Whats happened to "Exploring Oz?"

Those that can, do. Those that can't, talk about their vehicles ?? :))

Come on! Someone else MUST care what's going on here! Does anyone else want to see this site return to 'EXPLORING'? What about it's creators? Some debate would be good.

We were just saying the same thing the other day. Now when logging on to the forum we say "What fridge or rig will they be on about today?" Maybe this forum should be split in two. One for Exploring Oz topics and one for the gear to do it with. Just a thought... :-)
HAGW Mish

Lynn.

In the off season, summer, we are getting our vehicles ready, so there are a lot of post about the vehicles.

Winter is just around the corner and the touring season will begin.

Those who can't get away will still post about there vehicles and wounder how the travelling members are going.

By the end of June some of the travellers will be back and start to post about there trips. Then for the next 3 months there will be trip reports until the vehicle have to be set up again for next years trips.

The cycle will start all over again.

Wayne

Gibb River Road
Abandoned Section of Gunbarrel
Simpson crossing
Tharomindah - Currawinya

These are some of the topics on the first page of the forum as we speak. Seem pretty "exploroz" related, of course theres quite a few post regarding 4x4's, camping trailers, electrics etc etc, but don't forget these are all a requirement in getting to these places so not totally irrelevant.

OK Lynn2

Tell us about your exploring.

Cheers

It’s all been explored.

By a guy in a Land Cruiser with no IFS (whatever that is...), an Engel fridge, ARB Bullbar, and a pack of Staun Tyre Deflators.

Now, it’s all being progressively closed down.

Permits to drive on this road, permits to take that photo, sign your life away when buying a bottle of bourbon at Marla, incase you are going to sell it on the way, and a general consensus, that unless you have THE vehicle, THE tyres, THE fridge, and THE dual battery system, then you will never make it.

God help you if you possess a sense of humour, you will be shot down in flames. FRIDAY is the funny day thank you! The other six days, are for SERIOUS talk.

It has become a sport of kings, well, in some arenas.

Sometimes I wonder, if some of us have been afflicted with affluenza, which, is to keep up with the Jones’.

Just give me two days, my kayak, swag, and a cask of red, and I’m off for the weekend, exploring the waterways.

As Footloose said... Those can, do, while those that can’t, teach (or talk about it).

Hi Lynn

I made the suggestion a couple of years ago to have "groups" of topics for just this reason. David replied i recall, that most members didn't want that.

Meanwhile, while i came on board principally because of my interest in exploring oz, i have learnt so much about my vehicle and other useful topics, as well as got a good laugh every now and them. I have become an ExplorOz addict. (My husband just came in to see what i was doing and said 'its like a disease isn't it').

Perhaps we could raise the idea again with David & Michelle; option to view in groups, or 'view all at once'. That would please both sides.

Perhaps, many others are like me; when I'm away I'm not on the forum; when i am home i am on the forum, and getting rig ready for the next trip. I wouldn't make any modifications to my rig without discussing it here first.

We have also met some wonderful members when travelling, through being on the forum.

I hasten to add, that Willem's post when he arrived home shows he does more genuine exploring than most of us.

G'day Lynn,
you say:
"We've been to the Kimberley, Cape York, the Nullabor Plains, the Great Ocean Road, Birdsville, Innamincka, the Strezlecki, Lake Mungo and on and on."

Why don't YOU start the ball rolling and write about some of your experiences?
Rather than just criticising..........

You never know, your contribution may then prompt others to do likewise.

Take care out there,
Mike

Lyn,

Like you, the main thing that attracted me to ExplorOz was finding things out about the places where I was wanting to travel and hearing about the travel experiences of other people. These are the pieces of information that you just can't get any other way and which are so valuable.

But, my interests are not necessarily the same as others who contribute to the forum and there is a place for us all. Just because there are a lot of posts about vehicles doesn't make the forum any less interesting or that it is any less about exploring. If our vehicles aren't up to scratch, if we don't keep on learning about how to maintain them, what tyre pressure to use, what fridges have the best record etc etc then we just won't be able to get out there to explore and if we do we are liable to have problems. I reckon I have learnt a lot just because I've taken the time to read about things that I haven't been interested in prior to joining exploroz.

The exploring bits are still to be found in the forum and as others have said, in the Trek Notes etc in the "blue bits" up the top... as well as amongst the many posts that are sent in each day. We read about Willem's exploits, Motherhen's travels, Laura B's adventures and so many others. Ruth writes in with news from Birdsville and Anne from Drysdale River Station keeps up to date on the Gibb River Road. There are some asking for advice on Cape York, the Kimberley and so many other places...with replies from those who think they can help.

There is room for all of us and I think it's great that we are all so different and we can all learn from each other. It's great that we have a forum where we can feel free to express an opinion and spark a debate which is what you've done. That's what a forum is all about.

