Au revoir...

Busy week at work with a bit of weekend work even, which didn’t allow for a timely blog update.
Last week despite the offers of actually ‘normal’ accommodation, I have instead chosen to stick with the ute surfing. I am a little concerned at how easily I dismiss these options and instead prefer the ‘path less travelled’… It is just easier as I can come and go when I please and don’t have to worry about aligning this with other people’s plans.
Despite having finished the alphabet quest I have decided to keep moving around and trying out some new suburbs. On Monday I ventured over to Hawthorne. There are some awesome views over that way of the city lights. Quite a good night’s sleep too.
Tuesday night was an interesting one as I had a early morning appointment with the dentist. Spent the night in Balmoral and I was hoping for a bit of a sleep in. I had found a night quiet area which I was thinking would see minimal morning traffic. Unfortunately there were a lot of crows keeping me from my plan. Farken mongrel things… I didn’t think the dentist would appreciate it if I just turned up straight from the tray of the ute so I had to freshen up a bit beforehand. In a masterstroke of ingenuity I turned up down at Coorparoo pool and for the princely sum of $2 was able to have a long hot shower and fresh up accordingly.
Wednesday and Thursday I took the easy option and just stayed around Coorparoo. I dare say I will do much the same this week too.
Yes, indeed I did stay in Coorparoo and surrounds the following week. I moved around to different areas in Coorparoo at least...
Well folks this is the end of the line. Well, at least until I get back and take up where I left off! I am toying with the idea of a canopy even. The jury is still out on that one though…
I thought to sign off I might reminisce, the initial excitement, a few tribulations and lessons along the way and the overall success of the venture! So with that in mind here we go…

Best Location: Galloway's Hill.
Quietest Location: Ormiston.
Noisiest Location: Queen St, CBD.
Wettest night: Night 1 in Coorparoo with the tailgate open.
Funniest Incident: Popping up in the morning and startling early morning risers.
Surprising Locations: Virginia, Indooroopilly, Jindalee, Highgate Hill.
Dodgiest Location: Zillmere.

That is it for now. I think the efforts of the past few months have me in good stead for the roughing I am going to be doing in the French Alps on le tour. I am going to put all my faith in my ability to meet locals and get a bed at theirs for the night. If they throw in a single daughter they are trying to marry off, so much the better.

X marks the spot...

Mission accomplished - the alphabet from A to Z. The last letter ‘X’ presented me with a few issues, namely the fact no one has yet had the foresight to name a suburb Xanadu… I walked down the aisle many moons ago with Xanadu being belted out on the pipe organ – way cool. But I digress…

So with that out, I had to get the thinking cap out... Staying in the valley was suggested due to the XXX nature of the place, but it was not the sort of place I wanted to park the truck for the night. I looked up Xerox and was initially going to camp outside their Brisbane office in Westend. Then one night I had a revelation - why not this place!



It defies all my previous logic of a good location – railway line, well lit street, no other vehicles parked and lots of through traffic. To further complicate the issue there was a 24 hr McDonalds and 24 hr service station across the road. I basically had to climb in the tray under the watchful, hopefully distracted, eyes of the XXXX gate guards. During the course of the night there were 31 semi-trailers, like the one above, that rumbled past my bed and shook me awake. Surprisingly I still managed to get a good night’s sleep in. The morning tray exit was a hard one too. Being an industrialised area that starts the day early, I climbed out of the back in full view of a few amused on-lookers.

Nearly there...

View Utesurf in a larger map

Back to the main game this week and getting the last few letters crossed off. I arrived back in Brisbane late Sunday night and as I was Northside, I thought I would get about finishing off a couple of what I had deemed 'dodgy' suburbs.
Sunday night I stayed in Virginia and I was surprised how nice it actually turned out to be. I was expecting much of the same the following night considering Zillmere is a neighbouring suburb. Alas, I think Zillmere might be the wrong side of the tracks... Had some very bad vibes in Zillmere and couldn't wait to get out of there. There were a lot of people walking around my first location and I thought it was best I moved on. I wasn't in the back so easy enough to do.
The next location had some mangy mongrel barking obviously aware of my plans. I was hoping he would eventually quieten down but no, the little farker kept at it. Wish I still had the shu-roo on the front to annoy the little farker before I moved on to my third location in the one night! The final location was fine and very quiet so all ended up well.
Night three saw me quite relieved to be back in the deep South. Well as deep as Tarrigindi can be. The last night was Yeronga by the river. What a nice area. If I was to ever want quiet suburbia, this would be the place. Awoken the next morning by hordes of cyclists. There was no way I could get out of the tray without some of them seeing me, but nothing was said.
Next week is a short week again with the public holiday so probably only the three nights in the tray. Only have the letter X left but am struggling to work out a suitable location with no suburbs starting with X. I am sure I can come up with something...

The Hills are alive

Not with music as one may expect, but homeless men, with utes...

