Big Red Adventures

Ron's 'blog'

2010-09-21T23:25:00.001+10:00

I got to spend some quality time with my Nan earlier this year around the time of my brothers wedding. She spent a night on my couch before and after our flights up to Noosa and back, which gave us a bit of extra time together outside of the business of the wedding celebrations.

My Nan did a lot of traveling with her late husband, Ron (to us grand-kids, they weren't two individuals, but one entity known as "Nan'n'Ron" -it took me years to realise it was just their names!), He was one of those guys who had an amazing life which you could write a hundred books out of. He actually ran away to join the circus when he was a kid, he spent time as a traveling bore-digger, with his wife and children in tow in a converted bus and caravan. He was a speedway champ, a horse broker... you name it...

In his later years, when he met and married Nan, he just loved to get in their Kombi and hit the road. They went some amazing places and saw some incredible things, again, contents for another book (or two... or three...). What I was surprised to learn, through some of the deep conversations with Nan, was that he kept a journal. I was surprised because Ron never struck me as the journalling kind of guy, but I wasn't too surprised by his approach. Ron was never a long winded bloke, and his travels diaries reflected this, eg: "March 3rd, Thursday, Saw a fox."

You might laugh (I did!) but Nan said that those little jotted notes served as great reminders when they went back through them and reminisced. It kind of makes me a bit embarrassed about just how waffley I often get... maybe I should take a lesson from Ron... next trip you might get a lot of "Friday, it's hot, cooked potatoes"

Amazing what one night away can do!

2010-08-11T13:22:00.000+10:00

I'm just on my way home from Moonta Bay and about to get back to work on repairs to Mums house. For some reason, the thought of overnight trips make me feel a lot more anxious than the thought of a longer journey. Maybe that's because for some reason I feel I have to fit a weeks worth of holiday into one night! This little getaway was a real eye opener for me.

I left Mums late morning yesterday, took my time sauntering up the coast and across York Peninsula to stop in on my Aunt Necia for an afternoon coffee. My goal for the night away was simple: catch up with Necia, give her a copy of some photo's from my brothers wedding she was unable to attend, find somewhere near the beach to spend the night, shoot off at the very least one roll of film (in 6x12 format, that's only six photo's, not a big ask really). After I'd had a good catchup with Necia and passed on the photos from my brothers wedding, I politely declined a bed for the night and headed down to the Jetty at Port Hughes... promising I'd be back for a morning coffee before heading off, of course!

In the end, the trip turned out to be everything I needed, and nothing more, which is fantastic. A good nights sleep, an early rise, burning of a roll of panoramic film and half a dozen or so sheets of 4x5 before sunrise, another catchup with Necia, and a leisurely trip home. I also managed to squeeze in finding a good number of caches along the way, which is just a bonus.

Right now I'm about half an hour from Mums, I've stopped to photograph a ruin of a beautiful old farm house... and make a cuppa while I'm at it. I feel refreshed and revived, even though I've only been away for a little over 24 hours. It's a good lesson for me I think, I've learned that my need to get away isn't necesarilly a need for a month in the outback, at least not every time. I've learned that heading off just for a night away can do just as much good as a longer trip, as long as I don't put the expectations of a long trip on it. Have one or two core objectives, one destination. Anthing more is a bonus, but not an expectation. Hopefully this will help me to get out more often, knowing that I don't have to make an epic journey of it.

Time for a break!

2010-08-10T08:28:00.000+10:00

I've been working hard here at Mum's for the past week and a half, I'm pretty happy with the work I've managed to get done so far, so I think I deserve a little break. Surprisingly, here in the beautiful Barossa Valley, I only pulled my camera out for the first time this afternoon when I took a quick drive down to a nearby river crossing that has a nice, 'outback-ey' feel to it. I only shot one sheet, but at the very least, it started to get me feeling a little artistic again.

So, after I mould-proof the half of the deck that I've pressure cleaned (yes, 'half', it's a big deck!) I'm going to leave my right hand man here with his Grandma and head to Moonta Bay. I've got an Aunt living up there, so I'll pop in and say G'day to her then head off to find a good spot on the beach to camp. I just hope I can manage to get up before dawn to catch some of the nice light. I'm pretty stuffed, and I always seem to sleep so well in Red, much better than in a 'real' bed, so hopefully I'll manage to get up early!

Taking the Coorong Road

2010-07-30T12:19:00.000+10:00

Dang... I wrote a great post here, but it all disappeared when I uploaded it! Ok, I'll just sum up:

After leaving Alvie I trundled down towards Warrnambool then to Mt Gambier. Used some free Maccas Wi-Fi to Skype home, then went off in search of a quiet place to spend the night. Melbourne to Adelaide is really only a one day trip, but I like to take it slow and have a sleep along the way. Zeke & I ended up finding a neat roadside rest spot just past Mt Gambier, plenty of space to get off the road and park in one of a few little cutaways in the scrub.

This morning we got up a little after sunrise and pushed on. We stopped at the surf beach just outside of Beachport for Zeke to have a good old run around. As much as he loves chilling out and watching the scenery go by, we loves to get out and stretch his legs whenever there's an open space.

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, we stopped at Kingston to make breakfast and uncover another couple of caches. The Coorong road is good fun, if not a little strange. it's lined with odd looking trees with one side completely flat, like someone's driven along with a hedge cutter... except they're a good couple meters back from the road. We had good fun driving along, trying to spot Mr Percible and imagining filming our own version of Alby Mangles adventures in there!

Alvie - Home of the volcano

2010-07-29T15:16:00.000+10:00

I actually only found out about this little town a few weeks ago when visiting our friends up in Landsborough. Chris told me about this cute little town with an amazing lookout that overlooked little water-holes which are, in fact, old volcanic craters! Wow! I (like probably every other kid) have had a fascination with volcanoes since primary school science, so a 12Km detour off the main road was absolutely nothing to go check this out. Sadly though, I was a bit disappointed. It's my own fault, I let my imagination run away and picture an amazing landscape with pock-marked paddocks for as far as the eye can see... when in reality, there was only a couple craters. Don't get me wrong, they still make for a very interesting site, and if you sit there and use your imagination, you can really get a feel for what the place was once like.

It's still a cool place to visit, up there on Red Rock Lookout, just not what my overactive imagination had built it up to be! Oh well, back to the road...

ps, We indulge ourselves in a little Geocaching now and then, and we've been having a bit of a run of bad luck lately. One good thing I can say about Alvie, that dry spell is over!

Going for a visit - Time to try a new road...

2010-07-29T13:20:00.000+10:00

I'm on my way to visit my Mum up in The Barossa Valley, South Australia. She's been having a bit of trouble getting her house cleaned up, fixed up and ready for sale... so when I floated the idea of popping over to give her a hand she jumped at the opportunity, and even offered a little payment to make it worth my while. Since the old job hunt is going a bit slow since relocating down to the coast, I thought I'd be crazy to pass up the opportunity of a road trip, visiting my Ma', and making some cash, all in one hit!

Laura's response when I mentioned it to her was "Well, what're you waiting for? Go as soon as you can!". Zeke was pretty keen to, so, with permission all-round, I hit the road yesterday afternoon (later than planned, of course).

Most times I head over to SA I'm running late (last major trip, back in September, I was running a day behind thanks to food poisoning from that dodgy pizza), so I just end up taking the tried & tested main drag along Dukes Hwy. It's flat and pretty straight, boring as hell, but at least I know exactly what my fuel economy is going to be along it, so I know what speed to sit on to get there with only a quick top-up towards the end. It's also the road that goes past the Bordertown Bakery... if that was the only reason, it'd probably still be my favourite road. This time, however, I have time on my side and I've already made up my mind to take the coast. I'll avoid 'The Great Ocean Road' section though, because I do still have a bit of a deadline, and all the tourist busses can make that route a nightmare (it's a great drive if you've got nowhere to be in a hurry though). Instead, I'm going to take the (slightly) inland road through Colac, then out to Warrnambool. This will give me an opportunity I can't pass up: a visit to the volcanic craters at Alvie!

Settling

2009-10-03T13:34:00.000+10:00

So far on this trip I've been on the move all the time, heading for a different spot every day, so I feel like I haven't really settled down anywhere and set up a good base camp. However, I've just come back to "Mainwater Well" in the Gammon Ranges, I'm planning on staying here for a few days, or more.

