Lap of the Map

[Mc4by]

In exactly 12 months my wife and I will be heading off to do a trip around Australia.
I know this is probably a bit early to post but I have no idea what I am in for and wanted to get any input that other members can provide.
There is obviously a camper trailer to purchase and so many options there. My thoughts are a rear fold for convenience. I have a 2002 GU3, will I have to upgrade to haul a tralier?
What essentials are required and so on.
It won't be a lot of remote travel, but lots of back roads and camping stays.
We plan on 4 - 6 months for the circuit.
If I start planning now I can get the savings sorted to ensure I leave with every chance of returning

[Plasnart]

Great stuff mate! My lap of the map was planned for 6 months like yourself, but ended up being over 3 years haha. Was mid 90's, I was young and free and on a motorbike so any advice from me would be outdated and irrelevant to your needs. But those are still the best 3 years I ever experienced so hope your lap gives you the same memories!

[Mc4by]

Great stuff mate! My lap of the map was planned for 6 months like yourself, but ended up being over 3 years haha. Was mid 90's, I was young and free and on a motorbike so any advice from me would be outdated and irrelevant to your needs. But those are still the best 3 years I ever experienced so hope your lap gives you the same memories!

Funny you should say that #Plasnart, my wife questioned why I was in such a hurry to finish it :)
I did a circuit on a motorcycle in the 80's so 'snap' on that one as well. Much less bitumen this time though.

[mudnut]

Cuppa is the man to talk to. After having to set up a side-style camper a couple of times, my main advice would be to invest in an offroad hard floor camper that can be set up in a matter of minutes. Enjoy planning for your trip.

[Mc4by]

Cuppa is the man to talk to. After having to set up a side-style camper a couple of times, my main advice would be to invest in an offroad hard floor camper that can be set up in a matter of minutes. Enjoy planning for your trip.

The forward or rear fold is definitely how we are thinking.

[the evil twin]

What time of year are you going?
Are you going to Tas as well?

If it is the traditional 'April to Sep' or thereabouts then I would go clockwise as the Kimberley/NT/FNQ are best in the months of Mar, April, May.
Those areas change so much that they can be totally different each tropical season (they don't have 4 seasons up there) but the late run off or early dry is great.
Early wet is the best but you risk not getting in or even worse out of so much Top End.

If it is earlier and you are going to Tas I would go anti-clockwise, Tas is best in Autumn IMHO

Once you decide which way to go then it would take maybe 100 forum pages to list the "do not miss" or "make sure you see"

I would sprint to Broome or SA, you live in WA so can pick up anything within say 1500 to 2000 K's some other time and get the max time for teh interstate stuff

I also think that it is a good idea to have an Icon Event or two to attend, say... Sydney New Year Fireworks, Tamworth Music Festival, Supercars, Moomba, a GF or State of Origin or whatever floats your boat. Only downside is it can potentially dictate the pace of your trip or when you go but that is what I usually do and it has worked for me on every major trip I've done. It can be a real downer to arrive/leave just before or after something unless you are timing the trip to deliberately miss it... kinda like going fishing and finding out you should have been there yesterday :-)

Camper - def a hard floor as a minimum, if the budget stretched to it a semi- hardshell like an Ultimate or full hardshell like a Tvan is even better. Access and setup becomes paramount when you are doing it on an almost daily basis, the easy the better by a loooong margin.
At some point you will get adverse weather so the tougher the rig the better and if like me cold is bad warm is good stay away from cold high places in Winter if in a camper.
Budget for a day or two or maybe even more in a Chalet/Cabin/Motel every few weeks, the breaks from the Camper are gold.

[mudski]

Get The Big Lap dvd if you ave not seen it. Done by amateurs but very inspirational none the less.

[GQtdauto]

ET has pretty much nailed it , we did the big lap towing a 2.5 tonne plus van in a 2002 GU hand grenade with bugger all issues with the 4by .
We have ditched the van and brought an off road camper it folds both forward and back is reasonably easy to set up but after a few months it becomes a chore and gets a bit old .
We did the lap by going anti clockwise west coast and clock wise east coast .
After a few more years of going off road to the harder to get to bits of oz we will morph into nomads and go back to a caravan .

[Cuppa]

What time of year are you going?

Camper - def a hard floor as a minimum, if the budget stretched to it a semi- hardshell like an Ultimate or full hardshell like a Tvan is even better. Access and setup becomes paramount when you are doing it on an almost daily basis, the easy the better by a loooong margin.


