max*d Issue 07

ISUZU UTE AUSTRALIA

ISSUE 7

P E ST K C A B E M I T IN first

’s Isuzu e legend onn one-t

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IT’S A LIFESTYLE THING...

Personalise your D-MAX to suit your adventure. Whether it’s the Monday to Friday slog with the tools of the trade on board, or the weekend warrior missions into the great outdoors. With Isuzu UTE Genuine Accessories forged by quality engineering and decades of automotive experience, your D-MAX can be fitted out with all the nifty bits and style you need… for greater “pulling power*”.

To get your D-MAX geared up, whatever the occasion… see your local Isuzu UTE dealer or call 1300 147 898.

VISIT ISUZUUTE.COM.AU TO VIEW THE ENTIRE D-MAX RANGE *Pulling power can’t be guaranteed, no matter what you think of yourself, it all depends on your looks, charm and financial status. This also doesn’t give your D-MAX the extra capability to tow more than its maximum capacity of 3 tonnes for 4x4 and 2.5 tonnes for 4x2.

FLASHBACK ■

1965: D-MAX DNA BEFORE THE D-MAX, CAME THE WASP; THE FIRST ONE-TONNE ISUZU SOLD IN AUSTRALIA UNDER THE ORIGINAL ISUZU NAME BADGE Words: Brett Wild

B

ased on the earlier released Bellett, the Wasp was Isuzu’s first one-tonne light commercial vehicle, built in Japan from 1963 to 1971.

Two years after the model was released to the Japanese domestic market, Australia received its first and only shipment. All 122 units were

painted Wasp Blue; two-thirds were cab chassis and the rest were utes. The 1325cc in-line four-cylinder, water-cooled petrol engine generated 58hp (43kW) at 5,000rpm with a maximum torque of 70.9ft/lb (96Nm) at 1,800rpm and a top speed of 116kph. While the front axle had independent,

torsion-bar suspension, the rear axle was semi-floating with a Hotchkiss drive. Clutch control on the four-gear Wasp was a dry single plate with damper. The KR20 retailed in Australia for £848, or £946 – which included a £98 premium for a factory-fitted tray built by coachbuilders in Australia.

The Isuzu Wasp – European styling meets tough workhorse performance

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■ CONTENTS

24 04 NEWS

What’s happening in the of Isuzu UTE Australia

world

N O C S T TEN ISSUE 7

06 ME ’N’ MY MAX

n’t let anything Five D-MAXers who wo adventure and stand between them

08 TECH HEAD

y of engaging The how, when and wh your D-MAX’s 4WD

09 WISH LIST

your next camping Add some glamour to iting gadgets trip with the latest exc

10 MAX TANK

need to tow How much fuel do you the Simpson? gh ou thr iler a camper tra

STEP 15 GREAT AUSSIE DOOR rley be Kim Spida Everitt drives the

16 EAT MY DUST

nia in Traipsing through Tasma

a D-MAX

24 OUT OF THE BOX

er its release, More than 30 years aft as ever. Why Mad Max is as popular to die? does the legend refuse

28 PASSPORT

ians in the vast Playing cowboys and ind Dakota brown expanse of North

28 32 UNSUNG HEROES

Japan, everyone When the tsunami hit n. This is his story fled, except for one ma

36 FINISHING LINE

a Thai rally driver A Japanese navigator and stralasian Safari run amok during the Au

16 2

40 GET STUFFED

maker shows Australia’s foremost pie rfect meat pie us how to make the pe

43 DEALER LIST

dealers Where to find D-MAX alia across Austr

ER 44 HOOK, LINE ’N’ SINK ts

n tes Shimano’s Brett Wilso hungry barra on e lur w ne ech a high-t

WELCOME ■

S Season’s greetings! As we approach the end of another year, it’s time to reflect on the challenges we’ve faced and life lessons we are able to carry to the next.

At Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA), under my predecessor Hitoshi Kono, we reached a remarkable achievement of 10,000 unit sales in March. We recently implemented our new spare parts distribution and IT system, which coalesced to create a more efficient service infrastructure for our customers and dealer network.

But the past year hasn’t all been smooth sailing. World financial markets yo-yoed again and Mother Nature threw us her worst. In parts of Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, thousands saw their homes and property destroyed by floods, and many endured the loss of loved ones. In Japan, many of my countrymen perished after tsunamis engulfed the north, while rains devastated much of Thailand. Nevertheless, we all showed great resilience and held our heads high.

IUA has had a steadfast approach towards the continual expansion of its sales and service network, despite the turbulent conditions it has endured. I am confident that IUA will reach another sales milestone of 15,000 units by the close of 2011.

On behalf of IUA and all our dealers and staff, we thank you for making this a momentous year. I trust you’ll have a very safe and joyful Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Taken on the outskirts of Ben Lomond National Park.

Picture by Owen Hughes

Yasuhiro Takeuchi Managing Director Isuzu UTE Australia

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■ NEWS

REMEMBER MOVEMBER Isuzu UTE Australia was excited to once again be a proud partner and official vehicle of choice for the 2011 Movember foundation – an annual month-long campaign that raises funds to combat prostate cancer and men’s depression.

Launched in Adelaide in 1999, the now global campaign sees men grow moustaches of all shapes and sizes to collect donations for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, the Cancer Society and other non-profit health organisations.

IUA donated a D-MAX LS 4x2 Crew Cab ute as a prize incentive for the campaign, with all participants raising more than $250 becoming eligible for the draw.

D-MAX FLIES AT AIRSHOW

TWO COUNTRIES, ONE TANK A convoy of D-MAXs drove from Bangkok and to Malacca in Malaysia’s south on one tank of diesel for the Isuzu Dura-Miles Challenge, a fuel-efficiency promotion organised by Isuzu Malaysia in June 2011.

The convoy comprised of a D-MAX 4x4 Crew Cab Ute, a D-MAX 4x4 Single Cab and D-MAX 4x4 Crew Cab Chassis. The vehicles consumed 76.6 litres, 75.1 litres and 73.7 litres of diesel respectively over the 1,600-kilometre journey. “It is astonishing just how far a D-MAX can go when driven conservatively,” said Isuzu Malaysia CEO Mr Takashi Hata.

The event was monitored by the Automobile Association of Malaysia, which audited results by applying and removing security seals on the tanks before and after the run. Speeds were limited to 80kph.

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Isuzu UTE Australia showed its support for regional Queensland at the Wide Bay Australia International Airshow held in Bundaberg in August 2011.

More than 22,000 spectators attended the three-day event that showcased Australia’s leading aerobatic pilots performing tricks and stunts in lovingly restored vintage aircraft and the raw power of the RAAF’s latest strike aircraft, the F18 Super Hornet.

Two D-MAXs were used to move pilots, staff and materials around the airport to keep the show operating on schedule.

“The D-MAXs’ reliability and carrying capacity were definitely appreciated by staff,” said operations manager Matt Fisher. “We also had several favourable comments from flight crews on the amount of room in the rear section of the dual cab.”

One aircraft on show (above) was built for the Royal Air Force as EX184 and allocated to the US Army Air Corps for pilot training due to its robust construction and reliability. It was shipped to Australia in 1978 and restored at Sydney’s Bankstown Airport. It’s been in Queensland since 2007.

