October 20, 2024 • 30 mins
What happens when you hit the road less traveled in Australia's rugged outback? Join us as we navigate the Plenty Highway, a stretch that offers a blend of rocky dirt roads and awe-inspiring vistas. Reflecting on past escapades like the Cape York adventure, we talk about how perceptions of road conditions vary from traveler to traveler and the key role adaptability plays in the wild. With practical tips on using community app charts for planning and a nod to infrastructure changes that may soon alter these iconic routes, this episode is a must-listen for off-road enthusiasts itching to explore Australia’s wild side.
We dive into the essence of outback travel, where isolation meets beauty in the vast expanse of Jervois Station. With stories of transitioning from basic tools to advanced iCheck tyre management products, we capture the unique charm of life on the road. Discover the surprises of the outback as we highlight the vastness, emptiness, and unexpected joys that punctuate our journey, making every kilometre an adventure worth savouring.
We also meet Henley and his family at a remote station campground, where self-contained camping becomes an essential part of the quintessential Australian experience. With ample daylight on our side and convoy friends Ben and Deanne, we embrace the challenges and rewards of the road, including spontaneous tyre resolutions at picturesque and very unique spots like Dinner Table Rock. As we recount roadside adventures and outback camping, we leave you with a reminder to dream big, cherish the journey, and value the people who make these adventures unforgettable. Check out the Gear we love on our website - https://thefeelgoodfamily.com/gear-and-discounts/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 1 (00:33):
Welcome to season nine, episode two of the Family
Travel Australia podcast.
We are Paul, Katie and Jasperfrom the Feel Good Family.
Join us as we explore thisgreat country, Australia, its
people, places and cultures.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Yes, welcome to the Family Travel Podcast, where we
share the latest in RV industrynews road trip travel,
caravanning and camping, productreviews, where to go, what to
do, and so much more.
Thanks for joining us this week.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
we tackle the most remote highway in Australia 480
kilometres of rough, rocky dirtroads, stunning sceneries and
plenty of flat tyres.
Here we go.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Oh yes, when we said we are hitting the plenty
highway, we had plenty of people.
Give us all the reasons whymaybe we should reconsider our
route.
That's true.
It was really interestingactually, and you know we've
learned after five years oftraveling the country that
(01:44):
everybody has a different meter,a different gauge of what is
considered rough or corrugated,or don't take that road because
of the conditions, and it variesfor everybody, and that is
totally fine, and you drive toyour conditions as much as you
(02:04):
do to the environmentalconditions.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
That's really well put, katie.
The interesting thing is thatwhen we went to the Cape Cape
York you know the rite ofpassage for every Australian we
went up there and we were very,very nervous.
And the interesting part ofthis is that we were with a
group of maybe eight othervehicles and everybody had a
(02:28):
different experience.
Everybody had varying degrees,as you say, of what was rough
and what wasn't.
Look, I do think it changesfrom day to day as well.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Oh, absolutely Particularly.
Somewhere like Cape York, whenthere are a multitude of
vehicles going up over athree-month high season, you
know, across the winter months,and it can definitely be
different from day to day.
I mean probably even from thestart of the day to the end of
the day, traveling along thosesame roads that are intensely
(03:05):
corrugated.
Well, what a surprise we hadawaiting for us on the Plenty
Highway.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, look, in the main we would say a gift, like
from what we had sort of youknow Built up in our heads.
Worked ourselves up to this epicroad condition, and there
certainly were parts.
No, it was, it was amazing.
All right, let's take you toour start of this journey.
(03:33):
It's 140 kilometers north ofalice springs, where we left you
there last week in gem tree,and today's journey is a couple
of hundred kilometers.
It's going to be 100 kilometers, kilometres of bitumen, yeehaw,
then a hundred kilometres of,as we said, very good condition,
but very sandy, a heavy road, Icall it.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
A heavy road.
And look, I have to just give alittle shout out.
But to a fellow caravaner whoplaced a post up in one of the
wiki camps campground apps alongthe Plenty Highway and it was a
(04:20):
little chart of the bitumen todirt gravel kilometres along the
stretch, because like all ofthese outback roads out here in
the middle of Australia, partsof them are slowly becoming
bitumenized, if that's even aword.
Bitumened.
It is now, and it was reallygreat to have that as a
reference so that we could lookat our day and go okay, we know
(04:41):
we've got 100K of bitumen, thenwe hit the dirt, then we know
we've got 237,.
I don't know if that's thecorrect number I'm just pulling
numbers out of my head right nowkilometers of dirt before we
have oh, look at that 20Ks ofbitumen, and that was a really
fantastic reference for us to beable to look ahead,
(05:03):
particularly when we weregetting organised to leave
January, because we had no ideaof what the condition of the
road was going to be in.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Yes, I love that too.
We had a similar chart that wasposted in the Cape York group
as well last year when we weretravelling up there.
It is really fantastic.
You know we get a lot ofcomments of well, this road, it
just ain't like it used to be.
You know it was dirt road.
It is part of, you know, theworld's longest shortcut.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Which basically goes from, I think, somewhere up near
Cairns, all the way across toPerth.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
WA.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
It's kind of like this diagonal cut through
Australia, right through thecentre, and it was, yeah,
completely off-road.
You know they are bitumening,or bitumentising, shall we say,
the entire route over the next10 years.
And so we, yeah, we wouldrecommend that.
(06:03):
You know, you, if you do wantthat little bit more of an
adventure, but, uh, you know a arelatively easy version of it,
then then get out there.
Now you still got, you know,480 kilometers of dirt along
this stretch, um, split up, asyou say, probably across 700 odd
kilometers.
Uh, but it it will be bitumenat some point because they seem
(06:26):
to have been able to fund it atfederal and state level.
And so, yes, I don't know, Idon't think it's going to happen
all that quickly.
You know what I love Not a lothappens quickly, no, no, that is
true.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
That is true for various reasons.
I love it when we run into I'mtotally digressing now, by the
way when we run into othercaravanners on the road and they
say to us gosh, we remember wefirst drove the Nullarbor when
it was unsealed.
It was all dirt road and I justthink how cool would that
experience be to cross thatNullarbor on an unsealed road
(07:01):
back in the day.
