New Member Introduction

Submitted: Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 13:10

ThreadID: 110180 Views:2786 Replies:6 FollowUps:9

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JustJude

Gday

I am a new member and I just wanted to introduce myself.....I am 61 years young and I live on a farm on the mid north coast.. Not running anything on it other than a pony and donkey, but it still takes a bit of work and dollars to keep it going.
My method of travel is designed to fit in with my pretty strict budget.
No caravan or camper..Just me my 2 man tent and getting there with my pension card in hand.. travelling wherever the Countrylink trains and bus,s will take me.
Have had a few great trips away so far...
7days camping at Albany WA...(when I was visiting my son in WA)
7 days camping in Lismore to visit the outlying touristy spots of Byron (when I was visiting my other son on the Gold Coast)
I have made a few improvements to my set up along the way....mainly to do with excess weight......for as you can imagine I need to be lightweight to travel on public transport.
Well that,s about it............Looking forward to reading about all your adventures...and your tips and tricks you have gained from your vast experience.....and asking the odd question here and there..........

Nice to be a part of the ExplorOz family.

Cheers

JustJude

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Reply By: Member-George (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 13:25

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 13:25

Hi JustJude, good to hear from you and welcome. Cheers

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AnswerID: 541841

Follow Up By: JustJude - Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 13:55

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 13:55

Thanks George

Cheers

FollowupID: 828045

Reply By: Bob Y. - Qld - Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 15:18

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 15:18

Welcome Just Jude.

Where's your farm, and how big is it? You may be able to take on a bit of agistment, small mobs of cattle, extra horses, as a way of getting extra cash. Sure the donkey wouldn't mind some extra company. :-)

As you need to travel light, do a Google search for Paddy Pallin, Sea to Summit and some of the other specialty outdoor outlets. They sell equipment designed to be light, pack small and take plenty of use. Paddy Pallin is one company that has been going for many, many years, since before WWII, though I doubt if any of the original family are still involved with it.

Check the shop on this site too, as they have many camping products. If you spend over a certain amount you get free membership(full membership has a number of perks, including posting photos)

At 61, you've got plenty of fuel left in the tank, so keep healthy and you'll be posting tales on here for many years to come. The donkey will probably outlive us all, they can live well into their 30's.

Bob

Seen it all, Done it all.
Can't remember most of it.

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AnswerID: 541849

Follow Up By: JustJude - Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 at 07:10

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 at 07:10

Hi Bob

My farm is about 40 minutes inland from Taree. It is 105 acres. Have looked into agistment.. I thought it would be a simple process but it can be complicated..Like
Insuring the safety and wellbeing of the stock by regularly checking the fencing..making sure there is permanent water just to name a few...all of which can change daily. And I have no one to help me. And if the agistment is set up that the owners take full responsibility for these things then the rate is alot lower for me.....making it almost not worth it.....BUT maybe it,s time I looked into it again...Something is better than nothing Heh.
Thanks for the google tip....I have been described as more of a hiker...sure do alot of walking..... havn,t seen that site so I will look it up.....and yes I have already checked out the classifies section here ...and will keep looking daily.......
Yeh 61 isn,t that old...I sure don,t feel old...Not ready to sell the family farm...So I will be giving it all I,ve got while I can....any way I can until that day arrives.
I have had Miles "the donkey" and his side kick Becky the welsh mountain pony for 14 years now and they were adults then so I have no idea how old they are..it,s great to have them around but they are getting long in the tooth like me..actually that,s not such as good way to put it just lately the farrier pointed out the pony has no front teeth at all so she is probably 30 already...And Miles well he is such a character..and very quiet not like your average donkey that can be a bit stubborn at times..

Anyway Thanks heaps Bob for the info... I will take it all on board mate. and hope to hear from you again.

Cheers Jude

FollowupID: 828068

Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 15:38

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 15:38

Wow! Good for you for getting out there anyway you can. Not sure we have many people travelling by trains/buses but our site will certainly still be very relevant to you to find destinations for camping and sightseeing. Make sure you make use of the Places section on the site and the Articles. You can post comments in any specific article and it will be posted to the forum as a link to that article - sort of keeps everything linked by topic or you can just post directly to the Forum as you have. We have a very broad audience so you don't need to read everything but hopefully we can support you. Let us know if there's anything you need/want to know.

