Where do you go when your dreams die?

[Hughmac]

My wife and I have indulged in the pleasures of car camping over the last five years, and really enjoy it immensely. You can get as close or as far from people as you please, and really immerse yourself in interesting places. We've chosen a variety of remote national parks and regional towns, and have loved every minute of it. As noted elsewhere here, you can often find a variety of day walks if that takes your fancy. I highly recommend it, good for the soul.

[jobell]

Hey Moondog.

Well in my case I retreat, regroup, plot and plan. There may just be some sulking somewhere in there as well....haha. What's that saying...."when one door closes another opens?" I live in fear of the day my legs give up the ghost. I have nursed them on now for many years. I have a back up plan though...lots of kayaking.

Hang in there!

All the best.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[wallwombat]

Have more than one hobby.

For me, one good days's climbing will help to make up for a missed weekend of walking. One big Cod will help make up for a missed weekend of climbing. Going for a run with my dog will help make up for not going fishing. Getting that great photo at sunset will help to make up missing that great shot I didn't get at sunrise.

Never let your dreams die.

It's all about perspective

[Moondog55]

Well maybe a winter back country trip in New Zealand then?
I just wouldn't need all the cold weather gear I have acquired, not to -50 anyway

[Ms_Mudd]

I am sorry I didn't notice this thread until tonight.

I reckon the pneumonia has knocked you for six, your system is so depleted from fighting off a nasty bacteria that your body is tiiiired and that sort of whole body fatigue is not going to do wonders for your head space. Coupled with fare welling the idea of Canada/Alaska, it's no wonder you are in a bit of a funk.

You are such a valuable community member here and I love that you are always so generous of spirit with your knowledge. I feel so lucky that you loaned me the kids bag for our last trip and have always been at the ready to help with ideas and suggestions to my various other MYOG projects or helping me learn more about snow time adventures. You are a kind and generous person who has much to offer to those less experienced. I like the idea suggested above, about jotting down some of that knowledge, you have a lot to share.

Some car based camping really isn't a bad idea at all. You could roadtrip new places and do some walking as you feel up to it, from your car camping base. So many amazing places to be seen that may not have been on your radar previously when you were looking for more 'serious' walks. Then reassess where you are at with it all in 6 months, a year, whenever. It will take you a good while to recover your full physical health, so potter about and make roadside cuppas with a pretty view for awhile. It doesn't have to be instead of your walking and snow camping adventures, just something to do for now and see how you feel about it all down the track.

[trekker76]

I had a chronic medical complaint at one point and sold off a lot of my outdoors gear which including not only hiking but hunting and scoping. Then it resolved completely and I had to re-accumulate it all again. Next time I promised myself no financial decisions due to mood, short term forecasts or similar. Even if I lose my arms and legs I will keep the gear as a keepsake because knowing my luck they would grow back after I sell the last item.

[Neo]

Moondog how about a cruise to Antarctica instead?

[Moondog55]

I haven't won the lottery yet Neo.

[Moondog55]

I think that this time next year would be good to do Tassie and a couple of the classic tracks. Cecile can stay in the lodge and drink cups of herb tea and read books while I walk off a few kilos.

[Warin]

Cecile can stay in the lodge and drink cups of herb tea and read books while I walk off a few kilos.

More to do in Launceston. And probably cheaper to say in as well.

[tas-man]

. . . Also I think having an atypical pneumonia that will not go away isn't helping, now taking what I think is my 5th course of antibiotics and still feeling sick/achey/lethargic/tired because of that. <snip>

You are most likely suffering from mild depression triggered by the infection causing your pneumonia and the resulting inflamation. I had a similar situation back in 2012-13 where in late winter 2012 I had a viral infection that developed into pneumonia that took four courses of antibiotics to clear it. For the next six months, I gave away work projects because I felt I just couldn't handle the work load (I was self employed) and on some mornings, I did not feel like getting out of bed until lunchtime. A few months later, when I had my next annual "bloke" checkup with my GP and recounted how I had been feeling, he immediately said I was most likely suffering from mild depression, and in time I would get through it without needing medication if I just paced myself and took things a bit easy. I took part in a Wildcare working bee on Tasman Island over Easter 2013 and that is when I first remembered feeling "normal" again. So take it as easy as you can, and do some different things with your friends that won't tax your limited energy reserves and you will get back to feeling your old self.

