Some tracks are only just there and need a little imagination to follow, NT.

As CMCA members ourselves and regular readers of The Wanderer, it is always of great interest to read the personal accounts of those who travel this island continent of ours.

So it occurred to me that maybe some readers may be interested in our own story as long-term travellers.

My wife Margaret and I began our travels in 1965, about a year after we were married. We had bought a VW Kombi van which we soon fitted out as a camper, with the help of Margaret’s uncle who had a workshop nearby.

The Coaster took Murray and Margaret right around the continent.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

The initial plan was take a look around the country for a couple of years or until we got tired of it. 

The idea was that we would then choose a place we liked from those we had visited and settle down and raise a family.

We travelled through five states: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tassie and South Australia, working when needed to top-up our travelling funds. Maybe we were hippies or maybe we were gypsies. We didn’t care what people called us – our aim was to have a look about and enjoy ourselves. And we achieved both those goals. 

By 1968, though, the Kombi was getting rather tired and was a bit of a squeeze as we now had two extra little people to accommodate!

So we talked it over and picked the place we liked best from all our travels and moved to Tasmania. And we are still there.

After getting established, we then acquired a standard box trailer in which we carried our camping gear and used it for camping expeditions while the children were growing up.

We had many enjoyable expeditions around the state over the following few years.

Golden hour at Rainbow Valley.

BOATS AND BUSES

After our offspring went off to seek their own fortune, we took off on  a seaborne adventure in a boat of our own making. Then we bought a Coaster bus and again hit the roads of the mainland to our north.

We did the big loop in 2008 - that is, we turned right after landing in Melbourne and followed the coastline right back to Melbourne, taking nearly six months.

Over a few short years, our Coaster traveled about 60,000km crossing the country, so it was soon dubbed the “Coast-to-Coaster”.

While the Coaster managed to take us to many out of the way places, we always wondered what was down those 4WD-only roads. 

So after another nautical adventure (travelling the length of the Murray River in another boat of our own making), we bought an Explorer motorhome based on a 4X4 utility. We could soon discover what was down those previously forbidden 4WD-only roads!

Algebuckin a railway bridge across Neals River on the Oodnadatta Track, SA. 

HEADING OFFROAD

Before handing over our cash, though, we had first flown to Queensland to check out the rig. 

Once satisfied with the vehicle, we handed over our money, drove to the nearest shopping centre to buy two of everything we needed for the drive to Melbourne – two knives, two forks, two cups, two spoons, two blankets, two pillows and all the rest.

The trip down the east coast took us two weeks. On the way there were a couple of niggles to sort out, but it was basically a successful shake-down cruise.

That was in March last year, so after a few weeks at home getting fully sorted and making a few additions, we set off in June for a three month tour – up the centre, across the top and down the Great Divide.

What a revelation. It opened up a whole new world for us!

The 4WD Explorer rig has taken Murray and Margaret further off the beaten track than they could have imagined! Finke Gorge, NT. 

THE BIG TRIP

Since then, not only have we been exploring the out-of-the-way places in Tasmania, but we have been clocking up the kilometres in the red centre and the mountainous east (see TheWanderer July ’16).

Along with that epic trip down the length of the Great Divide we have travelled the Strzelecki, Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks, the Ghan railway track, Chambers Pillar, Purnululu, Flinders Ranges, Gammon Ranges, East and West MacDonnell Ranges, Little Desert, Big Desert and Murray Sunset national parks (including some of the Border Track between SA and Victoria), plus some of the dog fence QLD/NSW section.

Those are only some of the 4WD tracks, so we try and make our ‘transport’ legs interesting also, by travelling from A to B by the most fascinating route possible. 

So far the vehicle has proved to be all we expected it to be – maybe even a little more than we expected – getting us to some very interesting places…

We will remain in Tasmania over this summer and next winter we’ll be off again to explore some more interesting and obscure places. 

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Written: Wed 01 Mar 2017
Printed: March, 2017
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