You know, the rules weretotally different back then too.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yes, there was the Nullarbor Nymph.
Look that up, that'll give yousome good entertainment.
We did a podcast on that, Ibelieve.
Some good visuals.
We did do a podcast on that.
Look, the interesting thingokay about this sort of travel
is that you dry clean yourmemories and the reason we say
that you generally do thatacross your life is that you
(07:28):
know the most crazy, evenstressful, travel scenario in
five years' time is your beststory.
You know, and if you've survivedit, you sit around the campfire
and you go.
Oh my gosh, remember when thatwas.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yep, Absolutely Well.
As soon as you mentioned CapeYork, I just got this flood of
emotion.
And wasn't that the mostamazing trip?
And, oh, we really should do.
Like all of these emotions thatconjure up inside of you, we
should do this again.
That was brilliant, Even goingover those corrugations, the red
(08:04):
dirt.
The reality was there were dayswe got out of the car and we
thought, if we drive over onemore corrugation, that'll be the
end of us.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Chopper me out of here, macgyver, please.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yes, but you do dry clean your memories and you hold
on to the best of anything.
I think that's in part a littlebit of self-preservation too,
isn't it?
I mean, we don't want to hangon to all of that excess baggage
.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
If your vehicles had a voice, I think they'd say no
thanks.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Yeah Well, yes, I definitely think so.
Hey, a little shout out.
That's a good point, Paul.
I mean, we have taken our van,this Zion RV, and the Land
Cruiser, the 79 Series, blessyou To some of the most
incredibly remote places in thiscountry, and we were only
(08:55):
saying the other day, likehaven't we really put these
vehicles to the test in the twoand a half years that we've been
?
Can you believe it's alreadybeen two and a half years we've
been in this new setup and likewe've dragged them up to Cape
York and we've taken them outinto the middle of Australia and
on you know, some roads that alot of people don't even know
exist, and haven't they justperformed incredibly well?
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Amazing, and if you were standing here with us now
looking at our vehicles, theylook like they've been through
that.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Oh my goodness, they're the filthiest they've
ever been.
Thank you very much, plentyhighway.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
We should get back to the show notes Katie, all right
, so that trek then, once wefinished that incredibly good
bitumen road like the bestbitumen road for its location
that we've ever been on, thatbitumen road was better than the
East Coast roads of Australia.
Oh, hands down.
(09:51):
Better than the Bruce Highway?
A hundred percent, most thingsare, though, and we pulled over
and we thought, righto, let'sair down, and really great, and
a definite plug for a productrange that we, hand on heart,
think is the best you can get.
Uh, the tpms from i-check,we've got our tire pressure
(10:13):
monitoring system.
We've got our automatic tiredeflating system.
We've got our digital uhpressure readers.
You know that these guys havegot so many great products, and
we, through a partnership withthem, have a 10 feel good
discount code, so if you go totheir website or go to ours and
(10:34):
you use the discount code feelgood, you get 10 off, which is
pretty cool, and we get a littleclip as well, so you can keep
our wheels rolling.
So, so thank you, but they areawesome products, so we deflated
our tyres.
Now, a word of warning here foranyone out there who's doing
this kind of thing, where you'reinflating, deflating tyres is
that We'd already done 100kilometers on the bitumen at
(10:57):
full tire pressures, so thetires were already hot, and then
I had preset our tire deflatorsto 25 PSI.
They're like really cool littlegadget, and they screw on, and
you've predetermined thepressure that you want them to
deflate to and I hadn'tconsidered that the tires were
(11:17):
hot, so I put them to 25 PSI.
What our aim is to get all ofthe tires 30 PSI or under hot.
Okay, and this is not reallyfrom any of our own testing,
although we've tested thisplenty of times and it's
survived and never had a flattire in these conditions.
(11:37):
But our good mate, tony Davies,an Australian 4x4 treks.
He does tag-along tours.
He's done 80 of these and hadtwo flat tires across his entire
years of doing these tag-alongtours, that's, his two of his
customers have had a flat tire.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
It's remarkable, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
It is remarkable when you think of just the hundreds
of vehicles that he takes ontour and so that 30 PSI is a
really great rule and we'vetried it and it works.
Okay.
So that's.
We got it from an expert, notfrom ourselves, really.
And so then I went ah, hang on,if we're putting them to 25 PSI
and they're hot, then there'salways a four to six PSI change
(12:21):
in the heat of the tyre.
So if the tyre's hotter, thenthere's going to be actually
more pressure in there than whenthey're cold, and so I probably
should have put them at 30 PSIstraight away.
Anyway, kate went around andtopped them all up.
Yeah, that was fairly quick andeasy.
It is fairly quick and easy.
We fortunately have twocompressors.
We have one on board that'sbuilt into the 79, and we have
(12:42):
one that's built into the zone,and so what's great is we divide
and conquer Katie does the van,I do the 79, and we are ready
to roll.
But then we had to go aroundand top them all up.
So just a bit of a tip there.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, really got to love this gear from iCheck.
I have to say, though, I'vebeen so fond of my little stick
that I've used over the years,paul, when we've been doing
tyres, prior to finding theseiCheck products that we now run,
and they obviously they makeour life so much easier, but
I've lost my stick.
(13:15):
My stick's become redundant,letting those air pressures down
with my little.
I had a Kakadu stick, I had aLitchfield stick.
I was collecting all of theseneat little gadgets along the
way.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Basically it's a stick.
We've had a lot of people overthe time write in and say what's
that special tool you're usingto deflate your tires?
And we're like it's a stick.
Probably not the best thing touse because you don't really
want to get gunk in your valve.
But yeah, no, katie's had acollection of sticks around the
country.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Yeah, we've gone all professional now Darl with our
iCheck product.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Look out.
Okay, so hitting the dirt.
Now, what was a huge surprisefor us was how sandy it was.
What was a huge surprise for uswas how sandy it was.
And I want to say the PlentyHighway you're seeing on the
maps, you know heart range andthis range, and it is so flat
there's barely a rise in it.
So if you're, you know,thinking about traveling this
(14:12):
year, you're wondering well, isthere any major climbs up
mountains or nothing?
It is flat.
Okay, but the surprise was thatit was so sandy this first 100
kilometres, not the whole way,but some of it really soft sand.