TED Talk "Is depression an infectious disease?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dD29XHp6CU

[johnrs]

Could I suggest a nursing home??
Sorry
John

[sim1oz]

Hey Moondog,
Two suggestions:
1. Let's organise another car camping trip. Our kids still reminisce about Mt Franklin and are super keen to get out camping asap. Can we bribe your beloved to join us? It was great meeting other forum memberslast time.
2. Start planning a warmer weather multi-night walk? Give me a call and I'll let you know my list for the Spring/Summer.
Feel better!!!
Sim1

[Moondog55]

Hey Sim I might leave the organisation of that to Cecile but I am in favour of the idea. The last forum gather was a lot of fun

[Moondog55]

So I see some car camping in the future. We just bought a biggish but strong car camping tent.
What about Mount Franklin over the 4 day Melbourne Cup weekend?
We might be able to get some stuff organised in advance for that even if we can't yet afford a big group dome shelter in case it rains

[stry]

A few of these responses are are a wee bit technical and introspective for me.

My strategy has been, and will continue to be, to adjust and adapt.

EG: Pick the weather. Avoid rigid goals and schedules. Shorter trips which require less food and gear. Trekking poles.

We can still get a lot done, just not as much as in the past, and not as quickly as in the past

[Moondog55]

Well a few months and the Covid-19 lockdown means some hard thinking about the destashing that goes along with no longer going somewhere stupidly cold like Denali in winter.
The lavvu and the -55C sleeping bag are going to be headed for Canada in the next few days and the Red Rabbit half bag bought as an UL booster and emergency bag is headed to California to add to a young mountaineers kit. The money I get back will disappear quickly in house maintenance and maybe a new HT amplifier.
Might even decide I really don't need the Nunatak overquilt now and try and sell that too. Use the money to buy components to build some really spectacular speakers

[Mark F]

So I see some car camping in the future.

This is something I am doing more of. I just managed to get in 3 weeks in Tassie in March before everything closed down. 10 days on the west coast then across to see relatives at Port Arthur before a few nights at Friendly beaches and up near Mathinna. The Spirit of Tas is moving berths to Geelong from Melbourne so very easy for you to slip across.

I have spent the last couple of years slowly refining my car camping setup - it becomes a blend of vehicle and gear. I don't want a big gas guzzler 4wd and I like my Forester so space and weight become important. While I am a gram weeny when walking, it also is an issue as one ages. Many camp sites you can't camp next to the vehicle so carrying bits and pieces even 20 metres can be an issue. So I use 2kg gas bottles rather than a 4.5 or 9kg bottle (I have a professional decanting kit so I fill them from the 9kg bottle attached to the house bbq), a 44 A/h battery to run the fridge etc. A small standup canvas tent under 10kg, light enough to throw up on the roof rack. Everything packs into the back of the car below window height and the back seats and foot wells hold clothes, water (30 litres), batteries, gas bottles and inflatable kayak. It has been fun working through and putting together all the systems, sourcing the gear, often off gumtree, aldi etc so minimum cost.

[Moondog55]

I should put some of this money aside for a very small trailer to keep the robust and weatherproof car camping gear in. Of course I have been talking about doing so for ages now but Cecile is going to retire in a year or two and we have talked about renting out the house and hitting the road for a year or two

[Biggles]

I should put some of this money aside for a very small trailer to keep the robust and weatherproof car camping gear in. Of course I have been talking about doing so for ages now but Cecile is going to retire in a year or two and we have talked about renting out the house and hitting the road for a year or two

Good luck with that, it's a widely held dream in Australia, but also costly. But you will need more than rental income to hit the road "for a year or two".

