My first memories of heading off on an adventure are from 1975. Cyclone Tracy has ripped through Darwin on Christmas Day 1974 and the city was still off limits to outsiders. We had set off from Wheelers Hill in an EJ Holden sedan, Mum and Dad, three kids under 8 and our faithful dog Tanji.

Mum and Dad had taken three months long service leave and were taking us around Australia. My grandparents also joined us with their brand new Kombi that they’d imported directly from Germany. This was an amazing challenge for my parents and on the car as the majority of the Princes Highway was still just a dirt road. Read more