ROCKS July 2014

ADVENTURE TRAVEL • EVENTS • PEOPLE • FOOD • ENTERTAINMENT • SPORT

ISSUE 13 JULY/AUGUST 2014

SUN VALLEY

Shredding slopes with the stars

THE JOY OF SETS

How tennis got awesome for resources ally p ifci

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monthly in ging -fli ga

ionals ess f o r

ublication spe tp ci gh

FALLING FOR GOD

Greece’s ancient cliff-top clergy

BUCKING HELL

AUSSIE PRO BULL RIDERS TAKE A LICKIN’ AND KEEP ON TICKIN’

THE INSIDE LINE ON TASMANIA’S BEST DRIVER’S ROADS

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SISCO JERSEY

Welcome to ROCKS, the in-flight magazine for Alliance Airlines Welcome aboard. We hope you’re enjoying your flight today, either relaxing on the way home from work, or revving yourself up for another stint in the mines. We make this magazine to entertain you, so I hope that’s exactly what this issue does.

Are you into loud cars? If that’s a yes, then boy do we have one for you. The Jaguar F-Type Coupé is louder than, as our writer says, all the trumpets in the world being blown at once. And saying that it looks damn good is possibly the understatement of the year.

Now even if you’re not a big fan of tennis, it’s hard not to notice when the season kicks in, and it’s even more difficult to turn a blind eye to the bizarre things that go on in this high-profile sport. From wacky parents to tantrums on court, catfights, and the occasional hotties strutting their stuff, let’s face it – you could never call it boring. While I’m on sport, we’ve interviewed some young cowboys who are kicking butt in Australian bull riding. They tell us how it’s done (and not) here and in the United States, and just why they choose to be a part of one of the most dangerous sports around.

Travel-wise, we hit some of the best driving roads in Tassie, get into dates (yep, the ones that look like big sultanas) in Oman, meet monks in Greece, and take a look at the fortune-tellers who advise big businesses – and governments – in Asia.

Are they for real? And did someone say white stuff? We’ve checked the conditions in Idaho’s Sun Valley and the good thing is, the place is rocking all year round – even when the snow has long gone.

Enjoy this issue of ROCKS and feel free to drop us a line. We like hearing your thoughts. I hope you filled out our survey too, as soon one lucky passenger is Scott goingMcMillan to be the owner of the coolest kit in the campground.

Managing Director

Michelle Hespe, and the team at ROCKS and Alliance.

Brisbane skyline, Queensland.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michelle Hespe DEPUTY EDITOR Ben Smithurst ASSISTANT EDITORS Danielle Chenery, Simone Henderson-Smart SENIOR DESIGNER Guy Pendlebury SUB-EDITORS Sally Macmillan, Liani Solari CONTRIBUTORS Stephen Corby, Guy Mosel, Scott Newman, Simon Madden, Joe Worthington, Kris Madden, Jack Cleaver, Christine Retschlag, Oryana Angel, Darrell Croker, Kevin Lee, Zoran Solano, Michael Yardney

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Jason Popkowski 02 8962 2656 or 0400 838 490 advertising@edgecustom.com.au WA AND NT SALES AGENT Helen Glasson Hogan Media: 08 9381 3991 E: helen@hoganmedia.com.au PUBLISHER Geoff Campbell CEO Eddie Thomas PRINTER SOS Print & Media

ROCKS is published by Edge 51 Whistler Street, Manly NSW 2095 Phone: 02 8962 2600 edgecustom.com.au ROCKS is published by Business Essentials (Australasia) Pty Limited (ABN 22 062 493 869), trading as Edge.

Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the Publisher. Information provided was believed to be correct at the time of publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to contact copyright holders.

ROCKS cannot accept unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If such items are sent to the magazine, they will not be returned. A selection of images used in this publication has been sourced from Thinkstock, Getty Images and Corbis.

July/August 2014

1

EAST COAST PILBARA DIRECT

... simply the best FIFO experience.

PROVIDING CUSTOMISED AVIATION SOLUTIONS • FIFO charter services • ACMI aircraft leasing P W

• Ad-hoc air charter flights

07 3212 1501 E sales@allianceairlines.com.au allianceairlines.com.au/charter

DARWIN

GROOTE EYLANDT

LAWN HILL

CAIRNS TOWNSVILLE

THE GRANITES

TREPELL

SHAY GAP KARRATHA ONSLOW

PHOSPHATE HILL EMERALD

TELFER

BARIMUNYA

COONDEWANNA

CLONCURRY

MOUNT ISA

NEWMAN

PARABURDOO

AYERS ROCK (ULURU)

ALICE SPRINGS

GLADSTONE

BALLERA COOBER PEDY MOUNT KEITH LEINSTER

MILES

MOOMBA

PROMINENT HILL OLYMPIC DAM

LEONORA

PERTH

BRISBANE

NARRABRI PORT AUGUSTA ADELAIDE

MELBOURNE

July/August 2014

3

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE COMING OUT ON TOP.

CELEBRATING 2 0 YEA

RS OF RACING!

BHP Billiton

ROXBY DOWNS OUTBACK CUP SATURDAY 2 AUGUST 2014

Alliance Airlines Roxby Downs Racecourse Gates open 11am | Gen Admin $20 Seniors’ Concession | U/18 FREE Car parking $5

Gold Members’ Marquee $160pp Includes entry | Roxby Races 2014 cap smorgasboard lunch | beer and wine package 200 tickets available | must be pre-booked

Visit roxbydownsracingclub.com.au, phone 0467 773 001 or find us on facebook

Fashion at The Races Automatic qualifying event Sign up from 11am - 1pm on the day $800 Heading Contracts Ms Outback plus seven novelty categories

ABOUT US Alliance Airlines was established in 2002, recognising the growing demand from the domestic mining and energy sector for a provider of safe and reliable air transportation services to and from remote site locations. Alliance commenced operations with two Fokker 100 aircraft servicing two FIFO contracts, both of which are still serviced today.

Our company has since expanded its fleet and operational capabilities to better service the continuing air transportation needs of the mining and energy sector .

Alliance is a leading mining services company specialising in providing: • FIFO services • Ad hoc charter services • ACMI, or wet leasing, services.

In December 2011, Alliance successfully listed on the ASX as AQZ.

FLIGHT BOOKINGS For customers wishing to book flights between Perth and Karratha, this must be done online: www.allianceairlines.com.au/home For customers wishing to book flights between Adelaide and Olympic Dam, this can be done online: www.qantas.com

OUR FLEET FOKKER F100

Number

18

Passengers

100

Length

35.5 metres

Wingspan

28 metres

Engines

RR Tay 650-15 Turbofans

Cruise Altitude

11,000 metres

Cruise Speed

800km/h

Range

3,167km

Passenger Detail

All economy seat configuration, 33-inch seat pitch, galley, toilet, pressurised, air-conditioned

FOKKER F70LR

CHARTER BOOKINGS For corporate or private charters of Alliance aircraft, the following contacts are available: www.allianceairlines.com.au/charters sales@allianceairlines.com.au 07 3212 1501

SAFETY INFORMATION Even though you may travel frequently, please familiarise yourself with the Safety On Board card located in your seat pocket.

ALCOHOL Passengers are not permitted to bring alcohol on board for in-flight consumption. On flights where Alliance offers a bar service, our flight attendants adhere to RSA guidelines.

SEAT BELTS Please observe the ‘Fasten Seat Belt’ signs when illuminated. In the interest of safety, keep your seat belt fastened at all times in case of unexpected turbulence.

CABIN BAGGAGE

Passengers should ensure that carry-on baggage does not weigh more than 7kg and fits into the overhead lockers.

Number

7

Passengers

75

Length

31 metres

Wingspan

28 metres

Engines

RR Tay 620-15 Turbofans

Cruise Altitude

11,000 metres

Cruise Speed

800km/h

Range

3,800km

Passenger Detail

All economy seat configuration, 33-inch seat pitch, galley, toilet, pressurised, air-conditioned

FOKKER F50

Number

6

Passengers

52

Length

25 metres

Wingspan

29 metres

Engines

2 x PW125B Turboprop

Cruise Altitude

7,800 metres

Cruise Speed

500km/h

Range

2,600km

Passenger Detail

All economy seat configuration, 33-inch seat pitch, galley, toilet, pressurised, air-conditioned

July/August 2014

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RZR 1000 KEY FEATURES • Exclusive 29” Maxxis Bighorn Tyres • 999cc EFI Engine with Polaris Variable Transmission • 123 km/h Top Speed • Quick Acceleration - 0 to 80 km/h in 5.3 Seconds • 2” Front & 2.5” Rear Walker Evans Anti-Bottoming Needle Shocks • Dual Rate / Dual Springs with 16-Position Adjustable Clickers • High Performance On Demand True All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) System • Factory Fitted Doors, Adjustable Driver & Passenger Seats and Adjustable Steering Wheel

CODY CROCKER

POLARIS RACING TEAM DRIVER DISC BRAKES FRONT & REAR

ADJUSTABLE DUAL SPRINGS WITH WALKER EVANS NEEDLE SHOCKS

HIGH PERFORMANCE ON DEMAND TRUE ALL-WHEEL-DRIVE (AWD)

4 time Asia Pacific Rally Champion – Subaru WRX 2 time ARC SXS Challenge Winner – Polaris RZR XP 900

0 - 80 KM/H IN 5.3 SECONDS

ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING

999CC EFI - 107 HP

For your nearest dealer call 1300 654 142 or visit www.polarisindustries.com.au

Peaking at Sun Valley

CONTENTS THE PICK

14

It’s hairpin heaven! Discover three of the Apple isle’s top driver’s roads.

09 INCOMING!

Talking tattoos with the Amity Affliction, Elvis comes to the Gold Coast, Kim JongIl and a brace of cool apps.

12 CRUST

Craft beer, cocktails and cool cuisine in Australia’s coolest laneway bars, and three (legal) whisky speakeasies.

14 MAN + MACHINE

Can Jaguar’s new F-Type Coupé match the hype?

ISSUE 13 IN ORE

UNLEASHED

30 TARMAC TASSIE

36 DATING IN OMAN

Through the ribs is the surest way to your heart, but this place goes via the gut.

42 CLUMSY MONKS

Holy men once plummeted from the cliffs, but today the monastries of Metéora are a little less deadly.

24 50

50 BANGKOK AND HONG KONG Getting the shui fully fenged on the fortuneteller’s trail in South East Asia.

56 COLD GOLD IN SUN VALLEY The iconic resort in Idaho

that is a playground for the rich and famous, was the brainchild of three very unusual men.

16 THE VAGUELY INTERESTED PERSON’S GUIDE TO TENNIS Nine arguments why there’s never been a better time for fuzzy-yellow-ball thumping.

24 INTERVIEW: AUSTRALIAN PRO BULL RIDERS Meet David Kennedy and Troy Wilkinson, two boys from the bush who fear no bull.

54 insidemining • news & current affairs • resources sector profiles • finance & technology

July/August 2014

7

FIFO syndrome symptom #10

Eating a steak with a snake called Jake.

Stop sharing your T-Bone with a Taipan. Fly in to the energy and engineering opportunities and legendary lifestyle of Taranaki, New Zealand.

THE PICK

ROCKS has sniffed out the best stuff so you don’t have to.

Just sit back, relax and enjoy!

E VENTS + ENTERTAINMENT + TECH + MOTORS + FOOD & DRINK

ON THE DOWNLOAD

Play, create, snap – 3 cool apps MapsWithMe Lite

(Free, Android/iOS) A navigation app that rules when abroad. It works offline (using your phone’s GPS) with maps you downloaded free earlier. Or now, when you’re lost, cadging Starbucks’ Wi-Fi.

Field Trip

ELVIS ON THE GOLDY

> Parkes, in central NSW, has somehow co-opted the spirit of Elvis “Never forget that I died on the toilet” Presley with its Elvis Festival, which runs each January.

But it’s the Gold Coast that’s a better fit.

The King is associated with Las Vegas and Hawaii, and toilet death, and the Goldy is Australia’s best mishmash of the first two, if not the third. Viva Surfers Paradise is a 10-day tribute to the Prez, with an invitation-only tribute at its heart. Grow out your sideburns (and de-friend fibre) now. July 11-20, surfersparadise.com

THE AVON DESCENT

> Held since 1973 (when there were no rules, and just 49 competitors), the Avon Descent is a bonkers, two-day 124km time trial down the Avon and Swan rivers. With around 600 competitors in a variety of paddle and powered craft – the pint-sized, custom-made, flat-bottomed two-crew speedboats (above) are the best – it draws 50,000 spectators. Kicking off in Northam Shire and finishing in Bayswater, it is simultaneously gruelling, admirable and a bit silly. And it’s just near the Swan Valley vineyards. avondescent.com.au

(Free, Android/iOS) This uses your GPS and compiles data from guides, blogs, etc to display what’s near you – museums, bars, points of interest – with distances. Good for wandering.

S.M.T.H.

(Free, Android) Simple but high-risk, S.M.T.H. (“Send Me To Heaven”) records how high you throw your phone. Catch it and it uploads the result to leaderboards.

Sensibly, it’s banned by Apple.

THE DARWIN FESTIVAL

> Sure to be picketed by confused Creationists, the Darwin Festival was first held in 1978 to celebrate the town’s recovery from Cyclone Tracy. This year includes the Soweto Gospel Choir, the phenomenal 100% Darwin theatrical event and lysergic Indo puppet show Wedhus Gembel. It also incorporates the National Indigenous Music Awards, aka the “Cripes, Dan Sultan is cleaning up this year” Trophy. 7-24 August, darwinfestival.org.au

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SAY WHAT?

Got something to say about ROCKS ? Is there something you’re burning to see covered?

Don’t mumble it under your breath – tell us what you think!

Send an email to rocks@ edgecustom.com.au and have your say.* *Please be kind – our fragile egos might not be able to take it.

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UNBREAKABLE, NOW EVEN SAFER. HILUX 4x4. NOW WITH A 5 STAR ANCAP SAFETY RATING.

Whether for work or for play, the HiLux will take you where you want to go and get the job done safely. Visit your Fleet Specialist dealer today and experience the unbreakable.

2014

toyota.com.au/hilux

Image: Kane Hibberd

OUTER EDGE

BOOKS THE BLACK EYED BLONDE

BENJAMIN BLACK, $29.99 Phillip Marlowe – famously played by Humphrey Bogart – was created by pulp noir god Raymond Chandler … who died 55 years ago. But Benjamin Black, aka the Irish Man Booker winner John Banville, has breathed life back into him Chandler-style. This could have been a disaster, but as detective fare set in 1950s LA, Black/Banville does great hard-boiled man-prose.

MUSIC Queensland’s hardcore heroes are back with a brilliant new LP. But what’s their advice on tattoos?

THE AMITY AFFLICTION

G

ympie, Queensland, has produced a galaxy of stars, including jockey Glen Boss, paralympian Chris Scott and quirky troubadour Darren Hanlon. But none of those has ruled the Warped Tour, and none will, because Warped doesn’t have horse riding, Scott is retired and Hanlon would be killed. Which leaves hardcore tattoo fans The Amity Affliction: vocalist Joel Birch, bassist Ahren Stringer, drummer Ryan Burt and guitarists Dan Brown and Troy Brady. Their last album debuted at number one on the Aria charts, and new LP, Let The Ocean Take Me, is out now.

Before becoming heavily inked, do you need a plan?

Joel: Correct! Look at me – I

didn’t think about it and now I’ve got a mishmash of sh_t.

Fools rush in.

But it looks cohesive.

Joel: It looks fine, but it’s not.

For example, I’m an atheist with a massive Jesus tattooed on my arm. I regret that.

Where’s the most extreme place to get one?

Joel: Arms are free rein, but I’ve seen people with just hand tattoos, which is ridiculous. I always planned on getting waaay more, so I wasn’t worried about the stigma attached to getting one in any particular place. I mean, people can get what they want, but you’ll look like a d__k if you get a neck tattoo and nothing else.

What about facial tatts?

Joel: Nah. Never. Not once. No. Only tattooists should be able to do that, and gang members.

They look tough. If the band was in a Mad Max III, Thunderdome death battle, which weapon would you choose and who would win?

Joel: I wouldn’t win – I’d be the guy with the baseball bat with nails in it, and someone would grab a gun and shoot me.

No guns.

Joel: Sorry, I haven’t seen it since I was a kid, so it’s a tricky question. What weapon would you grab, String? No gun.

Ahren: Swords.

Ryan: I want a sock full of batteries.

Joel: A sock of batteries!

That’s very violent, Malky.

Dan: I want a chainsaw. A small one, that I can throw.

Troy: I haven’t seen Mad Max. Joel: You haven’t seen Mad Max! What the f__k is going on? That’s very unAustralian.

THE KILLING SEASON

MASON CROSS, $29.99 When Caleb ‘the Chicago sniper’ Wardell escapes the clink a fortnight before his execution, hired gun manhunter Carter Blake joins FBI agent Elaine Banner to TRACK. HIM. DOWN. Read that in the Hollywood-voice-overguy’s voice and you’ve got the gist. A genre-aware airport thriller, this is a kind of Jack Reacher novel on an alternate dose of ’roids.

DEAR LEADER

JANG JIN-SUNG, $34.99 There’s something a bit ew about getting up close to former North Korean crackpot leader Kim JongIl, but Jang was right in there as part of his inner circle. More than that, he drove the propaganda machine that created the myth of this (not so) superpower.

Jang escaped a decade ago and this memoir is a rollicking Orwellian ripper.

SHARE YOUR MUSIC, SHOW YOUR STYLE

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July/August 2014

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WHERAET TO E INK & DR

FIVE OF THE BEST

LANEWAY GEMS

There’s nothing wrong with a colossal brass-and-floorboards beer barn, per se, but sometimes only a cool small bar will do.

