Life On The Road: Discovering Magical Landscapes and Inspirational Sustainable Farming
we're in the outback we haven't left our valley for over a year but we now have the opportunity to travel so we're packing up the farming with all of our camping gear and we're going on a 4000 kilometer or 2500 mile trip across australia while we're going freyja is at home looking after all of the animals we find so much meaning in this slow travel driving for hours and watching the landscape change witnessing the vastness and diverse beauty of australia we discovered so much strength in ourselves julia myself and mum the three of us adventuring into the outback alone in our trusty you singing along to the radio and laughing camping about a tent and watching the stars supporting each other and working through obstacles and dangers we're going to be traveling on outback dirt roads where there are hundreds of kilometers between towns and no phone reception we have to be careful in this landscape and keep a few days supply of water and food for if we happen to break down and always carry spare diesel in the ute with a little rain these roads can become impassable our first goal is to get to our cousin's wedding which is a three day drive from home we haven't been away from home in such a long time watching the landscape change slowly around us is so interesting a few hours from home and already everything is so different there are big harsh rocks and dryer fields a rainbow always means it's time to stop and pick the wild flowers in the paddock at home the seasons on the coast in our sub-tropical climate don't imitate the widely known european seasons so it's always exciting for us to see autumn trees dropping their orange leaves we camped the night and now we're on the road again watching the landscape grow more different right now there is actually a mass plague in this part of the state this means there are thousands of mice covering towns and eating all the crops so we don't want to stick around long enough to find mice eating through our tents so we're all in agreement to keep moving without many stops until we get to our cousin's farm on this trip we have already seen so many horizons stretching with cotton fields cotton is so terrible for the environment cutting every tree in the area to plant the monoculture the plant uses so much water and the farms draw from rivers drying prominent and culturally significant rivers that have flowed throughout history farmers everywhere are protesting against these farming giants stealing water and creating ecological disasters across the country cotton and other monocultures are terrible because they don't allow any species insect or animal to survive they disrupt soil structure and quality use harmful chemicals affect the natural ecosystem and pollute the natural groundwater after wheat grows and is harvested a straw stumble is left this is sometimes burned contributing to carbon emissions or losing nutrients in the soil it also creates an unlivable environment for all the local plants and animals we are so excited to be using jura paddle a new building supply back at home in our studio build it is made from this by-product and saves it from being burnt after three days of driving we are exhausted but we're finally here and it's so beautiful we were planning to camp outside but there's been a certain cold snap and currently there is a sheep craziest alert this means that the local farmers are alerted that their sheep are in danger of exposure to the cold so we've been kindly offered the floor of the sharing shed to camp on and although it doesn't have windows or walls to keep the cold out the iron keeps the wind at bay instead of the warm autumn days we were expecting it's now falling below freezing overnight it's so cold it barely even gets this cold at home in the middle of winter outside we have a fire to cook on and talk around and warm up a little it's so cozy and we couldn't have dreamed of staying in a more beautiful place our young cousins are the best fire lighters so while we're setting up the camp they make sure we can cook and keep warm afterwards camping means going to bed early as the sun sets and waking up early again it feels amazing to be so in touch with nature's rhythms the feeling of watching the stars with the cold pinching our faces is so special and we're sort of warm with the three layers of blankets on and just our noses peeking out of our sleeping bags in the morning we wear every bit of clothing we brought and we're still so cold the old shearing shed is 100 years old and built by a great grandfather of our cousins it tells so many stories with its half-rusted iron and beautiful big beams the floor is shiny and worn from all the oil of the many sheep fleeces that have been shown here as a fashion designer i'm always thinking about where our fibers come from wool is one of the most sustainable fibers it's biodegradable but its products have a long lifespan the fiber uses so much less water than other fibers time for a walk around this beautiful landscape with our little cousins this farm is on the lands of the wiradjuri people our mum grew up in this area and so special to connect with it as kids we would always come and visit our cousins here so it's been nice to see them again this farm is managed using practices that consider the environment this holistic grazing practice includes planting native pastures creating wildlife corridors or using no herbicide or fertilizers resulting in land that is resilient and supports native biodiversity it's so beautiful it's starting to get dark so time to come and collect some wood for the fire so we can cook dinner in the morning it's time to go again on the way out we meet these beautiful sweet alpacas and sheep on the road again the landscape changes even more we pass through the hay plains one of the flattest places on earth with no trees for hours there is a point on the map called one tree which we are so excited to get to after hours driving through this flat landmarkless landscape after passing through we found out that the one tree blew over in 1897. originally this landscape supported salt bush and native grasses but with the introduction of grazing and non-native animals like rabbits the environment drastically changed now there are problems with dry land salinity and erosion because extensive root structures have been removed hours later we spot trees i never thought i'd be so excited about spotting singular trees sand dunes now this is feeling really outback we're going to try to slide down them hmm this is a lot harder than i thought how does it work why aren't we sliding i don't know who's worse at it julia or me our next stop is to our other cousin's house in a desert town right on the edge of a huge river this oasis means there is so much fruit growing everywhere our cousin's partner's mum is an artist and has been collecting vintage fabric all of her life knowing my love for vintage fabrics she has been collecting two boxes for me that we are picking up meeting denise seeing her landscape and hearing her stories is so inspiring i sew from recycled fabrics to avoid new fibres that can be harmful to our environment we collect currants and grapes from their vines for our journey and they taste so good and then we're ready to drive forward again the road is getting rougher and the car is much more full now as we drive the landscape gets faster and sparser until there are only desert scrubs wow what an incredible feeling to be immersed in such a vast and beautiful landscape we are so far from the coast and home at this point and we are so overwhelmed by the immensity of this place the colors are like none that we've ever seen before the grand sky the strength of the sun on our faces and the important history at home in the hills we never see a horizon like this stretching away i feel so small and moved in this amazing world we have to be careful here driving on such isolated roads where there are no humans for hundreds of kilometers we're taking extra fuel food and water just in case there is no phone reception for days and we need to be careful not to drive at night because there are kangaroos that come out in the road and are super dangerous to hit today has been such a big day of driving that we need to get to mungo national park before sundown we are carefully on watch for any kangaroos while the sun begins to set but they don't seem to be many at this time of year we do spot some sheep which make us miss our babies at home this landscape is so amazing here the road laid slat until we hit a dip which we are told means we are driving into an ancient lake we make it to our campsite and we're excited to see what everything looks like tomorrow the colors and vastness are nothing like we've ever seen before the stars are so bright here in the desert and the air is crisp and clean this morning we are going to light a fire and cook some food and then this afternoon we're going to explore the landscape so this is the land of the Paakantyi, Ngyiampaa and Mutthi Mutthi people skeletons from 40 000 years ago were found in the lake beds and are the oldest human remains found in australia there are footprints that were found from 20 000 years ago as we explore this moving landscape we're showing ancient middens and firespots next week we continue on our adventure before heading home back to the farm we camp rough in the middle of nowhere forage and cook on a campfire sleep under the stars and encounter the most special and beautiful wildlife and some scary red back spiders thank you for watching we appreciate all the support and new friends we are making lots of love from us mum who films everything and all of the animals and a big thanks to our patrons for helping us on this journey
2021-05-09 09:09
