What did you learn about travelling around Australia

[Brumbypt]

So you have spent thousands of $$, months of planning and preparation. And weeks or months or even years travelling around Australia.

What are the main things you learnt about life or australia or people etc etc that have changed you in anyway.

[Brumbypt]

First thing that comes to mind, for me is the banana grower in canavon said we CAN keep bananas in the fridge, mainly at 10 deg c, so like a bar fridge..

The bananas will keep, and taste the same for Atleast a week..

Yummy..

[fuji]

Ensure you fill up your diesel truck with said diesel and not unleaded.

[KingBilly]

Ensure you fill up your diesel truck with said diesel and not unleaded.

Tell me you didn't?

KB

[db]

Try not to see it all in too short a space of time.  Its more fun / easier / more satisfying / less exhausting to see a few things and enjoy your self then see a lot in a rush.  Especially with kids.

[edz]

Having been taken on the road on an extended working holiday as a youngster, when it came time for school I struggled with having to conform to the regulation of schools back then, on the other side of it being home schooled on the road we found  I was placed in higher grades than I should have for my age.
One big thing that sticks out was the genuine friendship and help and generosity offered by complete strangers, when trouble struck ..Those that  helped us in those times have stayed close and life long friends ...
Another sting that sticks out, was it didnt matter if you had a lot of money or material things, just so long as you had enough for a feed and a roof over your head ,you were  doing alright .
For my dad to take four of us kids on the road at a time [ mid sixties ] when daycare etc and all the help of today wasnt available and raise us by himself ,while working too for the best part of 10 years, I have nothing but admiration and respect for...
R.I.P Pop .

[Glenno]

A huge thing I've learnt from travelling around Aust twice is to do much more of it!!! 

[Tjupurula]

So you have spent thousands of $$, months of planning and preparation. And weeks or months or even years travelling around Australia.

What are the main things you learnt about life or australia or people etc etc that have changed you in anyway.

Well I did not have money, but courtesy of the RFDS I did "travel" to a couple of places, and I definitely learned that I belong to the desert.
Tjupurula

[chester ver2.0]

I posted this elswhere after my travels

Axioms of the Road
1 The term resort is used on a very loose basis and could mean anything from 5 star heaven to a pit dunny in a paddock.
2 Your sex life will come to a grinding halt as it is hard to be passionate when the little Shit next door has lost his shoe and is hollering to mum.
3 Bad things happen when you drive for 8 hours and set up in the dark.
4 You will never run out of gas when you are cooking two minute noodles but always when doing a roast.
5 To call out the other way when your wife is reversing a camper trailer will always lead to fights and more problems with point 2 above.
6 An easy well marked track can mean anything from the Stuart hwy to a rutted trail that makes the Hochimein trail look like a freeway.
7 Dont let your wife catch you flirting with english backpackers on the way back from the showers. Problems again with point 2.
8 Take every reccomendation from others as to caravan parks and free camps with a 25kg bag of salt.
9 If checkout is 11 you will be woken at 6, if checkout is 10 you will be woken at 5, if checkout is 9 just dont bother going to bed cause apparently the first grey nomad packed up and out the door wins a prize.
10 Like item 1 the term grassy sites can have several meaning from jungle to sand.
11 Some one will always come along after you have finished digging your truck out of the sand.
12 The people who are naked on a clothing optional beach are the people that should not be naked EVER.
13 Backpackers usually come from countries with much smaller land mass than ours so their idea of personal space is non existant if you have a 2 square km camping area to yourself they will set up next door.
14 Fuel will always be most expensive when the tank is most empty.
15 The interieor of your perfectly packed rig on the day you left will look like a hoarders flat the after a week.
16 For all your UHF, lifts, mudders, maxtracks, diff locks, winches, compressors and gadgets an indigiounus australian in an EB falcon will make it further than yourself up the so called easily maked track.
17 Cheap is not always good 1 national park site we went to cost only 10 bucks a night, but add to this the broken UHF arial on the way in and the broken camp chair our 10 dollar overnighter came in to the tune of 120 dollars.
18 If you cannot see the sea do not eat the seafood EVER.
19 Dont EVER EVER help wicked campers back packers give em a drink of water and you will then have to clothe, feed and water them for the next 3 weeks
20 You will have the time of your life.

