ACCESS November 2020 Digital edition: www.issuu.com/accessnews
Travel
Edited by DALLAS SHERRINGHAM
We’re in the Business of Travel
Forge cruising - caravans rule My firs experience caravanning was one o remember n DALLAS SHERRINGHAM E have all made solemn vows no o some hing, only o break i one day and have he ime o our lives when nally, did ry i . Such was my dismissal o caravanning as a holiday - I ried i once as a eenager, crowded in o a iny amily caravan a errigal while i poured rain – and I vowed never o do i again. Te onse o he COVID-19 Pandemic changed all ha or me and million o her Aussies who normally go cruising every year. Suddenly our yearly adrenaline rush was cu of and we sa around gloomily con empla ing li e wi hou Deck Chairs, Island Nigh , Gourme Meals and Days Ashore. My wi e Sharon came up wi h he ligh bulb idea o hiring a mo orhome and heading of around Aus ralia. We arranged a Jayco model rom Le s Go Mo orhomes, he new s ar up company which is atrac ing a lo o business due o very compe iive long erm ra es. I cos us a bi over $5000 o ren a mo orhome or seven weeks, which was compa ible wi h our cruise ares each year. Mo orhome and caravan ren als and purchases in Aus ralia have boomed in recen mon hs as he na ion con empla es a u ure wi hou in erna ional ravel and cruising. We packed i up wi h ar oo many clo hes and lo s o ex ras we really didn’ need and headed nor h, scraping in o Queensland wo days be ore hey shu he border. Our des ina ion was Broome, bu daily checks o he news old us WA was ou and he erri ory was unlikely. So, we changed direc ion a Win on and headed or Palm Cove or hree nigh s. I was so much un, we s ayed nearly weeks a he N MA Caravan Park, righ on he beach. I was a real learning experience. Caravanning, like cruising, is a social experience where people mix reely wi h no pre ensions. We made a lo o riends along he way and i you are hinking o aking up
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Australia is taking to the road in record numbers.
caravanning and s aying in van parks, you need o be able o mix socially. Now, a warning: some caravan owners love no hing beter han discussing heir la es adven ures over an hour or wo and o hers like o discuss he “mechanical” side o caravans and will ell you wi h your Jayco has he wrong yre pressure or he “bol s o he andangle need atached o he bomboogle”. I ’s all gobblygook o me, bu I jus agreed wi h wha ever hey said and go on wi h i . Free camping is all he rage a he momen which means nigh s ou in he wilderness wi h no power or oile s, bu
Our Jayco Motorhome at stunning Camp Kanga, Proserpine.
we decided o s ay in van parks and he powered si es ranged rom $30 o $60 per nigh . We booked ahead on he phone, jus like booking a mo el room and never had a problem. Te wo bes van parks were Palm Cove or i s loca ion and Big Four a Cannonvale which has Aus ralia’s bigges wa er park in a campground. Te mo orhome seemed res ric ed in size when we rs s ar ed ou , bu a er a ew days we were used o he se up and he annex made i so much easier. Le ’s Go Mo orhomes supplied wo oldup chairs and a able and hey made our holiday so much more enjoyable.
Seting up each day involved connec ing he elec rici y o he mains, he wa er inle on o a ap and he was ewa er ou le in o a pipe. We had i down o abou wo minu es a he end a er a ridiculously silly s ar on he rs day a Gunnedah. Now I am a caravanning conver , and I should have been enjoying i all hese years. And o op i all of, I came back o he Cen ral Coas and bough mysel a secondhand caravan and booked a mon h in Palm Cove nex year.
Details: www.letsgomotorhomes.com.au
Sitting round the campfire.
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T ravel INTO THE LAND OF THE NEVER NEVER n DALLAS SHERRINGHAM REALLY GOES OUTBACK HE E is a legendary area sou h o Darwin known as he “Never Never” which is now los in he ever-changing mis s o ime. In he early 1900s a lady wro e a book abou li e in his par o he Nor hern erri ory and i wen on o sell more han one million copies worldwide. Such was he power o Jeannie Gunn’s “We o he Never Never” ha i became s andard reading or every young Aus ralian. I was made in o a movie in 1982 s arring Angela Punch McGregor. Te Never Never was ha region sou h o Ka herine ha con ained jus a hand ul o people and no whi e women. I is s ill possible o walk in he oo s eps o Ms Gunn, who lived o he ripe old age o 91 and became a champion o s ruggling re urned servicemen rom he Grea War. She was no ordinary lady: she ma ricula ed rom Melbourne Universi y and became a eacher be ore marrying Aeneas Gunn. Aeneas, boss o he 5000 square kilomeer Elsey S a ion was known as Te Maluka by he Aboriginals who worked or him as s ockmen and servan s. Te book is amous or i s charac eriza ions and i s depic ion o li e in wha was essen ially a wilderness area. Charac ers such as he Dandy, he Fizzer, he Quie S ockman and Cheon he Chinese cook all leap rom he pages and were based on real people. Te book la er became
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Historical photo of Elsey Station.
con roversial because o he depic ion and rea men o Aboriginals. ecen ly I wen o he Never Never in search o remnan s rom he book and he ex raordinary li e o he only whi e women sou h o Ka herine in 1900. In he book, Ms Gunn describes he journey be ween Darwin and Pine Creek by rain. Te s a ion where she was conron ed by chauvinis ic bushmen rying o Continued on page 25
Don’t put the FREEZE on your business meetings.
Portrait of Jeannie Gunn.
Portrait of Aeneas Gunn, the Maluka.
