30, HOME FREE AND UNEMPLOYED
- Thread starter 4whtundra
- Start date
Belltownbikes
Observer
Great year!
Take my word for it - in 25 years or so, you will look back at this time as a foundation of sorts. The personal growth and confidence you are gaining will pay big down the road. My wife and I did a similar trip together those many years ago - our "blogging" was in a notebook. We often go back to that book to see "what were we doing 25 years ago today." Our kids enjoy reading/hearing of our adventures.
I'd try to figure a way to save this thread someway for yourself in the future - even if that means printing it out (gasp!) or something.
Go, go, go! At some point it will just hit you - time to plant some roots. Weird how it happens.
Good luck - cheers! B
Take my word for it - in 25 years or so, you will look back at this time as a foundation of sorts. The personal growth and confidence you are gaining will pay big down the road. My wife and I did a similar trip together those many years ago - our "blogging" was in a notebook. We often go back to that book to see "what were we doing 25 years ago today." Our kids enjoy reading/hearing of our adventures.
I'd try to figure a way to save this thread someway for yourself in the future - even if that means printing it out (gasp!) or something.
Go, go, go! At some point it will just hit you - time to plant some roots. Weird how it happens.
Good luck - cheers! B
shortbus4x4
Expedition Leader
The picture of you with the Full Sail shirt in Dubai is awesome. Have been following your travels since you started. I grew up near Hoopa so really enjoyed reading about your trip through there. Thanks for posting.
Jeep du Boy
New member
Just finished 25 pages. TOTALLY AWESOME.
I am disappointed that you left Nigeria. You see I received an email from the wife of one of the ministers who needs MY help getting $14,000,000 in US dollars out of Nigeria.....thought you could help.....
Seriously, What an awesome trip! Enjoy every minute, every conversation and every beer.
I am disappointed that you left Nigeria. You see I received an email from the wife of one of the ministers who needs MY help getting $14,000,000 in US dollars out of Nigeria.....thought you could help.....
Seriously, What an awesome trip! Enjoy every minute, every conversation and every beer.
Nice lil' outfit
A few years ago my Brother, Dad and Myself headed deep into the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming to stay at a wilderness lodge that my Dad had worked at as a kid, to his surprise it was and still is open to this day. The lodge was called Paint Rock Lodge and was run by a husband and wife, their two daughters and a helper named Rick. We did a bunch of exploring, fly fishing, horseback riding, etc. On the second to last day we were suppose to leave we woke up to almost 3 feet of snow. Now from the day before it was just a little chilly and raining and this was early October so no one (of us) thought it would have snowed this much, this early. Since we were 30 miles into the back country we had to make a trail and cut our way out, the amount of trees that blew down over the road was astonishing. We all went out with the "trail break crew" and managed to work a good 13 hour day helping the family and helper cut over 100 trees/branches out of the way. It was a great time, my bro and I got to run the chainsaws all day as we were use to this kind of work from being kids. The whole day we hung out with Rick the helper of Paint Rock (the one to the left of my brother in the back of the Bronco), he was a character of sort, always smiling with his couple teeth showing with a cigarette in his mouth. A good part of the day he was always talking about peoples "outfits", he would say "oh yeah this guy has a Toyota Pickup with a camper shell, it's a nice lil' outfit" and so on and so on.
Anyhow, my brother and I starting using the phrase whenever talking about trucks or campers or hunting rigs or whatever. So here is what you have been waiting for, my first Nice Lil' Outfit in Australia, I have named him Larry I, he is a Toyota Hiace camper with a high roof and manual transmission. I've rented him for 8 days in South Australia near Adelaide. Larry is right hand drive, slow, like a sail and horrible off-road, but he has all the comforts of an enjoyable first camper outing in Aussie land.
