Who's behind Seekstead
I'm Kris, based in New South Wales. I've spent years camping, travelling and getting out into regional and remote Australia, with a particular interest in fossicking, exploring old gold country and building a vehicle setup that lets me stay away from powered sites and normal facilities for extended periods.
My trips range from weekends around NSW goldfields and State Forest areas to much longer remote trips. I've done extended travel including around three months through Far North Queensland, and I regularly head into places where reliable power, internet and other services aren't something you can assume will be available.
A lot of my current trips combine camping with gold fossicking and exploring areas such as Hill End, the Turon and other old mining country. I like being able to establish camp away from powered sites and have the vehicle function as a genuinely self-contained base rather than needing to return to civilisation every day or two.
Why I started Seekstead
It wasn't really one disaster that caused me to build my setup. It developed from actually travelling and learning what makes extended camping easier. The more time I spent away, the more obvious it became that reliable power, refrigeration, communications and a practical camp setup make a huge difference.
That hands-on experience is part of why I started Seekstead. There's a big difference between reading a specification sheet and understanding whether something actually makes sense as part of a real travelling or off-grid setup.
I've actually lived with this stuff. I've travelled with it, changed things that didn't work, upgraded things that did, and built Seekstead to research purchases the way I want them researched before I spend my own money.
Read how my setup came together
How my experience is used on Seekstead
Seekstead is heavily informed by types of products and systems I've actually used for these purposes in the real world: lithium auxiliary battery systems, solar power, vehicle charging, portable power, refrigeration, Starlink, 12V electrical equipment and connections, camping and touring equipment, and off-grid communications and power systems.
I may not have personally used every exact brand or model featured on Seekstead, but I've used these types of products for these purposes and know what they need to do in the real world. That practical experience guides what Seekstead looks for; the specific product is then researched on its own merits.
- Where I've personally measured something, Seekstead gives the measurement.
- Where something comes from my practical experience, Seekstead describes that experience.
- Where a manufacturer or seller makes a product-specific claim, that product is researched, rather than pretending my experience with another brand proves the claim.
- And where I don't know something, I'd rather say so than manufacture an answer.
Commercial relationships
Some pages may contain affiliate or referral links. When a commercial relationship applies, we aim to disclose it clearly. See our Affiliate Disclosure for more information.
Follow along
I share setup tips and what I'm learning on the road on the Seekstead Facebook page.