I'll second that, & add that whilst something like a Tvan is ridiculously expensive for what it is, you would be able to re-sell it after your trip for much the same as you paid for it. I have seen a couple of decent looking older ones for sale in the low $20k recently. We love the reassurance that their solid construction gives us & that they'll follow us hassle free pretty much anywhere we can take the Patrol.

To expand a little on what ET has said - every little extra task, every extra minute it takes - when setting up or packing away - becomes a real chore when doing it every day over long periods. Very different to a weekend away or the annual 3 week holiday. Minimise the number of poles, ropes & pegs as much as possible. We love the Tvan because it is so quick & easy to set up/pack away. Whenever possible (quite often) we don't even use the tent section. Just open the hatch, 30 secs to put the elasticated bug mesh around the opening & we're done. Many use a variety of awnings with them. We carry the quick one with us to put up over the kitchen when needed, but have probably only used it half a dozen times since we left home last June. The main awning with 8 poles, ropes & pegs & heavy canvas stays at home, as does the zip on 'en-suite'.

A lap of the map in 6 months? Can be done but it'll be a marathon effort, very tiring & you'll miss heaps. If you can take longer - do so. I 100% guarantee you wont regret it. I'd say you need a minimum of 12 months, but longer is better. 6 months may sound like a long time but it'll whiz by in the blink of an eye. Imagine rocking up at that special place you have dreamed of seeing one day & all you can think is "What's the point, it's just another thing to look at" ...... that is an almost inevitable experience you will have sooner or later if you are rushed .... & you will be if you stick to 6 months. The idea is to relax, enjoy & savour the experiences along the way & for that you need time. If 6 months is the max you can manage then I strongly suggest that you consider a 'half lap' instead.

Our first lap (actually a 45,000km figure 8) took us 18 months & was wonderful, we 'picked the eyes out of it' but we still missed a lot. Before leaving it seemed like such a long time ahead of us, but it passed so quickly. It took 3 months before we felt we had started to 'find our rhthym'. If like most folk, used to daily work/life schedules, getting out on the road is about far more than just sightseeing. As a couple it's about leaving the 'norms' behind for a while & discovering/adventuring together. The hardest part of making that happen is 'slowing down', not being driven by what is around the next corner, but instead learning to really enjoy the present. No exaggeration about that being hard, it takes practice - for us it was that first 3 months before we began to 'find our pace'. 24/7 together, different roles to those we were used to - a few ups & downs in the process as we worked it out.

Don't over plan & don't set a schedule for yourselves. Have a list of 'must see/do's' & make the rest up as you go. The best bits will be the unplanned/unexpected if you allow yourselves the ability/time to 'go off course/stay longer'. Booking ahead is for folk who like stress.

There is much I could continue to add - travelling around Oz is my passion. But ...... if I were to give just a single piece of advice based upon our experience it would be 'Make a primary goal of the trip to find wonderful places to camp, recognise when you've found them & stay a day or two longer'. Not every camp is great, & we had many times , especially in the early days when we were camped up in some crappy rest area/gravel pit, wishing we had spent longer in the place we left that morning, but had let that 'need to push on' (I think it's a male thing) take precedence.

[Mc4by]

What time of year are you going?
Are you going to Tas as well?

If it is the traditional 'April to Sep' or thereabouts then I would go clockwise as the Kimberley/NT/FNQ are best in the months of Mar, April, May.
Those areas change so much that they can be totally different each tropical season (they don't have 4 seasons up there) but the late run off or early dry is great.
Early wet is the best but you risk not getting in or even worse out of so much Top End.

If it is earlier and you are going to Tas I would go anti-clockwise, Tas is best in Autumn IMHO

Once you decide which way to go then it would take maybe 100 forum pages to list the "do not miss" or "make sure you see"

I would sprint to Broome or SA, you live in WA so can pick up anything within say 1500 to 2000 K's some other time and get the max time for teh interstate stuff

I also think that it is a good idea to have an Icon Event or two to attend, say... Sydney New Year Fireworks, Tamworth Music Festival, Supercars, Moomba, a GF or State of Origin or whatever floats your boat. Only downside is it can potentially dictate the pace of your trip or when you go but that is what I usually do and it has worked for me on every major trip I've done. It can be a real downer to arrive/leave just before or after something unless you are timing the trip to deliberately miss it... kinda like going fishing and finding out you should have been there yesterday :-)

Camper - def a hard floor as a minimum, if the budget stretched to it a semi- hardshell like an Ultimate or full hardshell like a Tvan is even better. Access and setup becomes paramount when you are doing it on an almost daily basis, the easy the better by a loooong margin.
At some point you will get adverse weather so the tougher the rig the better and if like me cold is bad warm is good stay away from cold high places in Winter if in a camper.
Budget for a day or two or maybe even more in a Chalet/Cabin/Motel every few weeks, the breaks from the Camper are gold.