NEWS ■

DATES FOR THE DIARY JANUARY 20–22 Robe Boat Show, Robe, SA

FEBRUARY 3–5 Melbourne International Boat & Lifestyle Show, VIC 11–12 4WD Spectacular and Outdoor Recreation Show Queanbeyan, NSW

IUA SOCCEROOS SCORE A HAT-TRICK The Broadbeach United Soccer Club – sponsored

by Isuzu UTE Australia – scored a major goal in October 2011 when it successfully petitioned the government to provide floodlights worth $500,000 for the club’s home ground.

“The juniors have really grown in the last few year but the club overall hasn’t been this strong for many years,” said club president Micky Doyle.

“We have so many helpers that have assisted along the way: players, parents, our coaches and in particular our major sponsor IUA.” Broadbeach came close to an unprecedented third grand final win when they met Southport in the Men’s Premier Division at Carrara. After a fulltime score of 1–1 and 3–3 at extra time, Southport won the penalty shootout 3–0.

17–19 Newcastle Caravan, Camping & Holiday Expo Newcastle, NSW 19 Victorian 4WD show Wandin North, VIC 22–26 Adelaide Caravan & Camping Show Adelaide, SA

ISUZU WINS BIG IN SOUTH AFRICA The South African variant of the D-MAX – an Isuzu KB300 Dual Cab – was the overall winner at an off-road competition organised by the Eastern Cape Challenge 4x4 Club and Kirkwood High School.

The Isuzu 4x4 Challenge saw 50 vehicles compete in five classes around 10 obstacle courses. The winning ute scored 622 points compared to the runner-up with 614 points. It was piloted by Ryan Visagie, Isuzu brand manager in South Africa, and champion South African rally driver Grant McCleery.

“A competition of this nature is the ultimate test of an off-road vehicle,” Visagie said. “The result is unquestionable proof of the off-road capacity of the Isuzu KB.”

PUBLISHER Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd ISUZU UTE AUSTRALIA MANAGING EDITORS Cornelius Ionescu, Victor Petelo

EDITOR Ian Neubauer ian.neubauer@edgecustom.com.au CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Sanchia Pegley MANAGING EDITOR Michael Butler

ART DIRECTOR Karen Jacobi

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Alex Moller

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Georgina Armour

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shane O’Brien

ADVERTISING SALES Dennis Lee dennis.lee@edgecustom.com.au

CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR Sarah Willmott

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Fergus Stoddart

CEO Eddie Thomas

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT/ JUNIOR DESIGNER Rhys Prosser ACCOUNT MANAGER Amy Story

Disclaimer: The information included in this magazine is intended for interest only. The opinions and views expressed in this magazine are provided in the writers’ personal capacities and are their sole responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of Isuzu UTE Australia or Edge and must neither be regarded as constituting advice on any matter nor be interpreted as such. The reproduction of advertisements in this publication does not in any way imply endorsement by Isuzu UTE Australia or Edge Custom Media of products or services referred to therein. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A selection of the images featured in this publication have been sourced from Getty Images and Thinkstock Images. Business Essentials trading as Edge ABN 22 062 493 869.

max*d magazine is proudly printed in Australia using renewable resources. Pacesetter Coated is an FSC Mixed Sources Certified paper, which ensures that all virgin pulp is derived from well-managed forests and controlled sources. It contains elemental chlorine-free bleached pulp and is manufactured by an ISO 14001 certified mill.

max*d is published on behalf of Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd by

51 Whistler St, Manly NSW 2095 T +61 (0) 2 8962 2600

SGS-COC-003898

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Me 'n' My Max

■ ME ’N’ MY MAX

DS, MUD, BUSH …

FIVE D-MAXERS DRIVE THEIR UTES THROUGH DUNES, FLOO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE

Last July we went on a 17-day trip to the Red Centre.

From Mildura we took the Oodnadatta Track (where this picture was taken) out on to the Rig Road and on to Alice Springs via the Old Ghan Heritage Trail.

My D-MAX is an auto. We chose it because today the technology is getting better and better, and the auto gearbox in the D-MAX is especially good. It was fantastic to drive on the sand; it gave us all the power we needed without spinning the wheels.

AUTOOX B GEAR NER N I W A

Darren & Kerri Savage Lives: Callignee, VIC

Drives: 20l0 4x4 LS-U

The roads from where we live in Weipa to Cairns – and the outside world for that matter – are closed during the wet season. The only way to get in and out is on a plane.

Some of the shorter roads that stay open look like this. We took this pic during a fishing trip to Mission River with my missus and little boy. It’s only about a foot of water and the bottom is hard, so we didn’t even need to put our D-MAX in 4WD.

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Ute bite s Dog Glenn W atson lo ves his ute so m uch he n amed his German Shephe rd puppie after it. T s he one o n the left is Isuzu.

The one on the right is D -MAX. Tru e story!

N' FISHI THE H WIT SUS MIS

Glenn Watson Lives: Weipa, QLD

Drives: 2008 4x4 LS-U

ME ’N’ MY MAX ■

This picture was taken during our first off-road trip, at Francoise Peron National Park near Denham.

My husband and I had the whole beach to ourselves that day; it made us realise that buying an off-road vehicle is the best thing we’ve ever done. We live in an isolated part of the country, so whenever we go anywhere we need to stock up on things.

The D-MAX handles the loads with ease and the fuel economy is great.

We use our D-MAX to tow our 2-tonne caravan and it does it with ease, never needing to slow down as we go over big hills.

I took this photograph during a trip down to Woodgate Beach during the Christmas break. We took the bitumen road down to Walkers Point and then decided to do a beach run on the return leg. We had to go through some pretty muddy tracks to get there and had water and mud up to the top of the wheel wells. Nothing a good spray of the hose couldn’t get rid of!

FIRST E M I T ERS 4WD

Emily Lewis

Lives: 80 Mile Beach, WA Drives: 20ll 4x4 SX

MUD TO OP THE T

Gail Love

Lives: Clontarf, QLD Drives: 2009 4X4 LS-U

We love the adve ntures we’re having with the he lp of our very sturdy, reliable an d comfortable D-MAX ute. A fe w months ago, we took it down the Plenty Highway to Alice Springs then east to Boulia, fa mous for its Stone House Mus eum and its fossils – dinos aur country.

After that we he aded north to Burketown ne ar the Carpentaria Coas t for some great barra fishing . All in all it was a great trip.

This pic was taken at the Leich hardt River near Burketown.

NO AUR DINOS TE A OF U

Paul Scott

Lives: Mt Isa, Q LD Drives: 2009 4x4 LS-M

Me ’n’ my Max is a segment reserved for you – our readers. If you’d like to see your ute appear in the mag, send a high-resolution image along with your name, town, state, make and model of your D-MAX, plus a 100-word blurb to maxd@iua.net.au. Or you can mail the details max*d to max*d magazine, PO Box 1128, Eagle Farm, QLD 4009

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■ TECH HEAD

4WD

SHIFTING INTO

KNOWING HOW AND WHEN TO ENGAGE 4WD IS ESSENTIAL FOR TAKING YOUR D-MAX OFF-ROAD. HERE’S HOW TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE TECHNOLOGY Words: Marcus Dowling

F

or a vehicle to be considered operating in 4WD, a driving force must be conveyed to both the front and rear wheels. It’s important for D-MAX drivers to understand when best to utilise the 4WD mode so as to maximise comfort, safety, engine and fuel efficiency.