I stayed here the night before last, unintentionally though. I spent the night before at a little spot just inside the ranges, planning to spend the next day exploring some of the camp sites. I had come down this way with the intention of following the track straight past Mainwater Well, out through a sheep station and back on to the main road to Leigh Creek to get some supplies. It was late in the day, so I would have gotten to town just in time to book in to the camp grounds and put a load of washing on, except, the owner of the sheep station had fenced off the gate. Completely within his rights, I know, but it was a little annoying. I followed the fence line up and down a few hundred metres looking for a way through, but figured I'd be best going back to Mainwater (yes, past the creepy looking ghost homestead!), light a fire and go back to town in the morning.

The next day, I did just that. I took the other half of the 4WD loop track back to the main road through the ranges, popped up to Arkaringa to fill up (and endure some tourists with more dollars than sense) before heading back to Leigh Creek, where I filled up my water, bought some groceries, posted a letter back home and booked myself into the camp site to put a load of washing on and have a hot shower.

So now I'm back, my clothes box is smelling fresh, I'm smelling fresh, my pantry is overflowing and I'm ready to settle in.

"You Gotta Come Back In October..."

2009-10-01T09:23:00.000+10:00

"You gotta come back in October" they said, "You have to see the Ranges in Spring," I was told, "the air is crystal clear after the winter rains and the sunsets have the most amazing colours". That's what I was told when I was here in April, now here we are, it's the first day of October, I'm back here, and what do I see? ...NOTHING! Yep, that's right, the air is so thick with dust that everything is lost in a haze, it feels like I'm in downtown Melbourne on a Thursday afternoon! I went for a walk this afternoon, I climbed up one of the bigger hills near camp and could only see one range of hills. Yep, just one, when there would usually be five or six from that viewpoint. One thing I'll give it though, the light is very soft, if I were a portrait photographer out here, or maybe a painter, I'd probably be having a blast... well, maybe not as a painter, the wind is still pretty insane!

Nothing like a nice fresh shower to perk you up!

2009-09-27T05:25:00.002+10:00

I was at the Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta this morning. It's an interesting place actually, it's pegged as the driest town, in the driest state on the driest continent... yet some fools still chose to live there???!!! There's a little general store and a museum there, but life seems to revolve around the big, pink roadhouse. Oh, there's also a cinema! Imagine a dozen old church pews on the side of the road, an oversized basketball backboard with a speaker attached to the top, and that's the cinema... I didn't think to check when the next screening was...

Anyway, this roadhouse, it's very interesting, it is in possibly the blokiest location possible (last port of call before the Simpson Desert, every seriously laden 4WD has to stop here for fuel, water and to repair their tires), yet, the whole thing is PINK! Maybe it was once hot pink, but after years of sun and fading it's settled on a nice, delicate 'fairy-floss' pink. Very manly, very manly indeed! Well, I ended up hanging around there for a good few hours just watching the different folk come and go. There were the newly retired folk who wanted to try their hand at the Oodnadatta track, and were just going up as far as Marla, or just coming back from there. Then there were the real mucho blokes, big fat 4WD's loaded down with swags (cos real men like to sleep on the ground, with bugs, and snakes... apparently...), fuel cans, one guy even carrying a whole tree stump on his roof, saying that he can never find decent firewood out there! What really got my attention, was a cyclist, that's right, a dude in tight shorts peddling up the track. Definitely not something you see every day! It turns out he was on his way to a big race somewhere... I had to wonder how many other guys in tight shorts I'd have to dodge on my way out of here!

If you're a people watcher, I can't recommend the pink roadhouse enough as a place to just sit and watch the world go by (albeit somewhat out of the way).

The food wasn't bad either, I had their special vegie-burger... I'll hand it to them, the most inventive use for frozen 'Bubble & Squeek' patties I've seen yet!

After a couple of hours I thought it was time to move on, I was getting odd looks from the girl with a funny accent working the counter (turns out she was Canadian... out here...), so I grabbed a souvenir from the book exchange rack and headed off 'down the track'

I was aiming for William Creek, it was the next place along that had showers and while I was still on the safe side of a week, I though it best to have a quick scrub. When I arrived there was a convoy of about a dozen cars (with 28 guys!) that had come from Western Australia, 'straight across the middle', as one guy put it. They were on a bit of an adventure using old Len Beadle maps (he's the guy that originally mapped out all the roads in the outback), apparently the roads had been so rough in one spot that one blokes car had actually snapped in half! You never know just how much merit to give these sorts of stories, but they seemed serious, and all appeared to have their story straight, so maybe there is some poor bugger left out there somewhere waiting for a tow.

Well here's a little example of some of the dust I collected after an afternoon on the track:

So, I thought it was definitely time for a shower... until I saw the showers!

All I can say, is it's a darn good thing the lights didn't work, and the sun was setting quickly! Of course, one thing I didn't consider, apart from drinking water, everything out here is bore water, and this stuff seemed extra salty. By the time I got out of the shower, I felt like I'd just come out from a swim at the beach and needed a good rinse off! Mmmm... bore water & soap, instant dread-locks!

Since it was getting on I ended up just spending the night here. I hadn't really put any thought into it before, but this was the first time I've camped on the 'other side' of the dog fence, I still didn't think of it until I had my first experience of a dingo nosing around my camp late at night, what a creepy feeling! Dingoes are weird because they don't really make any noise, even when they walk they're virtually silent, so you never really know just quite where they are. I've heard they do odd things too, but I wasn't expecting to wake up to something lightly scratching up under my wheel arches! Okay, I'll admit, I got a little freaked out for a second, the metal under there is pretty thin, so it sounded like this thing was almost in the car! I had visions of that gremlin creature on the Simpsons that follows Bart to school and starts tearing the bus apart. Eventually I stuck my head out the back window and yelled at them to nick off, even then I never saw the thing, just a distant bush rustle as it passed through.

Getting over a let-down and going in search of new adventures!

2009-09-26T14:11:00.007+10:00

So I arrived at the Painted Desert yesterday, a six month dream come true! Driving through Arkaringa Station and past the homestead was a bit of a buzz, it was the first building I'd seen since setting foot on the Moon Plains that morning. I must admit, as much as it was probably a very ordinary site, it was still pretty impressive. Green grass and lush gardens in the middle of dusty pastures and dry creek beds. I passed a few of their cows on the way in and they looked happy enough, which was a good sign.

The one thing that let me down though, was the big sign near the homestead that read "No Camping. 15km." ...Crap! I knew you weren't allowed to camp right at the hills that I planned to shoot because they were actually on private property, but 15K's away?! C'mon! I got over that dissapointment pretty quickly when I saw the line of hills appear over a rise in the road, and I thought the grass of the homestead was impressive! WOW! My initial plans were to spend maybe a week out here, up before dawn and back to camp after dark, exploring every hill, coming back to shoot it in the perfect light, I was going to have a blast!

Well... that's what I thought at least!

When I finally found the first place to camp (over 7K's from the nearest hill I wanted to explore!) it was pretty ordinary I have to say. Sure, there was plenty of room (as indicated in my "Camping" book when they mentioned caravan access), but it was in the middle of nowhere, near a dried up creek bed with a few shrivled up shrubs for shade. So really, it was a flat patch of dirt out in the open. Ok, under normal circumstances that probably would have been fine, throw the annex up out the back, get a fire going and enjoy a good meal before an early start... but these weren't normal circumstances... the wind that had been blowing pretty much since I left Melbourne was still at it, even up here. There was no way I'd be getting a fire going out here, much less getting the annex up without it flying halfway home before I pegged it down. I struggled to cook a quick dinner on my gas burner (shielding it from every possible angle, it still went out twice) and just hid inside Red reading until it was bedtime.

In the morning I was up early and heading back to the hills to catch the morning light. ...unfortunately, so was the wind...

After a pretty ordinary sunrise over some (probably, if I hadn't been in such a grumpy mood) pretty impressive land features, I decided to take advantage of the morning chill and walk up into some of the hills.

The terrain certainly was interesting, and I eventually lightened up and started enjoying myself as I strode around these amazingly colourful (that's why it's called the "Painted" desert!) hills with my pack on and all rugged up (yep, it may not look it, but it was freezing out there!).