WORDS: Simone Henderson-Smart

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Clever Little Tailor Adelaide, SA

Super Whatnot Brisbane, Qld

Ash St. Cellar Sydney, NSW

Hihou Melbourne, Vic

Peel Street has taken a cue from its neighbouring bar-filled buddy, Leigh Street, and added to this city hipster oasis with Clever Little Tailor. This is high-end hip, where quality liquors get shaken and stirred by quality bartenders. The decor is very grunge-warehouse, the exposed brick and rough stone walls contrasting with the polish of everything else on offer. Food comes via Lucia’s slick new charcuterie in Adelaide Central Market in lovely, nibbly morsels. cleverlittletailor.com.au

You can’t walk down the street without another Australian craft beer appearing, and this bar celebrates the fact (and sells Hop Rod Rye; at 8 per cent ABV you can’t walk down the street. Or anywhere). To go with the brew is some grand grub: super chilli dogs, 12-hour braised beef burritos and finger lickin’ Rasta chicken. It’s lucky the comfy couch is one long continuous banquette that wraps around the room, as you’ll want to dine and recline. superwhatnot.com

If you fancy the idea of sipping fine wine as you watch the world totter past from your Parisian sidewalk table, save yourself the airfare and head straight to this little place. The wine list is by Merivale’s Franck Moreau – one of Sydney’s best – and is expertly paired with nibbles that elevate tapas to another stratosphere. Tucked away off Angel Place, with its suspended birdcages and cobblestones, this joint is a romantic little hideaway. merivale.com.au/ashstcellar

Everything in this awardwinning slick new bar is quietly and elegantly turning Japanese, from the Negroni that blossoms with the addition of pluminfused gin and Umeshu (plum wine), to the can’t-stop-at-one hot dog that comes with a sweet sesame-encrusted bun, pickled onion and bottles of wasabi mayo and sauce as cocondiments. It was declared the Best Small Bar by Time Out last year – in a city like Melbourne, that’s a very big deal. hihou.com.au

July/August 2014

CRUST

FRISKY FOR WHISKY If love were measured in single malts, these places would be getting luckier than Pharrell’s hatmaker.

THE BAXTER INN Sydney, NSW

Wolf Lane Perth, WA The secret about this Wolf is out – its eclectic collection of vintage couches and armchairs is chocked with revellers who like to pretend they’re visiting Grandma’s house.

This is one seriously cool Grandma, though, who knows a thing or two about fancy cocktails and puts them into a teapot for sharing. For an extra fiver, she’ll even throw in a couple of toasties from the cute and casual menu.

Try the Absinthe Swizzle for a DIY fairytale. wolflane.com.au

After they opened their new joint, the “Have you been to Shady Pines Saloon yet?” question buzzing around Sydney quickly became “Have you checked out The Baxter Inn?” Beloved bartenders Anton Forte and Jason Scott had an instant hit on their hands with Shady Pines, but where that was all bourbon, 10-gallon hats and taxidermy, their new venture is all about whisky. In fact, you could pop in and sample a different delicious dram every day of the year. Food is non-existent – apart from the complimentary pretzels – so make sure you fill up before you drink up. thebaxterinn.com

WHISKY + ALEMENT Melbourne, Vic

LARK DISTILLERY Hobart, Tas

You’ll want to have something to hold on to when you walk into this stylish space, as the 500 glittering whisky-filled jewels behind the bar will have your head spinning like Linda Blair. These guys are in cahoots with The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which gives them access to some very rare and wonderful examples of liquid gold and plenty of material for their School of Whisky classes and events, which regularly attract the attention of top international distillers. The ‘Alement’ refers to the time-honoured pairing of whisky with a beer chaser, and these guys offer a Peroni Red with a top-shelf single malt for a very canny $10 every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. whiskyandale.com.au Whisky is perhaps the most storied of spirits, whether the tales are of Scottish highlands or that time your uncle Gary parked his Corolla on the letterbox. The rise of Tasmanian whisky is the latest chapter, and most are aware that Tassie’s tipples currently rival the world’s best. Lark was Tassie’s first whisky distillery in the modern era (prohibition was only lifted after founder Bill Lark saw the potential and lobbied hard) and its cellar door by Hobart’s waterfront is worth a visit.

Lark’s single malts have been consistent medal-winners in the UK, and all Lark whiskies are available for tasting. larkdistillery.com.au

July/August 2014

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MAN + MACHINE

JAGUAR F-TYPE COUPÉ TESTED

METAL

There are louder things than Jag’s new cat – although most of them are explosions. But how does it drive?

WORDS: STEPHEN CORBY

T

here are, supposedly, rules about how loud cars can be.

These are confusingly called ‘drive-by laws’, which brings to mind more the sound of gunshots than exhausts.

In most countries, a vehicle must pass a drive-by test, during which the sound of its exhaust at cruising speed cannot exceed a certain number of decibels. No HarleyDavidson in the world has passed this test, partly because it would ruin the brand’s image if it did.

Similarly, Jaguar’s stunning new F-Type Coupé is not so much flouting these regulations as it is shouting right over the top of them. If there’s a louder car in the world I’ll never hear it, because my ears will never recover from driving this one.

Allegedly, there is an agreement among the big car marques to voluntarily limit top speeds to a safe, sensible 250km/h. Jaguar’s new range-topping R Coupé, which

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July/August 2014

is powered by a bonkers supercharged 5.0-litre V8 that makes 404.5kW (every half a kilowatt counts) and 680Nm, is claimed to be capable of 300km/h. I’m a lot more willing to believe this than any suggestion that its exhaust is road legal.

To be fair, Jag has tried to comply by offering two supercharged V6powered versions of the new Coupé, which follows the slightly prettier original F-Type Roadster, which was launched a year ago.

The $119,900 base model offers 250kW and 450Nm, making it now the cheapest way to get into any F-Type by almost $20,000. The S version ups the ante to 280kW and 460Nm for $152,300 Both options seem a bargain next to a base Porsche 911 Carrera, with 257kW and 390Nm for $212,450.

The V6 F-Types feature the same Sports Exhaust system as the R, which basically means there’s a button that you’d press

automatically every time you started the car because it makes the exhaust sound louder, thus better. If you don’t press this button (activating the Sports Exhaust in the base F-type Coupé and Active Sports Exhaust in the F-type S), the two cheaper models sound borderline legal – until you get past 4000 rpm, and then they don’t.

Anyone who can afford to will want the full-fat V8 for $219,600.

With the Active Exhaust inactive it sounds like every trumpet in the world being blown at once. Press the button, flatten your foot even slightly and it sounds like all those trumpets are being fired out of a volcano that’s also been filled with amplifiers and rock bands.

The cacophony at full throttle is not one you’ll hear too often, unless you have a death wish, because using all of this car’s power at once is neither practical nor sane. Jag says the Coupé R will hit 100km/h from rest in 4.2 seconds, but the fact is you’re more likely to hit a road sign, or the sky, because tromping the Very Loud pedal from a standing start simply overwhelms

the traction control, fries the tyres and usually sends you sideways.

Fortunately you don’t need all that power to have a very good and

LEATHER, LEATHER, CARBON FIBRE, BIG ORANGE ‘GO’ BUTTON

THE COUPÉ IS A WHOPPING 80 PER CENT STIFFER, THANKS TO IT HAVING A PROPER ROOF. slightly scary time in this F-Type. It’s staggeringly quick, with a monstrous mid-range and a particularly slick paddle-shift gearbox (operated via unique drilled-steel shifters), but it’s also a car blessed with sharp handling.

The original Roadster was no slouch in this department but the Coupé is a whopping 80 per cent stiffer, thanks to the structural

integrity derived from having a proper roof, and the difference shows in every sharp change of direction.

The highly clever Electronic Active Differential combines with “Torque Vectoring by braking” (as opposed to “by hope”) to cancel both oversteer and understeer. Quite simply, the big Jag doesn’t behave like something with this much power and heft should. When you feel like you should be starting to slide at the rear or push at the front, the software and mechanicals combine to pull you through the corner perfectly, and much faster than you’d believe possible.

All this makes it a brilliant car in which to carve up a bit of country road, except that the cops will have heard you coming from the moment you started it up in your garage … two hours earlier.

July/August 2014

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INORE

THE VAGUELY INTERESTED PERSON’S

MODERN TENNIS

GUIDE TO

WE’RE LIVING IN A GOLDEN AGE OF RACQUET FLAILING. DON’T BELIEVE US? HERE’S WHY. WORDS: GUY MOSEL

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July/August 2014

INORE

O

F US

AT

H ER

T NU

JOB

: J E L E N A D O K I C’

S IN

FA

M

1

WORLD NUMERO UNO SPANISH STAR RAFAEL ‘RAFA’ NADAL

MENTAL TENNIS PARENTS (ARE EVERYWHERE!)

In 1993, then 18-year-old pro Mary Pierce was forced to hire bodyguards, travel under an assumed name and take out a restraining order against a man who had abused her emotionally and physically. Jim Pierce, who Mary also knew as ‘dad’ was a special guy, publicly scolding his daughter during matches while resorting to violence to defend her from others who did the same (the Women’s Tennis Association barred Jim from the tour after he punched out two fans during one of his daughter’s matches at the 1992 French Open). Jim is just a pioneer; the pro scene is still littered with shitty – and sometimes criminal – mums and dads, and some of them have called Australia home. Jelena Dokic’s infamous dad Damir, banned from tournaments over the world for violent behaviour and outright nuttiness, was also jailed in 2009 for threatening the life of Australia’s ambassador to Serbia. With a hand grenade.

Now John Tomic, Bernard’s daddy, has picked up where Damir left off. John – who, despite never having played tennis, is Bernard’s coach – was banned from the pro tennis tour in 2013 after head-butting Bernard’s playing partner and breaking his nose. But with that period of exile ending in May, expect more amusingly violent headline-grabbing insanity soon.

July/August 2014

17

INORE

2

RAFAEL NADAL HAS A GIGANTIC LEFT ARM

How big is it? When Rafa’s left and right arms go to the beach, all the chicks want to see Lefty with his shirt off, while bullies kick sand in Righty’s face. Rafa’s left arm is so muscular it could beat your entire body in an arm wrestle with itself tied behind its own back. When ROCKS interviewed Rafa before the Australian Open a couple of years ago, Nadal’s left arm entered the room two minutes before he did.

In short: this is Rafa’s left arm’s world – we just live in it.

KING OF CLAY WINS THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

3

THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN MAY ACTUALLY KILL SOMEONE

Our Open is less a tennis tournament and more a Hunger Games-style test of endurance. With on-court temperatures soaring above 40°C in January, play had to be suspended lest the ground open up and players fall into the gaping mouth of Hell. (Water bottles literally melted, while Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic hallucinated Snoopy, then fainted.) There have been calls to move the Open to a cooler time of year, or even abandon it. But while players such as Rafael Nadal complain about not being “protected”, the organ-roasting heat could be the greatest home-court advantage in the history of professional sports. Except that it’s not (see No.4).

d open up Play had to be suspended lest the groun of Hell. and players fall into the gaping mouth 18

July/August 2014

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INORE

4

5

AUSTRALIA IS RUBBISH…

Gone are the days when Australia bestrode the tennis world like a giant in white pantaloons. As such, our claim to hosting one of the world’s four majors is weaker than Bernard Tomic’s serve-volley game.

But … the pressure’s off!

With Rafa, Federer, Djoko and co, the standard has never been higher, and without a stake in the game, we’re free to enjoy what David Foster Wallace called “the most beautiful sport there is …it requires body control, hand-eye coordination, quickness, flat-out speed, endurance, and that weird mix of caution and abandon we call courage,” he wrote. “It also requires smarts.” Although speaking of Tomic, that cranky personification of Beaker from the Muppets, it’s time for the big-chinned brat to pull his finger out.

The future of Oz tennis rides upon his bony shoulders.

Beyond Bern, our ranks are thinner than Laver’s hair.

SARENA: SERENER

…BUT THE ENGLISH ARE WORSE (THANK GOD)

If Australian tennis is the equivalent of a 64th-ranked player who rarely makes it to a grand-slam fourth round, English tennis is a fat middle-aged bloke air-swinging at gently lobbed balls from his bored instructor.

The highest ranked Englishman (and second-highest ranked British tennis pro) is a 23-year-old midget named Daniel Evans who currently sits at 130. Who? Exactly. And while it may give our shower-shy cousins some measure of comfort to pretend that top-10 Scot and Wimbledon champ Andy Murray is one of them, he’s not.

He’s from Glasgow. He has a Scottish accent. He eats haggis and wears a kilt everywhere he goes (probably).

He hates the English football team. He’s more Scottish than a deep-fried Billy Connolly.

n oo ye G b i ? ?? l ch l e ’ t I g! ma agin a t i b wh Pom baw e Y y a t daf lus l e a c er y p pro

6

WTA PLAYERS HATE EACH OTHER! HA!

Male pros occasionally talk smack but they mostly steer clear of the personal. The women’s circuit operates by a different, better code, with players publicly airing their dirty laundry at every turn. Take this exchange between haters Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, beginning with

Williams talking about Sharapova before Wimbledon 2013: “I mean, seriously, give it a rest. She begins every interview with, ‘I’m so happy. I’m so lucky.’ It’s so boring. She’s still not going to be invited to the cool parties.”

Sharapova responded in kind: “If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids.” Game, set, match.

SHARAPOVA: LESS SERENE

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July/August 2014

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INORE

7

THE SPARTAK TENNIS SCHOOL (SHIRYAEVKA)

Russia’s premier tennis academy is a remote, run-down facility with all the charm of Vladimir Putin’s … well, of Vladimir Putin. But it’s there, overseen by a team of stony-faced coaching staff in velour tracksuits, that starry-eyed children are broken down and reassembled as Russia’s serve-

volleying cyborgs of the future.

Notable alumni include Yevgeny Kafelnikov, super-brat Marat Safin, Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina and Anna Kournikova. In fact, since Kournikova reached the top echelon of tennis in the late 1990s, Spartak alone has produced more top-20 women players than the entire United States. The program’s success has been attributed to a rigorous training regimen – including lots, like years, of visualisation miming.

9

8

MODERN RACQUET TECHNOLOGY ROCKS

When tennis was invented during the Middle Paleolithic age in what we now know as Swaziland, racquets consisted of little more than the severed legs of vanquished enemies.

Sort of. But wood became the frame material of choice in the 1500s, followed by metal in the 1960s and lightweight graphite in the 1980s, which is the standard today. Since those evolutionary leaps, racquet technology has become a game of millimetres, with players looking to extract that extra bit of power or accuracy by changing string types and tension and experimenting with handle length and head width. One of the newest technologies is “copolyester” strings, invented by a Japanese engineer who used a 10,000-frame-per-second camera to capture, for the first time, the behaviour of the ball during the five milliseconds it’s in contact with the string surface. Copoly strings generate more spin than any previous types, allowing players to pull off what Novak Djokovic’s trampled opponents often describe as “complete f__ing bullshit, I mean, come on, dude!” shots.

22

July/August 2014

RUSSIA IS NOT, I REPEAT NOT, TAKING OVER THE WORLD

AND LLEYTON HEWITT HAS SERIOUS OFF-COURT SKILLS

Lleyton was forever the bratty kid, scrapping and cursing his way around the tennis courts of the world. We loved those Wimbledon and US Open victories, but the backwards hat and the “C’mon!”s and the sooky-faced petulance got old very quickly. But now Lleyton loses more than he wins and his controversial racist ‘incident’ with African American slugger James Blake is a dozen years gone – “Nobody (on tour) is a friend of him”, said Argentine David Nalbandian – the lad’s suddenly a little bit … well, likeable. It took two decades for him to achieve the feat, but LleyLley is no longer a dickhead. And though his annual Australian Open tilts are doomed to failure, there is an upside: Lleyton can spend more time in the commentary box where, it turns out, he’s the best and smartest commentator since John McEnroe.

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INORE

Welcome to the world of pro bull riding: a brutal place where the money is finally catching up to the bucks.

YEE-HARD WORDS: BEN SMITHURST

T

here’s a reason old cowboys walk like they’re smuggling pineapples, and it’s not just because they’re mimicking John Wayne. It’s because important parts of them don’t work any more: joints are seized up, ankles tender, spines fused and tailbones ground to paste.

Because while other sports are dangerous, you’re usually safe when the ride is over. In rodeo, coming off a bull is just the start of the bull trying to smash down on top of you.

In bull riding, the bull regularly wins.

“Bull riders say it’s not when you get hurt – it’s how badly,” laughs 23-yearold Professional Bull Riding (PBR) circuit star Troy Wilkinson, who has been nursing a six-centimetre groin tear

through competition for a year.

“I’ve broken fingers, sprained ankles, torn muscles and been concussed. Lots of times, you get thrown off and land funny and then a bull jumps on your fingers.

A big bull can weigh a tonne. It hurts a fair bit, but, you know … at least the ground’s soft.”

This month sees three major PBR rodeos across the country, and in anticipation, Rocks spoke with two Australian pros who’ve stamped their mark on the profession, both here and internationally. Both are from the NSW bush: Young gun Wilkinson comes from the tiny village of Upper Horton, 120km west of Armidale, and three-time Australian PBR Champion David Kennedy, 29, is from Kyogle, 60km west of Byron Bay.

“BULL RIDERS SAY THAT IT’S NOT WHEN YOU GET HURT – IT’S HOW BADLY.”

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July/August 2014

INORE

PBR Invitational Cairns (Saturday July 5) Brendon Clark Invitational Newcastle (Saturday July 12) Australian National Finals Sydney (Saturday July 19) “BROKEBACK? NAW, IT’S JUST A LITTLE SCIATICA”

pbraustralia.com July/August 2014

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INORE

Is that when the rodeo clowns come in?

Yep. Mate, they get hurt a lot more than what we do, I’ll tell you. They do a really good job. They’re always busted up: bad knees, sore legs, sore ribs. We get away safely and they run in and jump on the bull’s head. They just love it. They’re mad.

What’s the difference between riding in the US and Australia?