I think, we were travelling atabout 65, 70 kilometres an hour
as an average across our entiretime.
On the Plenty, that'd be about65, 70 kilometres an hour for us
(14:35):
.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, absolutely, and we were surprised at this first
section.
It wasn't really rocky at all,more soft and as you said, paul
Sandy.
But oh my goodness, the scenery.
It is just spectacular out herewhen you look at your location.
You are just north of thoseEast Macdonald Ranges and and it
(14:58):
truly blew us away.
I don't know what we wereexpecting to see.
I think we were expecting tosee a whole lot of nothing, and
then this was one of theprettiest outback drives we've
ever done.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Exactly the heart ranges.
The colours in the ranges andthe landscape that rushes up to
meet the base of these ranges isstunning.
And look, let's not, you know,paint the wrong picture.
Here there is a lot of nothing.
You are in the middle of thecountry Out here, but there's
some really stunning highlightsalong the way as well.
(15:32):
Okay, so we continued on ourfirst station.
Stay along the Plenty Highwayis Gervois.
Continued on our first station.
Stay along the Plenty Highwayis Jervois, spelt Jervois, but I
don't think you'd hear anyAussies especially in the
outback saying oh, I work andlive on Jervois station.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
No, I don't think so.
And look, this was actually arecommendation from Alex.
At Gemtree he said to us whydon't you just go a couple of
hundred K up the road tomorrowwhen you're leaving?
Stop in at your voice.
They're great people.
And so we took hisrecommendation.
As you do when you're out inthese parts, you listen to the
locals.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Absolutely should.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
And that was a great overnight stay.
Now, look, we didn't pull inuntil very late in the day,
which kind of goes against howwe like to roll.
Generally, we like to besomewhere by about four o'clock
at the latest, so you've stillgot plenty of sunlight.
You can get yourself set up.
There's no stress, there's norush.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
There's no kangaroos.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
There's no wildlife You've missed the golden hour.
Yeah, but look as it was, wewere pulling in fairly late in
the day and we were greeted bythe family who own and operate
this station.
It is a working breeding cattlestation From memory Paul.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
They have about 8,000 head of cattle out here on
their small parcel of land 1.2million acres, and it is so
large this property, andcertainly nowhere near the
largest in Australia.
That's, I think, Anna CreekStation is over 5 million acres
or something Largest in theworld, actually Anna Creek
(17:09):
Station, but here at Jervois,1.2 million acres, they have 120
kilometres of plenty highwayfrontage.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Yes, 20 kilometres of plenty highway frontage.
Yes, it's quite incredible whenyou're getting your head around
these figures and the size ofthese stations out here.
Well, we rolled on in and wewere greeted by Henley, this
lovely young man.
He was Jasper's age.
Very official, righto, who'scamping?
(17:39):
Come on, I'll give you all thedetails.
Give me your cash $20 cash.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
thanks, yep.
Can I interest you in any softdrinks lollies?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
chips, ice creams yes , he did interest us in ice
creams.
We purchased a couple to enjoya little bit later on the trip.
But a great family here thatare operating this station.
They live out here, they workout here and they've opened it
up for campers to come in.
Now, of course, given where youare, you do need to be fully
(18:10):
self-contained as far as yourpower and water go, but they do
have bathroom facilities outhere that they put in for
campers.
There's also fire pits andcooking barbecues out here in
the campground area.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
It is.
It's really cool.
You can even get fuel out hereif you need it, and that's a
really good point, paul, there'sfuel everywhere along this
Plenty Highway stop.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yeah, a lot of questions coming around how many
jerrycans should we take?
We found, even in these remoteplaces, that really, as long as
you've got a jerrycan as yourbackup, you know, 20 litres it's
probably going to get you outof trouble, you know.
And the other rule would be,once your fuel gets to halfway,
(18:58):
be seeking out a fuel stationand you shouldn't go into any
sort of issue, you shouldn't runinto any problems.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
So you can top up here atGevoice.
We paid our 20 bucks to Henley,had a nice chat with him and
his mum, Claire, and then wentand got ourselves all set up.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
We bought two ice creams as well.
We supported Henley's ownfundraising plans, yeah
absolutely so.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
in we go to the campground.
It's a pick your own spot kindof deal.
There were maybe two or threeother campers there that
particular night.
Plenty of space and it's justbeautiful.
It is out here in these partsof the country.
I always feel like we've justbeen transported into the pages
of a Banjo Patterson poem.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Yeah, you know, dorothea McKellar.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yes, you are literally camped by a billabong
under the shade of cool bartrees.
I mean, we actually were outhere and it's just incredible.
You've got that red dirt,you've got that massive dry
riverbed in front of you, you'vegot the glass, you know, flying
(20:12):
around above you and in thetrees and the sounds of the
Australian bush.
It.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
It's just awesome.
And billions of stars and thequietest night's sleep you will
find.
I mean zero light pollution,zero traffic, noise just
stunning.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Yeah, absolutely.
This was a great overnighter.
In fact, if you wanted to, youcould easily stay a couple of
nights and just enjoy being onthe station and at this
campground for a day relaxing.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Look, we were not in any rush to leave the next
morning, so we were up early,had our coffee, sat out there,
just listened to the beautifulmorning wake-up songs of all of
the bird life.
And then we decided right, it'stime to hit the road, because
today is 220 kilometers andthere are a couple of highlights
(21:06):
, so we're going to share thosewith you as we pull out onto the
plenty highway.
Look right, look left stillnothing coming.
But this is the section of theroad that is a lot rougher, and
by rough we mean sharp, pointyrocks along this road and the
(21:26):
occasional rut or pothole.
So you just have to be on yourgame and be aware.
Again, drive to the conditions.
Also, drive with yourheadlights on.
I don't know if I've said thatI said it in last week's episode
, I think but always drive withyour headlights on out in these
areas, because you need to bevisible.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
That's great, Paul, Great advice.
And look, we were still lookingfor those corrugations and I
have to say we didn't reallyfind them.
There were a few small sectionsthat were corrugated along this
whole Plenty Highway strip, butmostly it was just the rocky
part of this day.
We certainly didn't see anycorrugations similar to what we
(22:06):
experienced at Cape York?
Speaker 1 (22:07):
No, not at all, not at all.
