 |
||
"The journey of making dreams of traveling Australia a reality"
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRAD PICKFORD AND LOUISE PACOR
Can you hear that? Shhh... Listen harder. That’s the sound of the great outdoors calling you. Your chaotic city life is beginning to take its toll on your sanity. You begin to fantasize about leaving the sounds of ‘supped up doof doof machines’ and the insipid smells of polluted city air behind. But where to start? Can I afford it? What 4WD do I buy? What equipment do I need? Who’s going to look after our mail?!
Our lives have been transformed into one crazy roller-coaster ride over the past year. We, like many thousands of Australians, have decided to go in search of the better life, to travel this amazing and vibrant country of ours, in search of peace, prosperity and somewhere cheaper to live than Sydney. The decision to leave turned out to be relatively easy. The process of turning a dream into a reality proved to be more involved than we imagined.
 |
You could pack all that we knew about cars and camping into an overcrowded matchbox. Our trip will take us to some very remote and difficult situations. We really needed to feel comfortable that we could get ourselves out of some tight and difficult situations. At times it felt like we were back at school again, learning about strange new things called ‘air-locking differentials’ and ‘snatch straps’. The one item that provided us with our steepest learning curve, and which just happened to be the largest and most expensive item, was the selection our vehicle.
We scoured the internet, searched through the newspapers and magazines, and pounded the pavements in search of our ultimate 4WD vehicle. We narrowed our selection to a Patrol or Land Cruiser, with a diesel engine, under 6 years old and hopefully under $20,000. Such a simple request would fall on deaf ears with most used car salesman. They were all to often preoccupied with pushing a huge glut of unwanted petrol models onto us, claiming that we could convert them to gas! We found that we really had to stick to our guns. We had a clear vision of what we wanted and were not prepared to take the stagnant stock of a desperate salesman. The last car yard of the day would become our saviour. We found the car we wanted, and at a more than reasonable price too... sold!
Fantastic, we had our car, but how in the hell do we drive it! At the last Sydney 4X4 show we had come across various 4WD driving courses, and decided to follow them up. We chose a weekend beginners course to slowly ease us into realms of four wheel driving. We had an absolute blast. Not only did we meet with like minded individuals, who where all in the same boat as us, but we also learnt so much about the capabilities of our car and most importantly ourselves. It is reassuring to know that by carrying the right equipment, coupled with the right knowledge, we can recover our vehicle when we are alone out in the middle of nowhere.
 |
Being a professional photographer I had already accumulated some very good and capable camera gear. But, for the trip of a lifetime I wanted to make sure that I was fully equipped to take advantage of every photographic opportunity. I decided to purchase a panoramic film camera that will allow me to take some spectacular images of the expansive Australian landscape. I also decided to dive into the digital revolution and purchase a high end digital SLR. This camera will give me the ability to take professional quality images, with the added flexibility of having various zoom lenses so that I can either zoom in on a soaring eagle or zoom out to take in a huge panoramic vista. With all of my photographic purchases I research and research, to make sure that I have the best camera and at the very best price possible. If you are looking to purchase a new camera, I thoroughly recommend that you not only check brochures and camera stores, but to also search on the internet via search engines such as Google (restrict your results to Australian sites only so that you can quickly narrow your choices). The internet enables you access to the cheapest prices available. If you are not comfortable buying over the internet, inquire if the company also sells direct to public. I have on many occasions, taken my list of best prices and bargained with businesses on the street to lower or if not match the prices on the internet. Trust me, you will save a considerable amount.
So we have purchased all of our equipment and fitted out our 4WD with the essential accessories, now, how do we possibly get all of this stuff to fit in the confines of our Land Cruiser?! We tried, as much as possible, to think of the most convenient and practical ways to pack the vehicle. After all, we are traveling and living out of this thing for at least a year. With the help of my soon to be father in law, we custom built a shelving arrangement to perfectly keep everything in it’s right place. One thing that we have been told, and have learnt even at this very early stage, is that packing and the contents of your traveling gear is a very organic process, that constantly evolves. We have already shipped half of our clothes back home for the sheer fact that we simply over-packed. Throughout our journey we will certainly keep you updated on what we have found essential and the things that we can certainly do without.
Finally, we are packed and ready to go. We can now soak those itchy feet of ours in a pool of adventure and exploration. We are excited and are truely looking forward to challenges that this journey will present us. We will be documenting our experinces, of course, in the 4WD Action magazine.
 |
Official Sponsors
 |
 |
 |
 |
Click on a Vehicle make to see other cool videos!