A few years ago my Brother, Dad and Myself headed deep into the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming to stay at a wilderness lodge that my Dad had worked at as a kid, to his surprise it was and still is open to this day. The lodge was called Paint Rock Lodge and was run by a husband and wife, their two daughters and a helper named Rick. We did a bunch of exploring, fly fishing, horseback riding, etc. On the second to last day we were suppose to leave we woke up to almost 3 feet of snow. Now from the day before it was just a little chilly and raining and this was early October so no one (of us) thought it would have snowed this much, this early. Since we were 30 miles into the back country we had to make a trail and cut our way out, the amount of trees that blew down over the road was astonishing. We all went out with the "trail break crew" and managed to work a good 13 hour day helping the family and helper cut over 100 trees/branches out of the way. It was a great time, my bro and I got to run the chainsaws all day as we were use to this kind of work from being kids. The whole day we hung out with Rick the helper of Paint Rock (the one to the left of my brother in the back of the Bronco), he was a character of sort, always smiling with his couple teeth showing with a cigarette in his mouth. A good part of the day he was always talking about peoples "outfits", he would say "oh yeah this guy has a Toyota Pickup with a camper shell, it's a nice lil' outfit" and so on and so on.
Anyhow, my brother and I starting using the phrase whenever talking about trucks or campers or hunting rigs or whatever. So here is what you have been waiting for, my first Nice Lil' Outfit in Australia, I have named him Larry I, he is a Toyota Hiace camper with a high roof and manual transmission. I've rented him for 8 days in South Australia near Adelaide. Larry is right hand drive, slow, like a sail and horrible off-road, but he has all the comforts of an enjoyable first camper outing in Aussie land.
Deep Creek Conservation Park
After picking up Larry I, I immediately wanted to get out of the city. The left hand roads and right hand drive was a little scary at first and definitely took all of my brain power not to end up in the wrong lane or direction. In less than an hour I made way out of the city and heading south towards Cape Jervis, I had thought I would make my way to the Kangaroo Island ferry and get over there the first day and then if I had any other days left I could use them up by exploring the country around Adelaide. Once I made it down south of the city where it was obvious I was in the country I got really excited and wanted to explore there. A quick look on the map showed a couple green spots which were labeled "Deep Creek Conservation Park", and since it was off the beaten path the roads were all dirt. I was stoked to get some dirt roads in, this was my "off-road" in my non-off-road vehicle. I drove around for a bit, found an old silver mine and then found a campsite called Stringyback campground, it was $10 for the park fee and $23 to stay in this campsite as it had flush toilets and showers. The first night was epic, I had the whole campsite to myself and the stars where bright. I took the time alone to practice some night shots and reflect.
The next day I set out just north of the park and grabbed some groceries in Normanville, I explored the rest of the park checking out the other campgrounds and heading down dead end roads. I picked a campground out and fell asleep early, the skies where overcast so there was no shot of some night photography. I spent the night reading 4WD magazines and chilling out.
By the way, the website of the Paint Rock Lodge from the previous post is here:http://www.paintrockoutfitters.com/ It is run by Paul and Heather Kleiner and they offer all sorts of activities such as horseback riding, snowmobiling, hunting, etc. they will basically cater to your trip.
After picking up Larry I, I immediately wanted to get out of the city. The left hand roads and right hand drive was a little scary at first and definitely took all of my brain power not to end up in the wrong lane or direction. In less than an hour I made way out of the city and heading south towards Cape Jervis, I had thought I would make my way to the Kangaroo Island ferry and get over there the first day and then if I had any other days left I could use them up by exploring the country around Adelaide. Once I made it down south of the city where it was obvious I was in the country I got really excited and wanted to explore there. A quick look on the map showed a couple green spots which were labeled "Deep Creek Conservation Park", and since it was off the beaten path the roads were all dirt. I was stoked to get some dirt roads in, this was my "off-road" in my non-off-road vehicle. I drove around for a bit, found an old silver mine and then found a campsite called Stringyback campground, it was $10 for the park fee and $23 to stay in this campsite as it had flush toilets and showers. The first night was epic, I had the whole campsite to myself and the stars where bright. I took the time alone to practice some night shots and reflect.
