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Camper
re a l a d v e n t ures
real people on
ISSUE 150 | ON SA
LE MAY 21 2020 |
$12. 95
australia
Post-lockdown
self-sufficiency
tips and tricks
Plan and
prepare
for High Country
heroics
plus
The latest campers
AND roof top tents,
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CA M P E R S H O T 12
W h e e l in g t h r o u g h a
WINTER WONDERLAND
Photographer: MATT FEHLBERG Camera: NIKON D800E Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec F-Stop: f/8 ISO: 200
13
The new mural at the
Federal Coffee Palace in Yarram
PICTURE CREDIT: Destination Gippsland
GIPPSLAND MURALS BRIGHTEN DARK TIMES
The town of Yarram has unveiled 12 new murals, celebrating historical local characters. They’re two
and a half hours south-east of Melbourne in the guts of Gippsland, ready for you to experience when
travel re-opens.
THERE’S NO TWO ways about it, the first Bar & Gallery, Drakefords, Federal Coffee Ralph took his bullock train from Walhalla to
third of 2020 has been an absolute shocker. Palace, Beta Electronics, MG Trading, Ship Inn, Port Albert to celebrate the 150th anniversary
Regions everywhere are facing their own, Wynnes Building, Yarram Bakery and Yarram of the port — not a cakewalk, but he was a hard
individual trials, brought about by a rabid Golf Course. guy — and his bullocks were wearing shoes
concoction of bushfires and pandemic. Places To give an example, on the Federal Coffee he’d made out of old car tyres. Sadly, he passed
that depend on tourism have had to turn Palace wall, we find Ralph the Bullock Driver. away 10 years ago, but he and many other
away travellers — by no means a financially or Ralph was an enormous town character back characters are fondly — and aesthetically —
emotionally easy thing to do. in the day, representative of the early settlers. recalled in these new murals.
However, some places are doing their all
to emerge stronger, and Gippsland numbers
among them. The Yarram community has
unveiled 12 new murals on the walls of the The proud new face of the Alberton Hotel
town, each depicting a fascinating historical PICTURE CREDIT: Destination Gippsland
character, vital to the region’s history. Yarram
is a town of over 2,000 people, two and a half
hours south-east of Melbourne, near Tarra
Bulga National Park, Agnes Falls, Port Albert,
and 90 Mile Beach.
Local resident, Eric Greenaway, came
up with the idea and street and silo artist,
Heesco Khosnaran, executed it over a five-
week period in March. Travellers will be able
to experience murals at the following local
businesses: Alberton Hotel, Brown Wigg, Bull
120
A P P E N I N G ?
WHAT'S H
HUMP IN THE ROAD FOR
BOULIA CAMEL RACING
The ‘Melbourne Cup of Camel Races’ has hit a hump
in the road this year thanks to COVID-19 travel
restrictions, but it will be back and better than Yeehah, ride em! We ain't done yet, Sally!
ever in July 2021. PICTURE CREDIT: Aliven Photography
FOR MORE THAN 20 years, Boulia in outback “But be assured it’s only a small speed hump and train may play to the reigning champions’
Queensland has hosted Australia’s premier in our plans, because we’ve already set the dates advantage.
camel racing event, the Boulia Camel Cup. for Boulia Camel Races to return on 16–18 July “The camel trainers and their crews who
Visitors descend on this tiny town from all 2021,” said Ms Britton. normally make the trek out to see us each year are
over Australia each year to cheer on their “By the time Outback Queensland is rolling out really going to get itchy feet missing out this year,”
favourite dromedary, but 2020’s COVID-19 travel the welcome mat for travellers again, our tiny said Ms Britton. “One of our longest supporters,
restrictions mean the world’s most awkward- towns will be relieved to see visitors back, but for camel trainer and jockey Glenda Sutton, has
looking racers won’t be able to run. now we’re all in this together and we’ll just have been making the trek interstate to Boulia for two
“To all the people who were planning to head to live off our great memories of 2019.” decades and our four local camel training teams
to Outback Queensland to see us in Boulia this “The coveted Boulia Camel Cup will be waiting will miss the races as much as our visitors.”
July, we’re as disappointed as you are to miss out ready to be next claimed by a champion in 2021 would have been the 25th Anniversary
on 2020,” event organiser Rebecka Britton said 2021,” promises Ms Britton. celebration of the Boulia Camel Races, held
of the cancellation. The delay may actually be a good thing for annually since 1997, but with the 2020 event
“Our town is really going to miss the influx the winners of the 2019 Boulia Camel Cup. Local skipped, the anniversary celebration will be
of visitors and we never could have imagined a camel trainers Dannileah Stewart and Ronnie pushed back to 2022.
circumstance where we would close our doors to Callope have a younger camel team than many The Camel Races committee promises to ‘keep
travellers.” of their rivals. An extra year for them to mature the campfires burning’ until visitors return.
