What is 'remote' these days?

Submitted: Tuesday, Jun 18, 2019 at 20:30
ThreadID: 138559 Views:5546 Replies:13 FollowUps:14
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Remote – Distant, isolated, inaccessible, far-flung, secluded, in-the-sticks.

I was reading a previous thread on the Centroid 14 – Essentially, in 1983 a bloke decided to locate the remotest place in Australia using the capital cities as reference points. While things were probably a bit different 40 years ago, is this truly remote or simply the furthest you can be from a Capital city? (The Centroid Point in question is actually only 5.8km from a good quality road, 15km from a major thoroughfare (The GCR) and 33 kilometres from an active community with an airstrip, store, police station and medical clinic.

So what do we mean by remote these days. Does remote actually exist in this day of fast satellite comms, GPS and moving map programs, hi-tech diesel vehicles and 12 volt freezers?

We are constantly bludgeoned by all manner of magazine experts telling us of the wonders of the iconic remote areas like the ‘Simmo’ and the cape, both of which at this time of the year have more in common with Bourke Street Melbourne than a remote environment. Even the beloved Canning has more than 300 vehicles along it’s length at any given time during the travel season.

Do we have to sail to high seas to be geographically ‘remote’ or do we simply redefine or broaden the definition of remote to include –“where not too many people go”?

Probably no surprise but I love remote and actively seek it but my definition may seem extreme to many (but not all who frequent this forum ??)

I’d be keen to see what others think. Have we buggered ‘remote’ and by extension 'adventure' these days or does it still exist? If so what is it?

Mick




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Reply By: Michael H9 - Tuesday, Jun 18, 2019 at 20:47

Tuesday, Jun 18, 2019 at 20:47
I'm afraid that if you want to go remote in the same sense as early explorers then you have to explore space. Exploring Mars would be a similar experience in distance from help and the time frames taken for the expedition.
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Follow Up By: Mick O - Tuesday, Jun 18, 2019 at 21:15

Tuesday, Jun 18, 2019 at 21:15
Nice desert environment and you wouldn't have to worry about stakes, just sharp rocks.

Found the right vehicle for it too!

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trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
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Follow Up By: Member - David M (SA) - Tuesday, Jun 18, 2019 at 22:30

Tuesday, Jun 18, 2019 at 22:30
And wouldn't you know it !. It's a Toyota. :)
Dave.
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Follow Up By: Member - McLaren3030 - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 13:18

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 13:18
Unbreakable !!!!!

Macca.
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Reply By: Candace S. - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 00:21

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 00:21
That unknown surveyor chose to use the word "remote" in a particular sense. As explained in the first thread about this, he was simply referring to the distance from capitals. I don't think he was trying to make a representation that it was far away from a road, a settlement, any form of assistance, Etc.

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Follow Up By: Member - nickb "boab" - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 07:44

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 07:44
One person's remote may be an others... just down the road ..
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Follow Up By: Mick O - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:12

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:12
Totally undertsand Candace. Your post just got me thinking how things have changed and in particular, peoples perceptions of what it remote etc. I was out that way in the mid early and mid 70's as a kid and in my own travels from 1980 onwards and it was certainly a lot more isolated than it is today. Yet today we see people purchase their first 4x4 vehicle an head off to tackle some of our iconic outback tracks as blithely as if they were toodling down to the local shops. The notion of remote or isolated doesn't seem to cause the same pause for thought and consideration that it may once have.

Not so long back met a bloke heading east on the Gunbarrel Hwy just east of Carnegie. He was driving an early model Toyota camry with a double mattress roped to the roof. Heading to Sydney to start a new job he was and this Gunbarrel "Highway" seemed to be the shortest route to get there from Perth. The warnings on the map about it being hazardous and remote weren't worth considering because it was a 'Highway" and what could possibly go wrong on a 'Highway" :-)

Perhaps it's simply a matter of individual perception. Anyway, hope you're successful in your quest this year.

Safe Travels

Mick
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trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
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Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 08:13

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 08:13
.
Mick, are you standing in for Axle this week? lol
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Follow Up By: Mick O - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:13

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:13
Al, we're all entitled to wax lyrical every now and then. At least it's something different to ponder for a while.

Cheers

Mick
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:43

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:43
.
Your'e right Mick. I have been pondering it for some time.
I know that Australia does not belong to me exclusively but it is nice to believe that it does when I can scan the vista and see no-one else.

The Simpson crossing has, for some time now, been a convenient route for me to get to the western deserts but it has become so busy. Twice now I have been approached at Mt Dare by another travelling party asking if they could join us for safe company. That was fine, and enjoyable, but in reality the biggest risk they had was getting tail-ended.

So OK, this year it shall be Madigan's Line..... hopefully a bit quieter.
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Reply By: Baz - The Landy - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 09:40

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 09:40
Hi Mick...

I think ‘remote’ is a relative term…

You can be extremely remote with a backpack and a pair of walking boots in the Blue Mountains, less than 100-klms from the Sydney CBD.

On 4WD travel, perhaps modern vehicles and more sophisticated navigation devices have increased the number of people who have the desire and confidence to become ‘remote’ – but I’m sure there are still places one can sit and ponder the vastness of Australia without the sound of an approaching vehicle puncturing the moment, or the ‘ping’ of another message coming in on a mobile phone.



On adventure; I’ve always believed adventure can be found wherever you look for it…

After all, “life is an adventure, perilous indeed, but men are not made for safe havens. The fullness of life is in the hazards of life…” (A quote from American author Edith Hamilton).


Trust you are well,

Cheers, Baz…

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Follow Up By: Mick O - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:21

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:21
Hey, didn't I take that photo? Now that is a remote location made all the more so by the difficulty in getting there.

