What is 'remote' these days?
Submitted: Tuesday, Jun 18, 2019 at 20:30
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Mick O
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

Gunbarrel & Gary Hwy 1984

By the fire - Eagle North-South Road 1984

Somewhere way out west 2018
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.

Pondering the remoteness...
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.

Good times
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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
AnswerID:
626290
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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