As much as I did eventually end up enjoying myself, by the time I got down off the hills my mind was definitely made up. 'Yep', I've seen the place, it's impressive, I'll come back another day. Possibly with other people, to make that barren camp site not seem quite so lonely, but definitely when this wind is not here!

Leaving the beautiful scenery behind me (to be honest, I don't know if I even looked in the mirror as I left!) I sped off in a cloud of dust (well, actually, and this is the surprising thing, there is almost NO dust around! The wind has blown it all away! ...G'day Sydney, how you enjoying it? he... he... he...) towards Oodnadatta, the driest town in Australia.

Leaving the boy and going solo

2009-09-25T11:00:00.004+10:00

So I left Zeke with Danny in Coober Pedy to head for the Painted Desert. I left the boy in his Step-Grandaddy's capable hands for a couple of reasons, firstly, I knew Zeke wouldn't like it further North where I was heading (he was having enough trouble with the heat in Coober Pedy!), but also because I was hoping to pop into the Gammon, and maybe Flinders Ranges at some point on the way back to Adelaide. Of course, being National Parks, they tend to discourage four-legged visitors.

After filling up Big Red, having a quick lunch (hot chips and a day old corn-dog) from the diner at the servo I left one final phone message before heading out of range for who knows how long, then was on the road!

It was pretty exciting to finally be headed for Arkaringa (in the Painted Desert). I had wanted to get out there in April, but it was just a bit too far out of the way for the time I had available, that hasn't stopped me visiting there many times in my dreams since then though, and now I was finally on my way! To get to Arkaringa from Coober Pedy, you take the Oodnadatta road and turn off at Mt Barry, which means you have to pass through "Moon Plains". Moon Plains has to be one of the creepiest places I've ever been to in my life, I don't even know where to begin describing it! What's there? Well, there's nothing out there! Well, that's not entirely true, there's rocks out there, millions and millions of jagged, sharp rocks for as far as the eye can see, and the sandy ground has an odd, sort of green hue about it.

There's no hills on the horizon to get a sense of scale or distance, no trees to cast a shadow, or to give you an indication of whether it's windy or not. There's just nothing out there! At one point I pulled up figuring, what better place to get a photo of Robot Man than on Moon Plain. When I opened the door it was wrenched from my hand by a blustering gale, which was a real surprise, because with no trees, or even grasses to give an indication I had forgotten it had been windy at all! Stepping out of Big Red felt a lot like stepping out on the moon landing reckon, as soon as my feet hit the ground I sank a good inch or so. No, not because I'd had day old corn-dogs for lunch two days in a row (hey, we were sight-seeing and didn't have time to prepare anything better, okay?!), but because the odd, greenish sand had consistency much more like ash than any sand I've ever known. I snapped a couple pictures of Robot Man as quickly as I could, then rushed back to the safety of Big Red! What added to the creepiness out there, was that it was deathly silent. Although the wind was strong enough to push you back a few steps if, with no vegetation to be blown about, there was nothing to make any sound. Creeeepy! The picture doesn't really show the greenness of the ground too much, maybe it was just from the reflections of all the rocks, you can, however, see a couple rather deep footprints in there! (...and an exhausted Robot Man!)

Leaving Moon Plains behind could not have been a more comforting feeling if there was a Mr Whippy waiting at the other end, I was just so happy to be out of there and see trees again! I was even happier when I came across an overflowing bore and took the chance to fill up on water for washing up etc. From here on it's just a straight dash across Mt Barry, past Patsies Car and on to the Painted Desert, woohoo! Although, I will admit, I almost missed the turn-off!

...To Be Continued!

It's amazing what you can find out here!

2009-09-25T10:59:00.004+10:00

They say you can get anything in a big city... I say, you can find even more out here!

This is Robot-Man, probably weighing up whether this might be a fixer-upper, or if he should just settle for the old Torana around the corner...

Coober Pedy

2009-09-25T10:57:00.002+10:00

This photo is of you-know-who looking out over a section of "The Breakaways", an amazing area just out of Coober Pedy with incredible views of some very strange looking natural rock formations in every direction. This was our last stop for the day after having a good tour around town, seeing all the sites including some very interesting dugout houses, and an underground Croatian church (what?!).
In our travels we came across an eccentric old man living on top of a hill next to "The Big Winch" overlooking town. He had the best, biggest, weirdest collection of junk I have ever seen! He also had his own little mine, a tunnel about one meter wide going straight down. He had a swing seat attached to an old electric winch that he got his wife to lower him down on (reminds me of the old guy from The Never Ending Story... "I'm not a witch, I'm your wife!"). What a crazy old fella! I bought a souvenir piece of rock from him just because he was so much fun to chat withand had some really kooky things, like (according to him) the original Watergate confession by Nixon, on an old audio reel, nailed to the side of his shed! Conspiracy theorist? I'll let you decide for yourself!
After watching the sunset at The Breakaways it we headed back to the creek wh camped at the night before. I'm still sitting there now as I write this, sort of deciding where to go from here. I'm going to head towards Oodnadatta to go out to Mt Arkaringa (and maybe find a shower!), I think I might head off today, but we'll see, there must be a couple cups of tea between now and then anyway. The hardest thing (and probably what's stopping me from packing nd heading off right now) is that I'll be leaving Zeke here with Danny and won't see him until I get back to the Barossa Valley in a couple weeks, I'm going to miss him SO much!!! This is because I'm sure it'll be a little warmer further North, and I'm also planning on going through a couple National Parks, which, of course, don't allow dogs, what a shame! Danny and Zeke get on really well, they both like just sitting around, taking the occasional stroll, then sitting down again. When I went to the Flinders Ranges Zeke stayed with Mum and Danny for a week and a half and had an absolute blast. I guess I'm just a little more worried about him out here, he really doesn't like the heat! Although it hasn't been too hot yet, I think after the coming cooler days there's going to be a warm one, so I just hope they can find a big shady tree somewhere.
Well, if I do head off today, I don't know when I'll come near an internet connection again, but I'll still make an effort to write the odd bit and upload them when I can.

Rocketland!

2009-09-23T10:56:00.001+10:00

We finally arrived in Woomera last night. The winds were absolutely insane! Danny said he's been in Woomera when it was windy (and it can get windy) but he'd never seen anything like this before! Next to where I pulled up there was a fully laden 4WD parked, with what looked like a mound of tarps covered in a card table. Danny told me that this couple had pulled up and attempted to put up their dome tent in the wind, but gave up and just threw a tarp, table and a handful of bricks on top... we had a good (quiet) chuckle... There was NO way you could put a tent up in wind like that!

After a being gently (ha ha!) rocked to sleep I woke feeling fairly well rested and ready to take a look around town. Woomera is the home of rocket and weapons testing in Australia, which was really exciting on two counts, firstly, I absolutely love space stuff, used to sit out watching the stars when I was a kid, trying to spot satellites (this was out on the farm, before I moved to the city and forgot what stars were). A couple of times we found fallen weather balloons on our property, I think my brother had me going for quite a while that they were actually from space ships, or aliens or something. Secondly, I'm helping with a project at the moment, a story about a Robot Man (possibly named 'Robert', or, my favourite, 'Ro-Bert'!), I won't give the story away, but basically (I think) it's going to be about him trying to get home, so I thought Woomera would make the perfect first stop for him.

There's a neat museum here, unfortunately it wasn't open while we were there, so we just headed back to "Spuds" to fill up and have a coffee before pushing on to Coober Pedy. Spuds is a roadhouse in Pimba, just a couple minutes out of Woomera, where you can get a hot shower for $3.50, and stay the night for a gold-coin donation (which means $1 I guess :P). The coffee here, well, you get two options, put your money in a machine and it'll make it for you (these always remind me of that email going around with the monkey hiding in the machine pee'ing in the coffee), or you buy a sachet of stale instant coffee, and try to find where their hot water tap is... Living in Melbourne for the past however-many-years I'm a little more discerning about my coffee than I used to be, so before I left I picked up a fresh box of frothy instant latte & cappuccino sachets, so we just sat outside and made our own.

Day two, the storms continue!

