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rod@plasterbrok
5th October 2007, 02:10 AM
In 1990 I wanted to go to Perth WA to shoot in the Australian championships. My wife said I couldnt go without her and if she was going to WA she wanted to go to Monkey Mia to see the Dolphins.

So we started planning the trip!

I figgured we are almost 1/2 way up the West Coast so should buy a caravan and make a round trip of it.

What a can of worms I opened!

Every where I wanted to go added days then weeks to the trip. In the end I said what the hell, we'll just buy a van and head off.

The plan was to go right around the coast line of Australia with an emphesis on the remote areas of Australia. I wanted to go where very few had been and boy did we do that!

We spent 9 months between Broome and Cairns. We travelled the Kimberly in our 4x4 and tents for 3 weeks. Went into Arnhem Land for 2 weeks. Towed the van through the gulf county (what a trip). Left the van in Port Douglas for 6 weeks and went up to Cook Town, Starkey, then onto the Cape.

We criss crossed the Cape and got into some really wild country. Took a survey map and made our way north of Weipa and picked up the Old Telegragh route up to Bamaga. Spent 2 weeks blue water finshing around the tip (in 12ft aluminum bought in Darwin).

We fished every where we went and virtually lived on what we caught.

Then 4 weeks in Tassie and the money ran out. Back to work grrr.

It was a trip of a life time, cost a fortune but never regretted.

We met people in the Kimberley that we travelled with for 3 months then met another couple on the Cape and travelled with them for 2 months.

Only 2 flat tyres, 1 broken spring in the van, (through the Gulf), chewed out the rubbers on the shockers, (road side repair with a bit of tyre) and a busted winch rope in about 4 places.

Love to post some pics but they were all on film.

Like to hear from others that have done a similar trip.

Cheers

Rod Dyson

pawnhead
5th October 2007, 11:37 AM
Sounds like a great trip Rod.

Love to post some pics but they were all on film.Get yourself an all in one printer scanner for $50 (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=57815).
I've put all my families treasured memories (about 5,000 pics) on my PC and I've spat out CDs for all of my family members. I also printed out hard copies of the best and most historic shots, (up to six pics per A4 page, with descriptions typed underneath) and put them in clear jacket manila folders for each of my kids.

They loved the family heritage, and pics of themselves growing up, and if there's a fire here and the originals are lost, then it's not the end of the world since there are CD copies all over the place now. :2tsup:

rod@plasterbrok
5th October 2007, 11:51 AM
Is the quality as good as the original?
I have a scanner just never tried it on a photo!

pawnhead
5th October 2007, 12:10 PM
I suppose it depends on your scanner.
There's different quality settings on mine, and if I choose the best setting for scanning and printing photos, then I can hardly tell the difference between the original, and a copy that I've printed out on glossy photo paper.

Allan at Wallan
8th October 2007, 12:27 AM
Great trip Rod and would loved to have been a
companion on the trip.

My wife simply had to feed the dolphins at Monkey
Mia (as advertised in all the brochures at the time).

Having arrived there she was very disappointed as
the rangers insisted "No feeding the dolphins" as it
did not encourage them to fend for themselves.
The ranger stood between the tourists and the
dolphins and no one entered the water more than
knee deep.

There were only four dolphins to be seen. (1995).

What a letdown, so much for their publicity
where they stated that feeding was possible
by the public. Never again!

Allan

______________________________________________

I am not at all worried about dying
... but just hope I am not there at the time.

rod@plasterbrok
8th October 2007, 02:45 AM
I travelled around 1/2 of Australia in 1974. Then we camped at the base of Aryes Rock!!

Like everything time changes. We see heaps of TV shows on places we have been only to see that it has been closed off to the general public, or regulated in one from or another.

I don't know if the over regulation of area is a good thing or not.

I have been fishing the Central Highlands in Tasmania since I was 8 years old and my father fished there since he was a kid. The 4x4 tracks never changed one year to the next. Yet most are now closed. They upgraded tracks into lakes that we use to go to so you can drive there by car. It is a good thing in some respects as more and more people have "discovered" the area and an increase of traffice may have caused damage. Albeit as we get older there are more and more places we will never get to again as we used too. Or getting there will never be the same.

We would spend a week in the central highlands and not see another person. Nowadays its hard to find a lake in there without a fisherman on it.

I guess it is a good thing as increased usage would surely wreck some areas.

