The Journey Begins

The Hema process of driving roads and tracks to map Australia has given the company first-hand knowledge of what guidance an adventure traveller needs. While there is crossover in the goals and needs of four-wheel drivers and long-term tourers, there are also differences across the board: the places they go, the routes they take and what they want to experience along the way. To make navigation products that Australia’s nomadic travellers can use to plot and carry out their trip of a lifetime, Hema has decided to get a first-hand grip on what it’s really like to be a travelling nomad in Australia.

Enter Lynda and Wal, the Hema Nomad Explorers. Chosen for their long association with Hema and their travel experience, Lynda and Wal have been tasked with exploring Australia for nine months while immersing themselves in the country’s touring community. To take them on this journey throughout Australia, the Hema Nomad Explorers will be travelling in a Ford Ranger PXII XLS with an 18-foot Sunland Patriot 186 caravan in tow. Chosen for its functionality, comfort and manoeuvrability, this combination is the perfect basis for the Nomad Explorers to discover Australia contentedly without being overly limited by their rig.

The Hema Nomad Explorers’ trip will first take them from Hema head office in Brisbane south to the Stone the Crows festival in Wagga Wagga, before they wend their way through Northern New South Wales to the CMCA Rally in Bathurst. After those events it’s across to the Flinders Ranges and up the Stuart Highway to experience the Red Centre in peak season, before rolling through the Top End to spend some time exploring one of the most dreamed-of touring regions in the world: the Kimberley. From there, it’s south to Perth through places like Karijini and Kalbarri national parks, before heading east across the Nullarbor and the South Australian coast throughout September. Then it’s on to Outback Queensland for a time, then south to Victoria for the High Country Drive for Life event, before darting around the southern parts of South Australia and Victoria to wrap up the trip at large.

Over these nine months on the road, our Hema Nomad Explorers will be discovering Australia and engaging with fellow tourers, while showing curious travellers the capabilities of the Hema Navigator HN7 and Hema app products. These demonstrations will be helpful as a proving ground for the current range, while also giving our Nomad Explorers some insightful feedback to aid Hema in future product development for the tourers of Australia.

The Nomad Explorers’ journey is officially underway. Follow the adventure as it happens by heading to the Hema Maps Facebook page for regular posts from the Nomad Explorers themselves, and subscribe to our email newsletter to have their fortnightly trip reports delivered directly to your inbox.