We’ve both had a long-held passion for and fascination with the natural world and, in particular, Australia‘s wildlife and landscapes. In earlier days, we both spent time in the 1970’s watching television shows from pioneer Australian outback documentary film-makers such as the Leyland Brothers, Harry Butler, the Bush Tucker Man and the legendary Malcolm Douglas. We both devoured books, shows and articles on early European explorers and Aussie outback adventures. Jim‘s love of the great outdoors saw him travelling solo around Australia in his early 20’s, having all sorts of adventures along the way.
In more recent times, we’ve gained a keen interest in the protection of biodiversity and wildlife conservation, indigenous natural and cultural heritage and the importance of respecting and protecting our natural environment so that all forms of life can thrive. This is the lens that we will look through when travelling around Australia on the Stace Odyssey.
Now it’s our turn to ”travel all over the countryside". The Big Lap journey will begin in Adelaide when we pick up our Offline Domino Camper Trailer in early December 2022.
Our proposed route for the Big Lap #1
Just recently, we completed a journey (without the camper trailer) around NSW, Victoria and north-west Tasmania. Once we pick up our trailer in South Australia we are planning to start our travels around the southern and western coasts of the mainland, crossing inland into the Pilbara before heading to the Kimberley region. We then plan to cross the top-end from Broome to Cairns via the Gibb River Road and Savannah Way, before visiting parts of tropical North Queensland. We then turn back inland and head south via Central Australia, including visits to the MacDonell Ranges, Kings Canyon, Uluru, Kati-Thanda (Lake Eyre) and Ikara (Flinders Ranges). We’ll see the rest of Australia on another trip or many.
Gear Check
The Big Lap takes a lot of planning and preparation. It’s no ordinary holiday. Basically, we will be putting our regular lives on hold for almost a year as we pack everything into our vehicle and camper trailer and travel around through lots of different environments and through all seasons.
First, we had to choose a vehicle and camper trailer that would be up to the task. Our Mitsubishi Triton has been fitted out with all the accessories and extra suspension that we need for a safe and comfortable journey in all terrains. The vehicle gear checklist includes the following:
Complete underbody upgrade with Ironman suspension
Maxxis razor all terrain tyres
Pre-line Plus pre-filter fuel kit
Water sensor control unit
Driving lights
Bull bar
Snorkel
Side awning (with side walls)
Rhino rack roof racks
Recovery gear
Dual battery system
Compressor
35 litre refrigerator
Uniden two-way radio
Emergency beacon
Recently, we decided to put a hard canopy on the back of the utility tray for extra storage, safety and better protection from dust and rain.
Now we're ready to roll!
The Offline Domino Camper Trailer has been designed to go anywhere in Australia with ease. We’ll post about that in a future edition of A Stace Odyssey.
In the camper trailer environment, storage space is at a premium, so we have to be very prudent with our packing and only take what we really need. This can be quite challenging! The basic packing checklist includes clothing, shoes, linen, toiletries, towels, laundry items, food, cooking utensils, vehicle and safety equipment, tools, chairs, tables, portable BBQ, and a range of other gadgets to make life comfortable on the road.
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