2009-09-22T10:52:00.003+10:00

After a bit of a slow start again this morning I was off heading to meet Danny at Woomera, it would have been a nice drive were it not for a) lots of roadworks along Pt Wakefield Hwy, and b) THIS FREAKIN WIND THAT JUST WON'T LET UP!!! I swear my fuel economy was nearly about half what it normally is, and it took me easily an hour longer than I had anticipated to get to Woomera.

I stopped off at one point along the way to try and find a geocache I had plugged into my GPS that morning. When I pulled off the road and headed along the little track I soon realised that the thick, red soil had been turned into a deep, dirty orange mush by the storms. When my GPS pointed me to head one more kilometer up a particularly squelchy looking bit of track, I thought since it was getting late anyway, it was probably time to get back to the road and just continue on my way.

While I was pulled up however, there was a brief break in the clouds, so I was able to get a quick snap of the railway that winds through the outback. I'm not sure what line it is, the one that The Ghan takes maybe? I think it's written on one of my maps, will have to check that... it's funny though, scene's like this make me think of the American mid-west, I think that just goes to show how much TV has Americanised us and we don't realise how great and varied our own country is! There is SO much out here, just the journey getting to our destination is amazing, there is always something to look at and go "Woooow!".

What a start to a trip!

2009-09-21T10:37:00.001+10:00

¨Well I'm on the road again, and what a start to a trip! I had planned to leave early Sunday morning (the 20th), but Saturday nights pizza had a different agenda!

After spending a mad afternoon organising Big Red, packing my gear and finishing off a couple last-minute jobs for people, the plan was to spend a quiet evening with my girlfriend over dinner and movie. We thought we'd be all class and get pizzas. Well, something on one of those fancy pizzas didn't agree with me and I was up all night enjoying them again and again (hey, there's nothing quite like getting your moneys worth!), then slept all of Sunday barely able to move. Long story short, I am now up and away, albeit a day late, but still, after the mad rush of Saturday, it was actually nice to be able to spend a relaxing day doing nothing before I left, even if it was just because I wasn't able to do anything!

On the way to Adelaide, severe weather warnings started coming through on the radio, they made it sound like I was driving into a hurricane... At least I'd managed to fix the wipers before leaving! Not to worry though, turns out that it was Leonard Cohen's birthday, so the radio was having a bit of a special which meant I got some great music to sing along to.

Out of Murray Bridge and climbing the hills was the usual uneventful leg, apart from playing 'tag' with a truck as we rollercoastered up (my chance to catch him) and down (boy can those things move when they've got gravity on their side!) the hills. Over the last hill a heavy fog descended making it slow going from there, all the way down to the city.

We arrived safely at Dad's place welcomed by hot soup and gale-force winds!

Classic Pubs

2009-08-13T20:00:00.003+10:00

So I had a thought. I had it quite a while ago actually. I had thought it would be neat to do a photographic study on all of the old pubs around Melbourne, since a lot of them are being torn down to make way for gaudy apartments. At the time I was playing at a lot of these historic (but dilapidated) venues that have such a rich lineage. It's a real shame to see that history get torn down without a second thought.

That got me thinking a little further abroad: Why don't I look into old pubs that are full of history, but are NOT in danger of being torn down, ie, they're the only pub for a few hundred K's in any direction! Ok, so maybe not always that extreme, but I'm going to make a bit of an effort to document some of the great pubs I come across in my travels, starting here, with the Largs Pier Hotel in Largs Bay, South Australia. Just a short stroll from my Dad's place. Cold beer, GREAT meals, and very reasonable rooms... not to mention some fantastic history.

Wow, time sure is slipping away!

2009-08-12T10:44:00.002+10:00

Sure is, only five weeks until we’re due to leave, and I’m still trying to get Reds transmission serviced! There are so many things I had wanted to get done before this trip, I think it’s time to really pull my finger out and get moving!

Here’s a brief list of things I need to sort out before I head off:

-Get reds transmission fixed, it’s been playing up for a couple months now.

-Build new water carriers to go on the running boards, that’ll be an adventure in engineering ingenuity!

-Fit new mattress: I inherited a great old caravan mattress from a friend, just needs a little trim here and there to get it to fit snugly, no more 2000Km back pain!

-Storage: Red’s already missing the bottom part of his rear seats, I keep meaning to strip the backrest parts out too, just to have a little extra storage under the bed.

-Odd little fix-it jobs, ie, sometimes the rear window slips off its rollers and won’t wind down… I don’t feel like waking up trapped inside once we’re in the desert! A set of lights in the back are still just wired up with their temporary fixings, need to finish them off properly.

Well, I think that’s enough to keep me MORE than busy for the next five weeks! In that time I need to finish off a promo job I’ve been working on for a mates gym, not to mention all the other projects at home! I have decided, it’s not that there’s not enough hours in the day… there just aren’t enough days in the week!

A change of plans

2009-07-21T09:02:00.003+10:00

Due to some drama's with getting their house ready in time for their wedding, my brother and his fiance` have pushed their wedding back to late November. At first I was a little peeved because I'd booked long service leave from work to have a month off over that time and make a real trip out of it. After a couple cups of tea I calmed down and realised...
Why don't I make an even BETTER trip out of it!

When I got back from my last trip to the Flinders Ranges I had thought it would be great to go back in Spring, when the air is clearer to make for some great photography. I had also wanted to get up to the Painted Desert but two weeks just wasn't long enough.

The map attached here is just a rough plan at this stage, it also includes stopping through Patchewollock on the way up, a little town I've wanted to visit for a long time (originally just because of the name, but now I have a friend whose Grandparents live there). The itinerary needs a little refining, but my basic hazy thought (bearing in mind I haven't mentioned this to any of the other people involved yet!) is to head to Coober Pedy and meet up with Danny, my Mums partner. Although still living in the Barossa, they spent a while up here and absolutely loved it, so Danny is keen to introduce me to the locals and show me some of the sights. All going well, when we part ways after a couple nights Zeke will head to the Barossa with Danny while I head Northwards towards Oodnadatta, and possibly beyond. I know Zeke would hate the heat up there, but loves Mums place, so I figure he'd be happier running amock in their paddocks than sitting on a shadeless sandhill with me!

Spending a month heading in this direction, rather than up to Noosa (where by brother lives) has brought up a few different challenges I'll need to devote some time to, so keep an eye out in the Prep & Mods page for some of my ideas on water storage and a few other necessary changes.

Tell Me Where To Go!

2009-07-13T11:22:00.005+10:00

I'm starting to plan my next trip, and I'd love some input. The plan so far looks like this: We'll hit the road September 19th (or shortly after), need to be around Noosa for my brothers wedding on October 4th, then trudging back home to Melbourne by the 18th October.

I'd love to have some input on what to see, where to go etc. The main focus of the trip will be photography, and general exploring. Is there something you've always wanted to see, but never been able to get there? A mysterious place you've heard about and want me to track it down, investigate and report back for you? I'm open to any and all requests no matter how big or small. So, hit me with some ideas!

_______________________________________________

Edit: Okay, there's been a change of plans! The month long road trip is still on, but without the need to be in Noosa right in the middle! Still open to suggestions!

Need A Checkup?

2009-07-08T15:29:00.003+10:00

Earlier this year Big Red was in serious need of some work. He was running beautifully, and would happily take me anywhere I wanted to go on any of our expeditions, but the poor guy was cruising along with his bum dragging on the ground! After much searching around the internet and posting questions on a number of 4WD forums I found the most highly recommended specialist 4WD mechanic seemed to be Guest 4WD in Fairfield. A family owned and run business, these guys (and gals) know their stuff, they specialise in Toyota and Nissan 4WD's, and don't touch anything that doesn't have a transfer case... so no point dropping your daily runabout off to them!

I was really impressed with their setup (which you can see in their Virtual Tour), their knowledge, and also their range of maps, books and other goodies.

After an initial service and check-over, I took Red back to get a full new set of shocks & springs. Now these guys are really honest, so a pleasant change from your regular 'specialist' mechanic, in fact, they quoted me on the wrong set of springs initially (coils, instead of leaf springs -which are pricier- for the back), so they met me halfway on the price, and threw on a set of extended shackles on the house. Good one guys!