[Alan Loy]

If you think that travelling through the desert is "boring and there is nothing" to see then you will never really understand Australia.

[Tjupurula]

I posted this elswhere after my travels

Axioms of the Road
1 The term resort is used on a very loose basis and could mean anything from 5 star heaven to a pit dunny in a paddock.
2 Your sex life will come to a grinding halt as it is hard to be passionate when the little **** next door has lost his shoe and is hollering to mum.
3 Bad things happen when you drive for 8 hours and set up in the dark.
4 You will never run out of gas when you are cooking two minute noodles but always when doing a roast.
5 To call out the other way when your wife is reversing a camper trailer will always lead to fights and more problems with point 2 above.
6 An easy well marked track can mean anything from the Stuart hwy to a rutted trail that makes the Hochimein trail look like a freeway.
7 Dont let your wife catch you flirting with english backpackers on the way back from the showers. Problems again with point 2.
8 Take every reccomendation from others as to caravan parks and free camps with a 25kg bag of salt.
9 If checkout is 11 you will be woken at 6, if checkout is 10 you will be woken at 5, if checkout is 9 just dont bother going to bed cause apparently the first grey nomad packed up and out the door wins a prize.
10 Like item 1 the term grassy sites can have several meaning from jungle to sand.
11 Some one will always come along after you have finished digging your truck out of the sand.
12 The people who are naked on a clothing optional beach are the people that should not be naked EVER.
13 Backpackers usually come from countries with much smaller land mass than ours so their idea of personal space is non existant if you have a 2 square km camping area to yourself they will set up next door.
14 Fuel will always be most expensive when the tank is most empty.
15 The interieor of your perfectly packed rig on the day you left will look like a hoarders flat the after a week.
16 For all your UHF, lifts, mudders, maxtracks, diff locks, winches, compressors and gadgets an indigiounus australian in an EB falcon will make it further than yourself up the so called easily maked track.
17 Cheap is not always good 1 national park site we went to cost only 10 bucks a night, but add to this the broken UHF arial on the way in and the broken camp chair our 10 dollar overnighter came in to the tune of 120 dollars.
18 If you cannot see the sea do not eat the seafood EVER.
19 Dont EVER EVER help wicked campers back packers give em a drink of water and you will then have to clothe, feed and water them for the next 3 weeks
20 You will have the time of your life.

Thanks for the memory and the laugh Chester, with point 16.  Napanangka and I owned an FJ in the 1970's, and somehow we pulled two landrovers out of bogs, and then we kept going.  They arrived at Billiluna two days later, although it had only taken us 6 hours to get there, and we waited to make sure they got there.  You would be surprised how many times we went to Kunawaritji (Well 33 on the CSR), from Mulan, in that FJ.  You are right, we used to ge some confused looks from white people travelling.
Regards
Tjupurla

[Tjupurula]

If you think that travelling through the desert is "boring and there is nothing" to see then you will never really understand Australia.

Well my home is in the desert, so that is something I guess....but yuo are right, there is heaps in the desert.
Tjupurula

[dazzler]

I learnt that newly retired grey nomads are on a schedule - so get the hell outta the way!

It costs a lot more than I thought.

If you have a family with little ones factor in a few $$ to stay at a cabin in a park occasionally (maybe every second  or third week) so you can all get some space away and a bit of the old life.

[chester ver2.0]

I learnt that newly retired grey nomads are on a schedule - so get the hell outta the way!

It costs a lot more than I thought.

If you have a family with little ones factor in a few $$ to stay at a cabin in a park occasionally (maybe every second  or third week) so you can all get some space away and a bit of the old life.

Mate when travelling with kids one sentance and one sentance only is needed to ensure behaviour

"if you dont behave there will be no jumping pillow for your at caravan park X"

[Brumbypt]

When taking the scenic route or the back tracks or the out of way tracks or anywehere in the desert, we made up a saying, that theres nothing to look at, but there is. Alot more to see..




