Camper Trailer Australia Issue 160

Thanks to the power of Redarc, we were welcomed to Port Macquarie with open arms, and what turned out to be our biggest event ever ran like clockwork. The heavens opened the week before we arrived, not that we were complaining though — it added a little spice to the content shoot. The owners of Redbankway were brilliant hosts for our camper finalists as they crawled up sodden hills, and through flooded creeks followed closely by our awesome photographers and videographers. Our Showcase Day on the Saturday drew an enormous crowd, who enjoyed being able to look over so many campers and talk to the people behind the brand, as well as enjoy the market and food stalls that shared Westport Park with us. Thanks to the Port Macquarie Hastings Council…

Gone are the days when the only way you could carry extra water when you went camping was in a plastic jerry can. Not only did the water taste worse than drinking out of the garden hose, but the plastic would degrade over time, making them liable to crack, spilling that precious resource all through the back of your 4WD. These days there is a purpose-designed water tank to fit almost any free space you have and by adding a 12V pump, a breather and a hose with a tap on the end of it, you have a very practical solution. WHY DO YOU HAVE A WATER TANK IN YOUR 4WD? Yes, that’s what many people ask me. There are a few reasons actually, so let me explain. Firstly, having all your eggs…

I’m going to be completely honest with you. It was 2018 and I was planning the longest adventure I’d ever attempted, an east to west crossing of Australia. Most people cross from Byron Bay to Steep Point, but I wanted to do it differently, by following the Tropic of Capricorn from Rockhampton on the east coast and eight weeks later, finishing on the west coast at Ningaloo Reef. As the Tropic of Capricorn sweeps across the continent, it can be reached in some truly magical spots — Diamantina National Park, Hay River Track, Sandy Blight Junction Track, Gary Highway, Talawana Track and Warroora Station, just to name a few. The trip took months of planning, organising permits, booking campsites, farm stays and caravan parks. A lot of work went into preparing…

It’s a camp I always enjoy. Tucked amongst the low sparse scrub with the impressive bulk of Mount Leisler rearing up from the flat plain, seemingly within touching distance to the north — it’s a view I love. No matter what we, or the ambient light was doing, our eyes were constantly drawn to the rearing bulk of the mountain. You just can’t help glancing up to see the play of light and shadow across the face of this impressive peak. We were close to the northern end of the Sandy Blight Road and, sadly, not far from the end of our circumnavigation of some of the finest desert country you can find in Australia. Our party had left Alice Springs a couple of weeks previously, spending the first night under…

• This is very remote country and demands a well-equipped vehicle with people experienced in remote desert travel. • Several permits are required to traverse Indigenous land that covers this country: one for the Anangu-Pitjantjatjara Lands in Northern SA (very hard to obtain); one for Wingellina and S-G Corner (relatively easy to obtain); one for Warakurna and the Great Central Road (easy to obtain); one for Kintore and the Sandy Blight Road (sometimes difficult to obtain); and one for the Gary Junction Rd between Kintore and Papunya (relatively easy to obtain). • For camping and tours to Mt Conner check with Curtain Springs station and roadhouse on costs and permits. Ph: (08) 8956 2906. • To experience the best of magnificent Uluru and Kata Tjuta, stay at the Uluru Resort. W: ayersrockresort.com.au. • Surveyor-General…

Ernest Giles managed to cross the continent twice, and his story is one of the most readable yarns of any of the early explorers. His book, Australia Twice Traversed, has been reprinted many times while an online version can be found at ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/g/giles/ernest/g47a. Len Beadell and his Gunbarrel Road Construction Party opened up much of this region, first to facilitate the Atomic Bomb tests and ICBM launches of the 1950s and 60s, and then with the tracks being used by an ever-increasing band of adventurous travellers. His book, Beating About the Bush, (1976) covers his exploits along the Sandy Blight Road and others. Two other classic books that cover this region of central Australia are, The Red Centre, by HH Finlayson (1935) and, West of Centre, by Ray Erikson (1972).…