A day in the life of a Wicked Evangelist

Campervan Tug of War (Wicked Campers, Broome Australia)

2010-09-28T09:20:00.000+08:00

On my last trip to Broome in August, I filmed Round II of the Wicked Campers North-West Backpacker Games; a fortnightly fun competition held between Broome's Last Resort and The Kimberley Klub.

During this round, both teams competed in a Wicked Tug o' War competiton- and lugged two of our 4WD's down the gorgeous Gantheaume Point Broome

Check out the Wicked footage!

Wicked Campers - The Truth

2010-08-30T08:42:00.000+08:00

Wicked Campers has approximately 12,000 rentals every year! I caught up with some happy customers out and about in Cairns and captured their feedback, its in this video "Wicked Campers- The Truth".

Wicked Driving tips Australia

2010-08-23T11:59:00.001+08:00

We're always advising our customers to stay safe on our roads and this 4min video outlines the big safety tips we provide our Wickedees. 4WD tips are also included - there can be quite difficult terrain in the outback so you need to be careful!

New Wicked Campers digs in Brisvegas!

2010-08-05T09:26:00.003+08:00

Chaotic can only describe the last week or so! We had over 70 van pickups for Splendour in the Grass, with customers flying in from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and even Perth to pickup their Wicked wheels. I've taken some interview footage with our customers.

In the same week we also moved premises. Our Brisbane depot, formerly in Fortitude Valley has now relocated to 100 Longlands Street, Woolloongabba. All our offices have located to the new premises - we used to have our Sales, Evangelism, Workshops, Panel-beaters, Accounts in separate offices around East Brisbane, but finally - we are all together!

The new digs resemble a Wild West town and after a downpour of rain on the weekend I was advised to wear gumboots into the office. The "new" Evangelism office is fitted out with tin-walls; corrugated roofs, old concrete flooring from the 70s yet its rustic, and cosy and truly Wicked-styled!

Over time this place will be hotted up but here's how it looks at the moment...not your ordinary office environment!!!

Wicked Campers sets a Guinness World Record

2010-07-02T14:06:00.005+08:00

This year is going all too quickly! I can't believe my last post was back in May. A LOT has happened with Wicked Evangelism in the last few weeks, I'll try wrap up all the magic in a future post - but I wanted to spruik about the Wicked Campers World Wecord attempt first :)

On Sunday June 27, the Tricky van was parked outside The Wickham Hotel in Fortitude Valley (Brisbane) and the people flocked to try for a new Guinness World Record. Wicked Evangelist Mary registered the attempt with Guinness World Records and noted the criteria for the attempt:

- All participants must be in the vehicle within 10mins of starting

- All participants must be over 5 foot tall

- All participants must be over the age of 16.

A total of 36 people squished into the campervan - unbelievable!

Here they are out in the open.

The only casuality from the day was a broken windscreen...whoops.

Here's a 30 second video from the event - fun!

The Body Art Carnivale!

2010-05-26T08:30:00.004+08:00

The Australian Body Art Carnivale was held last week in Eumundi, Queensland. Eumundi is a gorgeous little town on the Sunshine Coast, famous for its markets which are held on Wednesday's and Saturday's each week.

The Carnivale is a celebration of colour, with many different art exhibitions and competitions held over the weekend. Wicked Campers jumped on board the event this year and sponsored the Vehicle "Show and Shine" competition and the Wicked "Vehicle Art" comp. We enlisted 5 local artists to paint our Wicked vans.

Now because we needed 5 vans up there, we needed 5 drivers. So we made it a girls weekend and drove up the coast on Friday afternoon; dumped the vehicles and hit the Masked Gallery Walk, a "pub crawl"of all the Art Galleries spread through the town. It was such a great event, we met dozens of awesome people, drank bubblies and ate delicious food (oh, the churros)!

The entire weekend was fabulous - a great mix of entertainment, music, food, friendships and karaoke. Congratulations to David Houghton who won the Vehicle Art competition with his fabulous "Avatar'' themed Wicked Camper.

Some pics from the wknd are below

Texts from last night

2010-04-09T13:43:00.003+08:00

It's been a while since my last blog post and I can blame that on having way too good a time over Easter! All our Wicked depots were under the pump over the Easter break - many of our customer's who picked up vans were heading to a variety of festivals over the break and we hope you all had an amazing experience!

A feature of our Wicked Campers Facebook page is the 'Wicked one-liner of the day'. It has a pretty regular following, with fans writing in and showing their appreciation/loathing for various slogans we host on the site. I usually gather quotes from vans I see parked around town; or from quotes provided by Mrs Wicked, or mates at the office. Yesterday I couldn't find a suitable quote so I asked around the office and Ross showed us a website called 'Texts from Last Night'. This site is a gold-mine of quotes - all pretty much related to sex, drugs and alcohol - and all texts which have actually been sent. Some would be perfect on our vans; other's not so much.... here are some of my favourites:

I may have a concussion but the symptoms are the same as a hangover so I can't tell. Best 21st ever.

Important life lesson - flammable and inflammable mean the same thing

I saw a girl walking around campus with bandages on both her knees. I need to get her number.

Dude has a bag of wine attached to his belt. These guys don't f*ck around.

A horse told me not to drive home last night. I think there was a cop on top of it.

As an update to my previous post It's been two weeks since we started the Virginity competition, and our winning entries have been published online, you can view them here.

The Virginity Emails

2010-03-26T19:00:00.003+08:00

Sometimes I can't believe I get paid to do the stuff that I do.

Like this week.

We're urging our customers to 'leave their message' on the inside of our Wicked Campers, to create a bit of a culture and attach some history/wisdom/character to each van.

One method we're using to encourage this is asking customer's to write in the vans 'how they lost their virginity'. We've incorporated this idea with an online competition, asking the public for their virginity stories. The best (most ingenious; yet true) stories will win a free Wicked 7 day roadtrip from Cairns to Sydney.

Well! I've never been so excited to check my email before...

The stories I've received so far are so intriguing! I do have my 'favourite' stories, but to keep it fair the Evangelism Panel will read all the entries at the end of each fortnight to select the roadtrip winner.

Here's a snippet of a story I received yesterday.

When i was 16, I broke up with my boyfriend of a year. After id broken his heart and he was sitting on the edge of his bed crying (yes, well he was only 16) I asked him if I could lose my vplates to him. Even though he was waiting for marriage (religious reasons) but I really wanted to have sex for the first time with him, not some random idiot.

So he gave up his virginity to me that day, only to have his mother walk into his room not expecting her religious son to be doing me from behind on the bed. Not such a good moment. After that afternoon I was never allowed to go back into that house. And she never believed him that it was the first time hed had sex either. Oops.

So i broke the poor guys heart, stole his precious virginity and got him grounded for a long long time. all in the space of about 4 hours...

How did you lose your virginity? Tell us here!

The Great Noosa Campout

2010-03-23T14:21:00.002+08:00

Mary and I spent the morning in Noosa, at the media launch for 'The Great Noosa Campout', a 3 day event held over the easter holidays.

As I'm a bit struck for time I'll post some photos of the Noosa Campout van tomorrow, but I wanted to upload this footage from the launch. The major of Noosa, Bob Abbot spoke about the festival and gave Wicked Campers some lovely feedback! It's all here in this video.

Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!

2010-03-22T13:50:00.005+08:00

You know what it's like on a Monday morning...you usually stagger into work, mourning the weekend and can't function until you have a shot of caffeine. This Monday morning started out like the norm and then at 9.10am, Ross our graphic designer yelped out from the bathroom. "F*ck!""... (pause)... "SNAKE!".

A massive green tree snake was patiently waiting for Ross outside the bathroom. Ross slowly shimmied his way past the imposing creature, and fortunately the snake slithered down the stairs. This photo attempts to capture the snake as it made its getaway; unfortunately he was a very camera shy snake.

It took awhile to get over the surprise, and we were trying to stop laughing in order to figure out strategies to keep the snake out, when we spotted something else slithering on the office floor. A massive lizard! The snake had obviously been trying to catch his breakfast from our office floor space.

A hilarious morning and a great way to start the working week! Hopefully there are no more similar surprises in stall later this week, though I reckon this would be the perfect time to slip a fake spider on someone's unsuspecting desk.

Father Ted in Australia!

2010-03-19T13:17:00.003+08:00

Wicked are collaborating with the Tedfest festival down in Parkes, NSW. This is a completely unique festival and looks amazing if you're a fan of the cult TV show "Father Ted".

For those who don't know what Father Ted is, Wikipedia can help:

Father Ted was a situation comedy television program produced by the British television company Hat Trick Productions which first ran from 1995 to 1998 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It starred Dermot Morganin the title role as the Irish Catholic priest Father Ted Crilly, and was set on the remote fictional Craggy Islandparish off the west coast of Ireland.The show follows the lives of Ted and his fellow priests, Father Dougal McGuire (Ardal O'Hanlon) and Father Jack Hackett (Frank Kelly), who are exiled on the island, living together in the Parochial house with the fourth main character, housekeeper Mrs. Doyle (Pauline McLynn).

The Tedfest van will feature as part of the Paddy's day festival in Sydney this weekend, so grab a pint o' guinness and wave your shamrock flags as it swings by!

Tedfest are putting on a fabulous deal for all Wicked punters:

- 3 Tedfest tickets for the price of 2 (saving of $250!)

If you're booking a Wicked Camper for the Tedfest festival you also get a wicked 5% discount (direct bookings only)! Ah, 'tis the luck of the Irish.

Our Wicked grafitti guy did an impressive job painting up the van, check it out:

2010 Sydney Mardi Gras: The Homo Float (sponsored by Wicked Campers)

2010-03-11T14:14:00.001+08:00

The theme for the 2010 Mardi Gras was the 'History of the World'. Wicked Campers sponsored a group called 'Homo' who were celebrating the history of the moustache. A 4WD Delica was painted up with various moustached characters from history (Ned Flanders, Charlie Chaplin, etc).

Check out their fabulous footage in this quick 5-minute clip. The costumes at the parade are incredible!

A big hi-5 to Sister Mary who slogged away for weeks getting the float ready, gathering participants and creating dozens of sparking, hairy, and just plain hot moustaches.

Topless Swedish ladies

2010-03-05T09:44:00.002+08:00

Thursday at work started like any other day in the office - a few phone calls, some emails, faxing to be done, a couple random requests... but at 10.30am I received a call from the Brisbane depot, telling me to 'come over urgently' and to 'bring the video camera'.

On arrival, I was greeted by 2 swedish girl's at the depot, who were topless and had been painted by our indigenous artist Nathan! Nathan, along with most of the depot staff were grinning like cheshire cats. I was given my mission: That I'd be in the car with a photographer from The Courier Mail and we'd be driving into the city to take footage of the girls (who would be flashing the public through the sun roof of one of our Wicked vans)!

Our car arrived first at Post Office Square in Brisbane (one of the most busiest pedestrian crossings in the CBD) and camera's were stealth-positioned at the go. A few minutes later the Wicked van appeared... it stopped at the pedestrian crossing and the girl's stood through the sunroof and started waving at the unsuspecting public! The reactions were priceless - most people laughed, or were shocked/ gobsmacked. After all, it was midday on a Thursday.

After about 20 seconds of putting on a show the girl's quickly yelled our expletives and lowered themselves back into the van.

The reason? A policeman proudly walked in front of the van and signalled for it to pull over. You couldn't script it any better, this would make fantastic footage! The cop was with our driver for a good 10mins, but our driver only received a $100 fine, for "Travel with vehicle with part of body outside of window". Not bad, considering what else he could've got them for.