TRACK TRAILER TRACKING WELL
In April, TRACK Trailer acquired the TRACK HAS ACQUIRED the long-standing
Australian brands Trackmaster and Pioneer,
slow economy were already drivers of industry
consolidation.”
brands Trackmaster and Pioneer, Directors Gerald Waldron and Wayne Gason of
MD Gason Industries jointly announced in early
“TRACK recognised this and was already
seeking opportunities to expand its offering.
keeping the well-regarded Aussie April.
The deal, which had been in negotiation since
The opportunity to acquire these two highly
regarded brands with compatible design and
names in production. December 2019, will see all brands remain on
Australian soil. TRACK now owns all intellectual
production systems seemed ideal.”
“New Trackmaster and Pioneer models
property for the design, manufacture and (will) be released in 2021 but in the meantime
marketing of both acquired brands. OUTBACK HQ has stock of 2020 models
Accordingly, TRACK’s Outback HQ showroom available for immediate sale.”
and service centre in Victoria will provide Meanwhile, TRACK Trailer have inherited
service and parts for both brands and warranty a new South Australian Dealer through the
services on behalf of all Gason-manufactured acquisition, namely The Dirt Off Road Campers
products. in Mount Barker. Well-travelled owners, Mike
“The Australian RV industry was already on and Anita Pavey, say they have owned a range
notice 12 months ago that the federal RVSA of TRACK campers over the years, including a
The April acquisition will legislation would bring light trailers into a Topaz, Tvan and Desert Eagle, so they can talk
keep Aussie brands alive similar compliance scheme to that existing credibly from their own experience on how to
PICTURE CREDIT: TRACK Trailer for cars and trucks,” Mr Waldron said in a get the best from your TRACK experience.
statement. “The challenges of this and the
121
TOP 10 NATURAL WONDERS
Tourism Australia have released a list of 10 stunning natural wonders to look forward to once we can all
travel interstate freely once more. Here’s the list, in full!
Cuttlefish at Stony Point, Eyre Peninsula
PICTURE CREDIT: Carl Charter
on the Coral Coast, Lake Eyre six hours from
Adelaide, and Lake MacDonnell on the Eyre
Peninsula all turn it up with their own unique
shade of pink.
7. AURORA AUSTRALIS
Hutt Lagoon, near Port Gregory You’d have heard of the northern lights,
PICTURE CREDIT: Tourism Western Australia experienced in winter-locked Scandi countries,
but how about the Southern Lights? Most
commonly seen from May to August and during
1. BIOLUMINESCENT PLANKTON 3. MORNING GLORY CLOUDS, BURKETOWN, QLD the Spring Equinox in September, travellers to
On the beaches at Jervis Bay, three hours south From September to October, Morning Glory Tasmania can experience flickering shades of
from Sydney, a natural chemical reaction within Clouds roll across the Gulf and can be observed rainbow light up the night sky.
plankton makes them luminesce a blue glow. looming in the skies above Burketown. The
While the reaction can happen at any time clouds form a bank, which can exceed 1000km 8. THE WORLD’S LARGEST DINOSAUR FOOTPRINT
of year, you’re most likely to have luck in the in length, and 1 to 2km in width, and travel as In Broome WA, there’s a fossilised dinosaur
warmer months, and after dark on days when fast as 60kph. Zoom zoom! footprint dating back 130 million years and
red algae is present. measuring 1.7 metres in length. It’s one of many
4. CORAL SPAWNING at Gantheaume Point, an area of rugged red
2. MIN MIN LIGHTS The Great Barrier Reef, like all good reefs, sandstone cliffs, where at low tide, dinosaur
The Min Min Lights are described as floating, reproduces itself. Coral polyps release egg and prints can be seen on rocks usually washed by
fast-moving balls of colour that glow in the sperm bundles for external fertilisation in a mass the swells.