We’ve got really good stock here, but they seem to have really specific breeding lines, and their bulls seem to be a lot bigger and stronger. There’s so much money in the industry there that they even make clones out of the great bulls that were really

“I’VE SEEN SIX OR SEVEN BROKEN LEGS – SOME WHERE THE BULL’S JUMPED ON THE BLOKE AND HE’S GONE TO STAND AND HIS LEG’S JUST FOLDED.”

NDERRATE

NS, U

OW O DE

CL RO

Your riding career began when you were a kid riding sheep in the shearing shed, and since you started competing in the PBR in 2008, you’ve been to the US three times and Canada once. You must have shaken off your share of injuries…

Yeah – but the groin has taken the longest to heal. I did it 12 months ago in the States; I caught the rope with my spur and jagged my leg, which tore the muscle. Hurt pretty bad. I couldn’t stand up, couldn’t walk. I didn’t even know where the bull was.

D

TROY WILKINSON

dangerous back in the day. They made four clones of this one bull and those clones were the best bulls in the world for a time. Some people sell bulls in the US for $150,000 – just for a bucking bull! Here you’re lucky to get $5000 for a good one.

Do bull riders have groupies?

Well, American women like the Australian accent a lot, and they do like cowboys, that’s for sure! They want to get to know you.

They’re just, um, fans of the sport, I suppose.

I don’t know if you’ve ever talked to an American girl before but they get a bit funny.

What’s it like being on a big bull?

When I was a kid you’d get on and it was rough. You’d sit there and you’re bouncing around and your arms would get jerked away from your body – but over time you learn techniques and how to ride the bull properly. When you know what you’re doing it’s pretty relaxed; it’s like sitting on a drum, and you just rock it.

Have you ever won a prize on one of those mechanical bulls in a pub?

Yeah! This is funny. I went to a thing at my girlfriend’s university and they had one of those bulls. I was just dressed in shorts and shirt and thongs, and nobody there knew I rode bulls for a living. They talked me into getting on it, and I rode it so long that they eventually had to stop it. They still didn’t know I was a pro bull rider. Unfortunately the prize was only about $20!

What’s the worst injury you’ve seen?

I’ve seen six or seven broken legs – some where the bull’s jumped on the bloke and he’s gone to stand and his leg’s just folded sideways with the bone sticking out. That looks pretty bad. I’ve seen a lot of guys land on their head, I’ve seen broken necks … oh, and I saw my brother-in-law, Chris Lowe, who is also a pro bull rider, get kicked in the side of the head. We were

July/August 2014

27

INORE

in the United States for a couple of months and I got recognised by people in the airport. We’re on TV there every week. But it’s getting more like that in Australia as well – people are travelling a lot further to follow their favourite bull riders.

What’s the key to good bull riding?

The main thing is being able to handle your own body weight and be flexible. I nod my head when I see the bull for the first jump and then I go into a place where my subconscious mind takes over. Sometimes I get off and I can’t remember what happened – I have to ask someone which way it spun.

“THE SMARTER BULLS FEEL WHERE YOU ARE ON THEIR BACK AND JUMP LEFT OR RIGHT TO THROW YOU OFF.” riding down in Wollongong last year and it completely knocked him out and ripped his ear off. Ha! There was blood everywhere.

He was lying there stiff with his eyes rolled into the back of his head. I can tell you, that was a pretty hard thing to see.

Did they sew his ear back on?

Oh yeah, but it looks a bit different now, haha! It’s on a bit crooked.

DAVID KENNEDY You’re just 29 but you’ve been around a long time – multiple national titles, representing Australia at World Cups in Brazil, Las Vegas and Australia. Are you considered an old hand?

Yeah – a ‘veteran’, they call us, not that I’m happy to be one! I wish I was a young gun again, because it hurts more when you get old. You don’t bounce as well. As you get to the end of your career the body starts to stiffen up and you can feel all your injuries.

What’s ‘old’ for a bull rider?

About 35 is getting on. It’s a rough sport.

The dislocated shoulders add up.

Are cowboys the same all over?

Yeah: a cowboy’s a cowboy, whether you’re here or in the United States or wherever, but the money is bigger in the United States – a lot bigger. I rode in Australia my whole career and never got recognised, but I rode

28

July/August 2014

Can you anticipate what a bull will do?

You have a rough idea. You know before an event which bull you’ll be riding and what that bull’s done in the past. But they’re live animals and they can change their minds at any time. The smarter bulls feel where you are on their back and they’ll jump left or right to throw you off. Every bull has got its own personality and its own attitude. They probably outsmart us more than we outsmart them.

Do you ever get scared?

No – that’s when something goes wrong.

I’ve been on the wrong end of a bull, though. If you don’t respect them, they’ll just hurt you.

Pro bull riding is judged as well as being objectively scored, isn’t it?

You’ve got to stay on for eight seconds and your free hand, the hand you hold up, is not allowed to touch yourself or the bull in that time or you’re disqualified. And you get 100 points. Fifty of those points are judged on how good the bull bucks and 50 are judged on how good you ride.

According to Troy, American ladies love a fair dinkum accent. Do Vegas showgirls like the look of an Aussie cowboy?

Yeah, there’s plenty of those – we call them buckle bunnies. But if it wasn’t for my wife keeping me on the straight and narrow and not partying, I don’t think that I’d be three times Australian champion. I’d have done a lot more drinking and probably had a bit better time, but I’m very driven in making my three kids proud of me and bucking out bulls. Their heroes are bull riders and I’m trying to set a good example. I want them to take this as a professional sport.

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UNLEASHED asmania is a small, rugged island in one of the least populated sectors of the globe.

Domestically, it is known for its food and wine, iconic boozing batsman, Boonie, and MONA – the eclectic Museum of Old and New Art. All are state assets, alongside the Tarkine, Errol Flynn and the wonderfully named Honey Bacon, widow to former Labor premier Jim. But to concentrate on their joys is to overlook the Apple Isle’s greatest resource: its roads.

All cars are driven by drivers but not every car is a ‘driver’s car’. Similarly, not every road is a driver’s road, and the sort of people who know one Porsche 911 variant from another know the world’s best driving roads by name: Italy’s Stelvio Pass; Tennessee’s Tail of the Dragon; Norway’s Geiranger Pass…

Australia has a lot of boring roads. But we also have some great strips of tarmac, and Tasmania lays claim to the lion’s share. The map of Tassie is riddled with spaghetti-like strips of road that twist from tip to tail, and that make our southernmost state a Mecca for driving and motorcycling enthusiasts. And while you can barely go wrong, whatever road you choose, ROCKS is happy to detail three of the island’s best stretches of bitumen…

Buckle up, Tassie is home to Australia’s top driver’s roads.

HAIRPIN HOLIDAY WORDS: STEPHEN CORBY, SCOTT NEWMAN, BEN SMITHURST

July/August 2014

31

UNLEASHED

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DRIVE THE ‘99 BENDS’ WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT INTESTINES.

WEST

THE 99 BENDS (Lyell Highway between Queenstown and Gormanston) 5.6 kilometres, six minutes.

WORDS: Stephen Corby It’s impossible to drive the ‘99 bends’, as the locals call the licorice-stick wriggle of the Lyell Highway from Queenstown to Gormanston, without thinking about intestines.

For a start, that’s what the road looks like on a map: a series of sharp bends, folding in on themselves, that goes on for a seemingly unfeasible distance (in actual fact it’s only just over five kilometres, but it feels a lot longer).

Then there’s what a fang along this absurd and justifiably infamous section of Targa Tasmania does to your insides. From the passenger seat, it can start to feel as if you’ve somehow swallowed a vice, which is being applied to your bowels with another vicious twist each time you hit a new bend.

Even from the driver’s seat, it’s a road that can give you motion sickness if you’re foolish enough to try and drive it flat out.

Attack it at 80 per cent, though, and pace yourself, and it’s a pure joyride of perfect corners, throwing themselves at you in a feast of fun.

Even if you are being careful, you’ll still feel the kind of nerves that settle in at the base of your stomach, because there are some steep and ravine-ous drop-offs in some sections that can cause you to ponder your continued existence.

Throw in the fact that large parts of the scenery look like they could be used to fake a Mars landing – a legacy of more than 100 years of continuous copper mining in Queenstown – and the whole thing takes on an other-worldly feel.

Drive the road at sunset and the strange, sickly pink and grey hues of the savagely deforested (the trees all went in the smelters) and permanently eroded rocky hills take on a kind of eerie beauty.

The 99 bends – a name chosen more for dramatic impact than for accuracy, because there are probably only 60 or so – is a surreal stretch of road, and one that’s not to be missed.

It is also, for all its gut-punishing g-forces, an absolute hoot to drive in the right car.

32

July/August 2014

UNLEASHED

SOUTH

HOBART TO TAHUNE AIRWALK

87 kilometres, 95 minutes; 110km, 2 h 10 mins with Mount Wellington diversion WORDS: Scott Newman It’s not immediately clear why you’d want to leave Hobart in

the first place. The picturesque waterfront area, Salamanca, is enough in itself to hold most visitors’ interest, with eateries to satisfy virtually any taste and a near-endless cascade of Cascade from the taps of the many waterfront pubs.

Those brave enough to venture beyond the city’s confines, however, will discover some of Australia’s best bitumen.

Heading south-west out of the CBD deposits you on Huon Road (B64), a bumpy, twisting ribbon of tarmac that’ll have you unleashing your inner rally driver in moments. Just be sure not to bypass the turn-off to Mount Wellington, a worthy diversion which will reward you with glorious views of Hobart.

The B64 winds down into the valley town of Longley (stop at the pub) before climbing to rejoin the main highway south. Ten minutes’ drive later – Southern Tassie is a small place – you’ll land in Huonville, at which point you’ll have two options...

Hang a left on the Channel Highway (B68) and you’ll enjoy a picturesque yet entertaining coastal drive through the sleepy towns of Cygnet, Woodbridge and Kettering, and views of the D’entrecasteaux Channel. The loop winds its way back to Hobart and takes about 70 minutes, plus stops.

We’re pushing on, though, following the Huon through the apple communities of Franklin and Castle Forbes Bay to the logging town of Geeveston. From there, it’s right onto Arve Road (C631), a 30km access road to the Tahune AirWalk.

Once a year, this road serves as a stage for the fastest tarmac rally in the country, and the fact that the spectacular treetop walk is worth a look in its own right serves as the perfect excuse for a fang. The road itself is wide, flowing and mostly well surfaced – just keep an eye out for the occasional logging truck and kamikaze tourists with no sense of lane discipline.

July/August 2014

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Think long term – secure your career!

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LAUNCESTON TO ST HELENS 164 kilometres, 2 hours WORDS: Ben Smithurst Tasmania’s bitumen bounty makes it a favourite place for international car marques to hold local launches. To do so, they’ll often fly journos into Launceston and out of Hobart … giving them the chance to drive the roads of the north-east in between. And for good reason: with dense forest sprawling to the road’s verge, it’s like driving through a densely wooded Jurassic Park, except with roads created by people usually responsible for designing race tracks, or Scalextric.

There are many bracing options – including St Marys Pass, where cheeky locals have scrubbed the ‘P’ from the roadside sign originally proclaiming that ‘You are now entering St Marys Pass’. But it’s the arced 160-kilometre sweep up the A4 from ‘Lonny’ to St Helens that takes the cake.

Spearing north-east to Scottsdale along what’s now become the A3, you’re met with a riot of twists – beware logging trucks and dawdling see-Australia-and-die nomads more than stepped-out bikers – before pitching east, skirting the Mount Horror Forest Reserve and then barrelling south through the Blue Tier Forest Reserve. It smells mostly like brakes.

You’ll want a car with wide tyres, big anchors and a surfeit of grip. Like the mythological Hydra, forever growing new heads, this is an

inexhaustible up-and-down challenge, with another tightening bend or switchback appearing every time you expect it’s spent.

Beware, also, the wildlife. Tasmania’s fauna is iconic – but it’s also clueless about looking both ways before crossing. Each kilometre passed is a gasp-inducing testament to roadkill.

You’ll catch your breath on the drop down to the coast at St Helens – a perfect spot for lunching, with the Freycinet National Park just over an hour’s breathtaking coastal drive south.

Here, on a fine day, the essential trek/climb to overlook Wineglass Bay proves conclusively why it’s one of the world’s top 10 beaches.

IT’S LIKE DRIVING THROUGH JURASSIC PARK.

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This remote land of desert sand is marked by rocks and H2O. Whet your appetite for trekking – and dating – in Oman.

WORDS: SIMON MADDEN

s i h t o t s e m o Rain c n e h t d n a y l e r a r country . s d o o fl e s n e t n i in

WE SAT UNDER the squat

Acacia tree, the scrawny branches providing more shade than their appearance suggested. Pin-sharp, inch-long thorns lent it a vaguely hostile air, making the shade feel like only a temporary welcome.

Still, the hint of a breeze lifted the sweat from my body and it was quiet and restful. In the silence, cool water sluiced down my throat, irrigating muscles dusty from five hours of hiking steep hills. The morning’s march over uneven terrain had brought us out of the deep, fertile valley of Wadi Tiwi, up onto a plateau high in the eastern Hajar Mountain range. And as I stared out across the sun-blasted landscape, all I saw were rocks.

But that was because while I was looking, I couldn’t really see.

How you experience a place changes over time. It takes a while for your mind to shift its focus and comprehend a new environment; the dawning realisation resulting from this shift is part of the joy of travel. Subtleties emerge, and so I slowly came to see that water, not rocks, is what marks Oman. It’s strange to think of a desert land as marked by water, but it is. And dates. And goats – heaps of goats.

In reality, though, the dates and the goats are byproducts of the water.

Oman stands as a testament to humanity’s ability to carve out an existence in unlikely terrain

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OMAN’S ROADS ARE VISIBLY IMPRESSIVE

through a combination of ingenuity, tradition and bloodymindedness. Forty years ago, the country was a near-medieval land of warring tribes; today, it’s an oil-rich sultanate.

Compared to its neighbours, Oman was slow to exploit its oil.

It began only in 1970 after the current ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, moved his father on. Royal succession is not something most of us need to plot, and taking over the family business can be a bit tricky at the best of times, but Omanis seem genuinely content with their ruler. There is little doubting the impact of his modernisation drive.

Sustained by the world’s thirst for crude, the essentials of life – power, water and mobile phone reception – have all come to once-isolated outposts; schools have been built and education is prized. But travelling through the country, it’s the roads that are the most visibly impressive.

The Al Hajar Mountains rise abruptly out of flat gravel plains.

The peaks are covered in a skin of shattered rock and we are bumping along rough roads that the Omanis have somehow cut to join hidden villages. These roads mean just driving around the country is a full-on 4x4 saga, and their improbability makes the places they go seem more remote and beautiful. Rain comes to this country rarely and then in THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE WADING IN A WADI ON A HOT DAY

intense floods, which wash away the roads. Each time they have to be re-driven into the hillsides in a perpetual dance of bulldozers.

Over millions of years, these flooding rains have rushed down off the mountains and plateaus to carve out wadis – catchments that begin as tight canyons on high ground, then broaden into valleys as they near the flatlands.

Omanis are experts at making use of the water’s periodic presence – transporting it great distances and hoarding for irrigation.

The use of this water is what marks the land.

Looking down at any of the wadis you are

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ONCE YOU EAT A HALAS (‘THE END’ IN ARABIC), YOUR SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT DATE IS OVER. struck by the contrast of crops against the dry landscape.

Brilliantly simple systems of irrigation – afalaj – are used to distribute water throughout a village’s terraced fields. Garlic, onion, mango and lime are all grown here, but it is the date palm that stands above them.

Dates are everywhere; they say there are about 120 varieties in Oman, and they are the standard snack – delicious, sweet and high in energy.

They’re also addictive and almost impossible to stop eating. The only problem is the fug that envelops you and your hiking buddy due to stomachs unaccustomed to a diet so high in dried fruit (hint: don’t walk downwind). The best are perhaps the halas, literally ‘the end’ in Arabic. Meaning that once you eat a halas, your search for the perfect date is over.

The other peculiarity of dining Omani-style is that it is done with the right hand. The technique takes some mastering; shovelling rice into your gob with ungainly fingers is no easy task. The amount that ends in your lap will have you marvelling at how Omani men manage to keep

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their dishdash – the traditional garb – so sparklingly clean. But what appears at first to be magic is more often than not just dexterous fingers, and a couple of quick tips on technique from a friendly local is recommended. Eating sans cutlery feels deliciously liberating.

With a belly full of food and a slightly soiled lap, it is the perfect time to head up into a wadi – a cool world of emerald-green pools spilling among jumbles of grey, water-scoured limestone boulders. Pushing deep into any one of the dramatic canyons demands that you scramble, rock-hop, cliff-jump off waterfalls, swim, wade and slip down natural water slides. It’s like a big kids’ natural water park.

Add to that sleeping out in a tented camp in the dunes of the Wahiba Sands and a coastline teeming with aquatic life, all within a couple of hours of the surprisingly tranquil capital, Muscat, and you’ve got a lively destination.

Tranquil it might be, but Muscat has the trappings of a prosperous city. The supercars that line the beachfront Corniche – colloquially known as Love Street – at dusk are filled with young men showing off and making big noises when they

drop the hammer; this is no left-behind backwater. The oil is not going to last forever, though, and Oman is looking to diversify its economy. Enter tourism. And here, Oman has something that its gleaming, newly built neighbours don’t: realness. A sense of life and tradition beyond towering construction and air-conditioned malls. The wonders of the country are accessible. You don’t have to get far out of Muscat to feel that you are far away from everything.

The word is getting out, too.

Adventurers are on the march into Oman right now. The vanguard of climbers is seeking cliffs and peaks; kitesurfers and SCUBA divers are making for the coastline; fourwheel drivers are penetrating the mountains and flying over sand dunes, and trekkers are plunging deep into wadis. All of them chowing down dates by the hundreds, eating slow-roasted goat with their right hands, and coming to see a starkly beautiful country marked by water.