Great advice ET. We now have a daughter's wedding in July 2020 in Victoria that we will obviously arrive for. We will make a point of identifying the landmark events and trying to put markers on them. We will budget for a shower every couple of weeks if it's too cold to swim.
As for the timing it looks like our trip just blew out to 12 months :)

[Mc4by]

Get The Big Lap dvd if you ave not seen it. Done by amateurs but very inspirational none the less.

Will seek this out Mudski, thanks.

[Mc4by]

I'll second that, & add that whilst something like a Tvan is ridiculously expensive for what it is, you would be able to re-sell it after your trip for much the same as you paid for it. I have seen a couple of decent looking older ones for sale in the low $20k recently. We love the reassurance that their solid construction gives us & that they'll follow us hassle free pretty much anywhere we can take the Patrol.

To expand a little on what ET has said - every little extra task, every extra minute it takes - when setting up or packing away - becomes a real chore when doing it every day over long periods. Very different to a weekend away or the annual 3 week holiday. Minimise the number of poles, ropes & pegs as much as possible. We love the Tvan because it is so quick & easy to set up/pack away. Whenever possible (quite often) we don't even use the tent section. Just open the hatch, 30 secs to put the elasticated bug mesh around the opening & we're done. Many use a variety of awnings with them. We carry the quick one with us to put up over the kitchen when needed, but have probably only used it half a dozen times since we left home last June. The main awning with 8 poles, ropes & pegs & heavy canvas stays at home, as does the zip on 'en-suite'.

A lap of the map in 6 months? Can be done but it'll be a marathon effort, very tiring & you'll miss heaps. If you can take longer - do so. I 100% guarantee you wont regret it. I'd say you need a minimum of 12 months, but longer is better. 6 months may sound like a long time but it'll whiz by in the blink of an eye. Imagine rocking up at that special place you have dreamed of seeing one day & all you can think is "What's the point, it's just another thing to look at" ...... that is an almost inevitable experience you will have sooner or later if you are rushed .... & you will be if you stick to 6 months. The idea is to relax, enjoy & savour the experiences along the way & for that you need time. If 6 months is the max you can manage then I strongly suggest that you consider a 'half lap' instead.

Our first lap (actually a 45,000km figure 8) took us 18 months & was wonderful, we 'picked the eyes out of it' but we still missed a lot. Before leaving it seemed like such a long time ahead of us, but it passed so quickly. It took 3 months before we felt we had started to 'find our rhthym'. If like most folk, used to daily work/life schedules, getting out on the road is about far more than just sightseeing. As a couple it's about leaving the 'norms' behind for a while & discovering/adventuring together. The hardest part of making that happen is 'slowing down', not being driven by what is around the next corner, but instead learning to really enjoy the present. No exaggeration about that being hard, it takes practice - for us it was that first 3 months before we began to 'find our pace'. 24/7 together, different roles to those we were used to - a few ups & downs in the process as we worked it out.

Don't over plan & don't set a schedule for yourselves. Have a list of 'must see/do's' & make the rest up as you go. The best bits will be the unplanned/unexpected if you allow yourselves the ability/time to 'go off course/stay longer'. Booking ahead is for folk who like stress.

There is much I could continue to add - travelling around Oz is my passion. But ...... if I were to give just a single piece of advice based upon our experience it would be 'Make a primary goal of the trip to find wonderful places to camp, recognise when you've found them & stay a day or two longer'. Not every camp is great, & we had many times , especially in the early days when we were camped up in some crappy rest area/gravel pit, wishing we had spent longer in the place we left that morning, but had let that 'need to push on' (I think it's a male thing) take precedence.

Cuppa thanks for your input.
The T-Van is on the upper side of $ but I take your point about re-sale.
The wife retires later this year (I did last year) and so the 6 months is just a number in reality. I take your point about rushing. We did 3 weeks in the U.K. and it was a sprint. We really have all the time we want and are considering caretaking at various bird sanctuaries. The wife is a keen photographer.
I agree with the 'male thing' about moving on, so I will be working on taking my time.
You make a good point about taking 3 months just to get in the flow.
I will start with a 12 month plan now.