The next day I set out just north of the park and grabbed some groceries in Normanville, I explored the rest of the park checking out the other campgrounds and heading down dead end roads. I picked a campground out and fell asleep early, the skies where overcast so there was no shot of some night photography. I spent the night reading 4WD magazines and chilling out.
By the way, the website of the Paint Rock Lodge from the previous post is here:http://www.paintrockoutfitters.com/ It is run by Paul and Heather Kleiner and they offer all sorts of activities such as horseback riding, snowmobiling, hunting, etc. they will basically cater to your trip.
piratexpress1369a
Explorer
wow that is cool ..have a great time camping
Kangaroo Island part I
After hanging out at the Deep Creek park for a couple days I finally made my way to Kangaroo Island. The ferry was quite expensive at $260 AUD (round trip), which included one night stay at a caravan park. The trip was short at 45 mins, once on the island I cruised around and found my camping spot for the night. The first night on the island I got absolutely no sleep, between the "tasty rissoles" I had for dinner and the swarms of mozzies (mosquitoes) there was no shut eye for me. Once the sun came up I got up, made an awesome breakfast and took off for the day. I took Hog Bay Rd out of Penneshaw heading west, a detour found me in America River where I took a much needed nap next to the water and fueled up Larry. I then proceeded to Kingscote, took a look around there and continued west. I had thought to get to the other side of the island and find a nice campsite in the National Park. On my way in I had to pull over quick to the side of the road, grab my camera and get some nice pics of a crossing Echidna which is basically a porcupine looking thing with a long snout. He was a little camera shy and pulled his head in out of the light but later came out and walked around a little.
Once I got into the park I headed to the farthest away campsite I could, called West Bay. That might have been a mistake as the good 22km of road was completely washboard and Larry had sort of a hard time with it, but we made it! It was a very basic C.G. with vault toilets and no showers. I setup camp and went to the beach which was a short walk and did some exploring and took photos. Later on I met up with some local Aussies and we chatted around their anti-mozzie candles and checked out the crossing bushy tailed possums and miniature scorpions. I was glad I had a camper but they had swag tents which are basically a backpacker tent with a bedroll attached to them.
The next day my thought was to hit all the main attractions of the park and then head back the following.
After hanging out at the Deep Creek park for a couple days I finally made my way to Kangaroo Island. The ferry was quite expensive at $260 AUD (round trip), which included one night stay at a caravan park. The trip was short at 45 mins, once on the island I cruised around and found my camping spot for the night. The first night on the island I got absolutely no sleep, between the "tasty rissoles" I had for dinner and the swarms of mozzies (mosquitoes) there was no shut eye for me. Once the sun came up I got up, made an awesome breakfast and took off for the day. I took Hog Bay Rd out of Penneshaw heading west, a detour found me in America River where I took a much needed nap next to the water and fueled up Larry. I then proceeded to Kingscote, took a look around there and continued west. I had thought to get to the other side of the island and find a nice campsite in the National Park. On my way in I had to pull over quick to the side of the road, grab my camera and get some nice pics of a crossing Echidna which is basically a porcupine looking thing with a long snout. He was a little camera shy and pulled his head in out of the light but later came out and walked around a little.
Once I got into the park I headed to the farthest away campsite I could, called West Bay. That might have been a mistake as the good 22km of road was completely washboard and Larry had sort of a hard time with it, but we made it! It was a very basic C.G. with vault toilets and no showers. I setup camp and went to the beach which was a short walk and did some exploring and took photos. Later on I met up with some local Aussies and we chatted around their anti-mozzie candles and checked out the crossing bushy tailed possums and miniature scorpions. I was glad I had a camper but they had swag tents which are basically a backpacker tent with a bedroll attached to them.
The next day my thought was to hit all the main attractions of the park and then head back the following.