MUSCAT’S GRAND MOSQUE: MAGICAL

Oman Air and Etihad offer regular flights to Oman. Oman Air usually schedules flights in partnership with either Thai Airways or Malaysian Airlines via Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, while Etihad flights go through Abu Dhabi. A side-trip to Oman from Dubai is easy and costs about US$150 with an Emirates Arabian Airpass or a oneworld® Visit Middle East Pass with Qatar Airways. There is really only one international airport in Oman: Seeb International Airport. Australians can apply for a one-month visa on arrival; the cost is 20 Omani rial (about A$56).

NOTE: PLASTIC TROUSERS RECOMMENDED WHEN EATING TRADITIONAL OMANI DISHES

All levels of accommodation from plush to rustic are available in Oman; if you’re getting away from it all, there are bush and official camp sites throughout the Al Hajar Mountains.

Road infrastructure in Oman is pretty good and getting better, though you will still need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to make the most of your adventure – plus there’s next to no public transport. Take the usual off-road precautions such as carrying plenty of water in case your vehicle breaks down.

Oman is a very safe destination to visit. It is politically stable and its people, for the most part, are friendly and helpful. The further you go from Muscat, the less English is spoken, so a couple of words in Arabic will serve you well. Almost all signs are written in both Arabic and English. The best time to visit is between November and mid-March, when the weather is cooler and more stable.

Oman is a Muslim country and, while it’s not as hardcore as some of its neighbours, you do need to be respectful, especially outside the capital. Men should wear pants (or at least shorts to the knee) and women, loose clothing that covers their arms and shoulders – dresses should go at least to the knee, but pants are probably best.

The author travelled to Oman courtesy of Oman Tourism and was hosted by Oman World Tourism (omanworldtourism.com; info@ omanworldtourism.com).

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elcome to the Hellenic Republic, the home of democracy, medicine, philosophy and, in 1925, a 10-day war that kicked off when a Greek soldier was shot dead chasing a stray dog over the Bulgarian border. In Greece, wandering off the tourist trail can be dramatic, especially here among the six monasteries of Metéora. They’re located high up upon towering 450-metre cliffs near the Pindus Mountains and the River Peneios in the central highlands.

It’s arguably Greece’s most

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underrated UNESCO site, and getting around here was a matter of life and death challenge long before Bulgaria became involved. Long, in fact, before Bulgaria even existed.

In the ninth century, hundreds of monks chose to settle in Metéora and abstain from material possessions, speaking, and eating luxurious foods. Instead, they devoted their lives to thinking about God. The monks found hundreds of naturally occurring caves in the cliffs and turned them into homes. They climbed up to 550 metres to find the best caves,

which were sheltered from the scorching summer sun and the freezing winter ice.

By the end of the 14th century the sun was setting on the millennium-long reign of the Byzantine Empire. When the Turkish Ottoman Empire began to encroach upon Greek territory, the hermit monks convened at the base of the tallest 60-million-year-old sandstone cliff and decided to build a monastery out of harm’s way. Work began on the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron.

As an extra layer of protection, fishing nets were tied together

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Atop sheer 450-metre cliffs, these ancient Greek monasteries are ringed with the bones of plummeted monks.

WORDS: JOE WORTHINGTON

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FAST FACT

The Church of Transfiguration inside the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron was built with the money donated by the Serbian king-turned-monk John Uros (St Iosaph) in 1373, who gave up his power and privilege to lead a simple life.

and dropped 450 metres down the cliff for visiting monks and nuns. If the visitors were able to pull themselves up the musclestretching cliff, they were welcomed with open arms by the community of monks. But if they fell, this was believed to be what the Lord desired.

The community of monks supposedly only replaced the nets when ‘the Lord let them break’, which, if the records are to be believed, was regularly.

Over the next two centuries a further 23 monasteries were built at the peaks of the highest cliffs in the area. Six survive: the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron, the Holy Monastery of Varlaam, the Holy Monastery of Rousanou, the Holy Monastery of St Nicholas Anapausas, the Holy Monastery of St Stephen and the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. Unholy they are not.

Most modern visitors to Metéora are there to bask in the backdrops of some of the world’s most famous movies and games. These include the Monastery of the Holy Trinity (James Bond’s For Your Eyes Only), the Monastery of St Nicholas Anapausas (the inspiration for St Francis Folly

in Tomb Raider) and Metéora in general (the inspiration for the Eyrie of House Arryn in Game of Thrones).

Even so, a visit to Metéora is not really complete until you’ve spent the day jumping over deep ravines and bathing in the cold, pure waters of Peneios. Just as the hermit monks did all those centuries ago, I also hoped to spend the evening huddled around a self-made camp fire, berries and leaves boiling in the crackling flames, and woody odours filling the fissures and

METÉORA INSPIRED THE EYRIE OF HOUSE ARRYN IN GAME OF THRONES. hollows of the surrounding rocks. Where better to leave your smart phone and tablet computer behind to live the life of a hermit – however briefly?

Standing at the base of the lowest point of Metéora, I gazed upwards at the towering grey, black and brown rocks. It’s a dizzying experience. The heights cause you to lose balance, and you see why the hermit monks chose this area to hide away from the hustle and bustle of July/August 2014

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UNLEASHED everyday life. They came for silence and solitude, to devote their lives to God. I walked across the orange sandy paths, searching for the perfect cave to bed down in for the night and leaving clouds of dust in my wake. Thick tree trunks protruded from the cliffs, their leaf-filled branches swooning in the light midday winds, while white doves above seemed to guide the way. The echo of my hiking boots bounced between the tall cliffs behind and in front of me.

Eventually I saw a perfect cave in the distance, and dashed to claim it before a wandering wild boar got there first. Dashed, that is, until a deep ravine stopped me in my tracks. What to do? I could turn and retreat to my hotel in nearby Kalabaka, population 11,000, or take my life into my own hands and leap across the two-metre gap between one rock and another.

As Ottomans and Nazis alike failed to do before me, I took a running jump and launched like a lizard pouncing on its prey.

A 150-metre cavern below beckons for those who put a foot wrong; for centuries, monks and nuns performed the same death-defying stunt to get to their new homes. I landed ungracefully on the other side with a dull thud.

As I dusted myself off and set off for my cave, the sun began to set behind the cliffs and a chill wind moved in. The rumbles of my stomach became more aggressive, so I prepared myself to go scavenging for food. Wild berry and spearmint leaf soup sounded nice; I’ve seen several episodes of Man vs Wild. The only berry bush in sight was hanging over the cliff above my cave, with the juicy red berries just asking to be picked.

Then a frayed rope swung

I COULD TURN AROUND AND RETREAT TO MY HOTEL IN NEIGHBOURING KALABAKA, POPULATION 11,000, OR TAKE MY LIFE INTO MY HANDS BY LEAPING THE TWO-METRE GAP SEPARATING ONE ROCK FROM ANOTHER.

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down the cliff and a faint voice whispered from the peak: “Climb up my boy, we have food.” Peering up, I saw a smiling monk dressed in a black cloak, waving his hands towards me. Once again, I took my life into my own hands and hauled myself up the frighteningly weak rope, dragging my shoes along the crumbling cliff face. Intrepid.

The monk hoisted me up and dragged me onto the cold stone floor, and I stood up to look around at a dominating whitewashed stone and orange slate shrine. “Great Meteoron,” said the monk, gesturing at the surroundings.

By sheer chance I’d arrived at the first and largest of the Metéora monasteries.

Overcast skies enveloped the cliffs as the sun slipped down.

I looked out to the canyons laid out below like a collage of rock

and stone. Rain clouds opened and I saw all the monasteries lined up in a jagged row – some higher, some smaller – an unforgettably perfect view. The trees swayed in the cold breeze and the rain got heavier, but the breathtaking view just became more perfect. Each minute changed the picture, and each

THE MONK HOISTED ME UP AND DRAGGED ME ONTO THE COLD STONE FLOOR. movement of the clouds added a new effect to the moment.

A lthough I didn’t want to leave that amazing place, I knew I would have to, so I followed the monk into the monastery.

He pointed ahead of him.

“On your way back down to the bottom,” he said, “you should use the steps.”

FACT FILE Where: Metéora, Greece Official name: Prefecture of Trikala Climate: Average daily temps 14–23°C Time to go: Spring/summer

(April–September) Best for: Caving, hiking,

rock climbing, camping Pack: Hiking boots, safety rope,

tent, waterproof coat

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“ONE MOGWAI, PLEASE!” “FOR THE LAST TIME, THIS IS A 7-ELEVEN”

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PTING FATE Curious about what lies ahead? In Hong Kong and Thailand – in fact, most of Asia – fortune telling is serious business.

WORDS: KRIS MADDEN

hile sceptics think fortune telling is a gimmick or scam, its roots in Asian culture run deep. If you’re planning on doing business in China or South-East Asia, it would be wise to consider that luck and superstition can play a big role in your negotiations – whether you’ve got a ‘Magic Happens’ sticker on your Kombi or you worship at the logical non-altar of Richard Dawkins.

When almost everyone else in the society believes, the influence of fortune foretold is hard to escape – for anyone.

In Hong Kong, mystics are regularly consulted for advice

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on every possible major decision, while Thai locals have been guided by fortune tellers for centuries. Today, millions of Thais regularly consult maw du – aka ‘doctors who see’ – to gain insights into health, career, love or money.

While the methods differ in each place, there are many factors in common, mostly involving numbers, auspicious dates and the person’s birthday.

HONG KONG’S MYSTIC MILE

In Hong Kong, if you want answers – should you take that corporate job offer? Could he or she really be ‘the one’? – Kowloon’s Temple Street is the

place to go. At the busy Temple Street Night Market, travellers and locals alike seek answers to life’s big questions.

In the middle of the main drag is Tin Hau temple, which has provided the backdrop for many a Hong Kong gangster movie. Past Men’s Street (good for guys’ clothing bargains), the Ladies’ Market (clothes, shoes, bags) and the Chinese medicine clinics, there’s a row of sixth-sense seers who will reveal your future using every method imaginable, from reading palms (chiromancy), tarot cards or the bumps on your face. There are even fortune-telling birds.

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Advertising Feature

Property Relocation Brisbane Director of Development, Maurice Wrenn of Graystone Group, shares 30 years’ experience managing commercial property and tenancy relocation and answers the five most important questions to consider in order to smooth the process and avoid costly pitfalls.

1. WHEN TO START PLANNING

In today’s changing economic times lease options and expiries often stay off the radar until tenants are at the mercy of their landlord. Depending on the complexity of the space and the amenity required, key dates need to be flagged well in advance and preparation of the tenancy brief should be organised at least 18 months ahead of potential relocation.

2. SELECTING AN OWNER YOU CAN WORK WITH

Particularly dynamic companies, which are likely to further expand or contract within normal negotiable lease terms, need to ensure they engage with a landlord who is in sync with the level of flexibility they may require. Larger property management organisations can seriously compromise the flexibility necessary to ensure the accommodation is efficient and relevant. Choose your landlord and their property manager carefully as a lesson not to learn the hard way.

3. SELECTING YOUR LOCATIONS DRIVERS

Our cities are changing. The average age of a building in Brisbane CBD is now 28 years old and lacking in cost effective amenity.

Accessibility and sufficient affordable car parking are also growing issues. Consider where your business really needs to be because relocating to a more convenient location could save significant property occupancy costs. Retaining a serviced office in the CBD for meetings if you need a presence is worth considering.

4. AVOIDING BUSINESS DISRUPTION

Office amenity and efficiency expectation of staff have changed dramatically in even the past five years. Work place ratios, break out space and amenity in general require regular reviews and a new layout could be what is required to revitalise staff enthusiasm. Be careful never to agree to building modifications or refurbishment while your are in occupation. The disruption will be intolerable and it is far better to simply move to a new space.

5. HOW TO INTEGRATE LESSEE & LESSOR WORKS

Fitout costs can really get out of hand. If possible, plan far enough in advance to relocate to a new building or space being refurbished ahead of completion. By integrating lessee and lessor works the cost of relocation, aside from any incentives, will be reduced by at least a third of the cost when your new layout can incorporate all the electrical, mechanical and hydraulic requirements without the waste of reworking these services in completed vacant areas.

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UNLEASHED TEMPLE ST FORTUNES SEMI-SCEPTICAL MELBOURNE PLASTERER ARTIE SHANKS VISITED HONG KONG PSYCHICS “I went to some face readers first, and then some fortune-telling finches, although the birds were pretty vague! And I saw some card interpreters with the deck skills of Vegas dealers, who took about three seconds to pluck one card and tell me all that would be well … provided I drank less. Probably true. The face reader said I would have trouble hanging onto money because my nostrils (he said) are abnormally wide. He also told me that I wouldn’t end up living in the place where I was born, which was also true. But it was an ancient-looking guy with a wispy Fu Manchu moustache who let drop, via a translator, a series of unnerving revelations about my past that only my closest mates would know. After that it was hard not to believe what he predicted for my future. I liked it.”

Unfortunately, you can only ask questions about yourself – not who will win the flag in September or what Lotto numbers you should pick.

WIND AND WATER

The Chinese system of feng shui (literally ‘wind and water’) is evident not just in architecture or interior design. Its influence seeps even into the mundane, dictating the time of day you might do your banking or the date you should buy a car.

Master Alex Yu is a Hong Kong-based fortune teller whose geomancy (reading scattered soil, rocks or sand) services are in demand by some of the world’s top companies. Over two decades he has consulted with more than 20,000 people, including clients such as Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Cathay Pacific Airways and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

You’ll feel lucky immediately, as Master Yu gives free weekly talks at his geomancy and physiognomy (face reading) school in Kowloon. One talk covers the belief that numbers strongly affect our lives, right

down to our mobile phone numbers. Apparently, if your phone number ends in 5, you could be sending and receiving bad luck every time you use it.

Yu also runs workshops for incentive groups and corporate executives about choosing the right employees through face reading and other cosmic tools.

Participants leave with a bunch of potential ‘cures’ for the feng shui’s ominous ‘flying stars’. It is fun – even if you think it means as much as a ‘Which Lannister are you?’ Facebook quiz.

MASTER YU: ALSO HIS DJ-ING NAME

HOKUM OR SCIENCE?

MASTER ALEX YU IS A HONG KONG-BASED GEOMANCER WHOSE SERVICES ARE IN DEMAND

BY SOME OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST COMPANIES.

Virtually all Thais believe in destiny, good luck and spirits.

Sensible, well-heeled, highly educated people regularly consult fortune tellers before they make an investment, buy a business or reach a big decision.

High-end fortune tellers can command up to 10,000 baht ($330) per hour – in a country where doctors make $3000 a month – although a street fortune teller might work for as little as 40 baht ($1.30) a session.

Even government officials consult their personal mystics about crucial decisions. Thailand University found more than 70 per cent of Thai Government officials believe in the concept.

Among Thailand’s powerful policymakers is Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, the

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UNLEASHED former head of Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the former Finance Minister of Thailand. He carefully watches inflation rates, world markets and the statistics of the Thai economy, but his main guide is the Thai zodiac.

Master Montri, on Express Way Road, 15 minutes from the heart of Bangkok, alleges he’s the best fortune teller in Thailand (and his website says so too: see right). He’ll ask for your name and a few personal facts (give them or not, it’s up to you) and tell you about your past, current and future life. Montri claims 99–100 per cent accuracy in his predictions, and his clients include the Thai army and police force; which is slightly worrying.

THAILAND’S ‘DOCTORS WHO SEE’

You’ll have no trouble finding Bangkok city’s maw du. Their skills cover the spectrum from palmism and face reading, to astrology, handwriting analysis and those hidden secrets lurking in your name.

The highest concentration in Bangkok is found around Tha Prajan pier off the Chao Phraya River. You’ll encounter others at Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha) temple, one of Bangkok’s oldest and largest, which is also famed for its seers. You can also get a cold Chang beer here, and a reasonably priced massage at the Thai Traditional Massage School.

Even if you think it’s a load of malarky, it’s worth giving it a go

THE LOWDOWN HONG KONG Temple Street, Kowloon Catch the MTR to Yau Ma Tei Station or Jordan Station.

Master Alex Yu Geomancy & Physiognomy Mong Kok Commercial Building, 16 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon Bookings necessary. alexyufengshui.com

WAT PHO (RECLINING BUDDHA) TEMPLE, ONE OF BANGKOK’S OLDEST AND LARGEST, IS ALSO FAMED FOR ITS SEERS. – especially at the 40 baht end of the market – so you can experience a big part of Chinese and Thai culture. It’s cheap, a lot of fun, and a great story to dine out on back home. Plus, if Richard Dawkins turns out to be wrong, the gods might go a bit easier on you in the afterlife.

And if you plan on doing business in Thailand, follow the lead of the locals and never wear a yellow shirt on a Monday.

Importantly, never, ever get your hair cut on a Wednesday.

LINGER LONGER IN BKK In the unlikely event that your virility is questioned, visit Tubtim Shrine in the grounds of Bangkok’s Swissôtel Nai Lert Park. The hundreds of palad khik or linga (read ‘cocks’, not the feathered kind) range from small wooden carvings to giant stone sculptures. All are said to guarantee a happy ending; these effigies of the Hindu god Shiva are believed to grant good fortune and fertility. Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine is another popular place to ask the spirit world for special favours.

Be forewarned: If your wish is granted, apparently you’re obliged to supply a maiden to dance naked around the shrine three times.

The Salisbury YMCA of Hong Kong 41 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon Excellent accommodation and great facilities, right next door to The Peninsula hotel. Same views at a fraction of the price. ymcahk.org.hk

More info: discoverhongkong.com BANGKOK Wat Pho Temple 2 Sanamchai Road, Pranakorn District Open daily 8.00am–6.30 pm.

Entry fee 100 baht (AU$3.30). watpho.com

Master Montri Ramindra-Artnarong Road, Soi Yothin Pattana 3, Bangkok A two-hour reading costs about 5000 baht (AU$165).