[GQtdauto]

Biggest Dollars spent on any of our trips was fuel , wether on road or at home the cost of eating stays about the same if not cheaper on the road .
We had no itinerary and no real time frame on our big lap , we basically went down the road and turned left then kept going but we did use wiki camps a fair bit .

[the evil twin]

... if you are into birds of the feathered variety then the early dry is THE time to be in the North (as it happens I was the Secretary of the NT Avicultural Society for a time many moons ago now).

The birdlife on the flood plains and Billabongs is incredible before the migratory species bugger off... but watching the resident species like Jabiru hunting for tucker is amazing anytime.

[Cuppa]

... if you are into birds of the feathered variety then the early dry is THE time to be in the North (as it happens I was the Secretary of the NT Avicultural Society for a time many moons ago now).

The birdlife on the flood plains and Billabongs is incredible before the migratory species bugger off... but watching the resident species like Jabiru hunting for tucker is amazing anytime.

We got lucky when we were last in Kakadu. Water in the billabongs had dropped to the level where wading birds could wade & do their thing. Result was wall to wall birds as far as we could see. Huge variety & in the hundreds of thousands if not more. Totally awesome. Watching pelicans hunt in packs was something we watched there that we had seen nowhere else.

Mc4by .... now that you've told us that you don't have time constraints ...... I bet you wont be ready to go home after 12 months, or if you are it wont be long after getting home that your feet start getting itchy again. :)
I'll also make a guess that if you are starting off with the intention of 'lots of back roads' that it wont be long before what may seem remote now no longer does. Setting yourselves up with something suitable for 'more remote' now will at least keep that open as an option. First time we did the Birdsville Track we felt *very* adventurous - it pushed our comfort levels ( mind you it was in a 2wd bus towing a trailer in November - when no-one else was silly enough to be out there) but now it's just another major dirt road to us.

[Mc4by]

... if you are into birds of the feathered variety then the early dry is THE time to be in the North (as it happens I was the Secretary of the NT Avicultural Society for a time many moons ago now).

The birdlife on the flood plains and Billabongs is incredible before the migratory species bugger off... but watching the resident species like Jabiru hunting for tucker is amazing anytime.

Mrs Mc4By saw this post and now it is on our MUST do list :)

[Mc4by]

Cuppa I have just found your blog.
The reading has begun.

[Cuppa]

Cuppa I have just found your blog.
The reading has begun.

:) Enjoy! Which one? .......... old or current - both will have something of interest.

[Mc4by]

:) Enjoy! Which one? .......... old or current - both will have something of interest.

http://cuppa500.com/Blog/

This is the one I found. If there is another, please post it.

[Cuppa]

http://cuppa500.com/Blog/

This is the one I found. If there is another, please post it.

That's the current one - 'A Nomadic Life'

The other one 'The Big Trip' was our 18 month figure 8 in 08/09 in a small bus + trailer with a pair of dirt bikes - the link to it is below - at the bottom of my signature.

And this is a direct link to the Google Map (http://www.cuppa500.com/Map.html) I kept of the 'Big Trip'. Each marker is somewhere we stayed. Blue 2008 & Red 2009.

[Mc4by]

What time of year are you going?
Are you going to Tas as well?

If it is the traditional 'April to Sep' or thereabouts then I would go clockwise as the Kimberley/NT/FNQ are best in the months of Mar, April, May.
Those areas change so much that they can be totally different each tropical season (they don't have 4 seasons up there) but the late run off or early dry is great.
Early wet is the best but you risk not getting in or even worse out of so much Top End.

If it is earlier and you are going to Tas I would go anti-clockwise, Tas is best in Autumn IMHO

Once you decide which way to go then it would take maybe 100 forum pages to list the "do not miss" or "make sure you see"

I would sprint to Broome or SA, you live in WA so can pick up anything within say 1500 to 2000 K's some other time and get the max time for teh interstate stuff

I also think that it is a good idea to have an Icon Event or two to attend, say... Sydney New Year Fireworks, Tamworth Music Festival, Supercars, Moomba, a GF or State of Origin or whatever floats your boat. Only downside is it can potentially dictate the pace of your trip or when you go but that is what I usually do and it has worked for me on every major trip I've done. It can be a real downer to arrive/leave just before or after something unless you are timing the trip to deliberately miss it... kinda like going fishing and finding out you should have been there yesterday :-)

Camper - def a hard floor as a minimum, if the budget stretched to it a semi- hardshell like an Ultimate or full hardshell like a Tvan is even better. Access and setup becomes paramount when you are doing it on an almost daily basis, the easy the better by a loooong margin.
At some point you will get adverse weather so the tougher the rig the better and if like me cold is bad warm is good stay away from cold high places in Winter if in a camper.
Budget for a day or two or maybe even more in a Chalet/Cabin/Motel every few weeks, the breaks from the Camper are gold.

