Do Your Bit to Help Out EO - Where the Bloody Hell are You

Could also be that some of us want to keep those locations we discover secret so we can enjoy the serenity by ourselves.

John,
I lived on the East coast for many years, I assure you the 'West coast' is also the *Best coast* :)

They complain on the East coast there's not enough sunshine there to make their solar panels work, so no wonder so many come over to the Best coast for a traveling holiday and our fantastic weather :)

Maîneÿ . . .

JB,

There's sooo much to see at the eastern end. It doesn't leave much time to write notes about it.

=)

Skull

Not sure exactly what trek notes are.

Me, I just look at a map, pick two points, start at one and try to get to the other. Sometimes theres a track other times nothing at all.

Makes for a more interesting and exciting trip where you rely more on you and your car's ability.

I get quite a kick out of going where no one has gone before for 3-4 days, probqably more fun than 2 weeks on the freeway, I mean CSR.....lol.

The only trek notes I have are a few faded pencil marks on a few old torn maps.


Cheers......Lionelo.

Hi John
Yes it is about time that others shared their favourite spots with other. It is not about keeping something secret, but sharing with other like minded travellers. I think my tally is 16 to date with at least 2 more in the making and working on one at the moment.

One of my last trek notes was the Mereenie Loop Track. I had logged it about 2 years ago. It is a well travelled track, not hard, yet no one else had made the time to put the details up here on EO. I was prompted to give Damian a call after someone asked a question on the forum about driving it, so that was the excuse for me to get the two fingers tapping again.

Australia is the Best Country in the world with every type of driving conditions available. Also do not forget that many that drive our great Nation do not drive off of the bitumen. So here is a challenge for one lucky traveller. Contact Damian, submit a new trek file and I will give you an extra years membership on top of what EO give you.

So start now and contact Damian.

Cheers

Stephen

Every time I've set off with the intention of recording a trip by way of photos, trek notes, Ozi track, video I suddenly forget because I am having such a good time just doing it.

I always regret that I never take enough photos, and the track files that I've saved are always a bit piece meal.

For my next trip in April I'll be using Spot so at least my position every ten minutes will be recorded (if I remember to turn it on, and WW3 doesn't break out). And I promise myself I'll take more photos with the new camera.

BTW I'd abolish the states (waste of space and sheltered workshop for bunch of spongers who should be out doing something constructive rather than reinventing the wheel in 8 different ways) . Those lines on maps mean nothing to me. We are all Australians. Wether you live to west or east of a line on a map is meaningless.

Bob

Interesting point. I have never done a trek note, but have recently started to do Blogs of our major travels. I take the point on the 'special places' though. Even within the Blogs (Kimberley in particular) we deliberately held back a few special details and pics that we thought were too 'sensitive' for open posting on the web. But that was only a small (though special) part of the trip. Other than these sort of things, we are happy to share our experiences.

We now see ourselves as 'Travellers' (having rented out our home and now travelling full time), rather than 4WDers, which we perhaps could have previously been classified as - being active members of a 4WD Club and doing lots of shorter trips, with the challenge of the drive being a big part of the trip.

So I see Blogs as the more relevant way of communicating and sharing our experiences than Trek Notes. But that is just us and where we are at in our life and travels.

Norm C

Not a big fan of Trek notes so I neither follow them nor do I give them out to others. While it's great to share our trips with others to make it easier for them to plan, the whole system does tend to concentrate travellers on the same routes, stopping at the same places which in turn has the unfortunate problems of rubbish, waste, track damage etc. We've seen alot of access restricted on the East Coast due tracks becoming too popular. This may explain some of the reluctance of members to post up Trek Notes of their favorite areas.
Personally I couldn't think of a worse way to travel, punching in a GPS route & following someone elses adventure. Much prefer to research an area & explore off the beaten track to find the hidden treasures myself. Each to their own :-)
Cheers Craig..............

It’s interesting but I reckon the very nature of the troubled times we live in has promoted a greater degree of domestic Travel. We can be fortunate that we have a huge country with so much arrid interior and yet a relatively small population. Despite this information being readily available on the site, I would suggest it’s still the minority of people who will actually act upon it. Remote outback travel requires the right equipment and mindset. Trek notes are only ever a tool. What the trek notes can do is assist people in making an informed decision about attempting that actual trek. Further benefit can be derived from the forum and avenues such as the Places and blogs.

I’ve noticed a real increase in usage of many of the iconic tracks like the Gunbarrel and the Canning over the past 4 or 5 years and yet the more adventurous side trips like Helena Spring are disappearing due to lack of use. Many of the other ”iconic” outback tracks remain rarely visited. Naturally the ability to explore new areas only appeals to a few because of the higher risks, costs and impacts on man and machine. A lot of the outback is getting locked up in title as well. While this site offers good tools it will only have a minor role to play in encouraging the thousands of travelers who head outback each year when compared to the total number of travelers in general. Besides, as we all know, one driver with poor skills, bad tyres or a heavily laden trailer has the potential to do more damage to an outback track than a convoy of hundreds so overuse doesn’t seem such a big issue.

I haven’t created trek note yet but I always update track condition reports at the first available opportunity as I see this presenting a real time benefit to those who are travelling so perhaps we could encourage better use of the track reporting facilities on the site (which are another great feature for trip planning and safety). My blogs also offer some insight into the countryside and tracks that I travel and hopefully a reasonable accurate account of the conditions to be expected &with no sugarcoating (it’s all fun though isn’t it – bloody tyres!). These are also linked into treks and places now. Besides, I reckon a Trek Note for Joanna Spring would be lucky to get used LOL.
I agree with John & Stephen that this site should be about encouragement and sharing of information to promote travel. Without visitors, many of these outback places will fade from both access and memory and that would be a real loss.


My thoughts. Mick