Reservations essential. bkk-best-fortuneteller. blogspot.com

Lebua at State Tower 1055 Silom Road, Bangrak Close to everything. Sky Bar is one of the world’s best rooftop bars. The Hangover Part II was filmed here. lebua.com

Swissôtel Nai Lert Park 2 Wireless Road, Bangkok Home to the Tubtim fertility shrine. swissotel.com

More info: tourismthailand.org

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UNLEASHED

UNCANNY

VALLEY Sun Valley, Idaho, was built by a railwayman, an Austrian Count and a Depression-era PR shill.

Today it’s powder heaven.

No, Not me.

UNLEASHED

n the mid-1930s a strapping young American man by the name of Averell Harriman inherited from his father an incredible amount of wealth and, among many responsibilities, the role of chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). The UP had problems between the wars: it had an outdated rail system and falling passenger numbers. Being in the middle of the Great Depression didn’t help — it wasn’t a boom time for mass vacation travel.

But Harriman was a determined business-minded man and he knew how to dream big. He set his sights on establishing – in a relatively unknown part of the American West that was a vast, remote

and forbidding wilderness – a European-style ski resort.

But first Harriman needed a mountain. It couldn’t be just any mountain. It had to be a mountain that would tempt American and international skiers and socialites to pack their kit and make the long journey to a place where they could live out a dream and be in a place to be seen.

Harriman, being loaded, did what loaded types do: he tapped into his well-to-do, educated, adventurous and affluent circle of friends. Soon he’d zeroed in on the perfect man to select the perfect peak he needed: Count Felix Schaffgotsch of Austria. From a family of Viennese bankers, Felix was part of a privileged set who

skied and socialised in Austria and Switzerland, and Harriman knew Schaffgotsch would find a mountain good enough to draw those who could afford a lavish lifestyle to a far-flung place in the North American wilderness.

Importantly, Harriman had to make sure the chosen mountain was near his inherited railway line (which made its way from the Rockies to San Francisco) because UP needed bums – preferably well-to-do ones – on seats.

Schaffgotsch finally chose Bald Mountain in Ketchum, Idaho, an old mining town as run-down as the trains that serviced it.

Ketchum’s wintertime population was 150; the good citizens thought they were hearing things when

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UNLEASHED

SUN VALLEY CLUB IN WINTER

Harriman let it be known that he was going to build a huge hotel there, not to mention spend millions of dollars on the region.

Next, Harriman sought a canny spin doctor to kick off word of mouth in America’s well-heeled – preferably famous – crowd. He hired Steve Hannagan, who was charged with creating the reputation that ol’ Ketchum still enjoys today. Aiming for ‘unique and upscale’, Hannagan cunningly renamed Ketchum ‘Sun Valley’ and insisted on a ‘contraption’ to get people, who would have no interest in trudging about, up the hill to ski.

Within a year, a chairlift and an up-market hotel in the middle of nowhere called Sun Valley Lodge were built. Once the PR wheels started turning, film stars and Hollywood starlets, including Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Gary Cooper and Errol Flynn, flocked to the newly named paradise. Sun Valley became the place to be for the rich and famous. It’s a reputation it still enjoys. Celebrities such as Clint Eastwood, Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Tom Hanks and Mark Zuckerberg all holidaying there and/or snapping up a home or two.

And that’s how Harriman, Schaffgotsch and Hannagan – aka Averell, Felix and Steve –

AVERELL HARRIMAN ON THE SLOPES

FAST FACT

Although Sun Valley is famous for the movie stars who live and hang out there today, Ernest Hemingway penned For Whom the Bell Tolls in Suite 206 at the Sun Valley Lodge.

He also wrote parts of Islands in the Stream, The Garden of Eden and A Moveable Feast at his Ketchum home.

SUN VALLEY BECAME THE PLACE TO BE FOR THE RICH AND FAMOUS. IT’S A REPUTATION IT STILL ENJOYS.

became the catalysts for Ketchum slipping into a bright, dapper and ridiculously glamorous new suit – the Sun Valley of today.

AVERELL HARRIMAN (LEFT) WITH THE PUBLICIST WHO NAMED SUN VALLEY, STEVE HANNAGAN

FAST FORWARD

Comtemporary Sun Valley is as welcoming as it’s ever been. It’s said that the stars love it because there isn’t a paparazzo in sight and it flies under the radar in comparison to Whistler and Banff. Stepping off the plane means being greeted by the friendliest locals imaginable, all eager to show off their town, while a common response to “How are you?” is “Living the dream, just living the dream!”

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HELLO OR GOODBYE? Photo credit: Mike Calder Photography.

Devil Facial Tumour Disease was discovered in Tasmanian devils in 1996.

It’s a contagious cancer spread through biting, and it is always fatal.

The devil population has suffered immensely and, more than 80% have been lost.

The ‘Save the Tasmanian Devil Program’ supports the survival of the devil in its natural habitat, the Tasmanian wilderness.

Funding is vital, and we need your help.

To make sure it’s not goodbye, the Tasmanian devils need your help!

Log onto www.tassiedevil.com.au for more info and ideas.

STDA1894rj

AN INITIATIVE OF THE SAVE THE TASMANIAN DEVIL PROGRAM COORDINATED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA FOUNDATION

Come and have a taste of the opulence, glamour and excitement of Monte Carlo right here at Vanuatu’s premier casino. The Grand Hotel & Casino is in the heart of town, with crystal chandeliers, gold leaf ceilings and meticulous attention to detail throughout, you’ll feel like you’re there, and best of all it’s at a price you can afford!

With Roulette tables starting with a minimum bet of only 100vt, as well as Blackjack, Baccarat and our newest game Texas Hold’em Bonus. Or just try your luck on any of our state of the art poker machines and have a chance of winning one of our many jackpots for as little as 1vt.

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UNLEASHED

VIEWS FROM THE ROUNDHOUSE

THE NORDIC TRAILS, BALDY

Sorting out ski equipment is often a hassle if you roll into a resort during ski season, but it’s a painless affair at Sun Valley because it’s less frantic than many other ski destinations. There’s a sense of space and no-one seems to be in a rush. People amble at their own pace, taking in the spectacular scenery that stretches in every direction around Ketchum town: a chorus of mountains, hills and valleys punctuated by thick forests and tree-cloaked streams.

Before hitting the slopes, take the chance to explore the town and get some food into you.

Hungry new arrivals can’t go past cramming it all into one sitting at The Pioneer Saloon. A pinecovered bar and restaurant, it serves up the biggest goddamn potatoes and steaks in the Wild West. It’s easy to imagine being in a Daniel Boone film when you you take a seat in the dimly lit eatery. Waitresses wearing

THE PIONEER SALOON SERVES UP THE BIGGEST GODDAMN STEAK AND POTATOES IN THE WILD WEST.

TRAIL CREEK CABIN

cowboy boots, denim shorts and checked shirts stand beneath mounted buffalo heads and period firearms — it’s like a bit of living history.

If there’s one thing you can’t leave without trying, it’s the jumbo steamed Californian artichokes – they’re piping-hot, absolutely smothered in butter and served with dipping chilli and mayonnaise. Peel off each leaf and indulge in a meltingly salty, hot, buttery heaven that

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UNLEASHED TAI BARRYMORE ON DOLLARJUMP

just gets better the closer you get to the artichoke heart. Wash it down with a Pinot Noir or a cleansing American ale.

There’s a huge range of restaurants in town, including Globus for a gourmet Asian experience; Il Naso for fresh Italian food and wine; Sushi on Second, which has a wine and sake bar; and Bald Mountain Pizza & Pasta, which dishes up the goods in a family-friendly, cosy restaurant. In fact, there are so many restaurants that you could eat out every night of the week for a month and still find something new to chow down on.

For an experience that harks back to the days before Averell’s arrival, visit Trail Creek Cabin.

Established in 1937, it offers wagon or sleigh rides to the rustic restaurant cabin that serves three- to four-course meals matched with wines.

Views across the valley and the mountains beyond are all the more romantic with the crackling open fire lighting up the animalhide-covered seats and the homely space that is a melting pot of Wild West ‘comfy-ness’ and Nordic ski lodge charm. Tim, the local accordion player, entertains guests all night while they indulge in the hearty, gamey fare.

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THE WHITE STUFF KEEPS EVERYONE COMING IN THE WINTER MONTHS. If you’re after the views that Harriman envisioned for the crowds that were to follow his dream, dine at The Roundhouse, which is perched on the ski slopes halfway up Bald Mountain. Pile into cheese or chocolate fondue, and wash it all down with Champagne, just as Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant once did.

The food, people and many activities to get into year-round at Sun Valley are definite drawcards, but it’s the fantastic ski conditions that made this place what it is, and the white stuff keeps everyone coming in the winter months. Bald Mountain (‘Baldy’, to the locals) is the peak that put the cogs into motion back in the ’30s. With a summit of 2789 metres and

UNLEASHED BALD MOUNTAIN, AKA BALDY

SUN VALLEY LODGE

a vertical drop of 1036 metres, it has an enormous amount of terrain to get stuck into and lots of forests to fly through.

Experienced powder monkeys consider it one of the better ski mountains in the world, but until the 1960s, it was reserved for employees of the Potlatch Corporation, a US timbercutting company. The ‘Dollar’ mountain nearby, with barely a tree on it, stands at 2023 metres and has a vertical drop of 191 metres.

At the bottom of Baldy, as the last of the skiers are fitting in their final runs, the music cranks up as live bands bring the base of the mountain to life for après-ski action. Later, when the sun dips out of sight, Sun Valley becomes a winter wonderland where socialising reigns supreme, the bars fling open their doors and the scent of roasting potatoes and ribs drifts down the main drag.

A horde of locals frequents the lodge that Averell built all those

years ago. It’s as elegant as ever, and it’s about to be given a $40-million renovation that will turn up the notch on its grandeur and glamour. But no PR shill will be required to sell this upgrade to a new generation of Sun Valley worshippers. They’ll no doubt flock in, ready and set to keep on living the dream.

DON’T PANIC WHEN THE SNOW GOES BECAUSE THERE’S …

FISHING

GOLF

HIKING

RAFTING

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Big Wood River, Ketchum and Silver Creek, south of Sun Valley, are full of trout; the Salmon River system, an hour north, is chockers with salmon (duh) and steelhead trout during late autumn and early winter.

Sun Valley Resort has 45 holes (Trail Creek Course, Elkhorn Course and nine holes at White Clouds Course) of great golfing, along with nine more holes at Bigwood Course at Thunder Spring.

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Pioneer Mountains and BoulderWhite Cloud Mountains all offer exceptional areas to hike and explore, and the chance to be eaten by a bear.

Think of the Facebook likes!

About an hour north of the Sun Valley region is the rugged mountain town of Stanley. It’s where you get some serious rapids in the rivers and creeks; don’t miss the chance to go riverrafting on the Salmon River.

The Ketchum/Sun Valley area has more than 600 square kilometres of back-country single- and double-track trails. It hosts the USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships each June.

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insidemining Issue 13 – July 2014

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THE ONLY WAY IS UP Jack Cleaver raises five key factors that could see Australian mining reach new heights.

INDUSTRY FOCUS Scoping out scientific roles in mining 17

MINING REVIEW The state of mining in Tasmania

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SPECIAL REPORT Pros & cons of contract labour in mining 26

// E V E R Y S E C O N D C O U N T S

The Hitachi EH5000AC-3 mining truck and EX8000-6 backhoe excavator.

From the factory to the pit, Hitachi’s ultra-class hydraulic excavators and electric drive mining trucks are engineered to maximise the productivity of mining operations. Our flagship machines deliver unmatched performance and reliability when it comes to loading and haulage.

The most powerful and productive combination yet.

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Compiled by Cortney Roark

WHAT ALL INDUSTRY WANTS – SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

Advertorial

Australia’s leading on-site test and calibration company TEX Onsite now provides a complimentary compliance management service to all clients Australia wide.

The Comprehensive Management System (CMS) is unique to TEX Onsite and allows clients to leave all the burden of remaining compliant to the professionals.

The supporting Data Management and Scheduling Service keeps track of clients’ equipment and provides reinspect notification dates, as well as downloadable test and calibration certificates.

Many clients are very appreciative of the CMS – “It’s like having another staff member we don’t have to pay for,” reflected one. “Having experienced technicians service our equipment and then actually manage the whole process is so economical and a dream come true.”

Australian-owned TEX Onsite is a genuine on-site HV (high voltage) test, inspect and instrument calibration service with around 30 service vans on the road throughout Australia and New Zealand, plus five fully-equipped airplanes servicing remote sites.

Their product range is vast, covering many industry sectors including mining, construction, manufacturing, shipping, electrical generation and distribution, rail and much more. The enormous advantage of such an extensive product range is clients need only call one organisation to service all their compliance needs.

“We have the largest network of on-site services, however, if a client wishes, equipment can be serviced at our lab or any of our service centres across Australia,” said national marketing manager Errol Dunn.

The TEX Onsite range includes, HV test of all equipment, inspection of lifting equipment, height safety, and instrument calibrations; including electrical, dimensional, torque, pressure, flow, fuel flow, infrared, thermal imaging, sound, surveying equipment and much more.

The high end Power System Protection Maintenance Service embraces generation, transmission and distribution situations and incorporates large industrial electric motor test and inspection. For more information visit texonsite.com.au

NEW HOPE GROUP CUTS QUEENSLAND MINING JOBS As coal sales fall, so does the number of mine workers. A recent 17 per cent fall in coal sales – to 1.33 million tonnes – has forced New Hope Group to cut five per cent of its workforce.

About 30 of New Hope Group’s 600 workers will lose employment. As of now, the West Moreton mine and the corporate office will see the effects of the job cuts.

New Hope Group CEO Shane Stephan said making the decision was not easy but it had to be done because of the significant drop in coal sales.

“The continuing difficult times for the coal industry have required some difficult decisions to be taken regarding employment, to allow the company to endure this low point in the cycle and emerge in the best shape possible when conditions improve,” Stephan said.

The job cuts will not hinder production, as current tonnages will be maintained at the mines involved.

New Hope Group isn’t the only company making these decisions, with Wollongong Coal cutting 152 jobs and Glencore also shedding 40 jobs.

CAPE YORK TO SEE INCREASE IN WATER RESOURCES A moratorium that blocked the use of Cape York’s water resources for irrigation has been approved for removal.

The lifting of the moratorium will create opportunities for economic development on Cape York Peninsula, according to Andrew Cripps, Minister for Natural Resources and Mines.

Cripps said there is a plan in motion for water resources in Cape York’s future, as the government named agriculture as one of Queensland’s four economic pillars in 2012.

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“The former Labor government stood in the way of new water users [using] this valuable resource productively on the Cape, due to its ‘lock it up’ mentality,” Cripps said. “We are reducing ... regulation to unlock development opportunities on the Cape, with the removal of the moratorium being the first important step.”

Cripps added this will impact on people with a water licence, as well as

new water users, as they will be able to pursue development opportunities.

The Department of Natural Resources and Mines is finalising a Cape York Water Strategy, which will identify actions of the government to support development and safeguard the future water supply needs of the community.

The strategy will cover the Archer, Coleman, Ducie, Embley, Endeavour,

MACK CEMENTED IN SAFETY

Advertorial

Mack Trucks has been recognised for its contribution to improving safety within the Australian trucking industry thanks to its Road Stability Advantage (RSA) technology.

Boral, whose new concrete agitator trucks use Mack’s RSA, was named as one of only three finalists at the 2013 WorkCover NSW SafeWork Awards for ‘Best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue’.

The RSA system helps to protect truck drivers by using information from a series of sensors to respond to potentially hazardous situations.

The stability feature aims to prevent rollovers by automatically applying the brakes if a truck makes a sharp turn, changes lanes suddenly or is faced with obstacles on the road such as wet or icy surfaces.

This technology has significantly improved the safety of concrete agitators, which have an increased chance of rolling over compared to similar-sized trucks, due to their dynamic loads and high centre of gravity.

Vice President Sales - Mack Trucks, Dean Bestwick, said RSA in concrete trucks had been such a great success that it would soon be available across its entire range of trucks.

“There was a great need in the market to find a solution to the dangers associated with concrete trucks and we rose to the challenge,” he said.

Holroyd, Jacky Jacky, Jardine, Jeannie, Lockhart, Normanby, Olive-Pascoe, Stewart, Watson and Wenlock basins.

100 JOBS CUT AT BHP BILLITON BHP Billiton has cut 100 jobs at its Perth iron ore headquarters to ensure efficiency within the company.

A spokesperson for the company said it is committed to its productivity agenda.

Many workers affected were involved in projects that had wound down, and since BHP is focused on costs and productivity gains, these workers were let go.

The company reported it is “focused on delivering value by safely and sustainably growing volumes while reducing costs”, and when employees are affected by this, they are given assistance in their efforts to find employment.

The spot price for iron ore is now around $92 a tonne, which marks a 31 per cent fall since the beginning of the year.

BHP’s coal and aluminium businesses have seen cuts as well, and its Nickel West business will be sold because of a desire to decrease unwanted assets.

ILUKA RESOURCES AND BRAZIL’S VALE TEAM UP FOR TITANIUM DEVELOPMENT Australian mineral sands producer Iluka Resources and Brazil’s Vale have partnered for a new development in South America.

The agreement applies to the staged evaluation and potential development of the major titanium minerals deposit at Tapira in Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Iluka managing director David Robb said this is a very positive endeavour for his company and will give Iluka the opportunity to work on the potential commercialisation of the Tapira Complex, which is one of the largest known undeveloped titanium mineral deposits.

The Tapira Complex contains titanium dioxide, ilmenite and perovskite and covers an area of about 35 square kilometres.

Iluka will work on geological and metallurgical programs to plan for the development of a large-scale titanium feedstock operation.

Vale fertilisers and coal executive 5

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director Roger Downey believes this partnership will benefit his company greatly. “The agreement with Iluka brings a partner with the expertise to add value and seek alternatives for faster development of the Tapira Titanium Project,” he said.

LED LIGHTING TOWER TO BE LAUNCHED AT QME EXHIBITION Mickala Mining will launch its LED lighting tower and give live demonstrations at the Queensland Mining & Engineering Exhibition (QME) at Mackay Showground from July 22–24, 2014.