Cheers Rod

Barry_White
8th October 2007, 10:29 AM
Is the quality as good as the original?
I have a scanner just never tried it on a photo!

Rod

I have been converting all my photos to digital and I only have a Canon Lide 20 Scanner the cheapest you can buy at about $120 four years ago and probably cheaper now and have been printing them out as 6" x 4" and cannot tell the difference from photos printed from film by a photo shop. If you want them sharper you just increase the scanning resolution.

It also comes with some great software as well.

I also have a Canon IP4000 printer that also prints fantastic photos along with more fantastic software that allows me to print on printable CD's

pawnhead
8th October 2007, 11:47 AM
I also have a Canon IP4000 printer that also prints fantastic photos along with more fantastic software that allows me to print on printable CD'sNow that would come in handy (http://img.hexus.net/v2/lifestyle/news/fact/fact_leyton_tn.jpg) eh Baz. :pir8:
j/k :wink:

Barry_White
8th October 2007, 12:59 PM
Now that would come in handy (http://img.hexus.net/v2/lifestyle/news/fact/fact_leyton_tn.jpg) eh Baz. :pir8:
j/k :wink:

Trouble is John it will only print one at a time.

rod@plasterbrok
9th October 2007, 05:45 PM
Thanks I will try that out as soon as I can.

Cheers Rod

Allan at Wallan
10th October 2007, 08:53 PM
I travelled around 1/2 of Australia in 1974. Then we camped at the base of Aryes Rock!!

Like everything time changes. We see heaps of TV shows on places we have been only to see that it has been closed off to the general public, or regulated in one from or another.

I don't know if the over regulation of area is a good thing or not.

I have been fishing the Central Highlands in Tasmania since I was 8 years old and my father fished there since he was a kid. The 4x4 tracks never changed one year to the next. Yet most are now closed. They upgraded tracks into lakes that we use to go to so you can drive there by car. It is a good thing in some respects as more and more people have "discovered" the area and an increase of traffice may have caused damage. Albeit as we get older there are more and more places we will never get to again as we used too. Or getting there will never be the same.

We would spend a week in the central highlands and not see another person. Nowadays its hard to find a lake in there without a fisherman on it.

I guess it is a good thing as increased usage would surely wreck some areas.

Cheers Rod

About twelve years I walked around the Cradle Mountain area
and a week later walked up to the "Forgotton Lakes" at the
base of Little Mt Hugel. The fellers were pulling out 7 lb trout
and had the biggest frying pans I have ever seen. Great
part of the world ... have been to Tassie three times.

Allan

_________________________________________

I am not at all worried about dying
... but just hope I am not there at the time.

rod@plasterbrok
19th November 2007, 10:51 PM
Alan I am back off to Tassie this Christmas.

The plans are:

Go rock fishing where I grew up as a kid.
2 rounds of golf at barnbougle golf course.
Flathead fishing off Port Sorrel.
Golf at the Tasmanian course
Golf at Ulverstone.
3 day fly fishing in my old haunts in the Central Highlands.

I guess I got to fit something in with the wife as well huh!

cheers.

pawnhead
20th November 2007, 06:08 AM
Well I'm green with envy Rod. :D
Sounds like a great trip but like you said, don't forget fit in your little lady (http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=60521) when you're packing your clubs. :wink:


I've been around Australia.
It was a short trip (http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1134/images/28-Mud%20Map.jpg). :rolleyes:

Buzza
21st November 2007, 10:27 PM
We did a lot of roadside living in a 4 cylinder van which sometimes pulled an old Viscount caravan I picked up for four hundred bucks. We met people who coped badly living like this, and one of those couples told us that they thought they cpould only live on Bar-B-Cued meat on the track. I never could figure that one out.

Other people cope really well. One couple we met lived in a tiny Toyota van with a double bed in it. A roof rack held a lot of their belongings, but they amazed us with their seemingly endless supply of beer. They brewed this beer whilst living in the long-grass in the NT without a care in the world. They had lived like that for about three years when we met them.

As some have pointed out on this forum, one cannot stray too far off the beaten traack these days, and to own a 4x4 seems hardly worth while.

Do it now! Before it's all barred from our view forever.

rod@plasterbrok
21st November 2007, 11:06 PM
Buzzo I agree they are closing access to area all the time.

When we set off my intention was to get to the most remote parts of Australia as possible. We did!

I guess I was influenced by the Leyland Brothers.

Nice photo Pawnhead I think I have seen it before.

Cheers

Rod