night and stalk their witnesses. People have event sometimes known, by rowdy locals, as the
experienced this doozy from Mataranka to Uluru world’s largest orgasm. The phenomenon occurs 9. HORIZONTAL FALLS
and everywhere in between (Camper does not annually and only lasts a few nights — or maybe When David Attenborough hypes something
encourage the consumption of acid). you see that as quite a long time. up, you can safely assume it’s good. “Australia’s
most unusual natural wonder”, as he calls it, can
5. CUTTLEFISH ANNUAL AGGREGATION be found in the Kimberley region in WA. Huge
Giant Australian cuttlefish migrate to the upper tidal flows create ‘waterfalls’ at two locations:
Aurora Australis , captured in Tassie this April Spencer Gulf in South Australia annually; it’s at a 10m and 20m wide gap in the water-
PICTURE CREDIT: Tim Grimsey Photography
the only place in the world where cuttlefish submerged red hills. Direction of flow changes
aggregate annually, en masse, and so as the tides turn.
predictably. Travellers can snorkel with them
at Stony Point, off the Eyre Peninsula, between 10. RED CRAB MIGRATION
June and July. Off the far north-west coast of Oz, Christmas
Island hosts an estimated 40 to 50 million bright
6. AUSTRALIA’S PINK LAKES red land crabs. Each year, between November
From outback SA to the WA coast, bafflingly and January, the crabs emerge from the forest
beautiful pink lakes dot the terrain. Lake Hillier and make their way to the ocean to breed,
on Middle Island in Esperance, Hutt Lagoon forming a huge red carpet.
122
A P P E N I N G ?
WHAT'S H
Google Trekker at Cape
Byron State Conservation Area
PICTURE CREDIT: John Spencer DPIE
TAKE A VIRTUAL HIKE IN A NSW NATIONAL PARK
Ease your lockdown cabin fever with a virtual tour of some of New South Wales’ most iconic national
parks, Courtesy of Google's Technology and some intrepid trekkers
NSW NATIONAL PARKS and Wildlife Service their favourites to get you started: one of the best in NSW.
(NPWS) has a brilliant offering for those Thredbo to Mount Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko Tomaree Head summit walk, Tomaree National
struggling with a bad case of cabin fever during National Park, for an alpine hike to Australia’s Park for panoramic views looking out over Port
the COVID-19 lockdown. highest peak: the summit of Mt Kosciuszko. Stephens coastline and islands, minus the climb.
Working with Google, NPWS rangers and staff Cliff Top walking track, Blue Mountains For more information and places to explore,
hit the tracks and trails in mountain, coastline National Park for getting your fix of the famous go to: nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/google-trekker
and outback areas across the state to capture Blue Mountains escarpment and its beautiful
over 1350 kilometres of imagery and footage hues.
from more than 50 NSW national parks, using Walls of China, Mungo National Park for a
Visually mapping the Blue Mountains
Google’s special backpack-mounted trekker. journey to the outback to find otherworldly, PICTURE CREDIT: John Spencer DPIE
Thanks to their efforts you can hit an old moon-like sand-shaped clay dunes, and a special
favourite track that you’ve been missing, or place rich in 40,000-plus years of Aboriginal
explore an iconic walk you’ve always wanted to cultural history.
see. White Sands walk and Scribbly Gum track,
To explore from your couch, all you have to Jervis Bay National Park for virtually soaking up
do is drag and drop ‘Pegman’ along the track in the last of the warm weather on a coastal forest
Google Maps, just like you would for Google’s track passing the white sandy beaches and
street view. sparkling ocean of the south coast.
360-degree views of these incredible places Jillabenan Cave, Yarrangobilly Caves,
are as close as you can hope to get to being Kosciuszko National Park for disappearing into
there on the ground today. Perfect inspiration the underground world of caves and their jaw-
for planning your next real-life trip to one dropping delicate formations.
of NSW’s beautiful national parks, once the Breadknife and Grand High Tops walking track,
lockdown ends. Warrumbungle National Park for a trip to central-
There are hundreds of experiences to west NSW for sweeping vistas of rugged volcanic
discover, but the NWPS have picked some of landscape along a challenging hike regarded as
123
YOUR
HOME AWAYFROM
HOME AT HOME
A recent run in with a possum reminded Kath that having a camper
in your garage can be like having a second, fully-stocked house at
your disposal. It would be a damn shame, then, to run into trouble Words and Pics KATH
HEIMAN
right now and find your camper wasn’t ready to save the day.