A few nomads I have come across have sold their house and bought a luxe van, but as I will note in the following paragraph, they often cut short travels to return to base or settle down long-term in a caravan park somewhere because of the cost.

I have travelled around Australia three times (2011, 2015, 2017), with 2011 costing $23,000, 2015 $18.400 and 2017 $23,000 (6 months duration). The major cost is fuel and repair expenses, and the further away from regional centres you travel, the higher it all gets, particularly diesel (my car only takes Premium unleaded 98/100 or E85 (not recommended though), and fuel in the NT has reached astronomical levels earlier this year (coming down — slowly, now). Trailers/campers are problematic in places like the Pilbara and Gascoyne costs of WA and around Ningaloo Reeef where you are packed cheek-by-jowl, same thing around upper NT e.g. Daly Waters especially, the most cramped and ridiculous place for green or grey nomads, so close together that no awnings and sometimes no doors can be opened!! The Park doesn't care, it's money in the bank...

Plan on car-based camping, no trailer or van (my first was with a 17.5 footer which was a pain just about everywhere and was sold off after first trip in 2011). Get a V6, but not a diesel if you don't want to be crippled by the high cost compared to PULP. Camping gear in back, nothing on roof or towbar (if fitted). No hassle or penalty on fuel economy (I get 4.2L/100 with a SV6 Sportwagon at highway/freeway speeds -- better than my brother's super-duper VW Tiguan!!).

[Moondog55]

Well we can't change the vehicle we have and Cecile likes her comfort far too much to not take a trailer, and we don't mind traveling slowly.
In many parts of the country we will prop at relatives places for a day or so too, reciprocating for all the time they have spent down here.
Cash strapped mates have done it on a tank of petrol per pension payment and free camping where possible [ yeah less so these days I know] and maybe taking 3 or 4 years to get all the way around and working where they could find work, picking vegetables mainly
Weekly rental on the house would approximate 4 tanks of diesel at current NT prices
Gotta have your dreams tho. My parents did a lot of it by taking tour buses into the crazy places and parking their own car securely in the tour bus car-park. And if things change and we can't go I'll have find a different short term dream.
Re the new Tassie ferry terminal near our house, we hope so as it means they will finally have to fix the current nightmare of the road and rail intersection which is one of the worst in Victoria and North Shore rail station might get the toilets back after 30 years, I did wonder why the surveyors were out in force last month, the road will need to be widened considerably and the bridge widened and reinforced at the same time. Not going to be cheap and I can see our rates going up to pay for it all.
Maybe we can put up tents in the back yard and provide breakfast for bushwalkers

[Biggles]

Re the new Tassie ferry terminal near our house, we hope so as it means they will finally have to fix the current nightmare of the road and rail intersection which is one of the worst in Victoria and North Shore rail station might get the toilets back after 30 years, I did wonder why the surveyors were out in force last month, the road will need to be widened considerably and the bridge widened and reinforced at the same time. Not going to be cheap and I can see our rates going up to pay for it all.
Maybe we can put up tents in the back yard and provide breakfast for bushwalkers

What "Tassie ferry terminal near our house"...??
I know you're in Norlane; my home base is in Highton (and Dad worked in North Shore for many years long ago), but what is referred to with the ferry terminal??

[Moondog55]

The new Tassie ferry terminal will be next to the wood chip terminal using the Roll-on/ roll-off wharf . To the North of the wheat silos, where the old freezer works used to be. Right on the old road by the water. I was referencing Mark F's comments a few posts above.
If you use the link and look at the cover page photo you can see the area the ferry terminal will occupy The whole Southern side of Corio quay
https://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/com ... 20Plan.pdf

[Biggles]

I can't actually mentally place the road being referred to, but I do know of the Quay area from so many trips on V/Line where the train goes past.
So there are two ferry terminals, one in Port Melbourne (infuriating to get to and hang around in) and the Quay area??
Ever tried queuing in Port Melbourne for the Spirit when one or two cruise ships are also in port? Nowhere to park, and where you can park, you're charged a kidney for 20 minutes!!

