Book Review: Around Australia at 80ks by Meredith Schofield

As someone who has written a travel diary about driving across three states of Australia, and owning a frog van that became very much a character in touring my own state of South Australia at sometimes well below 80ks, I have some affinity for Meredith Schofield's book, Around Australia at 80k's.

I'll definitely tip my hat to Meredith and her husband Sean for going way further in a bright yellow, unairconditioned, mid 70's kombi van, than they were ever designed for.

Also kudos to them for traveling with their dog Bandit. My partner and I have also taken our dogs on our holiday adventures and, even though South Australia is likely the most dog friendly state in Australia, it's still a challenge planning a trip where you can all stay together. Particularly, your dog will keep you out of most national parks.

Meredith's book is a road trip adventure across five Australian states, NSW, SA, WA, NT, and Victoria (technically four states and one territory I guess). It's filled with Meredith's fantastic photography, and her written impressions of each location, along with travel tips, like the all important, best place to get coffee, followed by the best free places to camp (priorities!).

At just over 250 pages it's the kind of book you read once and then becomes a bit of a coffee table book to page through, or you buy it to help inspire your own adventure by getting a feel for places you may like to see for yourself.

I do get the sense that if you're a kombi van owner, that's a very special community of people who would absolutely love this book. It's no accident that the official book website is called 'Etta's Travels - Around Australia at 80ks'.

Etta is the name of their bright yellow kombi with a top cruising speed of 80ks. (I have no doubt she can go faster but if she's anything like my frog van any speed above 80ks feels like the wheels are going to fall off sooner rather than later - or at least the engine is going to overheat). There's probably more shots of Etta than either Meredith, Sean, or Bandit in the book... and, if not it, feels that way. Definitely an inspirational book for anyone thinking travelling Australia in a 70's classic is madness.

Personally I found a lot of the writing of the actual journey to be a little dry and didn't really capture the sense of adventure or being there in the moment. I know it's hard to write about every place with enthusiasm but there was a lot of we went here and did this without much history or anecdotes about the location.

By contrast I felt more excitement and enthusiasm in Meredith's Introduction, preparation for the trip, and closing chapters. I wouldn't be surprised if, although I'm sure Meredith took notes, most of the book was written after the journey - which can seem overwhelming while you're writing it (honestly I've been there with all my own travel diary entries in this blog).

The photography is great with some stunning images and great compositions. I did feel a bit of a disconnect with the photos and the text because there are no captions. I know the idea is for all the photos on each page to give a sense of the place being visited but with nothing to focus my attention on each photo I tended to focus on just those that caught my eye (usually photos with the kombi, or with Meredith, Sean, or Bandit in them) or ones specifically mentioned in the text.

Landscape photography, no matter how good, tends to blend into more of the same when you see a lot of it altogether. I feel I would have appreciated each photo more with captions or some kind of numerical reference within the text, directing me to specific photos.

Just quietly, I would've also liked to have seen photos of some of the towns they passed through as well for a bit of contrast. The distinct lack of people and towns. You don't do a journey this far in Australia and without meeting a few characters. Skipping the towns made it feel like outback Australia is a little more empty than it is.

As mentioned great for any kombi van owner, and also a nice coffee table book for any Aussie home. The book has a limited 10,000 copy print run that appears to be almost sold out. Visit the official website to find out where you can get hold of a copy if they're still available.

Comments

Is AI Art 'Art'? The Say NO to AI Art Movement, and Why Human Artists Will Adapt

AI Art No T-Shirt by TET Also available on other items . Right now there is a big debate over not just whether AI art is 'art' but whether AI's are actually ripping off the work of actual human artists, without their consent, to create their images - particularly images 'in the style of' specific artists. From my own observations this debate started to get more traction when artist's signatures began appearing in the output of AI Art image generators. Is It Art? Cool Froyd the Cat Sketch by TET. My style is very much influenced by classic Disney and WB character styles. To get some clarity on how real human artists work (of which I am one)... we, that is all of us... take influences from the art that has come before. i.e. whatever artists we like, have studied, seen etc. we are influenced by. It shows up in our work, intentionally or not. If you really study my own cartoony art style you'll see I'm heavily influenced by early Disney and Warner Bros cart...

Bruce, South Australia - A Forgotten Aussie Town with Spectacular Landscape Views and Potential

The Bruce Railway Station. Now a private residence. V isiting the almost forgotten town of Bruce reminds me of visiting Silverton back in 2007, except Silverton has been revived into a kind of arts town with a very famous pub. Bruce, on the other hand seems a little too spread out, and a bit too out of the way to make a similar 'arts' kind of revival. Bruce's Pub appears to be an art studio with signs of restoration work in progress. The main part of town appears to be the Bruce railway station (now a private residence) and a pub, also privately owned and possibly was, or still is, and artist studio. Other buildings and homesteads are set fairly wide apart, and are mostly privately owned homes. You don't get much sense of being in a town as such. I'm told there are approximately 14 local residents/families? Once earmarked to be a commercial centre, Bruce fell by the wayside after successive floods and drought in its early years. Obviously the railway line is no lo...