Designed and manufactured in Australia, the LED lighting tower has dual- or single-axle configuration and optimised lighting capabilities that make it more cost-effective than halide lighting systems. It’s projected that each unit could save up to $64,000 per year.

Mickala Mining, which employs more than 100 people, markets its business as a one-stop shop for mining needs, as it manufactures lighting towers, maintains towers, supplies and installs HDPE fittings and piping, supplies maintenance workers and more.

SANTOS GLNG PIPELINE WINS AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES

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REVOLUTIONARY MINING BOOT WINS AWARD Blundstone’s mining boot is safe and tough and now it’s also award-winning.

The 980 underground mining boot is manufactured specifically for the mining industry and won the NSW Minerals Council Health & Safety Innovation Award.

Made by Hobart-based Blundstone, the boot has a height of 350 millimetres

POSITION PARTNERS NOW IN NZ

Position Partners has announced its expansion into New Zealand with a new branch in Christchurch. The Australian-owned positioning and machine control solutions company attributes the growth to increased demand for its services outside of Australia.

“Since introducing new technologies such as ground penetrating radar and Unmanned Aerial Systems in Australia, we’ve noted a rise in demand from other countries, including New Zealand,” explained Martin Nix, Position Partners CEO. “It makes sense to open a branch in Christchurch that will offer a range of solutions and support services for the surveying, engineering, mining and construction industries,” he added.

Position Partners New Zealand offers sales, hire, services and training across a range of products including mobile mapping and scanning solutions, US Radar ground penetrating radar (GPR), MAVinci and AscTec Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Carlson machine guidance.

Managing the new branch is New Zealand Sales Manager, Jamie Nelson.

Having worked for Position Partners for two and a half years as a machine systems specialist in Australia, Mr Nelson, who is a New Zealand national, is excited about the opportunities to grow business in his home country.

“There is a great deal of opportunity to increase efficiencies and productivity through new technology such as UAS and GPR,” Mr Nelson said. “People are interested in learning more about these innovative solutions and I’m looking forward to getting out on the road to demonstrate how they can increase a company’s bottom line.”

For more information, call 03 366 1726 or visit positionpartners.co.nz.

Advertorial

Santos GLNG, Thiess and Saipem Australia have won the 2014 Queensland Premier’s Innovation in Sustainable Technologies Award for the Narrows Crossing Tunnel.

The undersea tunnel, which runs between Gladstone and Curtis Island for 4.3 kilometres, allowed Saipem Australia to install the Santos GLNG gas transmission pipeline in a way that left the seabed undisturbed.

Project manager James Campbell accepted the award and said it was “fitting recognition of the innovative tunnel solution that eliminated the environmental disturbance associated with alternative methods such as dredging or trenching”.

The project required a team of 75

people and took about four weeks to complete. As the first undersea gasindustry crossing to Curtis Island, the project was also named runner-up for the overall Premier’s Sustainability Award.

A tunnel boring machine was used to build the tunnel and about 55,000 cubic metres of earth was excavated, which is being used by Gladstone Regional Council for ash pond rehabilitation.

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and is waterproof. It was designed by consulting with workers at Centennial Coal. The manufacturer said that working directly with the miners brought firsthand experience and knowledge into the equation, which helped to create a durable, safe boot.

The boot is made from high-quality leather with waterproofing, abrasion resistance and tear strength that is better than other leathers. It features fully enclosed metatarsal protection, a quick and simple lacing system and a rubber outsole with increased slip resistance.

Rob Regan, the NSW Department of Resources and Energy director of mine safety operations, said the Blundstone 980 has changed the way mining boots are made.

MINERS DISCOVER 700 NEW NATIVE SPECIES BHP Billiton, through its Sustainable Communities Program, has joined forces with Earthwatch Australia and the Commonwealth Government, investing $4 million in a species discovery project called Bush Blitz. The project has been running since 2010, and has so far unearthed more than 700 new native species Australia-wide. Discoveries have

included 272 new bugs, 130 new spiders and scorpions, as well as 36 new species of native bees.

BHP Billiton President – HSE, marketing and technology, Mike Henry, said the company was committed to supporting the program into the future.

“Supporting biodiversity is important to us – we do this at BHP Billiton mine sites through our land management practices and through our contribution to programs such as Bush Blitz, which are leading to a greater understanding of the unique biodiversity values found in Australia,” Henry said.

“I am really excited for everyone taking part in the program, particularly the traditional owners and teachers who are playing a key role in the Kimberley Blitz.”

RECORD IRON ORE SHIPMENT DEPARTS FROM PORT HEDLAND The increase in Australian iron ore exports shows no signs of abating, with a record being set at Port Hedland recently.

The port, which is Australia’s biggest for iron ore exports, set a new benchmark of 1,270,721 tonnes when seven capsize vessels sailed on a single tide in early

June and emphatically smashed the previous record of 160,000 tonnes.

The record comes on the back of a 3.55 per cent increase in exports from Port Hedland between April and May this year, setting a monthly record of 36 million tonnes.

Although the increase in iron ore production is being blamed for a drop in value for the commodity, the big three – BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group – have all added extra tonnages to their businesses and are still expanding their operations in the Pilbara.

Which is good news for the economy, as it seems the extra capacity will manage to offset any further price falls and the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics is actually expecting the value of iron ore exports to increase from $57.1 billion to $76.8 billion this financial year.

Treasurer Joe Hockey is blaming the good weather for the recent record shipments, saying “It’s an extraordinary quarter in March when you don’t have cyclones, particularly in Western Australia affecting Port Hedland, so our miners are exporting their socks off, and thank God because it’s having a positive impact on our economy.”

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When it comes to OTR repairs, not many have the experience of Robbie Roser.

He knows that every small step in Bridgestone’s unique OTR Tyre Repair System demands the most exacting of standards to ensure every repair complies with, or exceeds, Australian Standard AS4457.2-2008. The Bridgestone Tyre Repair System has been developed over many years and is based on a fundamental understanding of the tyre, providing ‘worlds best’ quality of repair and the highest levels of safety when the tyre is returned to service.

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Taking mining to

the next level FORGET THE PRESENT DOWNTURN IN THE RESOURCES SECTOR. HERE ARE FIVE KEY FACTORS THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SEE THE AUSTRALIAN MINING INDUSTRY EXPAND ENORMOUSLY OVER THE NEXT 50 YEARS.

Illustration by Carmine Bellucci at The Illustration Room

WORDS: JACK CLEAVER

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1. The global rise of Asia Let’s start with the big one: Asia’s demand for Australian minerals is tipped to surpass even our tripling of mineral exports in the decade to 2011.

Here are the facts:

Those three goals should be our mantra. The task of getting to the next level is in our hands.

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• By 2050, Asia will be the centre of global commerce, producing more than half of global output.

• The population of the Asia-Pacific region will increase sixfold between 2009 and 2030. It will be the largest regional market in the world.

• Rapid urbanisation across Asia will support increasing living standards. The rate of urbanisation in China is 100 times the scale and 10 times the speed of Britain’s Industrial Revolution. By 2050, average Asian incomes will be equal to European incomes today.

• Another 250 million Chinese will move to the cities by the year 2025 – all needing apartments, roads, cars, bridges, power and resources.

• Some 70 per cent of China’s 1.4 billion people will be living in cities by 2025 – that’s a billion people.

• In addition to China, India and the rest of Asia will see unparalleled mass migration to the cities – the greatest mass migration in history.

• The next generation will be the wealthiest and best educated in Asian history.

This is truly a remarkable page in history that our mining industry has the chance to write on.

2. Productivity Let’s talk about where mining’s growth has to come from. Some 58 per cent of the income growth that Australians enjoyed between 2005 and 2012 was attributed to one-off conditions related to the resources boom. This has hidden real declines in our productivity performance, according to the McKinsey Global Institute’s 2012

report, Beyond the boom: Australia’s productivity imperative.

The report, which is available online, makes good reading. Here’s an excerpt: “Resource sectors: Getting capital productivity right.

Australia is less than halfway through the capital boom, with $443 billion in investment still to come in the resources sector.

Major capital projects are prone to inefficiencies and overruns…”

Importantly – and critically for the next step in lifting our mining industry – the report goes on to say: “…but the country has an opportunity to boost its capital productivity by up to 30 per cent if firms emphasise a top-level focus on value, adopt a best-practice ‘tool kit’ and assemble project teams with superior execution skills.”

Essentially, the report has highlighted the three things we need to do. The succinctness of those three goals should be our mantra. The task of getting to the next level is in our hands.

3. Infrastructure bottlenecks Our infrastructure deficit is putting us on a road to nowhere. We really need a national coordinated plan to fix our bottlenecks and help mining get to the next stage, which is critical for our economy.

There is hope for the future.

Infrastructure Australia was set up as a statutory body in 2008 to organise and prioritise infrastructure spending, reporting to the Council of Australian Governments. Its National Infrastructure Plan, released in June 2013, outlines the major infrastructure reforms that are needed to lay the foundations for a more productive Australia over the next 50 years.

Sir Rod Eddington AO, chairman of Infrastructure Australia, says in his foreword to the plan: “The national infrastructure plan is not a long 13

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list outlining 50 years’ worth of projects. It is a plan focused on the changes we should make to the way we use, invest in and deliver economic infrastructure.

“Some of these reforms have been around for many years. For example, the idea of creating one

Show me the money Nothing is going to happen unless our banks see a dollar in it. Our banks, investment institutions, venture funds and government need to actively keep our mining companies in Australian hands – otherwise we could see our wealth going overseas.

Australia has $1.7 trillion in superannuation savings accumulated over 20 years of mandated contributions, which could be the key. But our financial institutions and government are riskadverse. The answer: spread the risk.

Geographic diversification will eventually generate superior riskadjusted returns for long-term global investors by reducing overall portfolio risk from direct Australian mining, while capturing some of the higher rates of return offered by the emerging markets of Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. For global investors, India, China and other emerging markets constitute enormous reservoirs of new commodities consumers.

To tap into this wealth, we need to keep our skills, retain ownership, and convince our lenders that they could be on to a good thing.

14

national freight network that would allow freight to be transported efficiently across borders and operate to a single set of rules was first proposed in 1898, around 115 years ago. It is time we got on with delivering them.”

Taking 115 years is sheer craziness! Let’s hope this sensible plan is implemented. As space won’t permit me to cover all the initiatives here, you can check out the plan at infrastructureaustralia.gov.au.

4. Upping our skills We won’t be able to stop demand, but we could stop our chances of growth.

Why is this nation allowing up to 20 per cent of our youth to be unemployed while our current workforce ages? According the Australian Bureau of Statistics, some areas in Australia have already reached this alarming figure.

We must find the key to giving today’s youth the aspirations, tools and resources to gain skills that will be vital to delivering the growth that is surely coming our way in the resources sector. We have good raw human material – let’s use it to deliver a better future for all of us.

5. Expanding our vision and capabilities Australia has always had a widereaching vision, but it’s time to take it further. Grabbing opportunities

from wherever they may arise is something we’re good at. After all, we have one of the world’s top three most experienced and innovative mining industries, so we have the opportunity to export those worldleading attributes (as we do now, to some degree) to a new level and, at the same time, lead the world in developing the future of mining.

Mining is on the cusp of a revolution. Here are the developments that are coming our way (if they haven’t already), which we can be the first to use: • Tunnel boring machines replacing drill and blast.

• Autonomous technology – driverless haul trucks and other machinery.

• Enhanced GPS – ‘to the centimetre’ accuracy is now possible.

• Robotics – the big thing on the horizon is self-activating and selfaware robots, which are coming sooner than we think.

• Remote control of mining machinery from a comfortable city desk.

• A shift in our focus internationally to Africa, South America, the ‘Stans’ in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Mongolia and the AsiaPacific region.

The bottom line? The challenge is out there, so go for it Australia.

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MINING IS A SCIENCE THERE ARE MANY INTERESTING ROLES AND DISCIPLINES IN THE RESOURCES SECTOR. INSIDE MINING PUTS A GEOSCIENTIST AND AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. WORDS: CHRISTINE RETSCHLAG

F

orget the white lab coat. Scientists involved in Australia’s mining industry are just as likely to be wearing hi-vis vests, hard hats and steelcapped boots. According to Hays recruitment, a geoscientist is involved in the discovery, exploration and development of natural resources such as gas, oil and water. They interpret geophysical, geochemical and geological data to develop models of the subsurface of the earth, with the aim of discovering commercially viable and exploitable reserves of natural resources such as oil and gas.

Then there’s the environmental scientist, whose career focuses on everything from developing renewable energy, to finding ways of eliminating or protecting the environment from pollution.

Meet two men of science who are at the forefront of the mining industry.

The geoscientist A love of geology led Greg Almond into the industry and his role as geology manager for Roy Hill in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. He undertook a Bachelor of Science in Geology at the University of Otago, New Zealand, before starting as a graduate geologist in Kalgoorlie.

Almond worked his way through the ranks, becoming a mine geologist, then project manager and senior manager in both Australia and

overseas, which helped him to climb the career ladder. His role entails: • Supervising the activities of the geology department (five geologists, four field assistants and a team of drillers).

• Drilling exploration holes through the deposit.

• Providing samples to determine the tonnage.

• Grading the ore deposit.

“The role of scientists in the mining industry is hugely important. From geologists defining ore bodies – with the aid of a huge amount of technical assistance from labs, geophysics methods and specialists – to civil and mining engineers building infrastructure, to the ongoing technical work needed to support modern mining, science is a massive part of the story,” Almond says.

“I always loved geology, and the idea of a job that let you get out of the office always appealed.

And what I learnt about the mining industry from some of my lecturers drew me towards it. So I saved up for a ticket to Australia, got the train to Kalgoorlie, started knocking on doors and was lucky enough to get a start.

“Obviously the mining industry is known for its remuneration. More than that, though, the work is interesting. You get to see parts of the world that most others don’t even know about, and working on massive projects is exciting.

“The mining industry isn’t going anywhere in a hurry. The industry will always have a need for

17

industryfocus

new people. Exploration is historically a bit up and down, but the operational roles are pretty solid.”

The environmental scientist

“All work carried out by an environmental scientist in mining is directed towards maintaining statutory obligations regarding environmental impacts.”

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An opportunity to further his career in water management and environmental planning drew Robbie Cocks into mining and his most recent role as a senior environmental adviser at a goldmine 30 kilometres from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

He undertook a Bachelor of Science degree and had more than five years’ experience in the mining sector to take to his latest role. The role involves a number of key jobs, including: • Supervising a graduate environmental adviser and two environmental technicians; • Reporting and communicating on all compliance issues and drafting regulatory mining proposals and annual reports; • Monitoring and reporting all water, flora/ fauna, dust, hydrocarbon management and soil conditions at the mine; • Opting into the Mining Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) as well as online management communications to exempt the mine from any environmental bonds, and paying an annual levy.

“The role of environmental scientists in mining is critical for ensuring the mine stays operating under the licence conditions prescribed by the Department of Environment Regulation WA and mining conditions laid down by the Department of Mines and Petroleum WA,” Cocks says. “All work carried out by an environmental scientist in mining is directed towards maintaining statutory obligations regarding the environmental impacts of all types of mining activities.

“Ten years ago there were many cowboys who didn’t give the natural environment a second thought, bush bashing in vehicles and disturbing heritage and natural sites.

Nowadays, with the big push for occupational health and safety, and regulators clamping down on our rough-and-ready approaches of the past, there has been a significant change in focus regarding how mining environments are managed and how the environmental scientists are viewed by their peers.

“Mining in Australia is widespread and ageing, and not many new mines are opening up.

Therefore, there is a growing need for mine and land rehabilitation, and this is where scientists new to mining will have the greatest opportunity to commence work.”

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Image Courtesy of MMG Rosebery

miningreview

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miningreview

TASMANIA boasts a ‘small but

While much is known about Australian mining’s superstar states — Western Australia and Queensland — far less is known about its southern cousins. And when it comes to Tasmania, the devil is in the detail.

WORDS: CHRISTINE RETSCHLAG

significant’ resources sector, according to industry heavyweights, who cite mining as the state’s biggest exporter. Indeed, if you look at the list of resources it mines, Tasmania is more than pulling its weight. It is the only Australian state that extracts tin among its raft of other commodities, including iron ore, zinc, copper, lead, gold, silver and industrial minerals such as silica.

In true Tassie style, when asked what impact the high-profile states such as Western Australia and Queensland have on the island state’s mining sector, Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council (TMEC) CEO Terry Long firmly but politely told Inside Mining: “Not applicable.”

Long doesn’t mince his words when speaking about the environmental issues they are battling down south. “Demand in Tasmania is currently strong. Most of Tasmania’s minerals are exported overseas. The future looks strong for the next 30 years or so if approved mining in Tasmania is permitted to proceed and reach its potential,” he says.

“The challenges are extreme environmental groups who are against mining activity, especially in Tasmania’s mineralised north-west. They will use whatever tools possible to hold up and delay any approved mines.

“The area is known to be one of the world’s most highly mineralised and

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prospective regions with a history of 140 years of mining. It’s a hotbed of minerals such as gold, silver, tin, zinc, iron ore and tungsten.”

Last year, former Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings announced there was more than $11 billion in untapped mineral potential on the west coast.

The most recent Tasmanian Mining Economic Survey reveals the sector has been growing steadily, with a slight stumble around the GFC, in the eight years leading up to 2010–11.

The number of employees is now at 2561 and contractors at 1067, making a gross annual payroll of $240 million.

Eight mines are in profit and two are reporting marginal results, but none have posted a loss.

Aaron Brannigan is general manager of Tasmania’s MMG Rosebery mine, a polymetallic base metal mine that produces ore, which is then processed into zinc concentrate, lead concentrate and gold and silver doré. Rosebery also produces a small amount of copper concentrate. Challenges have included continuing to uphold safety records, as well as the mine’s declining grade profile.

