‘Adventure is a state of mind’
Pete and Tan Budd have been on the road, full time, for two years now, capturing the essence of Australia’s wild and remote places in their videos, photos and art. ‘We’d probably spent three months every year travelling while we were both working. And then COVID hit and we just sort of said to each other, 'Maybe it's time to express ourselves a little bit differently and really embrace what we love.’’
‘Everything that we do, who we are and what we can't live without,’ adds Tan, ‘Is travel around Australia and creatively express ourselves. So, there was no arm twisting here.’
‘Adventure is a state of mind’
Pete and Tan Budd have been on the road, full time, for two years now, capturing the essence of Australia’s wild and remote places in their videos, photos and art. 'We’d probably spent three months every year travelling while we were both working. And then COVID hit and we just sort of said to each other, 'Maybe it's time to express ourselves a little bit differently and really embrace what we love.’’
‘Everything that we do, who we are and what we can't live without,’ adds Tan, ‘Is travel around Australia and creatively express ourselves. So, there was no arm twisting here.’
Mr Lairy Pants and Miss Arty Farty
Pete and Tan’s approach is unusual - hour-long videos, published every couple of weeks on their Youtube channel Artzone Travels, that are contemplative and really explore ‘the feeling of a place’ rather than deal in drama or ‘ridiculous clickbait headlines.’
'We try to express the landscape and our experience in it and keep that genuine. The integrity of our work is more important than growing numbers. Trying to make it more editorial and more dynamic, really pushing the cinematography, the camera gear, the little drones.’
And their approach has a lot of keen fans. Like the couple who approached them in Geraldton, shouting, ‘Pete, Tan, Pete! And we don’t know anyone here. And they come up and say, ‘Oh, we love your videos, and your board shorts.’ And what do they nickname us? Mr Lairy Pants and Miss Arty Farty!’
Or the First Nations man who left a beautiful comment on their Dampier Peninsula video late last year, ‘I'm very elderly now. I live in Adelaide and I can't get back to country. Thank you for taking me home.’
Mr Lairy Pants and Miss Arty Farty
Pete and Tan’s approach is unusual - hour-long videos, published every couple of weeks on their Youtube channel Artzone Travels, that are contemplative and really explore ‘the feeling of a place’ rather than deal in drama or ‘ridiculous clickbait headlines.’
'We try to express the landscape and our experience in it and keep that genuine. The integrity of our work is more important than growing numbers. Trying to make it more editorial and more dynamic, really pushing the cinematography, the camera gear, the little drones.’
And their approach has a lot of keen fans. Like the couple who approached them in Geraldton, shouting, ‘Pete, Tan, Pete! And we don’t know anyone here. And they come up and say, ‘Oh, we love your videos, and your board shorts.’ And what do they nickname us? Mr Lairy Pants and Miss Arty Farty!’
Or the First Nations man who left a beautiful comment on their Dampier Peninsula video late last year, ‘I'm very elderly now. I live in Adelaide and I can't get back to country. Thank you for taking me home.’
Up before dawn to chase the light
‘One of our favourite things is setting the alarm for 3:30 in the morning and getting up and going out and chasing that early morning light. That's the thing that excites us and it makes us feel alive. We think adventure is a state of mind. Age shouldn't limit it. And I think that's what drives us. We actually feel very young. Our inner child is always living on our sleeve.’
'Australia is so big and so diverse in its geography and landscapes, and we thrive on that. We love sharing information and the joy of travel. And we know for a fact we’ve pushed our Ranger - we’ve been on beaches, in mud, bogged. We’ve driven it the way they make it to be driven.’
And the eternally varied landscapes of Australia really reward their curiosity. ‘The central desert is awe-inspiring,’ says Pete, ‘Like on the West Macdonnell Ranges there’s this place called 2 mile on the Finke River, which is the oldest river in the world. And you're sitting there in the silence, watching long sunsets and long, long sunrises and a fairy-light net of stars stretched above.’