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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS NOVEMBER 2020
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T ravel
The emotionally moving Elsey cemetery.
alk her ou o con inuing her epic rip is s ill here and is now on he Na ional rus regis er. From Pine Creek, she headed sou h on horseback o “ he Ka herine� which was iny setlemen o jus our people. She even ually made i o he ron ga e o he s a ion which was 70km rom he homes ead. oday, he Elsey s a ion s ill exis s, in par . I is owned and managed by he Nor hern Land Council as a working catle proper y and a ouris atrac ion. We know he region more amously as Ma aranka, a own ha group up alongside he Nor hern Aus ralia railway. Te nearby ho springs draw housands o visi ors ravelling along he S uar Hwy. In he cen re o own are s a ues o Aeneas and Jeannie and some o he s ree s are named a er charac ers rom he book.
I drove for several kilometres ravelling sou h rom Ma aranka here is a urnof o Elsey Ceme ery. I drove or several kilome ers along a sealed road and even ually came o he impressive homes ead burial ground. Walking around he si e, i is very moving o see he heads ones o charac ers
Stone cairn on the site of Elsey homestead.
Statue of the Gunns in Mataranka.
Pine Creek railway station.
rom We o he Never Never, including he Maluka, and o realize ha hey never le his wild par o Aus ralia. Aeneas Gunn died o malarial dysen ery a er jus a year a he Elsey and he broken hear ed Ms Gunn re urned sou h o live ou her li e in he suburbs o Melbourne, never o re urn o he Never Never and never o marry again. A shor drive rom he ceme ery is he original homes ead si e. A s one cairn and some old pho os depic he si e bu here is no sign o he homes ead. Buil o wood, i
would have been ea en ou by ermi es many decades ago. I have o admi i was a desola e, uninspiring place. How people made a li e here is beyond comprehension in hese days o air condi ioners and re rigera ors. Te old homes ead comprised o several wooden shacks, a cookhouse and a s orage shed. Once a year a wagon load o supplies was delivered a he homes ead. Ye , people were happy in ha wild, un amed place. And hrough he book hey ge o live on orever.
oday, he erm Never Never has los much o i s meaning. Te S uar Hwy, once jus a rack hrough he bush beside he overland elegraph is now packed wi h huge hree railer road rains and housands o caravans. I you are ravelling he Nor h Coun ry, please ake he ime o visi he Elsey. S anding here surrounded by gian ermi e mounds wi h only he sigh o he breeze in he s un ed rees and shrubs and he wa er shimmering in he billabong, you will ge a sense o wha i was like o live in he Never Never. (No e: A ree copy o he book can be downloaded a www.gu enberg.org Words and images: Dallas Sherringham. Feature supplied by: www.wtfmedia.com.au
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T ravel Time o explore NSW Plen y of op ions o our your own backyard HE NSW Governmen is calling on all Sydneysiders and NSW residen s o be a COVID sa e ouris in heir own backyard and suppor local businesses by booking ours and visi ing atrac ions. Minis er or Jobs, Inves men , ourism and Wes ern Sydney S uar Ayres said NSW residen s could help reboo he s a e’s visi or economy by hiting he road or a shor break, aking a Sydney ‘playca ion’, or even making he mos o a day rip. “Tere’s some hing special abou being a ouris and giving yoursel permission o enjoy experiences ha we usually reserve or holidays,” Minis er Ayres said. “ rea yoursel o a ‘playca ion’ around Sydney and NSW – ake a guided our, book a ho el s ay, dine a a special res auran , or visi a local atrac ion. “We all wan o make a diference by s aying and spending locally, so le ’s enjoy all corners o NSW and jam-pack our i ineraries wi h NSW’s nes experiences. “You’ll be rewarded wi h he diversi y and beau y o our s a e and make a huge diference o our ourism businesses ha are doing i ough.” Te NSW Governmen is releasing wo new ools o inspire holidaymakers and help hem ‘value-add’ o heir s ay: • An in erac ive ‘Love NSW’ map ha allows ravellers o search or and iden i y ourism experiences based on heme. Users can also nd experiences wi hin hree hours’ drive o a selec ed loca ion, or zoom in o s ree level o see links o even more ourism businesses (www.lovensw.com.au)
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Popular Terrigal Beach.
• A series o new Sydney ‘playca ion’ i ineraries highligh ing he luxury, amily, ou door adven ure, oodie, cul ure, romance and wellness experiences on ofer across he CBD and Grea er Sydney (www.sydney. com) rends in holiday planning show ha he op hree ypes o holiday Aus ralians will ake in he nex 12 mon hs are a road rip (68%), a rip o visi riends and amily (66%) and a rip o he coun ryside (65%). “ ecen research shows ha , compared
o pre-COVID, ravellers are 76% more likely o suppor local businesses and communi ies, and 68% more likely o visi par s o Aus ralia hey haven’ been o be ore,” Mr Ayres said. “We’ve all had our lives on hold or six mon hs or more, now’s he ime o ge ou here, enjoy our NSW s ories, landscapes and experiences and urn 2020 around oge her. “Now’s he ime o suppor our local ourism opera ors bu i ’s no a ime o be complacen .”
Visi ors, locals and businesses are reminded o s ay COVID sa e during he school holidays by main aining social dis ancing, good hygiene and s aying home i unwell. Holidaymakers are encouraged o phone ahead o con rm bookings and check local condi ions wi h business opera ors. For more in orma ion www.nsw.gov.au/ covid-19
For travel inspiration: www.visitnsw.com and www.sydney.com
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