https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/birds-the-inspiration-behind-aussie-travels/3580951/ STARING down the camera lens, with life's simplest pleasures at his disposal, Steve Dew has never felt more alive. Never content with the ordinary lifestyle behind a desk, the former IT manager and his partner, Barbara Mulcair, abandoned the luxuries of everyday life and took on a journey of simplified resources and unlimited beauty. The scope of the camera granted him a unique perspective. "If you just sit in one spot all day everyday your mind doesn't expand, you're not learning things," Steve said. "We all have to work, I know, but somewhere along the line the pursuit of money is not the most important thing. For the past five years Barbara and Steve have been permanent travellers across our sunburnt country, their possessions limited to the confines of the caravan they call home.
Soaking in the pristine surroundings Australia is blessed with, the avid venturers have been witness to some of the nation's most exotic and elusive wildlife, with a particular interest in birds the catalyst for a wildlife calendar. Having long harboured a passion for photography, it was Steve's dad who inspired 'Barb and Steve's Excellent Adventure.' "Mum and Dad worked very hard all their lives, they retired in the same year... and they took off for the ultimate Australian dream: to do the lap of Australia," Steve recalls. "Dad got as far as Adelaide and he had a heart attack. He lived for many years after that but that was the end of his travelling. "I thought, if I keep on working in the high stress environment I was working in I mightn't even make it to 65, so when Dad did that I thought I'm not going to work until I'm 65." Early on, the cost and distribution of the calendar ensured his pet project was a self-funded endeavour; however, Steve's artistic flair eventually garnered sponsorships to cover printing costs and the funds made from sales are now donated to BirdLife Mackay. As the calendar's audience has expanded, so to has their desire to pursue the vast array of birdlife the country has to offer. One particular flock - hundreds of budgies illuminating the sky into a sublime green horizon - stands out as an unforgettable memory. "We were somewhere north of Julia Creek and we were actually searching for this flock of budgies which had millions of birds in them. We never found them, but we did find flocks of hundreds - maybe thousands - of them. "I sat there only a few feet from the waterhole and... it was amazing, the roar of their wings is something you never forget." However, it's the incredibly tight bond - forged over 28 years - the adventurous duo shares that has made their travels a seamless experience. "It is scary at first, when you sell your house and you decide you're going to live in a caravan. You think 'how am I going to survive without all those other things I usually have'? "You've got to be lucky enough, like Barbara and I. We can live in a little tin can without arguing and worrying about room to move," Steve said. "Wherever we go, we've got room to move." "We run into a lot of people who go out for a couple of months and go home again," Barbara continued, "we're home wherever we go and it suits us." Taking a breather from their most recent 20-month journey, the couple had some advice for those considering the same adventures. "If you want to live longer, happier and it's something on your mind - do it." With the great outback as their backyard, it's a hard point to argu
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AuthorA selection of my general news content. My main round was health, however I frequently covered weather, crime, politics and general human interest. Archives
January 2020
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