However, if I'm honest and give you the full story, it doesn't end there. There actually was a bit of a cock-up, in that whoever put the rear springs on forgot to fully tighten the left ones. What that meant was, as I was pulling out of Bordertown, all four bolts holding my left leaf-spring were on the verge of dropping off!

Anyway, long story short, I gave them a call last week (yes, I know, I take a while to get around to things...) and explained what happened, they said to bring Big Red in first thing the next morning (ie, 7:30am, tell me, what mechanic is willing to work at that hour?!) and they'd get straight on to checking everything over for me. ...and check him over they did! He was in there for nearly three hours (I only just got home in time for an 11am house inspection) and they didn't charge me a cent. They were all very apologetic, and promised to have a stern word with the guy that finished up the installation in the first place. They even found a couple little things that were getting old (ie, brittle hose on the windscreen washer reservoir) and fixed them up for me. Again, free of charge. They have also offered to help me out with a good price when I'm due for a new set of tires, since the shoddy job partially contributed to one tire wearing unevenly.

So, after all that I've read about Guest 4WD, mine is the only negative I've ever come across, and like I said, they were shocked to hear my story and went out of their way to recompense me. All in all, I'm more than happy to recommend them to anyone needing work done, just book early if you're wanting to get anything done around Easter time, they're flat out preparing all the grey nomads for their migration North!

Wild Country Vehicle Annex

2009-06-14T16:53:00.015+10:00

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned my ongoing quest to find the ideal shelter for my particular needs. I had just bought a Wild Country annex on special from Rays Outdoors and was excited to see how it would go.

Well, I have to say I am quite impressed with this little unit! I was a little unsure how it would cope with the wet weather we were expecting up at Corowa, because after all, it IS only advertised as a 'wind and shade' shelter. We had some very decent downpours over the long weekend, plus a good day of constant drizzle. I had almost resigned myself to the idea of bundling a soaking wet shelter into the back of Red to be dried out at home and stored away until summer comes around again, but it held up very well, no leaking through the fabric itself, nor through any of the (fully taped) seams.

Setup wasn't quite as straight forward as I had anticipated, it was a little fiddly to get everything pegged out square, mainly because one of the poles seemed to be a little warped, which must have been to do with the way I put it together. I'll pay close attention to that part of the setup next time I use it. However, once the 'tent' poles were all in place properly and the back (err, or front?) was attached to Big Red it was pretty straight forward to get the corners pegged out. They have elastic loops to peg through rather than eyelets, possibly not as durable as brass eyelets, but it does save you needing extra elastics for every point you peg down. The attached guy ropes are neat too, never going to pull the shelter out of its bag to find I've lost the guys!

The above picture should give you a bit of an idea just how roomy it is inside, with plenty of headroom in the main area. Having the rear flap extended out makes it feel like a little base camp in itself with lots of room to cook etc while keeping the drizzle off. The sides also roll up (although on a bit of an odd angle) to make it fully open, probably very useful in warmer climates where you want as much breeze coming through as you can get. However, not being in that kind of climate last weekend, I found that even when fully closed up it still felt very roomy, I'd say you could easily have two chairs in there, possibly with a small table as well (but I just use the 'MPTG', Multi purpose tail gate :P )

Pack up was a breeze, the ground was wet and getting a little muddy, so I didn't bother packing it all up properly, I just loosely folded the shelter and stuffed it back into its bag (must remember to dry that, sometime...) while the poles and pegs I just put in the bag I keep my other pegs and annex poles in. Quick, easy, no fuss, no extra hands needed.

So, my verdict? It's GREAT! Not quite a 30 second job like the Oz Tent, but a heck of a lot more compact! Probably designed for a wider bodied vehicle, like say a Land Cruiser or Patrol, since the locking suction cups that attach it to the roof are spaced fairly widely. On Big Red this meant they were attached a few inches down each of the side windows (you can see the white dot in the pictures), which actually worked out well for me, it meant the front seam of the shelter was pulled tightly across the roof of the car, directing water down the side windows, rather than letting it run under and on to the tail gate. It also meant that the suction cups could attach to the windows, rather than the textured fibre glass roof, which they might not have been able to grip so well in the wet (and modest wind). It probably wouldn't be suitable for a regular family car, it seems to be designed for vehicles with a roof line at least 180cm or higher, so 4WD's and Kombi's are in luck. At $48 (on sale), you definitely can't go too far wrong! The only aspect of the shelter that I didn't get to test was just how it would fare as a self standing (albeit three sided) tent. I'll make a point of trying this out next trip and let you know. I'd also like to see how it holds up in higher winds, although last weekend was wet, it remained fairly still. Something else I'll have to report back on.

So, if you're in a Rays store and happen to see one of these (like I said, I've only actually seen them in store the once, and even then there was only a few), especially if they're on special, grab one, you won't regret it.

Roman Global Sub-Zero Sleeping Bag

2009-06-14T15:26:00.008+10:00

After surviving years of camping trips, interstate moves, insane sharehouses and the odd bout of homelessness, not to mention being shredded by an ex, it was finally time to retire my trusty old OzTrail sleeping bag.

I think my favourite day of the work week would have to be a Tuesday. Why? Well because that's the day that I open the Sun to find a tresure trove of bargains. Yes, I'm talking about the Harris Scarfe catalogues! As much as I love wasting a whole Saturday afternoon looking through aisles of gear in an outdoors store, sometimes you just can't beat Harris Scarfe on a sale day (I always follow their products through a number of 'sales' though, as they can be a little dodgy by embelishing their 'rrp' just a touch). A couple weeks ago they had a good sale with lots of cmping gear, and yes, sleeping bags heavily discounted. Having poured over the catalogue and compared prices and reviews on a couple of my favourite sites (here and here for example) I thought I had decided which bag I wanted, however, seeing them in the flesh was another story! One bag (a '-5' Caribee I think) was HUGE! Packaged up it was easily twice the size of my current bag, and weighed in at nearly 3Kg! Now, I know that seeing as I do mostly vehicle based camping, size shouldn't really be of too much concern to me, but I do still think of myself as a backpacker on wheels, so traveling light is still a priority. The giant bag threw me in to a bit of a spin, and I set about reading the labels on all of the other bags, comparing and re-comparing specs. There were about three different -5 bags, a couple 0's, and even a selection of +5's (What?! At THIS time of year???). Eventually I found, tucked away in a dark corner (something that Harris Scarfe stores seem to have plenty of, if you look hard enough) a very small Roman sleeping bag. At first I looked straight past it because it was the same size as their +5 kids bags (which there were HEAPS of), however, on a second look, it wasn't quite the same colour, so I dragged it out.

What I found was a fairly compact -5 Roman Global synthetic bag. I've used an older one of these before and was impressed at its warmth, considering how this it seemed. What's better, it had a tiny little tag with a price tag stuck on it, far, far below the rrp that was underneath. It must have been left over from a past sale as it was the only one in the store, and wasn't mentioned on any of the sale posters hanging around (which all of the others were). The only concern in my mind before deciding to rush up to the counter before some ever-vigilent manager (who am I kidding, this is HS!) saw it and took the stickers off, was whether it would be long enough. It's only 210cm tall, including the hood, whereas the others I had been looking at were 230-250. What the hell, at this price it was a bargain no matter what, and besides, HS has always been fairly loose when it comes to returning goods.

I gave the bag its initiation last weekend camping up at Corowa, on the Murray River. I was a little dubious at first, but in the end I left my trusty old bag at home, hoping that the Roman would do the trick and I wouldn't need to double up. I'd been watching the wether all week ad had seen it get in to the minuses up there, so I was a little nervous to say the least! However, it was fantastic. Firstly, the rip-stop nylon outer is a great idea, usually one little nick will end up in a long tear, but not in ths bag. To be honest, the extra height probably wouldn't hurt, I did feel a little exposed at times (I'm about 6'1", which is, err, 185ish), and with the hood pulled tight the opening naturally wanted to fall over my chin rather than my eyes. Oh well, just snuggle a little deeper! One thing I miss from my old bag though, is the drawstring around the shoulders so you can REALLY trap the heat in, being a little narrower than the OzTrail probably makes up for it a little, but I really liked that extra drawstring. Coupled with my silk liner this bag was a great performer. I probably would want to exceed -5 with it though, I felt like I was getting pretty close to its limits on the coldest night away, without the liner I definately would have been a little less than comfortable.

