Australia.
To my Victorian friends and family................i used to think Gippsland was a bleak, cold place until I moved here................winter starts at Easter and only last week midday temperature was 10.2c with a "feels like temp of 5.4c...............it is November!

I am led to believe Summer in the South West falls on a Wednesday this year........

After 3 years of NO winter I have not enjoyed this at all and basically hibernated. This combined with friends in Derby and Broome regularly posting pictures of themselves in the pool and Cable Beach.......has not helped at all.

The Gear

The Great Wall.........gone

I have sold the Great Wall Ute after 5 years and 160,000km.
For 4 years this vehicle was amazing, carrying the Camper over all types of terrain in hot and humid weather with minimum of fuss.
To all the knockers.......this Ute did an amazing job for 4 years, the problem was that I kept it for 5 years.
After all the hard work it was giving problems and it was time to go.

Enter the Hilux.....

Most Hilux on the market have huge km's on the clock.....this one although being mine spec had a low relatively low 100,000k on the clock.
It has a 2" lift kit, Genuine Toyota Bullbar and Lightforce lights.

standard

the only modification so far has been to replace the standard stereo with an in dash Touch screen GPS.

on road mapping

off road mapping

Palomino B600 slide on camper..........gone

 This Camper has been amazing and did everything I asked of it, quite often in difficult conditions. This coupled with the excellent sales and backup service provided by PalominoRV Australia made owning it a pleasant experience.

But as the years pass (and both National Park and caravan park prices increase) I found myself looking for a bit more room and a little bit more comfort. And a little less reliance on civilisation for showers and power.


enter the Jayco..........

My Jayco Freedom Outback is 18foot, and has been set up for "off grid " by the previous owners.

Solar on the roof, two 120AH batteries, two gas bottles, hot water service, air conditioning,  heating, two water tanks, shower and toilet complete the package.

This should make "roughing it" a little less rough in the future.

Over the next few "not so bloody cold" months I hope to do a few trips around the the coastal areas down here.
Then next Winter, it will be a brave person who stands in my way of heading North to the red dirt for a  few weeks R & R.

Bye for now

The end.....maybe.....temporarily......not really

Hello all
I haven't been abducted by aliens or murdered by some crazy, I am still around.

The truth of the matter is travel within Australia is expensive.............too expensive.
My sister who does a fair bit of overseas travel, hired a Motorhome about 18 months ago and travelled from Darwin and down the West Coast to Perth. She was shocked by the cost compared to overseas travel costs.

I put a lot of this cost down to greed and the recent retirees. Every year I have seen the caravans get bigger and bigger, now approaching the size of an inner city apartment!!
These people now freecamp and the spend the occasional night in a caravan park.

In the caravan park they refill all their tanks, sometimes in excess of 200 litres, leave their airconditioning running 24 hours a day and recharge everything they can lay their hands on. The parks then try to make all their money out of you over one night instead of a few days as there is now an expectation that this will happen.

National Parks too have raised their fees dramatically, what used to be free, or a few token dollars in now in the $20-30 per night range for nothing more than a drop dunny.

My travels since Feb 2014

 This all leaves me at a crossroad.....................money is getting down and with the absence of someone wanting to throw me fists full of sponsorship dollars  😉😉 I find myself needing to get back into the workforce.
It is another seven and a half years until I am old enough for the aged pension, so back to work it needs to be.

York Peninsula SA

 Do I regret the couple of years and the money I have spent?.................SHIT NO. 
Would I do it again....................................ABSOLUTELY.
I have loved every minute of it, met some fantastic life long friends and had a ball and wish I had the money to keep going.

Uluru in the rain

  While I still intend to do camping trips, where ever I end up propping, and will add these trips to this blog as I do them, but they certainly will not be as regular as in the past.

Lucky Bay Cape LeGrande WA

 I feel privileged to have seen so much of this stunning country, and had the time to soak it up and had the time to enjoy it's beauty.

Fraser Island Qld

 I have proven you don't need to spend $200,000 dollars on you rig to enjoy this country.................The simple life has been a blessing.............I have become much less material, and have removed to "want" from my spending habits, and replaced it with "need"
I now only purchase things I NEED not the things I WANT.
I now see people who spending a lot of time and effort into making purchases and buying things they don't need, but they want......thus trapping them in the whole earn, spend, do it again cycle.
Living "off grid" basically has given me a whole new perspective and am now more than happy to live in a shed somewhere than a flash big house with all the bells and whistles.
All these "luxuries" make you less appreciate the smaller things in life and the things that really matter like good friends and family.  
 Even now as I move into another phase of my life I am still looking for the simple life..............without the clutter and competition to have the biggest and best of everything.

Wonnangatta Station Vic

 This leads me to my next point......................with this new stage in my life I have decided to change a few things, so subsequently the Ute and Camper is for sale.
either as a complete unit or separately.

While this is not the end, but rather a new beginning, I would like to thank the 38,000 viewers who have viewed this blog and the ones who have taken the time to comment or ask advice.

Feel free to contact me via the "leave comment" section if you are interested in the Ute and Camper or want to offer me a job.  👍😉

Bye for now....................... 

80 Mile Beach WA

Kalgoorlie to Adelaide

Hello all
After leaving Kalgoorlie I had an eventful trip across the Nullabour...............with a bit of everything thrown in.
Thunderstorms, howling winds and a breakdown to top things off.

Bunda Cliffs Nullabour Plain

A holwing tailwind pushed me to Balladonia for a night of thunderstorms, on the way I stopped for the second time in less than a week to assist a stranded fellow traveller..

Bunda Cliffs

Little did I know it would soon be me stuck on the side of the highway.

Bunda Cliffs

After I left kalgoorlie I started hearing a bit of a wine and dismissed this a tyre wine, as the Pilbara had chopped the tyres around a bit.
This was followed  by a slight scrapping sound at slow speeds, by this time I was well and truly committed to the Nullabour.
Things went from bad to worse fairly quickly, with howling winds listening to noises was nearly impossible with the window down, so onward it was.
200 kilometres west of Ceduna the brown smelly stuff hit the fan, coming close to losing a wheel.

Add caption

When I ground to a halt the centre of the tyre was resting on the tray tiedown rail.
I was more concerned with getting my bum off the road than taking pictures so you will have to use your imagination here.
With no drive I had to think quick as I was hanging out onto the road, so into 4x4 and the front wheels dragged me clear.
At this stage a nice Truckie stopped to see if he could help. We jacked up the wheel and backed off the brakes to be able to push the axle back in.
The wheel bearing was absolutely shagged................
As luck would have it All this happened right adjacent to a rest area and within the last mobile phone coverage for about 150km.
With no hope of continuing we nursed the vehicle into the rest area for the night, followed by frantic phone calls for a towtruck.

not a pretty sight

 Next morning the Flat top came 51km out from Nundroo to collect me.
Unloading the camper in the campground the off the ute went for be looked at.

Once apart it wasn't a pretty sight.

not much left....

  
Now, after six days stranded in Nundroo following is the points of interest  list...............







That's correct .....blank......there are no points of interest in Nundroo.

I must admit though, Wayne at Davis Motors, Nundroo did a good job getting me going again, the ABS sensor is shagged and I need to replace this when I get a chance but all going well so far.
Before blaming the vehicle though, it was pointed out to me the other day, that a lot of people have done the trips, and been to the places I have been.........but how many have done it in the same vehicle?
I think it's done a pretty good job considering.
I am heading across to Mildura to spend a little time on the Murray, considerably poorer than I was..... 
Bye for now

Carnarvon to Kalgoorlie

Hello all
From Carnarvon I headed North to Gnaraloo Station and Red Bluff

view from camp at Red Bluff

 Red Bluff was stunning, and the surf was massive, the waves were 'dumpers' and all night and day was like a thunderstorm with the waves thumping on the shore.

surf at Red Bluff

sunset at Red Bluff

After Red Bluff I decided to head inland to try to escape the constant strong winds.

heading inland

I wanted to visit the Big Bell townsite ruins near Que.

Big Bell sign

Big Bell Hotel in it's heyday reportedly had the longest bar in Australia.

Big Bell Hotel

Big Bell Hotel

Big Bell Hotel

It would have been a Grand building back in the day, with all the fireplaces, arches, and tiled walls.

The old kitchen

roadside wildflowers

Next stop was the Superpit at Kalgoorlie.

Kalgoorlie Superpit

The dots you can see on the access road exiting the Superpit are dump trucks carrying 250 tonnes each.

dump truck in the Superpit

 Next update will be across the Nullabour, and a few hiccups along the way, including my first major mechanical problem and the 6 day wait for parts and repairs.

Bye for now.

Carnarvon - kennedy Range - Mt Augustus - Carnarvon

Hello all
 My plan to escape the wind failed................I headed out to Kennedy Range with a howling gale pushing me.

The Cobbled Road north of Gascoyne Junction

 In the 1930's a work for the dole scheme funded the upgrades to the original roads that were often impassable after rain. The Road was cobble paved over the boggy sections to allow the mail run to get through.

Temple Gorge Campground, Kennedy Range

Upon arriving at Temple Gorge I was greeted by the lovely Campsite Hosts, Colin and Maureen.

Temple Gorge Campground, Kennedy Range

The first day was perfect weather, the second hot, and then the wind found me again........

Kennedy Range

departing Kennedy Range

I was feeling a little isolated as I headed towards Mt Augustus. In the 240km to Mt Augustus I saw 2 vehicles only.

approaching Mt Augustus

one of those vehicles was 2 very relieved German Backpackers, as I was the first vehicle they had seen in 8 hours. They were a bit wide eyed and freaked out about the isolation and the thought of getting stranded in their Hiace "Hippy" camper van.

Mt Augustus from Emu Hill Lookout

Mount Augustus is an inselberg or monocline. Mount Augustus or Burringurrah is one of the most spectacular solitary peaks of the world's largest monoclines, it rises above a stoney, red sandplain of arid scrubland and is visible from the air for more than 160 kms. The granite formation is about 8 kms long, covers an area of 4,795 hectares and is estimated to be 1,750 million years old.

Cattle Pool, Lyons River

 Cattle Pool a few kilomtres from Mt Augustus is a pretty spot.

Cattle Pool Lyons River

Sunset Mt Augustus

One odd thing in the area is Dawson's Burrowing Bees, which have taken a liking to the circuit road around Mt Augustus.

burrowing bee hives in the middle of the road

These bees were amazing and huge..............the size of a small helicopter............not really but were about as big as the end of your index finger.

Mt Augustus

While returning to Carnarvon I was thinking about Mt Augustus.................while it does lack the visual impact of Uluru it is magnificent in it's own right.
Would I return to Uluru.................yes......would I return to Mt Augustus..........probably not.

Wildflowers

Recent rains have bought the bush alive and although I am still well above the "wildflower area" wildflowers were abundant.

Tomorrow I am heading North again to Red Bluff on Quobba Station for a while. I have had several days of only 22c and 23c and have froze. I am definitely not ready to head any further South until it warms up.
Bye for now