For Tan, Pender Bay on the Damper Peninsula captivated her with its red pindan soil and surging seas. ‘We camped on the edge of a cliff and watched the ebb and flow of those gigantic tides - they’re like 9 to 12 meters - and it makes you realise, wow, we really are on a big island. And you’d look down and see where the turquoise water met the white sand and red cliffs. Three beautifully contrasting dynamics of the landscape.’
Up before dawn to chase the light
‘One of our favourite things is setting the alarm for 3:30 in the morning and getting up and going out and chasing that early morning light. That's the thing that excites us and it makes us feel alive. We think adventure is a state of mind. Age shouldn't limit it. And I think that's what drives us. We actually feel very young. Our inner child is always living on our sleeve.’
'Australia is so big and so diverse in its geography and landscapes, and we thrive on that. We love sharing information and the joy of travel. And we know for a fact we’ve pushed our Ranger - we’ve been on beaches, in mud, bogged. We’ve driven it the way they make it to be driven.’
And the eternally varied landscapes of Australia really reward their curiosity. ‘The central desert is awe-inspiring,’ says Pete, ‘Like on the West Macdonnell Ranges there’s this place called 2 mile on the Finke River, which is the oldest river in the world. And you're sitting there in the silence, watching long sunsets and long, long sunrises and a fairy-light net of stars stretched above.’
For Tan, Pender Bay on the Damper Peninsula captivated her with its red pindan soil and surging seas. ‘We camped on the edge of a cliff and watched the ebb and flow of those gigantic tides - they’re like 9 to 12 meters - and it makes you realise, wow, we really are on a big island. And you’d look down and see where the turquoise water met the white sand and red cliffs. Three beautifully contrasting dynamics of the landscape.’
Pushing to extremes
Pete and Tan have managed to visit all the geographic extremes of Australia but getting to the last one - Steep Point, the mainland continent’s most westerly point - really excited him. ‘Honestly talk about feeling like a kid. I was over the moon.’
‘You can’t take a caravan, and we didn’t have a tent so we went to Kmart and bought a $25 pup tent,’ says Tan, ‘We had an air bed and that was it.’
'I was just sitting there, having a coffee in the morning,’ says Pete, ‘I put the drone up. There was nothing happening and I just flew her out. And then I just, dropped it down vertically. And there was all these Stingrays dancing in the water, it almost looked like they were in tune with each other. They're sort of synchronised.’
'He had tears in his eyes,’ adds Tan, ‘I said is everything OK? It's more than okay, he says. Have a look at the monitor, so I came in over and had a look and I just couldn't believe it. And then there was the whale one. We were camped up on the Ningaloo Reef and we really wanted to get some whales.’
'I'd take the drone out time after time. You got this little thing like it goes out a few kilometres. I'm on my third drone, by the way, I've lost a few. But you got to push it. I want to get the shot. Anyway, I finally saw one and it had a little baby calf and this little calf was having so much fun. It was rolling 360 over its mother's back and spinning around. It was so tender.’
Pushing to extremes
Pete and Tan have managed to visit all the geographic extremes of Australia but getting to the last one - Steep Point, the mainland continent’s most westerly point - really excited him. ‘Honestly talk about feeling like a kid. I was over the moon.’
‘You can’t take a caravan, and we didn’t have a tent so we went to Kmart and bought a $25 pup tent,’ says Tan, ‘We had an air bed and that was it.’
'I was just sitting there, having a coffee in the morning,’ says Pete, ‘I put the drone up. There was nothing happening and I just flew her out. And then I just, dropped it down vertically. And there was all these Stingrays dancing in the water, it almost looked like they were in tune with each other. They're sort of synchronised.’
'He had tears in his eyes,’ adds Tan, ‘I said is everything OK? It's more than okay, he says. Have a look at the monitor, so I came in over and had a look and I just couldn't believe it. And then there was the whale one. We were camped up on the Ningaloo Reef and we really wanted to get some whales.’
'I'd take the drone out time after time. You got this little thing like it goes out a few kilometres. I'm on my third drone, by the way, I've lost a few. But you got to push it. I want to get the shot. Anyway, I finally saw one and it had a little baby calf and this little calf was having so much fun. It was rolling 360 over its mother's back and spinning around. It was so tender.’