Variety is the spice of life and that's why being a Wicked Evangelist is so much fun!

No rest for the Wicked

2010-02-25T11:48:00.002+08:00

Been a busy week in the life of a Wicked Evangelist this week! Over the weekend Sister Mary, myself and Nathan flew down to Melbourne to show-off our new Wicked 5-seater vans. They were super impressed with the re-vamp to the Wicked fleet... I guess the biggest surprise for us was the amount of the 'older generations' who totally dug the vans! The grey nomads have noticed a big difference in the amount of Wicked vans they see on the road. They too were impressed with the Ultra 5-seaters, but quietly stated that they preferred the old beat-up Mitsubishi's they said they had character - I agree.

With a boozey 'Ocean' theme party held for all Travel Industry staff on the Saturday night, it was a struggle to back it up on the Sunday, with most exhibitors crawling into their stalls at 9.55am (the day opened at 10am). No rest for the Wicked though, last night (Weds) we had a table of 10 booked at the Backpacking Qld Masqerade Ball...our table took advantage of the free booze a little too much. And that's all I'll say about that!

There have been quite a few sponsorship/cross promo vans that have gone out this week -

Somewhere near Tapachula - A group from the States who are travelling around the east oast, promoting their documentary/movie called 'Somewhere near Tapachula' - this is based on the important work of an orphanage in Mexico, the orphanage reaches out to kids by teaching them surfing. The guy's will be getting their van painted in a Mexican theme at the movie's premiere in Sydney Harbour.

The Be Love Bus - A group of girl surfer's/film-makers/musicians from the States who are also travelling the east coast, raising awareness for the 'Keep A Breast' foundation.

Entirely World Famous - This is a NZ version of the 'Best job in the world'. Nicquel from Australia was the lucky winner of a 3 month holiday around New Zealand. She'll be filming and blogging about her experiences here.

We wish all these groups many fine memories (and a few regrets) on their roadtrips!

Save $$$ - book direct!

2010-02-16T10:41:00.003+08:00

Phew, been a busy week and will continue to be in the coming weeks! My fellow Wicked Evangelists Mary and Nathan will be joining me at the Melbourne Adventure Travel and Backpackers Expo this weekend (Feb 20 & 21), being held at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton. Wicked Campers are giving away a 7 day roadtrip during the expo, will show-case the new El Grand (which is to be painted by our terrific indigenous artist Nathan at the show) and will be discussing the topic 'Drive yourself around Australia', a 30min presentation about The Great Australian Roadtrip. The discussion is held at 12.30pm daily. Entry to the expo is $5 at the door, or if you'd like free entry just print this voucher.

Speaking of saving money, we've also been focussing on creating more direct bookings. You can save a lot of cash by booking your campervan and travel arrangments directly, and to help out we've created a 'Discount' page on our Wicked Campers Facebook page. If you're travelling in a Wicked Camper, you can save a crapload of money by booking with our fellow travel partners. To check out the discounts on offer, visit our Facebook page and click the 'Discount' tab.

Mary is organising a float for this year's Mardi Gras which features a Wicked Camper as the centrepeice. The theme of her float is 'HO MO' - a group for homo's celebrating everything that's queer, especially the moustache! It's a fabulous concept and she's currently recruiting folks who'd like to join HO MO in Sydney on February 27. If you're interested, click here.

Signing off from the Broome depot - will be back in Brisbane tomorrow!

The Wicked Van Blues - by Rob Imeson

2010-02-05T13:18:00.001+08:00

Here 'tis, direct to YouTube - Rob Imeson's "The Wicked Van Blues". This track will have your feet stamping in to time! I think we're the only campervan company that has had a song written about them - a real honour. I guess it shows that the joy of being in a Wicked Van is not only related to the van itself, but the culture and fun it creates.

Vote for Rob Imeson's "Wicked Van Blues" on Triple J's Unearthed - http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=32343

"The women flocked to us like the salmon of Capistrano"

2010-02-05T09:57:00.004+08:00

Received this corker of an email from a previous hirer in New Zealand.

The email subject was Wicked Campers NZ: Disappointed.

Dear Wicked NZ,

I recently partook on a legendary road trip, nay, an odyssey in a Wicked campervan from 27/11-14/12. The trip exceeded expectations. It was a trip where the beer flowed like wine, and the women flocked to us like the salmon of Capistrano.

However, something disconcerting has occurred that must be brought to your attention. My five companions and I decided to save approximately $20 and take Wicked up on the "naked special". While the $20 was well worth our combined dignity, I am extremely displeased not that a photo was taken on such a brisk morning where your female employees may have gotten the wrong impression, but that this photo has not been posted in the photo gallery nearly two months later. I ask that you please address this problem at once.

Cheers

NEW Wicked Campers 5-SEATERS! (features of the Nissan El Grand)

2010-01-29T08:59:00.001+08:00

Introducing the Nissan El Grand - the new 5 seater available at Wicked Campers! Perfect for your roadtrips, this pimpin' vehicle has it all: dual air-con, power-steering, CD player with i-pod adapter, table, chairs, cosy bed and a kitchen out the back (complete with gas cooker, kitchen sink, cutlery, plates, cups, bowls, frying pan and saucepan).

The new fleet of Wicked Campers are painted by Indigenous Aboriginal artists, to give you a truly unique Australian experience.

I created this video, with the help of Steph and Daz at the Brisbane depot, Ross our graphics dude, Farley the photographer and Nathan, the Wicked artist featured in the clip. Thanks guys!

Competition madness

2010-01-27T14:51:00.002+08:00

It's towards the end of January and the New Year's hangover's seem are all over, businesses are back on board and Wicked is joining the party!

If you fancy your luck we have three competitions running in February.

Fancy a free trip around Australia?
Wicked Campers are assisting with Surfin' Steve's Australia tour by providing 2 personalised vans for the tour. Surfin' Steve is expanding his entourage and looking for a sexy assistant. Someone fun, outgoing and up for any challenge (knowing Steve this will probably involve a lot of nudity!). You have 4 days left to submit a video, letting Steve know why you're the girl of his dreams! Enter the competition here.

Fancy yourself the next Spielberg?
Wicked Campers are teaming up with Philip Island Nature Parks to find an Australian budding film-maker! Hop in your campervan, film your Wicked experience and submit the link to us! 3-parks pass tickets to Philip Island Nature Park will be given out every fortnight to the best video, whilst the major winner receives a $500 camera and a life-size stuffed penguin!

Fancy getting away over Easter?
The Great Noosa Campout is a 3-day music and cultural festival held in the Noosa Hinterlands over Easter. We have 2 doubles passes (valued at $320) to give-away. All you have to do is click here and answer a verrrry simple answer about Wicked. Aussie icon Daryl Braithwaite (one of my faves) will be performing at the festival along with other super acts including Colin Hay from 'Men at Work'. If you attend the festival in a Wicked Camper, you also receive 1 night of free camping!

You gotta be in it to win it!

Now for something positive!

2010-01-19T08:06:00.002+08:00

As most of you all know, Wicked have copped a bit in the media recently. Since the story appeared we have taken measures to make our van safety more transparent. The most recent addition is the introduction of a 'safety checklist' (which includes major mechanical components such as tyres, brakes, seatbelts, windscreen, headlights, oil, water and fuel, as well as a road test and full under-body check). Both mechanics, cleaning staff and customers will sign this sheet - to ensure all is in order before the customer leaves on their Wicked roadtrip!

Since the story appeared we've received a nice amount of compliments from previous customers, here's a sample of the feedback:

Hi Everyone
I just wanted to comment on the unsafe vans story, which was on our local news recently. My husband and I are in our 40's and 50's, with a fair knowledge of mechanics. And we hired a van off you guys a couple of years ago. We thought it was a fabulous van. And not once ever did we feel it was unsafe or unreliable. It was a very memorable trip with NO van problems what so ever. We would not hesitate to hire another one ASAP.
Regards
A happy customer, Katherine NT

Hey you Wicked children, just got back from an awesome road trip with one of your vans! Even though the CD player didn't work (no Bowie to help us along the way!) we had a great time. AND at the end of the trip one of your workers was kind enough to drive us to the nearest train station so we didn't have to pay for a taxi. So lots of luvin' and thanks, the dreaded Canary can deem you unroadworthy as much as it likes but you're still the best things on the road!!

Best way to travel from Brisbane to Hervey Bay!! We got a free upgrade which was nice and the staff were really friendly. The van took a bit of getting used to but was fun to drive and we got loads of attention! Prior to getting the van, we had a car, tent etc.... We'd spend ages every night/ morning blowing up therma ...rests, packing/ unpacking the tent and getting ourselves sorted.... with the wicked you can just rock up, rearrange a few things and go to sleep. We would definitely recommend it!

Our adventure tok us from Sydney to Cape Tribulation over 10 days... It involved a few speeding fines, being jumped by some gay folk from Mackay and picking up some hot French girls...

and my favourite:

the trip was awesome but one month later I'm still waiting for the fotos of my picking up when I was naked.... Could I get them one day??? cheers

The Wicked Van Blues

2010-01-13T11:54:00.001+08:00

Here it is! Direct to Youtube and hopefully hitting the radio stations soon.. Rob Imeson's "The Wicked Van Blues".

Rob is a Yamba musician who contacted Wicked Campers last year about his song, which was gaining a huge response from the backpacker crowds at the local YHA. The second we heard this song, we knew we had to share it with the world. It really sums up what most Aussie blokes think when they see a Wicked Camper drive past; not only that - but its incredibly catchy too.

The track is currently storming up the Triple J unearthed charts - the more people that listen to the song on Triple J, the more of a chance we have it hitting the airwaves - please listen to it by clicking this link (http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Charts/). Its currently #11 on the overall chart (leapt up from #661 last week) - we want it up at #1.

Congrats to Rob Imeson - you're a musical genius; and Heaven Recording Studios for putting the music video together.

Business as usual for Wicked Campers

2010-01-10T17:03:00.002+08:00

Brisbane‐based Wickers Campers currently has 944 rental campervans operating in Australia,
including 611 Queensland registered vans currently on the nation’s roads.
Wicked founder and director John Webb said today the safety of the company’s vehicles was its
absolute top priority.

“Wicked Campers takes the safety of its fleet very seriously and we have co‐operated closely with the Queensland Department of Transport to ensure all our vehicles are safe,’’ Mr Webb said.

“We have recently voluntarily deregistered around 50 vans and are also in the process of introducing 500 upgraded vehicles over the next year. This will phase out all pre‐2004 vans in our fleet.’’

Mr Webb said he was very disturbed by reports suggesting that most of the company’s vehicle fleet had been taken off the road.

“In contrast, about five percent of our fleet has been voluntarily deregistered, which is generally in line with car rental industry standards,’’ he said.

“Wicked has almost 950 vans still on the road around Australia, including more than 600 registered in Queensland.

“It is very much business as usual for Wicked – providing a safe and fun‐filled holiday for thousands of tourists.’’

For more information contact:
Ella Riggert, Big Splash Communications, Ph (07) 3395 0772 Mob: 0411 871 451

To all our Wickedees on their summer roadtrips - hope you're having an amazing time!

Cyclone Laurence

2009-12-16T15:30:00.003+08:00

The talk of old Broome town is 'Cyclone Laurence', a category 5 cyclone currently sweeping its way through the Kimberley in Western Australia.

One Wicked Camper is due to be picked up from the Broome depot tomorrow, and the customers are flying in tomorrow to collect it - but with Broome airport closed after the last plane flies out tonight, will they even arrive in town?

The stern advice from the Tenderspot Butcher's (who work next door to the Broome Wicked depot) is - "If it gets to a red alert, stock up on alcohol - because the liquor stores will shut down".

