Camping Tours

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Silver Eagle
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Camping Tours

Post by Silver Eagle »

There was a time when camping tours were what the coach industry was all about - certainly, when I was a rookie I remember many stories being told by old hands about the challenges and adventures of campers. It was all about tough roads, coping with breakdowns but helping people see parts of the country that most people never experience. Sadly, it seems the time of the camping tour has all but gone these days.

I was lucky enough to do a few campers when I was with AAT, though I didn't think so at the time. Long days, dirt tracks, constant mechanical issues, a lot of bloody hard work and 30-35 odd days at a time in a swag meant you were pretty much over it by the time a tour was finished. Having said that, they were a great experience for the crew and most of all for passengers.

I was never one to take many photos, but there was the odd occasion I did throw the camera in the bag. I thought I might share some of the few photos I do have - and it would be fantastic to see some other board members who have done the odd camper in their day share some stories and pictures ...
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Afternoon tea stop - top of the Pentecost Range, eastbound on the Gibb River Road
Afternoon tea stop - top of the Pentecost Range, eastbound on the Gibb River Road
Pentecost.jpg (98.39 KiB) Viewed 7618 times
A view back from the top of Wolfe Creek Crater - the road was that rough we decided to tackle it without the trailer, which we left at the turn off on Tanami
A view back from the top of Wolfe Creek Crater - the road was that rough we decided to tackle it without the trailer, which we left at the turn off on Tanami
Wolfe Creek.jpg (114.73 KiB) Viewed 7618 times
Halfway across the track - Tanami Track, WA-NT border
Halfway across the track - Tanami Track, WA-NT border
WA Border.jpg (77.4 KiB) Viewed 7618 times
Tanami Track, WA-NT border
Tanami Track, WA-NT border
WA Border 2.jpg (94.65 KiB) Viewed 7618 times
Only a 1000ks of dirt goat track to go ... !
Only a 1000ks of dirt goat track to go ... !
Start of Tanami.jpg (110.76 KiB) Viewed 7618 times
Having a chat with Bruce - Rabbit Flat Roadhouse
Having a chat with Bruce - Rabbit Flat Roadhouse
Rabbit Flat.jpg (146.96 KiB) Viewed 7618 times
Relaxing after a tough day - Windjana Gorge campsite, Gibb River Road near Derby
Relaxing after a tough day - Windjana Gorge campsite, Gibb River Road near Derby
In camp - Windjana.jpg (112.41 KiB) Viewed 7618 times
The Eagle
AN982
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by AN982 »

i used to drive that coach too.....

and these ones...

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AN982
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by AN982 »

some more memories...

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8 SPEED
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by 8 SPEED »

Looks like a lot of hard work Silver Eagle thats for sure,many a late night and early mornings i would imagine.
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HORSEPOWER
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Mr Scania
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by Mr Scania »

I would choose camping before accommodated any day.
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Silver Eagle
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by Silver Eagle »

Some great photos there AN982. I always regret not taking a few more photos out in that part of the country - but I do have on #40 a bit later in its career, doing its time as camper coach!
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Kakadu.jpg
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Silver Eagle
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by Silver Eagle »

8 SPEED wrote:Looks like a lot of hard work Silver Eagle thats for sure,many a late night and early mornings i would imagine.
The numbers 5-6-7 quickly became my least favourite numbers! (Alarm call at 5, breakfast at 6, depart by 7 ... which generally meant driver out of bed by 430!).

They were hard work, that's for sure. You had to do a bit of everything on those tours, and the biggest headache was the wear and tear on the coach from the rough roads. Most nights after travelling on the dirt you'd find yourself up till 10 or 11 at night fixing something that had broken before crawling into the swag and doing it all again the next day - good fun though!
Mr Scania wrote:I would choose camping before accommodated any day.
I have to admit, I don't regret doing campers - though I'd always let a few choice words go when I found out I was down to do one. By the time I got the opportunity to do campers, however, there were only two left on the touring schedule - Alice-Broome-Darwin return (via Tanami/Gibb River) and Sydney-Adelaide-Darwin-Cairns-Sydney.

The Tanami camper was hard work, but well worth just for the places you got to go.

I never enjoyed the Sydney camper though - it was just like a accommodated tours for t*ght-ar*ses - the only real place you got to go different to the accommodated tours was Lake Eyre, and it wasn't worth 31 days in a swag to see that!
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Mr Scania
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by Mr Scania »

As I wrote in an earlier post of a 46 day camper I did earlier this year.

