Flying in Formation

1/6/2010 9:00:00 AM

June 2010

A couple of months back, I wrote in this column about Graham and Marjool Brooks’ plan to drive one of our offroad campers from Sydney to Devon, England. Their trip has clearly struck a chord; I’ve had dozens of emails and calls from other travellers who have been inspired by their journey, several of whom are keen as mustard to join them.

Even knowing how enticing a convoy trip can be, I was surprised at the level of interest (as were Graham and Marjool, who are currently feeling a little overwhelmed by all the interest!). At this rate, they’ll need to charter a freighter just to carry all the vehicles between Darwin and Singapore.

It certainly demonstrates a demand for travelling in packs. It’s something I’d love to do myself, when I get to a stage where I’ve a little more time on my hands; exploring at our own pace, among people who share our interests, in pursuit of new and extraordinary experiences and friendships.

There are many such groups around the country, ranging from informal groups of friends through to more organised, larger collections of travellers. If you’re interested in joining such a group, the CMCA is an excellent place to start; just drop them a line and let them know what you’re looking for.

I’ve also received some fantastic stories about travels further afield, since writing about the Brooks back in April. My favourite has to be from Roger Cross, who with wife, Anne and children drove their converted bus along the route to be taken by Graham and Marjool, albeit in the other direction – and with some interesting diversions along the way.

It took them a lot longer to get here, and the circumstances surrounding passengers picked up along the way – such as two soldiers in Pakistan and a customs officer in Iran – would make for some very interesting tales around a campfire.

The Cross family’s more circuitous trip to Australia saw a three month layover in Pakistan (which Roger described as “house arrest”) and detours through India and Nepal to overcome stymied border crossings into China. I am particularly curious about the circumstances around a vehicle search involving a dozen revolutionary guards armed with Kalashnikov rifles.

Their experiences are par for the course in certain parts of the world, but could not be more foreign to Australia. Apart from wanting to know more about the Cross family’s journey from England – and perhaps there’s room for Roger to pen something for this magazine? – their exploits placed into stark relief how easy it is to explore this fantastic country of ours.

Above all, it was wonderful to see how many people were willing to be part of a great and ambitious idea. It demonstrated the adventurous spirit that seems to be so prevalent among members of our community, and long may that continue.

I’d also like to thank everyone who took the opportunity to write in after reading about the Brooks to praise this column. It’s always great to get feedback, especially when people say nice things!

This month, we’ll be at the Brisbane Caravan, Camping and Touring Show at the Royal Brisbane Showgrounds from the 9th to the 15th – and because one set of dates can never be enough, we’ll also be holding our KEA Brisbane depot open day on the 26th, at 348 Nudgee Road, Hendra.

As always, drop me a line at normanroe@keacampers.com if you’ve an interesting story to tell.

Safe travels,

Norman