So, now for the big question: What do you do with a used, slightly torn and rather soiled sleeping bag? Answer: I'm going to cut it down, and turn it into a sleeping bag for Zeke! When we've been in really cold places he's wanted to burrow down inside my bag with me (rather than just on his bed with no coverings), but this bag is a little more of a snug fit, so maybe its time the boy had his own.

Kathmandu Rip Stop Silk Sleeping Bag Liner

2009-05-28T14:05:00.006+10:00

I've been in the market for a new sleeping bag for a while now. My current one is getting on a bit, it's nothing fancy, just an Oztrail one from Harris Scarfe. It's probably a good twelve years old now, it was lived out of exclusively for the first two or three years I was in Melbourne and even managed to go through a washing machine once or twice (NOT by me!) which managed to make a bit of a mess of the outer shell. However, even though it's nearly black on the inside, and there's gaping wounds on the outside, it has still served me well.

The thought of shelling out decent dough to get a good bag was a little daunting, I would definitely want to do my research to make sure I got a good one, and then definitely make sure that it lasts a long, long time. through this process I read time and time again about sleeping bag liners. Now, I thought they were just something you used to keep your bag cleaner longer, or to stop you catching nits or something if staying in a hostel. However, I kept reading reports saying that a good liner can add anywhere from 8 to 15 degrees to your sleeping bags comfort rating! Wow! Maybe, instead of spending big bucks on a -15c bag, I could get away with just a 0c bag and a liner, and still be better off in the wallet region. I ran the idea past my brother who travelled a lot through India and Nepal, including Everest base camp and he confirmed the notion.

As fete would have it, Kathmandu was having a sale about the same time as I was coming to this realisation. Usually that would not be my first stop for camping gear, not by a long shot, but their prices were just too good on this particular occasion. I ended up getting one of these rip stop silk liners. I have to say, it's been the best money I've spent in a long time. I usually travel with two sleeping bags (both as filthy and destroyed as each other) so I can put one inside the other if it gets particularly cold. There were a couple nights in the Flinders where I usually would have had to do that, but with this liner in my bag, I was more than comfortable all night. On a night when I would have gone to beg in thermals, I was absolutely fine in just my undies.

So there you go, a sleeping bag liner definitely did add to the comfort rating of my bag, as well as the silky softness being very comfy to sleep in! I've run it through the was a couple times and had absolutely no drama's whatsoever, just remember to turn it inside out so the little bag (its carry bag is attached at the feet) is in the inside, just in case. Oh, and one other thing I learnt, which only one out of five sales people I asked could tell me, the difference between a standard lined and a 'hostel' liner, is that the hostel liners either have an attached pillow slip, or a built in pillow (usually only the cotton ones). So if you're getting a 'hostel' model, make sure you factor that in when you're looking at its length.

Happy travels, and warm nights!

Wigwams, humpies and annexes, anything to keep the rain off!

2009-05-28T13:00:00.008+10:00

One thing I've been trying to perfect in my travels is a shelter of some sort. I have a great tent, but only ever bother with it if I'm staying somewhere for more than a few nights, or I'm travelling with someone else (which hasn't happened in a looong time!). Usually I just opt to sleep in Red, I've got a neat and cosy set up in there, however, with not much headroom, I can't exactly live in there!

I've tried a few different setups using a good quality tarp, two annexe poles and a few guys. It does the job well, it keeps the sun and rain out, and gives me enough room to stand up to cook, and plenty of room to sit and read a book. The down sides to this setup are that it can be a bit cumbersome to setup on my own, I get there in the end, but it certainly isn't something I look forward to doing when I pull up. It's not particularly sturdy in strong winds, I know that it could be if I took the time to string out extra guy ropes and put springs or rubbers on all of them, but, well, how often have I ever done that? That takes time, and since more often than not it's getting dark when I pull up somewhere, it's time I'd rather spend cooking dinner! The other problem, is that it's not free standing. The end of the tarp is draped across the back of the car, so were I to drive away, the whole thing would come crashing down. Most times when I stake a spot Big Red stays there for the duration and Zeke and I walk everywhere we have to go, but sometimes it would be nice to go exploring in Red, knowing that our camp spot will still be there when we get back.

So, what do I want in a shelter? Quick setup, easy pull-down, sturdy in fairly high winds, waterproof, and free standing. That's not too much to ask, is it?

I've been having a few great chats with Dad about this conundrum, picking his brains, taking advantage of his years of experience outback, learning by trial and error. Before the last trip to the Flinders, I had considered changing the tarp out for some shade cloth, thinking that it would create a shady shelter, but not trap the heat like a tarp does. I was advised against this (very, very clever) idea and was told that if I do that, I WILL GET BURNT! So, it looks like solid materials are still best for shelters, admittedly, there is enough through-ventilation in my tarp setup for the heat to not be a worry anyway.

An almost ideal setup is the Oz Tent (or, 'the 30 second tent'). They're free standing, made of heavy duty materials and the modular designs mean you can add or remove sections to tailor them to your needs. The drawback, well, apart from being ridiculously expensive (to a solo weekend traveller like myself anyway), they are also quite bulky. you either need to buy their roof top storage system, or sacrifice a big chunk of storage space, which in my case, would most likely be my bed, which could be a little inconvenient if I just need a quick nap on the road to my destinaion.

Wild Country (stocked through Rays Outdoors) make a neat looking, semi-freestanding 4WD annexe, it would seem the only downside was trying to find one! Since I first spotted them on Rays website, they've either been listed as 'none in stock', or missing from the page altogether. A few weeks ago Rays had a sale, the annexe was listed in the magazine for a bargain $48! Even though the website still said they were out of stock, I thought I'd take my chances popping up to a local store that evening (I love Rays, they close late EVERY night!). I found three tucked away in a back corner, but none set up, and no time to ask to put one up since it was almost closing time. I asked about their return policy, thinking that I could take it home, set it up just to measure it up against Red and see if it would even suit my purposes, and still have the option to return it if it didn't. Unfortunately they have a 'no returns' policy on tents. Damn! I had to think about it for a bit, but in the end decided that $48 wasn't that much to throw away on a 'maybe', especially since the next tarp I had been looking at was going to set my back around $75, and that was an even bigger maybe.

Although only advertised as a wind & shade shelter on the website, the documentation that came with it says that it is actually waterproof. I'm heading up to Corowa next weekend for the Queens Birthday holiday, I'll post back a report on how it went and whether I'll be hanging on to it, or ebaying it and getting that bigger tarp after all.

Finding Inspiration In A Small Town

2009-05-24T20:00:00.002+10:00

I have just come back from a wonderful weekend away. I went to visit friends out in Landsborough, in Western Victoria.

It was a very inspiring visit, these are two very intelligent people who have studied many different aspects of psychology, as well as being very 'green' in their lifestyle, making for some very weighty, yet enlightening conversations. One of them is also an artist, so we stayed up late having some very inspiring chats.

On Sunday I was taken on a bit of a tour of the area. It was so nice to sit back and be a passenger for once and just be shown the sights, rather than searching them out! Naturally, on our way out I grabbed our little etrex out of Big Red so I could review the tour later because I knew I'd be shown some notable spots that I'll want to return to later.

One of those spots was Camerons Track campground up in the Pyrenees Ranges, a nicely established spot with some good views and some decent looking walking tracks. I'll be stopping back there to camp one day soon and will write a proper report on the area.

Hopefully Big Red Adventures will be going through a bit of a setup and refining process soon, as I slowly work out ways to streamline the page, and my writing! I definitely found inspiration in this small town, and will be making a real effort to get this blog running the way I'd like, with a whole lot more reader interaction and other great things to get excited about. I'll keep you posted!

Open a tin and let me dream

2009-04-16T19:00:00.003+10:00

I have been saving all my small change for the past two years. My last few dollars left from this trip pushed the poor little tin to its limits, it couldn't hold any more coins... So I grabbed my notebook and my laptop and headed for the pub with a tin full of shrapnel.

"I'll have a pint, and a can-opener thanks."

What a better way to finish off a great trip!

Mornings

2009-04-12T12:37:00.001+10:00

Pies, pasties... and a quick shave.