Tapa Tapa talker

[meandclan]

  if you are travelling with welding equipment, just mention it over a beer and locals will hear on the bush telegraph

then hit you up for a favor to fix this or that... the old bush commandment #1 is "thou shalt help thy neighbour cos theres usually no-one else around for hundreds of kms that can" >>No is a swear word!


thats what being a true blue aussie is all about.. whats in your heart and showing by actions
- big words are for tourists  cos Out there you only open your mouth to get a feed of flys
(don't get up me there always truth in humour)
kev

[SteveandViv]

I posted this elswhere after my travels

Axioms of the Road
1 The term resort is used on a very loose basis and could mean anything from 5 star heaven to a pit dunny in a paddock.
2 Your sex life will come to a grinding halt as it is hard to be passionate when the little **** next door has lost his shoe and is hollering to mum.
3 Bad things happen when you drive for 8 hours and set up in the dark.
4 You will never run out of gas when you are cooking two minute noodles but always when doing a roast.
5 To call out the other way when your wife is reversing a camper trailer will always lead to fights and more problems with point 2 above.
6 An easy well marked track can mean anything from the Stuart hwy to a rutted trail that makes the Hochimein trail look like a freeway.
7 Dont let your wife catch you flirting with english backpackers on the way back from the showers. Problems again with point 2.
8 Take every reccomendation from others as to caravan parks and free camps with a 25kg bag of salt.
9 If checkout is 11 you will be woken at 6, if checkout is 10 you will be woken at 5, if checkout is 9 just dont bother going to bed cause apparently the first grey nomad packed up and out the door wins a prize.
10 Like item 1 the term grassy sites can have several meaning from jungle to sand.
11 Some one will always come along after you have finished digging your truck out of the sand.
12 The people who are naked on a clothing optional beach are the people that should not be naked EVER.
13 Backpackers usually come from countries with much smaller land mass than ours so their idea of personal space is non existant if you have a 2 square km camping area to yourself they will set up next door.
14 Fuel will always be most expensive when the tank is most empty.
15 The interieor of your perfectly packed rig on the day you left will look like a hoarders flat the after a week.
16 For all your UHF, lifts, mudders, maxtracks, diff locks, winches, compressors and gadgets an indigiounus australian in an EB falcon will make it further than yourself up the so called easily maked track.
17 Cheap is not always good 1 national park site we went to cost only 10 bucks a night, but add to this the broken UHF arial on the way in and the broken camp chair our 10 dollar overnighter came in to the tune of 120 dollars.
18 If you cannot see the sea do not eat the seafood EVER.
19 Dont EVER EVER help wicked campers back packers give em a drink of water and you will then have to clothe, feed and water them for the next 3 weeks
20 You will have the time of your life.

12 The people who are naked on a clothing optional beach are the people that should not be naked EVER.

You've been to Cable Beach

[dazzler]

Mate when travelling with kids one sentance and one sentance only is needed to ensure behaviour

"if you dont behave there will be no jumping pillow for your at caravan park X"

They love them jumping pillows 

When I was a kid the height of excitement was a pretend ship to climb on.

[jclures]

My bit of advice is if you are going on an extended trip on around Australia is to check your driving licence, I was over I Perth and decided to check my licence only to find it only had 4 weeks to expire, at that tome I could not renew it so I dad to come back to Queensland to renew it.

[lilstookie]

If your prepared to stop and do some work and challenge yourself to do something out of your comfort zone then you can actually travel with very little money and have priceless experiences and gain numerous new strings to your bow.

We left Melbourne in April 2012, we are working on a remote cattle station as a cook and a handyman/stockman/borerunner/welder/maker of mad max style bull catchers/motorcycle mechanic/fencer/yard builder/bobcat driver/truck driver......none of which we had any idea how to do beforehand.

Remote station find it hard to get workers and its why they import. We get a free house, free food, electricity,gas and the experience is beyond anything you could ever hope to get.
We live 260km from the main Cape your road too 

Since being here we have bout a Landcruiser to replace our ageing Jackaroo. We will hit the road again when we feel we have had enough. The kids are loving the lifestyle and we have some of the best free camping up here anywhere in Australia.

