four wheel drive
Milang Well (Outback Australia)
Windmills, pumping life giving water into Outback Australia…
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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A Walking Hat ( in the Australian Outback)
Strewth, a walking hat! (and crikey, where did time go?)…
We’ll pass by this spot in a couple of week’s time, I’ll update the shot, same TomO, different hat!
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Touring the Australian Outback (Where is Baz – The Landy)
Whilst it may seem I have disappeared from the face of the earth, rest assure, I am alive and kicking, still larger than life, head-down and exercising…
And I have been preparing the troops, and yes, that would be Janet and TomO, for an upcoming adventure into the Australian Outback.
In about one week’s time we will be pointing ourselves westward towards the Flinders Ranges and the Birdsville Track.
In fact, this will be a sentimental journey, of sorts, for us as Brian, my father, longed to take a trip along the “Track” in the footsteps of Tom Kruse, The Outback Mailman.
Many may recall that Brian passed away last year and so as a tribute to him we are making the journey accompanied by my mother, Fay, the love of Dad’s life for near on 60 years! But he’ll be with us….for sure!
Our trip along the Birdsville Track will take us in the footsteps of the famous Australian Outback Mailman, Tom Kruse.
Tom delivered mail to the many cattle stations along the track in a “Blitz Truck” arriving at Birdsville, in far Western Queensland, before loading up for the return trip to Marree. His story is one of human endurance, courage, and perseverance. Despite facing considerable challenges each and every day out on the Track, Tom got the mail through, a lifeline to those who lived and worked in the area…
Before arriving in Birdsville, we will pass through one our most well-known outback towns, Broken Hill, and visit Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges.
Wilpena Pound is an ancient landscape over 800 million years old, a mountain range rising out of the landscape that has the appearance of being an old volcano. It is also home to the Adnyamathanha people.
After a couple of days resting in Birdsville following our trip up the “Track” we will head towards Innamincka, a small locality that is infamous for being the end of the ill-fated Burke and Wills Exploration.
Passing back down into New South Wales though Wari Gate, we will overnight in Tibooburra and visit the family hotel where the famous Australian artist Clifton Pugh, who once painted a mural on the hotel walls. In fact, he even owned it at one time.
A favourite place we like to visit is Trilby Station. Trilby is a working sheep and cattle property on the banks of the famous inland river, the Darling River, and as usual, we will camp by the Billabong. And whilst in the area we will take the time to revisit Toorale National Park to further our knowledge of Australia’s first people.
And as we make our way back to Sydney via Narromine, Orange, and Bathurst I’m sure there will be plenty of stories to recount from our couple of weeks “Out and About with – The Landy”.
As we tour I will put up some photographs of the Australian Outback, perhaps just to whet your appetite for a visit, Downunder!
So keep you eye out for those…
Photos: Baz, The Landy
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Windmill in the distance (Outback Australia)
Outback Australia, sometimes a real place, other times just a state of mind, but just as real…
Photo: Baz – The Landy
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Quenching your thirst (In the Australian Outback)
Welcome!
Photo: Baz – The Landy
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By the Billabong (Reflecting on the Australian Outback)
Somebody asked me the other day, where is the Australian Outback, Baz…
I find it is a place that is often hard to describe, almost a state of mind, but here is how I picture the Outback, in my mind at least…
And we are on a countdown to our next trip coming up in April, The Flinders Ranges and Birdsville Track!
Photo: Baz – The Landy
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Travelling the Australian Outback (In Style)
Travelling and photographing the Australian Outback is a great privilege that I never take for granted.
As a family we visit it often and we have a couple of spectacular desert trips planned this year, the first one coming up in a couple of months time.
Recently we upgraded our touring vehicle to a Toyota 79 Series Dual Cab that we have modified to cope with the harsh environment it will be asked to operate in. It is also capable of pulling our off-road camper Trailer, a Track TVAN.
Plenty of Storage
The Landy + TVAN
Through its paces
We’re off – to the outback
The TVAN is the go anywhere camper trailer with suspension built to military specifications.
Depending on conditions, the vehicle has a range of approximately 1,700-kilometres and all electrical equipment we require is powered by two 120-watt solar panels on the roof charging a 150-amp battery.
It is also equipped with a High Frequency radio for long-range communications. For those not familiar a HF Radio is capable of transmitting over large distances and with the right atmospheric conditions we can speak with someone thousands of kilometres away.
Now I’m not going to “rabbit” on too much here and I’ll let the photographs do the talking, but a little while back I asked for you to submit some designs for a mural to go on the vehicle and I’m pleased to showcase the final product that was inspired by a design suggested by Sassy, who writes a blog titled Sasieology…
The mural reflects the travel the vehicle will do, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Sydney Opera House and into the Australian Outback.
And I hear you ask what about the Crow?
Well Charlie, he travels with us everywhere!
We captured the photographs as we put the vehicle through its paces with the TVAN in tow in the Australian Bush last weekend.
It passed with flying colours, but I’m still trying to wrest the keys back from Janet who is a rev-head at heart, especially behind the big gutsy V8 engine!
