Embarking on Adventure: The Genesis of ExplorOz and the Journey so Far

Have you ever wondered where the spirit of adventure can lead? Embark on a captivating journey with us as we unravel the genesis of our podcast, ExplorOz and how our free-range upbringing ignited our passion for exploration. Reminisce with us about the thrilling treks with our dad, minimalist camping, and the influence of these experiences on our current venture.

From the adrenaline rush of David's solo walk to Everest Base Camp to our training as scuba diving instructors, we have many extraordinary experiences to share. Listen in as we discuss the intriguing balance between business and recreational pursuits and how we've grown ExplorOz from a simple idea to what it is today. Be a part of our journey, and don't miss out on the upcoming episodes with even more exciting content. Subscribe now!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So I want to have a bit of a chat about telling our
listeners a bit about why theword explorals really does
epitomise our whole attitude andthe whole ethos to what we
publish and where it comes from,because it definitely does take
roots in the way that you and Iboth approach just living with

(00:24):
that sort of adventurous spirit.
I mean, one of the things Isuppose is a little bit
different in my upbringing isthat I was apparently, according
to my parents, raised as afree-range kid, which meant that
, unlike kids today who haveboundaries about where they can
go, I just did roam around and Ilived on the back of a bush
block in the Kringey ChaseNational Park and my father

(00:48):
encouraged as much outdoor time,and my mother too, but they
encouraged me to just get out innature and explore, and there
were other kids in my street tooand we just roamed around and
that's sort of something thathas stayed with me and I love
the whole idea of just exploringand roaming around without a

(01:09):
plan.
My dad was really intobushwalking and there's many
family stories about him takingus on enormous big, long walks,
like I've been on some of themagain now and I don't understand
how I did them at seven yearsold love its leap in the Blue
Mountains.
It's a seven year oldapparently canning it up there
in the back of Cowan Creek inthe Kringey Chase National Park

(01:31):
down near Bobbin Head.
So really really long heightsand we didn't have water
bladders and packs and specialshoes and all of that stuff.
It was pretty raw.
So I think, with a backgroundin that you know, some of the
hardships of what you encounterwhen you're on an outback
four-wheel drive trip aren'tthat hard.
David and I have really embracedcamping in such a way that is

(01:55):
really minimalist and I thinkthat's enabled us to travel
light and go without a fixedplan and be a lot more reactive
to what we find around.
And I keep seeing this in theway that I communicate with
other people, the way that weuse maps, for example.
I like looking at a map andgoing, oh, I wonder what's down

(02:17):
there and not having to actuallyknow ahead of time what's down
there is.
Go well, let's just go and havea look and not being afraid of
that adventure and having a bitof confidence in ourselves that
we can cope with.
Oh my God, there might be asnake or we might fall down a
hole or break our leg, or itmight be 20 kilometres.
I mean, I'm not saying we'rebeing unresponsible, because of

(02:37):
course we do have all thosenecessary safety checks in mind,
but we've got a bit ofself-confidence in ourselves.
I think Some of the things thatpeople may not know David has
walked solo to Everest Base Camp.
He did that back in the early1990s and he did that just
before we started Explorers.

(02:59):
You know there are a few thingslike that that we've got tucked
under our arm as skills.
We also people may not know betrained as scuba diving
instructors.
We did have a vision at somepoint that that might be our new
life when we left our corporatelifestyle.
But like everything we do, wetend to sort of research and

(03:21):
plan and get ourselves to apoint where we're skilled up and
then we go, yeah, but I don'treally want that lifestyle.
So we did really enjoy thediving and we did a lot of deep
diving and exploratory wreckdiving and that sort of thing.
But yeah, that wasn't for us asa business, that was fun as a

(03:42):
recreation.
So striking the balance in ourlife between what is business
and what is fun, that sort ofthen became a real thing that we
had to keep a hold of once wedid start Explorers and once we
did start traveling I should sayprior to Explorers, because we
actually did quit our jobs andwe travelled for two years

(04:03):
without an income, without work,while we travelled around
Australia in the late 1990s, andthe whole idea of that was to
never go back to computers,which is what.
That's a joke.
I've always promised myself Iwould get out of IT.
I know I've always said it, butI've never done it.

(04:23):
And here we are, so clearly thatdidn't work.
Yeah, that didn't work.
That wasn't a lifestyle choice.
That worked, I know, but wereally did enjoy the travelling.
And so, look, a lot of the pasthas led to the future in its
own natural evolution, becausewe literally never really had a
clear-cut plan.
And that's okay, do we still?

(04:44):
We talk and things evolve.
They just sort of drop out andit's a good idea or it's a bad
idea and, yeah, we thresh it outand somehow make it work.
So thanks for listening to thatpart of our story.
I hope you've enjoyed it.
Don't forget to subscribe andcontinue following the rest of

(05:04):
the episodes that we've gotcoming in our podcast series.
Thank you.