About Us
In this section we'll tell you a bit about our trip, our equipment, and how to get hold of us.
The trip
We're travelling around Australia. Not just hugging the coastline in a loop around the continent, we're doing the lot: coast, desert, city, village, bitchumin, dirt.
We have lots of side missions in mind - snap every Wind Farm, take samples from every Meteor Crater, cross deserts on camels, go to every town in that song - little things to draw us randomly to off-the-track places and see the real Australia. Because that's the real point of the trip - see our own backyard, because there is so much to see.
Environmental Impact
Our aim is to negate any environmental impact our trip will create. We are closely recording the exact amount of fuel and oil our van consumes with the aim of calculating the carbon generated, and either planting trees or securing established rainforest against clearing. We have not settled on a particular scheme yet, so suggestions are most welcome.
For our other energy needs we have solar panels for our electrical equipment and chargeable devices, wind-up radios and torches, solar-shower bladders that simply heat in the sun - and are useful for any other sub-boiling water needs.
We use phosphate-free washing up liquid, plant-based shampoo/conditioner, recycled toilet paper and cook on a butane burner - consumption of which we are also monitoring. We're using the solar-showers to pre-heat water we intend to boil, thereby saving on fuel.
If anyone can recommend good environmentally-friendly soap and toothpaste, we'd be much obliged.
About Emma
Emma not only brings her skills as a professional photographer to the Big Trip, but also her outstanding ability to cold strike up conversations with fascinating locals and seasoned fellow travellers. Emma is our number-one driver, and is just as much at ease fanging it up highways as down rally-car-grade dirt roads.emma@bigtrip.com.au
About Jonathan
Jonathan not only maintains the Big Trip website but is a budding travel writer, novelist and adventurer. When not scraping his elbows and knees on the Australian environment, Jonathan is our chief navigator - always on the look out for hidden treasures on the horizon and the next service-station spring roll.jonathan@bigtrip.com.au
About mk II
Mk II is our second vehicle on the Big Trip, and the first to have 4 wheel drive - a 75 series Toyota Landcruiser, affectionately known as "the troopador". So far we've spotted 752 troopies on the road since 12th May 2009.
The landcruiser's roof came pre-converted with a wedge-shaped pop-top bed space, almost doubling the vehicles height at the back. To the interior we created steel and wood chests allowing us to sit on our storage space when the top is up and the bed stowed, as well as spots for an invertor, third battery, refrigerator, tools, supplies and much more. With slots for chairs, table, tripod, art box, fishing rods, computers, cameras and tree protector we're much more organised in this vehicle!
Externally we've added a large solar panel to the roof which, via some complex wiring, repowers all 3 of our batteries for the car, the fridge and the invertor. The front has a nice big bullbar to protect us (we've sadly taken out 3 kangaroo's, 1 snake and 1 gallah but missed countless others including brumbies and cattle) and a large winch to pull us out of troublesome sand bogs.
About mk I
Mk I was our first vehicle on the Big Trip - a 1995 Ford Panel Van, affectionately known as "panno", as was every other Panel Van we waved to on the road - 99 in total from 23rd October 2008 to 12th May 2009.
We converted the panno internally to allow for a double-bed mattress with storage space beneath - enough to store five 100-litre tubs of clothing and supplies, as well as chairs, table, tackle boxes, tarp, tools, tripod, esky, secure spots for powered equipment and a long-handled shovel for digging holes. Sometimes, you really need a hole.
Externally we added an RF antenna to boost our attempts to access the internet remotely, and strapped a 3-metre long tube of polypipe to the roof to hold our smelly fishing rods and dirty laundry.
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