There is no other site where you can get such up to date information about exploring Oz and no other site with so many old cootas with so much experience.
Look at the digital touring data and mapping, documented treks, fuel prices, so many articles about touring and vehicles and the shop. The interactive features throughout the site are stunning. For some of us this is our home on the web, our PC's are logged on for may hours each day, there is a great community spirit, we like it and we like talking reading and talking about the tools we use to explore this great land.

Lynn, I agree with you up to a point. I have always found this site to be invaluable for assistance & good information, lately though it has lost some appeal, largely through good informative threads being hijacked for irrelevant chat.
Maybe an Exploroz chatroom would be a good idea, then people could chat in 'realtime' & we could actually 'meet' the other contributors.

When I first found this site I was planning my very first Outback trip & I was certainly very wet behind the ears in regard to remote travel. After asking heaps of questions & getting invaluable advice, we completed our 8000 km maiden Outback trip with absolutely no problems at all, largely due to the preparation we had done in response to the advice that we received.

After saying all that though, all you have to do is ask a question about a proposed trip & you will get all the assistance in the world, but don't forget that to do some of these trips, vehicle & gear preparation is just as important as is which way to go & what to see, so you will continue to see many vehicle & gear related threads, admittedly, some seemimgly ad nauseam.

I would have to say that I am also a guilty party, inasmuch as I too have failed to post my experiences here, other than to proffer advice to others based on my now several Outback experiences, along with heaps of Vic High Country travel & camping.

I dunno Lynn2, sounds to me that you too have indeed opened a forum of anything but exploring oz. So i spose if you are having a go at everbody else, you need to include yourself into the equation now...........

I agree with Wayne - we're just coming out of the "off season". Winter is the time for exploring oz.

Well that’s nice dream Lynn2 but most of us need to work for a living and with those 4 week’s a year leave we get it isn’t always possible to travel around the country side exploring oz due to other commitments Family and so forth and then the planed trip’s will get caned due to unforseen natural factors and people pulling out for a hole host or resigns.

As for me well I have gotten away 2wice this year 1st down to Esperance, Cape Arid and a quick detour into the Goldfields on the way home to peth.

2nd was over ester into the Gascoyne aria of WA.

Hopefully later in the year I hope to make it as far North as Broom and out to Cape Leveque that will be a 10-day round trip as that is about all the time off I can manage. Right now it’s a 35% chance of happening with just less than 2 months to confirm it all.

Hi Lynn2
Well, I certainly am not a 4x4 nut, nor do I consider myself in the same realm as those who discuss the intricacies of thier vehicles and what keeps them broke...(seems to me off-roading is a very expensive pastime!), however, I DO own a 4x4 and a camper trailer which I get a hell of a lot of enjoyment from, although I admit I mainly stick to the bitumen, and just enjoy the travelling bit! However, like you, I have found that they is a lot of information posted here that appears to be purely on the maintenance and technical side, sometimes almost the 'Big Boy's toys thingo, but occasionally something is posted that I do find interesting to me, and for that alone, the forum is worth perusing. Maybe a chat room for those of us who not particularly technically-minded may be an option, but I kinda think that we would be out-voted here. I guess the main usage of the forum is for the serious off-roaders, and there is nothing wrong with that...we lesser mortals will just have to sit and wait for those occasional articles to come along that we can either comment on, or find interesting to us. One thing is for sure, if I ever want to know anything of a technical nature, or want to add some new equipment to my vehicle, this would be the place to come! (actually, I often shudder at what the cost of off-roading equipment/add-ons must be!) Like you, I have travelled this country a hell of a lot, and have some great experiences I could share (non-technical, I might add!), and who knows?..maybe someone will be interested enough to ask one day! Until then, do like me, and just peruse the forum regularly, with the hope of finding something that might be of interest, and upon which a comment can be made. I'm sure the day will come! Have fun, anyway
Regards
Bronco

We bought our Pajero last December and thought for our first trip we would do Fraser in the January, I was searching everywhere on the net for some site that would help me but nothing was giving me the answers I needed, then I stumbled across EO.
I posted for help on info and the response I got was truly great, everyone jumped in and went above and beyond the call to give us all the help we needed, to the point of Brian from the Gold Coast asking for our number to give us a call so he could personally talk to Mark and answer other questions or even explain in more detail.
we love it that the forum has general chat, we all get to know each other and have a laugh, we love it that everyone posts about questions and help about their vehicles, drawer systems, what tent is best, which brand of snatch strap is better, which toilet paper should we take that is enviromentally friendly!, what fridge to get... how else are hubby and I going to learn? You want to know about an Engel, their website will only give so much info, how much better is is to talk to people who have different fridges to compare what is better for your needs, you won't know unless you can really get to ask anyone.
I have not found any other website that can offer me so much information about every aspect of living the recreational life that we all love, maybe in America you might find some sort of web site like that, but how does that help me being in Australia?
I say keep it up EO team and fellow forumites,
We are forever learning more and more about it all through the forum and trips and gatherings, we have met so many wonderful people and have made some wonderful friends out of it all, and through posts and threads have also got to have a great laugh in the mean time.
I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a website/forum that offers everything that EO does for us all. If anyone finds it and prefers it over EO, then by all means use your own freedom of choice to change websites, but I truly don't think anyone could find an Australian website that will give us all the information and first hand experience that EO can give us.
And this is exactly why we are going to become members to completely support a forum and website that completely supports us and our choice of vehicle and recreational activities.
KEEP IT UP EXPLORE OZ AND FELLOW DRIVERS, WE ARE WITH YOU FOR LIFE!
Jo

(Hmmm wonder if that great rap will get me a free EO wheel cover David?.....kidding!!!!! will order it when I send you my moula!!!)