Michelle Martin
Marketing & Customer Support
I.T. Beyond Pty Ltd / ExplorOz

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Follow Up By: JustJude - Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 at 07:19

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 at 07:19

Hi Michelle

Thanks for the welcome..............Yes I was wondering if I was going to fit the criteria...a bit hard to pigeon hole myself into a certain type of camping etc by not having the vehiicle.
I guess Iam more of a hiker or backpacker but in the wrong age bracket.......But I can see already by my replies that I am going to find loads of people to share my experiences with and find out lots along the way.....And your offer to support me is great..and appreciated
Rest assured you will be hearing from me ..Thanks again

Jude

FollowupID: 828069

Reply By: Member - mark D18 - Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 18:04

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 18:04

Good for you Jude
So many great places to see.
Safe travels

AnswerID: 541853

Follow Up By: JustJude - Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 at 07:23

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 at 07:23

Thanks Mark for the..... places .....tip I will be looking into that section today...

Cheers Jude

FollowupID: 828070

Reply By: Member - johnat - Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 21:43

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 21:43

JustJude,
You might consider allowing visitors to utilise some of your property as a base for their own adventures in your area.
We have opened our place (6 acres) to a single vanner to stay for as long as they require. We have 15A available and water from our tanks.

Our listing is with Youcamp (www.youcamp.com) and you can set times when you are not there as "unavailable". We ask for $20 a night, to cover power use and a bit of profit for us, but you can set your own price.
Shoot me a message if you want more details.
Cheers
John

AnswerID: 541855

Follow Up By: JustJude - Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 at 07:34

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 at 07:34

Hi John,

Well now that,s a great idea..I live on a beautiful creek I suppose I wouldn,t have too much trouble finding someone to enjoy camping down there...Maybe too far from the house to supply power but very beautiful spot..creek is always running so is perfectly drinkable...all us locals do.....we pump up when the tanks are low.
I will definately be looking up the Youcamp website.........

This sounds like a really interesting alternative for me. Thanks so much for the info and yes I will be in touch

Cheers Jude

FollowupID: 828071

Follow Up By: JustJude - Thursday, Nov 20, 2014 at 10:38

Thursday, Nov 20, 2014 at 10:38

Hi John

Been trying to get into the youcamp website.....Just can,t get in..keeps telling me there is a security problem with the site.

I know I must be doing something wrong...I am using this address
youcamp.com

Is that correct

Thanks Jude

FollowupID: 828120

Follow Up By: Member - bungarra (WA) - Friday, Nov 21, 2014 at 12:52

Friday, Nov 21, 2014 at 12:52

Hi Jude

Warm welcome to the site....lots of very helpful people here...always ask...the answer will be here for sure

filter out the occasional chaff and you will have a wealth of helpful people and info willing to help

I just learnt from answers to your post about youcamp !...never heard of it...great idea...by the way google led me straight to it...no problems getting in and no security warnings....

you may need to check your settings...or maybe (just maybe) ignore the security warning as being cautious but not correct perhaps for this site...as it seems quite ok and my security Eset nod 32 is very dynamic and pro active

cheers

Life is a journey, it is not how we fall down, it is how we get up.
VKS 1341

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Follow Up By: JustJude - Sunday, Nov 23, 2014 at 10:27

Sunday, Nov 23, 2014 at 10:27

Hi
Thanks for the welcome...Well I took your advice and disregarded the error message and i got in to the youcamp site...Thanks

It said it was a Certificate error and they didn,t recommend me overiding it ....sure hope i don,t have any issues with doing this ..What is a certificate error anyway.....

Looks really interesting......seeing as it is another scorcher I will check it out today.

Cheers

Jude

FollowupID: 828302

Reply By: Member - Phil H (NSW) - Friday, Nov 21, 2014 at 11:18

Friday, Nov 21, 2014 at 11:18

JustJude,
Mate think your getting some great advice. There are heaps of Vietnam vets travelling around -- love to know more about your place-any chance you could post some photos.That's a lovely part of the world and not too far to travel.

AnswerID: 541962