hey cheryl, hope you dont mind a boring old half a show man answering you, but the miles thing is a funny animal, the distances one covers when travelling is a strange phenomenom, I have done 1700kms in a 24 hour day in a 75 model nissan patrol (when I was young and stupid) and on the other hand, taken (according to my old and tattered logbook) 3 days to do 17 kms, that was in the days when we travelled up to the top of cape york , just after the bulldozers put the exploretory roads through, some were not even tracks, time wasnt exactly an issue in "wait a while" country, we did the Gibb river track before it was a road back in the seventies, we were inspired by the likes of malcolm douglas and bindy was his dog, not some stupid little half bred snotty nose brat with no life, colonel les hiddens was bashing his way through arhnem land finding his "bush tucker"  the places they went and the things they did, my god I was totally enthralled and captured forever more, tainted, one might say, I am still, I still remember watching malcolm catching huge fish with nothing more than tin foil as bait and the huge tidal exchange of one particular spot of the kimberleys, I have since seen it for myself and I will tell all and sundry it is " MIND BLOWINGLY MAGNIFICENT" the leyland brothers were nothing short of inspirational, "ask the leylands, ask the leylands, ask the leyland brothers" sorry got carried away there, the kids of today just dont seem to have the travellust or adventure spirit that we had, and probably it is a good thing, the things that we did and the chances we took looking back now, were absolutely stupid and iresponsible, how did we survive, but the adventure is still out there, shrinking by the year and I feel they and any other non travellers are missing out on the real "life",  it is not to be found on widescreen t.v.'s or in the $500,000 house when all is said and done it is all meaningless, I'll shut up now or risk being berated by another non participant in life

-- Edited by dave06 at 13:57, 2008-09-04

I raed the forum every day, but like many others have not bothered to write before now, lazy buggar really. Dave I love to read your comments, and keep sending em, but I disagree with you that the youngsters dont have the will to travel anymore. Times have changed and not always for the better, but with air travel being so good many youngsters these days choose to go overseas for a few years and good luck to them. This wasn't so readily available in my day. For me there is so much here to see, I'm finished going overseas, plus they all speak our language here. Good travelling to all,Keith

Sydney and Melbourne being really just huge carparks, its not easy to count miles (Kilometers), we always referred to a distance by whatever time it takes to drive there. eg Manly to Mona Vale was 40 minutes. I think its actually only 10 k's? Thankfully our current car-park is Canberra, and the traffic actually moves here. (Mostly)

But when you are off without a deadline, and interesting scenery to stop and photograph, or maybe stay a while, who cares how far it is in miles! I guess all that matters is you have enough fuel till the next bowser. Its a learning curve for younger folk though, they worry about big numbers,

This Forum is making me impatient for the next trip! I really appreciate all of your comments...keep 'em coming!

Spent time in the NT, when I first got there I said to a fellow worker who had been there a years or so "how far is it to Berry Springs" Answer: 3cans

Humptydoo Answer : 4 cans

Just another perspective to measuring distance traveled

Dave you have certainly had some great adventures. Today Im not counting the miles I'm counting the days to be on the road because getting there is lots of fun. I do have to do a quick trip to Sydney before we hitch up the camper again but it doesnt compare with travelling the open road. Stopping on the highway near your home town to stock up on fresh fruit and check for new graffitti on the tanks outside Port Augusta although they are not a very pretty landmark they are one that reminds me everytime I go by im not too far from the bay and every person on the road from that point greets you with a great aussie wave. I cant wait to do the miles

g'day John, your 93 falcon and your jayco is what I see absolutely everywhere, including far outback and way up north and west, the models change and the years but the vehicles are still the same, I seen a modified falcon (four wheel drive and raised suspension) half way up cape york, it was towing a van, dont remember the brand but oh boy it did the trip, dont tell me they cant take the rough stuff, half your luck as far as going around the block is concerned I must hold my horses for another couple of years and then I will be touring around and up and over and under and through (what a happy little vegemite I will be), all I live for apart from family, as the song goes, turn me loose, as for air travel, it wasnt boredom it was sheer bloody terror, if the window could open, I swear I would have jumped out at 15,000 feet, flying in to tasmania we struck turbulance over some mountain range just out of launceston, it was all I could do to stop myself from from running up and down the aisle yelling let me out, let me out, I am not a flyer, it was quite literally a war within myself

the last time I was at lake bonney it had been used as a storage pool for all the logs burnt during ash wednesday something about placing them in water reduces the rot or whatever, you wouldnt want to go there now as it is almighty polluted, we also camped there quite a few times amongst the small trees and around the sand dunes, a lot of happy memories there but not now, I will not be aging once I am retired, I made up my mind about that a long time ago, we are going at 55 which may seem young but we will be self funded and working as we need to, as my description reads we have been caring for our cerebral palsy son for what will soon be 30 years, my father and his father before him, died before their 65th birthday so I want to have a bit of life myself, before I kick the proverbial, I have done the seven day a week work thing, heavy equipment, with contractors, dozers, loaders and scrapers, all the big stuff and I am paying for it now, that is how I was able to travel when I was younger, big money lot of time in between contracts, but we are so tied down now, we only get 6 weeks respite a year so we are very restricted, but in a couple of years look out

mate you got my sympathy, as for my life being hard, yep sure is but wouldnt change it for the world just as yet, wont relinquish the legalities of him even when we place him in care, so we will keep coming back every year, dont let me put you off going to lake bonney, still a great spot but just dont go for a dip or you wil start glowing or something, I spent 5 years down the south east when it used to be wet, rain for 5 days and drip off the trees for the other two, I had a few mates help me put the naracoorte highway in, I was on a wabco twin power scraper, and then moved over to casterton where I was an eco vandal, spent 3 years clearing trees for a contractor on a d9g dozer, I love the bottom of our country, I also love the top of our country and all the bits in between, the south east is always a great place to visit, the blue lake is mesmerising with it's colour changes and the naracoorte caves are fantastic, bool lagoon, great camp there, piccaninie ponds, spent many a night in that camp, head over to kingston and cape jaffa (have a look at the marina they are building there), you wont be dissapointed, tantanoola caves, great country, too little time

we can only hope we run into each other at some stage, I would dearly love to have a "big gathering" of the nomads somewhere at some stage, oh boy the stories that would roll from a meeting like that, fathers day with a cerebral palsy child is always a great day, they are so happy and easy going it makes my eyes water, I dont blame your rellies chasing you here, best country on earth, hope your b/law has a bit of luck, only one good thing in hospitals, thats the bed bath, but then I used to always get the big matron when it was my turn. my life was and still is not hard, I dont regret a thing the hard times made the good times better, the long hours made the long travel far more enjoyable, wouldnt miss any of it for quids