Not Everyone is Happy with the Outback- it has dust!

Some ( especially those who are the subject of the article) may consider it an anti-advertisement.

Yep. Chainsaws are not permitted in many locations by National parks etc. Generators are not permitted in many camp sites. We find it a tad difficult to get where we're going without the car and fridges aren't compulsory. But for those who object to the cars and fridges, I can recommend Andrew Harper and his camels, a top bloke and a unique experience.

Yep. But he is waiting for the solar powered chainsaws with mufflers. Happy with that???? What powers your vehicle???

Have I missed something? Who is "he?"

Everyone has a different comfort level but I wouldn’t be interested in tagging along on a trip with generators
I hate the sound of them when camping and have no need for one either.
On the subject of chainsaws , unless I am going to places like the high country my chainsaws stay at home too.
Can easily get by without them and we love a campfire

Simple is the best.

Agree completely, but how is a generator or chainsaw any different to our modern vehicles? If simple we would still be on horses?

Good question.
Differences-
1. Generators and chainsaws are very often not permitted where we go, so we would lose our licence to operate if we allowed them.
2. Generators and chainsaws result in many more complaints by other campers than vehicles
3. Vehicles generally do not run while people are camped and thus seeking peace and quite- generators and chainsaws most of often do.
4. Chainsaw typical 120dB at loudest. Generators 75dB (some are quieter) about the same as a passing car, but cars are usually passing not fixed and running in place for hours

Hope that helps

Todays battery operated chainsaws you wouldn't even know they were being used.

Still not permitted and next to useless when cutting gidgee and similar hard woods. A palava to keep charged and and axe works perfectly well. I should point out that clients aren't the ones cutting the wood. I am. Sit back and watch me sweat :-)

1. Fair point
2. Pretty sure significantly more complaints about vehicles than generator or chainsaws to authorities ie 4wd in Fraser
3. People warming up before leaving camp for 10 mins or more?
4. See above

1. Thanks
2. I don't go to Fraser Is. (thankfully).
3. Why? Not my people. 30 seconds is plenty. Moving off slowly works just as well.
4. Cars necessary to get where you are going. Generators and chainsaws not. Those who don't want to use the car to get where they are going, I can recommend Andrew Harper and his camels, good luck convincing Andrew you need a chainsaw or a generator, in some places, he'll barely let you have a fire bigger than necessary to boil the billy :-). Love it. If I wasn't 60 years of age, I'd join him.

Anyway. Ill now leave this thread. Enjoy your camps, however you travel and be respectful of others. The great thing about personal rights, is in a just world, they are equally balanced by responsibilities to others.

Have fun out there.

Agree, hope your tours and travels go well, great to see business like yours encouraging people to get out

So Mr Olsen has finished promoting his business on this site.
I will always take my generator with me but hardly ever use it and if I do I use it away from others or ask their permission to run it at sensible times.
I always have my chainsaw with me along with an axe and bow saw. The chainsaw only comes out when something big needs to be moved fromthe track.
Every thing has its place in life and the right time to use it sensibly.

Ms Olsen

Sorry

So Ms Olsen has finidshed promoting her busines on this site

If you engine is cold it would be better for it to warm up a bit before working it hard on sand or anywhere else your driving pretty easy to move away from the camp a bit to do that.

It looks like self promotion is now permitted on this site - so we can now expect it to be swamped by ads discussed as threads promoting their business.

This business sounds like a lot of Nazis.

Thanks for your support OzzieCruiser.
Enjoy yourself out there

I assume that paid up business members are allowed to self promote? Sounds reasonable to me

Have no problem with Ms Olsen promoting her business, encourage it in fact. Have problem with people choosing which modern applications I can use based on their sensibilities. And I will always be considerate in use.

I'm really intrigued that people think that what I permit on my tours is based on my sensibilities. I think I've made it clear that it's based on

1. rules that apply to the licence that applies to my business- a licence I don't wish to lose
2 the rules of most of the campsites we visit
3 the history of the types of complaints that tour operators get from those not in their party but subject to any interactions
4 the desire of our clients to have a particular kind of experience, and our desire to target that market.

As I have made clear many times. I am not telling others what to do. Each to their own.
I think I have the right to determine the kind of experience I provide for my clients and to use my 40 years of experience to create the best experience I can for those who seek that experience.

Look there are plenty of opportunities for people to go remote camping with their generators and chainsaws and I have no problem if they do. They just can't bring them on my tours because my clients and those who run the campsites don't want them.

Enjoy yourself out there in whatever way works for you. But calling me a Nazi because I try to provide the kind of experience my clients want, seems a bit of a stretch.

I wish OTT well with the restart of the business, but they may wish to consider whether these advertising posts thinly-disguised as random public service announcments might not be counterproductive and and constitute negative advertising.

My view probably doesn't matter, as there's zero risk of me going on one of their tours, but the general tenor of these thinly-disguised advertising posts appears to run counter to the general ethos of ExOz and I find then very annoying. I can't be the only one.