Apparently Broome will be on a red alert at noon tomorrow.

Free Parking Info

2009-12-11T14:18:00.003+08:00

We're often asked "Where can I park for free?". Usually it depends on the season; the town; the circumstances. I once met a couple in Perth who bought a Wicked van, drove it around for 270 days and only paid for parking once - unbelievable! Byron Bay and Cairns are notorious for their anti-free-camping laws, whilst Broome rangers lighten up during the wet season.

We had some lovely customers drop us an email today about free camping areas in Torquay, Victoria. Here are their tips:

"Local council fines people who sleep in cars / vans / campers along the foreshore. Whilst it is fantastic to drift off to sleep and wake up with the view that's there, it puts a nasty taste in your mouth when you're penalised for it!

There are a few places within Torquay where it is safe to stop for the night: behind the Uniting Church in Beales St., west of the highway down near the creek turn right past the catholic church, then left - not the service rd - and follow it down and around) and probably any of the little streets just 1 block back off the Esplanade. There are no toilet/shower facilities, but neither does the ranger get you (excuses might include power nap / been up and had a walk (as long as you're fully dressed and quick)/whatever else you can think of quickly)!

The by-laws officers (2 over summer, 1 rest of the year) patrol between Torquay and Lorne, so there is no set day he's in the same town at the same time... predictably unpredictable.

Hope you pass this on to your users".

Thanks so much for your feedback!

Rainbow Serpent Festival

2009-12-10T15:06:00.004+08:00

Congrats to Shan Hilton for winning our double pass to the Solar Music Festival!

Wicked Campers have more summer festival tickets up for grabs. This time they're for the Rainbow Serpent Festival which is held in Beaufort, Victoria. Its an internationally recognised, 3-day festival - a multifaceted weekend of dance, colour, expression and celebration.

To enter the competition, answer a simple question and submit your details here.

Win tickets to the Solar Music Festival!

2009-12-04T10:58:00.002+08:00

Its summertime!!! Yessss. And that means all the summer music festivals will be making their way around Australia. Wicked Campers are embracing the Summer Festival season and are giving away double passes to the Solar Music Festival, a music festival held in Melbourne in early January.

You can win tickets by answering a simple question here.

You can book your accommodation and transportation all in one here.

On an aside - received a truly Wicked experience email from a customer who returned their van last month:

"Two young tattooed and pierced girls went for an adventure in the desert. We obtained gainful employment for a morning and helped a farmer break in a horse and were paid in beer. We saw a desert, we saw some big f*ck off rocks, we slept under more stars than someone from the UK has ever seen before.

We saw road-trains overtake us, we fell in a billabong and suffered through 45 degree heat. Hotter than my friend had ever felt before. We had drinks bought for us by amorous tour guides and I got to show my friend what Australia is really all about".

A Wicked mention at the Arias!

2009-11-27T14:41:00.003+08:00

The 2009 Aria's (Australian Record Industry Awards) were on last night and Wicked Campers even got a mention!

'The Doctor' from national radio station Triple J stepped up to announce the winner of the '2009 Blues and Roots album of the year'. Prior to announcing the winner The Doc stated that "...most of the artists in this category start their careers strumming a guitar in the back of a Wicked van".

What a sensational way to sum up the Wicked culture!

I'm not sure if this bloke is a former Wicked customer, but congratulations to CW Stoneking for winning the Blues and Roots ARIA with his album "Jungle Blues".

This is just a start for Wicked entering the Australian Music world. An unreal foot-tapping country music song written by Rob Imeson titled the "Wicked Van Blues" will soon be released - click here to play the song on Myspace.

Customer pick-ups?

2009-11-20T11:35:00.008+08:00

Wicked Campers is no ordinary organisation – as a fun, laidback company there are no set rules on how to talk/engage with customers; as long as the customer leaves the exchange happily.

Here’s an example of one Brisbane ROADTRIP PLANNER’s chats with a customer. So if you’re bored and want to exchange a bit of banter, give her a call on 1800 24 68 69. Warning – she may try sell you a campervan too!

(disclaimer: names have been changed to hide identities)

Conversations between ROADTRIP PLANNER and WICKED CUSTOMER

ROADTRIP PLANNER wrote:

This is my email address if you have anymore queries – save yourself a massive phone bill. And it also allows me a reply of more than 300 characters! So we can like chat…and share life stories…plot world domination and shit. Miss you already haha. ROADTRIP PLANNER

From: WICKED CUSTOMER

Cheers, you’re a star :) Im off to bed though. I sent the info onto the boys and hope to get this sorted out asap, as I dont want to think about it anymore...my head is beginning to hurt.

Anyway ROADTRIP PLANNER, really appreciate your help. It’s fun to talk to ya :) hahahaha. I hope all the Oz girls are as fun as you :)

Take care and enjoy your Friday (almost the weekend!!!!)

ROADTRIP PLANNER wrote:

No need for stress, just make an executive decision on this one…just BOOK IT…There’s only one van, just grab it.

And no, not all Oz girls are fun. The government, actually Ruddy himself, employs me to infiltrate the tourism industry and be bubbly, charming and downright hilarious so as to create the illusion of a fun nation. In fact, you guys probably shouldn’t even bother with Aussie girls at all while you’re over here.

Just kidding, you’ll have a blast! Book the damn van!
Goodnight!!

Kind Regards, ROADTRIP PLANNER.

The WICKED CUSTOMER will be dropping his van off in Brisbane. Will sparks fly when he visits the ROADTRIP PLANNER? Will he return his van naked? Stay posted for all the Wicked details!

Broome Wicked Camper depot - FAQ's

2009-11-17T15:48:00.003+08:00

We receive an assortment of questions from Wicked Campers customers at the Broome depot. To save time, we've posted up a FAQ sheet. Here's a sample of questions and answers...

Q. Where can I park for free?
A. Anywhere, just watch out for rangers and police officers. And axe murderers.

Q. How long does the gas bottle last?
A. Til the flame runs out.

Q. How much fuel does the camper use?
A. The slower you go, the better fuel economy you’ll have. We suggest driving at 80km/hr (in 5th gear, or if you’re in an automatic make sure you’re driving in overdrive).

Q. What happens if I see a kangaroo on the road?
A. Run the f*cker down! Don’t swerve for kangaroos.

Q. Where is the cheapest fuel?
A. What is cheap fuel?

Q. What happens if I breakdown and I don’t have phone reception?
A. You’ll work it out.

Q. How do I sleep in the van if its too hot?
A. Drink til you pass out. Alternatively pickup a Broome local and sleep in their air-conditioned room. Or you can find a tree and some shade (hint – the sun sets in the west).

Q. What if I don’t like my van design?
A. Harden the f*ck up.

Q. Are you the cheapest in town?
A. Yes. And the dirtiest.

(and yes, this FAQ is a piss-take...we're happy to help with any customer queries!).

Aboriginal art-inspired Wicked Campers (thanks to Music Outback Foundation)

2009-11-13T14:57:00.001+08:00

The Music Outback Foundation uses music and arts based programs to help improve education outcomes on remote Indigenous communities. Their annual event Mobfest Tanami is a three day festival held at Ti Tree School in the Northern Territory, 200km north of Alice Springs.

At Mobfest, schools come together to share their achievements in music and songwriting, enjoying all sorts of workshops during the day, and performing on the main stage at night. This year Wicked Campers was happy to help out with the cause by loaning five campers for students to paint up with some very unique artwork! Even the Ti Tree Elders got involved and painted one of the vans with beautiful ceremonial designs. These vans are now back on the road travelling around the country so keep your eye out for them!

For more information about Music Outback Foundation visit www.musicoutback.com.

Stories from the road

2009-11-10T13:39:00.007+08:00

Here are some 'roadtrip highlights' from Wicked Campers customers who returned their vans in October.

We were staying at Eagle Pt caravan park (right on the lake in VIC). I made dinner, and took the Wikid table that came with the camper, out on the peer, with dinner and champagne. The mrs sat down and I popped the question, then the cork on the champagne! Best week of our lives. We got some amazing photos of the van in front of the great ocean rd, etc. We're looking to hire another one for our honey moon!!!

Just me and the missus went from perth to coral bay. Was just a wicked trip, loved the van. haha it was almost like we were part of a community every time we passed a wicked van, we were tooting and yelling an waving. Just an awesome trip, not nearly as difficult as i thought it would have been. Wished i was still on the road!

We just had a really chilled week of driving hey.. There was one incident of being caught shagging on the beach.. And don't bother visiting the Big Oyster ever..

My besty n i loved our road trip!!! We went to byron, tweed heads, bilambil, suffock park and the gold coast stopping where ever looked good to have a surf n sun bake we were only gone for 8 days n were spewing we had to come home! on the drive around the place we saw other Wicked vans n had to party with the other campers as they were in a partying mood just like us!!! we loved it!!!Thanks heaps ur all Wicked!!! much love peace out!!! xXx

We had a great trip, the van went like a bomb, and we would happily use Wicked again and refer others to your company

We got to bathurst for the V8's but the police would not let the camper up to the top of mountain.They said the rego had only two weeks left and all cars with one month left on rego were not allowed up the top.(People buy old cars and smash them up and leave them there apparently!.) I showed them it was a hire car and still said no.! This is 4pm. We went back into bathurst to avis car rental and they let us use there fax. We then rang wicked who faxed the new rego threw 10 minutes before closing time 5pm at Avis. We would have had to leave the camper at the bottom in car park and hire another car to get our gear to the camp spot on top off mountain .Thanks again Wicked and Avis car rental you really came thew at the right time.

Our last night in the van was in Cairns. Cairns is a very campervan un-friendly city. Every other town we stopped in (from Sydney to Cairns), we were able to park near the beach and no one bothered us. Cairns has signs of "no camping" EVERYWHERE. So, we eventually found a quiet steet in a neighborhood just outside town. Dead asleep we were awoken by the sound and lights of a train barreling towards us. Could it be? Did we really park ON a railroad track? It sure seemed like it with the extreme loudness of the whistle and the lights blarring into the back window. But, fortunately, we were not on the track, but only about 50 yards from it. What a way to wake up!!

Goaaaaalll!

2009-11-06T13:14:00.002+08:00

Wicked want to place as many vans as we possibly can on the road in South Africa during the World Cup in 2010.

We're still trying to think up a good one-liner to promote the cause on our banner advertisements.

Quote of the moment is: "The road to the 2010 football world cup starts in a Wicked Camper".

Other suggestions have been:

Win, lose or draw - at the end of 90 minutes at least you can say you were in a Wicked Camper
The hands of God drive a Wicked Camper
A Wicked Camper - its Beckham's second best accessory
Pele drives a Wicked Camper
A Wicked Camper - its like Old Trafford on 4 wheels.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if Becks could be the face of Wicked? Maybe it could look something like this?

Van Safety

2009-10-30T12:09:00.001+08:00

Congratulations! You've booked - or you're looking to book a Wicked van for an upcoming roadtrip and want to make sure you're in safe hands.

I spent an afternoon discovering what safety checks each Wicked van was given before it was hired out. Extensive safety checks are done on all Wicked vans - these checks include: tyres, brake pads and seat belts, oil and water, battery and brake fluid, lights and hand brake, doors and windows/locks and key, fuel filter, gearbox and diff, management system and a roadtest.

Safety of our Wicked customers on the roads is our number one priority. View the video to get a visual!

Sawatdee Kaa

2009-10-28T15:42:00.004+08:00

Apologies for the lack of blogging. I've just arrived back from an amazing 10 days spent in Thailand. What a country. Fantastic friendly beautiful people, brilliant service, scrumptious food, stunning scenery and oh, so so cheap!