View Utesurf in a larger map

With a week of rain forecasted, this week was not going to be the most comfortable. With still plenty of time to finish off the alphabet, I thought I might slightly digress from the plan this week and sleep in ‘the hills’. Cue the banjos…
The first night was spent in the lovely suburb of Seven Hills. I have driven through Seven Hills quite a few times but have never actually spent the night. Awesome views to the city lights although I imagine the trade-off is looking straight into the Summer Western sun. Unfortunately it also seems to be directly under the airport flightpath.
Camp Hill was night two and more rain. Cannon Hill meant a lot more rain again but I was still able to stay dry. Highgate Hill was a revelation. What a fantastic place. It reminds me a lot of the Wollstonecraft / Waverton area I used to knock around in Sydney, well, without the harbour, national parks and views of a big bridge… This will definitely make the short list when I once again decide to join the rat-race. Fourth night in a row with rain. A side benefit of the rain is it at least keeps the undesirables indoors so it has security benefits.
I am off to Bowen Hills tonight to complete the week in the hills.
That is it for this week. I am sick of this rain and am heading to Melbourne to escape it. Oh wait… No, with a proper roof over my head I am sure I will cope.
It seems my idea is catching on with all sorts now deciding to join me on the rough streets.

Dogs are talking

Big week in the ute this week with five nights. As a few punters have been keen to remind me, my locations so far have been very Southside-centric, well, until now...
Started the week on Sunday night in Queen St in the CBD. With no suburbs starting with the letter Q, I thought this might be the next best thing. Ended up being a pretty crap night's sleep with garbage trucks, delivery trucks and damn street sweepers coming and going all night until daybreak. I was glad to notch it up, but won't be sleeping in the CBD again.
Found a wonderful spot in Paddington and was able to get straight in the tray as there was no real risk of being seen. Had a long and deep sleep to make up for the previous night.
Red Hill was also a wonderful spot and had another long and blissful night of shut eye.
Wednesday night found me up at Mt Coot-tha again with a pizza in tow. It was quite nice sitting up there enjoying the lights and relaxing. I was planning to head somewhere else, maybe Taringa or Toowong for the letter T, but I thought, why go anywhere?
The top carpark was full so I went around the corner and parked in the Eastern carpark and was the only car there. It was a bit of a risk as there was a chance to get a ranger or copper tap, tap, tapping on my window at some stage. It was definately a lot cooler, considering I am only in a tee shirt, but I was able to have a good night's sleep. It was really nice actually listening to the native animals and the wind through the trees.
After four big nights North of the river, I ventured back Southside on the last night this week. Crossed the letter U off thanks to Upper Mt Gravatt. I had some mongrel dog barking, he knew I was there, on and off, and then listening to his owners tell him to shut up. I had parked on the side street next to their house and they came at some stage and parked behind me and started unpacking their van. A bit damn rude I thought, when there were people trying to get to sleep.
As you can see from the alphabet list, I am nearly done! I might drag it out over two more weeks and couple the last few letters with some other random suburbs. See you out there...

The big 'O'

Greetings from a street near you… Had a very lazy week this past one with only the two nights in the back of the ute. After my location oversight the prior week, I ensured that this week I was actually in Morningside, before I settled in for the night. Another fantastic location, nice and quiet. I startled some early riser the next morning when I popped up out of the tray just as she was walking past. Gave her a story for the water cooler that day... The following night I made the long trek down to the Shire in order to get the Ormiston flag for the letter ‘O’. Probably the quietest night’s sleep yet – bliss.
My boss at work, taking pity on my plight, offered me his own house for a few nights whilst he was off on a long weekend. This essentially cut my ute surfing short this week, but I still have plenty of time to get the last few letters.
It would probably be wise here to welcome my first sponsor – ZipTV Cleveland. If you or your company need marketing exsposure drop them a line, and tell them I sent you.
I also found out this week that my lonely little quest is not as unique as I thought it to be. There is an apparent subculture of car dwelling folks down on the Gold Coast. I am not too sure I could do this as long as some of these guys though.
Peace out until next week.

'K.L.M' - Royal Dutch Airlines (nearly)...

Hi all. A short week this one but still managed to get some quality time in the back of the ute. I have found some fantastic places this week to park the ute. Kangaroo Point was a lot quieter than I thought it was going to be. There was a slight dull roar in the distance from traffic on the Storey Bridge, but if anything this actually helped me nod off. Crossed the river again and sorted out my first Northern suburb – Lutwyche.
I also attempted to knock off the letter ‘M’ via Morningside, but went too far down a street of choice, and forgot to verify my location on my phone GPS. Ended up I was in Galloways Hill. This was arguably the best location I have stayed in yet, so will definitely be back at some stage. On a perfect slope, very quiet split street, with a six foot fence on top of a retaining wall blocking me from residents view. Very handy to get to the drop off points for the truck too.
Now, as for the adventures this week…
Started off on Monday night when I was accosted. It was going to happen sooner or later if you believe all the doom merchants, but I bet they didn’t expect it to be from a couple of Mormon elders. These young lads are still out pressing the flesh at 9pm at night! They asked if they could walk with me and then proceeded to tell me I could be saved! I chuckled to myself, and told them they don’t seem to realize who they are dealing with here. They were undeterred and gave me a brochure to read and invited me to come to their temple. I am not sure if the invite extends to putting me up for a few nights, but they have some of the best real estate in Brisbane, so maybe after a big session in town, I can drag some young lady to their pad to spend the night partying…
So much for not eating well! I dined at the Hilton on Tuesday night at an industry function, and it was all free. Fresh salmon canapés and grilled prawns washed down with a quality shiraz. That is close to my ultimate meal so I was most pleased.
I also had a strange thing happen when I got back to the truck on Wednesday night. There was an identical ute to mine parked in front of mine. Considering the ute I have is a pretty rare colour (refer YouTube clip below) and there aren’t really that many around, it could have made for an interesting situation if I bedded down in the wrong one.
I have mucked around with some search engine optimization and am now one of the first google hits for ‘sleepless in brisvegas’. See you all next week!