And look, I think we had onevehicle the entire day.
That's right, yes, which isamazing, and 220 kilometres.
You've really got to allowalmost four hours for that sort
of travel.
Today took us about seven.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Why is that Paul?
Speaker 1 (22:33):
We're travelling with Ben and Deanne and their three
kids in convoy and taking turns,taking the lead or being tail
end, charlie.
We're communicating on theradio fairly regularly and we
normally leave, you know, one totwo kilometres distance in
between us, and that's reallyjust because of the dust.
That's, you know.
It's incredibly dusty.
It's, you know, as dusty asanything we've ever been on,
(22:53):
absolutely Because it's very dryat the moment, so, which is
great, it's the time you want todo the plenty I can tell you
that, yes, do not attempt itafter any rainy conditions.
True.
Now, as we're traveling along,I get a call from Ben.
Look, I think I've got a slowleak.
He's got a tire pressuremonitoring system, he uses
iCheck as well and he said yeah,it's beeping at me here, I'm
(23:16):
going to have to pull over.
So we pull over, we're likeperfect time for a cup of tea
and a wee.
And as he pulls over, thebeeping stops, the leak stops
and he's like, oh, maybe it'sactually fine Anyway.
So we fortunately had stoppedat one of the highlights, which
is dinner table rock, and it'sthis formation of a rock flat
(23:41):
and then some other rocks,little rocks around it that set
it to be like a dinner tablewith seating.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
It was amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Under the shade of a little tree, and there's not a
lot of trees out here.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
We did.
We had lunch out there andthere were plenty of flies.
In fact, jasper said would youlike flies with that Once you
get over those?
This natural you know nature'stable I think we referred to it
as was a really interesting,unique experience in the middle
(24:15):
of nowhere.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm really keen to find outwhat the rock was, because when
the boys tapped on the table ithad this really metallic sound,
not like when you hit a rock andyou don't really hear any sound
other than a low thud.
This gave a really metallicsound.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Like you're tapping a rock on the side of a steel
pylon.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
It was really interesting, wasn't it?
Speaker 1 (24:44):
It's exactly what it sounded like.
Now I can hear it again in myhead.
Yeah, yeah, very strange.
I'm sure there's plenty ofpeople out there going oh,
that's ironstone.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, well, it very well may have been.
Now that you say it like that,that's steel rock.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Yes, yes, no, it was very cool.
Look, I have to admit, I sentthe boys out to eat their lunch
outside because they were like,yeah, let's go do it.
There were too many flies forstops, so we rolled on out of
there after lunch.
Only another 100 meters andthen that tire completely
deflated.
So he must have just pulled upon the perfect spot which
actually sealed the hole, and soa decision was made well, let's
(25:38):
not change the tire, it's Benand Deanne's, let's plug it Now.
I will say that Ben is in abrand new 300 series towing his
Jayco family van, and they havebeen across the Great Western
Central Highway on the otherside, you know, perth, through
(25:58):
to Uluru, and they've had acouple of flats there as well.
But their vehicles have beenincredible, yes, except for the
tyres.
And the reason is is becauseBen's still running factory
Toyota tyres yes, whatever comesout of the factory.
But it was just one of thosethings.
He said I've got to get these.
You know all-terrain tyres.
(26:19):
He knew he had to get othertyres.
And then you and then lifehappens as you try to pack up
and get out and hit the road andhe took off anyway.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I think what they mentioned was they were only out
on a three-month trip.
They knew they were going to beon the blacktop for most of
this trip and so they thought,nah, she'll be right, mate.
And then when we put the callout and said we're looking for
somebody to come along theplenty with us, they were like,
ah, bugger it, let's just do itanyway.
See how it goes.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
So look, we'll fast forward through the next three
hours, but basically, I wish wecould have done that.
Across the next hundredkilometers.
We're about halfway along ourjourney.
That day there were anotherthree flat tires.
So three flat tires in total,seven plugs on the same tire,
(27:10):
because Ben was convinced I cankeep plugging this thing, and he
did.
I've never seen anyone so goodat plugging Plugger, ben.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
He is an absolute legend.
I have to say and a very, veryquick shout out here to both
Deanne and Ben, because they'retravelling with three young
children an 18-month-old babyand two young kids Jasper's age
and they were just cool ascucumbers this whole time.
Nothing stresses these guys,and not even standing out
(27:40):
amongst a gazillion flies.
It was so windy this particularday as we were driving on the
plenty, so that the dust thatwas just getting blown across
the road into everybody's facesas they're out there while Ben's
plugging this damn tyre andDeanne's out there being his
best assistant, they couldn'twipe the smiles off their faces.
(28:00):
They were so chilled and justcool about the whole process.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Look, we've taken a leaf out of there, but we're
trying to be calmer people.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
What did you say?
Ben is zen, ding ding, yeah,and just remarkable.
So we were just in awe of theseguys doing what they needed to
do and still rocking up intocamp later that afternoon with
plenty of smiles and laughs.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
And that was amazing.
You know, we did continue onand roll into camp and still
haven't changed the tyre.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
I think that last plug that he was doing.
We were like 20 kilometres fromthe turnoff to Tobermory
Station, which is where we'respending the night, you know.
You could almost see it fromthe rise.
I was like, oh my God, it's soclose.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Look, it's a good tip too.
We left early enough in the day.
I think we still didn't rollout until maybe 9.30 am.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Yeah, it might have even been slightly later than
that.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Oh, was it Okay, but we had hours of sunlight you
know to travel 200 kilometres,220 kilometres, so you wouldn't
be in too much trouble If youhad to.
You know, pull over, as we say,there's nothing coming, so you
can pull over and camp for thenight and then deal with it the
next day.
But having all those hours ofsunlight really just puts you at
(29:19):
ease because you just think,all right, we're going to get
there.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Yeah, and look, we did eventually get there, but
again, we were pulling in reallylate in the day, yes, which is
remarkable when we say late,it's still sunlight, but 5.30
when our rule is 4 pm.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
So now we're going to talk about Dobomore next week,
but we're going to wrap it upthere for our travel on the
plenty this week.
I do have an awesome takeaway,though, katie.
All right, this is relevant.
A bad attitude is like a flattire you can't go anywhere until
you change it.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I love it and that is so true.