Mate well and stuck in Melbourne for a winter. Just not cricket. Pining for warmer climes.

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Reply By: MUZBRY- Life member(Vic) - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 09:45

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 09:45
Gday

I think remote is just out of "loud hailer or phone reception." So really you don't have to go far
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Reply By: Mick O - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:23

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:23
Muz, Knox City is remote from me! :-)
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Reply By: duck - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:31

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 11:31
Micko
In 1977 when I crossed Australia West to east & did celestial navigation (No Sat or GPS) it felt remote but I bet the lady (78 year old) that broke her leg in Bells Gorge (GRR) about the middle of June this year & could not get a helicopter & was carried out & loaded into a landcrusier Ambulance & travelled by Rd (GRR) to Derby & as she could not tell rescuers what medication she was on so she could only be given limited amounts of the green whistle I bet she felt it was REMOTE
I will no mention the tour group she was with but it should be mentioned that I do not think one of the group helped carrier her out & it was other travellers that did & a special mention to the 2 aust girls travelling together that helped carry her the whole way & I think they were driving a 60 series petrol cruiser
I think Remote is all about your outlook or even you’re up bringing & the conditions around you
I have lived in a remote part of Oz as a kid & we only got 2 deliveries of food/gear a year so what I find is remote is totally different to my wife who was brought up in Sydney
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Reply By: Robin Miller - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 12:39

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 12:39
Was "Remote " on weekend as on 4wd track with broken car , no way was RACV coming in cause we were quote "To Remote"

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Follow Up By: George_M - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 14:19

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 14:19
Geez Robin: have you broken ANOTHER car? :-)

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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 15:32

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 15:32
It can't be me -otherwize they would not let me design parts of the trains you ride on George - see Deja-Vu thread.
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Reply By: Member - 2208mate - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 14:47

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 14:47
Remote for me, is when your camped up and don't see anybody for a week, there's precious few of those spots.
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Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 14:56

Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 at 14:56
.
These days, "remote" is when your neighbour's guy ropes are not mixed in with your's.
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Follow Up By: George_M - Thursday, Jun 20, 2019 at 16:46

Thursday, Jun 20, 2019 at 16:46
Ha! Sounds like the camp grounds on Moreton Island:-)

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Follow Up By: Alloy c/t - Friday, Jun 21, 2019 at 11:06

Friday, Jun 21, 2019 at 11:06
Birdsville Races / Big Bash .....ohh yes sooooo remote ....what can we expect when our state Govt -Qld calls the Cities of Cairns - Townsville - Rockhampton -Bundaberg , Dalby Etc Etc REMOTE .....truely 100% remote is if your've been driving for 6+ hrs and not seen another person /vehicle ..... but then it always happens , you stop for a 'comfort break' and before you can burn the paper someone taps you on the shoulder and says 'hope your gonna burn and then bury that ' .........if that does NOT happen you are truely REMOTE.
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Reply By: Gbc.. - Friday, Jun 21, 2019 at 19:51

Friday, Jun 21, 2019 at 19:51
When you are beyond the range of any rescue helicopters, and being rescued is a multi day affair I’d say you’ve somewhere near remote.
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Reply By: Ron N - Friday, Jun 21, 2019 at 21:36

Friday, Jun 21, 2019 at 21:36
Truly remote is when you cannot find a sign of any European habitation, work, or travel, through the area.
And that's very difficult, because the old fellas went everywhere, they were resourceful men without fear. Lack of water was their only fear.

I can recall having a discussion with a geologist who'd been working out South of the Blackstone Range in the early 1970's.
He said they thought they'd discovered truly remote country, and no whites had been there, before them.
Then they discovered signs of prospectors having been there, 60 or 70 years before!

When the old man worked on Doolgunna Station in the early 1930's, he told us about how, when they went scouting for more pastoral land on the N.E. of Doolgunna, they discovered an old prospector living alone at the base of the Carnarvon Range!
He was living off the land, with minimal resources (he had a rifle and ammo) and he'd had very little contact with whites for a number of years!

Cheers, Ron.
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Reply By: Member - eighty matey - Monday, Jun 24, 2019 at 23:46

Monday, Jun 24, 2019 at 23:46
Hi Mick,

I think remote is based on one's previous experience.

I was thinking today about our early trips to far flung parts of the country. We used to research and plan every little detail to the best of our abilities. The unknown quantities of travelling to what we considered remote areas meant we needed to prepare for as many different scenarios as we could envision.

Over the last few years Central Australia has been our backyard and we have driven many thousands of kilometres crisscrossing the continent. Many of these have been solo vehicle treks with just my wife and myself. I was only thinking today about how simple it is for us now to travel anywhere we choose (or end up), feel safe, secure and for us it's no different to others pulling into a caravan park.

We're living and working south of Broome at the moment and in a month's time we'll be heading down to Wiluna to meet up with friends (including Bob Y) to travel up the Canning Stock Route. We're a month out and all we have to do is some shopping before we leave or in Port Hedland.

To get back to the point, the feeling of remote is probably more closely related to your experience as much as the location. Some people believe a trip past Dubbo is into remote country whereas camping at Windy Corner on the Gary Highway could be considered a truly remote location.

That's my thoughts.
Hoo roo.
Steve.
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Follow Up By: Gbc.. - Tuesday, Jun 25, 2019 at 05:42

Tuesday, Jun 25, 2019 at 05:42
Yes, experience and perspective is everything. I’ve found the same at sea. One bloke’s ‘every weekend fish’ is another blokes ‘spent years prepping for my trip of a lifetime’.
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Follow Up By: Michael H9 - Tuesday, Jun 25, 2019 at 07:49

Tuesday, Jun 25, 2019 at 07:49
Very true, there was someone on here a while back now, asking how to prep his car for a trip to somewhere like Bathurst from Sydney.
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