Balancing travel, work and life
'We've got a structure, week on week off,’ says Tan, ‘So week one we'll be filming, travelling, climbing mountains, pushing ourselves to the limit, downloading every night and then go again. Then the next week, I'll edit, it'll take me up to 4 days to edit an episode and then Pete is the machine. He does all the maintenance, you know, keeping everything running smoothly, communicating to our subscribers.’
‘We've got three aspects that we try to keep in balance. One is the travel and the sightseeing. Yes, we're filming it, but there's that. Then there's the work. And then there's our personal rest and relaxation and family connection. We try to make sure that they're all in balance and we'll notice if one's in deficit. Then you’ve got to stop and go do something about it. Because without that balance, you couldn't sustain this.’
‘We both have our down days. It's human nature, isn't it? And not being able to say right, well, I'm going upstairs. I'll see you in a couple of hours!’
‘Luckily,’ says Pete, ‘we’ve got the biggest backyard in the world.’
Balancing travel, work and life
'We've got a structure, week on week off,’ says Tan, ‘So week one we'll be filming, travelling, climbing mountains, pushing ourselves to the limit, downloading every night and then go again. Then the next week, I'll edit, it'll take me up to 4 days to edit an episode and then Pete is the machine. He does all the maintenance, you know, keeping everything running smoothly, communicating to our subscribers.’
‘We've got three aspects that we try to keep in balance. One is the travel and the sightseeing. Yes, we're filming it, but there's that. Then there's the work. And then there's our personal rest and relaxation and family connection. We try to make sure that they're all in balance and we'll notice if one's in deficit. Then you’ve got to stop and go do something about it. Because without that balance, you couldn't sustain this.’
‘We both have our down days. It's human nature, isn't it? And not being able to say right, well, I'm going upstairs. I'll see you in a couple of hours!’
‘Luckily,’ says Pete, ‘we’ve got the biggest backyard in the world.’
It’s not for everyone
‘I love the simplicity of this life,’ says Pete, ‘You know all the material possessions you have. We've got a six by four storage unit in Queensland and it's like it gets less and less meaningful every month.’
And there’s still so much to see. ‘We’re dying to go to East Arnhem Land,’ says Tan, ‘Which takes a little bit more preparation with permits and whatnot. And the other one is to really go in depth into the Victorian high country as well. We haven't done the Simpson Desert, so that's another big one. But you can't take a van through there.’
‘And we haven't been to Birdsville,’ adds Pete, ‘You know why? Every bloody time it floods! We've tried twice. So, we'll have another crack this year.’
They love life on the road. But not everyone feels the same way. They did a trip with Pete’s brother and wife a few years ago, and he was just focused on getting from one destination to the next. Pete says ‘We all see landscape differently but for us it’s the nothingness that keeps calling us back.’
If you've got a story where your Ranger plays a part, please let us know. Every sybmission will be vetted and could feature on our socials or in future Ford Ranger advertisements. Simply click the button below.
It’s not for everyone
‘I love the simplicity of this life,’ says Pete, ‘You know all the material possessions you have. We've got a six by four storage unit in Queensland and it's like it gets less and less meaningful every month.’
And there’s still so much to see. ‘We’re dying to go to East Arnhem Land,’ says Tan, ‘Which takes a little bit more preparation with permits and whatnot. And the other one is to really go in depth into the Victorian high country as well. We haven't done the Simpson Desert, so that's another big one. But you can't take a van through there.’
‘And we haven't been to Birdsville,’ adds Pete, ‘You know why? Every bloody time it floods! We've tried twice. So, we'll have another crack this year.’
They love life on the road. But not everyone feels the same way. They did a trip with Pete’s brother and wife a few years ago, and he was just focused on getting from one destination to the next. Pete says ‘We all see landscape differently but for us it’s the nothingness that keeps calling us back.’
If you've got a story where your Ranger plays a part, please let us know. Every sybmission will be vetted and could feature on our socials or in future Ford Ranger advertisements. Simply click the button below.