The D-MAX comes equipped with an integrated part-time 4WD system called Shift on the Fly (SOF) that allows the driver to switch to 4WD via a dashmounted switch. It does so, in a nutshell, by engaging and disengaging the front wheels from the driving axle.

SOF is a significant step up from the clunking 4WD levers mounted on the transmission tunnel of other vehicles, and worlds away from the old manual system that required the

driver or a passenger to step out of the vehicle and manually lock the front wheel hubs into position.

A common problem for inexperienced off-road drivers is not knowing which of the drive settings to use in different road conditions. Normal driving on dry road surfaces does not require 4WD activation. Doing so will only cause unnecessary engine and tyre wear, in addition to poor fuel economy.

To help you get the best efficiency from your D-MAX 4X4, below is a short list that explains the functions of the four different SOF settings.*

4H: High-range 4WD High-range 4WD provides greater traction than 2WD. Use it for normal driving on wet, icy or snow-covered roads.

2H: 2WD This position gives greater economy, a quieter ride and the least drive-train wear. Use it for normal driving on dry road surfaces.

Neutral: Disengages the axle from power train This position allows your D-MAX to be towed by a another vehicle, subject to the conditions outlined in your Owner’s and Driver’s Manual. First, stop the vehicle and ensure the main transmission is in neutral. Then press the 2H and 4L button for 10 seconds or until the ‘N’ indicator on the button blinks. When the blinking stops it means the axle has been disengaged and the power train is in neutral. Push any button to re-engage the axle.

4L: Low-range 4WD Low-range 4WD provides maximum power and traction. Use it for climbing or descending steep hills, off-road driving, and hard pulling in sand, mud or deep snow. To engage low-range 4WD the vehicle must be stationary and the main transmission (regular gearbox) must be in neutral. Engaging it while moving will cause transfer case damage.

*Full details on the operation of the SOF system and towing limitations can be found in your Owner’s and Driver’s Manual, from pages 4–17 to 4–24

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G

WISH LIST ■

FISH EYES Take the guesswork out of fishing with this high-tech low-cost contraption from the States. The FishEyes rod and reel kit features a waterproof video camera that transmits live footage from below the surface to a rod-mounted LCD screen. It might not be cricket, but it definitely is glam: www.fish-eyes.com.

GO DUTCH A lot of the grit was taken out of camping when portable solar hot-water showers became popular in the 1980s. Now glampers also have a way to stay squeaky clean in the bush with the Dutchtub, a portable wood-burning hot tub. The tough polyester shell that can be carried anywhere on the roof of a D-MAX is connected to outer pipes that coil around a wood basket, letting natural fire heat 800 litres of water to 38 degrees: www.dutchtub.com.

G N I P M GLA TO UR TOYS O F E R A HERE E R AG E – H T L L A G IS ABLE ’ CAMPIN OMFORT S C U E O R R O U M VEN ‘GLAMO UR TRIP E O Y E K A HELP M

GAME PLAN Twister, “the game that ties you up in knots”, became a household name when released in the 1960s and has remained one ever since. And while campers may be happy with an ordinary $20 Twister set, this giant-sized $2,000 inflatable version made of double-stitched vinyl can entertain up to 10 players at once: www.hammacher.com.

THE FONZ An Eski won’t keep your angus rib-eye frozen when you’re bush-bashing for days on end at the back of Bourke – but the Evakool Fridge Mate will. Made in Queensland, its compressor-driven two-way fridge freezer can run off your D-MAX’s cigarette lighter.

Made for off-roading, it stays cool at inclines of up to 30 degrees and has a super-tough polyethylene cabinet: www.bcf.com.au.

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Amigos Three

Words: Allan Whiting Photos: Keryn Williams, Allan Whiting and Aussie Outback Images

F

or those of you who haven’t driven across the Simpson in central Australia, some background is necessary.

Trailers are discouraged from crossing it on anything other than the Rig Road. But we weren’t so sure it was a legitimate restriction.

Our crew – Outback legend Jol Fleming, Cape York master Stan Gruzlewski and myself, a 4WD journo with umpteen years on the job – had

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many years’ experience towing trailers up to road-train size, and we knew how to back trailers precisely. So we figured we’d try to cross the Simpson the hard way, along the old QAA Line and Hay River Track created by gas and oil prospectors back in the 1960s.

The arduous trip would test the D-MAX in some of the toughest off-road conditions in Australia, towing trailers in areas normally the preserve of solo and convoy off-road vehicles.

To reduce drag, we made a point of choosing two lightweight campers: a GT Camper towed by a D-MAX LS-U manual and a Cub Kamparoo Brumby towed by a D-MAX LS-U auto. We also took along a D-MAX space cab SX model with a Carry Me Camper clamped on the back to compare fuel consumption.

THE QAA LINE So that’s how three D-MAXs towing and loading mobile homes came to be driving

MAX TANK ■

IN THE TOUGHEST DESERT CHALLENGE TO DATE, WE TEST THE D-MAX’S FUEL EFFICIENCY WHILE TOWING MOBILE HOMES THROUGH THE SIMPSON

out of Birdsville the morning after the famous race.

After the first couple of dunes, we worked out the optimum tyre pressure: 16psi in the front and 20psi in the rear of the towing utes with 10-12psi in the trailer tyres; and an 18/22psi combination for the ute with the slide-on camper. Tyres evenly bagged out, the grunty diesels conquered the dunes with ease. Interestingly, the auto D-MAX didn’t seem fazed by its lower peak

torque figure and matched the manuals in dune-climbing ability. Secure in the knowledge that our D-MAX trio wouldn’t have any major problems with the Simpson Desert dunes, we all relaxed and enjoyed the scenery.

Simpson regulars will be familiar with the Eyre Creek region, not far from Birdsville. It’s normally dry, but on this trip it was full of dense green vegetation and mud pools. At the base of a particularly steep dune, we came

across a ‘detour’ sign. This sidetrack ran 30 kilometres north to a rocky ford where it was possible to cross the flooded Eyre Creek, then 30km south again to intersect with the QAA Line not far from the detour. Such was the degree of inundation in the Red Centre.

That night we made camp on the river near the crossing and swam in a deep billabong. It was hard to believe we were in the middle of what normally is one of the most arid regions in Australia.

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12203-B ARB_NitroSport_Isuzu Max*d_OL.indd 1

1/9/11 9:27:17 AM

9:27:17 AM

MAX TANK ■

Left: A GPS and all the maps in the world can’t compare to getting directions from locals Below: Our convoy of D-MAXs makes its way up the Hay River Track Bottom: The author uses a compressor to re-adjust tyre pressure after the dunes

THE HAY RIVER TRACK From Eyre Creek the dunes get smaller, so we had no dramas travelling to the huge clay pan near the Poeppel Corner turnoff. From there we took a right and put some air in our tyres for the harder surface, dune valley run.

When we reached the Hay River Valley it wasn’t immediately apparent that we were travelling up anything other than swale. But after a few minutes we began to see the telltale signs of water flows and obvious Outback flood erosion.

A lot of rain had fallen in the past two years, so water flows in the northern part of the Simpson Desert were well above normal. In many places the original Hay River Track had been sluiced away, forcing us to drive through undergrowth and bush until we were able to rejoin the track.

We followed this routine for two days, camping overnight in whatever clear areas of scrub we could find until we reached the huge clay pan that is Lake Caroline. Last time I was here, it was an expanse of flat red lake bed with no sign of vegetation. This time, it was covered with grey saltbush and resembled a grove of tiny olive trees.

