Meet Sharon & Paul

In 1985, Paul Smedley grabbed his mates Rex the staffy and Doug the brickie, loaded up the 1980 Toyota Troop Carrier and Jayco pop-up caravan, and headed off on an adventure around Australia.

This trip was a very typical blokey adventure, catching fish, crays, crabs, yabbies, abalone, wild pigs and buffalo. Surfing and boating the Australian coastline, four wheel driving the remote parts of this rugged landscape and meeting the various locals and colourful personalities along the way. Always in a Toyota of sorts, Paul travelled using various types of camp trailers and caravans and never without a boat. Paul continued his travels, until 10 years later discovered his partner in nomadic life, me.

Initially Paul took me on a 3 month adventure to the Northern Territory to woo me over with a visit to Kakadu National Park. However, it wasn't all romance. I had to endure sleepless nights feeding hundreds of hungry mozzies and midgees in bush camps by the Mary and Daly Rivers, whilst Paul was on a mission to catch a metre plus barramundi. Not to mention lacking the comforts of a toilet and shower!

After my introduction to how much this beautiful country has to offer, we embarked on yet another trip that lasted almost 5 years. For over half of this particular endeavour, we bushcamped without the luxuries of caravan parks. This was not only for financial reasons, many bush camps are "location, location". This setup was somewhat more female friendly with a toilet and shower. I did make use of the shower, however I had to remove fishing rods and tackle boxes out of the cubicle first. As for the toilet, it became a permanent storage unit for lures and reels!

We are now back in the comforts of our home (including my beloved bathroom) and are now contemplating our next big adventure. We encourage anyone who wants to have a go, to go for it.

So cheers and Happy Nomading. Maybe even see you somewhere out there,

Paul and Sharon Smedley