AT AROUND 2am the other night, the power was the issue of cooking: with no electrical Here are a few challenges you could face that
went out at our place. The reason? No, not a power available in the kitchen, I’d be unlikely to your camper might just solve:
windstorm or torrential rain — not that either enjoy a hot cup of coffee before I headed out Relatives planning to visit? Easy. There
of these would have been surprising given the to work. are four berths outside. Make yourselves
way Mother Nature’s been behaving lately. In Or would I? After all, if I can make a morning comfortable.
this instance, the culprit was a possum wreaking brew when I’m camped in the middle of the Fridge kaput? Just go and turn on the
havoc with the power transformer at the end Simpson Desert, 100km from the nearest 80L camp fridge powered by the onboard
of the street, or so I’m told by the neighbours habitation, then I can certainly achieve the same battery system.
who saw the furry offender hanging around the outcome from my home base. I simply needed LPG gas bottle empty when you call an
following day in a very bad state of health. to walk out to the carport and pull out the impromptu backyard barbecue? No worries.
While the only obvious night-time impact of camper’s kitchen galley, and then a whole range There are a couple of canisters sitting idle in
the outage was that the ceiling fan stopped, of options become available. the camper’s nose cone.
things took on a different perspective in the It’s times like this when the secondary Blackout? The generator will keep the freezer
morning when it became apparent that the benefits of owning a camper become obvious. running and the 12V LED lights will allow for a
electricity supply hadn’t yet returned. With Sometimes it can feel like you’re living next to friendly boardgame after dinner.
temperatures forecast to soar into the low 40s, a vacant house that you’ve been invited to use No foil to cover a roast? Simple. There’s
and a house freezer full of meat and fish, the any time you like. Other times it’s like owning a always a roll in the camper’s pantry.
prospect of food spoilage was real. Then there well-stocked general store. The trouble is that we can easily forget what
130
SHE'LL BE RIGHT
we’ve pilfered between trips, and finding things
missing from the camper when we need them
can be quite inconvenient.
For example, media imagery during
summer showed caravans, camper trailers
and motorhomes congregating in makeshift
campgrounds in fire-affected communities. It
demonstrated the critical role that our mobile
homes can play when conditions suddenly
turn against us. Whether we’re dealing with a Our camper's generator came in handy
blackout, flash flood, unexpected road closure during a recent blackout
or something worse, as camper owners,
we’re better placed than many to deal with
unforeseen contingencies. But we shouldn’t
take our rigs for granted. we’ll find out what’s missing when we’re setting
To guarantee that we’re in good shape for up camp along a remote stream. A trip to a
whatever happens down the track, it makes local township to resupply may be the exact
sense to ensure that our rigs are ‘good-to-go’ opposite of how we planned to spend our day,
at all times. This includes maintaining a regular but at least we will survive. Xxxxxxxxxxxx
servicing schedule. And it also requires that Worst case scenario is we find that our rig is
we keep our camper stocks up to scratch. If deficient when we’re faced with an emergency.
we borrow an LPG canister, foil tray or pepper The camper may suddenly turn from RV to
seasoning from our camper to help a Sunday ‘bug-out bunker’ or makeshift first-aid station,
backyard barbecue, then we should replenish but what if it doesn’t have the supplies to live
those supplies as soon as possible. The up to those titles?
same applies when we remove a hat from a As they say, good preparation is no accident. Camping supplies have more uses
cupboard, a bandage from the first-aid kit, or When things go wrong, the time to prepare has than you might think
water from the camper’s jerries. already passed. CTA
If we don’t, the best case scenario is that
The camper's kitchen can be used at home
when in a pinch
It's a good idea to make sure everything
in the camper is good to go
131
You might encounter frosty nights and brisk mornings
anywhere, anytime, so it's best to be prepared
Warm in
Winter
What can you do to stay warm while camping this winter?
Words and Pics david cook
WINTER IN Australia might seem rather benign uncomfortable to be enjoyable. So, the question store and bought her a small blower heater (you
if you come from North America, northern is, what temperature can you handle? can see I am a big-time roller!).
Europe, or central Asia, where temperatures can Several years back, I was enjoying a camping Armidale is at 30 degrees south, well north
plunge to well below zero, and over 10 metres tour around northern NSW in late July with some of where you’d expect to find this, but it
of snow can blanket the earth. Nevertheless, it friends from South Australia and we stopped demonstrates you don’t have to be near the
can be cold enough here to make folks pretty overnight at Armidale. I will admit that, at 980 Antarctic blasts of the Great Southern Ocean
uncomfortable, so it still makes sense to take metres above sea level, Armidale is reasonably to be in really cold weather. Australia has
your preparations seriously when camping in the high by Australian standards, but we had been experienced snow as far north as the Clark
cooler months. working our way south, either along the coast Ranges west of Mackay, as far west as Texas, and
If you live in the northerly areas of the or up on the Great Dividing Range, and it had it occurs not uncommonly — sometimes quite
country, winter can be the most comfortable been pleasantly sunny and quite comfortable at heavily — on the Granite Belt around Stanthorpe
time of year, even though it can get pretty cool night. We arrived late at camp and headed into and even Toowoomba. Snow reportedly fell in
at night once you're away from the coast. Down town for a pub meal after setting up, and then suburban Brisbane in 1957 and 1982.