From Lake Caroline we made for Batton Hill, a well-equipped campground

These are the best fuel-efficiency figures I’ve ever seen from 4WD vehicles towing mobile homes. set up by traditional landowner Lindsay Bookie. Lindsay’s famous hot showers fed by donkey boilers were welcomed by everyone.

With our fuel tanks running low, we made a stop the next morning at Jervois Station before heading along the freshly graded Plenty Highway to Alice.

After four days of slow driving on the Hay River Track, doing 60kph on the highway felt like our well-packed D-MAXs were travelling at light speed.

LIGHT ON GAS On average, the three D-MAXs chewed through 14–15L/100km between Jervois Station and Birdsville. That’s about 25–30 per cent more fuel than they went through while on the highway: 10.5L/100km for the lightest towing combination and 11.3L/100km for both the heavier towing vehicle and the slide-on-camper-equipped D-MAX. These are the best fuel-efficiency figures I’ve ever seen from 4WD vehicles towing homes.

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tune into our all new Radio Show, 31 stations regionally around Australia

every Sunday morning 6-7am!

OUT NOW! The Great Australian Doorstep

is a ‘real life’ insight into Australia & New Zealand and the ways everyone can explore these great countries as cost effectively as possible!

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN DOORSTEP ■

Water World Words: Peter Everitt Photos: Sheree Everitt

AFL LEGEND PETER ‘SPIDA’ EVERITT ROADS IT FROM KUNUNURRA TO DERBY – THE BEST OF THE KIMBERLEY

O

n a previous visit to the Kimberley it was the tail end of the dry season and stinking hot: a sweltering 45 degrees in the shade. Luckily, when my wife Sheree, our son Boston and the crew of The Great Australian Doorstep went there after the floods in March 2011, it was a much cooler (and more bearable) 30 degrees.

We began our journey at Kununurra near the NT border with a view to driving west to the port town of Derby on King Sound. There’s an off-road trail called Savannah Way that I really wanted to take, but as we were sticking to an extra-tight itinerary, we followed the Great Northern Highway instead.

Despite the journey being 570 kilometres of bitumen, it was beautiful all the same, and we still managed to squeeze in plenty of interesting side trips...

The Ord River: The scenery here was unbelievable – tall red cliffs overshadowing beautiful green water.

On a mate’s boat we followed the river to Lake Argyle, where apparently 25,000 crocs lurk in the depths.

Wyndham Crocodile Farm: Halfway between Kununurra and Halls Creek, these guys are on hand to take the biggest and baddest crocs out of the wild so they can’t hurt people. They also have an albino croc called Snowy – one of only two in captivity in Australia.

Halls Creek: Sit on the deck of the Halls Creek Hotel, enjoy a few beers and take in the spectacular sunset over the desert. The faint red traces of dust in the air are truly magical.

Top: Broome ocean beach Left to right: Our Isuzu D-MAX utes all kitted out ready to go; Aboriginal Dreamtime statues in Wyndham; taking a BBQ cruise on Lake Kununurra

Fitzroy Crossing: This is one of the best places to see how much water flows through the Kimberley. Walk under the bridge in the dry season and you’ll see the flood gauge – it’s an unbelievable 12 metres high!

Geikie Gorge National Park: There’s a lot of birdlife here, as well as aboriginal sites. Rent a dinghy or find a willing local to take you on a tour and fill you in on the history of the area.

Wyndham Crocodile Farm

The Ord River Kununurra Lake Argyle

King Sound Geikie Gorge National Park Fitzroy Crossing

Halls Creek

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â– EAT MY DUST

Pure 16

Words: Ian Neubauer Photos: Ian Neubauer, Owen Hughes and courtesy of Tourism Tasmania and Pure Tasmania

EAT MY DUST â–

Glorious Cradle Mountain as seen from the old boatshed at Dove Lake

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■ EAT MY DUST

ST IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO TASMANIA, THEN YOU’LL NEVER REALLY KNOW HOW BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIA CAN BE

ifty thousand years ago, when the bottom of Australia broke off to form Tasmania, the plants and critters living there took a separate evolutionary path.

The same goes for the people who live there today, the isolation making them different and unique. Often they’re the butt of our jokes but the joke’s on us, because Tasmania is just about the most beautiful place on the planet.

A rugged, mountainous and largely untamed land, it’s ‘the’ place in Australia for serious off-road driving, while winding backcountry roads and rich volcanic landscapes make it heaven for touring.

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I’d been conspiring to visit Tassie ever since I started working at max*d two years ago. It’s one of the reasons I applied for the job, so now that it was about to happen it felt a little surreal.

But first I needed to get myself and the D-MAX across the Bass Strait.

THE NORTH COAST It’s cold and raining when I get off the Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport and make my way to the vehicle bay to pick up the ute.

After convincing the ferryman I am who I say I am, I drive to the bus station to pick up my mate Gerard Webb. A DJ by trade, Gerard spent a couple of years living in

Clockwise from above: Cruising the Gordon River; the car ferry at Devonport; Tassie’s desolate west coast; pit-stop at the Caltex in Smithton

EAT MY DUST ■

Wind and rain lash the ute while wild giant waves lash the coast as we tear along the Bass Highway …

Sydney, where our paths crossed, before returning to his home state – a place the sworn atheist refers to as ‘God’s country’.

Now living near Hobart, Gerard is the best guide I could ask for: he knows the area well, speaks fluent Tasmanian and works for free. On the downside he never shuts up and has an opinion on everything –­ kind of like that annoying talking dog on the TV show Wilfred. But he’s good value and once again, he works for free. “It’s a port town. It’s not supposed to be pretty,” he snaps when I tell him I reckon Devonport’s a bit drab – not the best introduction to ‘God’s country’. “Wait ’til we get out into the country,” he promises. “You have no idea what you’re in for.”

Wind and rain lash the ute while wild giant waves lash the coast as we tear along the Bass Highway towards Stanley, the last town of significance on the north coast. The scenery, as Gerard said, is breathtaking, every corner opening up another long stretch of rugged, rocky coast. In the interior are the hills and pastures of the Forth River Valley, where rich chocolate soils are used to grow everything from potatoes to onions and celery to cut flowers: tulips, Dutch irises and poppies. It’s a little-known fact that there are 1,200 licensed poppy farmers in Tasmania, making it the largest legal exporter of opium in the world.

Stanley is pretty hard to miss because it sits at the base of ‘The Nut’ – a 152-metre rock that’s all that remains of a volcano that blew its top millennia ago. We’re staying out at the Beachside Retreat West Inlet, an eco-property owned by Chris and Janette Bishop. The couple also breeds Cape Grim cattle and offers off-road tours that take in Tassie’s little-visited northwest.

“I do very soft off-road tours because most people don’t like to get jiggled around that much,” Chris says. “The roads are nothing more than gravel and hard-packed sand. Unless you bring your own 4WD there’s no other way to do it, because the hire companies don’t like people taking their cars down there.”

Chris plots a route for us to Strahan, the only port town on Tasmania’s west coast.

He says it’ll take the best part of a day but

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■ EAT MY DUST

“The rangers won’t even let you in some areas if you’re not in a convoy. If you get stuck out there, it’ll be your funeral.”