Photos: Baz, The Landy – Janet Planet, and TomO
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Sunday Morning (In the Australian Bush)
Sunday morning at Hill End, a historic gold mining town about 3-hours drive from Sydney…
And how cool is this, my new truck is finished, well almost, I just need to have the mural put on the side this week, but here is a little peek at it.
Janet took this great shot as I was crossing the Macquarie River earlier today…strewth, how good is the Australian Bush hey!
Photos by Baz – the Landy and Janet Planet…
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Strewth – Just for a good old fashioned laugh (At Landrover’s)
Being the owner of three Landrover Defenders has meant that I have trebly been the brunt of many Landrover jokes!
And crikey, for sure, I’ve got a good sense of humour, but I swore that I would never tell “Landy” jokes after I bought a new Toyota Landrcruiser…but,
Driving in my Landcruiser
Driving in my Landcruiser
A truck that won’t rust
Looking in the rearview
“The Landy’s” in my dust
*
Put in the “diff-locks”
And start headin’ up some hills
There’s no need to worry
No more hefty “Landy” bills
*
Take a good look underneath
You’ll see no oil drips
She’s dry as a whistle
Like parched desert lips
*
And when it’s time to turnaround
To point our way back home
There’s one thing that’s rest assured
There’ll be no breakdown moan!
😉
ps: I sold “The Landy” and it has gone to a new home!
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“The Hill” (In search of the real gems)
Australia has many outback towns that are full of charm, old buildings, magnificent pubs or watering-holes, and of course, just as many characters to fill them.
There are also some hidden gems to be found, if you scratch the surface deep enough and spend the time to fossick around, talk to the locals who might be just willing to point you in the right direction.
And you can bet there is always some healthy and good natured banter at the coming together of the city and country folk, especially if it is over a cold beer.
Broken Hill, a frontier town on the far western border of New South Wales, is one place that will need little introduction to most Australian’s. A town built on the back of silver and the hard toil of the men who worked the mines, and the women who supported them. It is the original home of the Big Australian, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, or BHP as it later became known, and the nearby area of Silverton was the site of the Mad Max Movies starring Mel Gibson…
It also has a great pub, The Silverton Hotel!
It was with great anticipation that we drove The Landy into town a couple of weeks ago as it was the staging post for our travels into Mutawintji National Park.
And speaking of characters, we were able to catch up with a local resident of The Hill, a man who oozed knowledge of the area and a passion for sharing it, over a cold beer of course!
Dave Beharre was aware of a love I have of Broken Hill and the Corner Country region. Contacting me ahead of our visit, Dave offered information on places that we might find of interest, knowledge collected from the many years spent as a tour guide operating out of Broken Hill.
TomO, an avid reader, was thrilled to be presented with some books on the area from Dave…
Such is the way of the people of Australia’s outback, a tough, no-nonsense people, embodied with a pioneering spirit and a heart of gold…
And talking about scratching the surface and finding a gem, we visited the Living Desert Reserve just outside of town and situated on a hill that provides majestic views over the harsh, but wonderfully beautiful countryside.
Country of the Wilyakkali People who traditionally occupied the lands around Broken Hill.
The Reserve is set on 2,400 hectares of land and has a number of walking trails that you can traverse. At its centre-piece, perched atop a hill, is a number of sculptures carved from sandstone rock, around 52 tonnes of it brought in from the MacCulloch Ranges, a range situated about 250 kilometres to the east of Broken Hill.
The sculptures were completed in 1993 by artists from around the world in collaboration with Australia’s first inhabitants, the aborigines.
The story of the bringing together of all these different people and cultures, sculpting by day and at night, dancing and singing by the glow of a warm fire under a sparkling outback sky, and in tongues native to their own lands, is one that portrays a spirit of human co-operation.
The sculptures include Nhatji – the Rainbow Serpent, Thomasina – the Water bird, the Bride, Motherhood, Moon Goddess, Tiwi Totems, and the Jaguar – Bajo El Sol Jaguar.
The latter, a creation of an Aztec Sculptor from Mexico.
Broken Hill is more than an Outback Town, it is a living beauty, touched by sunrises whose rays reach out to breathe life into the land, and of sunsets that redden the parched, dusty ground with a brilliance that is hard to define, but awe-inspiring as the sun slips below a far-off western horizon…
Above all else, “The Hill” is a town full of endearing people – they are the real gems that you will find there!
Photos: Baz, The Landy
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“When the Ladies Come to the Shearing Shed” (Toorale Homestead)
Being an avid reader of colloquial poetry I welcomed the opportunity to once again be out in the countryside that inspired the great Australian Poet, Henry Lawson…
For those not familiar, Henry Lawson was a poet, a writer of fiction, and many will argue, Australia’s greatest writer.
Earlier this year we packed ourselves into “The Landy” and headed to Grenfell, his birthplace in the Central West of New South Wales, to attend the Henry Lawson festival, as well as just getting Out and About – of course!