south, however, winter has traditionally been returned to camp and fell into a comfortable I have also read reports of snow on Uluru in
the time when travellers hit the highways to go sleep. July 1997, and there are some neat photos of
north. Sun-seeking aside, is it necessary to travel When we awoke in the morning, the top of it on the internet. Given that it is at 25 degrees
several thousand kilometres to find weather the awning, which we had left loosely thrown South latitude, it goes to show there is always
suitable for camping? Can you tackle a camping over the top of the tent, looked like it had been the chance you can run into cold weather when
trip in Victoria, southern New South Wales, or covered in snow. The dishcloth on the sink was it’s winter in Australia.
anywhere along the main mountain ranges as stiff as a board where it had been left out A human body at rest generates about 100
during winter? while damp, and there were icicles hang off a watts of heat, so with two of you in the camper
A lot of this comes down to personal nearby fence. That day was my wife’s birthday, (we’ll ignore the kids) that’s equivalent to about
judgements of when weather is too so as a present I took her to a nearby appliance a 200W heater churning away. However, without
132R FACE
BENEATH THE SU
some precautions, most of that is likely to be lost beanie and use gloves and socks to enclose
to the outside world. This is especially true if you those extremities. One of your body’s responses Could you brave a dawn skinny dip?
have a canvas roof and walls, as your camper to cold is to draw blood from the extremities
will pass its heat to the atmosphere through back to the core to retain that temperature
simple radiation or through being absorbed by around the vital organs inside, and thus feet
components of the camper which in turn radiate and hands can experience a greater loss in
them to the outside. temperature while your main body is quite
If you have a canvas tent made from quality warm.
Australian canvas, you don’t need much more One simple solution is to use a spare piece
than 10 ounce material in the roof and 8 ounces of canvas — a wall or similar — thrown over the
in the walls, but you will notice a considerable bed. This will trap heat underneath and do much
increase in warmth retention with heavier to keep you warm and comfortable, though it
canvas, say up to 15 ounces. The downside of will also trap body moisture and you will need to
that is it will add a big chunk of weight to your air your bedding each morning to limit the risks
camper and be more difficult to handle in set-up of mould.
and pack-up, especially when new. A tropical If the kids are sleeping on the ground, make
roof or thermal blanket, however, will make sure you have good insulation under them — not
a difference in a tent’s capacity to retain heat blow-up air beds, as they dissipate heat rapidly
during the night. into the ground and are poor insulators. A closed
If you’re fortunate enough to have a space cell foam self-inflating mattress is much better,
heater in your camper you can, of course, simply even if it looks thin and unlikely to do the job.
turn that on and retain a pleasantly warm Make sure you’re warm and dry before going
environment all night. And if you have a hybrid to bed as, if you go in cold, it will take you longer
style of camper, the hard walls and roof will do a to get warm and the evaporation of moisture
lot to retain the heat. from your skin will cause a lot of temperature
Hanging blankets on the
Wear appropriate pyjamas — a fleecy tracksuit loss. inside
of your camper walls can
is good — or even thermal underwear. There And remember, do not use any type of heater help
is an old wives’ tale that you lose 50 per cent that burns gas or fuel while you are asleep.
(or some other substantial proportion) of your They all produce carbon dioxide and it seems
body heat from your head, but that isn’t true. almost every year we have deaths from
A thermal layer is essential
You lose no more than you would through any people using such heaters at night. They are
other equivalently sized portion of your body. suitable for pre-heating a tent space but must
However, you can minimise that loss with a be turned off before you get into bed. CTA
Icicles are a sure sign that
it’s been cold overnight
133SUBSCRIBE TO
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real people on real adventures
ISSUE 150
C mper
real adventures
a
real people on
ISSUE 150
ISSUE 150 | ON SALE MAY 21 2020 | $12.95
australia
ISSUE 150 | ON SALE
MAY 21 2020 | $12.9
5
australia
Post-lockdown
self-sufficiency
Post-lockdown tips and tricks
self-sufficiency
tips and tricks
Camper
Plan and
Camper
Plan and
prepare
for High Country
prepare
heroics for High Country
heroics
plus
The latest campers
AND roof top tents, plus
reviewed The latest campers
AND roof top tents,
reviewed
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camper.hemax.com
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