Or, if my wild fantasy rises up within, is the ferry shifting hook, line and sinker to the Quay? If so, I would be very, very, very excited. A trip to Tassie — finally, after a 15 year hiatus!!!

_________________________________________________________________________________
EDIT:
I've just searched the Geelong Advertiser and found an article;
Incredibly, they're shifting from Port Melbourne to Geelong with a 30 year lease. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!

[Moondog55]

I can't actually mentally place the road being referred to,

Or, if my wild fantasy rises up within, is the ferry shifting hook, line and sinker to the Quay? If so, I would be very, very, very excited. A trip to Tassie — finally, after a 15 year hiatus!!!

_________________________________________________________________________________
EDIT:
I've just searched the Geelong Advertiser and found an article;
Incredibly, they're shifting from Port Melbourne to Geelong with a 30 year lease. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!

Yep
Now the road in question hugs the curve of the bay between the rail line and the water.
We are looking forward to the greater economic activity in the area, it has been so very depressed for the past 20 years. And we might actually be able to do some minor catering for fellow bushwalkers as we are a only kilometre or so from there.

[Biggles]

I can't actually mentally place the road being referred to,

Or, if my wild fantasy rises up within, is the ferry shifting hook, line and sinker to the Quay? If so, I would be very, very, very excited. A trip to Tassie — finally, after a 15 year hiatus!!!

_________________________________________________________________________________
EDIT:
I've just searched the Geelong Advertiser and found an article;
Incredibly, they're shifting from Port Melbourne to Geelong with a 30 year lease. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!

Yep
Now the road in question hugs the curve of the bay between the rail line and the water.
We are looking forward to the greater economic activity in the area, it has been so very depressed for the past 20 years. And we might actually be able to do some minor catering for fellow bushwalkers as we are a only kilometre or so from there.

Despite having lived in Corio (Florida Avenue) from 1961 to 1977, my memory serves me poorly for that somewhat distant area of the south, with my only recollection being the large wharf area and woodchip (?) pile...I have not ever been down that way by foot, horse, bike or car so I don't know what the road being referred to is. When I have a more stable net connection I will hook up with Google Maps.

All that aside, I am enthusiastically looking forward to the Spirit of Tassie setting up in its new home which will make it so very much easier for people from the southern area to get to the terminal, compared to the oft-reported chaos and grievances (lack of facilities!) of Port Melbourne. Seems the new service won't be up and running until...2021 some time, maybe sooner?

[stry]

I think I get it.

The poxy gin palaces are pushing the ferry from Port Melbourne to Geelong, so now I will need to drive an extra hour or more to get to the ferry.

C'est la vie.

[Moondog55]

Actually if you take the Ring-Road out of rush hour and discount the time spent farting around in Port Melbourne it might in fact take you an hour less. 2022 is when I expect it to be opening for business, with luck anyway. I think part of the delay might be getting the design right for the new ferries.

[Mark F]

I welcome the move as it avoids the issues with Port Melbourne traffic and the weird dance along the narrow lanes and awkward intersections my gps insists is the route from the toll way to the terminal. It adds about 35 minutes (55km) to the drive from Canberra so I will leave at 10am rather than 10:30 but also saves a bit on the road tolls.

[Moondog55]

Seriously we could do something here with overnite accommodation and breakfast for people who were interested, even if it is a tent in the back yard.
We'd probably accept payment in PIF tokens for out trip around the country.
It would save people last minute stress as you could walk from our house to the new terminal in less than an hour and the drive takes 3 to 5 minutes