On our most recent trip to the outback we visited Toorale Station which was a vast sheep and cattle property before its purchase by the Federal Government in 2008 and development into a National Park in 2010.
The purchase of the property did have political overtones, and was done, in part, to release water that was used for cotton growing back to the river systems.
At the time it drew a mixed response, but that is a debate for others…
Toorale had at its centre, a magnificent homestead, with a glass ceiling ball-room, sprawling verandahs, wonderful gardens and hand-painted wall paper.
Standing at the gate, my mind’s eye could picture a by-gone area, of women in long-white dresses sipping tea from delicate porcelain china, shaded by the afternoon sun by one of the many trees in the manicured garden, while men toiled on the land..
Janet, with a sly grin, casually mentioned how things had changed whilst casting an eye towards TomO and I…
Set at the confluence of the Warrego and Darling Rivers it remains a place of cultural significance to Australia’s first people, specifically the traditional owners, the Kurnu-Baakandji / Paakantji People.
Ross Morris, a member of the Kurnu-Baakandji / Paakantji family, showed us around and was enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead for the park, especially the cultural centre, which is teaching their traditional language, heritage and beliefs to younger members of their community.
In fact, it is now a language module offered at the local school in the nearby town of Bourke…
Ross spoke fondly of the time his father and grandfather spent on Toorale, and of the original owner, Samuel McCaughey, later Sir Samuel.
And it was Ross’s proclamation that it is no longer Black and White, a nice pun I thought, when he explained that we all have a bond to Toorale, whether through traditional ownership, or the heritage created by earlier settlers to the region.
His attitude brought a smile to my parched lips, as I love learning about aboriginal culture and history, something TomO shares in common with me…
Ross’s viewpoint was also echoed by other first Australians’ we spent time with on this trip, on our visit to Mutawintji and Peery Lake.
Samuel McCaughey was by all accounts a big-hearted bachelor and built Toorale for his much admired niece, Louisa, but tragically corporate ownership of the property in more recent times saw it decay and it is currently very dilapidated and in need of substantial repairs.
Janet and I asked each other how could such a treasure be left to ruin in the elements, Ross shook his head…
But what of Henry Lawson I hear you ask?
Henry spent the later part of 1892 working as a roustabout on the property and it has even been suggested that he penned one of his poems “When the Ladies Come to the Shearing Shed” whilst working in the shearing shed on Toorale…
Perhaps he did, but I cannot say that was the case with any certainty, but nor does it matter, as the “Toorale Shearing Shed” is typical of shearing sheds all over this great country of ours…
TomO, Janet and I were presented with a great treat whilst admiring the shearing shed.
A lady who was travelling with us on this particular day, Janice, stood in front of the shed and recited, with great aplomb…
“When the Ladies Come to the Shearing Shed” – By Henry Lawson
‘THE LADIES are coming,’ the super says
To the shearers sweltering there,
And ‘the ladies’ means in the shearing shed:
‘Don’t cut ’em too bad. Don’t swear.’
The ghost of a pause in the shed’s rough heart,
And lower is bowed each head;
And nothing is heard, save a whispered word,
And the roar of the shearing-shed.
The tall, shy rouser has lost his wits,
And his limbs are all astray;
He leaves a fleece on the shearing-board,
And his broom in the shearer’s way.
There’s a curse in store for that jackaroo
As down by the wall he slants—
And the ringer bends with his legs askew
And wishes he’d ‘patched them pants.’
They are girls from the city. (Our hearts rebel
As we squint at their dainty feet.)
And they gush and say in a girly way
That ‘the dear little lambs’ are ‘sweet.’
And Bill, the ringer, who’d scorn the use
Of a childish word like ‘damn,’
Would give a pound that his tongue were loose
As he tackles a lively lamb.
Swift thoughts of homes in the coastal towns—
Or rivers and waving grass—
And a weight on our hearts that we cannot define
That comes as the ladies pass.
But the rouser ventures a nervous dig
In the ribs of the next to him;
And Barcoo says to his pen-mate: ‘Twig
‘The style of the last un, Jim.’
Jim Moonlight gives her a careless glance—
Then he catches his breath with pain—
His strong hand shakes and the sunlights dance
As he bends to his work again.
But he’s well disguised in a bristling beard,
Bronzed skin, and his shearer’s dress;
And whatever Jim Moonlight hoped or feared
Were hard for his mates to guess.
Jim Moonlight, wiping his broad, white brow,
Explains, with a doleful smile:
‘A stitch in the side,’ and ‘he’s all right now’—
But he leans on the beam awhile,
And gazes out in the blazing noon
On the clearing, brown and bare—
She has come and gone, like a breath of June,
In December’s heat and glare.
The bushmen are big rough boys at the best,
With hearts of a larger growth;
But they hide those hearts with a brutal jest,
And the pain with a reckless oath.
Though the Bills and Jims of the bush-bard sing
Of their life loves, lost or dead,
The love of a girl is a sacred thing
Not voiced in a shearing-shed.