And again, just hats off to Benand Deanne because their
attitudes were amazing thisentire trip.
And again, just hats off to Benand Deanne because their
attitudes were amazing thisentire trip and they were an
absolute pleasure to convoy withand it added to the adventure.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
They are legends.
All right, if you want to checkout that episode, just go over
to our YouTube channel, the FeelGood Family, or, of course, any
of our gear that you want tocheck out, including the iCheck
TPMS gear that is atthefeelgoodfamilycom.
Use the feelgood code.
You get 10% off and you'll behappy for that.
(30:31):
So good, all right.
I think it's time for us towrap up.
For now we'll say dream big,look after yourself and look
after your family, and happytrails.
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Pumps, the original and onlywater transfer pump for your
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
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Forward slash gear.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Welcome to season nine, episode two of the Family
Travel Australia podcast.
We are Paul, Katie and Jasperfrom the Feel Good Family.
Join us as we explore thisgreat country, Australia, its
people, places and cultures.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Yes, welcome to the Family Travel Podcast, where we
share the latest in RV industrynews road trip travel,
caravanning and camping, productreviews, where to go, what to
do, and so much more.
Thanks for joining us this week.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
we tackle the most remote highway in Australia 480
kilometres of rough, rocky dirtroads, stunning sceneries and
plenty of flat tyres.
Here we go.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Oh yes, when we said we are hitting the plenty
highway, we had plenty of people.
Give us all the reasons whymaybe we should reconsider our
route.
That's true.
It was really interestingactually, and you know we've
learned after five years oftraveling the country that
(01:44):
everybody has a different meter,a different gauge of what is
considered rough or corrugated,or don't take that road because
of the conditions, and it variesfor everybody, and that is
totally fine, and you drive toyour conditions as much as you
(02:04):
do to the environmentalconditions.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
That's really well put, katie.
The interesting thing is thatwhen we went to the Cape Cape
York you know the rite ofpassage for every Australian we
went up there and we were very,very nervous.
And the interesting part ofthis is that we were with a
group of maybe eight othervehicles and everybody had a
(02:28):
different experience.
Everybody had varying degrees,as you say, of what was rough
and what wasn't.
Look, I do think it changesfrom day to day as well.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Oh, absolutely Particularly.
Somewhere like Cape York, whenthere are a multitude of
vehicles going up over athree-month high season, you
know, across the winter months,and it can definitely be
different from day to day.
I mean probably even from thestart of the day to the end of
the day, traveling along thosesame roads that are intensely
(03:05):
corrugated.
Well, what a surprise we hadawaiting for us on the Plenty
Highway.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, look, in the main we would say a gift, like
from what we had sort of youknow Built up in our heads.
Worked ourselves up to this epicroad condition, and there
certainly were parts.
No, it was, it was amazing.
All right, let's take you toour start of this journey.
(03:33):
It's 140 kilometers north ofalice springs, where we left you
there last week in gem tree,and today's journey is a couple
of hundred kilometers.
It's going to be 100 kilometers, kilometres of bitumen, yeehaw,
then a hundred kilometres of,as we said, very good condition,
but very sandy, a heavy road, Icall it.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
A heavy road.
And look, I have to just give alittle shout out.
But to a fellow caravaner whoplaced a post up in one of the
wiki camps campground apps alongthe Plenty Highway and it was a
(04:20):
little chart of the bitumen todirt gravel kilometres along the
stretch, because like all ofthese outback roads out here in
the middle of Australia, partsof them are slowly becoming
bitumenized, if that's even aword.
Bitumened.
It is now, and it was reallygreat to have that as a
reference so that we could lookat our day and go okay, we know
(04:41):
we've got 100K of bitumen, thenwe hit the dirt, then we know
we've got 237,.
I don't know if that's thecorrect number I'm just pulling
numbers out of my head right nowkilometers of dirt before we
have oh, look at that 20Ks ofbitumen, and that was a really
fantastic reference for us to beable to look ahead,
(05:03):
particularly when we weregetting organised to leave
January, because we had no ideaof what the condition of the
road was going to be in.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Yes, I love that too.
We had a similar chart that wasposted in the Cape York group
as well last year when we weretravelling up there.
It is really fantastic.
You know we get a lot ofcomments of well, this road, it
just ain't like it used to be.
You know it was dirt road.
It is part of, you know, theworld's longest shortcut.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Which basically goes from, I think, somewhere up near
Cairns, all the way across toPerth.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
WA.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
It's kind of like this diagonal cut through
Australia, right through thecentre, and it was, yeah,
completely off-road.
You know they are bitumening,or bitumentising, shall we say,
the entire route over the next10 years.
And so we, yeah, we wouldrecommend that.
(06:03):
You know, you, if you do wantthat little bit more of an
adventure, but, uh, you know a arelatively easy version of it,
then then get out there.
Now you still got, you know,480 kilometers of dirt along
this stretch, um, split up, asyou say, probably across 700 odd
kilometers.
Uh, but it it will be bitumenat some point because they seem
(06:26):
to have been able to fund it atfederal and state level.
And so, yes, I don't know, Idon't think it's going to happen
all that quickly.
You know what I love Not a lothappens quickly, no, no, that is
true.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
That is true for various reasons.
I love it when we run into I'mtotally digressing now, by the
way when we run into othercaravanners on the road and they
say to us gosh, we remember wefirst drove the Nullarbor when
it was unsealed.
It was all dirt road and I justthink how cool would that
experience be to cross thatNullarbor on an unsealed road
(07:01):
back in the day.
You know, the rules weretotally different back then too.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yes, there was the Nullarbor Nymph.
Look that up, that'll give yousome good entertainment.
We did a podcast on that, Ibelieve.
Some good visuals.
We did do a podcast on that.
Look, the interesting thingokay about this sort of travel
is that you dry clean yourmemories and the reason we say
that you generally do thatacross your life is that you
(07:28):
know the most crazy, evenstressful, travel scenario in
five years' time is your beststory.
You know, and if you've survivedit, you sit around the campfire
and you go.
Oh my gosh, remember when thatwas.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yep, Absolutely Well.
As soon as you mentioned CapeYork, I just got this flood of
emotion.
And wasn't that the mostamazing trip?
And, oh, we really should do.
