Australian Photos

[Travis22]

G'day all.

Once again i have to start by apologizing for my lack of posting.

I would like to create this thread as a place for me to share past present and future photos of our old Toyota with everyone here, and if anyone else would like to post pictures of their old Toyota's out exploring Australia then that would be greatly appreciated also.

I will start this off with some photos taken last year on our 'Annual Outback Adventure'.

Travis.

 

[Travis22]

This trip, was well i wont say a once in a lifetime trip as i dont think ill ever stop exploring the Outback, i guess i have to say it was a life changing trip.

Generally the first thing i do following any trip away is put together a trip report to go with our photos but following this one i just havent been able to write anything.

I do hope to put together a trip report someday soon and feel just about ready to; and still remember the trip like it was yesterday.

A small collection of photos from the trip;

6weeks on the road covering 15,000km. Photos kind of start in the middle and finish in the middle.

 

[Travis22]

 

[WoodyCreature]

Looks like fun. Great shots.

 

[Travis22]

 

[Roboosfj40s]

Awsome places and pics. Would love to do that someday. But I have not explored the Philippines yet.. To Dang many idiots on roads here!

 

[Travis22]

 

[WoodyCreature]

What kinda lens are you using for the shot of your GF in the canyon?

 

[Travis22]

All photographs were taken by me using either my little Sony P&S DSC-W300 or my OLD Canon 20D with either 50mmF1.4, EF-S10-22 or the 28-135IS lenses.

On this trip i pretty much had to force myself to take the few photos that i do (very out of the norm for me...) Part of that comes from having older gear and no funds to upgrade, i really love photography but havent bought any new stuff in years and i think having new toys to play with helps keep the enthusiasm alive. On that trip i was constantly running into OS tourists with camera gear easily worth more then my old FJ45! Quite depressing really

My photoshop skills stop at "Auto Colour" and resizing and removing numberplates. So, fair to say all the photos are pretty much 'off the camera'.

Woody, the photograph of my misses in the Gorge within the Karijini National Park was taken using the old Canon and 10-22mm lens.

Travis.

 

[WoodyCreature]

Nice, that was the range I was thinking. Nice blur on the water. Keep the pics coming.

 

[Travis22]

And here is a really 'rough' mud map of the trip!

Travis.

 

[jhyatt1271]

Absolutely beautiful!

 

[Speed King]

Really great- thanks for taking the time to post.

 

[twoturtlesracing]

All photographs were taken by me using either my little Sony P&S DSC-W300 or my OLD Canon 20D with either 50mmF1.4, EF-S10-22 or the 28-135IS lenses.

On this trip i pretty much had to force myself to take the few photos that i do (very out of the norm for me...) Part of that comes from having older gear and no funds to upgrade, i really love photography but havent bought any new stuff in years and i think having new toys to play with helps keep the enthusiasm alive. On that trip i was constantly running into OS tourists with camera gear easily worth more then my old FJ45! Quite depressing really

Travis.

Boy do I understand that one, being an aspiring amateur! However, I try to remind myself that even with the best equipment in the world- if you can't compose a photo, have an interesting subject, and have a passion about it, your photos will not be great! Just remind yourself what equipment Ansel Adams used to shoot with! And to this day he's still known as one of the greatest photogarphers of our time!

On to your thread main subject though... Great pictures, thank you for posting them. Shots like that are what keep my dreams alive on the long wearisome nights I'm working late on my 'Cruiser- and inspire me to get it done, and figure out how to buy a '45 for expeditions.

I was wondereing about you the other day, because I was going back through the thread "post pics of your clean, daily driven FJ40's" and realized your photos weren't there anymore. Any chance you could repost them?

Thanks for the great shots!

 

[Travis22]

Few quick FAQ's from the trip;

I drove across Australia to Broome by myself. No passenger, no radio, no guns! (See below)

Only drama on the trip happened in Alice Springs in a locked up 'secure' motel carpark. 'Locals' set fire (silent, no weapons needed if caught i guess - just a cigarette lighter) to the tie down straps covering our stuff in the tray so they could go through all our stuff looking for alcohol. The vehicle was parked less then 3m from me, i went to bed around 2am and was up at 6am, and woke up twice during the night and shined a flashlight over the old girl to make sure everything looked alright... Needless to say i wanted BLOOD and spent the next 48hours cursing myself for not bringing any of our firearms on the trip!

I drove for 8 days without speaking to another sole other then paying for petrol along the way... Driving approx 8-10hours a day.

Arriving in Broome i picked up my wife who flew up and would then remain for the rest of the trip.

After 3 weeks without music the misses put her foot down and bought a little ipod player which we plugged into the inverter with an extension lead from the tray through Michelles window and to the stereo on the seat between us!

Driving across the 'Great Australian Bite' / Nullarbor i played nothing but DMB, after which i now know i have enough Dave Matthews to basically travel around Australia without repeating a single album! But, i dont think the misses would let it happen haha.