(© Henry Lawson)
If you are travelling in this part of the world, be sure to give Ross a call, he can be found at the National Parks Office in Bourke…
And remember, if all else fails, remain out of control and see what develops!
Photos: Baz, The Landy
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Watching, always watching (In the Australian Outback)
The Australian Emu is prolific in the outback regions we have been travelling through, following a couple of good seasons of rain.
This one was captured on camera in Mutawintji National Park.
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Dawn breaks at the Billabong (Outback Australia)
Crikey, how would you love to this wake up to this view each day?
Outback Australia, you just got to love it, hey!
We are currently travelling in the Outback, exploring a lot of aboriginal rock art, engravings, and paintings…
And in between, enjoying a yarn, and a couple of ale’s around the camp-fire…
Strewth, roll me over and tickle me pink, I don’t reckon it gets any better than this…
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Outback Australia (Mutawintji National Park)
Have you ever wondered what it is like to stay in an underground motel, a room dug into a side of a hill?
Tonight our accommodation is the Underground Motel at White Cliffs in far-western New South Wales.
TomO and I have been frequent visitors over the years, stopping off on our way to and from the Outback, but seemingly, Janet has never been on those trips, so tonight is a first for her.
And what a welcome sight the reception was, standing tall on Smith’s Hill, about the only hill in sight for a hundred or so miles, well not quite, but the landscape is very flat and barren.
We have spent the past three days in Mutawinji National Park undertaking a number of walks through the magnificent gorges set in the rugged and fiery red Byngnano Range. And the wildlife was beautiful…
Mutawintji is the tribal area of the Makyankapa and Pandjikali people.
Aboriginal people have lived and hunted in this area for thousands of years and during our stay in the park we spent time with an aboriginal elder who took us to view some rock art and engravings of great significance to his people.
Mark shared the love of his land, his people, his culture with great passion and enthusiasm and we look forward to meeting up with him once again in the future, to share the experience of this great land together…
Strewth, you wouldn’t be dead for quid’s, hey!
Photos: Baz, The Landy
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Outback Australia (On tour in Mutawinji National Park)
We left Sydney a couple of days ago in “The Landy” heading west for a tour of Mutawinji National Park and Outback New South Wales.
Our trip to Mutawinji National Park in far western New South Wales, and Trilby Station, situated on the Darling River, will give us some great exposure to Australian Outback Landscapes.
Mutwawinji NP is about 130-kilometres to the north of Broken Hill and situated in the Bynguano Range.
Apart from the natural beauty of the park, with its many gorges, rock-pools, and red gum lined creek beds, it is of great significance to aboriginal people who have been visiting the area for thousands of years to avail themselves of the food and water. The area has also been used for ceremonial reasons and still is to this day.
Throughout the park there are many examples of rock engravings, stencils and paintings. This is one of the park’s great attractions and we will endeavour to see as much as we can, which is usually done with the guidance of the Park Rangers.
After a few nights in the park we will head east towards White Cliffs, a town renowned for its opals and the many “characters” that come to mine the prized stones and we will stay in an underground motel, just for the experience!
After freshening up following a few days in the bush, we will leave for Trilby Station, a working sheep and cattle property on the banks of the famous inland river, the Darling River. A favourite of ours, we will camp by the Billabong and engross ourselves in very little, just taking in the atmosphere of the outback.
We’ll have a few days of relaxation before leaving Trilby and travelling via the small locality of Louth, making our way towards Narromine for our final night of the trip.
Of course, all trips come to an end, and as we make our way back to Sydney on our final day, passing through the towns of Orange and Bathurst, I’m sure there will be plenty of stories and experiences to recount from our couple of weeks “Out and About in The Landy”.
And be sure to keep an eye out for some pictures of our tours over the coming week, hopefully we can capture the beauty of our magnificent outback on camera…
Photos: Baz, The Landy
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The “New Landy” (With a red bow?)
How cool is the “New Landy”
We picked it up today and it will be fully customised to our requirements for outback travel over the next six weeks.
But strewth, you can’t put a red bow on the bonnet of a V8 Super Truck – surely not.
Seemingly it is a tradition for the car dealership where we purchased it…
Oh well, just don’t tell Bluey and the Boys, I’ll never live it done at the footy club…
For the petrol heads amongst us – it is a Toyota 79 Series Dual Cab 4.5 litre V8 (Diesel mind you…)
And by the way, we head off in a few days for the Outback. Although, we are going in the original “Landy” our Landrover 130 Twin Cab Defender…
Hey Janet, give me back the keys to my Super Truck, Janet, Janet…Janet…
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Crikey – Win an authentic Aussie Akubra Hat (Design a Logo)
At the risk of looking like I am casting off an old friend, a tried and trusted travelling companion, who has stood by me through thick and thin, good and bad…the highs and lows!
I’m selling The Landy…
Yep, that’s right, trading it in for a fancy new Toyota…
Phew…that rolled off the tongue just a little too easy.
Crikey, just having a read over that and realised you might have been thinking what is Baz doing with Janet, or heaven forbid, TomO.
