While taking off on a Big Lap of Australia will always be a huge adventure, there are those who make a compelling argument that it isn’t quite as wildly adventurous as it once was.
And veteran nomads like Basil and Bev Powley, now both 80, have the stories – and the photos – to back up their claim.
Back in 1967, when the recently-married couple were both 21, they bought a Valiant AP5 sedan and headed off across the Nullarbor from the WA town of Denmark.
“The Nullarbor in those days was little more than a track with numerous ‘bulldust holes’ and obstacles that made it a serious challenge,” said Basil. “And fuel and accommodation were severely limited.”
Ready for anything: preparing to make a crossing at Barradale, WA
They made it to Adelaide though, bought themselves a 12’9” Viscount caravan … and then began their adventures in earnest. In those early days, they picked up work along the way and made extended stops in Mt Gambier, Geelong, Kyabram, Jindabyne … and Newcastle.
“It was here that our first baby arrived, making it pretty tight in our little caravan,” said Basil. “But we managed!” The now trio then headed north up the coast as far as Cairns, before heading west along predominantly unsealed roads, before reaching Uluru, or Ayers Rock, as it was then called.
Basil, Bev, and little Jo-Anne, loved camping at the ‘Rock’
“The track into ‘The Rock’ was just that – a track, which was high in the middle,” said Basil. “Eventually arriving there, we discovered there were only about four of us there, plus a bloke in a tin shed who was repairing all the exhaust systems that got damaged on the track in.”
The family camped right at the base of the Rock, pitching their ‘tent’, which was actually the annex from their caravan, over a tree limb. Back then, climbing the Rock was viewed as a rite of passage, and Basil and Bev didn’t want to miss out.
“We left our daughter, JoAnne, at the base of the Rock with a kind lady we had only just met the day before,” said Basil. “We wouldn’t do something like that these days!”
The family continued heading west along unsealed roads accumulating adventures as they went. At one point, they suffered a quick succession of punctures and rapidly used up their two spares.
Despite hardly any traffic, Basil managed to hitch the 100 kilometres to Kununurra, get a replacement tyre, and then hitch back to the stranded vehicle just in time.
“I was most relieved,” said Basil. “As was Bev!”
From there, there were multiple hair-raising river crossings, and ‘miraculous’ manoeuvrings around bogged vehicles on flooded sections of the road between Onslow and Barradale.
“In those days finding a place to camp overnight was never a problem,” said Basil. “There was no fencing on the main roads, so any track leading off the main road was fine.”
In the years since, Basil and Bev – who now tow a 20’ Bushtracker – have taken many more caravanning adventures, including trips to Mitchell Falls, Cape York, and along the Warburton Track … but that first ever adventure will always hold a very special place in their hearts.
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