Brain FuelWe all felt it during the lockdowns and height of the pandemic... the feeling to just drop everything and live life on the road. But for most of us, we didn't do it. But what about those who did?
Months into a new COVID world, Ray Cox set out on a great adventure. For years he had called Newcastle home, but that was all about to change. I'm Amanda Kella and wherever you may roam, this is brain fuel great Ozzie stories from the road, fueled by Ampholt, Australia's own.
So I'm currently in Perth. More specifically, I am in South Perth on BuJo, what did Jack Land?
I think I'm not one hundred percent on pronunciation.
Many of us have thought about it, giving the middle finger to our nine to five life. Hopping in an RV and traveling the country. We'd see a different town every day, sample all the unfamiliar country bakeries, and make new friends along the way.
For Ray, the.
Journey was the culmination of a lifetime of plans and dreams.
I think probably my urge to do a road trip around Australia started when I watched Billy Connolly's work tour of Australia, when I.
Was like ten.
This is massive continent and there's so much to explore, and there's so few people here, and so few people that have seen even like a small percentage of Australia.
He bought a caravan and fitted it out.
Almost everything can run on USB power, from the faery lights to a small fan for summer, and there's a solar panel to drink in all that great Aussie sun. With the van ready to go and packed with everything he needed for life on the road, Ray set out from Newcastle headed for Queensland.
So I left Newcastle and then I traveled up to Queensland.
Then down to Melbourne and then back.
To Newcastle, cross to Broken Hill, Mudgie and Walden into Adelaide, the bottom.
Of South Australia near the Limezone coast, and stuff.
Up to Alice Springs, up to Catherine, to Darwin, back to to Catherine, across the Broom, down.
To Coral Bay and now I'm in Perth.
Rai's plan well to cover as much ground as possible, taking in the many sights, sounds, smells and tastes on offer, and he's certainly done that. With so much to see, the average day takes in plenty of bitumen.
If it's a traveling day, I just travel and you know, maybe I'll do some exploring and I try to follow tangents. Although I do really like driving, I don't drive at night. That's my rule. So I try to find a place at about four pm. If I don't know where I'm sleeping by four pm, then we're in trouble.
Rai's been on the road for six months now and the journey is coming to a close. In a couple of months he'll head home to Newcastle and the van will hang up its boots for now, so as the return trip looms.
What have been some of the highlights.
So I went to Barunga Festival just outside of Catherine.
It's like an indigenous cultural festival and music festival and things like that, so that was really cool to go to.
I hadn't been to a thing like that Berfore.
I did see a bunch of stingrays going to Exmouth and to the Ningaloo Reef was amazing. Crossing South Australia and things like that. And lifelong dream of mine driving the Nulla Boar. I've wanted to do that fat so long, So excited to do that.
Like Billy Connolly Burke and Wills and the Wiggles. Ray's now part of an exclusive club of people lucky enough to have seen this great brown land.
But after so much planning, has the trip lived up to his expectations.
I spent a lot of time thinking about like the realities of what it would be like and understanding that it wasn't going to be fun all the time.
Well that's not true.
It is fun all the time, from where you lay your head to whatever your journey, and Poul is all that gets you there. Make sure you follow our adventures for free in your favorite podcast app. I'm a Mandatella and this is brain Fuel.