Nah, rest assured, I have no better outback travelling companions in the world, besides Janet’s camp oven scones are to die for and TomO’s energy is infectious.
But after a number of years of great service and tours and despite a couple of teething problems here and there, it’s time to retire The Landy…
As we are running out of driveway space both The Landy and Red Rover are under the auctioneer’s hammer…
Okay, shoosh, I might keep Red Rover, but crikey, don’t tell Janet…
But therein lies a bit of a dilemma for me.
I have been called Baz – The Landy for as long as I can remember.
When we take delivery of our brand new Toyota 79 Series Dual-Cab, which, incidentally is still on the boat in a shipping container coming from Japan, what will I call myself and the vehicle?
I mean “Baz, The Toyota” or “Baz, The Toy” doesn’t quite work…
Um… Baz, The Toy, hey?
Seriously, great real…
Just keep calling me, Baz -The Landy, okay.
In fact, you can call me anything you like, just don’t call me cheap!
Yes, hold your horses, I’m getting to the how you can win bit. strewth, talk about an impatient mob.
I have to come up with a name for the new truck, which will look just like this one once completed and in the same colour…
So here is the deal…
How about you blokes’ and sheilas’ that pop into here to see what I’m raving on about from time to time suggest some names for the new Truck.
And if you’re artistic, how about designing a logo that can go on the gull-wing doors of the canopy.
A logo that represents what we are about and reflecting our interest in travelling the Australian Outback..
Yeah, good point, I’m not sure either on “what we are about” so I can see how it might be hard for you – just wing it, okay!
Put your thinking caps on, send me your thoughts on a name in the comments section following, and if you have a logo in mind email it to me at thelandy@optusnet.com.au
The only condition on the logo is it must be as Australian as a Chiko Roll, okay?
Hurry up then, go back and click on the link if you don’t know what a chiko roll is…
But I’ll let you in on a little secret, they are the best thing since sliced bread…
Yes, I know, some of you don’t live in Australia, strewth we can’t all be that lucky, but just use some imagination.
And yeah, sure, have a couple of cocktails and grab the kids colouring in crayons, whatever works best… at least I’ve given you a new reason to throw a couple back!
Janet, TomO and I will review them and decide on the winning name and logo…
Winning?
Yeah, you’ve put the cocktail down now we’ve got to this bit, haven’t you?
So here we go, I will send the winner of the name and the winner of the logo the following…
- A jar of our prized Australian Vegemite,
- A packet of Tim Tams, okay two packets
and a gym membership to work em’ back off your hips,
- A bottle of our famous Bundy Rum
that will clinch it for some of you, and
- An autographed picture of me in my budgie smugglers,
sorry just kiddin’ -I’ve handed so many out recently I’ve run out.
But, that’s not all, so I’ll tell you what…
Because I’m a bloody good bloke, if you come up with the winning logo design I’m going to throw in an authentic “Akubra Outback Club Hat“.
Strewth, they’re worth a small fortune and you’ll be the envy of all, but hey, you lot are worth it…well some of you maybe
Of course, I will ensure there are plenty of pictures taken of the new truck Out and About in the Australian Outback with the winners’ entries blazoned all over it.
And, just for the record, ’cause I don’t want the art police pulling me over in the outback accusing me of stealing your design, I get to emblazon it over the vehicle, okay! that sorts out the LA Law and Boston Legal wannabes
So get cracking you lot…
Appropriately, we will decide the winners sitting around an outback camp fire on our upcoming trip to the Outback in September…
So you’ve got about a month, and hey, don’t be like TomO with his homework and leave it till the last night, okay!
And if you are willing how about re-blogging this among your mates or sharing it with your friends on facebook, they might be interested! if you’ve got any mates or friends to share it with…
And remember, if all else fails, just remain out of control and enjoy yourself…
photos by: Baz-The Landy, Janet Planet and TOmO
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Crikey – Win an authentic Aussie Akubra Hat (Design a Logo)
At the risk of looking like I am casting off an old friend, a tried and trusted travelling companion, who has stood by me through thick and thin, good and bad…the highs and lows!
I’m selling The Landy…
Yep, that’s right, trading it in for a fancy new Toyota…
Phew…that rolled off the tongue just a little too easy.
Crikey, just having a read over that and realised you might have been thinking what is Baz doing with Janet, or heaven forbid, TomO.
Nah, rest assured, I have no better outback travelling companions in the world, besides Janet’s camp oven scones are to die for and TomO’s energy is infectious.
But after a number of years of great service and tours and despite a couple of teething problems here and there, it’s time to retire The Landy…
As we are running out of driveway space both The Landy and Red Rover are under the auctioneer’s hammer…
Okay, shoosh, I might keep Red Rover, but crikey, don’t tell Janet…
But therein lies a bit of a dilemma for me.
I have been called Baz – The Landy for as long as I can remember.
When we take delivery of our brand new Toyota 79 Series Dual-Cab, which, incidentally is still on the boat in a shipping container coming from Japan, what will I call myself and the vehicle?