I've been reading the forum for years and I reckon that the content hasn't changed to any great extent. The number of posts per week etc is increasing constantly, so maybe you are missing the ones that appeal to you as they slide off to pages 3 4 and 5

Personally I get fed up with people posting posts about what people should be posting about - it's perfectly clear to me that posts to this forum should be about serious bush related issues like... how to have good sex in a swag....

Mike Harding

PS. Lynn2 - I wonder if you're who you puport to be? :)

TROLL.

And a bloody good one.

Bit over-sensitive there - deleting a section of a thread because it had a reference to PMS?

Congratulations Lynne,
You just acheived to start a thread you set out to stop.
Pages of comments, disscusions and debates about everything but Exploring,4wding and camping.
Fun wasnt it!
Cheers

Welllllllllllllllllllll,i am for one bleeding flabergstered my follow up, further up has been deleted PMS .how many people get it in this world ?, male or female all i did was to make an observation & some small minded person alerts the moderator for having an opinion they can go shove if this is the way they want it . bleeding liberators.

Hi Lynn - well you are certainly popular - look at the number of hits. Maybe this is the type of post everyone wants to read!

If the topic doesn't interest me, i don't open it - i just select threads of interest (or from people who are a 'must read' for sheer entertainment value). Of all the sites i visit, ExplorOz is the VERY BEST. The people who are on it are in the majority knowledgeable over a very wide topic range, give advice freely, and are a load of good fun.

I agree number of daily posts has increased dramatically over the 3 months i was away. This too is a good thing, even if it takes a minute or two longer to scroll through three pages instead of one. I think David & Michelle and their IT Beyond team have done us a great service by creating this site.

Not bad for a non member to cause such response with 802 views, 25 replies and 53 follow ups , perhaps if the content of the forum does not suit Lynn2 then maybe Members should treat the non member with the contemp Lynn2 deserves
as i will from now ,and if Lynn2 wants to know or learn something today, tomorrow , or when ever, I shall be only to pleased to help and answer her post's

Im on this web site atleast once a day and find that it IS about exploring Oz like the name suggests...

the bit about talking about cars is part of exploring - finding info about how to set things up , whats the best peice of info you can get that will help you ExplorOz!!

How far back did you look to see that its all about vehicles??? Im on everydday like i said and find that its more about exploring Oz than about cars actually....

Seeing that you have done a fair bit of exploring yourself you should have realised that vehicle set - up is just as important as the map researching!!

FACT - Most people spend more time setting up for exploring than they do the actual exploring....we have spent nearly 10mths setting up for a 6wks trip....we have had posts put on about all sorts of things.....kids travelling, frisges, tyres, suspension, roads and tracks, petrol availablilty etc.....the list can go on but i have more posts to put on about setting up to explore.....

the little blue heading up the top sould also help you realise that this site is about exploring + everything that goes along with it!!
eg......"On the Road".....
driving skills
communications
navigation
travel ettiquette
Accomodation........yada yada yada....

then there are the posts.....todays there are subjects such as:

Changing undies (thats my one - travelling across the qld nsw border)
stolen camper trailer
camp beds
traveling with dogs
the down side to travelling - by Willem
roof racks
Gps's
Gibb river/Kalumburu Rd
Places and gos co-ordinates
another Gibb river one.....

can i suggest you open your eyes a little and see what is actually out there instead of what you are wanting to see!!! Get on this web site everyday and i will guarentee you will see something other than vehicles!!!

Laura

It's simple really.

If you like it, stay (like most of us have).

If not, you dont have to read the forum or stay. We are still a democratic country (i think???), so no one is FORCING you too. You are quite free to move on, but as many have already said, you are missing out on all the other advice, stories and laughs that us regulars and many of the casual visitors enjoy.

I love this forum. I'm on it every day. I scroll through and if there is something I'm not interested in then I don't read it. Talking about vehicles, batteries, fridges etc. is a very important part of the trip planning.

I have posted a few questions in the last couple of months during the preparation of our forthcoming trip and have had some invaluable advice from lots of people from around the country who are happy to share. We head off in 3 weeks for a 4 month trip, spending most of it in the North Kimberley.

I can't thank this site and its readers enough for assistance in my trip planning.

Look at all the fish this Troll got! and all with one prawn!

Ive never seen this form "ALL ABOUT EXPLORING AUS"...

Don't reckon Lynne2 would know where the" on off" switch is on the TV set either.Sit there all nite moaning about what she was watching. DUKE