Like all of these emotions thatconjure up inside of you, we
should do this again.
That was brilliant, Even goingover those corrugations, the red
(08:04):
dirt.
The reality was there were dayswe got out of the car and we
thought, if we drive over onemore corrugation, that'll be the
end of us.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Chopper me out of here, macgyver, please.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yes, but you do dry clean your memories and you hold
on to the best of anything.
I think that's in part a littlebit of self-preservation too,
isn't it?
I mean, we don't want to hangon to all of that excess baggage
.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
If your vehicles had a voice, I think they'd say no
thanks.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Yeah Well, yes, I definitely think so.
Hey, a little shout out.
That's a good point, Paul.
I mean, we have taken our van,this Zion RV, and the Land
Cruiser, the 79 Series, blessyou To some of the most
incredibly remote places in thiscountry, and we were only
(08:55):
saying the other day, likehaven't we really put these
vehicles to the test in the twoand a half years that we've been
?
Can you believe it's alreadybeen two and a half years we've
been in this new setup and likewe've dragged them up to Cape
York and we've taken them outinto the middle of Australia and
on you know, some roads that alot of people don't even know
exist, and haven't they justperformed incredibly well?
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Amazing, and if you were standing here with us now
looking at our vehicles, theylook like they've been through
that.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Oh my goodness, they're the filthiest they've
ever been.
Thank you very much, plentyhighway.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
We should get back to the show notes Katie, all right
, so that trek then, once wefinished that incredibly good
bitumen road like the bestbitumen road for its location
that we've ever been on, thatbitumen road was better than the
East Coast roads of Australia.
Oh, hands down.
(09:51):
Better than the Bruce Highway?
A hundred percent, most thingsare, though, and we pulled over
and we thought, righto, let'sair down, and really great, and
a definite plug for a productrange that we, hand on heart,
think is the best you can get.
Uh, the tpms from i-check,we've got our tire pressure
(10:13):
monitoring system.
We've got our automatic tiredeflating system.
We've got our digital uhpressure readers.
You know that these guys havegot so many great products, and
we, through a partnership withthem, have a 10 feel good
discount code, so if you go totheir website or go to ours and
(10:34):
you use the discount code feelgood, you get 10 off, which is
pretty cool, and we get a littleclip as well, so you can keep
our wheels rolling.
So, so thank you, but they areawesome products, so we deflated
our tyres.
Now, a word of warning here foranyone out there who's doing
this kind of thing, where you'reinflating, deflating tyres is
that We'd already done 100kilometers on the bitumen at
(10:57):
full tire pressures, so thetires were already hot, and then
I had preset our tire deflatorsto 25 PSI.
They're like really cool littlegadget, and they screw on, and
you've predetermined thepressure that you want them to
deflate to and I hadn'tconsidered that the tires were
(11:17):
hot, so I put them to 25 PSI.
What our aim is to get all ofthe tires 30 PSI or under hot.
Okay, and this is not reallyfrom any of our own testing,
although we've tested thisplenty of times and it's
survived and never had a flattire in these conditions.
(11:37):
But our good mate, tony Davies,an Australian 4x4 treks.
He does tag-along tours.
He's done 80 of these and hadtwo flat tires across his entire
years of doing these tag-alongtours, that's, his two of his
customers have had a flat tire.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
It's remarkable, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
It is remarkable when you think of just the hundreds
of vehicles that he takes ontour and so that 30 PSI is a
really great rule and we'vetried it and it works.
Okay.
So that's.
We got it from an expert, notfrom ourselves, really.
And so then I went ah, hang on,if we're putting them to 25 PSI
and they're hot, then there'salways a four to six PSI change
(12:21):
in the heat of the tyre.
So if the tyre's hotter, thenthere's going to be actually
more pressure in there than whenthey're cold, and so I probably
should have put them at 30 PSIstraight away.
Anyway, kate went around andtopped them all up.
Yeah, that was fairly quick andeasy.
It is fairly quick and easy.
We fortunately have twocompressors.
We have one on board that'sbuilt into the 79, and we have
(12:42):
one that's built into the zone,and so what's great is we divide
and conquer Katie does the van,I do the 79, and we are ready
to roll.
But then we had to go aroundand top them all up.
So just a bit of a tip there.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, really got to love this gear from iCheck.
I have to say, though, I'vebeen so fond of my little stick
that I've used over the years,paul, when we've been doing
tyres, prior to finding theseiCheck products that we now run,
and they obviously they makeour life so much easier, but
I've lost my stick.
(13:15):
My stick's become redundant,letting those air pressures down
with my little.
I had a Kakadu stick, I had aLitchfield stick.
I was collecting all of theseneat little gadgets along the
way.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Basically it's a stick.
We've had a lot of people overthe time write in and say what's
that special tool you're usingto deflate your tires?
And we're like it's a stick.
Probably not the best thing touse because you don't really
want to get gunk in your valve.
But yeah, no, katie's had acollection of sticks around the
country.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Yeah, we've gone all professional now Darl with our
iCheck product.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Look out.
Okay, so hitting the dirt.
Now, what was a huge surprisefor us was how sandy it was.
What was a huge surprise for uswas how sandy it was.
And I want to say the PlentyHighway you're seeing on the
maps, you know heart range andthis range, and it is so flat
there's barely a rise in it.
So if you're, you know,thinking about traveling this
(14:12):
year, you're wondering well, isthere any major climbs up
mountains or nothing?
It is flat.
Okay, but the surprise was thatit was so sandy this first 100
kilometres, not the whole way,but some of it really soft sand.
I think, we were travelling atabout 65, 70 kilometres an hour
as an average across our entiretime.
On the Plenty, that'd be about65, 70 kilometres an hour for us
(14:35):
.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, absolutely, and we were surprised at this first
section.
It wasn't really rocky at all,more soft and as you said, paul
Sandy.
But oh my goodness, the scenery.
It is just spectacular out herewhen you look at your location.
You are just north of thoseEast Macdonald Ranges and and it
(14:58):
truly blew us away.
I don't know what we wereexpecting to see.
I think we were expecting tosee a whole lot of nothing, and
then this was one of theprettiest outback drives we've
ever done.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Exactly the heart ranges.