I mean “Baz, The Toyota” or “Baz, The Toy” doesn’t quite work…
Um… Baz, The Toy, hey?
Seriously, great real…
Just keep calling me, Baz -The Landy, okay.
In fact, you can call me anything you like, just don’t call me cheap!
Yes, hold your horses, I’m getting to the how you can win bit. strewth, talk about an impatient mob.
I have to come up with a name for the new truck, which will look just like this one once completed and in the same colour…
So here is the deal…
How about you blokes’ and sheilas’ that pop into here to see what I’m raving on about from time to time suggest some names for the new Truck.
And if you’re artistic, how about designing a logo that can go on the gull-wing doors of the canopy.
A logo that represents what we are about and reflecting our interest in travelling the Australian Outback..
Yeah, good point, I’m not sure either on “what we are about” so I can see how it might be hard for you – just wing it, okay!
Put your thinking caps on, send me your thoughts on a name in the comments section following, and if you have a logo in mind email it to me at thelandy@optusnet.com.au
The only condition on the logo is it must be as Australian as a Chiko Roll, okay?
Hurry up then, go back and click on the link if you don’t know what a chiko roll is…
But I’ll let you in on a little secret, they are the best thing since sliced bread…
Yes, I know, some of you don’t live in Australia, strewth we can’t all be that lucky, but just use some imagination.
And yeah, sure, have a couple of cocktails and grab the kids colouring in crayons, whatever works best… at least I’ve given you a new reason to throw a couple back!
Janet, TomO and I will review them and decide on the winning name and logo…
Winning?
Yeah, you’ve put the cocktail down now we’ve got to this bit, haven’t you?
So here we go, I will send the winner of the name and the winner of the logo the following…
- A jar of our prized Australian Vegemite,
- A packet of Tim Tams, okay two packets
and a gym membership to work em’ back off your hips,
- A bottle of our famous Bundy Rum
that will clinch it for some of you, and
- An autographed picture of me in my budgie smugglers,
sorry just kiddin’ -I’ve handed so many out recently I’ve run out.
But, that’s not all, so I’ll tell you what…
Because I’m a bloody good bloke, if you come up with the winning logo design I’m going to throw in an authentic “Akubra Outback Club Hat“.
Strewth, they’re worth a small fortune and you’ll be the envy of all, but hey, you lot are worth it…well some of you maybe
Of course, I will ensure there are plenty of pictures taken of the new truck Out and About in the Australian Outback with the winners’ entries blazoned all over it.
And, just for the record, ’cause I don’t want the art police pulling me over in the outback accusing me of stealing your design, I get to emblazon it over the vehicle, okay! that sorts out the LA Law and Boston Legal wannabes
So get cracking you lot…
Appropriately, we will decide the winners sitting around an outback camp fire on our upcoming trip to the Outback in September…
So you’ve got about a month, and hey, don’t be like TomO with his homework and leave it till the last night, okay!
And if you are willing how about re-blogging this among your mates or sharing it with your friends on facebook, they might be interested! if you’ve got any mates or friends to share it with…
And remember, if all else fails, just remain out of control and enjoy yourself…
photos by: Baz-The Landy, Janet Planet and TOmO
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Crikey – Win an authentic Aussie Akubra Hat (Design a Logo)
At the risk of looking like I am casting off an old friend, a tried and trusted travelling companion, who has stood by me through thick and thin, good and bad…the highs and lows!
I’m selling The Landy…
Yep, that’s right, trading it in for a fancy new Toyota…
Phew…that rolled off the tongue just a little too easy.
Crikey, just having a read over that and realised you might have been thinking what is Baz doing with Janet, or heaven forbid, TomO.
Nah, rest assured, I have no better outback travelling companions in the world, besides Janet’s camp oven scones are to die for and TomO’s energy is infectious.
But after a number of years of great service and tours and despite a couple of teething problems here and there, it’s time to retire The Landy…
As we are running out of driveway space both The Landy and Red Rover are under the auctioneer’s hammer…
Okay, shoosh, I might keep Red Rover, but crikey, don’t tell Janet…
But therein lies a bit of a dilemma for me.
I have been called Baz – The Landy for as long as I can remember.
When we take delivery of our brand new Toyota 79 Series Dual-Cab, which, incidentally is still on the boat in a shipping container coming from Japan, what will I call myself and the vehicle?
I mean “Baz, The Toyota” or “Baz, The Toy” doesn’t quite work…
Um… Baz, The Toy, hey?
Seriously, great real…
Just keep calling me, Baz -The Landy, okay.
In fact, you can call me anything you like, just don’t call me cheap!
Yes, hold your horses, I’m getting to the how you can win bit. strewth, talk about an impatient mob.
I have to come up with a name for the new truck, which will look just like this one once completed and in the same colour…
So here is the deal…
How about you blokes’ and sheilas’ that pop into here to see what I’m raving on about from time to time suggest some names for the new Truck.
And if you’re artistic, how about designing a logo that can go on the gull-wing doors of the canopy.
A logo that represents what we are about and reflecting our interest in travelling the Australian Outback..