Only vehicle hiccup involved a fuel filter. Trouble started when we were pretty much at our most remote point in the trip (of course!) and of course the fuel filter was the last thing i checked!!! Had 2 spare filters so after changing the filter closest to the engine we were on our way once again.

We came across a total of 3 other 40 Series Cruisers in 15,000km, one Troopie one shortie and one ute! Troopie owner was the original owner, really nice old timer... Camped at the same campground as us for the night. And the shortie owner was nice enough to flash his headlights at us like a madman along with a big wave as we passed each other in the middle of nowhere. Ute was parked noone around.

tbc.

Travis.

 

[cruiser99]

Any details about the vehicle/preperations...

 

[40zen]

Pretty amazing pictures.

Looks like almost the same route they took in Who Needs a Road. I wonder how much that area has really changed?

 

[Travis22]

Thanks guys for the kind words.

TTR - thanks mate! Glad someone understands my pain Re: old photos, i use flickr and well every now and again i have to delete old photos to upload new ones. I dont think i can restore the 'links' as such but can repost the images as new ones in the future.

Cruiser99 - Vehicle... what can i say, ill try and get some new / updated photos of my old girl up on here.

Very 'stock' old beast. Factory 2F and 4 speed, drum brakes all round, strong arm steering. Suspension is nearing 16years young! Could do with some loving lol... 2.5" OME fwiw, pretty much sagged back to factory Tojo height.

Preps prior to trip pretty much involved many nights laying under the old girl with good tunes and drinks checking everything. Full service before leaving, and another services worth of parts, oils on board at all times of the trip. Services (oils / filters) carried out along the way every 5000km at camp. General checkups every single day.

2 Spare tires + patches & air compressor.

On board i had 210L of petrol and around 50L of water at all times.

The misses insisted on a Fridge / Freezer for the trip so i found myself installing dual batteries and associated stuff a week before leaving. Fridge also purchased a week before leaving - National Luna 52L Twin, never missed a beat... and believe me it copped a freaking beating on the back of the old girl, still looks like new today. Yep it was a busy week before leaving! And pulling out of the garage by ones self and leaving was an experience to say the least!

Plumbing and wiring of the Aux fuel tank also took place in the week prior to leaving. I had a selection of parts on hand just in case anything failed and solenoids needed bypassing etc. Fuel range wise i was good for over 1000km at a time.

Hope that gives you some idea into the preps, any specific questions feel free to ask.

Thanks again guys. Will continue to add photos regularly in the future.

Travis.

 

[skidplate]

Thanks for the pics. and story! I plan to visit Oz in the next couple of years, always wanted to see your country. Sorry to hear about the asshats in Alice Springs. I cant imagine a trip that long without a firearm! I thought in Australia they pretty much have eliminated guns in the hands of the law abiding.Thanks again for the great pics. cheers You have an awsome truck!!

 

[lostmarbles]

Man I love Australia ssoooooooo much! Thanks for the pics Travis

You've brought back many fine memories. I think I recognise Lake Argyle and Winjana Gorge in your lovely photos.

This here (surprisingly enough) was the wagon my wife and I toured most of Australia in!


(My wife Sandy is driving it there.)

Would you believe it ....A 2-wheel-drive Mazda Bongo 1000cc van!

I can't remember how many times we got stuck in bull dust, sand and mud in that thing.

We even got shot at when a local decided to give us a very direct message that our presence was not welcome.

And I remember telling a little Aussi kid somewhere that the 1000 written on the side stood for "1000 horse power" and I can still remember his laugh as he replied "more like 1000 mouse power".

It wasn't very reliable either and we broke down somewhere near near Katherine as I recall with a waterpump failure and slept on the side of the road with flagon-drinking locals (who kept pestering us for rides into town disbelieving that we were really broken-down). Actually we did limp into Darwin next day with my wife lying in the back pouring water in the radiator all the time as I drove. (Engine's in the back of course ... a bit like a volkswagon kombi.)

We covered more Australian miles in this than in the 1979 BJ40 we have now (that we bought in Perth a year or two after selling the Bongo).

I'll never forget coming round a corner on a windy little sand-road (leading to Kings Canyon) and coming across a group of tourists who had got where they were in a fancy 4x4 operated by "Bill Kings 4x4 Safaris". They were all out in their deck-chairs beside their well-equipped vehicle when our immaculately-white Bongo putted suddenly into their cosy camp .... putted past ....and disappeared without stopping. (We had just stopped in a stream a few hundred yards back and given the vehicle a wash ... completely unaware that there were people ahead. In fact we hadn't seen anyone at all ... other than abandonned stuck vehicles ..in a day or more of travel.)

That image in my mind is still the highlight of that round-Australia trip. They all gaped at us with open mouths (including Bill King himself).

I think this was around 1979!

I'll add the pics of a bogged and abandonned bus (with muddy hand prints all along its sides) and a similarly bogged and abandonned fuel delivery truck to this post in a minute (assuming I've already converted them from slides to digital format ...which I'm not sure about). These pics were also taken on that Kings Canyon road more than 30 years ago.