Aussie 4WD couple reveal unglamorous reality of camping around Australia
Two Aussie adventurers have lifted the lid on the darker side of travelling the country, saying there's 'no way to sugarcoat it'.
Chucking a 'lap' of Australia is an experience most Aussies hope to tick off their bucket list one day, with Grey Nomads making up a large portion of the travelling community. But as camping, 4WDing and caravanning grow in popularity, younger people are saying goodbye to traditional work and lifestyle trajectories to join the growing trend.
And you don't have to go far to see picture-perfect scenes of campers waking up to sunrises on empty beaches and idyllic outback settings on social media. It's enough for many to contemplate quitting their day job to hit the road. But one young couple has lifted the lid on some of the brutal and unspoken realities of life on the road which left them wanting to cancel their trip altogether.
Gold Coast couple Jess Wilcox and Mitch Azzopardi, both 24, were saving for a house deposit when they decided to use the money for a trip of a lifetime around Australia instead.
They headed off in their simple set up of a Toyota HiLux with a rooftop tent in March, 2023 and have since made their way across NSW, Queensland, the Northern Territory and WA, sharing their adventures on their social media account Tripping on Oz as they go.
"We are often told we’re living the dream life, which we personally agree with, but we also know the reality of it would be some people's worst nightmare," Wilcox told Yahoo News Australia.
Swarms of flies, and midges leave couple 'crying and swearing'
In Western Australia, the couple faced "unbearable" flies and in Karrajini National Park they were hit with "the worst" mosquitoes along with suffering insect bites, scrapes and twisted ankles.
"It’s rough. There’s no way to sugarcoat it," she said. "Whether it’s the flies, mosquitoes, march flies or midges, they are all terrible in their own ways.
"The hardest part is trying to cook and prepare food with the flies. There have been times we eat our lunch sitting in the car, plenty of times we’ve skipped lunch altogether to avoid the stress, and we are no stranger to setting up the tent while it’s still daylight to escape and have a break.
"I have cried, sworn and wanted to cancel the trip on many occasions, which may sound dramatic but until you’ve experienced these conditions for days/weeks on end, you just won’t understand."
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Couple wants travellers to be 'made aware' of camping reality
The couple explained they wanted to share a more authentic version of their trip, rather than focusing on the Instagram-perfect moments, of which they say there have been many.
"Thinking back to when we did our own research before our lap, we didn’t see anything about the horrendous flies in some parts of Australia," she said.
"While this isn’t something that would deter us from doing the trip, it was quite a rude shock and not something we were mentally prepared for. We feel as though travellers should be made aware of this because camping in the Australian conditions will really test your patience and requires much perseverance."
Despite the setbacks, Wilcox said she wouldn't change a thing and could write a book about all the amazing experiences the couple have had.
"It’s only been like this for 1% of the trip, the rest has been amazing and the good experiences well and truly outweigh the bad," she said, adding "we’re so quick to jump on a plane to explore other countries and often forget what’s at our doorstep."
While they admit many wouldn't be comfortable in their small tent, they would recommend the adventure to anyone.
As for the future, the couple who initially planned 12 months for their adventure, are continuing their journey for "however long it takes". In the meantime, they are staying in Perth to work until they can rebuild their savings for the next leg of their trip.
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