You know how sometimes an idea gets stuck in your head and the harder you try to make it go way it just gets stronger? Well that happened to me after a trip into the Queensland outback last winter school holidays. I came back thinking how awesome it was being on the road and showing my family the real Australia.

12 months in the making is about to become a reality because next week we leave for the 'Big Lap'. I've taken all my long service and annual leave and stretched it out to 14 months away from home. My beautiful, loving and understanding wife is quitting her job and my 5 year old boy is going to be home-schooled by us and by life itself.

There's no room to carry windsurfing gear so when reach the West Australian coast I'll be hitting you guys up for good spots to setup camp which have access to rental gear.

If anyone wanted to see our rig or was interested in following our trip I've recently setup a FB page called Three Escape Together, here's a link www.facebook.com/threeescapetogether/ We are avid 4 Wheel Drivers and campers so expect us to get a little further off the beaten tourist tracks that the average nomad, which could result in a few misadventures along the way

Get out there, see Australia, live the dream.
Cheers, Scott.

Make sure you hit FNQ in winter too, although maybe that's where you are from?

Can you kite? It makes the gear problem less of a problem.

For WA, the only windsurfing hire that I have seen around is hiring boards from 2nd wind in Perth, and then up at Lancelin, although I am not sure that is there anymore.

Scott, mate..."The wife"!!! c'mon dude. it should read, "my beautiful, loving and understanding wife....." I'm sure she is a lot more than a convenient object.

anyhow i envy what you're about to do. Drive safe and absorb our great land

unfortunately i'm still trying to finance the dream

Mass education fool, there is no Western Australia. The road from SA curves back and forth ever so slightly that is takes such a long time to drive there. It's really the west coast of South Australia.

Select to expand quote

Vince68 said..
Scott, mate..."The wife"!!! c'mon dude. it should read, "my beautiful, loving and understanding wife....." I'm sure she is a lot more than a convenient object.

anyhow i envy what you're about to do. Drive safe and absorb our great land

unfortunately i'm still trying to finance the dream

Haha, 100% correct and fixed up now !

Not all of them would allow such an adventure would they?

Select to expand quote

FormulaNova said..
Can you kite? It makes the gear problem less of a problem.

I was kite curious when it first came out in the nineties. I even tried it with a mate a few times but these days I'm a happily married windsurfer.

Well done, we are currently three months in on our 10 month lap, home school and the school of life for the young fella.
Fishing and red wine in the Coorong atm, just watched a seal cruise by....ah the serenity!

Select to expand quote

knot board said..

FormulaNova said..
Can you kite? It makes the gear problem less of a problem.

I was kite curious when it first came out in the nineties. I even tried it with a mate a few times but these days I'm a happily married windsurfer.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It takes a lot to have confidence in your gender and still kite

...but, I got sick of carrying lots of boards and sails all the time, and sailing got a bit boring for me. I got carve gybing sorted out, but don't have the guts to sort out duck gybing.

So, I have been 'learning to kite' for a long time now, and already I appreciate the less bulky gear you need. The eye opener for me was that I could kite on a 12m or 14m when I couldn't really get planing on an 8.5m sail. If the 14m is too small for super light wind, I now have a 17m as well. If that's too small, I need a boat instead.