Hakuna Matata

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My husband Kevin and I have always enjoyed travelling and have a passion for Australia. We have always tried to go somewhere different whenever we have time for a holiday (or even a weekend away). We like to explore our own country, after-all Australia is an awesome place.

Our passion for Australia grew when we decided to get motorcycles and start touring. I had always dreamt of riding but had never ridden a bike, apart from being a pillion. So in 2009, at age 42 I bought a bike, got my license, and joined the Ulysses club - I loved their slogan to "grow old disgracefully". Kevin had a license already as he had had motorcycles when he was younger (but hadn't ridden for years while we had a young family - bikes and kids don't mix well). We decided to attend the Ulysses AGM event in Albany WA - and in February 2010 we headed off on our first long journey, around Australia for three months (while I was still on P-Plates - what an awesome way to learn). Every year since then we have incorporated the Ulysses AGM into our annual riding holiday. See TravelPod for blogs .

Fast Forward to 2017… Health issues are now affecting my ability to ride, especially on long trips - I developed an auto-immune condition which causes symptoms such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (painful joints and muscles) and Chronic Fatigue (weakened strength and energy). I have decided to sell my Harley and buy a lighter more manageable bike, which will be good for short rides - short rides are better than no rides. Hopefully I will manage to get the condition under control in the near future, but the smaller bike will help.

In the meantime, for our trip this year we decided to change our touring style and try something different - so have embarked on the world of "off-road". Motorcycle touring is an awesome way to travel, but we realise that we also missed a lot by staying on the bitumen - with a 4wd and off-road camper we will be able to explore the dirt roads, National Parks and the more remote places of Australia. Being new to four wheel driving we have done a lot of research and spoken to many people to get first-hand recommendations. We don't plan on doing "adventure" four wheel driving, but need to know that we can get ourselves out of sticky situations if the need arises.

The gear:

We now have a Mazda BT-50 XTR 4x4 and a StarVision off-road camper trailer (with independent suspension) and have equipped ourselves with most of the spare spares, recovery gear, safety equipment and communication devices that were recommended by many different sources. Our trusty Camps Australia (book 8) and WikiCamps (app) will ensure we always know where to stay.

The plan:

We have a route planned with loose dates, but are flexible to changing both as we go. The plan is to be away for about three to four months, starting with the northern parts of Australia for the best weather, zig-zagging from north to south in Western Australia during Spring to see the Wildflowers, and then back up through the desert to Central Australia before heading to the outback South Australia and back up to Queensland and outback NSW.

The blog:

I previously used TravelPod to blog our journeys, but TravelPod is no more so I am now using TravelBlog. This first 4wd adventure is called "Hakuna Matata". Why No Worries? Two reasons:


• Following a recent redundancy I am currently "between jobs" and feel that I am in the process of moving into the next stage of my life. Having time out like this gives me the time to decide what I want to do in the future, and I intend to enjoy this phase with no worries, and I don't need to rush back to work.
• Having a 4wd and off-road camper trailer means we are free to travel where we like - many dirt roads and national parks are in the plan… tata (goodbye).

I plan to blog about once each week - this will depend on how busy I am and whether I have anything to tell you - please let me know what you think.

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Comments

[Col Ganderton]

All the best
Have a great last day Sue and all the best for your travels around Australia. Thankyou for all of your help over the last 3 years.

[Karen]

Tata
Tata for now....But keeping an eye on your blog! K :)