Thank you for your wishes.

My posts weren't intended to be advertising.
Logs in bogs was a genuine attempt to inform people of the danger of these things, followed up by an attempt to save people 10K retrieval fees in Nolans Brook by repurposing a post I had made elsewhere on another site.

Not Everyone is Happy with the Outback- was a genuine conversation starter about how people who seek new experiences should probably embrace them more. I gave the example of how we try to do that

The posts may well be counterproductive- a point I raised in response to the ver first comment on the thread- "some people...may consider it anti-advertising."


As for the tenor of EO. I see a site absolutely covered in advertising. The tenor of my posts is 1. to be helpful, 2. to generate conversation

Each to their own view.

.

Some people would complain if a snake bit them!!!

Yup. Don't you hate those pens? I've had so many conversations with National Parks about how to do it better. They just seem to like their posts.

People love the marked out camp areas so they know exactly where they can set up right next to you in an otherwise empty campground. :-)

I've even had one lot literally blocking our steps up to the camper door. Wanted the bit of shade we had.
They moved.

Cheers
J

I remember the Commonwealth Pass book at Post Offices, maximum $50 a day but that was a fair amount way back then. Around 1976 fuel was about 17c per litre in the main cities and maximum crossing the Nullarbor was 27c a litre.

To each his own Frank.
Dave.

Of course, Dave. My comment was not so much about their choice, but about the complaints they make to their outback hosts following their choice.

Awesome photo Mr Fury.

Cheers

Great comment!

You may be surprised to know that I absolutely agree with you 100%. There are many people who are quite capable of touring without assistance, although the evidence from my 40 years of doing so suggests those who think they are is a significantly greater number than those who actually can.

I'm also the very first to say that there are many people, and you may well be one of them, who is not a match to our business and our touring philosophy. Not everyone (thankfully) wants to travel in the ways that I describe. They are not our potential customers and that is perfectly fine. Seems like a win/win to me. There is nothing worse than having people on a trip who don't want to be there. I've been delivering tours this way since 2004 and our customers all say it is the way they want to experience the outback. ie. by telling people what to expect, we attract the customer who is the best fit to our philosophy and they all have a great time.

As for kids, we've had so many kids on our journeys that I've lost count, none of those kids wanted a generator or chainsaw, which is great because the authorities (national parks etc) in many places, don't permit them.

As someone else said, each to their own. I'm definitely not saying what people should do. I'm saying what I prefer and my clients prefer. I also think it is wise to not complain about what you find when you seek new experiences- for me the point of new experiences is that they are not what you are used to, so complaining about things you can't change seems rather a waste. It's a bit like those who complain about the price of fuel. The guy selling it is making nothing out of it, it costs what it costs and you need it- seems like complaining is not much use.

I once had a man come up to me at a 4WD show and make a big scene, "why would I pay you to go to these places when I can do it myself?"

My reply was, "if you can do it yourself, you wouldn't. ' He continued making a scene. I said "I don't understand your problem. there are people here who really feel that the best and safest way for them to learn how to travel in remote regions is to have me teach them by coming on one or two of my trips. Clearly that is not you. What would you like me to do about that? " He walked away.

Each to their own.

Hmmmm.....
Many years ago my partner and I had a funny encounter on the Tanami. We had been driving for hours watching an ever growing black column of smoke get closer. I recognised it as a signal fire.
As we got near it, we saw an old car on the side of the road with a young man and two toddlers beside it. I suspected that they had little in supplies, as they were likely locals and would have been travelling between Aboriginal communities. I stopped. I don't speak Warlpiri but I speak some Pitjantjatjarra. "Nyuntu palya?" I asked.
"Wia...., (and something about mota car) he replied.
I took a look under the bonnet. The harmonic balancer had sheered off the crank. "Hmm," I said in English, "looks like you'll need some help. Where you from?"
"Yuendumu."
"OK, where you going?" I asked.
"Balgo"
"Can I call someone from one of those places to come get you?"
"yes, please."
"What's your name?"
" (first name removed) Wilson."
"Oh, you're related to the Bush Mechanics fellas," I offered.
"Yes."
"So how come you couldn't fix it?" I joked. He shuffled his feet and grinned.
"What's the fire for?"
"Signal fire," he replied.
"Who's going to see that?" I asked.
"Well you did," he retorted.
"Ahh touche!"
I got on the HF radio, called both Yuendumu and Balgo and the young man was picked up a few hours later. In the meantime we gave him and the kids some food. They had lots of water but no food.

Ms Olsen seems to be quite accommodating - and refreshingly frank RMD. Did you have a particular topic in mind? For example, do they discourage participants from listening to particular radio stations, or is their up-front approach the result of having to deal with a curmudgeon on one of their early tours?

As Alby said above I can see no problem with the OTT approach. Adds useful info and interest to the forum (if not overdone) and, importantly for some, provides yet another opportunity to vent their covid??? frustrations. Win-win as the cliche goes.