Getting reading to hitchhike the roads of Autralia.

Use this forum to chat about anything to do with travelling.
needtoescape
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 26, 2013 10:53 am

Getting reading to hitchhike the roads of Autralia.

Postby needtoescape » Tue Nov 26, 2013 11:41 am

Hello all, this is my first post on the forum so I would like to introduce myself, my name is James I'm 26 years old and I live in Australia. I am planning a very long trip on the roads here in AUS im actually wanting to make the road my home and never return. I have purchased my self a decent pack and i'm slowly getting all the bits and pieces I need to live on the road. Now one question I have for you all is, if I'm out on a very long stretch of road for a few days and my water is running low what should I do? the one thing that scares me about this journey is running out of water or not been able to find water.

I have recently watched a documentary on a Australian bloke who has lived on the roads for 30 years, he does not use any money and does not except lifts off anyone, he walks all over Australia sleeping on the sides of roads and highways, the only food he eats is what he finds on the side of the road and he drinks from old discarded coke bottles he finds on the side of the road he has also drank from puddles of water and dams, this man seems relatively healthy, he does not look skinny he looks quite fit to me, in the documentary he said he lived of baked beans and tins of spaghetti, what I don't understand is were does he get his tinned food with no money while living on the road?

These are my two main concerns while been out on the road food and water, Chris seemed to be able to find food and water, this Australian bloke seemed to be able to find food and water, I just don't understand how these inspiring people with no money when in remote places find food and water and survive.

It would be good to here from others to get ideas thank you for your time James.

Max
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:35 am

Re: Getting reading to hitchhike the roads of Autralia.

Postby Max » Mon Dec 02, 2013 12:06 pm

I myself have been planning leaving this life and starting anew traveling, i plan on taking a van though here in the us, at least to start. it was my original plan to just go with my survival bag but after 3 years of researching survival i opted to drive.. at least till i find a good spot to homestead... if ever. when it comes to water there are many ways, rule #1 always have a few ways to make fire and a pot to boil in. also if your not near a water source bring garbage bags and wrap trees and bushes to collect dew and evaporation. learn how to make a solar still to recycle urine (easier than it sounds). some roots can be chewed to extract the water from them. while you still have access to a computer look up wild edibles and survival techniques on youtube. the channel "nativesurvival" has alot of good tips. when it comes to food you just need to know the land around you. snare traps placed right could catch you a rabbit. just remember if your relying on traps you will need to set at least 10 a night to have a 10% chance at waking up to breakfast. if you can stock up on multi vitamins chances are you wont be getting all you need on a road diet. try to carry a few protein bars if at all possible when crossing a large area you know may not provide much food energy.know your body and what it needs daily. Traveling this way is all about self reliance, research till your confident you could survive on your own with no help than take your gear on a week long test run before you set out officially. I made up my mind at 25 and im 30 now, im finally ready just saving up for a years worth of car insurance, I have my survival gear as a backup plan if I lead myself away from the van life to the woods again.

SteveSalmon
Posts: 295
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:42 am

Re: Getting reading to hitchhike the roads of Autralia.

Postby SteveSalmon » Mon Dec 02, 2013 4:02 pm

Hello James (G'Day Mate) and welcome to the forum.
Your future journey sounds awesome. I myself would love to make it to Australia one of these days to explore the hell out of your beautiful continent.
As far as your water concern, I'd like to offer this: As long as it rains, you'll have water. Get yourself armed with the knowledge of how to collect it.
There are great items on Amazon.com that you could pick up like a straw system that you can dip right into a water source of practically any kind and
it will filter it for you. There are also gravity fed filters that you can buy as well. Water is a legit concern and if I were you, I'd have some plans of what
to do to get it before you leave. It won't be as hard as you think it will be when you get out there but, at least set off on your journey with a Plan B.
I never do anything or leave home without a Plan B.
Something fun for you might be to try and locate that bloke that was featured in the documentary. If you end up finding him, you just might inherit
everything you need to know through his teachings. Anything is possible.

Here are some links for you to check out:

http://www.amazon.com/Vestergaard-Frandsen-527950-LifeStraw-Personal-Filter/dp/B006QF3TW4/ref=sr_1_4?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1385999638&sr=1-4&keywords=water+filter+backpacking

http://www.amazon.com/Potable-Aqua-Water-Treatment-Tablets/dp/B001949TKS/ref=sr_1_6?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1385999699&sr=1-6&keywords=water+filter+backpacking

http://www.amazon.com/Camelbak-Rogue-Hydration-Pack-Dress/dp/B004382NCI/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1386000087&sr=1-5&keywords=camelbak

And my personal favorite and not just because I have it is:

http://www.amazon.com/MSR-56500-HyperFlow-Microfilter/dp/B00187CZ0W/ref=sr_1_6?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1385999771&sr=1-6&keywords=water+filter+backpacking

I filtered and drank the waters of the Teklanika river with that fine filter.

My other small piece of advice would be to do small trips first to get familiar with what you really need and how to use and perfect what you have.
As far as food goes, there is plenty that you can take with you that is lightweight, some of my favorite meals come from Mountain House meals.

Good luck on your journey my Friend.

~Steve Salmon

bones
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:25 pm

Re: Getting reading to hitchhike the roads of Autralia.

Postby bones » Tue Jan 07, 2014 3:15 am

needtoescape wrote:These are my two main concerns while been out on the road food and water, Chris seemed to be able to find food and water, this Australian bloke seemed to be able to find food and water, I just don't understand how these inspiring people with no money when in remote places find food and water and survive.


It's not that hard to survive with little money. You just need the right equipment and the discipline to survive on somewhat meager amounts of food and comfort.

I have a little experience living out of a backpack. One thing I learned is that you really want things related to survival to be as easy as possible. Walking everywhere is already hard enough. So when you need to eat, sleep or drink, you don't want any problems. Australia or any desert is going to be a hard place to travel. Unless you are near a lake or river all the time, you are going to have to map out your route so that you will be able to collect water.

If you are near civilization, you have more options. You can buy water or get it from dams/etc. [But filter it first] It will definitely be easier, but you will still have to plan your route.

I would recommend hiking a long distance trail if you are want to be mostly in nature. Here's a list of trails:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_long-distance_hiking_tracks_in_Australia

Also, does anyone know how Chris survived when he was on the Baja peninsula? How did he get water?

Servicenwy
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2016 6:14 pm
Location: Portugal
Contact:

Getting reading to hitchhike the roads of Autralia

Postby Servicenwy » Mon Nov 07, 2016 8:46 pm

Hi guys Im flying over to Christchurch on the 30th from Heathrow to start my new job : just wondering if any one was getting the same flight so I had someone to talk to hahah. :


Return to “Travelling”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest