James Viles - Due North: An expedition through Australia from Tasmania to the Gulf

This is award-winning chef James Viles photographic journal of his road trip due north, from Tasmania to the Gulf of Carpentaria. His focus is real food, where it comes from, how its grown, tended and harvested, and how it sometimes flourishes in the most remote and breathtakingly beautiful parts of Australia. James describes the people he meets along the road and the conversations he has with foragers, food producers, fishermen, tribal elders and local farmers, all of whom are knowledgeable and passionate about Australia and Australian ingredients. He also discovers that sleeping in a swag under the stars reminds him about what matters and reconnects him to his creative self. With exquisite imagery from Adam Gibson, this is a portrait of an extraordinary country.

Chef and co-founder of two-hatted Biota Dining in Bowral NSW, James has become one of Australias most respected chefs and restaurateurs, recognised in particular for his commitment to sustainability and his creative affiliation with nature. His menus are deeply connected to the land, and he gathers inspiration from his travels through Australia. Biota Dining has become one of the most awarded regional restaurants in NSW and has retained its two hats with the Good Food Guide since its second year of opening in 2011. James extra-curricular roles outside of the restaurant include regular travel through Australia documenting ingredients; in 2017 he was officially made a friend to Australia through Tourism Australia and is an active ambassador with Jaguar Land Rover Australia and Electrolux. James first book Biota: grow, gather, cook was published by Murdoch Books in 2015.

Contents

Introduction

Premature Planning

I started planning this trip 23 years ago, without quite knowing how or when it would play out, or even if it would eventuate. Back then I was a young buck. I loved anything that moved and I loved adventure.

At first the idea was to get some motorbikes and go around Australia with some mates, just riding and camping. The fact that wed need to eat along the way, let alone fix some piece of machinery, never really crossed our minds. The trip was to start somewhere down south and end up in Cape York, as far north as we could go. At sixteen or seventeen years of age, what happened in between didnt really matter we just wanted to ride epic bikes through epic conditions. As far as I can remember, I dont think the months of preparation needed to pull off such an expedition, or how hard it might be, ever occurred to us.

As the years went by, we all got busier and busier working our day jobs, and talk of the trip tailed off. Until about two years ago, that is, when I got the itch again, sparked by various short trips to the Gulf of Carpentaria and the vast wetlands east of Darwin. In fact, the whole bloody country inspired me, reigniting the original idea but this time with a sense of purpose and curiosity.

I wanted to meet the people who grow and harvest some of the produce Ive been using at Biota for the past eight years, to connect with them, and I wanted to understand how the wild fish, animals and plants live in this country. Its easy for cooks to get complacent, to get caught up in all the bullshit that surrounds the industry. Dont get me wrong, I still wanted an adventure just something that had been thought about first.

For me, the last few years have been about trying to find a way of disconnecting, of escaping all the commercialism. Chefs talk about connection, how our dishes connect with nature, but the real question should be how do we connect with nature? I mean, do we get out there and connect with nature, or are we all just waking up each day in the same place, doing the same thing... To connect with nature you need to listen, and you need to be in the middle of nowhere, with no lights, people, sounds, cars or shops to distract you, just natural beauty to take in.

Personally, I felt I needed to go off the grid, to go bush. I needed to challenge myself, both mentally and physically. I wanted to sleep under the stars. I wanted less. But I also wanted more; I wanted to learn and develop a sense of belonging, something that would hopefully influence the next stage in my cooking. I wanted to see what this country is all about, and not through someone elses eyes, but through my own.

Tasmania

Wheel skids, car fridge, swag, tarp, computer gear, phone chargers, cable ties, satellite phone, CB radio, engine oil, tool kit, diesel cans x 2, ratchet straps x 2, snatch strap, tyre pump, rope, knives, rifles, ammo and case (lockable), clay thrower and clays, fishing rod and tackle, torch and charger, drone, soap, first aid kit check.

Day 1

Packing

Tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag, chairs (folding) x 2, water bottles x 3, wetsuit, rain jacket. Fire-lighters, small grill, tongs, gas cooker, jaffle iron, plastic tub, whisk, bowls x 2, tea towels, cups, plates, cutlery, coffee, beer, salt, oil, snacks.

What else? Im sure were missing shit...

Its about 11pm on a Saturday in late September, and Im in Bowral with Cameron Cansdell. A fellow chef and lover of the outdoors, Cam has a restaurant called Bombini, at Avoca Beach on the NSW Central Coast, and he was the chef at my wedding. Over the years weve become good mates and hes coming along for the initial leg of the trip, so hes helping me pack. I collected the car from Land Rover head office in Sydney earlier that day, and were going through everything in detail, over and over.

The whole trip will cover 13,000 kilometres and, along with photographer Adam Gibson, I will essentially be living out of this vehicle for a couple of months. We have our swags and tents, but I have no idea where well be sleeping each night, and Im happy for it to be ad hoc a quiet corner of somebodys property, a nature strip or roadside campsite.

We have a massive YETI Tundra cooler to fit in, as well as a fridge. Were struggling to squeeze it all in, so we decide to strap as much on to the roof as possible... At midnight were still going I just want to get this finished. We need to be up early for the seven-hour drive to Port Melbourne, where well board the Spirit of Tasmania ferry to Devonport. Its 1am before we hit the sack. Im ruined and tired, but I cant sleep, cant stop worrying if weve got everything covered, plus Im bloody excited.