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24/11/2006: "FIRST OUTBACK TRAVELS ...... a holiday from the sea"
Professional 16mm film suddenly became a bit too expensive for many of us in Australia. The Leyland Brothers had survived the cost increase by experimenting with exposed super 8 film transfered directly to 2” video tape for sale and broadcast.
We thought we could go a little step better. Shoot on the same film stock then edit out the splices as the Leyland’s weren’t bothering to do this. The result is what you'd expect today.
My 90 minute film was Sea Safari - released exclusively for home video rentals, not offered to TV networks - it wasn’t a usual run-of-the mill documentary, more like a combo art film with travel adventure. In other words a test of the video market.
Also new was this interest in exploring the outback. That’s if you term driving to Darwin in an air con V8 Ford an adventure in the outback!
Perhaps my 18 months of screening Northern Safari (for producer Keith F Adams) had something to do with this new-found interest away from the sea. After all, the outback films were very popular in Australia then, while underwater shark material was yet to be perfected and wouldn't really happen until small video camera became available, years later.
A drive to Darwin from Sydney wouldn’t be much of a hazard today (apart from stones through your radiator and or windshield or the stray ‘roo that hops in front at the wrong moment – I’ve had all of three delights).
Once there was still a lot of dirt on the roads and people with guns doing crazy things occasionally so travelers often formed mini-convoys of three or four cars at places like the Mt.Isa camping ground for their Northern Territory leg of the northern journey.
The convoy I joined had a likeable mechanic called Lutz Fery from Berlin, two young kids traveling on a motor bike from South Africa, and a guy from Melbourne with a dog and a boat on his LandCruiser ute.
Lutz Fery is shown here with one of my super 8 camera’s - always used on a professional tripod and ten times heavier than the camera!
The South African kids were crocodile bait here in a river in the NT. There is always a risk with crocs while they should have been only freshwater types and not so vicious, I wouldn't take the risk today.
The guy from Melbourne slept under the stars. The others used a tiny tent. While at Katherine Gorge we had an emu check us out during the night.
These shots didn’t make the final edit of Sea Safari but other good material did.
Lutz and I later met Rick Trippe who was then managing the leading hotel in Darwin, and is still living there and braving the hundreds of crocodiles and sharks as he spears fish in the very murky harbor almost every day. The keenest spearman in Australia.