“Rosebery has had a declining grade profile over the past couple of years – and it’s still continuing to decline – so there is a requirement to produce more ore to maintain a metal profile, allowing us to remain a sustainable operation in the future,” Brannigan says.

“The site is managing that through the implementation of a number of programs, including significant improvement in stope turnaround time and keeping the haul trucks in cycle.

Remarkable improvements have been achieved in mill throughput via greater collaboration across the site.

“Rosebery achieved records in mining and milling in 2013, which was an exceptional result,” says Brannigan, adding that current demand for Rosebery’s products is “solid”.

“Our concentrates are shipped in bulk carriers to smelters in Hobart, Port Pirie and internationally. Gold doré bars are sold to a refinery in Australia,” Brannigan says. “Commodity markets are continuing to improve, with supporting economic data showing improved outlook for developed economies, adding confidence to long-term commodity market growth projections.

“Rosebery makes a significant financial contribution to the state’s economy – approximately $60 million

in royalties paid in the past five years.

The company also contributes a significant amount to surrounding communities by way of sponsorships, donations and other [contributions].”

Despite this, Australian Greens Leader and Tasmanian Senator Christine Milne has told Inside Mining that Tasmania has huge renewable energy reserves and does not need fossil fuels.

“Mining is, by definition, unsustainable, because the resources

Challenges have included continuing to uphold safety records, as well as the mine’s declining grade profile.

Above and previous page: MMG’s polymetallic base metal mine located in the township of Rosebery, on Tasmania’s west coast.

23

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Fast facts • Minerals and metals make up more than half of Tasmania’s exports by value.

• In 2010/2011, the value of sales/shipments from mines was $1.03 billion — an increase of 17 per cent in a year. $17.3 million was spent on mining leases — up three per cent.

are non-renewable, so the key is to minimise impacts on water, biodiversity and the environment generally,” she says.

“The new push for unconventional gas mining is a problem for our food producers and tourist towns. It’s crazy to disrupt our food-producing regions and endanger long-term groundwater supplies for short-term gain from gas exports, especially since Tasmania does not need fossil fuel energy.

“Attempts to mine the Tarkine, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest tract of temperate rainforest, fly in the face of the ongoing battle to recognise and protect it.

“The Greens want industry and government to recognise the need to protect Tasmania’s natural values and food-producing areas. We are a clean, green and clever state.”

Surprisingly, though, Milne concedes there is a place for a mining industry in Tasmania.

“Some mining is essential to produce the minerals that support our modern lifestyles, but it must return a financial dividend to the people and give back to

nearby communities,” she says.

“These mines must take full responsibility for their waste, must not pollute the land or water, and must operate with the consent of landowners and traditional owners, not forcing themselves onto public or private lands which are best suited for other purposes, whether that be conservation or farming.”

Grange Resources manager director Wayne Bould says his mine has been operating since 1968, producing iron ore pellets for export to Japan and, more recently, China. The mine employs about 600 people full time and about 400 contractors.

“We are a bit of a late-comer, but we produce about 65.5 per cent iron ore content, compared with the Pilbara, which produces between 50 and 62 per cent. To my knowledge, we are the only producers of iron ore pellets in Australia that actually exports.”

Doing business in Tasmania, whether mining or otherwise, is challenging because of the high costs of transport in and out of Bass Strait.

“Mining isn’t an easy game at the best of times. You’re relying on a deposit likely placed there as an act of God. We all have issues in that regard,” Bould says.

“Our ability to compete and sustain our business in Tasmania is about hardworking people who are innovative and conscientious.”

“We are a bit of a late-comer, but we produce about 65.5 per cent iron ore content, compared with the Pilbara, which produces between 50 and 62 per cent.”

25

specialreport

CONTRACTORS MAKE UP A LARGE PORTION OF PEOPLE WORKING IN THE RESOURCES SECTOR, BUT THERE ARE SOME SNAGS...

TRANSIENT WORKFORCE WORDS: ORYANA ANGEL

26

specialreport

B

ack in mid-2012, around the peak of the mining boom, the success of some $268 billion worth of projects hinged upon having enough manpower to complete the projects.

Chris Kent, state regional director for Western Australia and national director of resources and mining at Hays recruitment, says one of the biggest differences between then and now is the growing use of contractors.

“We were placing a lot more permanent positions back then.

About 50 per cent of revenue was from permanent requirements, which ramped up towards the peak,” says Kent. Now, he estimates, about 20 per cent of positions are permanent. “There’s been a massive shift towards contract requirements over the past two years.”

Kent says it’s the overall feeling of uncertainty, especially in iron ore and coal prices, that’s driving

the trend. “There’s a concern that if prices get lower, projects are not justifiable. Everyone has their finger on the trigger. They can’t afford to carry underperforming assets,” he explains.

“They see contractors as a way of being able to flex up and down on headcount without going through major redundancies,” he adds, citing flexibility as the main benefit of using contractors.

“It represents ‘try before you buy’ for miners and enables workers to get more diversity in experience. If you’ve worked on a goldmine and want to get into iron ore, they might take a chance on you on a contract basis and see if you can develop that skill set,” says Kent.

He adds that many candidates are looking for temp assignments because the nature of the work is mostly fly-in fly-out or drive-in drive-out and contract workers see it as a way to find work/life balance.

“They can also experience working for a big company like BHP and for a junior company,

too – getting the idea of the difference and where they want to end up in the future.”

Jody Elliott, a consultant who specialises in sourcing trends, strategies and global skills supply and demand for the resources sector, says organisations see the use of contractors as a simple, effective solution to a particular need.

“They like to use contractors to outsource work when they don’t have the required expertise within their permanent workforce or don’t regard the function as core business,” she says.

“In cases where entire production or operational areas of a mine site are outsourced to a mining contractor, the decision is typically taken because the operator believes the expertise, skills and efficiencies offered by the contractor far surpass what the operator is capable of providing.”

Elliott says often parcels of work or functions can be outsourced to organisations that specialise in that work or function. “A completely

“They like to use contractors to outsource work when they don’t have the required expertise within their permanent workforce.”

27

specialreport

new mine and/or operator is often well suited to – and elects to – outsource components of the operation, which may include production and/or maintenance, for example,” Elliott explains.

She also says that functions such as drilling and shutdowns are outsourced, as they are not considered core business.

Professor Peter Hartley, BHP Billiton Chair in the Business of Resources at The University of Western Australia’s Business School, agrees that a lot of contractor work is often specialised and technical.

“What’s happened over time is that contractors have developed specialised expertise in performing these types of functions and have become highly efficient in them,” Hartley says.

For instance, a major player might have a need for seismic activity in the beginning of the project, but then won’t need it again until some time down the track. “Rather than employing someone to do that and then let

28

them go, they employ service companies that do a job for each company and keep the workers fully employed,” says Hartley.

An example is experienced liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant builder Bechtel, which is building about half the world’s under-construction LNG plants.

The American contractor is constructing all three Curtis Island LNG projects: BG’s Queensland Curtis LNG project; the Santos-led Gladstone LNG project and the Australia Pacific LNG project.

Contracting out can be a good thing, says Hartley, because having a market for these services means that contracting firms are competing with one another.

“Taking advantage of that competition will drive costs down and give contractors incentives to perform,” he adds.

Conversely, the very benefits of using contractors can also be the precursor to its downsides. If a task is not understood innately, for instance, it can be difficult to

“Taking advantage of that competition will drive costs down and give contractors incentives to perform.”

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manage and assess how well the task has been done.

Hartley says there must be ways to ensure the contractor has completed the job to a certain quality. “If there are ways they can do it less well, and if it’s hard for you to detect that, it could end up as a very expensive mistake. The last thing you want to do is take the contractors to court,” he warns.

And this happens. The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which claimed 11 lives and is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, is a classic example.

At least three years of court battles followed the disaster as BP fought with two of its major contractors. BP blamed American contractor Halliburton for botching

the cement work on the failed rig, while rig operator Transocean put responsibility back on BP for compromising the integrity of the well, each shifting responsibility for the disaster away from themselves.

Also, just as contractors allow for the dissemination of information, this can flip from being a bonus to a hitch. “You might lose exclusive ownership of the technology. If you get a subcontractor in, it’s hard to make sure they don’t tell other businesses. It’s hard to hold onto that intellectual property,” says Hartley.

“There is also a loss of control of technological innovation, to some extent. They have all the expertise and you don’t. You don’t know when the expertise will be important for the next technical innovation.”

There is also the safety factor.

A disturbingly high proportion of

contractors are hurt in accidents on mine sites. In February this year, the Queensland Commissioner for Mine Safety and Health, Stewart Bell, issued an alert about the number of contractors killed on Australian mine sites. In the seven months leading up to February, eight workers died on mine sites, including five contractors.

“Families should be confident that when a loved one goes to work in the mining industry they will come home safely, regardless of whether they are contractors or mining company employees,” he wrote in a statement.

He said mine operators, site senior executives and managers must understand that effective management of contractors is among their key obligations.

Fast facts • The ‘Queensland mines and quarries safety performance and health report 2012–13’ found contractors represent nine out of 10 coalmining industry fatalities over the past decade.

• In the five years leading up to 2013–14, the contract mining industry is forecast to expand at a compound annual rate of 9.6 per cent to be worth $12.9 billion.

30

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mininginsider

A RECENT SENATE INQUIRY PUT FUEL DEDUCTIONS UNDER THE PUMP. WORDS: DARRELL CROKER

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mininginsider

D

iesel surged into public discussions as the May federal budget approached.

A Senate inquiry into the government’s Commission of Audit fuelled speculation about changes to the diesel rebate scheme. Members of Labor and the Greens pressed senior bureaucrats and industry leaders on the scheme’s merits, and government sources confirmed the budget razor gang was examining it.

The Greens continued a campaign for miners to lose the credits.

“We have always said farmers who need our support should continue to receive it through the fuel rebate, but the big miners can’t have it both ways,” Greens leader Christine Milne said, a week out from the budget.

“They’re making a one-off profit from natural resources that belong to every Australian, and if they won’t pay the mining tax they must stop reaping billions of dollars from the public purse through rebates. It seems that everyone but the big end of town will do the ‘heavy lifting’ in this budget.”

The ABC reported “speculation” of a possible cut to the 38 per cent fuel tax credit had prompted emergency crisis meetings in the mining industry.

“Leaked confidential correspondence between top mining chief executives, obtained by the ABC, reveals deep anxiety within the resources sector,” it stated.

Treasurer Joe Hockey assured the mining industry that there would be no cuts to the diesel fuel rebate. And he was true to his word.

Way back when Back in 1926, a petrol excise was introduced to raise revenue for road building and maintenance. A diesel excise was added in 1957. The rebate of the excise on diesel was implemented to reimburse industries for fuel used in activities not requiring access to

36

government roads. The scheme applies to mining, agriculture, manufacturing, health services and construction, as well as arts and recreation.

Only the ‘fossil-fuel industries’ come in for criticism when the rebate scheme is judged. And it is a long time since governments have used ‘petrol money’ solely for roads, although that will change with the budget’s reintroduction of fuel indexation.

Opponents of the scheme say the mining industry already receives more than $2 billion in concessions, and fuel tax credits are a “subsidy” providing a “huge advantage”.

The mining industry points to a principle of sound taxation policy that states business inputs should not be taxed. This is consistent with Australia’s GST system and has been confirmed

by Treasury in notes released under the Freedom of Information Act: “Fuel Tax Credits are not a subsidy for fuel use, but a mechanism to reduce or remove the incidence of excise or duty levied on the

fuel used by business off road or in heavy on-road vehicles.”

Writing in The Australian a week before the budget, Judith Sloan said commentators should get their facts straight when making strong statements about preferred means of reining in spending or raising more revenue.

“Take ABC1’s Insiders program on Sunday,” Sloan wrote. “Phil Coorey, from The Australian Financial Review, maintained that Treasury has been arguing for a paring back of the diesel fuel rebate for years. Where does he get that information?

“In fact, the diesel fuel rebate is not contained in the Treasury’s tax expenditure statement because it is not regarded, quite rightly, as ‘a provision of the tax law that causes a deviation from the standard tax treatment that would apply to an activity or class of taxpayer’.

“In fact, all the evidence points to Treasury being a staunch defender of the rebate as a means of avoiding the imposition of a tax on a business input.

“In fact, all the evidence points to Treasury being a staunch defender of the rebate.”

FAST FACT In Britain, diesel fuel is labelled either red or white to make the distinction between each type’s use and its liability for excise.

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mininginsider

“Why, as a country, do we not get behind our strongest industry that creates so much wealth?”

(Note that farmers, as well as miners, receive the rebate.) Dating back to 1982, the rebate is structured to minimise compliance costs, ensuring the excise is paid only for road use.

“As John Ralph, former leading company executive and director, pointed out in this newspaper, there are other means to achieve this result. In Britain, for example, diesel is labelled red and white to make the distinction between its use and its liability for excise. We simply chose another means to achieve the same result. But every working journalist should understand that the diesel fuel rebate is not a subsidy.”

Digging in Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Brendan Pearson reportedly told the Senate committee not to touch the fuel credits scheme. Mr Pearson said descriptions of the scheme as “fossil fuel subsidies”, and calls for it to be scrapped, were part of a “thinly disguised antimining agenda’’.

Tax office figures showed the rebate cost the government $5.4 billion in 2012–13, with the mining industry

Fast fact The diesel fuel rebate can also be claimed by producers of biodiesel and renewable diesel under the ‘Cleaner Fuels’ grant scheme.

claiming $2.1 billion of that and farmers about $700 million.

Critics will always circle, but Treasury supports the scheme, asserting that abolishing credits would impose an unfair tax on industries reliant on diesel fuel simply because they operate large equipment in remote areas and generate their own power off the electricity grid.

According to one mining services company senior executive, “with the massive investment required to bring new production to market and to operate a mine, every additional cost reduces Australia’s competitiveness against our global competitors.

“Our mining industry is worldclass and has sophisticated technology, significant innovation and some of the best professionals available. Why, as a country, do we not get behind our strongest industry that creates so much wealth, employs people on very high salaries and contributes huge sums of money to local communities?

“It seems there is an element of tallpoppy syndrome when it comes to the treatment of the mining industry. It’s time we took a more mature view and considered the long term for our country.”

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advertorial

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It incorporates a Cummins QSKTTA60CE diesel engine that generates 2125 kW (2,850 HP) at 1900 rpm and meets EPA Tier 2 emission requirements. The all-hydraulic actuated braking system provides precise braking control and quick system responses, and a new Hitachi system monitor displays information and diagnostics of all onboard systems and controls.

The most significant update is the truck’s new AC Drive System. At the core of the new system is the innovative propulsion technology, which delivers an entirely new level of efficiency, boosting hauling capabilities for mining operators globally.

AC Drive-proven performance and economic advantages, combined with a high-powered engine and the truck’s long40

frame life, means mining operators will benefit from better performance, higher availability, and significant reductions in maintenance and operating costs.

The new technology outperforms previous systems to provide optimal stability, improved efficiency, and enhanced reliability. It features: • Slip control for excellent traction • Slide control with anti-lock brakes for improved stability • Pitch control, which provides rebounding ride-control (greater control of bouncing when stopping) • Skid control for stability in cornering when road conditions are slippery.

Utilising existing slip/slide controls on Hitachi trucks with Hitachi AC Drive Systems, the new Drive System now features sensors on all four wheels.

It incorporates additional feedback from the drive system, front wheels, steering,

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New control systems in the EH5000AC-3 include the pitch control feature for improved comfort and frame reliability, and skid control to enhance stability and steering correction to keep operators on track.

Other key improvements to the EH5000AC-3 have been designed to ensure the highest level of safety. Superior visibility around the machine perimeter has been achieved through the integration of strategically positioned mirrors and cameras, as well as wider front glass in the cab.

A new high arch design with bolt fastened cab support requires reduced assembling time and streamlined serviceability during engine overhaul.

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Dampier Salt RIO TINTO has a large stake in three salt mining operations in Western Australia: two in the Pilbara and one in the Gascoyne area. Based in Dampier, Port Hedland and Lake MacCleod, the salt mines produce more than nine million tonnes of salt every year, making Dampier Salt one of the world’s largest privately owned salt producers. The large evaporation ponds, which cover up to 52 square kilometres, are also an important bird habitat.

41

innovation

MARCH OF THE MACHINES TRUCK TECHNOLOGY IS TAKING GREAT STRIDES FORWARD, RESULTING IN A SAFER AND MORE EFFICIENT WORKPLACE. WORDS: ORYANA ANGEL

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innovation

I

nnovation is rapidly changing truck technology in the mining industry.

Driverless trucks, mandated antilock brakes and a greater emphasis on safety, are all great news for miners. Trucks that have the ability to transport greater capacities, as well as success in reducing environmental noise, will offer benefits to everyone.

Mack Trucks’ vice-president Dean Bestwick says we’re in a period that’s all about “finessing the technology that we currently have”.

In conjunction with its parent company, Volvo Group, one of the most exciting projects that Mack Trucks is working on is the 290-tonne gross combination mass (GCM) truck. This Mack Titan has been developed to transport commodities from the ground to a processing plant or distribution point where there isn’t a railway available and when the job is not suitable for yellow mining equipment.

“When there is a large amount of material and you can’t get access to rail, this is where the new high-GSM Mack Truck comes into its own,” Bestwick says.

The Mack Titan, with the combination of a 685-horsepower engine and mDRIVE (automated manual transmission), can haul up to four trailer loads. The truck is then highwayready – the trailers can be unhooked and it can be used on the road as a normal prime mover.

Fast facts • Australia is a hub for mining software, with 60 per cent of the world’s product developed here.

• A new Australian Design Rule will require anti-lock braking systems (ABS) or load proportioning brake systems to be installed on new heavy trailers.

Image courtesy of Caterpillar Inc

“In the past, safety wasn’t so important, but now customers are driving this.

Particularly with dangerous goods.”

