Who I am
G'day.
The name is Mick and I live on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. I absolutely froff travelling Australia, and have a desire to continue travelling for many years to come. I have an amazing daughter who accompanies me on some of my travels, and if not her, then my incredible partner is always keen to jump into the passenger seat.
My style of travel is virtually non-stop. Long hours behind the wheel, but taking as much in as I possibly can. I always intentionally miss something along the journey, to give me a reason to go back there. I will purposely plan a trip to go past as many iconic pubs and KFC outlets in this country. VB. Zinger Stacker. I'd move to Mt Dare in a heart-beat if I could.
When I'm not travelling, I'm behind a laptop architecturing technical solutions for customers as an IT Manager / Consultant. Outside of that, I'm glued to paper maps or watching the mighty Hawthorn Hawks dominate their opposition each weekend!
The short version
Name: Mick
Age: 39
Occupation: IT Manager
Hobbies: Travelling Australia, AFL, Cricket, F1
Favourite Location: Mt Dare Hotel + Simpson Desert
How this started
Well, I had set a goal when I was the age of 38 to travel across all of the deserts in Australia by the age of 40. Now, this goal hasn't been achieved due to road closures and other factors in life. It also started when my daughter said she wanted to go to Uluru, so we did!
TODO
Why a Troopy
I'll lay my two cents down here - I don't believe there's a better two person touring vehicle available in Australia (perhaps Ineos Grenadier?). The Troopy is a bare shell and begging for customisation, which is why I chose it in the end. Plenty of space for a liveable fitout, as well as the ability to cut the roof off and put a roof conversion on. It's an incredibly reliable vehicle with spares all over the country. Fuel economy isn't great, but I have 180L of it so who cares? haha. What I will say though, is I probably wouldn't have purchased a Troopy if it were the 2.8L variant.
What I'm doing now
Writing this sentence....but on a serious note, planning for two trips. One into the Flinders Ranges (+ Lake Eyre + Painted Desert + Coober Pedy + Eyre Peninsula), and another for the Canning Stock Route.
Things people ask
Frequently asked
Do you live in it full time?
No, but yes. Effectively all my belongings exist within or on the vehicle. The fridge in the vehicle is used as my only fridge for drinks and food, and any cooking I do is from the vehicle's equipment. I do however sleep in a house!
What does a trip like this cost?
Every trip is different. A large portion of the trip cost is fuel. Basically I just add 5L to my standard highway fuel economy to determine this. Cost of food would typically be more expensive in these remote areas that I travel, but I barely eat when I'm driving long days so it's probably less than what it would be if I stayed home.
Do you travel alone?
Yes and no. My amazing daughter has accompanied me on a number of these trips; however, she's not overly interested in the outback trips that I love. My partner on the other hand is very keen to explore this beautiful country of ours with me in the very near future! I often go on short trips away by myself, and have no issue travelling alone.
What camera do you use?
Whatever phone is in my hand. Previously Samsung Galaxy S23, and now Oppo Find X9. I'm absolutely shithouse at photography, but I do have plans to get better at it!
Get in touch
The fastest way to reach me is a DM on Instagram. I read everything, and I'll always answer a question about a track I've driven.