21 replies to this topic

[HansaPlease]

Ouch! I have a diesel, so that's good information to know. I've often wondered about diesel quality out in the sticks...

[New Aussie]

You guys have taken some awesome fotos!

We have to visit there as well, its is so beautiful!

[Bob]

Riekie!
Those photos are great, the composure good and interesting. Being into photography shows.

I guess I've been lucky enough over the past few years to experience what Riekie has done.
Each wintertime now, my wife and I hitch up our caravan and just head north from the Adelaide Hills to "see Australia".
We hit the highway in our 4.2 litre Nissan Patrol and 18' Regent caravan and join all the other "grey nomads" of Australia doing the same thing every winter.
Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon we start looking out for a place to pull up for the night, and by 4 o'clock, invariably, there is a rest-stop on the side of the road where we can pull in and stay for 24 or 48 hours.
Often there is another caravan or two already parked there and by 5 o'clock it's "happy hour" when we saunter out of our caravans with a cold beer, glass of port, cup of tea or mug of coffee to chat with all the other old farts.
We compare rigs (4WDs and caravans) and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of different cars or caravans and also ask where each one is heading and, if they have just come from the place you are heading to, they can give you a couple of good tips on where to pull up for the next night on the side of the road, and what interesting spots to see during the day.
Australia is safe.
I've been camping alongside the highways and byways since I retired in 2006 and have never had any trouble, nor heard of anyone having any trouble.
When the washing basket gets a bit too full, and we start to run out of water for our showers, the batteries in our laptops, cameras and mobile phones run out, then it's time to pull in for the night at a caravan park at $25 to $35 a night and use the 240V power to charge everything up, top up the water tanks in the caravan, use the washing machine for $4 a time and get ready for a few more nights on the road before we need to spend up big for another stay in a caravan park.

Australia is a mistress.
It keeps beckoning me back year after year, always seeing new parts and falling in love over and over again.
You guys should all put a road trip around Australia on your bucket list, like I have.

I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

[Riekie]

Bob, we still have to do that one BIG one together one day... Maybe go completely off the beaten track

We sold our pop top - LOVED it, but it took up too much space and we did not have the time to put it to use often enough. We've now invested in a roof top tent - best thing since sliced bread!

Our next one will probably be the Kimberleys, but we need enough time to get there and back and still have enough time to enjoy it, which is a bit of a bugger when you're still in the Sydney rat race! Have you done that one yet? Which time of year is best, you reckon?

PS: I like your mistress description - so true!!

[Bob]

Riekie!
You let me know when you and Martin are ready to do a big trip 4 000 kms to the Kimberleys and another 4 000 kms back to Sydney and we'll talk business.
Ginnie and I am hitching our Regent caravan up in the first week in May to head north . . . . . to the 3 000 000 sq kms of Australia that is north of the Tropic of Capricorn, where it is warm in winter-time.
The best time of the year has got to be winter-time to do the Kimberleys, when it is a steady 25 to 30 degrees each and every day . . . . no cloud, just sunshine.
While you're there, you've got to do the Bungle Bungles, about 250 mms west of the Kimberley Ranges in far north east of Western Australia.
You can drive in and walk around the Bungle Bungles for two days, camping at one of the spots and enjoying the bush there.
We flew over and saw it all from the air, but to walk in is also an experience to put on your "Bucket List". It's a very ancient rock formation, with coloured bands in the rock that indicate the geological period the rocks (sandstone, actually) were laid down . . . . millions of years ago!
But . . . . the north west of Australia doesn't have to be the next place you go. We've been to any number of spots in far west Queensland and the Northern Territory . . . . . each as big in size as South Africa . . . . and we'd love to show you some places off the tourist track that we've been to, and are well worth seeing for their spectacular beauty and worth in themselves.
So . . . . . if you'll let this old Australian be your tourist guide, I'd be glad to have you guys along for a trip or two.
You can show me how to cook with a poikie pot, and I'll show you both how to cook potatoes and onions on a coal fire without the need to wrap them up first in Aluminium foil to keep them moist and tender and unburnt . . . . an old bushman's trick!

[Riekie]

Bob, you've now REALLY got me itching to hit the road and experience all those places! You can be our tourist guide anytime! No guidebook could ever have the wealth of information a seasoned Aussie traveller like you has! Besides, we'd love the company! We'll bring the "poikie"....

Enjoy your trip with Ginnie up North - I know you're not the "share it all on the forum" type, but a few photos and a good old story will always be welcome! Have a great time!

[Donovan83]

I really liked these photos and stories! I want to go visit Uluru some day as well when I live there.

If you guys enjoyed this then you would really enjoy reading Bill Bryson's book on Australia (it sometimes goes by the name of "Down Under", other times "In a Sunburned Country"). It is excellent.

He also mentions that people do not realize just how incredibly huge the country is and how there are many, many kilometers of nothingness out there.