4 ms·

I suspect I'd wager my life on that (here in winter at least) before some of your African scenarios. My neighbour is just finishing a Simpson crossing this week

by prawn 4y ago

I suspect I'd wager my life on that (here in winter at least) before some of your African scenarios. My neighbour is just finishing a Simpson crossing this week actually, though four-car convoy so has easy backup. I turned onto the Oodnadatta Track the other month (going up for Tourism Australia shoots) and got two flat tyres with one spare as the sun set. Same trip, one of my drones got taken by a wedge-tailed eagle. Diesel at $2.70/L. Not a cheap trip. The surrounds were very wet when I went through, but looks like you copped it muddy.

grecy 4y ago
> I suspect I'd wager my life on that (here in winter at least) before some of your African scenarios. There isn't any "life wagering" going on. Please don't buy into the hyperbole. With a little planning and prep, Australia is extremely developed and safe. The chances of dying are very slim, unless a person really tries. Sat beacons and phones are cheap and easy to carry, and the family that recently got stuck in the Simpson had to wait all of 4 hours for a chopper to show up when they hit the button after getting hopelessly stuck in the mud. Africa is also not what you're making it out to be either. Don't take my word for it, talk to people that have spent a lot of time there. Good friends from Cairns drove right around like I did for 2 years, they went to 30+ countries, West Coast, Southern and all of East Coast. They loved it. In fact, they loved it so much they are right now shipping their Australian-plated vehicle back to Africa for another two year tour. They are perfectly middle class in Australia and live a great life there, but choose to spent another two years touring Africa. That should tell you a lot about what it's really like there. got two flat tyres with one spare as the sun set What tyres are you running, at what PSI, at what speed and with what load? Were they just punctures in the tread, or a failure of the sidewall?
- prawn 4y ago
  No, I just meant that I'd consider a Simpson crossing in winter less of a gamble than parts of Africa. There's minimal risk of dealing with bribes, getting remotely near a conflict zone, encountering guns/weapons, etc. Not saying that's the norm in Africa, but it's certainly nowhere near the norm here. In three weeks I'm leaving my safe middle class Adelaide existence to re-renovate my 300k km mileage bus and drive it around the USA again with my young children. Not because it's safer, just because it's more fun and adventurous! Stock tyres at walking pace. Pulled off the road to photograph an old Ghan bridge and there might've been barbed wire underneath the grading gutter that got both tyres on that side.

by prawn 4y ago

grecy 4y ago

> I suspect I'd wager my life on that (here in winter at least) before some of your African scenarios. There isn't any "life wagering" going on. Please don't buy into the hyperbole. With a little planning and prep, Australia is extremely developed and safe. The chances of dying are very slim, unless a person really tries. Sat beacons and phones are cheap and easy to carry, and the family that recently got stuck in the Simpson had to wait all of 4 hours for a chopper to show up when they hit the button after getting hopelessly stuck in the mud. Africa is also not what you're making it out to be either. Don't take my word for it, talk to people that have spent a lot of time there. Good friends from Cairns drove right around like I did for 2 years, they went to 30+ countries, West Coast, Southern and all of East Coast. They loved it. In fact, they loved it so much they are right now shipping their Australian-plated vehicle back to Africa for another two year tour. They are perfectly middle class in Australia and live a great life there, but choose to spent another two years touring Africa. That should tell you a lot about what it's really like there. got two flat tyres with one spare as the sun set What tyres are you running, at what PSI, at what speed and with what load? Were they just punctures in the tread, or a failure of the sidewall?

prawn 4y ago
No, I just meant that I'd consider a Simpson crossing in winter less of a gamble than parts of Africa. There's minimal risk of dealing with bribes, getting remotely near a conflict zone, encountering guns/weapons, etc. Not saying that's the norm in Africa, but it's certainly nowhere near the norm here. In three weeks I'm leaving my safe middle class Adelaide existence to re-renovate my 300k km mileage bus and drive it around the USA again with my young children. Not because it's safer, just because it's more fun and adventurous! Stock tyres at walking pace. Pulled off the road to photograph an old Ghan bridge and there might've been barbed wire underneath the grading gutter that got both tyres on that side.