20

EAT MY DUST ■

Far left: Powering up the face of another one of Tasmania’s extinct volcanoes Left: Picture-perfect Strahan was established in the 19th century by whalers and timbergatherers Below: Gerard Webb has a voice – and face – for radio

that it’ll be easy going and we probably won’t even engage the 4WD. “If you want to do some serious 4WDing there’s the Temma Track. We get 4WDs here with 35-inch wheels and snorkels giving it a go and even they couldn’t get through it in this rain – half of it would be underwater. And you can’t drive on the beaches on the west coast; you’ll definitely get bogged.” Adds Janette: “The rangers won’t even let you in some areas if you’re not in a convoy. If you get stuck out there, it’ll be your funeral.”

THE WEST COAST The next morning I go for a walk with Chris along the beach at West Inlet. He points to rocks where his guests can forage for oysters, to his favourite fishing spot and an off-shore island that wouldn’t look out of place in the Whitsundays. There’s no one else around as far as the eye can see, only the vast, apparent emptiness of the churning sea. “People who come to Tasmania do so because they value the natural environment,” Chris says.

After breakfast we farewell our hosts and follow the Bass Highway inland. It’s like driving through a postcard, alternating from rich green farmland to river-edge towns and thick Blackwood forests. We refuel at the Caltex in Smithton, where a big long-bearded bloke called Damien strolls out and fills our tank – by hand! “All the old ladies in town come to us because we still change their oil. It’s nice to offer that kind of service,” he says.

From Smithton we head to the famous surf beach at Marrawah, where the bitumen ends and a sign warning of no mobile phone coverage tells us we’re heading into wild country. The track rolls up and over the cores of several extinct volcanoes lining the coast until we reach the wetlands of the Arthur River and the frightening place it spills into – a bay named Edge of the World. The sea here is rough as guts, with giant foamy waves breaking against a rocky coastline and rock formations that look like shipwrecks protruding from the wash.

At the historic town of Corinna, we pay $20 for a barge to take us across the Pieman River, which I reckon is a bit steep considering it’s a two-minute trip. The driver says ours is the third car to cross today, but that during the high season he’ll do 70 trips a day. Way to clean up!

It’s early in the afternoon when we arrive at Strahan, a tourist town that sits on a sheltered corner of Macquarie Harbour. Strahan is also a hub for a thriving aquaculture business that specialises in ocean trout, which we gorge ourselves on that night. Our restaurant, View 42°, is an all-you-can-eat number, so we also throw back mussels, scallops and crayfish for good luck. Not exactly hardcore off-road driving, but a great trip nonetheless.

THE GORDON RIVER The next day we get up early for the Gordon River Cruise, Strahan’s main attraction. The three-quarter day tour

starts by boating out to Hell’s Gates – the narrow 60-metre pass between Macquarie Harbour and the Southern Ocean that claimed more than a dozen sailing ships back in the days. After that we reverse course and go downstream into the Gordon River – a World Heritage Area that’s home to one of the largest remaining coolclimate temperate rainforests in the world.

The tour also includes a stopover at Sarah Island, Australia’s first convict settlement, a place described by a human rights worker of the time as one of “inexpressible depravity, degradation and woe”. Overall it’s the best tour I’ve ever been on, and our friendly hostess Amanda provides us up with food and drink all day long. “The only thing I didn’t like about that,” says Gerard, “is that I wasn’t able to take advantage of all the free piss!”

And I’m glad he didn’t, because it’s his turn to drive and there are 96 bends in the 40km stretch between Strahan and our next fuel stop in Queenstown – a cold, dusty and treeless town that sits in the

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Stanley

Arthur River Rd

Marrawah

Heemskirk

Corinna

y

Devonport

le Craduntain Rd Mo n chiso MurHwy Tullah Cradle Mt

Zeehan Strahan

Launceston

han Zee wy H

Great Australian Bight

s Hw

tern Wes rer Rd Explo

Temma

Bas

Road

Queenstown

Lyellway High

FACT FILE

GETTING THERE

“After the mine opened here the grass stopped growing, so the local football team has to train on a gravel oval.” centre of a moon crater of a mining pit.

“After the mine opened here the grass stopped growing, so the local football team has to train on a gravel oval,” Gerard tells. “No one wants to play against these hillbillies … toughest footballers ever.”

The route takes us down the Murchison Hwy, a two-lane road that snakes along the snow-capped West Coast Ranges, bypassing Lake Plimsoll, Lake Murchison and Lake Mackintosh along the way. With dizzying switchbacks, long open plains and bridges spanning gushing rivers, it’s driving nirvana. The annual Targa Tasmania road rally passes by here every year, and we’re told competitors complete this little section of the race in 15 minutes. That’s an average speed of 160kph!

It’s nearly dark when we pull into Cradle Mountain Chateau on the outskirts of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

We put away a couple of steaks and beers before calling it a night; it’s been a long day and tomorrow we’re up for a serious hike.

THE HIGHLANDS Capped in snow – unusual for this time of the year – the saw-tooth ridge that is the most photographed section of the colossal crater capping Mt Cradle looks like an

From Devonport, follow the Bass Hwy 124km west to Sta nley. From Stanley, follow the Bass Hwy to Marrawah then veer sou th for an hour along Arthur Riv er Rd to Temma. From Temma, hea d east along Heemskirk Rd for 14km and then south along Weste rn Explorer Road to the barge at Co rinna.

From there, it’s a two-h our drive south past Zeehan to Str ahan.

From Strahan, take the Lyell Hwy to the T-junction where it meets the Zeehan Highway. Fol low it right to Queenstown or left to the Murchison Highway and all the way to Tullah for Cradle Mount ain Road.

For up-to-date informatio n on roads, contact the Tasmanian De partment of Infrastructure, Energ y& Resources (1300 135 513 ; www. transport.tas.gov.au) or Parks and Wildlife Services Tasma nia (1300 135 513; www.parks.ta s.gov.au).

For details on Spirit of Tas mania, see www.spiritoftasma nia.com.au.

outstretched claw on this perfect morning.

“You have no idea how lucky you are to see it like this,” says Gerard, estimating the odds of a perfectly blue sky here at 20:1. “There are maybe 10 or 15 days in the year like this.”

We’re hiking around Dove Lake, the crater of yet another extinct volcano, now filled with gin-clear freshwater. It feels like something out of The Lord of the Rings, the track ebbing and flowing through temperate rainforests and past tea-coloured beaches dwarfed by views of faraway snowfields. On Gerard’s advice, we take our shoes and socks off and step into the water. I tolerate the cold for about 15 seconds before my toes start stinging and I run out to dry under the sun. The fact that Dove Lake WHERE TO STAY is so relatively unknown compared Be achside Retreat West Inle to Uluru and the Barrier Reef speaks t (ww w.beachsideretreat.com) volumes about how isolated Tasmania lies just outside Stanley. Lux ury shacks is from the mainland – and all the start from $188. Pure Tas mania benefits and problems that implies.

(1800 420 155; www.pure tasmania.

“Tasmania is a natural theme park,” com.au) owns Strahan Vill age, says Mark Whitnell, general manager Cradle Mountain Chate au and the at Cradle Mountain Chateau. “It Gordon River Cruise. Su ites start at offers natural attractions you can’t get $110pn and cruises are from $90pp. anywhere else in the world. It’s God’s backyard. It’s paradise.”

22

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â– OUT OF THE BOX

D A M M w Westbrook Words: Andre and PPER MEDIA Photos: SNA ainment Village Entert

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AD X A M ABOUT

G RROUNDIN U S S U T A ULT ST INTO THE C K O O L E MOVIE AN INSID -EVER CAR T S E T A E R ’S G AUSTRALIA

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■ OUT OF THE BOX

CKING THEIR KI L IL ST RE A S A TR EX E ANY OF TH LEGEND HAS IT THAT M E FILM’S GROSS TH F O T CU A N W O D G R TURNIN TATTERED LEATHERS FO A $100 PAY CHEQUE. REVENUE IN FAVOUR OF

“T

he chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It’d take you 10 minutes to hack through it with this [hacksaw]. Now, if you’re lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five. Go.” Those are the final, deadly lines delivered by Mel Gibson’s Max Rockatansky before he turns his back and drives off, indifferent to the fate of the biker, handcuffed to a car about to explode, who’d played a part in the murder of his family.

That ruthless act also completed Max’s transformation from law-abiding cop to ‘road warrior’, and with it the creation of one of the most enduring icons of the silver screen.

As the credits come up, we can only guess which desperate measure Max’s victim opted for. But one thing’s for sure, Mad Max had cemented its place in cinematic history and in the process turned unknown actor Mel Gibson into one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.

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A CULT IS BORN Now, more than three decades later and with a fourth and possibly fifth instalment attempting to get into gear, the greatest name in Australian car movies has lost none of its raw energy.

Filmed on the outskirts of Melbourne in 1978, many of the stories surrounding the trilogy’s production, as befits any cult classic, have become the stuff of legend.

But for all its iconic vehicles, feral bad guys, bizarre plot holes and deathdefying stunts, there can be no denying the creation of director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy rewrote the record books. Literally, in fact, because until The Blair Witch Project deposed it in 2000, Mad Max had sat proudly in the Guinness World Records for being the motion picture with the highest profitto-cost ratio. Mad Max cost just over $300,000 to make and brought home in excess of $100 million.

Indeed a young Gibson, in only his second film, reportedly received just $15,000 for the starring role. He’d initially only gone to the audition to keep a mate

company, but caught the filmmakers’ eyes due to being battered and bruised from a pub brawl the night before. Legend has it, meanwhile, that many of the extras are still kicking their tattered leathers for turning down a cut of the film’s gross revenue in favour of a $100 pay cheque.

The movie’s impact, and the effect it had on people, was relentless, if not immediate (for example, until the release of the sequel, few people saw it in the US, where the actors’ voices were originally dubbed with American accents and an unknown Gibson was unfairly cut out of the trailers).

Sydney Morning Herald reviewer John Lapsley called it “vicious, mean, uncouth, violent and thoroughly distasteful”, before giving it four stars.

The film inspired countless rip-offs and merchandising ranges, while the first two films left such an impression on one young Englishman, Adrian Bennett, that a couple of years ago he moved his family and custom-built replica Interceptor (see sidebox) to the Outback NSW town of Silverton where he now runs a museum

OUT OF THE BOX ■

dedicated to all things ‘Mad Max’.

The film also transformed Gibson, who moved straight onto the Lethal Weapon franchise and became a genuine A-lister – a man who now demands $25 million per film. Director George Miller, meanwhile, also became a major Hollywood player, with Oscar-winning hits such as Babe and Happy Feet to his name.

And yet, with the trilogy evolving into a Peter Pan-esque family film at its climax, it is easy to forget just how dark the original is.

Set in a post-apocalyptic near future, Max starts out as the true hero; a young father who is the cops’ ‘top pursuit man’.

He’s the good guy doing things by the book, until his family is massacred by the sadistic gang leader Toecutter.

The sequel, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, was released in 1981 and catches up with a loner, survivalist Max, wandering a land where society has all but collapsed and marauding thugs rule the roads. The third instalment, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, came out in 1985 to mixed reviews. With the action moved further into the future, a noticeably older Max finds himself in Bartertown, run by Tina Turner’s Auntie, and rediscovers his humanity when he stumbles across a group of young orphans.

NATURE’S FURY Fast-forward another 26 years and the ‘road warrior’ is still refusing to hang up his leathers. While Gibson stated in 1985

that he, “wouldn’t do another ‘Mad Max’ film, no matter what”, rumours of a fourth movie refused to go away.

Those excited whispers gained serious credibility in 2000 when Miller let slip that a new sequel was indeed on the cards, and that Gibson was keen, with Heath Ledger potentially lined up to play his son.

But the years rolled by and no progress was made until, in early 2009,

The Last of the Interceptors It’s surely

the most iconic cast of vehicles in Australian fi lm history.

Max drives a number of cars in the first two films. These inc lude the regular pursuit vehicles (above) and the famous pursuit spe cial – a black 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe with 300bhp V8 engine.

It was customised with the fro nt end of a Ford Fairmont and a (no n-functional) supercharger.

it was revealed that a script had been started for Mad Max: Fury Road. Gibson was no longer involved, with the lead instead handed to 34-year-old Londoner Tom Hardy. Also cast was Charlize Theron as Furiosa, a one-armed woman rumoured to be the central character of a spin-off movie potentially filmed backto-back with Fury Road.

Yet the production, to be shot in 3D, has been beset by an unusual, but big, problem – the weather.

The crew had been all set to return to Silverton where much of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior was filmed, and where it was to be the first major production to benefit from a $1million NSW Government investment in Broken Hill Studios.

Pre-production had begun, including the design and testing of the vehicles to be used, pumping an estimated $2 million into the local economy.

But then disaster struck. It rained. And rained. And rained. Suddenly, Silverton could no longer boast the apocalyptic landscape so essential for Mad Max. Indeed, the council said: “The red dirt is all but covered in a carpet of green, yellow and mauve. While this has been welcomed by a parched local community that has waited 10 years for the drought to break, the timing could not be worse for the filming of Fury Road.”

As such, production has been put back to January 2012. At the same time, the prospect of moving the filming out of Australia has become a strong possibility, with the dramatic African deserts of Namibia and Morocco believed to be potential alternatives.

But what the story will contain and how it will fit into the existing trilogy remains top secret, with everybody involved having signed confidentiality agreements, making them as tight-lipped as Max himself.

What we know now is that, contrary to the suggestion of Mad Max 2’s narrator, the ‘road warrior’ should one day live again, in more than just memories.

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â– PASSPORT

GO

WEST Words: Michelle Hespe Photos: Shawn Connell

IN NORTH DAKOTA, THE INDIAN HISTORY IS AS ENGROSSING AS THE TALES OF THE FIRST WHITE SETTLERS DETERMINED TO CALL THIS WILD LAND THEIR HOME

28

Main image: Jay Doan from Rolling Plains Adventures musters cattle on his family’s working cattle farm, McKenzie, North Dakota Above: Indian artefacts

T

he sun is midway through a spectacular setting in North Dakota as Jay Doan heads out to round up 2,500 head of cattle.

Jay and his family run Rolling Plains Adventures, which offers everything from hunting coyote, deer and pheasants to horse riding and more.

So he’s in his element here. Saddled up, he hits the plains at a canter and builds to a gallop, water flying up from around his horse’s hooves on the swampy ground. The cattle start moving in noisy unison, a whirlwind of dust swirling as Jay whoops at them.

It’s mesmerising to watch. North Dakota is as beautiful and enchanting in the summer as it is challenging and intimidating in the dead of winter. Many adventurers and explorers have lived their entire lives here, like Jay, on America’s Great Plains – falling under its spell.

THE PROMISED LAND An unnamed woman’s diary entry in Medora Museum, central North Dakota, sheds some light on life in the early days of North Dakota.

With an un-ladylike need for independence firmly setting her apart from her familiars, the woman set off in 1830 when she heard about the promise of living in a place where she’d be given a plot of land for a shack and veggie patch. The great expanse of North Dakota was up for grabs – even if you were an outlaw or a peasant. She was one of many who joined the droves.

The first white settlers in the government’s ‘promised land’ must have been shocked and often scared for their lives – huddled beneath

animal hides and sparse threadbare blankets in sub-zero temperatures, with Indians expertly navigating the land around them as though it were a children’s playground.

It was called The Great Dakota Boom. The US government was giving away the land or selling it off incredibly cheaply to anyone who wanted to make a home for themselves and, in doing so, tame small packages of the wild child of Mother Nature.

THE INDIAN Dakotah Wind Goodhouse is from the Sioux Tribe, of Standing Rock, North Dakota. His tribal name is ‘The Scout That Came From Behind To Lead’ or simply ‘The First Scout’.

He works at the North Dakota Humanities Council, checking educational papers and updated records on the history of Native American Indians.

Much of the history that was written about Dakotah and his people was skewed or incorrect because it was based on papers put together by non-native explorers, such as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark – both veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley and men who had two main things on their minds: to study the land and everything about it and see how this vast space could benefit western society.

The relationships that Native American Indian tribes had with white settlers varied in many different ways. There were nearly 500 ethically-identifiable tribes or nations in the United States at the time, so it’s impossible to know how each one dealt with the changes that fell rapidly descended upon their way of

â– PASSPORT PROFILE

FACT FILE

GETTING THERE

Delta Airlines (www.de lta.com) flies from Australia’s eas t coast to Los Angeles and on to Denver, Colorado, with connectio ns to Bismarck in North Da kota.

Return tickets var y fro m $2,500 to $3,000.

WHERE TO STAY

Rolling Plains Adventur e (www.rollingplainsadv.c om) have rustic apartments on the ranch for 4 to 15 people. Rates var y according to packages and activity options. In Medora, the Rough Riders Hotel (www.m edora.com) offers modern rooms from $189.

WHAT TO DO

To see how Indians live d on the Great Plains, visit the Knife River Indian Village (www.kn iferiver. com). For nature spottin g at Theodore Roosevelt Na tional Park (www.theodore.roosev elt.nationalpark.com), contact De nnis at Epic Sports (www.epic-spo rts.net).

For more information about visiting North Dakota, go to www.ndtourism.com

30

PASSPORT ■ decided to return home. “Everyone needs to get away sometimes” he says. “And I did, but I appreciated what we have here so much more when I came back.”

Today, on the 4,000 hectares that the family has built up from the humble 64 hectares their great-great-grandfather originally settled back in 1882, the family operates a business that attracts people all over the world. “It’s a great feeling, to be able to preserve the history of the place to share with others,” Jay says.

life. But one thing’s for sure – the way of life they’d known for centuries irrevocably changed in the mid 1800s.

Their culture, rituals, homes and headdresses are now all but gone, decimated when the white man settled and the tide of miners, homesteaders, towns and railroads sprung up faster than mushrooms, destroying life as it had been for as long as anyone could recall. The native people even lost their wild roaming livestock of buffalo they’d managed to keep as a sustainable resource for centuries.

“When I was younger,” Dakotah says, “there was a medicine man that came to our school, and I remembered him telling us that our responsibility was to bring our culture back. I took that on as a personal commitment and a responsibility. I felt strongly that it was a weight on me.”

But Dakotah is facing a battle. “When I graduated from university 10 years ago” he says, “I was the only one in my class with a traditional Indian name.”

Above left: Cowboy Café, Medora Left: Dakotah Goodhouse Below: Cabin at Rolling Plains Adventures

THE COWBOY Jay Doan is from a family that first settled in McKenzie, North Dakota, as homesteaders during the Great Dakota Boom. They’ve stayed on, five generations later opening up their land to people who want to experience life on the plains. “This is no McRanch with 5-star meals,” Jay says. “It’s a working cattle farm where people can really experience what life here is all about.”

After graduating from college, Jay moved to California and did the corporate thing. But his thoughts kept returning to the ranch where his brother had set up the hunting arm of the business.

One day, after catching up with his sibling, he

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■ UNSUNG HEROES

UNBREAK A THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF AN OLD SKIPPER WHO STEERED HIS BOAT INTO THE FACE OF JAPAN’S MONSTROUS TSUNAMI

O

n March 11, 2011, the biggest recorded earthquake in Japan’s history struck at 2.46pm local time, measuring 9 on the Richter scale.

The ensuing tsunamis left 19,748 dead or missing – a number that would’ve been even higher if not for the unbelievably brave feat of 67-year-old Susumu Sugawara, a retired fisherman and ferry operator on Oshima Island in the country’s southwest, some 1,000 kilometres from Tokyo.

When the quake struck on that cold afternoon, Susumu was at home with his daughter and her kids. He sent them to the top floor with towels around their heads to protect them from falling debris and, the second the shaking stopped, he told them to flee.

“I told them to run, escape somewhere high and don’t wait for me. You must go – don’t wait! Go!” he recalls saying.

Instead of running out with them as his instincts demanded, Susumu jumped into his car and drove towards port and the giant waves heading to the shore.

“I sped across to the other side of the island. I left my car on high ground and ran down to my biggest boat, Himawari (Sunflower),” he says, referring to his 17-metre vessel.

The sea had already risen more than a metre when he reached his boat; Susumu had to winch himself into it using a rope. “There was water everywhere and the ocean level kept rising. The boat was really high now, so it was hard to climb in. I grabbed the rope and did everything I could to haul myself in. I fought and eventually got in,” he says.

THE VALLEY OF DEATH Susumu got the boat free of its moorings and headed out of port. His two other boats were moored nearby – smaller crafts used for catching abalone and sea urchin. But they were no use now, Susumu said to himself. He couldn’t afford to think about them.

He set the throttle to full but the boat didn’t move; the massive tide combined with the pull of the first wave left him at a standstill. Whirlpools spun nearby, sucking boats into the sea. Susumu saw other boats behind him, but they disappeared after he did a forward check and turned around again.

Eventually his boat got moving and, as he headed out into the strait separating Oshima Island and the mainland, the “big waves” began rolling in.

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ABLE

UNSUNG HEROES â–

Words & photos: Julian Littler

Above: Islanders from Oshima have a lot to thank Susumu Sugawara for

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■ UNSUNG HEROES

The first was seven metres high. With nowhere else to go, Susumu steered into it at full-throttle. The wall of water was less then 100 metres away from him when his phone rang. It was his daughter telling him she and her children were safe. Then the phone cut out. It was the last communication he would receive until the ordeal was over.

“No other person could help me now; I was alone and I had to face the wave. I put the boat into full throttle again, fighting the water,” Susumu says.

Then the wave bore down on him and his boat began climbing the wall.

“The past 25 years I’d spent with this boat flashed through my mind as we climbed higher and higher.