The Thailand quarters of Wicked now has a set address, so in no-time you'll be able to join the constant peak-hour traffic and crazy 'anything goes' driving over there. Driving a Wicked van still beats riding an elephant - I thought it would be glamorous to ride one...but I left the experience ride feeling bruised, battered, and happy to be back on the ground :)

"I'd rather be in a Wicked Camper"

Unfortunately this is a quick entry as I'm still catching up with work - but I promise a decent article in the next couple of days. I guess the most exciting news from the last week has been the Wicked exposure of our company on nationwide prime-time television!

Eli Wolfe transforms a Wicked Camper

2009-10-07T11:12:00.003+08:00

Eli Wolfe, a touring musician and his partner Dominique (both from Sydney) flew to Broome late last week to commence Eli's west-coast tour. He's using a Wicked Camper as his gig vehicle and spent a couple of afternoons in the Broome depot painting up this gem of a van - here's the video!

Click here to view Eli's tour dates on his 'Magic Honey Tour'.

Who paints the vans?

2009-10-06T09:24:00.003+08:00

One of the questions most asked when I tell people I work for Wicked is 'Who paints the vans'? .
Charley Boorman on his tv show 'By Any Means' mistakenly said a group of Harley Davidson motorbike junkies did the paint job. Sounds wicked but its not true.

Mrs Wicked, an artist and one of the Wicked creators originally did the artwork, and then a guy named Eric was brought on board for his spraypainting talents. Eric has recently left Wicked to start his own Tattoo Studio business.

The new painter on the block is Guy, who's job has just gotta rival Tourism Qld's 'best job in the world'. Based in Brisbane, Guy has flown all the UK, Thailand and New Zealand painting up Wicked vans. He also travels extensively around Australia. More recently, he's been painting up depot and backpacker hostel walls with 'Wish you were here' text emblazoned on them.

Check out a video of the bloke spraypainting the Trogdor van here.

A lot of the ideas for the paint jobs come from Mr Wicked; but anyone can submit their own design ideas! If you rent a van for 60 days or more/purchase a van from Brisbane you can even elect to have your own paint job on your Wicked Camper! Click here for details.

Join the Wicked Cult!

2009-10-02T14:09:00.002+08:00

A big shout-out to Budi, our IT guy this week. I've been hounding him with questions everyday re. the new website and he's been a big help!

We've now updated our affiliate site on the new webpage, so sign up today. You can earn a neat 10% commission for any Wicked Campers booking made through your link. That's right - passive income...you can sit on your butt and watch the cash flood in.

We also have a new section on our website that allows people to subscribe to The Wicked Gospel - a 'wicked happenings' e-newsletter sent out to subscribers every couple of months that keeps them up to date with all the latest roadtrip ideas, specials, competitions and travel news around Australia and the rest of the Wicked world.

In other news...I had a little scare this morning when Sister Sam sent me a text message, saying Wicked were in trouble with the ACCC for not advertising all charges up-front. It was the first I'd heard of it but I let out a sigh of relief shortly after a quick Google search....and discovered the company in trouble was 'Wicked Travel' - not Wicked Campers.

Seen the new fridge?

2009-09-25T14:35:00.002+08:00

As I've mentioned in an earlier blog post, its been an extremely busy week up here in Broome.

So busy that you can make people believe things that they wouldn't usually believe.

Yesterday I came back to work after hours and discovered a new fridge sitting in the waiting room. I assumed that Bob, the landlord next door was the culprit. I went over to visit Bob after work and yep, I was right - Bob had kindly delivered us another fridge!

This morning Chris and I walk into work and the conversation goes something likes this:
Chris: Wow! have you seen this new fridge?
Me: Umm... Chris? Are you feeling ok? That fridge has been there since Wednesday.
Chris: What? No way
Me: Yes. Bob even asked you where you wanted it - and you told him to place it behind the door!
Chris: Ahh...I don't remember (looks quizzically at the fridge).

5 mins later Bob's wife walks in and Chris asks her when the fridge arrived. Over Chris' shoulder I mouth 'WED-NES-DAY' over to her, which she promptly replies to Chris. He can't believe it!

Bob walks in after another 5 mins and Chris asks him the same question. Bob says "Mate, I asked you where you wanted it. You even offered to help me bring it in!".

Chris is looking super confused at this stage. Moments later, a German couple return their Wicked van. I overhear the conversation. Chris says "Guys...I've been so busy, I didn't even realise this new fridge had been sitting in my waiting room for three days!".

It took all my strength not to laugh. Ahh, what stress can do to a person...

Leave town in a Wicked Camper

2009-09-23T14:57:00.002+08:00

After a quiet week in Broome last week, things seem to have exploded here. The temperature is heating up and everyone is evacuating Broome!

In Wicked news this week:

- The new Wicked Campers Australia website is up - same address; different image: http://www.wickedcampers.com.au . Our web designer, Budi, has done an amazing job!

- We're giving away free 5 day roadtrips from Brisbane to either Alice Springs or Adelaide. Simply join Sister Cassie at Birdie Num Nums on Sep 28 for a one-hour focus group.

- Join the Wicked Nullabor Links convoy and play the longest golf course in the world.

- Had an amazing roadtrip? Submit your best roadtrip story and you could win a 7 day Wicked roadtrip, a Panasonic Camcorder, two memory cards and 10 double passes to Stone Bros. "the first full-blooded Oz comedy in eons" (Empire).

I also received some nice feedback from a travel agent in Cairns who used her free Wicked days (book 7 days and get 1 day of Wicked hire for your own use) for a roadtrip in Adelaide. Here is her feedback:

"Would just like to say thankyou very much for allowing me a camper while i was in Adelaide! The camper was great and a MASSIVE hit with the likes of my Mum, Dad, brother etc haha. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Wicked laugh's adults only book!! haha some great stuff in there. The guy (cant remember his name :() who runs the ashop in Adelaide was awesome...giving me stickers and all sorts of things :) So i intend to make a Wicked display with ALL the stickers done up on a box or something like that!! Thanks once again! Have a great day"

"A Wicked van is all you need"

2009-09-17T11:52:00.001+08:00

George and Maureen from the UK popped into the Broome depot to get their Wicked van serviced. After a quick chat to them, I discovered that they had rented a van for 10 months -- which must be a Wicked record! This is their 3rd Wicked hire in Australia. Both are huge Bob Dylan fans so they got the bloke painted all over their vehicle (it was either Bob, or Manchester United).

I interviewed them both and will post up that video next week, but here's a sneak peak of the song George wrote and performed at our Broome depot as a tribute to Wicked Campers. Its called 'A Wicked Van is all you need'.

Lyrics:
A Wicked van is all you need
From Sydney Harbour, to Monkey Mia
From Kakadu to Uluru
A Wicked van is all you need.

The Virgin Van

2009-09-16T14:16:00.001+08:00

Here's a video audition clip I created for a competition to drive Richard Branson around Sydney for a day (http://virginmoney.com.au/driving-sir-richard). Oh yeah, you also get to hang out with him in the Virgin pits at the F1 in Singapore too. Not a bad prize.

If you're a Wicked customer please do not perform any of these stunts while out on your roadtrip (driving on the beach, sitting on the van!)! Highly illegal and we'll suck your bond.

Yes I know I'm not the greatest role model, but those stunts did make for a good camera shot :)

Wicked World Cup 2010

2009-09-14T15:18:00.003+08:00

Nick from Wicked Africa gave me a call last week about his plans for the World Cup in 2010. I went to Germany back in 2006 and had some great times:

Here's Nick message to encourage you all over in 2010.

The 2010 World Cup is shaping up to be an absolute extravaganza and here at Wicked we have been working hard to make it the most memorable experience of your life! Our Campers have everything you need to eat, sleep and travel to all the Games. Unlimited kilometres and an upfront price gives you the re-assurance that you are sorted for the world’s biggest sporting event.

There are plans on the table to have Campsites close to Game venues, with a shuttle service to the games. We will also have Wicked Discounts for activities you may wish to do whilst here.

There is a genuine shortage of accommodation and vehicles expected for the World Cup, and Wicked have a limited amount of vehicles available.
With over 1,000 Requests in the past year alone we suggest that you book early to avoid disappointment.

Our bookings for the world cup require a 30% deposit to confirm, with the balance to be paid by the 1st April 2010.

We appreciate the patience you have shown us in the past months and to say thank you for this, we wish to offer you a special discount. If you are booking for a Thirty Plus day Adventure with the majority of this time in the World Cup period then you qualify for a Wicked Discount. Simply enter the words world cup in the promo field of the booking engine on our site ( http://www.wickedafrica.com/fifa_soccer_world_cup.htm ). This offer is valid for a limited amount of time and is subject to availability.

Those that have booked using this promotion code enter the draw to have their Wicked Camper personalised with their own Design at no additional cost.

So get cracking and take advantage of this amazing early bird discount!!!!!!

Yours in all that is Wicked and Fun,

Lula (Wicked Africa)

Loyal and smile

2009-09-08T12:44:00.007+08:00

Ok I admit, my last post entry was lame. It was a last-5-minute-at-work-blog-entry since I've been super busy being an evangelist! I won't bore readers with the gory details, but some of the tasks include I've been helping our web developer Budi(licious) with content updates/audits to the new Wicked Campers website (which looks exceptional by the way, good stuff Budi); creating a new Wicked agent manual; organising training for the agents at the Broome Visitors Centre; editing a new Wicked loop DVD; ordering new Wicked country stickers and in amongst it all, talking to my mates in China about ordering new Wicked merchandise.

I was looking to order some Wicked hats from China the other day and sent off some prospective emails to suppliers over there. Here's a lovely email I received back from Amy at Guangzhou Kaavie Cap Co Ltd.

"Dear Ms Leanne, Thanks so much for your message in our website. please send us your caps's pictures,so that we could quote a exact price. These are the pictures about our factory. please see them in attached at your convenience. Hope can cooperate with you .

loyal&smile.
Amy"

Loyal and smile. What a terrific parting message. It beats 'Cheers'!
Oh and here are the photos from Amy's factory...

Sparking dreams around the world

2009-09-07T15:13:00.006+08:00

Seems like someone else has taken the 'round the world' Wicked Campers roadtrip philosophy to heart!

Look what I spotted in Broome town today.

This family (yes, a family with 3 yound children!!) have driven from Argentina to Alaska and are now covering Asia. You can track their progress on their world roadtrip blog - sparkyourdream.net .

In transit

2009-08-31T14:11:00.003+08:00

It's a day off for the Evangelist today. I'm currently in transit from Brisbane to Broome and am waiting patiently for my Perth flight in the comfort of the Qantas Club, Perth. They have pumpkin soup, salad rolls, pretzels and FREE BOOZE on offer!

What an incredible distance to travel though. I had a flight to Sydney that left at 7.30am this morning. My connecting flight from Sydney to Perth left at 9.50am and took 5 hrs and 15 mins. Now I'm waiting another 2 hrs for my connecting flight to Broome...

I wasn't the only one thinking that was a little extreme...when I checked into Qantas this morning, this is how the conversation with the middle-aged Qantas guy went:

Qantas Man: So you're flying to Sydney today?
Me: No - Broome!
Qantas Man: Oh my gosh. You're travelling all around Australia today! I wonder why they did that?
Me: Yeah....me too
Qantas Man: What do you do over in Broome, work?
Me: Yup
Qantas Man: What sort of work?
Me: I work for a campervan rental company called Wicked Campers, you know, those grafitti'd up campervans...
Qantas Man (interrupts): Oh my god I love them! Last year I saw one with a funny quote...it said "Women want many thing from one man, but...
Me: Men want one thing from many women??
(we both crack up).