We left on our big lap with 2 kids under 3 and a 50kg dog with less than $7,000
its been a year now and we done ALOT of stuff already.

[Brumbypt]

Whats the pay like..thinking, or wishing i could pull up stumps and just go do something like that..

I can do all the things u mentioned above


Tapa Tapa talker

[benny_jahmin]

If your prepared to stop and do some work and challenge yourself to do something out of your comfort zone then you can actually travel with very little money and have priceless experiences and gain numerous new strings to your bow.

We left Melbourne in April 2012, we are working on a remote cattle station as a cook and a handyman/stockman/borerunner/welder/maker of mad max style bull catchers/motorcycle mechanic/fencer/yard builder/bobcat driver/truck driver......none of which we had any idea how to do beforehand.

Remote station find it hard to get workers and its why they import. We get a free house, free food, electricity,gas and the experience is beyond anything you could ever hope to get.
We live 260km from the main Cape your road too 

Since being here we have bout a Landcruiser to replace our ageing Jackaroo. We will hit the road again when we feel we have had enough. The kids are loving the lifestyle and we have some of the best free camping up here anywhere in Australia.

We left on our big lap with 2 kids under 3 and a 50kg dog with less than $7,000
its been a year now and we done ALOT of stuff already.

That's what I call living the dream. We are leaving Melbourne around November this year and heading up the east coast and making our way back down the west coast with no real time frame.
This is the sort of opportunity I would love to take. How did you go about getting onto work like this.

[Tjupurula]

Whats the pay like..thinking, or wishing i could pull up stumps and just go do something like that..

I can do all the things u mentioned above


Tapa Tapa talker

Hi Brumbypt
Slightly off topic, but that question about pay made  me thiunk of mr father in law who passed on last year.  He was, when younger, a drover on the Canning Stock Route, and they got their tucker and swag supplied, on top of which they were paid 10 pound of flour,  half pound of salt, half pound of tea leaves and a pound of sugar a week.  At the end of the drove, they were bought a new pair of riding boots, and sometimes a belt, and they reckoned it was great.
I remembered so well because he told me that when he got his first boots, he never wore them al all, because he did not want to mess them up.  He showed me the boots, more than 30 years after he got them, still never worn.
Regards
Tjupurula

[lilstookie]

Whats the pay like..thinking, or wishing i could pull up stumps and just go do something like that..

I can do all the things u mentioned above


Tapa Tapa talker

We decided to up stumps and where on the road 6 weeks later.

Between the wife and I we make just under $6k a month. All of that is spending money.
We get all food, accommodation and all amenities like gas and Elec trickery as part of our job.
We are on a Beef station so we have the freshest beef and the best in the world.
We go out and catch Barra, spanish mackerel , Muddies and LOADS of redclaw and Cherapin.
We can take the Camper to any part of the station and bush camp whenever we want and the 2 ajoining stations are right on the coast with unexplored beaches with petrified crabs and the best fishing ever.
Its such an amazing life, experience and we love staying here. With all the skills we have gained we feel confident in getting work like this in any station we apply for as now we are in with the right people to work anywhere we may be travelling. The Outback community is small but its stretches far and wide.

We advertised ourselves on Gumtree and the H&R girl from the company called us and asked us a few questions.

We stayed here over the wet season and let me tell you its about the most amazing thing Ive ever seen.......the water is everywhere....along with the crocs mind you. We looked after the place and serviced the big Hino Gennies and kept the station ticking over and I spent my time in the biggest man cave you can imagine with power tools, oxy, mig,tig and stick welder fabricating all sorts of stuff.

Does it sound like we like it ?
We said to the boss we where thinking of heading to Darwin and having a look around but its expensive....he made a call and got us onto a station where we can camp where we like for free......Awsome.

We also met a couple from Weipa who where passing through and they offered us their LARGE garden as a camping spot when we head up the cape for free......or we can stay with them to save us taking the trailer.

You dont need $100k to find adventure.....just an honest attitude and an open mind.

There is work all over the outback, you just have to be prepared to do it.
Check out our Facebook page below its got LOADS of info on finding work in the outback and feel free to ask us for help and info.

[Squalo]

^ Amazing!