Kangaroo Island part II
I woke up pretty late, around 10, gathered my things and took the ever so bumpy road back to the entrance of the park. I got the closer campsite called Rocky River with showers for this night. Once all my logistics were figured out I took off for the day towards the south end of the park. The first stop was Weirs Cove, where there was an old storage building they used to use to store everything from food to fuel. They had cut out a huge dredge in the side of the hill and used horse drawn winches to get supplies up the side of the cliff before the days of steam engines and such. Not too much farther down the road was the Cape Du Covedil lighthouse, seal lookout and Admirals Arch. I skipped out on the tourists by checking out the lighthouse first and then went to see the seals and arch.
The other big site to see was the remarkable rocks which were formed when molten lava was pushed through the earth's crust 500 million years ago. Then water and sand carved shapes out of the rocks. There was also another more scientific explanation on how they became this way which basically consisted of smaller rocks sticking to the insides of the bigger rocks while the molten material was cooling and then falling off to leave the impressions that you see in the pictures.
After a full day of the sites and the sun I headed back for some dinner and a shower. In the morning I took off and headed towards the ferry, I came in around 2:10 and sat on standby for the 2:30 ferry, I was lucky to be the last one loaded and made my way back to the main land. I ended up doing the full drive to Adelaide this day and spent a night North of the city and one night closer to the rental place the second night. I used the time to explore around Adelaide country side for a bit and needed a day to do laundry, clean and prepare for cruising nomad style without a vehicle again.
Now I sit in my hostel bar in Adelaide sipping on a Coopers pint, updating my Expo blog and preparing for my flight to New Zealand in the morning. Stay tuned!
I woke up pretty late, around 10, gathered my things and took the ever so bumpy road back to the entrance of the park. I got the closer campsite called Rocky River with showers for this night. Once all my logistics were figured out I took off for the day towards the south end of the park. The first stop was Weirs Cove, where there was an old storage building they used to use to store everything from food to fuel. They had cut out a huge dredge in the side of the hill and used horse drawn winches to get supplies up the side of the cliff before the days of steam engines and such. Not too much farther down the road was the Cape Du Covedil lighthouse, seal lookout and Admirals Arch. I skipped out on the tourists by checking out the lighthouse first and then went to see the seals and arch.
The other big site to see was the remarkable rocks which were formed when molten lava was pushed through the earth's crust 500 million years ago. Then water and sand carved shapes out of the rocks. There was also another more scientific explanation on how they became this way which basically consisted of smaller rocks sticking to the insides of the bigger rocks while the molten material was cooling and then falling off to leave the impressions that you see in the pictures.
After a full day of the sites and the sun I headed back for some dinner and a shower. In the morning I took off and headed towards the ferry, I came in around 2:10 and sat on standby for the 2:30 ferry, I was lucky to be the last one loaded and made my way back to the main land. I ended up doing the full drive to Adelaide this day and spent a night North of the city and one night closer to the rental place the second night. I used the time to explore around Adelaide country side for a bit and needed a day to do laundry, clean and prepare for cruising nomad style without a vehicle again.
Now I sit in my hostel bar in Adelaide sipping on a Coopers pint, updating my Expo blog and preparing for my flight to New Zealand in the morning. Stay tuned!
Glad to see you're enjoying SA (My home state). Kangaroo Island is a bit of a tourist trap sometimes, things can get a bit pricey like the Ferry which the locals get a pretty heavy discount on (Sealink make the rest of the cash off of the tourists).
Hope you've been enjoying the weather, last couple of days haven't been too bad but we just came out of a little bit of a heatwave down here. Way too bloody hot for my liking.
Hope you've been enjoying the weather, last couple of days haven't been too bad but we just came out of a little bit of a heatwave down here. Way too bloody hot for my liking.
Elk
Observer
Thanks for the great reading material. I've really enjoyed following your thread so far and especially watching your photography evolve. You've experienced more in a few short years than many have in a lifetime, and your ethos of "do it while you can" rings especially true to a lot of us who are more restricted by the lives we have adopted. Stay safe and have many more adventures so the rest of use can keep living vicariously (as someone else so aptly stated). I will certainly continue reading.