We continue to talk about Wicked for 10 mins. This guy was certainly the Wicked fan, a 'roaming evangelist'. He said he rang up Mr Wicked last year and asked if he could go into the Valley depot and take pics of all our vans. He was super excited to meet an Evangelist- it was truly great feedback to hear and it snapped me out of my grumpy morning mood!

The new face of Wicked

2009-08-28T07:53:00.005+08:00

Our former Wicked Campers Depots Guru/Captain Amazing went on a glamour photo rampage earlier this year and posted the photos up on his Facebook account! Many of his female fans...I mean friends wrote positive feedback on his site, so we decided to take his most popular image and use it to promote our campervans:

I've also been in contact with Kenneth, The Thirsty Swagman who runs The World's Biggest Pub Crawl (check out his website, sooo damn cool). I originally heard about these World Pub Crawls in an email forward I received from a mate after a particularly huge night. I was inspired. It is such an amazing idea (and a logistical nightmare if you're trying to do it yourself, imagine how many flights you would miss)- 60 pubs, 12 countries, 4 continents, 25 days. Kenneth saw the article written about Mr Wicked in "The West Australian" and also loved the Wicked culture, so we're trying to work out ways in which our companies can pair up - Wicked vans on an All-Australian pub crawl? Pub crawls from Brisbane to London? But for starters this week our Wicked grafitti dude painted them up a van:

Wicked one-liner on the back: "If you're not wasted for a week, you've wasted a week"

The Thirsty Swagman loves it! "Leanne, this is unreal!!!!! Truly awesome, haha. I’m totally stoked! Can you tell me how I can get a carton of beer to your graphic artist? Name and address, and it’ll be shipped on Monday. Special brew it shall be."

You wouldn't expect anything less from The Thirsty Swagman!

Bye Bye Michael Jackson

2009-08-27T09:38:00.004+08:00

Wicked Campers have decided its time to say farewell to Michael Jackson so we've taken our Michael Jackson special - "Moonwalk into any of our Wicked depots dressed up as Michael Jackson to get your first day of hire for free" off the shelves.

Here are some photos of the Michael Jackson's that graced our Brisbane depot.

Whilst its said to say goodbye to the special its not all doom and goom. The Wicked staff morale booking "NAKED SPECIAL" is back on! Show up naked to get your first day for free!

I'm back in Brisbane working in the Evangelism office this week, meeting our new Evangelists (Brother Mark and Sister Cassie) and Budi(licious) the IT guy, chewing the fat with Mr Wicked, Jerome, and the Wicked roadtrip planners, and catching up on the last few months of Wicked Evangelising with Sisters Mary and Sam.

Troopy photo shoot

2009-08-21T11:28:00.007+08:00

The only Wicked Landcruiser we have currently is our Broome depot drive-car "The Dragon", so I took some locals out on the road yesterday to shoot some pics for our new Wicked brochures that will promote the Alice Springs 4WD package.

I'm flying back to Brisbane tonight and will be working back in 'The Vegas' for the week next week. Will be great to meet the new Evangelists and catch up with the old school Wicked crew!

Wicked Troop Carriers

2009-08-19T14:04:00.005+08:00

Uluru. The Red Centre. Its a place you can't miss when you're on the trek Down Under.

In July 2008 I took a 7 day Alice Springs Wicked roadtrip with my fellow Evangelists Camilla, Farley and Dave. In our 4WD Delicas we stormed through Rainbow Valley, Uluru, The Olgas, Kings Canyon and the Meereenie Loop Road back to Alice Springs. It was the first time any of us had driven a 4WD and after 10mins of our first dirt road we were self-proclaimed dirt track experts (of course, always keeping the advice to take it slow, avoid driving from dusk-dawn and swerving for animals in our minds at all times!).

Self-drive is a great way to see the country and there are some great 4WD self-drive tours currently available in Fraser Island, but nothing for the outback. Wicked is stepping in to fill the gap and will start to offer 3 day/ 5 day self-drive tours from Alice Springs to Uluru and back, via Kings Canyon. Instead of the Mitsubishi Delica we'll be renting out robust Toyota Landcruiser's or "Troopy's" which cater for between 4-10 people.

It's something that you've just gotta do when you're in Australia - grab a bunch of mates, high-tail it to Alice Springs, watch the sunrise and set over Uluru, take photos with roadkill, climb Kings Canyon and drink with the locals.

To view Part 1 of our outback adventure, click here.

Talkin' bout my generation

2009-08-14T14:16:00.004+08:00

The other evening I caught up with Ralph, who runs Australian Wilderness Tours. I met Ralph at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Melbourne earlier this year - he's a big Wicked fan. Ralph was in Broome, taking his entourage of older women (average age of 60) in a 4WD luxury tour from Darwin to Broome via the Gibb River Road. We arranged to catch up this week, and I joined the women for wine and cheese whilst watching the Cable Beach sunset.

It was great joining the group. After living here for a few months you take the extraordinary sunsets for granted, but when you watch the sunset with other's for the first time you remember how lucky you are to experience this every day.

The women were from an international organisation called the 5W's - "Women Welcome Women World Wide. This is a network open to all women and aims to encourage travelling to foreign countries independently. On their website it states "a 5W member can make new friends in foreign lands or just around the corner, travel to far-flung places or enjoy having guests in her own home. Travelling with 5W is a safer way.Imagine having a network of friends wherever you go - having another woman to meet you at the airport when you arrive in a new country - its reassuring in a land far from home."

The tour ended today in Broome and two of the women from 5W - Dora (German) and Marie (Queenslander) came to pick up a Wicked Camper for their roadtrip to Perth. We gave them the John Lennon van and they loved the quote on the back "If only men were as satisfying as chocolate". We had a copy of the Beatles #1 CD so we threw it in for them too - they loved it!

Being from an older generation they took certain precautions while travelling and even asked us to keep a copy of their roadtrip itinerary (which they were also handing to Broome police before setting off tomorrow), just in case something unusual occured on the road. We've promised to call them a couple times during their roadie to say g'day. I asked the ladies "Why Wicked?" and Dora explained that she's giving Wicked a go as she's thinking of buying an ex-Wicked van when she flies over to the east coast month. I hope when I'm 60 I'm still as adventurous as these two ladies!

Jim's Brazilians

2009-08-12T15:04:00.003+08:00

Our Wicked customer who was hospitalised last week (read ‘Wicked on Fire" post below) survived her dehydration ordeal and is on a flight to Cairns. She brought me a bottle of wine in gratitude for the ride to the Broome hospital (very muchly appreciated!). She also returned one of the most photographed vans in our fleet, "Jim's Brazilians" to the Broome depot.

For those who don't know about Jim's Mowing, check out his website.

We actually had one of the real life ‘Jim’s in the van back in June – here’s a story received from a Wicked customer:

“Another person in our group that hired a Wicked Van from Cairns recently owns a 'Jim's lawnmowing' business. When i saw the 'Jim's Brazilians' van on your website, i thought it would be great if he got that one.

I was sitting at the back of my van cooking my dinner, at the festival, when he pulled up beside me - in the 'Jim's Brazilians' van!! I fell off my camp stool laughing!! The best bit was, he wasn't supposed to get that van but it was switched when he picked it up.. and he hadn't mentioned it when they gave it to him.. :)”

Its amazing what a stir this van creates, its word-of-mouth marketing in itself! Check out some of the following websites:

http://modifiedcarforums.com/forums/humour-media/5365-franchise-opportunity.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greentea/3204832694/
http://www.mycolours.com.au/Image.aspx?i=714606

http://www.cathellis.com/2007/02/jims-brazilians/

Of course I’m a huge Jim’s fan and had to get a photo taken with the superstar van before the Broome Cup races on Saturday.

Love your work Jim.

Wicked Nullabor 7-day special?

2009-08-07T14:49:00.006+08:00

Nullabor Links, the world's biggest golf course is opening to the public on August 15. Its in Australia and situated on the Nullabor, stretching from Ceduna S.A. to Kalgoorlie WA.

The course is 1365km long and the official website states that the course will take an average of 4 days to complete!

The best part is that after playing all 18 holes you get a free certificate that says “You have played the World’s Longest Golf course.” A must for any golf-enthusiasts pool-room.

The official opening of the course will be in October but Mark, our super depot manager in Melbourne has a great idea to organise a Wicked rally/convoy headed over for the opening - maybe a 7 day special from Adelaide to Perth and vice versa. Keep posted to this blog and wickedcampers.com for more info!

Great Ocean Roadie

2009-08-06T15:07:00.002+08:00

James, the editor of itravel.net took a Wicked Camper on his roadie from Melbourne to Adelaide. He left some great comments on his blog - "I had only been parked for half an hour and I spotted a wallaby by the campsite. The camping area was right on the beach so I could hear the ocean as I lay in bed. You wouldn't experience that on a bus".

Read the rest of his write-up on his popular blog i-Travel.net: http://www.itravelnet.com/blog/notes.html

I'd like to also warmly thank the following couple for sending me this warm and fuzzy email today:

"Hi we had a great time travelling from Broome to Darwin in one of your vans. We got a day's free travel 'cause we turned up naked in the Broome office but we never got a copy of the photo. We booked on the 13th March 2009. Is there any chance of you sending me a copy of the photo that was made in front of the van (e.g. per e-mail). We would be wrapped. Thanks and thanks for a really great trip".

Here are the happy couple ready to embark on their roadtrip of a lifetime!

Wicked on Fire!

2009-07-31T14:32:00.000+08:00

My Friday started well in the Wicked depot...we had a lovely med student from Fitzroy return his van and he had only praise for our staff in Darwin and his roadtrip. Here he is popping his Wicked "Customers 4 Life" survey in our pimped out survey box.

We also had some Swiss boys pickup a van, they're on their way to Darwin on the Gibb River Road.

It was a great day at Wicked. No fuss customers, lots of time to evangelise on the web...but then disaster struck.

A wild-fire spread across the road from the Broome depot around noon today. As I ran up to investigate, a local tv journo from GWN stopped me in my tracks and asked for an eye-witness account of the natural disaster.

After the high of being on regional television, I thought my day was going splendidly. I plugged away on my Wicked tasks and then Chris received a phone-call at 3pm. A few Wicked girls had a van that was stuck in third gear at a caravan park. Fortunately it was just down the road, so we hopped in the Wicked rescue-mobile and picked their van up. The two of the girls were worried about their mate, who looked like she was seriously ill. I checked them into the local pistol club (all caravan parks were full) and the woman on guard took a look at the sick girl and told us to rush her to hospital -- she was suffering from severe dehydration!

The rescue-mobile turned into an ambulance and we shot off to the Broome hospital. I returned to the depot and the girl's swapped into their new van (Jim's Brazillian van, the best one in the fleet!). They'll be returning their van to Broome next week so I look forward to hearing how the rest of their day went.

Anyway - I have to cut this blog entry short as I must dash home to watch myself on the 5.30pm news...

Mrs Wicked's Wisdom

2009-07-30T15:13:00.001+08:00

After sending out lots of emails to our Australian agents this week, I’ve received some compliments regarding Mrs Wicked’s Wisdom, agents who have said the wisdom has “brightened their day” or is “soooo true”!

To those unfortunate souls who have yet to receive an email from a Wicked Employee, try and nab one! All Wicked staff members have an email signature that includes a weekly quote chosen by Mrs Wicked (one of the creators of Wicked Campers).

After working for a big multi-national company (where we had a boring, stifling email signature), its refreshing to have these unique and inspiring quotes sent out each week and I look forward to receiving the updates.

