My name is Craig. I am an indirect tax consultant. I am 33 years old.
My wife’s name is Julie. She is an accountant. She is 33 years old.
Julie & I have a house, a cat, but no children.
I had an idea. Julie liked the idea. We are about to walk the talk around Australia.
Writing pre-16 November 2001
I don’t know how it started. At first, Canada seemed like a good idea; Julie had relatives in Vancouver and this provided a possibility to open the entire vast expanse of that nation. The USA was, or course, next door and also bekoning. To date our overseas experiences had been limited to New Zealand; this is in no way being disparaging to what can only be described as a delightful place. NZ, however, is proximate to Melbourne as some far reaching outposts of Australia. To cliche, we needed to broaden our horizons.
For some reason the tide turned. Australia seemed a better option. Obviously, September 11 wasn’t an issue in late 2000. Was it a pecuniary matter? Could more bang-for-your-buck be had in OZ? Was it a desire to see more of our backyard? On the other hand, was it more than this? Could it be that an elaborate travelling adventure via 4-wheel-drive across our wonderful, underrated country was coursing through our veins? Any way, Australia it was; the seed was planted and required only frugal fertilisation for the idea to propagate and become an eventual reality.
It was always going to be late 2001. It was always going to be a clockwise trip. It was always going to be at least 12 months. We only needed meat and flesh to add to the skeleton. One advantage we had was having had some experience with the great outdoors; both from the perspective of “roughing it” and not being put off, and from already having substantial camping equipment. Though I must say the result of the logistical permutations relating to some 11 months planning will only really be known at some point around the continent – we haven’t left yet.
What we know is November 16, 2001 will be Julie and my last day at work; we both have approval for leave without pay until mid-January 2003. Will we return? Only time will tell.
Reflecting on the preparations, they seem both lackadaisical and methodical at the same time. I guess 11 months is a long time to crystallize your thinking about something and at the same time gradually make the necessary arrangements to bring the thinking into fruition. In some ways we have no doubt over-prepared, in other ways our preparation will probably be found wanting; we can only hope our shortcomings are easily remedied with minimal setback.
What have we done then? These are in no particular order, and the relative usefulness and/or practicality of each is a matter of opinion.
The vehicle
Purchased a 1997 Landcruiser (standard 4.2 diesel), minimal accessories.
Accessories added to the vehicle over some 11 months:
- Bull bar
- Snorkel
- Dual battery system
- Headlamp up-grade
- 12V power sockets
- 6 new rims and tyres
- Cargo barrier
- Power winch
- Rear wheel carrier
- Rear differential lock
- Bonnet mounted air compressor
- Heavy-duty suspension and shock absorbers
- CD player
The camper trailer
Southern Cross 7×4 off-road camper trailer (second-hand). Let’s just say the lifting struts are an essential option (these allow access to the trailer even when it is fully packed-up).
Other major items
- Codan HF radio with auto whip antenna (second-hand)
- 12V/240V fridge/freezer
- Chainsaw
- GPS navigation system
- Recovery gear (snatch straps, chains, winch extension strap, snatch block, tree trunk protector, shackles, hi-lift jack, tyre repair kit
Cost of the above? Not insignificant. However, as I said some items will be a matter of opinion. I had two basic thoughts in mind:
- Give us maximum opportunity to enjoy ourselves (no guarantees);
- We are going alone; hence, the full-monty recovery gear; especially the winch, HF radio and GPS.
Naturally, the odds-and-sods add up over time; it seems the longer I think about it the more items we accumulate to take with us. Other things became a matter of buying while we had the income, for example, I have purchased 28 rolls of film with 36 exposures (I hope storage is not a problem – ideally, the film should be in the fridge).
The home-front
Of course, another consideration was the house and the household administration. We went through three phases of thought; two were discounted quickly, but nonetheless still options for those contemplating:
- Sell
- Rent to unknowns
- Get a friendly house sitter and defray some sunk costs such as rates, etc.
We are in category 3. Julie’s dad is house sitting; there is a possibility he will be joined by overseas relations sometime during 2002. If Julie’s dad decides he needs a break, (he might join us somewhere in the outback), family and friends are willing to take over the mantle.
The itinerary
Given our departure date of late November we have decided that travelling in a clockwise direction is the way to go. This will allow us to time our run north to avoid (hopefully) the worst of the we season.
We are ignoring Tasmania at the moment; only for the reason that we have been there, but we haven’t been west or far north. For the same reason, we will probably largely ignore Victoria. Let’s face it, if our trip needs to/must be truncated for whatever reason hopefully we will have at least been to Western Australia.
I have done a very rough, and indeed flexible, itinerary that covers South Australia, Western Australia and the northern part of the Northern Territory. I anticipate time on the road to sure up our route; though, I must say I like the idea of being a bit of a gypsy in the approach. Naturally, the prevailing weather will influence many of our decisions.
Obviously, a trip of this duration requires us to seek out cheaper accommodation, in particular at bush-camps in national parks.
We have decided to take the ferry to Kangaroo Island sometime before Christmas – we haven’t booked but anticipate a more available passage in mid-December (as opposed to after Christmas or the New Year).
The last word before we jump
At this stage, I would like to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses. I am not trying to predict the outcome, I am merely attempting to identify areas that will both assist and test us over the coming 12 months.
STRENGTHS
- We are experienced campers
- We have a well-prepared vehicle
- We have the proper equipment
- We have a strong relationship
- We have our own interests
- We have shared interests
- We are reasonably resourceful
- We have a reasonable amount of common sense
WEAKNESSES
- We have little or no mechanical knowledge
- We have little 4-wheel drive experience
- We have not done anything of this magnitude before
- Our funds are a lot less than we are accustomed to
- I have a short fuse
- We are both stubborn (Julie in particular)
- We are by ourselves
I’ll let you know how we get on.