2009-04-07T09:00:00.003+10:00

A must along this route is the Bordertown Bakery. It's built around the old jail, in fact, the loos out the back are in the old cells. There's a great park with a lake and playground here, probably why it's such a popular stop. Luckily though, at this time of the morning there weren't any screaming kids fighting over who pushed who off of the swing, just a few sleepy ducks for Zeke to say good morning to.

Although it was breakfast time, I unconsciously found myself ordering a vegetable pastie and a tall flat white (I've found that asking for a latte` any more than 200K's from Melbourne gets you queer looks). Now traditionally, South Australian pasties are fantastic (there is actually a theory that the pepperiness of a pastie diminishes proportionately in relation to your distance from the heart of the city of Adelaide. However, this one actually left me thinking that Gusto's back home in Melbourne must be run by South Aussies, because this thing in my hand had absolutely nothing over their veg pasties!

Although I passed on the idea of jumping on one of the chairs for a quick shave at the bakery, we did actually have a CLOSE shave on the way out of town! You remember how I got new shocks & springs for Red before we left? Well, whoever was in charge of tightening up the left side must have gone on smoko early! Despite the guys at Guest reassuring me that we could take the Oodnadata track at top speed with no worries, I actually had all four bolts holding the back leaf spring ready to drop off, no kidding! my biggest socket was just a fraction small to get tighten them back up, the only socket big enough was on the end of my tire brace... which was too long to be able to get underneath the axle (in hidsight, I could have just mounted the left side up on a curb, ah well). Lucky there's a nice guy at the local roadhouse who loaned me a big old shifter to do the job. He actually looked surprised when I brought it back... maybe he gave me a crappy old one for a reason.

Relics of a not too distant past

2009-04-07T08:00:00.001+10:00

Something else I've always wanted to check out are the old WWII fuel storage tanks at Wolsley, right on the Vic/SA border. I'd always assumed they were miles off the main drag (since you can't see anything when you look down the road) but since we got up early to see the sunrise on Green Lake it was still pretty early when we hit the border. It's not often I hit a border without any sense of urgency to get to the destination, so a quick U-bolt after flying past the (tiny and hard to see) brown road sign (top marks for visibility guys, geeze) and we were headed down a dusty road in search of some old wartime relics.

To be honest, they were a bit of a let down, just some crumbling brick tanks in some guys paddock really. However, the sense of history in that tiny hamlet is quite surprising. Railroad tracks pass right in front of the old fuel tanks, with the low clouds keeping the sun from thawing the morning crispness, and the tall dry grass whipping at my legs I could just imaging young soldiers filling these tanks way back when. It made me stop and wonder what ws going throught peoples minds back then, the fact that there was a fuel storage facility in the middle of nowhere which would only be acessable by train, aeroplane (plenty of fields to land in) or a very, very long truck ride. What were these people expecting? My history isn't the greatest, but did they ever expect the war to actually come so far onto Australian soil that we would need storage out here? Did the poor residents flinch every time they heard a plane fly past?

Like I said, that was all in my head, reality is: A couple derelict old tanks in some codgers paddock. Rcommendable tourist attraction? Sorry, no. Worth the 12Km round trip off the main road for a history buff or WWII enhusiast? Absolutely.

Excuse me, can I get a glass of water?

2009-04-07T07:00:00.001+10:00

What an amazing sight! "Green Lake" (neither word holding true to what is actually there!) is in Dukes HWY, the main drag between Melbourne and Adelaide. I've wizzed past here so many times and thought "Man, that's crazy, gotta stop there one day". Well, by pure chance (fete, serendipity, little green men, call it what you will) I happened to stop there for a nap.

I bought the biggest coffee available at McDonalds last night, but it must have been decafe, because we didn't get far down the road (in fact, only one story from Pseudopod down the road, by the way, horror stories, empty road, dry lakes with abandoned lifeguard towers... not a good idea) before I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

I guided Big Red in to the next powernap area we came to hoping to get a couple hours of quality shut-eye before pushing on and making Ma's place in time for breakfast. If you're traveling this road and feel like you need a proper sleep, not just a neck-craning, back-arching power nap in the drivers seat, then I have to recommend this area. If you go a little further in from the big truck bays, there's a neat little area on top of a crest with tables and a loo, but then go a little further and you go over the top of the crest and there are decent sized parking bays amongst pine trees, overlooking the 'lake'. It wasn't until we explored over the hill that I realised where we were. That's when I made the executive decision that, well, maybe I really should have a decent sleep. Nah, really I just wanted to hang around 'till the sun came up so I could get some photo's of this amazing sight that I've driven past so many times!

What can I say, call it a dustbowl if you like, but this truly is an amazing country we live in!

Free? I'll take two!

2009-04-06T23:00:00.000+10:00

The best things in life are indeed free... Like WiFi, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. Awesome!

I was seriously jonesing some chips, luckily there was a KFC at the start of town, so I got myself some (relatively speaking) decent chips there before setting up in the car park of the Macca's where us boys had a quick little diner before grabbing a coffe, digging out one of the muffins I got from my local grocery store (for a green grocer, they have some quality baked goods)

Last Pitstop!

2009-04-06T22:00:00.004+10:00

Well I survived the run yesterday, and got not-too-shabby time either (see, told you it wasn't all fun and games), someone must have read my thoughts on the course going THROUGH pubs though... a bloke I know (a personal trainer no less!) stopped off at Young & Jackson on the corner of Flinders & Swanston street, siddled up to the front bar and ordered a pint! The barkeep asked him how the race went, to which he replied "Dunno mate, I still got a K an' a half to go". With that he downed his beer on sped back out the door. Yes, I was present to see the sorry man cross the finish line. No, I will not be adopting his race technique!

Ok, back to travel stuff. With Zeke back from the vet and looking very fetching indeed, it's time to get serious about this packing business. I HAD planned to pick him up and continue on out of town from there, but there is still so much to do! I always seem to get really anxious at the outset of any trip. I get really worried that things aren't packed in the most practical or efficient way or that things aren't in the easiest of places to access. I forget that after your first night or so, everything just seems to find its own place and things of necessity somehow rise to the top while luxury and other non-necessities somehow magically sink to a hidden, yet still accessible hidey hole somewhere below.

In the end I adopt my usual packing technique, food behind the passengers seat, clothes behind mine. Cooking gear at the back with extra water containers an guitar runing down the left side of the car, leaving my beg (on the right) free to throw "possibly might need in a hurry" items such as a raincoat and camera bag. Those couple things are easy enough to throw into the front if we need to pull up somewhere for a night. Oh, and maps and notebooks go on the floor in front of the passenger seat (along with Zeke's nifty new, anti-spill travel water bowl), only small things that are easy to throw in the back when I FINALLY run across that gorgeous Swedish hitchiker.

So, last pitstop before we hit the road.

...man my legs are sore...

No time to kick back, we've got a trip to plan!

2009-04-03T22:05:00.005+11:00

Okay, time for another adventure, I've got two weeks to play with, and feel like exploring my roots a little. Of course, that means heading to the outback, so first thing's first, I'd better get Zeke a haircut, or he isn't going to cope with the heat up there... not to mention the prickles!

Other than Zeke needing a trim, we're pretty much all set. Red got back from the guys at Guest 4WD with brand new Koni's and springs all round, so there's no question about HIM being ready! Me on the other hand, well, the 'Run For The Kids' fun run is the day before we head off, in fact, it's the reason we're not hitting the road two days earlier!

For those who don't know, the Run For The Kids is a wonderful fundraising event which is an absolute joy and pleasure to be a part of... yeah right! It's 14 hellish K's of city running, through tunnels, over bridges and past pubs (that's gotta be the hardest part, PAST pubs, if only they could organise it to go THROUGH pubs!). People say: "Oh, it's not competitive, I don't care about my time, we're doing it for the kids" but sure enough, they'll still come up to you afterwards wanting to know your time, your splits, your this and your thats... All I'm thinking about, is not how I'm going to go in the race, but how my legs are going to cope with a long distance drive the next day!

I still feel a little disorganised with my camping gear spread all over the place, but I keep reminding myself that it's not like I'm going to the moon for three years. There isn't anything that I absolutely can't live without, and if I do happen to forget some necesity, it's not like Adelaide really is the backwater that some politicians have claimed it to be, I can always pick up gear along the way.