Yeah, good point, I’m not sure either on “what we are about” so I can see how it might be hard for you – just wing it, okay!
Put your thinking caps on, send me your thoughts on a name in the comments section following, and if you have a logo in mind email it to me at thelandy@optusnet.com.au
The only condition on the logo is it must be as Australian as a Chiko Roll, okay?
Hurry up then, go back and click on the link if you don’t know what a chiko roll is…
But I’ll let you in on a little secret, they are the best thing since sliced bread…
Yes, I know, some of you don’t live in Australia, strewth we can’t all be that lucky, but just use some imagination.
And yeah, sure, have a couple of cocktails and grab the kids colouring in crayons, whatever works best… at least I’ve given you a new reason to throw a couple back!
Janet, TomO and I will review them and decide on the winning name and logo…
Winning?
Yeah, you’ve put the cocktail down now we’ve got to this bit, haven’t you?
So here we go, I will send the winner of the name and the winner of the logo the following…
- A jar of our prized Australian Vegemite,
- A packet of Tim Tams, okay two packets
and a gym membership to work em’ back off your hips,
- A bottle of our famous Bundy Rum
that will clinch it for some of you, and
- An autographed picture of me in my budgie smugglers,
sorry just kiddin’ -I’ve handed so many out recently I’ve run out.
But, that’s not all, so I’ll tell you what…
Because I’m a bloody good bloke, if you come up with the winning logo design I’m going to throw in an authentic “Akubra Outback Club Hat“.
Strewth, they’re worth a small fortune and you’ll be the envy of all, but hey, you lot are worth it…well some of you maybe
Of course, I will ensure there are plenty of pictures taken of the new truck Out and About in the Australian Outback with the winners’ entries blazoned all over it.
And, just for the record, ’cause I don’t want the art police pulling me over in the outback accusing me of stealing your design, I get to emblazon it over the vehicle, okay! that sorts out the LA Law and Boston Legal wannabes
So get cracking you lot…
Appropriately, we will decide the winners sitting around an outback camp fire on our upcoming trip to the Outback in September…
So you’ve got about a month, and hey, don’t be like TomO with his homework and leave it till the last night, okay!
And if you are willing how about re-blogging this among your mates or sharing it with your friends on facebook, they might be interested! if you’ve got any mates or friends to share it with…
And remember, if all else fails, just remain out of control and enjoy yourself…
photos by: Baz-The Landy, Janet Planet and TOmO
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A room with a view (In the Outback)
“A room with a view”
“The Landy” at Ourimperee Waterhole, Currawinya National Park, Australian Outback…
And not another soul within coo’ee, well apart from TomO, that is.
Can you spot where he is? Click on the photo to enlarge!
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Crikey – Talking about Neighbour’s (Don’t mess with this bloke)
Ever had a next door neighbour that you wish would just go away? You’ll know the ones I’m talking about, loud, unruly, parties until all hours, beer bottles chiming to the sounds of cheers!
Mind you, it almost sounds fun when it put is that way, but it does wear thin after a while.
And then there are the silent ones, no noise, no parties, pretty much keep to themselves, but shikes, they sure can give you the creeps.
Strewth, we’ve had our fair share of them over the years, but we are lucky to have great neighbours all around us these days!
But I’ll share a yarn about one neighbour that we had a while back, in the outback.
We were out touring in Far North-Queensland, FNQ (pronounced ef-fen-Q), up in the Gulf Savannah Country where Janet has her roots. Mott’s are still grazing sheep and cattle in that region to this day, and for me this region was my backyard as I grew up in Townsville…
Over the past few years we have made the 7,000 kilometre round-trip to one of our most favourite spots in the Australian bush, Lawn Hill Gorge.
Now let me tell you, this is one heck of a beautiful spot that we first visited back in the 1990s. It was literally a flying visit in an aircraft we owned, a Piper Arrow, call sign Foxtrot-Tango-Hotel.
This was before the little tacka, TomO, came along, and we flew it extensively over the Australian outback before selling it some years back.
These days we enjoy the drive north through the outback in The Landy just as much as we did flying over it.
The Aussie Outback, it’s a great place to just stand still and take it all in, a place where the barren land and ochre red soil meets the deep blue of the never-ending sky…
Anyway…
When we were last up there we had no problem securing a great spot beside the creek, which surprised us as there were a few others around at Adel’s Grove, a small tourist resort that caters for travellers just nearby to the main gorge.
It turns out our neighbour was a magnificent Olive Python measuring about 5 metres in length.
A beautiful specimen and apparently they are only known to eat small children…
Just kiddin’…
It had taken up residence just on the bank where we had set up camp. Despite their size they are not an aggressive snake and they are not venomous. And we have our fair share of those venomous ones.
Crikey, we’ve got a bagful of the world’s most deadly snakes, and none of those “rattling” things that they have elsewhere, just hard-core mean and downright dangerous ones!
Okay, fair’s fair, the North American rattle snake does make it into the top ten…
Most passing by our camp were totally oblivious to it being there, many who saw it thought they were about to be eaten alive, others were curious at a seemingly chance encounter with something so wonderful.
