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Interview:
Capricorn Dave
Hitchen, Bushman, Adventurer and Tour Guide
What's
your background?
Blue-collar,
all the way. I grew up on the outskirts of Brizzie,
back in the days when the outskirts were still bush
and dirt roads. You could still buy a .22 at Kmart
and ride to wherever you wanted to use it on your
pushy with it hanging off your back. Try that now,
the cops will kill you…hasn't the world changed?
I became a cabinetmaker by trade when I left school
and stuck with that until 1992 when my own cool business
went broke. . So, disillusioned after busting my arse
for so long to wind up with nothing at all, in 1992
I changed tack and became a backpacking hobo visiting
various parts of the world including several places
in Asia, UK, and USA. It's this period of my life
that has defined me. I lived so many different lives
while travelling Greg - from homeless manic depressant
living under the Brighton pier in the UK (the same
one mentioned in the rock opera "Tommy's"
Pinball Wizard - to Managing Director of an International
company in Hong Kong and so much in between. I came
to thrive on the uncertainty; the adventure of not
knowing what's going to happen next. I enjoyed living
outside my comfort zone. Now, every day I head out
on a day trip, it's still like that. I've got no idea
what's going to happen, I push myself outside my comfort
zone and take my customers along for the ride. They
love it. So do I.
In
November 2000 I arrived in Rockhampton (Rocky) with
plans to stop for a beer and a good nights sleep but,
as fate would have it I didn't leave the region. It
held me spellbound and within a few months I was calling
it home. Been here ever since. No-one knows it but
Rockhampton's' Capricorn Region is Australia's most
diverse destination thanks to it's geographical location
and the tourism boffins are too dopey to let the world
know that. So I figure - fuckem! I'll make it Capricorn
Dave's Rockhampton - Australia's Most Diverse Destination.
The crown is there for the taking, some one has to
grab it, why not me? , If they don't want it, I'll
grab it thanks. That's where I'm at now. In my own
small way, I'm telling the world this is the place
to visit to see Australia, this is the place you want
as #1 on your list.
I
do what I do now because it allows me to continue
the adventure, keep exploring, pushing the envelope,
enjoy the challenges and most importantly - have fun.;
that's important. Beyond that, I've wondered into
a place that is more diverse than any other part of
this incredible country and virtually nobody comes
here- can you fathom that Greg? Australia's Most Diverse
Destination and nobody comes here? That's because
the marketing savvy of the powers that be could fit
inside the first gentle squeeze of a gnats fart and
still have room to wonder what the fuck it's even
doing. I want to change that. I want to make Australia's
Most Diverse Destination - Capricorn Dave's Rockhampton
- the #1 destination in Australia because that is
what it should be. It's not going to be easy, probably
impossible for a little guy like me, so I'm just getting
on with making it happen. The word impossible translates
to I'm possible with the slightest of effort - that's
good enough for me. The best way to let masses of
people know anything is the media and you're the media
man so lets do it together?
Highlights
of your career?
Every
time I get a customer that freaks to crying tears
of a fear at the thought of even seeing a spider or
snake and by the end of just one day with me, by being
gentle and patient with her, she's so proud of herself
because she had a huntsman crawling on her face, or
a wild snake in her hands, she's got the photo to
prove it and she just plain aint scared anymore! This
young girl, many years from now, is going to be showing
her grandkids that photo mate. Also… my first
snake bite (non venomous) The first time I got a red
back on my hand. The first snake that went to sleep
in my mouth.
Ever
been close to death?
Not
sure. Hitch hiked through a black neighbourhood
in Washington DC and was told about 20 times I
was going to die that night, but I didn't; got
x on, kicked, punched and abused but not dead.
Hitchhiked through the Bronx, thought I was going
to die for sure, but I didn't. Lost a windscreen
in an Aeroflot jumbo at 30,000 feet, dropped like
a stone to about 3000 feet, then levelled and
didn't die (we all thought we were going to though.)
The first red back bite worried me a bit, the
second didn't have much effect physically or mentally.
Maybe the most feared time of all was, as odd
as it seems, an attack of "killer prawns"
I bought a kg from Coles at about 6pm one night.
