“It was 6ft, glassy water and blue skies. As a set came, these two shadows came rushing towards me…luckily they were dolphins–a mother, father and their young adult. I kid you not; the young one was riding the wave right underneath my rail for about 100 metres. We both kicked out together, and I was in awe, just hooting and frothing.”
From here, the two fellows cut across the great plain into Western Australia and the Margaret River region. To this point, they’d braved gnarly weather and camped out in some of Australia’s most isolated places – therefore, a pub was a sight for sore eyes. The footage of the lads taking their first sip is priceless. “Ah, the Settlers! What a place to drink. We stayed up all night, and I woke up with a goatee and a shaved patch on my chest.” It seems the beers went down a little too well.
With a camera bag full of film, Fed bid his good mate adieu. After three months with his good mate in tow, Colbey would now go it alone.
During our discussion, the wanderer lets us in on how he dealt with loneliness. It’s beautiful to hear it from someone experienced in being hundreds of clicks from anyone for long periods. “It taught me to enjoy what you have right here and now…that your food is warm and your car is still moving forward.” Colbey tackled being lonely head-on, living for seven months in a secluded cabin in Gracetown, WA. That’s a long time to be alone in anyone’s language.
“I surfed a lot and played plenty of music…I got a job at Dominoes delivering pizzas in The Coastal Emu (laughs)…I later got a foot in the door to be the projectionist at an outdoor cinema in a winery. I met some local families and some really accommodating and wonderful souls.”
Although Colbey was eons from home, these people treated him like one of their own. Australia does have its fair share of deadset legends.