The colours in the ranges andthe landscape that rushes up to
meet the base of these ranges isstunning.
And look, let's not, you know,paint the wrong picture.
Here there is a lot of nothing.
You are in the middle of thecountry Out here, but there's
some really stunning highlightsalong the way as well.
(15:32):
Okay, so we continued on ourfirst station.
Stay along the Plenty Highwayis Gervois.
Continued on our first station.
Stay along the Plenty Highwayis Jervois, spelt Jervois, but I
don't think you'd hear anyAussies especially in the
outback saying oh, I work andlive on Jervois station.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
No, I don't think so.
And look, this was actually arecommendation from Alex.
At Gemtree he said to us whydon't you just go a couple of
hundred K up the road tomorrowwhen you're leaving?
Stop in at your voice.
They're great people.
And so we took hisrecommendation.
As you do when you're out inthese parts, you listen to the
locals.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Absolutely should.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
And that was a great overnight stay.
Now, look, we didn't pull inuntil very late in the day,
which kind of goes against howwe like to roll.
Generally, we like to besomewhere by about four o'clock
at the latest, so you've stillgot plenty of sunlight.
You can get yourself set up.
There's no stress, there's norush.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
There's no kangaroos.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
There's no wildlife You've missed the golden hour.
Yeah, but look as it was, wewere pulling in fairly late in
the day and we were greeted bythe family who own and operate
this station.
It is a working breeding cattlestation From memory Paul.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
They have about 8,000 head of cattle out here on
their small parcel of land 1.2million acres, and it is so
large this property, andcertainly nowhere near the
largest in Australia.
That's, I think, Anna CreekStation is over 5 million acres
or something Largest in theworld, actually Anna Creek
(17:09):
Station, but here at Jervois,1.2 million acres, they have 120
kilometres of plenty highwayfrontage.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Yes, 20 kilometres of plenty highway frontage.
Yes, it's quite incredible whenyou're getting your head around
these figures and the size ofthese stations out here.
Well, we rolled on in and wewere greeted by Henley, this
lovely young man.
He was Jasper's age.
Very official, righto, who'scamping?
(17:39):
Come on, I'll give you all thedetails.
Give me your cash $20 cash.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
thanks, yep.
Can I interest you in any softdrinks lollies?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
chips, ice creams yes , he did interest us in ice
creams.
We purchased a couple to enjoya little bit later on the trip.
But a great family here thatare operating this station.
They live out here, they workout here and they've opened it
up for campers to come in.
Now, of course, given where youare, you do need to be fully
(18:10):
self-contained as far as yourpower and water go, but they do
have bathroom facilities outhere that they put in for
campers.
There's also fire pits andcooking barbecues out here in
the campground area.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
It is.
It's really cool.
You can even get fuel out hereif you need it, and that's a
really good point, paul, there'sfuel everywhere along this
Plenty Highway stop.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yeah, a lot of questions coming around how many
jerrycans should we take?
We found, even in these remoteplaces, that really, as long as
you've got a jerrycan as yourbackup, you know, 20 litres it's
probably going to get you outof trouble, you know.
And the other rule would be,once your fuel gets to halfway,
(18:58):
be seeking out a fuel stationand you shouldn't go into any
sort of issue, you shouldn't runinto any problems.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
So you can top up here atGevoice.
We paid our 20 bucks to Henley,had a nice chat with him and
his mum, Claire, and then wentand got ourselves all set up.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
We bought two ice creams as well.
We supported Henley's ownfundraising plans, yeah
absolutely so.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
in we go to the campground.
It's a pick your own spot kindof deal.
There were maybe two or threeother campers there that
particular night.
Plenty of space and it's justbeautiful.
It is out here in these partsof the country.
I always feel like we've justbeen transported into the pages
of a Banjo Patterson poem.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Yeah, you know, dorothea McKellar.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yes, you are literally camped by a billabong
under the shade of cool bartrees.
I mean, we actually were outhere and it's just incredible.
You've got that red dirt,you've got that massive dry
riverbed in front of you, you'vegot the glass, you know, flying
(20:12):
around above you and in thetrees and the sounds of the
Australian bush.
It.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
It's just awesome.
And billions of stars and thequietest night's sleep you will
find.
I mean zero light pollution,zero traffic, noise just
stunning.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Yeah, absolutely.
This was a great overnighter.
In fact, if you wanted to, youcould easily stay a couple of
nights and just enjoy being onthe station and at this
campground for a day relaxing.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Look, we were not in any rush to leave the next
morning, so we were up early,had our coffee, sat out there,
just listened to the beautifulmorning wake-up songs of all of
the bird life.
And then we decided right, it'stime to hit the road, because
today is 220 kilometers andthere are a couple of highlights
(21:06):
, so we're going to share thosewith you as we pull out onto the
plenty highway.
Look right, look left stillnothing coming.
But this is the section of theroad that is a lot rougher, and
by rough we mean sharp, pointyrocks along this road and the
(21:26):
occasional rut or pothole.
So you just have to be on yourgame and be aware.
Again, drive to the conditions.
Also, drive with yourheadlights on.
I don't know if I've said thatI said it in last week's episode
, I think but always drive withyour headlights on out in these
areas, because you need to bevisible.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
That's great, Paul, Great advice.
And look, we were still lookingfor those corrugations and I
have to say we didn't reallyfind them.
There were a few small sectionsthat were corrugated along this
whole Plenty Highway strip, butmostly it was just the rocky
part of this day.
We certainly didn't see anycorrugations similar to what we
(22:06):
experienced at Cape York?
Speaker 1 (22:07):
No, not at all, not at all.
And look, I think we had onevehicle the entire day.
That's right, yes, which isamazing, and 220 kilometres.
You've really got to allowalmost four hours for that sort
of travel.
Today took us about seven.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Why is that Paul?
Speaker 1 (22:33):
We're travelling with Ben and Deanne and their three
kids in convoy and taking turns,taking the lead or being tail
end, charlie.
We're communicating on theradio fairly regularly and we
normally leave, you know, one totwo kilometres distance in
between us, and that's reallyjust because of the dust.
That's, you know.
It's incredibly dusty.
It's, you know, as dusty asanything we've ever been on,
(22:53):
absolutely Because it's very dryat the moment, so, which is
great, it's the time you want todo the plenty I can tell you
that, yes, do not attempt itafter any rainy conditions.