$2000 return to Tasmania!!! It also looks like free camping is being shut down there.
$2k is a lot of fuel on the mainland.

[taslucas]

How come $2000 return for tassie? Was that the boat price?
Also, there's heaps of free camping and lots of great places that aren't necessarily "camp sites" but no one cares if you camp there.

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk

[Mc4by]

How come $2000 return for tassie? Was that the boat price?
Also, there's heaps of free camping and lots of great places that aren't necessarily "camp sites" but no one cares if you camp there.

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk

I managed to reduce the cost to $1556 by selecting less luxurious accommodations than my wife had selected.
That is a return fare.

[taslucas]

Ahh yes, it can add up if you want it to.
Last time I did the trip it was around $500 one way. That was two people in a four berth and a commodore sedan in winter.
The prices in their ads can be quite misleading. With all their specials and off/on peak times and different levels of cabin, different types of vehicles etc... You never really know what it'll cost until you book.

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[pearcey]

Back and forth a few times, Tryhard towing 15ft caravan all up around the 12, 13 meter mark, deck chair accommodation, one only, night trips, over in June back in Oct cost around $ 1300. Good price I recon. One thing you must do is book the return trip. I got caught once, emergency trip over only booked one way as I was not sure how long I`d be there , went to book return, had to wait 6 weeks to get back.

[taslucas]

I bet they were the worst 6 weeks of your life pearcey [emoji849]

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[Mc4by]

Back and forth a few times, Tryhard towing 15ft caravan all up around the 12, 13 meter mark, deck chair accommodation, one only, night trips, over in June back in Oct cost around $ 1300. Good price I recon. One thing you must do is book the return trip. I got caught once, emergency trip over only booked one way as I was not sure how long I`d be there , went to book return, had to wait 6 weeks to get back.

That is a really good piece of advice!!!

[Mc4by]

I bet they were the worst 6 weeks of your life pearcey [emoji849]

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Without good friends or family, it could be a very expensive unplanned stayover.

[taslucas]

Without good friends or family, it could be a very expensive unplanned stayover.Just a joke mate, I met pearcey when he stopped over one time and he thoroughly loved tas [emoji106]

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[Mc4by]

I have been to Tassie 3x and loved each trip.
But not booking a return trip with a 6 week wait would test any friendship.

[MB]

We’ve done a few projects across the Strait and got caught out also. The boys had to leave our big work trailer over there once for a few weeks IIRC. We budget these days around $1,500 each way in our quotes as we’ve been caught out under on a couple of jobs. 8.0m trailer behind a GU DX Leafy though FWIW.



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[pearcey]

As I`m retired and a bloke who dosen`t make plans the 6 week lay up was unexpected but also welcome. Was in Tas to lay the MIL to rest after her sudden death,(reason for the non return booking). Was in the Tryhard which is reasonably set up for camping. Raced out bought a new fishing stick, a single burner stove a fry pan and saucepan (had billy and eating utensils, a fridge, pillow and blankets already on board), then it was hit the tracks, free camp, Sleep in the truck, book in to a cabin every now and then, oh yeah I do have a shower on board, got a bit chilly on the odd occasion out in the open,but hey bloody refreshing. As I married a lass from Tas we had been back and forth many ,many times both across the drink and in the air.have covered an estimated 150,000 Ks plus on the Island, and will be going back for a couple of months sooooon I hope. I normally go during the cold months or when the trout season is on ,IE from the start of August.

[Mc4by]

As I`m retired and a bloke who dosen`t make plans the 6 week lay up was unexpected but also welcome. Was in Tas to lay the MIL to rest after her sudden death,(reason for the non return booking). Was in the Tryhard which is reasonably set up for camping. Raced out bought a new fishing stick, a single burner stove a fry pan and saucepan (had billy and eating utensils, a fridge, pillow and blankets already on board), then it was hit the tracks, free camp, Sleep in the truck, book in to a cabin every now and then, oh yeah I do have a shower on board, got a bit chilly on the odd occasion out in the open,but hey bloody refreshing. As I married a lass from Tas we had been back and forth many ,many times both across the drink and in the air.have covered an estimated 150,000 Ks plus on the Island, and will be going back for a couple of months sooooon I hope. I normally go during the cold months or when the trout season is on ,IE from the start of August.

A classic lemons to lemonade story. :)