Embarrassing Yourself with Doof Doof Music

Ever since Spinal Tap popularized the notion of turning an amp up to eleven audio systems have been rising to the challenge of louder, more awesome sound. In particular, car audio systems have embraced the notion of the bigger the noise the better the sound must surely be. What I'd like to know is, if these sound systems are so good, why do they make all music sound the same... Doof, Doof, Doof? You've all heard them. Pimped up cars, with audio systems seemingly worth more than gold, volume blasting way past eleven. Sound waves booming long before you make a positive visual on the car... Doof, Doof, Doof. It has to be the audio system right? Surely all these people can't be playing the same tune? Doof, Doof, Doof. Could it be that the more money spent on a car sound system the less musical range it will actually play? Maybe these people can't afford to buy music after purchasing the audio system so they all play the same demo track? Doof, doof, doof. In my own car I hav...

James Gunn's Social Media Monkeys Joke Was a Highlight of His Superman Movie For Me

B efore James Gunn's Superman Movie was released there was a whole rumor going around that the movie would feature monkeys on computers trolling Superman's social media, sparking much outrage. #supersh*t. I didn't know this was even a thing until just prior to writing this article. I did a search to see if anyone had posted a clip of the monkeys scene from the movie and got pages of discourse featuring videos and articles prior to the film. Most of it from Gunn detractors (let's say) seeing it as some kind of childish swipe at them... well not them specifically but, you know, those other people who have every right to hate on anything sight unseen. Anyway, I'm not going to give even one such example a link or air because it's kind of sad watching someone devote so much commentary to a throw away gag that is absolutely a nod to James Gunn's Superman trolls. The whole reason this post exists, is to say I loved the joke, because fourteen years ago, and I...

Jimmy Barnes, Working Class Man 40th Aniversary Tour - Barossa Valley, Peter Lehmann Wines

D espite being in the middle of Summer, and experiencing some record temperatures across the state, we got a perfect day for the South Aussie leg of Jimmy Barnes' Working Class Man 40th Aniversay Tour. Lightly overcast. Almost no chance of rain. The cloud cover taking all the edge out of the sun, which was still quite fierce during the brief moments when it did break through the clouds for a little while. Guest artists supporting the show included, Jon Rooney, Kate Ceberano, Ian Moss, and Ice House. Unfortunately, while my partner and I had every intention of being at the concert when the show actually started, so did quite a lot of people. We didn't quite anticipate the traffic getting into the venue, Peter Lehmann Wines, Barossa Valley, and we certainly didn't expect the 5-10 minute hike from the carpark to the concert area itself. Kate Ceberano By the time we found our seats, Kate Ceberano was already part way through her set. Prior to this concert, I certainly knew w...

Kids today are smarter than their parents?

Mother's Bed Art Board Print by TET. Available from RedBubble . How often have you heard it said that kids today are smarter than their parents? I’ve heard it quite frequently in the media – even Dr Phil has said it. I say speak for yourself. It’s not true and don’t let the media fool you. Today’s kids may have access to more information that may give them more choices but in my experience, they only take in what they want to hear and still make stupid, uninformed decisions. Just like we used to at their age. Like any cross section of people there will be exceptions. There are kids that are genuinely smarter, more mature and responsible for their age. However the vast majority know everything they need to know by the time they turn fourteen. They’re ‘adult’ enough to be responsible for all their own decision making so parents should just let them do what they please…right? Just like we thought at fourteen. Don’t be fooled. Just because your son knows how to download MP3’s onto an i...

The Lego Man - He's got all that!

Who would have thought that owning one of the worlds largest, private Lego collections could take you so far. Tom Lucieer of Angaston, South Australia, not only has met the Queen (of England) but is a frequent guest of her majesty and family when they are in Australia. He's also met Prince Charles, Lady Diana and Camila Parker-Bowles. Not only that, he grew up with TV Vet, Dr Harry, and is a friend of the Irwin family (yes, that's Steve Irwin's family). Tom will happily tell you all this as part of the guided tour of his collection, which, aside from Lego, includes much railway memorabilia and colourful anecdotes about days gone by, his achievements and more. Frequently he will finish each particular monologue with the phrase, "Have you got that?", just to check that he hasn't confused you because, as he points out, his display and the stories behind it are a lot to take in at once. In the photo you can see Tom holding a special award, which I think is for bei...

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog