You know when you walk into a country pub that you have never visited before you naturally head straight for the gap at the bar to be served? It has taken me a while to realise why this happens to me a lot but I have learnt to never go to the gap at the bar when wanting to buy a beer.

Because that’s usually where the village idiot sits and next thing you know you’re stuck talking to someone you don’t really want to. So now I stand behind the waiting crowd to be served. There are many things you learn when on the road and this is one lesson I have certainly learnt. Ivan explains.

Ivan has been travelling Australia for the best part of his life. “How did your lifestyle come about?” I ask. “I guess I had the taste of travel when working for the South Australia Highways Department, building roads, spraying bitumen on the roads. Crystal Brook was where our base camp was located and over the summer we did construction work. I would live away from home for three to four weeks at a time; I guess I got used to being away from home. There are not many roads in South Australia I haven’t sprayed. At the time I was aged 17 but lied about my age to get the job. Back then no one asked for identification.

It was during this time a fellow called Max and I decided to explore Australia. The way we went about it I’m glad that Cook did it first.” Ivan laughs. We left Port Broughton towing an old plywood caravan with a FB Holden ute. The first day we made it to Adelaide, a whole 100 miles, lots of pubs, aye! Later we made it as far as Echuca and pulled in for fuel where we were offered work at the local bearing company, so being almost broke we decided to give it a shot. As time went by we decided to head for greener pastures and next thing we are sitting on the Sydney Harbour Bridge not knowing what to do next. Max found work panel beating at Liverpool and I found myself working the bar at Homebush Hotel. Sydney was too big I guess for two country boys so we headed north, finding work in the meat works at Rockhampton. We were far from experienced and didn’t know what to expect, however we completed a lap of Australia in twelve months finding work as fishermen, truck drivers, tyre fitters and brickies labourers.

Well, that adventure was a blast, and we headed home where within eighteen months I found myself married and thought I was settled. My wife and I moved to Broken Hill where I worked in the mines for eleven years and had two kids then bought a pub in Langhorne Creek, SA. Time went by and I found myself getting the urge to travel again so I headed for Darwin where I found work as a crane driver. That’s how I found myself travelling the country picking up work again. My wife did not like the idea of a permanent working holiday; we decided to go our own ways.

I invested in an old Leyland school bus, pulled all of the chairs out and decked it out. Naming her Hi-Way Tramp we headed off to the Birdsville races for her maiden voyage. Hi -Way Tramp was a pretty cool bus but not overly quick. One trip it took fifteen days to get from Brisbane to Darwin via Cairns. I now travel Australia in a Coaster bus towing a Nissan Pulsar with a tinny on top.

My life on the road has included bar work in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia through which I have met many great people. I also worked a Laundromat for the wharfies, was a forklift driver on a mango farm, done plenty of grape picking, groundsman and overall a general gofa.

When you first start out you seem to carry two times more than you need, I’ve still got shirts that I haven’t worn for four years. But going back to the gap at the bar, there is a lot you learn when on the road. For example did you know chips are flammable? That is why I never eat them. They are so full of cholesterol but they certainly make good firelighters.

And check out this little beauty. Originally a tea urn, I saw it somewhere and thought I could use this. So I cut some holes in the sides, placed a barbecue plate on top, light the fire within and she works as a great barbecue. You can cook a whole breakfast on it using just one Sunday paper. So there is a tip, never throw your papers away as they are handy when you wish to cook up a feed where there is little or no timber, such as on the beaches.

Now I am eligible for the pension so I rarely look for work. I love this lifestyle where I never give myself deadlines, time limits or boundaries. In fact I went around the big roundabout at Rockhampton seven times whilst I tried the make the decision where to go next.