The Flinders

2009-04-01T07:03:00.004+11:00

During April we took a trip through SA and up to the Flinders, find the posts here:

No time to kick back we've got trip to plan!

Last Pitstop...

Free? I'll take two!

Excuse me, can I get a glass of water?

Relics of a not too distant past

Pies, pasties and a quick shave

Home at last, I need a drink!

Now where did I leave my sanity...?

2009-03-26T08:00:00.005+11:00

I like to think of myself as an organised person. Most people confuse 'organised' with 'tidy', which is something I would definitely NOT call myself! My workroom, my car, my desk, my kitchen drawers, they may look a shambles to the untrained eye, but if you need anything, anything at all from a 2mm drill bit to a melon-baller, I can tell you exactly where in to find it... or, at the very least, where I'm pretty sure I saw it last...

I took Big Red in for a big 'ol service a few weeks ago to get him checked out head to toe (antennae to rubber?) by a specialist 4WD crew just to make sure everything was where it should be. Before dropping him off I cleared all of my gear out just so that the guys wouldn't have to sift through torn maps and dirty underwear if they needed to check something in the back. As a result, there's a big pile of 'junk' in my carport, and I don't know exactly where anything is! I'm heading up to Licola this weekend, and am actually feeling a little stressed because I feel like I don't have enough time to organise all my little bits and pieces. Add to that the fact that I've got a couple of mates crashing in my loungeroom for a fortnight while their show is in town, and I just feel like I'm running around in circles!

Tonight I'm popping down to photograph my friends show, tomorrow I'm planning to head for Yinnar straight after work... so at SOME point in there I'm going to have to pop all my gear back in the car, get everything tied down and sorted ready for a quick trip in the mountains. I guess it's really not all that bad, this IS only a weekend trip after all, so I don't really need all that much stuff, could even get away with just taking my old blue portable camp stove instead of the gas cylinder and all my usual cooking gear.

Okay, once these moochers are off my couch, and this weekend is over, then I'll get on with some CONSTRUCTIVE posts detailing some of the mods I'm doing and work Red is getting done before we head off for a fortnight at the end of next week. I plan to also post up some prospective trip details including maps, waypoints, even geocaches I'm planning to hit along the way. I'm looking forward to it, I'll see you then!

Welcome!

2009-03-23T22:13:00.009+11:00

Welcome to Big Red Adventures! Yes, I know the URL says "Adventure"... as in, one... but hey, isn't life really just one big adventure?

Some time ago I was chatting with some old family friends about how I hadn't explored much of this huge and amazing country we live in. Sure, I travelled a bit, loved the bush and the beach and made a fair effort to spend as much time near one of the two as possible, but, I felt like I hadn't really discovered anything. Most times I went to the same old places, maybe the occasional new camp spot if I was travelling with someone who had been there before, but never any real adventures.

In chatting with these folks I got inspired (thanks Chris & Pauline!). They took me for a drive around some forgotten little towns in the Victorian country side and I could feel an adventurous little kid starting to stir inside. Remember that excitement you used to get when you were heading somewhere brand new, and you weren't sure what to expect? That anxious, giant butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling when you where about to attempt something that you weren't entirely convinced you could pull off? You know, the first time you jumped off the cubby house with the tarzaan swing clenched tightly between your thighs? The first time you got to the top of the ladder and stared down from the giant bumpy slide? Or, heading down a narrow, overgrown track, unsure whether it lead to a secret clearing... or a steep descent into a boggy marsh... And then, the sense of invincibility when you swung down, and didn't die? Got out of the hessian sack at the bottom of the slide with your lunch still safely inside you? Or the sense of triumph and awe when you finally break into a beautiful clearing with an amazing view, and it seems like you're the first person to ever discover it? Well, I remember all of those feelings, and as much as they may have scared me stupid, I never regretted taking the plunge and pushing myself to step off into the world of adventure! It was at that point, having re-remembered ll these feelings that I decided to start my "Big Red Adventures".

Since then I've taken some pretty good trips, just meandered about and found some cool little spots tucked away, however, my documenting skills leave a lot to be desired. The purpose of this blog is not so much to become the next "Getaway" show, but more for me to have a sense of purpose about my adventures. To have somewhere I can talk about the thought processes surrounding an upcoming trip, what preparation I need to make, what I've learned from my last trip etc.

So there you have a general gist as to what I'm getting at here. I'm by no means a professional, or even well seasoned traveler, I'm just a regular guy with a dog and a big red car (yes, there is a reason they're called "Big Red" adventures) who loves to explore, and learn along the way. I think this blog will be as much about the thoughts and feelings that go on behind a trip as it will be about the new dahl recipe I'm trying, or how my next tarp will be a couple feet longer.

Enjoy!

Reviews

2009-01-01T01:02:00.004+11:00

This page will house the links to posts where I will review bits and pieces along the way. Stay tuned for retail madness!

Sleeping Bag Liner

Roman Sleeping Bag

Wild Country Car Annexe

Guest 4WD

Prep & Mods

2009-01-01T01:01:00.003+11:00

Links to posts relating to vehicle or equipment modifications and general trip preparation will go here.

Finding the right shelter

General Updates

2009-01-01T01:01:00.000+11:00

Not sure if I’ll actually need this page yet, but a place for general updates, of what, I don’t know, I guess if I get a cold I could pop whinge about it here.

About

2009-01-01T01:00:00.028+11:00

Hi there, my name's Steve, and I love exploring!

I'm not a crazy, pack twelve camels and get government funding kind of explorer, I'm just your humble old, 'I wonder what's over the next hill?" kind of explorer, and that suits me just fine.

I grew up in the country in South Australia on a small sheep farm, so there was always plenty of exploring to do. I explored all sorts of places, on all manner of expeditions, there was a gully on our property that used to be a rubbish tip for all the surrounding area. Once I found an Underwood, and used it as a weight to keep the yabbie nets down in the dam... If only I'd known! Our property backed on to a dairy farm, which backed on to a forest, so I explored the dairy farms old gold mines and the surrounding forest on horseback. There was a river that passed through all of the local towns, which I explored on a tractor tyre tube one summer... and had to borrow some change to phone Mum to pick me up... three towns away...

These days though, it's a different story. I'm living in Melbourne, surrounded by concrete paths, apartment blocks and the occasional park with possums you're not allowed to touch, because they've got HIV, apparently. So I make it my mission to keep my inner explorer alive, every chance I get Zeke (my faithful hound) and I pack ourselves into Big Red (our trusty transport) and head out into the wild unkown.

Here in this blog you will find tales of our journeys, our plans for journeys, our dreams of journeys, our preparation for journeys, all of it! I'm not a professional writer (as you'll soon be able to tell!), I just love telling a story. Enjoy!

Gallery

2009-01-01T01:00:00.027+11:00

Here are a few collections of pictures from my travels. These are just snapshots from along the way, my actual artwork that I do all of this traveling for, can be found on my photography site.

Enjoy, and please feel free to comment, I'd love to share the journey with you!

Oh, just to warn you, the galleries will open up in a new window.

Taggerty - Fire REcovery, 2009
April, 2009
September, 2009

Suggestions

2009-01-01T01:00:00.013+11:00

Again, not entirely sure how this page will run, probably in the comments sections, but a place for you to recommend places you want me to visit and report on, things you would like me to get a photograph of along the way, or equipment & techniques you’d like me to try out and review.

Upcoming month-long road trip

Interesting Links

2009-01-01T01:00:00.011+11:00

Another page I'm setting up for future reference, I'm planning this one to be filled up with all sorts of links, commercial sites of products I have reviewed, other blogs etc etc... let the fun begin!

Ok, just to get the ball rolling, here we have, in no particular order:

www.4x4earth.com.au/
www.tektrek.com.au/
www.exploroz.com/
www.guest4wd.com.au/
www.mountaintopexperience.com/
www.geocaching.com/
www.gpsaustralia.net/
frankinoz.blogspot.com/

Travels

2009-01-01T01:00:00.009+11:00

Here you’ll find trip reports etc… when I get around to writing them, not to mention categorising them!

The Flinders Ranges