Late in the day, as the sun drifted low into the western horizon and shadows started to cast long, it would move on, returning first thing the next morning to take up its position once again.
Yep, neighbours, they come in all shapes and sizes, some you love to bits, others you’d be happy to see the back of, but for sure, we’d be happy to have this bloke as our neighbour anytime – best “guard dog” we’ve ever had…
Ps. For those who might be wondering, Janet was the photographer and loved it. Um, I must’ve been busy with something… 😉
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The Landy – Packed ready for adventure
We just spent a wonderful weekend on the Central Tablelands area to the west of Sydney. Turon Gates, a private property that is dotted with numerous cabins and cottages, and a wonderful camping area was our destination.
We were intending to do some climbing and abseiling in the Blue Mountains over the weekend however my climbing partner was unable to make it.
We hadn’t been to Turon Gates for quite some time, so after TomO, our son, finished his Saturday sport at school we headed off in The Landy with the T-Van in tow.
I’ve often been asked where The Landy name comes from, well it is a Landrover Defender that we have rebuilt for long-range touring in Australia. The T-Van is a rugged camper trailer designed for travel in extreme places, and it does live up to its claim, we can attest to that!
And The Landy is no speed machine, which suits us perfectly, so it was a slow drive up and over the mountains and towards the wine growing area of Mudgee.
TomO wasted little time becoming acquainted with a group of kids who were there for the weekend and played a game of cricket while Janet, my partner, and I set up our camp. Mind you, that is a fairly quick affair as the The Landy is always in touring mode with everything stored inside, including a inflatable boat with a mercury outboard motor, and the T-Van is ready to sleep in with little set-up required.
The Turon River meanders through the property and it wasn’t long before TomO was in the water beckoning me to join, which I did. It was refreshing to say the least.
Janet spent time sitting on the river bank watching and speaking with another group of campers who we joined for a few drinks and a camp fire later…
So, whilst we missed out on climbing we had a fantastic weekend out and about in the Landy, and climbing is on this coming weekend – for sure.
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Neighbour’s – Love them or hate them (Just don’t mess with this one)
Ever had a next door neighbour that you wish would just go away? You’ll know the ones I’m talking about, loud, unruly, parties until all hours, beer bottles chiming to the sounds of another cheers! Mind you, it almost sounds fun when put it that way, but it does wear thin after a while.
And then there are the silent ones, no noise, no parties, pretty much keep to themselves, but shikes, they sure can give you the creeps.
Strewth, we’ve had our fair share of them over the years, but we are lucky to have great neighbours all around us these days!
But I’ll share a yarn about one neighbour that we had not so long ago.
We were out touring in Far North-Queensland, FNQ (pronounced ef-fen-Q), up in the Gulf Savannah Country where Janet, my partner, has her roots. Mott’s are still grazing sheep and cattle in that region to this day, and for me, growing up in Townsville, this region was my backyard.
Over the past few years we have made the 7,000 kilometre round-trip to one of our most favourite spots in the Australian bush, Lawn Hill Gorge.
Now let me tell you, this is one heck of a beautiful spot that we first visited back in the 1990s. It was literally a flying visit in an aircraft we owned, a Piper Arrow, call sign Foxtrot-Tango-Hotel. This was before the little tacka, TomO came along, and we flew it extensively over the Australian outback before selling it some years back.
These days we enjoy the drive north through the outback in The Landy just as much as we did flying over it.
The Aussie Outback, it’s a great place to just stand still and take it all in, a place where the barren land and ochre red soil meets the deep blue of the never-ending sky…
Anyway…
Last year when we were up there we had no problem securing a great spot beside the creek, which surprised us as there were a few others around at Adel’s Grove, a small tourist resort that caters for travellers just nearby to the main gorge.
It was our neighbour, a magnificent Olive Python that measured about 5 metres in length. A beautiful specimen it was. Apparently, only known to eat small children…
Just kiddin’…
It had taken up residence just on the bank where we had set up camp. These are not an aggressive snake, despite their size, and not venomous. And we have our fair share of those venomous ones.
Crikey, we’ve got a bagful of the world’s most deadly snakes, and none of those “rattling” things that they have elsewhere, just hard-core mean and downright dangerous ones!
Okay, fair’s fair, the North American rattle snake does make it into the top ten…I don’t want to turn this into a “mine’s bigger than your’s thing”…
Most passing by our camp were totally oblivious to it being there, many who saw it thought they were about to be eaten alive, others were curious at a seemingly chance encounter with something so wonderful.
Late in the day, as the sun drifted low into the western horizon and shadows started to cast long, it would move on, returning first thing the next morning to take up its position once again.
Yep, neighbours, they come in all shapes and sizes, some you love to bits, others you’d be happy to see the back of, but for sure, we’d be happy to have this bloke as our neighbour anytime – best “guard dog” we’ve ever had…
Ps. For those who might be wondering, Janet loved it, she was the photographer. Um, I must’ve been busy with something…
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