True.
Now, as we're traveling along,I get a call from Ben.
Look, I think I've got a slowleak.
He's got a tire pressuremonitoring system, he uses
iCheck as well and he said yeah,it's beeping at me here, I'm
(23:16):
going to have to pull over.
So we pull over, we're likeperfect time for a cup of tea
and a wee.
And as he pulls over, thebeeping stops, the leak stops
and he's like, oh, maybe it'sactually fine Anyway.
So we fortunately had stoppedat one of the highlights, which
is dinner table rock, and it'sthis formation of a rock flat
(23:41):
and then some other rocks,little rocks around it that set
it to be like a dinner tablewith seating.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
It was amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Under the shade of a little tree, and there's not a
lot of trees out here.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
We did.
We had lunch out there andthere were plenty of flies.
In fact, jasper said would youlike flies with that Once you
get over those?
This natural you know nature'stable I think we referred to it
as was a really interesting,unique experience in the middle
(24:15):
of nowhere.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm really keen to find outwhat the rock was, because when
the boys tapped on the table ithad this really metallic sound,
not like when you hit a rock andyou don't really hear any sound
other than a low thud.
This gave a really metallicsound.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Like you're tapping a rock on the side of a steel
pylon.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
It was really interesting, wasn't it?
Speaker 1 (24:44):
It's exactly what it sounded like.
Now I can hear it again in myhead.
Yeah, yeah, very strange.
I'm sure there's plenty ofpeople out there going oh,
that's ironstone.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, well, it very well may have been.
Now that you say it like that,that's steel rock.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Yes, yes, no, it was very cool.
Look, I have to admit, I sentthe boys out to eat their lunch
outside because they were like,yeah, let's go do it.
There were too many flies forstops, so we rolled on out of
there after lunch.
Only another 100 meters andthen that tire completely
deflated.
So he must have just pulled upon the perfect spot which
actually sealed the hole, and soa decision was made well, let's
(25:38):
not change the tire, it's Benand Deanne's, let's plug it Now.
I will say that Ben is in abrand new 300 series towing his
Jayco family van, and they havebeen across the Great Western
Central Highway on the otherside, you know, perth, through
(25:58):
to Uluru, and they've had acouple of flats there as well.
But their vehicles have beenincredible, yes, except for the
tyres.
And the reason is is becauseBen's still running factory
Toyota tyres yes, whatever comesout of the factory.
But it was just one of thosethings.
He said I've got to get these.
You know all-terrain tyres.
(26:19):
He knew he had to get othertyres.
And then you and then lifehappens as you try to pack up
and get out and hit the road andhe took off anyway.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I think what they mentioned was they were only out
on a three-month trip.
They knew they were going to beon the blacktop for most of
this trip and so they thought,nah, she'll be right, mate.
And then when we put the callout and said we're looking for
somebody to come along theplenty with us, they were like,
ah, bugger it, let's just do itanyway.
See how it goes.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
So look, we'll fast forward through the next three
hours, but basically, I wish wecould have done that.
Across the next hundredkilometers.
We're about halfway along ourjourney.
That day there were anotherthree flat tires.
So three flat tires in total,seven plugs on the same tire,
(27:10):
because Ben was convinced I cankeep plugging this thing, and he
did.
I've never seen anyone so goodat plugging Plugger, ben.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
He is an absolute legend.
I have to say and a very, veryquick shout out here to both
Deanne and Ben, because they'retravelling with three young
children an 18-month-old babyand two young kids Jasper's age
and they were just cool ascucumbers this whole time.
Nothing stresses these guys,and not even standing out
(27:40):
amongst a gazillion flies.
It was so windy this particularday as we were driving on the
plenty, so that the dust thatwas just getting blown across
the road into everybody's facesas they're out there while Ben's
plugging this damn tyre andDeanne's out there being his
best assistant, they couldn'twipe the smiles off their faces.
(28:00):
They were so chilled and justcool about the whole process.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Look, we've taken a leaf out of there, but we're
trying to be calmer people.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
What did you say?
Ben is zen, ding ding, yeah,and just remarkable.
So we were just in awe of theseguys doing what they needed to
do and still rocking up intocamp later that afternoon with
plenty of smiles and laughs.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
And that was amazing.
You know, we did continue onand roll into camp and still
haven't changed the tyre.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
I think that last plug that he was doing.
We were like 20 kilometres fromthe turnoff to Tobermory
Station, which is where we'respending the night, you know.
You could almost see it fromthe rise.
I was like, oh my God, it's soclose.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Look, it's a good tip too.
We left early enough in the day.
I think we still didn't rollout until maybe 9.30 am.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Yeah, it might have even been slightly later than
that.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Oh, was it Okay, but we had hours of sunlight you
know to travel 200 kilometres,220 kilometres, so you wouldn't
be in too much trouble If youhad to.
You know, pull over, as we say,there's nothing coming, so you
can pull over and camp for thenight and then deal with it the
next day.
But having all those hours ofsunlight really just puts you at
(29:19):
ease because you just think,all right, we're going to get
there.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Yeah, and look, we did eventually get there, but
again, we were pulling in reallylate in the day, yes, which is
remarkable when we say late,it's still sunlight, but 5.30
when our rule is 4 pm.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
So now we're going to talk about Dobomore next week,
but we're going to wrap it upthere for our travel on the
plenty this week.
I do have an awesome takeaway,though, katie.
All right, this is relevant.
A bad attitude is like a flattire you can't go anywhere until
you change it.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I love it and that is so true.
And again, just hats off to Benand Deanne because their
attitudes were amazing thisentire trip.
And again, just hats off to Benand Deanne because their
attitudes were amazing thisentire trip and they were an
absolute pleasure to convoy withand it added to the adventure.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
They are legends.
All right, if you want to checkout that episode, just go over
to our YouTube channel, the FeelGood Family, or, of course, any
of our gear that you want tocheck out, including the iCheck
TPMS gear that is atthefeelgoodfamilycom.
Use the feelgood code.
You get 10% off and you'll behappy for that.
(30:31):
So good, all right.
I think it's time for us towrap up.
For now we'll say dream big,look after yourself and look
after your family, and happytrails.
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