Here are some of my favourites:

"Life is not perfect; it never will be. You just have to make the very best of it and open your heart to what the world can show you. Sometimes it's terrifying and sometimes it's incredibly beautiful. And I'll take both, thanks." - Graham Nash

"Learn to ask questions. It is always better to ask questions than to make assumptions. Have the courage to ask questions until you are as clear as you can be. Once you hear the answer to a question, you won't have to make assumptions because you will know the truth."

Ask for what you want. Find the courage to ask for what you want. Others have the right to tell you yes or no but you always have the right to ask. Likewise, everybody has the right to ask you for what they want, and you have the right to say yes or no.

Eliminate gossip. Making assumptions is a setup for suffering because we usually gossip about our assumptions. We make assumptions and believe we are right, then we defend our assumptions and try to make others wrong.

While we're on an inspirational note, here are some good books/sites that have inspired me in the last few months.

The Power of Now/ A New Earth – Eckart Tolle
A Complaint Free World

But hey - this can’t be a Wicked blog entry if its full of rainbows, butterflies, sausage dogs (running through sprinklers) and chocolate waterfalls. One Wicked employee (not mentioning any names) once received this in a response to an outgoing email:

"If this still doesn't "sit" with your policy then let me know and I'll look elsewhere. With all respect maybe you need to take a bit of your own advice -

Mrs Wicked’s Wisdom:
Don't take anything personally. Relinquish self importance. Self importance, or taking things personally is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about ''me.''

Happy Tuesday!

2009-07-28T14:52:00.000+08:00

Unfortunately, nothing too funny to report today. I've spent some time informing our west-coast agencies know how many free Wicked Campers days they've received so far. We're still offering all our agencies the following incentive

"For every 7 days of Wicked Camper hire you book, receive 1 day of Wicked Camper hire anywhere in the world!" Such an exciting incentive. I've had a few agents write back some nice feedback:

"Thanks i might use it soon thinking of a road trip yay! Would it be available for the east coast?"

"Can we use this whenever? Or does it expire? How exciting- I plan to travel the world with Wicked ;-) literally :-) So we will keep booking and keep saving hehehe. 32 Days- only 333days to save for hahaha".

Today being a Tuesday has been full of hope, but little has flourished today...

- I was looking forward to receiving the RedFM jingle today (Red FM are writing up a jingle for our radio advertising), however it’s not going to be ready till Thursday. The guy that wrote the jingle sang it himself and it apparently sounds like a cool punk song - ‘Sex Pistols’ mated with 'Arctic Monkeys'. Cannot wait to hear it!

- Melissa Doyle from Channel 7's Sunrise replied to our quote request and said "You guys seem to have this covered pretty well. Not sure my fave quote would be of value! Thanks for asking though."

- No one has moonwalked through our depot walls dressed up as Michael Jackson. Truly devastating. Maybe tomorrow? Here's hope!

- On a lovely note, Surfin Steve uploaded his latest clip surfin' on Moreton Island. There's also some nudity and some great Wicked sticker product placement in the video. You can view it here.

This Tuesday jogged my memory of a hilarious email forward I received a while ago (though my day has been pretty good and I'm fortunate to be in a job where I look forward to work each day).

FAIRFAX NEWS LIMITED

TUESDAY, 28 JULY 2009

After running a thousand errands, working hours of overtime, and beingstuck in seemingly endless gridlock traffic commuting to and from theirjobs, millions of Australians were disheartened to learn that it was, infact, only Tuesday.

"Tuesday?" Canberra resident Doris Wagner said. "How in the hell is it still Tuesday?"

Tuesday's arrival stunned a nation still recovering from the nightmarishslog that was Monday, leaving some to wonder if the week was ever going to end, and others to ask what was taking Saturday so damn long.

"Ugh," said Wagner, echoing a national sense of frustration over it not even being Wednesday at the very least. According to suddenly depressed sources, the feeling that this week may in fact last forever was further compounded by the thought of all thework left to be done tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and, if Australians make it that far, possibly even Friday, for goodness sake.

"Not only do Australians have most of Tuesday morning to contend with,but all of Tuesday afternoon and then Tuesday night," National Labor Relations Board spokesman David Prynn said. "If our calculations are correct, there is a chance we are in effect closer to last weekend than the one coming up."

Added Prynn: "F**k."

Reports that this all has to be some kind of sick joke could not beconfirmed as of press time. Isolated attempts to make the day go faster, such as glancing at watchesor clocks every other minute, compulsively checking e-mail, hiding inthe office bathroom, fidgeting, or reading a boring magazine whilesitting in the waiting room, have also proven unsuccessful, sources report.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao released a statement addressing widespread speculation that it might as well be Monday for all anyone cares."We understand this day has been tough on many of you, what with meetings mercilessly dragging on and an entire stack of files still left to organise," Chao's statement read in part. "Yet we urge Australians to show patience. The midweek hump is just around the corner, and we have strong reason to believe that Saturday will be here before you know it."

"Go about your lives as best you can," the statement continued. "Do not,we repeat, do not take a sick day, as it'll make the rest of the week that much harder to endure."

Wicked Wisdom from Wil Anderson

2009-07-23T07:49:00.000+08:00

Funny man Wil Anderson (stand-up comedian, host of ABC's 'The Gruen Transfer' and 'The Glasshouse' -- some of my favourite shows) submitted his Wicked wisdom today.

"Just saw in the paper you can get $25 for donating sperm. The ultimate cash in hand job..."

"Every time I hear NASA has sent an "unmanned probe" into space, it sounds like something lesbians use to get pregnant"...

"I love when you can still see the moon in the morning. Feels like it pulled an all-nighter and decided to stay up."

Huge thanks to Wil for the quotes, love them!

Our wannabe surfer, Surfin Steve has released his latest installment out where he aims to pash 69 girls in the one night at Surfers Paradise. It's a seemingly easy feat for the almost blonde, almost Aussie. Watch Steve get lucky here.

Onya Wozza

2009-07-21T14:36:00.000+08:00

I've been seeking contact with a variety of Australian icons/celebrities asking them to supply their own original one-liner for our new Wicked vans (see blog post below).

I checked my inbox this morning and would like to thank Warwick Capper, the former Sydney Swans AFL player/porn star/politician for being THE FIRST celebrity to email me his wicked words of wisdom.

He sent me the following quote:

"Wicked Campers You Beauty the Wizard Warwick Capper".

He also mentioned he'll think up some more and send them in the next few days. Look forward to it. His official website also mentions that he can perform at Bucks and Hens nights for $1500 - I reckon he's selling himself short!!

My favourite quote that I received today was from David Lutteral, or "Luttsy" from the Nova 106.9 morning show (Brisbane) and The Footy Show (NRL). Luttsy provided me with this pearler of advice:

"Always BE YOURSELF; unless being someone else makes you more popular. "

Luttsy also loved the Warwick Capper quote and remarked "HaHa !! That's our Warwick !!!! Wait til you hear the rest of them!! I bet the word 'Capper' is mentioned in every one!! "

We're not only seeking input from celebrities. Former Wicked agent/mechanic Richard Hawkins (based in Alice Springs) has put his thinking cap on and I've also enlisted the help of Daniel, a local Broome truckie to gather up some wisdom from the truckie community. Fellow bloggers, ministers, pre-school teachers, streetsweepers, politicians, go-go dancers - I implore you to submit your quotes to us...you'll be spreading your wisdom all over Australia!

200 original one-liners

2009-07-20T14:55:00.000+08:00

Wicked started back in 2000 with second-hand commercial vehicles and in 2009 we're phasing out our oldest vehicles (*tear*...you usually have the greatest adventure in our older vans) and putting 200 brand-spanking new vans on the road.

With brand-spanking new vehicles comes the need for new one-liners and new artwork.

We're inviting a variety of Australian celebrities/writers to conjure up and submit their favourite quotes for the back of our vans. We want fresh stuff from a selection of Aussie icons (none of the recycled-quotes you find on the web). So far I've been in touch with the likes of Kevin Bloody Wilson, Rolf Harris, and Hamish and Andy...it will be interesting to see who takes us up on the offer!

We're also inviting 10-20 artists to spraypaint vans for us with their original artwork. If you're an artist and would like your artwork on display all around Australia, let us know by emailing evangelism@wickedcampers.com .

All Around the World

2009-07-17T14:27:00.000+08:00

In keeping with Wicked world domination theme, I attended the Kimberley Klub's "Around the World" party last night. Wicked were a sponsor of the evening, providing a Wicked Camper voucher + other Wicked goodies (lanyards, ticklers, etc) for the best dressed partier - you had to come dressed in the national dress of a country of your choice. I grabbed an old bedsheet, cut out some wallpaper and called myself Cleopatra - but I must've missed the target as everyone was calling me Pocahontas all evening...

Here are some pics from the night.

In the green: Former Wicked hirer! She returned her van that day after a 7-day Broome to Broome roadie.

Thanks to the fantastic crew at Kimberley Klub YHA for organising such a wicked party!

Wish you were here

2009-07-15T15:08:00.000+08:00

Our Wicked Grafitti Artist visited us in Broome to paint up our depots 'Wish you were here' wall. Here's a pic of our first customers against the Broome wall.

He also had time to pop into the Kimberley Klub, Broome to grace their walls with some Wicked grafitti. I'll be back in the Kimberley Klub tomorrow evening for their 'Around the World' party...Wicked and Fosters are sponsoring the evening and giving out lanyards, stickers, ticklers and other assorted treats.

Speaking of parties our second Wicked Revival party will be held in Perth next month. We have joined up with Red FM and sponsored their Red FM listener party. It'll be held on August 3 and we're inviting current and ex-Wicked customers. If you like free booze and free love, email evangelism@wickedcampers.com for all the sordid details!

The Michael Jackson

2009-07-13T15:28:00.000+08:00

It's out with the old and in with the new.

We have officially scrapped the "Wicked Campers Naked Special" and brought out "The Michael Jackson" special. About 5mins after I wrote my previous post (see below), Mr Wicked called and told me all about it - I couldn't stop laughing all evening. I love it, I love it, I love it!

Here's the deal (thanks to Sister Sam for the artwork).

It's time to learn how to moonwalk!
Or you can get some tips from Navi, the world's best Michael Jackson impersonator.
But please don't moonwalk into our depots looking like this guy.

Round-the-world Roadtrips

2009-07-09T13:39:00.001+08:00

A pretty cool thing about working for an outrageous global company is that you can offer seriously fun incentives to get vans moving. Here is just a selection of the incentives we've previously offered potential Wicked customers

- Free spankings on pickup (one elderly German woman didn't know what a spanking was, presented her voucher and was shaken up when our depot girl walked to the other side of the counter and slapped her. Lightly of course.)

- 4.7% discounts on hires (because a 5% discount is boring)

- Free bottle of champagne if you flash your boobs (the popular prequel to the naked special)

- "If you're over the age of 60 leave your clothes on to receive a free day of hire" (we received a complaint from a 61 year old who was offended by the offer and sent us a video clip of himself in support of his defence)

The latest offer we're issuing in New Zealand isn't as quirky but its bloody good for anyone who has a round-the-world plane ticket!

Hire a Wicked van for 7 days or more and receive a bonus of 22 days of Wicked hire across the globe to use in the next two years. The offer is valid for a limited time only in the following countries:

5 days free x AUSTRALIA (one-way hires from Sydney or Brisbane to Cairns)
5 days free x CHILE (anytime)
3 days free x THAILAND (anytime)
3 days free x UK/Europe (between Nov – Mar)
3 days free x USA/Canada (between Oct – April excluding Feb 5 – Mar 7 2010)
3 days free x SOUTH AFRICA (anytime, except June 1 – July 11 2010)

Once Richard Branson starts flying to the moon we'll start offering 3 days free there too...