Around the camp at night in place of poems, songs and yarns there is now Ipods, Ipads, Mobile Phones and Laptops. And when you arrived at camp and went in to reception you had at least one passenger on your heels screaming out Do you have free Wi Fi ?
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Looselion
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by Looselion »

It's so coincidental that I've found this thread just as I'm working through writing a chapter in my book on Rex Law and Redline that deals with the company's founding of the Safari Camping Tours concept. This really began with the first such round tour from Brisbane in 1957, which I have dealt with in detail in the book, as well as a general history of the early Central Australian tour industry with a particular interest in chronicling not just Rex but all the main participants and their achievements.
So I felt it appropriate to post one particular page from that chapter which directly relates to this post....
I have appropriate pictures illustrating the words in the book, but I'll keep them back as I'm sure you'll understand I don't want to prematurely divulge everything....!!


"Rex had no misgivings whatsoever about mainly allocating the lightweight rear engine Bedford and Commer based units to the Central Australian Safari Tours program during that early establishment period, beginning in 1957 but as a continually scheduled program from 1961.

Of course much had been learned from “Big Jim” Flanagan’s historic groundbreaking camping round tour into the Centre with the Commer Avenger based No 11 in 1957, and each coach was therefore very well equipped with the means for ‘on location’ repair, should trouble strike in the remote out-back.....

The Centre camping tour drivers were carefully selected for the job, and possessed a multiplicity of abilities, founded upon long experience as heavy-vehicle operators (long distance trucking) for many years. They all had excellent mechanical abilities, and of course their substantial tool kits were always carried as standard equipment.

The coaches themselves were equipped with the means for full in-service routine maintenance, including oils and filters, chassis grease and guns and replacement lights and globes. In addition a number of particular emergency spares were carried, such as spare main and wrap spring leaves for front and rear, with centre-bolts and shackle pins and mounts. Spare universal joints, belts and water hoses were also included in the parts complements carried.

It would be appreciated that the availability of such spares would have been useless unless each driver was able to efficiently go about diagnosing and replacing any such item quickly and safely, and especially to do so while limiting any sense of anxiety and maintaining the upbeat mood amongst his passengers.

Redline was really blessed by the fact that their entire roster of specialist Centre Safari Tour drivers was consistently up to this demanding task, not to mention well able to conduct themselves as excellent touring captains, over and above the underlying serious responsibilities inherent in the unpredictable nature of their task.

From their personal point of view these quite remarkable men would not have had it any other way, and they took a great pride in the fact that they were pioneering ‘one of a kind’ operators within all of the proud annals of the Australian coach touring industry."
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Mr Scania
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by Mr Scania »

A phone call is too easy to make these days. It may effect your ability to think for yourself.
AN982
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by AN982 »

poor old number 40, was a beautiful machine to operate, i loved the split gear box. from memory she became the grayline coach and then sold to a gold coast operator....
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by Looselion »

Here's the Watt/Commer No 21 in front, with two Dennings behind, including the original No 22 at rear. I'm unsure of the identity of the other.
Laurie MacBeth took the photo. He was on 21 doing one of many Zeiss Ikon photography camping charters.
He had temporarily teamed up with the two regular 22 day Centre Safari coaches, on a double-header, for a lunch break north of Winton in 1962.
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Three camping tour coaches near Winton, 1962
Three camping tour coaches near Winton, 1962
No 21, 22 & not sure north of Winton 1962.JPG (134.08 KiB) Viewed 7159 times
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by captainch »

yes alas young ppl want to go on outback safaris and rough it, as long as the tent is a/c, have internet conection. and with food you must camp near by to maccs or k.f.c.ings gone theres agree with every thing mr scania says,the day of the real out back safaris are long gone ,the feeling has gone and everyboby is now to much of a hurry, the old days it was at a slow pace,and people on these trips many became best mates and friends for life,often doing many more coach trips together.also in coaches with no a/c.digging them out of boggs ect now because of health and saftey not allowed,that was part of the fun!.all those ppl who did that are doing seniors day trips with walkers/aids ect flat out doing a trip to woy woy! those were the days! :P
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Silver Eagle
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Re: Camping Tours

Post by Silver Eagle »

AN982 wrote:poor old number 40, was a beautiful machine to operate, i loved the split gear box. from memory she became the grayline coach and then sold to a gold coast operator....
Ah - I think that was #54, the K113 with the 4+4 box and bunk, ex-demonstrater - replaced the 0404 (#47?) as the Grayline coach on the ASP-AYQ day tour.

40 was one of 6 Kings ordered Volgren K124s with opticruise boxes (from memory the others were 1, 17, 28, 34, 39?) - well specced coaches.
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