By 7 pm I was in hospital bloated and barely able
to breathe, pink as a piglet, adrenalin needles
into me and steroids down my throat to keep my
heart going. Doctors wanting my next off kin details
"just in case." Was the loneliest time
of my life I think, as I've no family up here,
but it worked out ok. Doctors told me I was all
of a sudden allergic to prawns, but screw it -
I couldn't believe that! I love prawns! So a few
weeks later I got some more prawns and ate them
all in the hospital car park (just in case), God
they were good - fresh from the co-op, not Coles
crap - No worries mate, been good as gold on them
since. I guess I'd have to ask how close is close?
What's
the best things about your tour?
It's
not a tour; it's a bloody adventure.
Are
you a crocodile hunter also?
No.
But I'm only just getting started.
Is
mud wrestling possible after the mud slide?
Yes
it is. And we've had a few. But you need to get back
in the water for the mud. The billabong area is typical
of this region in that it offers very diverse extremes…you
can sink into mud to your knees in the water, but
get out on the bank and it's as dry as a dead dingoes
donger - gotta love it!
Do
you get many good looking sheilas on your tour?
Yes
I do. My adventure seems to mostly appeal to girls
rather than guys (tough break eh?) and they're usually
aged from 18- 25 and from Scandinavian countries.
Blonde blue eyed adventure-seeking backpackers with
a thirst for the unusual. If I get guys, usually they've
been ordered to come by their blonde haired blue-eyed
Scandinavian girlfriends. What are they going to do,
say no????
What's
sex under the stars like?
Depends
on the stars…if it's under Carmen Electra it'd
be great!
What
sort of flora and fauna can one expect up there?
70%
of all flora and fauna you can find in all of Australia
can be found within a few hours of Rockhampton. It
is Australia's most diverse destination due to its
unique geographical location. (We're smack bang in
the middle of the tropic of Capricorn - where the
tropics overlap the temperate zone AND we're sandwiched
between the outback and the coast... Tropical, Temperate,
outback and Coast…What's left?
If
you ask Capricorn Tourism they'd probably give
you a shrug, I dunno…stuff… because
the only thing fatter than their arrogant ignorant
heads is the x arse they've got them shoved into.
These people are in charge of letting you know,
as a potential tourist, that 70% of everything
you can find in all of Australia can be found
within a few hours of Rockhampton but they wont!
They'd rather tell you the tropic of Capricorn
is a x little dotted line that takes you a few
seconds to cross and you can take a photo before
heading elsewhere to spend your tourist dollars.
Why???? Well that's what they've done since way
before tourism was a big big industry so why let
the facts get in the way of seriously harmful
fiction now? In fact that "line is impossible
to "cross" because it's over 500 km
wide! You have to spend weeks if not months exploring
it, spending money along the way….tourism
marketing savvy - where the bloody hell are you????
Being sandwiched between outback and Coast and
smack bang in the middle of the Tropic of Capricorn
means we have every zone in Australia and 70%
of ALL flora and fauna Australia has to offer.
It's like Mother Nature took our whole continent
and squashed it down into one place to make it
cheap and easy for you to explore. But you wont
find anyone in tourism telling the world that,
because they've got their fat heads shoved up
their even fatter lazy x. If you can think of
why they'd want to keep that a secret instead
of claiming our deserved crown of "Australia's
Most Diverse Destination" Please let me know.
In short, imagine everything Australia has to
offer, and then knock off about 30% (eg: snow,
Uluru, Opera House, Penguins etc) and that's what
this region has to offer you. A lot. More than
you know, more than anyone knows.
On
a typical two day trip we see roos emus, bearded
dragons, brolga, black swans, Jabiru, wedge tail
eagles, sea eagles, skinks, Geckos, red backs,
huntsman, tree snakes, legless lizards, echidna,
pythons, water chickens, long and short necked
turtles and more while exploring the Outback,
cattle farms, wetlands, billabongs, rainforests,
creeks, dirt tracks, back roads, open plains,
hinterland, state forest, national parks, volcanic
plugs, beaches and more. Add a 3rd day and you
can snorkel or dive reefs with countless fish,
sea turtles, dolphins and rays, hike a sub tropical
island for goannas, possums and breathtaking scenery.
Also, If you want to take it further we can explore
magnificent limestone caves, hold a crocodile,
find them in the wild, explore a palm jungle,
see ancient aboriginal art, go platypus spotting,
catch a barramundi, fossick for thunder eggs,
gold and sapphires, visit the dreamtime, see a
goose that is in love with a 1 tonne Brangus bull,
witness a rare tidal bore, watch 200,000 bats
emerge from a cave at dusk and more than I can
fit here as well and Greg, all that happens within
20 to 180 minutes from Rockhampton's GPO! But
don't you do that Greg. Don't you dare x do that!
Just pull up at the Spire, spend 2 minutes taking
your dopey x photo of you "crossing a x hit
dotted line" then x off and spend all your
hard earned holiday dollars elsewhere!
Who
are some of the celebs that have been on your tour?
I've
had Steve-O and Pontius from jackass to film a new
series called Wildboyz. Ado from blokesworld, Joe
from Queensland Weekender, Andrew Daddo from The Great
Outdoors, Mel Gibson and Prince Harry (nah, only kidding
about Mel and Harry)
What
media coverage have your attracted to date?
As
above plus some bits in the local paper and my toenails
made it into the Sydney morning herald. The Lonely
Planet and Let's Go guidebooks rate the day as "very
highly recommended" along with many travel books
on Australia published in several European countries
including Switzerland, Sweden, Germany and Norway.
Google search blog - Capricorn Dave Rockhampton -
for various traveller accounts.
What
package tour do you recommend to folks coming up from
Sydney?
Definitely
the 5-day 4-night adventure if they have time. This
takes in the two days in the bush including camping
with me plus 3 days on Great! Keppel Island to recover.
Otherwise the 2 day/1 night Adventure including camping
in the bush with me.
What's
your motto?
I've
got two…
If
it looks like fun and it probably wont kill you -
Do It!
Persistence
is the hub for the wheel of success.
What
are your current projects?
1.
Ripping down the Capricorn Spire legally and with
the whole world watching. (The "Spire"
is the marker used to mark the "crossing"
of the dotted line invented long before tourism
was a multi million-dollar industry for Australia)
Worth noting markers for Capricorn and Cancer
are still in place all around the world for the
same reasons…. so tourists can spend just
a few seconds "crossing it" offering
the relevant region $0:00 in the process rather
than spending weeks or months exploring it's rare
and unique diversity spending countless tourism
dollars within the blessed region. So yes, we'd
have to be the first in the world to draw attention
to the truth, start the trend and change the way
tourists travel but s Greg, you're in media…Isn't
being the first a good thing????????????????????????
2.
I'm putting together a TV spot on an ABC template
I found on the web which I'd like you to take a look
at when it's done if you want to. This could be a
stand alone series or a small part of a bigger show.
Essentially it's my daytrip with 4 backpackers (suitably
sexy) who are taken far outside their comfort zone
as we explore the real Australia. Utilizing the incredible
diversity of Capricorn Dave's Rockhampton, e'd have
a very different backdrop and adventure each time.
It starts from pick-up at the Greyhound Bus stop,
follows their physical, mental and spiritual journey
from seeing Australia as being full of deadly and
dangerous critters as proclaimed by many many doco's
through to seeing the real oz through their changed
eyes after experiencing it first hand for themselves.
All the while promoting this region as the place to
be. You'd be amazed at how many people wont come to
Oz because they believe our animal and insect life
make it too dangerous and undesirable to contemplate
as a destination.
3.
Plodding away at getting Capricorn Dave's Rockhampton
known as Australia's Most Diverse Destination and
the rated within the top 10 destinations for visitors
to Australia. Ultimately #1.
What
do you do to relax?
I
take unsuspecting backpackers out for the day, have
a ball and get paid for it. It's not a job; it's a
bloody adventure!!
Profile
Capricorn
Dave
Northern
Queensland
Website
Capricorn
Dave official website
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