“While it resembles a highway truck, the engineering is in the driveline and under the hood to increase the load it can carry while being a lot more economical than buying large yellow equipment,” Bestwick says. They are set to be available in the first quarter of 2015.

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Image courtesy of Mack Trucks

At Freightliner, another of the industry giants, product planning manager Chris Loose says the big development in the industry has been a push towards improved vehicle safety for big trucks.

“In the past, safety wasn’t so important, but now customers are driving this. Particularly with dangerous goods, it’s becoming mandatory to have safety systems in place or you don’t sell a truck,” says Loose.

“It’s a huge improvement from an attitude of only a few years ago.”

He says the company is now seeing a lot more interest in its trucks that have roll stability – a system designed to be proactive and improve vehicle stability by slowing the vehicle as it goes around corners.

There’s also increasing interest in electronic braking systems (EBS) technology, which works by applying the brakes when sensors detect that

innovation

Image courtesy of Caterpillar Inc

the trailer is not in a controlled situation.

One of the biggest changes to truck technology in the past few years has been the development of autonomous – or driverless – trucks.

In the Pilbara, Caterpillar has already deployed autonomous trucks at Fortescue Metals Group’s Solomon mine and plans to expand the fleet to 45 Command trucks over a three-year period.

Caterpillar is also working with BHP Billiton and has launched a Cat Command for Hauling production trial at the Jimblebar mine in Western Australia. The company is also in negotiations with other groups for the autonomous hauling solution.

Caterpillar global mining technology and solutions manager Dale Blyth says the main benefits of autonomous trucks is safety and improved productivity.

“The past five or six years have seen

customers wanting to test the technology with small-scale operations. We are now working with our customers to expand into large mining operations,” says Blyth.

Meanwhile, Queensland-based transport equipment developer Duratray has been working on a way to reduce environmental noise on mine sites.

A trial held at Moolarben Coal Mine near Mudgee, New South Wales, compared noise output between the loadings of a standard steel dump tray and a Duratray Suspended Dump Body (SDB). The results were encouraging, showing that noise was reduced by up to eight decibels.

Moolarben has since launched a ‘stealth fleet’ of Komatsu 830E haul trucks fitted with custom-designed SDB. The technology is also being utilised in some of the largest mines in Australia, Africa and the Americas.

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resourceinsight

Source: argylediamonds.com.au

The rare pink diamond Pink diamonds do not come cheap. The highest quality gems are sold at private, invitation-only auctions (also known as ‘tender’) and can fetch anywhere from $100,000 per carat to more than $1,000,000. On average, pink diamonds cost 20 times the price of an equivalentsized white diamond.

Argyle pink diamonds have been sold at tender since 1985. Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine, in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, is the world’s largest supplier of pink diamonds, with more than 90 per cent of pink diamonds coming from there. Even so, for every million carats of rough diamond found, less

than one carat of this is deemed fit for auction.

Why the diamonds are pink is a mystery. One theory is it is due to a change in the diamond’s molecular structure either after it is formed in the earth’s mantle or when it ascends to the earth’s surface.

Indigenous Australians have another theory. They say that pink diamonds are from the hearts of barramundi fish that were escaping from three women who were trying to trap them. Where the fish landed became the mine site and the different coloured diamonds in the mine are from different parts of the fish.

• Diamonds were formed about three billion years ago, 150 kilometres beneath the earth’s surface. Under temperatures between 900 and 1300 degrees, and great pressure, carbon atoms joined to crystallise and grow as diamonds inside rocks. The atoms arranged to form diamond’s hard substance.

• A diamond’s beauty comes from its ability to refract light. This is true of all transparent gems, but diamonds have a higher refractive index, which is what gives them their sparkle.

• In 1851, a gold prospector near Bathurst, New South Wales, found the first diamond in Australia.

• The world’s largest diamond mine was discovered in 1979.

It became the Argyle Diamond Mine.

47

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National

propertyguide

Check out some of the latest hot properties on the market in our regional towns and cities 50

HOW WE VIEW WEALTH The way we think can shape how ‘rich’ we are

DIG IN YOUR HEELS Bag your dream house, without extra cash 53

7 INVESTOR HABITS The habits of effective property investors

55

49

National

propertyguide

ARE YOU RICH OR COMFORTABLE? A recent media article published on news.com.au asked a sample of average Australians whether they considered themselves to be rich or comfortable.

Their responses confirm that money alone does not maketh a man rich.

KEVIN LEE

Founder and director of Smart Property Adviser

MONEY IS A man-made concept designed to facilitate the bartering of goods and services. But across the world today, money is really a ‘fiat currency’ – that is, it has no underlying value of its own.

Most people don’t realise that the actual value of their money is completely controlled by government and its whims, fantasies and needs.

What makes you feel rich is your perception, your attitude to life and all it holds. Money is simply a means to achieve your goals. Let’s look at it this way: What do we really need in this life? Food, water, shelter and clothing. However what some people actually strive for is status symbols relevant to food,

water, shelter and clothing.

Those people are chasing the illusion of success, adorning themselves with various products, labels and brand names to show off their perception of their own success.

Sometimes to people they don’t even know.

I’m continually intrigued by this in relation to motor vehicles.

Otherwise intelligent people go to extraordinary lengths to parade their idea of success by their choice of a luxury vehicle.

Often, and sadly, they do so when their financial reality is anything but successful.

Many people believe they need to borrow $40k, $60k, $100k, $150k or even $200k to buy a luxury car so that friends

and family (and some random people they don’t know) will think they’re doing well in life.

In most cases, though, the reality is that they aren’t. They can’t afford the car, so they take a lease or personal loan over four or five years, usually with a 30, 40 or 50 per cent ‘balloon/ residual payment’ at the end.

Putting that in plain English, a balloon payment means you won’t, or can’t, pay off the vehicle in the specified time.

If the car has a 40 per cent balloon, you’ll only pay off 60 per cent of the contract price, but you’ll pay interest on the whole amount.

In effect, you’re renting the car, which is depreciating at least at the same rate. When

Most people don’t realise that the actual value of their money is completely controlled by government and its whims, fantasies and needs.

50

National

propertyguide

the finance term is finished, you either need to buy the vehicle at its residual value or trade it in and start from scratch again.

This is a sure-fire way to financial disaster for most Australians. You might look rich driving that expensive car, but you should consider the longterm financial damage before you sign that contract.

In my opinion, whether you really are rich, comfortable or struggling is often out of your hands anyway, and is largely the result of the way our country and its system works.

Because even though you may be earning $200,000 a year, after income tax, mortgage repayments, credit cards, car and personal loan repayments, a plethora of indirect taxes and levies and the cost of living, if you’re like most families you’d be lucky to save $1000 a month.

And if your kids are in private schools, you can forget saving.

It’s easy to see why people on

decent incomes become jaded.

Firstly there are years of striving for excellence in high school, followed by years of studying at university. Then there are subsequent years of climbing the corporate ladder until you reach the pinnacle – that $200k salary and the expected prestige that goes with it. But then there is often the self-realisation that you’re actually in the same ratrace and on the same treadmill as everyone else, except your treadmill is costing a lot more to operate.

Unless you look at your own situation now and do something about it, it’s not going to get any better in your lifetime. The statistics below reinforce what you’re really up against.

Firstly, Australia’s estimated population is 23.4 million (ABS, May 2014). According to the 2011 Census, there are about 5.7 million kids, 2.37 million people on the age pension, 850,000 on the

invalid pension and more than 1.5 million on other government benefits. There are 929,000 full-time students over 19 years of age and 1.8 million government employees.

So if you do the maths, there are 13.2 million Australians indirectly relying on the taxes paid by the 10.2 million people who work in the private sector.

That’s 56 per cent of the population relying on the taxes paid by the other 44 per cent.

It is simply out of whack. It’s unsustainable, and it can’t work over the long term.

I believe that the 2014 Federal Budget was recognition of the fact that the system isn’t working, and that it looks like becoming increasingly worse over the next 40 years or so. It’s unfunded and systemic.

Will the age pension be around when you reach 70?

I personally doubt it very much.

So the question is, what will you do about your future?

I suggest stepping outside the system – start putting an asset base together to provide for your future, as soon as you can.

We can help you create your strategy, but I wouldn’t wait too long to get started.

Kevin Lee is regarded by many as Australia’s most trusted property investment adviser.

To attend one of Kevin’s free ‘No Secrets’ Seminars, visit smartpropertyadviser.com.au

51

EUDCTAION CAHNGES EEVRYTIHNG If you’re not educated reading a simple sentence is almost impossible! Imagine trying to get a job, keep yourself healthy or support your family if you never got to finish school? That’s the story for more than 60 million girls around the world.

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National

propertyguide advertorial

When putting in an offer on a property, it’s not always the money that gets you over the line.

DIG IN YOUR HEELS ZORAN SOLANO From Hot Property Specialists Buyers Agency

Having the confidence to dig in your heels on price and not play the selling agent’s game doesn’t come easy to many. This is why it’s handy to have another agent do the batting for you.

I recently bought a property on Brisbane’s north side, about eight kilometres from the CBD, on behalf of a New Zealand investor. Their brief was to find a renovated property to lease and hold, giving them a foothold into the Brisbane market.

The vendor wanted to sell because they were relocating elsewhere; they had overcapitalised on the

renovation works – a bonus for my buyer.

After I inspected the property and undertook a comparative market analysis, I found the property to be competitively priced.

The selling agent was marketing the property in the high-500s, so I offered $580,000 with our best conditions – a 30day settlement, building inspection and rental clause – which allowed us to market the property for rent before settlement.

The vendor’s agent told me there was another offer on the property and the price I offered wasn’t high enough. I dug in my heels on our offer price and said, “That’s all we have. If it’s not enough, we’ll move on.”

The selling agent said, “Look, you’re not far off.” I said, “We’re done negotiating.”

He said, “The other offer is $10,000 more than yours, and it’s from another buyers agent [that] I know usually leaves a

little in the tank.”

I didn’t appreciate the game he was playing. He was trying to auction us up, which is a practice he’s not supposed to engage in, and he was a high-profile agent.

Thirty minutes later he said, “Congratulations, the seller has accepted your offer.”

It turned out the vendor preferred our conditions of a shorter settlement and our cash offer with no finance clause to the other interested buyer’s price offer of $10,000 more. This was because it allowed the vendor to relocate sooner with a greater guarantee of settling.

Apparently the other offer included a longer settlement.

What this proves is that to be successful with an offer it’s not always only about money.

Being in a position to place an offer with competitive time frames, finance preapproved and the confidence to negotiate (and knowing when not to negotiate) with

the selling agent can give you the winning advantage.

Because we included a detailed clause in the contract to market the property for rent before the property transaction settled, we had a tenant ready to move in at settlement time.

The new tenant just happened to be the other interested buyer who was not in a position to make another offer. But they loved the property so much that they decided they would rent it.

And they agreed to pay $640 per week, which reflected a premium return. Overall, a sweet victory for my client.

Zoran Solano is the office manager and senior buyer’s agent at Hot Property Specialists Buyers Agency. He has been a buyer’s agent for more than five years now and is recognised as one of Brisbane’s leading agents in buyer representation. hotpropertyspecialists.com.au (07) 3170 3760.

53

EXPERTS ARE SAYING BRISBANE IS THE NEXT MARKET TO MOVE

How to know your buyers’ agent is only working for you One thing I find really frustrating as a buyers’ agent are the other buyers’ agents who act dishonestly and discredit our practice.

I’m talking about those so-called buyers’ agents who steer buyers towards a new apartment or house development on behalf of a developer. Upon sale they receive a healthy sum in the back pocket from the developer and leave you with a poor investment choice.

Other dodgy so-called agents who call themselves buyers’ agents may not charge the buyer a fee. But this is when the alarm bells should be screaming because the agent must be paid somehow, if not by the buyer, then by who? In this scenario they should be honest and tell buyers they’re simply a selling agent representing a developer.

More and more selling agents are masquerading as buyers’ agents or buyer managers these days so be careful not to let that line be blurred if you’re after independent advice.

Fortunately there are plenty of honest buyers’ agents with buyers’ interests only at heart. If you’ve done your homework thoroughly you’ll find one who will help you get ahead on your property investing, particularly helpful if you’re time-poor, geographically challenged, or want to get the best value for your dollar with the greatest potential of return or capital growth.

It helps to know there is a professional body to go to – the Real Estate Buyers’ Agents Association of Australia – where you can find a listing of credible buyers’ agents Australia-wide and learn some useful tips on finding a goodie.

So how should you qualify a buyers’ agent before you start talking strategy and sending one out on the property hunt?

BUYER’S AGENT

STRATEGISTS

1. Is the buyers’ agent appointed in writing to represent you?

In Queensland this written appointment form is called PAMD form 22A, there are standard government forms for each state.

Also check if they’re members of the Real Estate Buyers’ Agents Association and the Real Estate Institute in their state.

2. What fees do they charge?

For genuinely independent advice you should pay a fee, this could be a flat rate or commission. Otherwise be suspicious of their motive.

3. Check their website. If it features properties for sale, or sales pitch-style articles about a particular development then be cautious.

4. Do they have current professional indemnity insurance?

5. How much experience do they have as a specialist buyers’ agent? This means time being paid fees by buyers only, not sellers. Do they thoroughly understand the market conditions and real estate transaction process?

6. Can they provide testimonials and referee contact details?

Well that should give you a good start to finding a genuine buyers’ agent. Good luck on your buying mission!

Zoran Solano Buyers’ agent, Hot Property Specialists Buyers Agency VENDOR ADVOCACY

Looking to buy real estate in Brisbane? Don’t do it alone!

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

SUITE 1/15-17 MONTAGUE ST, GREENSLOPES | P (07) 3170 3760 | E enquiry@hpsba.com.au | W hotpropertyspecialists.com.au

National

propertyguide

THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY

EFFECTIVE PROPERTY INVESTORS

MICHAEL YARDNEY

From Metropole Property Strategists

Michael Yardney is a director of Metropole Property Strategists, which creates wealth for its clients through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. metropole.com.au

HAVE YOU noticed how

Habit 1 – Be proactive

some people seem to rise to the top of their chosen field, or journey ever higher up the property ladder, while others consistently achieve the same ‘average’ results?

In the 1990s, management guru Dr Stephen Covey explained what he believed to be the defining characteristics that distinguish ‘highly effective people’ in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which has become a modern-day business classic.

Not surprisingly, the seven habits Covey suggests we should aspire to if we want to replicate the achievements of others are also very important to the business of property investment.

So let’s take a moment to reflect on the seven significant traits.

Life is not simply a series of events that happen to us.

In every moment, you are faced with a choice and the opportunity to move forward in your life’s purpose. You can choose to have a positive or negative attitude and you can choose to take control or be controlled. This is about either taking responsibility for your own destiny or being overtaken by the actions of others and, in doing so, becoming a victim.

How to apply it – Become the pilot of your life and not a passenger. You are where you are because of all the things you’ve chosen to do and all those you’ve chosen not to do.

Either you run the day or the day runs you!

Habit 2 – Begin with the end in mind By focusing on your desired outcomes, you will be compelled to lead yourself towards those goals, thus developing the habit of personal leadership.

The key is in blocking out the distractions that can inhibit forward momentum by instead concentrating your efforts on relevant actions to propel you forward.

How to apply it – All the successful investors I know have set themselves a long-term goal of financial independence and have a written plan and strategy of how they’re going to get there.

Then it’s easier for them to make their investment decisions in light of their goals and not be distracted by the short-term market noise.

All the successful investors I know have set themselves a long-term goal of financial independence and have a written plan and strategy of how they’re going to get there.

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Habit 3 – Put first things first Once you have established attainable goals, you must develop the habit of planning and implementing activities that will enable you to reach them.

Importantly, you need to learn to prioritise your actions in a way that reflects your values and life purpose. This is the art of manifesting your ideas into physical reality by taking a stepby-step approach.

How to apply it – Keep the big picture in mind and don’t be afraid to say no to so-called opportunities if they don’t fit in with your plan. I’ve made more money by saying “no” to deals than by saying “yes”. Take personal responsibility, because while you cannot change the circumstances, the cycle or the market, you can change yourself.

That is something you have control of.

Habit 4 – Seek first to understand and then to be understood Most people engage in conversation to be heard rather than to understand. Often, instead of really hearing what someone else is telling us, 56

Keep the big picture in mind and don’t be afraid to say no to so-called opportunities if they don’t fit in with your plan.

we spend our ‘listening time’ thinking about our reply.

In doing so, we place our ideals and philosophies on others, without truly hearing them. As a consequence, we go through life missing out on valuable insights.

How to apply it – Many property investors suffer from confirmation bias, which is the tendency to begin with an answer and then search for evidence to support the preconceived outcome. The lesson here is to be sceptical of your preconceptions and try to disprove your own theories rather than continually defend them.

Habit 5 – Think win-win More is gained from life through the art of cooperation than competition.

How to apply it – Win-win not only applies to negotiations, but to all elements of your life.

Learn how to be happy with

what you have while you pursue all that you want.

Habit 6 – Synergise Creative cooperation among humans allows us to uncover new solutions to old problems. When we interact with one another and apply the rule of empathetic listening, we augment our brainpower and grow from our experiences with others.

How to apply it – There is no such thing as a self-made millionaire. Every successful property investor turns to a proficient team of consultants for advice and to mentors for inspiration and counsel.

Surround yourself with people who will lift you up, rather than negative nellies who will drag you down.

Habit 7 – Sharpen the saw The greatest asset you will ever have in life is yourself. To be

effective you must look after the only tools you have control over – your mind, body and spirit.

Maintain balance in all you do and never stop learning.

How to apply it – The best investment you can make to ensure success through property investing is in your own wisdom. Don’t be afraid to spend (invest) money on your education and be prepared to learn not only from your victories but also from your mistakes and those of others.

To become financially independent you must follow the habits of successful investors who’ve already achieved what you want to achieve. Turn part of your income into capital by saving and investing, then slowly build your asset base by reinvesting until you eventually have a ‘cash machine’ that gives you the financial independence you desire.

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