Your words on a van

2009-07-07T14:14:00.000+08:00

When I spotted a blog entry last month written by Michelle Phillips about a Wicked van with the following saying "If God were a woman would sperm taste like chocolate?", I gave her the opportunity to come up with her own Wicked quote.

The winning quote was "Keep honking - I'm reloading my gun". Here it is in all its glory, recently spraypainted by our Wicked artist in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

Michelle I hope this van hits your local IGA sometime soon...

Roadtrip to Rotorua

2009-07-03T13:33:00.000+08:00

This video probably won't be as popular with the American middle age gay community (see posting below), but nevertheless it's the newest installment from the Wicked Evangelists, who had a quick pit-stop in Rotorua, New Zealand! What an amazing town.

Click here to view the video.

Special thanks to Kaitiaki Adventures (whitewater rafting), Hells Gate Thermal Park (mud baths) and Tamaki Village (maori cultural experience). Don't miss Rotorua on your next Wicked roadtrip...so much fun in one afternoon!

Our new target market?

2009-07-02T15:21:00.000+08:00

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I quickly logged into our YouTube account and saw that 900 people had watched the ‘Wicked Campers naked challenge’ video since I last checked (the previous evening). Fortunately YouTube has an insights link where you can view the demographics of your viewers and which pages are linking to the video.

Our biggest hit rate came from the USA! Weird, we’ve only just opened up there and the majority of our customers are Europeans and Australians? The “average profile” of our viewers were males between 45-55. Odd too, as our market are usually backpackers (60% female) between the ages of 18-35.

The penny suddenly dropped when I viewed which pages were linking to us. They were an assortment of blogs dedicated to naked men and gay love. The penny probably should’ve dropped earlier when I read this comment about our camera work:

"I mean, come on..show them naked and stop cutting off their sweet asses, it makes no sense. Find a focus point that is lower. People wanna see more ass, not more sky!!! and tell them to stop running so fast from the camera. it's pointless..linger the camera more on the asses and bodies please..”

With YouTube bestowing the video the following honours:
#3 - Top Favorited (This Week) - Travel & Events - Australia
#12 - Top Favorited (This Month) - Travel & Events - Australia
#33 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Travel & Events - Australia
#49 - Most Discussed (This Week) - Travel & Events - Australia
#61 - Top Rated (This Month) - Travel & Events - Australia

...I guess it really does prove the theory that sex sells!

Roadie: Broome to Perth

2009-07-01T07:54:00.000+08:00

Had some regrets in Broome?

Leave town in a Wicked Camper!

At the moment we're doing a very funky special at the moment, no one-way fees if you book a roadtrip from Broome to Perth (saving of $200).

If you've embarassed yourself in Darwin and want to get the hell out of there too, call us for a good deal! 1800 24 68 69 or text 0438 096 250.

The wicked wit of Brother Paul

2009-06-29T08:45:00.001+08:00

My fellow evangelist, Brother Paul puts in the weekly kangaroo captions in the Australian TNT Magazine. We also encourage the public to submit their sayings so they can win a Wicked roadtrip each month. However, Paul needed no help in coming up with the caption this week.

Male: "I can't believe Michael Jackson is dead"

Female: "I know, it'll be one hell of a comeback concert!".

Bad timing? Probably. But still brilliant.

Party at Wolf Creek

2009-06-26T12:54:00.001+08:00

After watching a scary movie a couple of years ago I made a vow to never watch another horror flick again. I don't find them appealing or entertaining in any way and thinking about them days later still gives me the shakes.

But now I find myself living in Broome and Mr Wicked has dreamed up the idea to start throwing monthly murder mystery parties, at a spot 800km away and the home of the scariest Australian horror movie ever made - Wolfe Creek Craters.

According to IMDB.com the Wolf Creek movie centres around "Ben and his two British mates who buy an old car to travel through the Australian outback. Their first stop is to visit a meteor crater in the isolated Wolf Creek National Park. When they go to their car, they find that it does not start. Later, a local hillbilly Mick stops his truck, offers to help the trio and tows them to his camp. When they accept the proposal, their dreamy vacation turns into a scary nightmare".

Fortunately these murders never occured at our planned party location, but they're loosely based on the Ivan Milat backpacker murders (NSW, early 1990s) and the Peter Falconio murder (NT, 2001). The ABC TV show, The Gruen Transfer highlighted these depressing points on a 60 second anti-Australia commercial, view the hilarious video here.

Back to the party though. We're aiming to host the murder mystery parties on the third Monday of every month. This party is open to everyone, not just Wicked Campers customers (or serial murderers). To register your interest visit the Wolfe Creek section on our website or email evangelism@wickedcampers.com.

On another note - Rest in Peace Michael Jackson, I loved your work!

The Wicked Naked Challenge

2009-06-24T15:10:00.000+08:00

This will be a short post today as I've spent the afternoon editing the Wicked Challenge video (see above). We issued out a challenge to all our customers (giving them 7 days of free Wicked Camper hire as the prize) if they drove around Brisbane for a day. But here's the slightly difficult bit - they had to do it naked. A couple of outgoing Swedish lads took us up on the offer and here are some highlights from the day. What a laugh. I am so lucky to be able to do stuff like this during work hours!

Thanks for the memories

2009-06-23T15:35:00.000+08:00

It's been a very busy couple of days in the office, following up with all the great people we met at the ATE last week. So for a bit of light relief I tuned into the monthly survey results from last month. This is one of the best parts of my job - reading/hearing the stories that flood in from people who've recently returned from their Wicked roadie. Here's a snippet of feedback from last month:

Q. Do you have a great Wicked roadtrip story you want to share with us?

A. Too Wicked to mention!!! Remember, we are both in our fifties but still Young at Heart. Live the Dream!!!

A. Just loved the freedom! :) but having 'fucking' on the back was a bit embarrassing, so covered it up with stickers! Think I'm getting old!

A. Ran out of money in rockhampton....no petrol...not even cence to make a phone call...ate fried bread for 2 days.... hitched about 120km to get replacement.... got very drunk and high... was awsome!

A. My mate was having a pee behind the van on a busy road cos he had just got up he was wearing only his boxers, which happened to be little white and tight, as he started to pee behind the van i drove forward and he was just stood there in his boxers peeing on the side of the road while a load of cars, buses and trucks drove past. Cos he had been holding it for a while he was peeing like a racehorse, a good minute and a half. You had to be there.

A. Even though our Dragon Wagon was really a hunk of junk we completely loved it! It broke down once and when the RAC turned up we tried the ignition once more and it started! The van made a terrible 'bang' noise every 3 minutes which only added to it charm! The Dragon Wagon became part of us, a talking point, which I suppose is all part of the Wicked experience.

A. When in a tiny town called Ross in the South Island of New Zealand, we parked up quickly to run to the supermarket. When we returned to the van (only about 5 minutes later) we found a note on the windscreen. The note said 'Your van is offensive to parents and children. Please inform the van company'. We found this absolutely hilarious and kept the note to show the wicked camper depot when we returned the van. They found it very funny too! We have some great wicked camper photos that I will send on to you. Thanks for a great trip!

A. We are about to switch drivers, so we pull into a nice park area for lunch. We relax for a bit, make some soup and just hang out while we can on the gorgeous day. As we get back in the van, I turn it on and put it into reverse to back away from the wooden fence in front of me. We start going forward. My two buddys start heckling me because I am using the wrong gear. Nope. I am in reverse. I try again. Forward we go. Again, forward when I am in reverse. Shit. This isnt good.

I turn the car off and on again. Reverse... just takes us forward. I try neutral... forward again. Ok this is beginning to be a problem. We are not stuck in front of this wooden fence. I have nowhere else to go. So we call wicked, get a number for a service station, and they come out to give us a hand, turns out the something is wrong with the gearbox. Ok. So he turns it off, puts it in neutral and we push it back out towards the road. We then follow him to his shop. He takes a look at it and it turns out that the gearbox is totally shot. Time for a new one. Well we need to be in Adelaide for our flight in a day or two and its now Friday? How long is this going to take? They call wicked and tell them whats going down. Wicked speaks to me and tells me I will be receiving a discount. Awesome!! So we get back in the car to continue driving? Just dont park so you need to reverse. Uhh.. Ok. So here we are. Everytime we need to; the car turned off and all three of us pushing the car backwards. We got a few smiles from people, a lot of laughs, and even more laughs from us. I think the loss of reverse made the trip even more memorable. So thank you Wicked, for a truly Wicked experience.

I love these guys! Especially the last post. They understand the Wicked philosophy....

The Wicked Philosophy
We believe in the experience of the roadtrip. It can change the way you see yourself, the world, and the world around you. It’s about getting something out of the journey itself, rather than worrying about how fast you can get to your destination; what’s the hurry? A roadtrip is a philosophy of life, a way of learning about yourself, an experience, a way to test yourself, a way to grow up…the possibilities are endless. Like life, your roadtrip is unique by how you shape it.

Evidence from the Australian Tourism Exchange

2009-06-20T07:06:00.000+08:00

Hitting the tarmac running

Melbourne is the swine flu capital of the world so Mary and I took extra precautions when we hit the tarmac. Here we are on our first chilly night in Melbourne sporting our 'Wicked' branded swine flu air masks.

Share booth 107 - the party stand! The Wicked girls with Cathy and Randall from the Professional Helicopter Services (PHS).

We're currently in negotiations with the PHS team to get a helicopter spraypainted up by a Wicked grafitti artist and emblazoned with the token Wicked reflective stickers. No doubt the chopper will be the talking point in the outback if this idea comes to fruition!

Our German friend Michael. On the first day of the ATE Mary taught him a pickup line - "Fancy a fork?" For the rest of the conference Michael always ensured he carried a spare plastic fork in his pocket...

Mary taking no risks

Yes yes, it's old, but as you can see, most of our jokes in Melbourne revolved around swine flu. These statues found on Elizabeth Street were wearing air masks and displaying signs such as 'Ice skating causes more death than swine flu' .

June 17 - Socceroos vs Japan, MCG

Socceroos triumph 2-1!

"The Final Shout"

Last drinks were called on Friday to celebrate an end to the ATE 2009 in Melbourne. See you folks in Adelaide next year!

Evangelising at the ATE

2009-06-18T10:07:00.000+08:00

Mary and I have spent the last few days in Melbourne, evangelising at the Australian Tourism Exchange ATE) The feedback for Wicked has been good – it’s quite amazing that a lot of the overseas agencies know the product; everyone we talk to is very interested to hear how the company began, who the boss is, who paints the vans and who dreams up the slogans! Over the next few blog entries I’ll answer a few of these questions, but first up – how did Wicked start?

Mr Wicked began the company back in 2001. He’s a mechanic and ran a small car-hire company in Brisbane. However there was one car, an old VW that no one would rent out – simply because the car had a few dents and scratches. One night over a bottle of champagne, Mr Wicked suggested to Mrs Wicked (an artist) to paint over the dents and scratches. Mrs Wicked painted beautiful daisies and flowers over the car and it became the most popular in the fleet! From these humble beginnings Wicked has grown to a fleet of over 800 vans Australia-wide.

But back to our evangelising at the ATE. We’re in a share booth with the great team from the Professional Helicopter Services. We’ve met a lot of folks located from all over the world, predominantly in Europe. Happy hours have been the highlight of the day for us with each State Tourism body sparing no expense when they throw on the drinks and nibbles.

I haven’t blogged for a couple of days because the wi-fi here has been cutting out – too much demand! It’s not the only thing cutting out…on Tuesday I wore some new heels and they gave me dreadful blisters. I spoke to the events co-ordinators who recommended I see the ‘swine flu’ nurse, but unfortunately she had no first aid kit either! In a last-ditch attempt, I visited the wonderful folks at ‘Let’s Go Surfing’, a learn to surf school located in Byron Bay. They had no spare flip flop giveaways, so one of the blokes gave me the thongs off his own feet. A couple hours later I moseyed over to their booth to return my thongs to discover that the bloke was wearing my high heels! Apparently for “security reasons” he wasn’t allowed on the convention centre floor without shoes on…funny times.

After talking to a few sellers here, it seems like most companies are going down the ‘word of mouth’ route, trying to claim a bigger and better online presence. We’ve received plenty of great advice from international agencies about sites that are popular in each of their regions, so when I get back to Broome I’ll work on developing Wicked through these avenues. I started writing this blog an hour ago and since starting I’ve had about 5 people drop in and commend us on the concept of Wicked. Fantastic feedback!

In the meantime though, I better get back to being social and more importantly, be wicked!

Stop the Toads

2009-06-15T09:25:00.000+08:00

Last year I saw a segment on Sunrise about the 'Stop the Toad' foundation. This foundation was set up in Western Australia to stop the influx of cane toads to the region. Annually in Spring this foundation runs "The Great Toad Muster" where volunteers head to Kununurra at the top end of Western Australia to capture and eventually gas the cane toads.

According to the official report, a “total of 68,325 cane toads were removed from Auvergne Station during a 4 week period from September 20th until October 18th 2008”.

That’s crazy. Almost 70,000 in four weeks!!!

Being brought up in Queensland, I hate the cane toads. They're awful, ugly creatures who destroy our native wildlife. Late last year I got in touch with the ‘Stop the Toads’ Strategic Campaign Manager Kim Hands and offered to paint up a Wicked Camper for their cause. Kim came back with some great design ideas and our grafitti dude spraypainted up the hot box below:

To show their support of the cause, Wicked campers has designed a Stop the Toad camper van which can be hired out across Australia and encourages travelers to ‘spread love, not cane toads’ and to ‘save our aussie icons’.

I also caught up with Kim last month in Broome and we decided to cross-promote the van and the Muster via a competition. Over the next few months (until September), anyone who spots the toad van can submit a photo of the van with a natural aussie icon, such as Ayers Rock, Purnululu National Park or a tropical Queensland beach. The best photo will win 7 days free hire from us!

Click here for all the competition details.
Are you interested in mustering up some toads? Sign up to join the Great Toad Muster!

Do you like it in your Avis?

2009-06-11T14:56:00.000+08:00

Fiona from the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) contacted us today, telling us 3 of the 15 advertising complaints against Wicked were upheld. These were complaints referring to the following adverts:

A Wicked van painted up with 2 kangaroos shagging, one kangaroo says to the other “Do you like it in your Avis?” the other kangaroo says “No, it Hertz”
A Wicked van painted up with the slogan “I don’t like gay sex… like f*ck”
A Broome map printed up with a Wicked list of things you must do in Australia. Among the items is the to-do item “snog an aboriginal”

At Wicked we like to push the limits and have a bit of fun with our one-liners. Last August we received a multitude of media coverage for a van which had “Save a whale, harpoon a jap” written on the back – there was even a debate for it featured on Channel 7’s Sunrise. Many of the one-liners are created internally at Wicked, or we’ll grab them off websites/t-shirts etc. Here are a list of some of my favourites:

Let’s play carpenter. First we’ll get hammered then I’ll nail you on the table.
Sometimes I wake up grumpy. Othertimes I let him sleep.
They’ve done something that does the work of 5 men. One woman.
Let’s go back to my place and do the things I’ll tell everyone we did anyway.
Condoms aren’t safe. My mate got hit by a bus when he was wearing one!

I’ve offered fellow Blogger Michelle the opportunity to create a van slogan for one of our campers. Check out her suggestions here.

It's a great day at Wicked

2009-06-11T07:15:00.000+08:00

Want the insider's scoop at Wicked? One of our fantastic Wickedees has put together a blog talking about "day-to-day Wicked life, bizarre situations and any accident/care related issues".

The blog is a hoot - start following her today!
http://wickedcampersinsidestory.blogspot.com/

How do you market tissues?

2009-06-10T14:27:00.000+08:00

I've spent the day with my fellow Evangelist Mary sorting out all we need for the Australian Tourism Expo (ATE) in Melbourne. The ATE is the largest travel conference held in the southerm hemisphere annually and provides an opportunity for us to showcase our Australian product to international buyers (usually travel agencies) from all over Europe, Australia and the Americas. The theme of this year's ATE is "Good food, good wine, good lifestyle" so Mary and I are very excited to hit the cold of Melbourne and warm up with a few vino's!

Mark from our Melbourne depot dropped me an email today suggesting we "organise some naked midgets covered in body paint to hand out flyers at the expo". This reminded me of the midget we tried (but failed) to hire for our Brisbane Wicked Revival party - apparently the guy dresses up as a mexican and wears a sombrero that converts to a serving plate full of corn chips and guacamole - and prances around the room acting as a mobile serving table. Amazing! He'd make any party memorable and sociable - no one would get caught hovering around the refreshments table...

Today Mr Wicked was in to chat to our graphic designer about some new stickers we're creating for the back of our vans. Mr Wicked's mate dropped over to our house to show him a new promo item we could possibly put in our vans... When Mr Wicked threw the packet over to me I wasn't too sure what they were, but I was shortly informed that it was a 'jerk-off kit' so our male wickedees could 'jerk-off with confidence', aka a packet of tissues! Brilliant. At 10c a pop we may just buy a stack and stick them in vans...but I've been assured we'll tone them down and label them '...For a messy night'.

Surfin' Steve and his crew dropped by our office to say g'day and thanks for the van hire - his challenge is to get 100 kisses from Aussie chicks in the next 2 months (he scored around 45 smooches own the Gold Coast last week)! He wasn't too lucky here - I compromised for a kiss on the cheek, Mary proclaimed she was a lesbian and also offered her cheek, but the ever-obliging Samanthan puckered up for lucky number 46.

Surfin' Steve hangs five in a Wicked

2009-06-09T13:05:00.000+08:00

Well, I'm back in the Brisbane Evangelism Headquarter's after an exciting week playing netball (and starring in Digicel TV commercials) in Samoa.

My fellow evangelist, Brother Paul received a text message from Surfin' Steve today saying the first installment of his Wicked roadtrip was up on the web. According to his website, Surfin' Steve is "(almost) blonde, (almost) Aussie, but above all he’s (almost) a surfer…". Steve and his own production crew nakedly swept into our Brisbane depot on Monday to pick up his pimped up Wicked Campervan, which he'll be taking on a 3-month roadtrip around Australia.

Part 1 of his adventure is up now and it's a hoot! Click here to view the footage.

Check out Surfin' Steve's website here.

Wicked Agent Gifts

2009-05-28T13:37:00.000+08:00

This morning I went for a spin around town, visiting all the hostels and agencies in Broome.

We're lucky to have terrific relationships with The Kimberley Klub, a YHA hostel situated smack bang in the middle of town (across the road from Broome International Airport...a little tin shed with its runway backing onto Coles. By the way its called an International Airport but there are no international flights because they don't want to upgrade the runway) and Cable Beach Backpackers, a very relaxed hostel about 200m away from the stunning Cable Beach. Actually all of the hostels and agencies here are very welcoming and accommodating -- part and parcel of living in a remote outback town!

Our latest Wicked offer to our agents is something pretty cool...for every seven days of hire a travel agency rents out, we'll give the agency a free day of hire! So...let's just say our cleaner Phoebe got tired of working as our Wicked cleaner and decided to start up her own travel agency, 'Busty Tours'. In her first week at Busty Tours she sells a 30 day roadtrip to a tall couple from Germany. By selling this roadtrip Phoebe scores herself 4 days of free Wicked Campervan hire at any depot location in the world -- that's her trip to Glastonbury 2010 all sorted, what a terrific incentive!

Anyway I'll be away for the next week, playing netball in Samoa. I'll arrive back in Brisbane the following week for a stint working in the Evangelist headquarters with my delightful fellow evangelists Brother Paul, Sister Mary and Sister Sam, before entertaining agencies from Europe at the annual Australia Travel Expo (ATE) in Melbourne.

Our cleaning lady

2009-05-28T13:04:00.001+08:00

Broome is a remote location for Wicked Campers (along with Alice Springs and some of our newer depots including Hobart, Hervey Bay and Byron Bay). For these locations we stipulate that vans should be returned 'cleaner than they were found'.

Of course, the occasional van will return which has not been scrubbed and decked down to our standards. Chris works tirelessly on fixing and servicing vans and I'm too busy writing blog entries (!) to help scrub them up, so we've enlisted the services of Phoebe, the cleaning lady.

Phoebe is a young Danish girl who attracts a lot of attention in the depot. She's very quiet and enjoys dressing up. Her favourite colour is yellow, her favourite animal is the bee...and just quietly - I think she has fake breasts...

But she's brought a ray of sunshine to this depot and our lives wouldn't be the same without the lovely Phoebe. Check her out below!

Re-igniting the power of blogging

2009-05-27T16:16:00.000+08:00

After a sabbatical of blog writing, I'm reigniting the Wicked Evangelist blog...solo, as my evangelist buddy Camilla left Wicked a few months ago to start her job as a marketing manager for Q Pix film school in Queensland. After starting my Wicked life in Brisbane, I've moved over to Broome in Western Australia, to hang out with Chris and focus on building Wicked up on the West Coast of Oz. Many of my posts will be about life in this remote town, the customers we meet, the vans that make their way in and out of our dusty depot and the direction I see Wicked headed in future...really, just another day in the life of a Wicked Evangelist!

One tool we're focussing on at the moment is Word of Mouth marketing (the new black for the marketing world). One of the 'bibles' we use at Wicked is George Silverman's "The Power of Word of Mouth Marketing". The book has many practical tips and suggestions for building word of mouth as a powerful marketing tool. Our aim at Wicked is to build up a powerful word of mouth presence -- so powerful that we no longer need to pile loads of money into advertising. We're lucky as our product itself creates a buzz (sometimes positive, sometimes negative; depending on the slogan!) and are 'roaming billboards' for the company. We're looking for bloggers out there who'd like to try a van for free, so if you're reading this and interested, let me know!

My favourite van slogan in our depot at the moment is "Let's play army, I'll roll over and you blow the hell out of me".

Your Say

2008-06-04T18:14:00.000+08:00

If you missed the 2020 summit with K-Rudd, do not despair. This blog will give you the opportunity to express your opinions in an open forum without fear of retaliation or abuse...by voting in our weekly poll!

The question of the week is - what is better? Free booze, pot, sex or campervan hire.

You decide Australia.

Free sex! Free pot!

2008-06-03T13:02:00.000+08:00

In a marketing campaign that will rival Nike's "Just do it" and Coke's "The Real Thing", we have come up with the amazing Wicked slogan - "Free sex! Free pot!". This slogan will be used to promote the Wicked June special - 2 days free campervan travel for international travellers.

We will be yelling this catchcry from street corners all over the B-vegas.

Affiliate Link

2008-06-02T14:06:00.001+08:00

By clicking on the banner below, you can do two of your favourite things:

1) Book a Wicked Camper
2) Earn Leanne some dough (sorry Millie!).

The first post (test)

2008-06-02T13:49:00.000+08:00

Today we discovered that the posts holding up the front section of our office had been removed over the weekend.