I reached for the lifejacket, not believing I would live.

Suddenly I awoke from what I was doing. If I had any chance of surviving, I had to concentrate, look directly ahead, hold the wheel tight and retain focus.”

Susumu held on for life. Up and up he charged, his boat practically standing on end, its bow thrust skyward. After what seemed like an eternity, he began to tip forward. But only when he saw the ocean’s surface again did he know he’d made it.

DEBRIS BIG AS HOUSES After making it over another three waves, Susumu found himself surrounded by dozens of floating houses. “I had to be very careful of the debris floating in the water now,” he says. “I was also very worried about hitting someone in the water.”

At that point Susumu became aware of a strange light behind him in the darkness. He didn’t know what it was at first, but later realised it was fire. An oil tank had exploded in the Kesennuma Port area not far from his home and the water was alight.

Susumu spent the night with no radio and no

34

THE FIRST WAVE WAS SEVEN METRES HIGH. WITH NOWHERE ELSE TO GO, SUSUMU STEERED INTO IT AT FULL-THROTTLE. mobile reception. Everything had stopped working.

“I was hungry but I couldn’t do anything about it,” he says. “I shone the torch around the floating debris and called out in case anyone was nearby.”

When morning came, Susumu boated back to Oshima Island, aghast at the total destruction before him. Nothing was left standing. It was like something from the apocalypse.

Many around him had gone into shock but Susumu snapped into action. After locating a few barrels of boat fuel, he began ferrying the injured to the mainland and supplies back to island. Susumu’s Himawari was the only boat that survived.

AFTER THE STORM The day I met our hero, he was dismantling his house – by hand – without the help of any of the volunteer groups I saw working on other houses. As we made small talk, he explained the wood used to make his house was valuable and could be recycled.

“Will you rebuild here? I asked.

“No, this place is too dangerous. I don’t know where we will build again,” he replied. We talked for a while longer and I ask him why he did it. Why did he run into the wave instead of away from it?

“To help the people of this island,” he said. “If there were no boats, everyone would’ve been cut off. There would’ve been no supplies and no one could’ve gone anywhere. That’s all.”

Above left: Susumu stands by his boat Himawari, which is today piloted by his younger brother Above right: When the waters finally subsided, the extent of the destruction became clear

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FINISHING LINE ■

i rrific!

A THAI RALLY DRIVER AND A JAPANESE NAVIGATOR MAKE WAVES AT THE 2011 AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI IN A PRODUCTION-CLASS D-MAX

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ontenders in the Australasian Safari – a seven-day, 4,000km race through the West Australian Outback that’s billed as the nation’s toughest off-road rally – generally spend months on end preparing themselves and their 4WDs, dirt bikes and quads. Top finishers in the car division typically drive factory-backed rally-spec machines serviced by an entourage of mechanics to fix wear and tear caused by driving on stones, rocks, soft sand, flood plains, mud plains, corrugations and bull dust at speeds of up to 200kph. Contenders also require intimate knowledge of the course and Outback terrain to anticipate barely visible obstacles and treacherous chicanes. Many will nevertheless injure themselves or smash up their cars; of the 90 who started the race in Perth on September 22 2011, only 69 made it across finish line in Kalgoorlie.

However, none of that mattered to Thailand’s Rachan Trairat, who, after 10 years racing in the Asia

Cross-Country Rally, had a punt at 2011 Australasian Safari. Not only was it his first time driving in Australia, but he did it in a production-class D-MAX with minimal modifications. Moreover, while the money said Rachan wouldn’t finish the race, he surprised them all by making it in the top ten. The result may have had something to do with Rachan’s navigator and co-driver, five-times Safari winner Harry Suzuki.

Main: The boys powering through the Outback under the gaze of the race chopper

A MAN OF HIS WORD “It’s a long story,” says Harry when asked how it was he entered the race with Rachan. “Bruce Garland, who I normally drive with, broke his back at the South American Dakar in the beginning of the year and then he had a heart attack when we got back. So we had to pull out of the Safari.

“The last time we were in Thailand we promised Rachan he could come and join our team. When he learned we weren’t racing, he decided to enter by

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■ FINISHING LINE

Main: Rachan brought his own car from Thailand: a stock D-Max LSU 4x4 with only basic modifications

himself so I agreed to give him a hand.

A promise is a promise.”

Rachan brought his own car from Thailand: a stock D-MAX 4x4 LS-U with only basic modifications. It has an engine management system to get the most of the block and a motorsports suspension with duel shock absorbers. In accordance to rally safety protocols, it also has a roll cage and racing harnesses, as well as a 100-litre fuel tank for long-distance driving. The standard tyres were replaced with Dakar-spec TOYO tyres, but apart from that it’s an everyday D-MAX. “A lot of people were surprised,” Harry muses. “When they came to have a closer look, they couldn’t believe it still had the stereo in it, electric windows and factory steering.”

OVER THE MOON Rachan and Harry only had one goal: to finish with the car in one piece. “It’s the most we could hope for because Rachan had never driven here before

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“We never expected to finish in the top 10, so coming eighth was a great surprise. We were over the moon.” so we couldn’t read the terrain or know what to expect around the corner,” Harry says. “Normally I could have given him a lot of advice but we also had a language barrier to contend with. Rachan only speaks basic English and mine is not much better, so the conversation was restricted. We had some very close calls.

Many times we nearly landed in a ditch.”

The boys completed the course in 39 hours, two minutes and 24 seconds – coming eighth overall. “We never expected to finish in the top 10, so coming eighth was a great surprise. We were over the moon,” says Harry. “It was a totally different driving experience compared to Bruce’s rally D-MAX but it was still a very strong car.”

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D.I.Y.

MEATY

BEEF

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1) REDUCE IT Dice two onions and fry with vegetable oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat until brown. Add green peppercorns, minced garlic, white wine and cream, then reduce by one third.

2 2) DICE IT Dice beef into cubes the size of a 50-cent piece. In a separate saucepan, heat vegetable oil on high and seal the beef until it reaches a dark golden brown.

Remove the meat from the saucepan and set aside.

A COOKERY CLASS WITH MATT ROMAN, THE MAN WHO’S APPLIED FINEDINING PRINCIPLES TO THE AUSSIE MEAT PIE

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3) CARAMELISE IT Add three diced onions, diced carrots and diced celery into the saucepan used to cook the meat, and cook until caramelised. Put the meat back in along with beef stock. Turn the heat to low and cook until the meat goes mushy.

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4) MELT IT Melt the butter in a third, separate saucepan and add the flour. Mix together with a wooden spoon. Add this mixture to the meat and stock to thicken. Then stir in the peppercorn mix and cook on low heat.

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GET STUFFED ■

THE MAN When Matt Roman returned to Brisbane after years working as a chef at some of the finest restaurants in the world, his dream was to open a fancy restaurant of his own. Lacking a spare half-million in cash needed to do so, he decided instead to open a pie shop and apply everything he knew about quality cooking into pies.

A year after opening, Matt’s store, Piefection, has already made a name for itself as one of the best pie shops in Australia, with unique pie concoctions like red Thai curry, pork cheeks with tempura lychees, beef wellington and onion rings, buffalo chicken wings and his bestseller – Jack Daniel’s BBQ pork ribs.

“Every time someone comes into the store and says ‘That’s the BPIEH (Best Pie I’ve Ever Had)’ – they have to be those exact words – we put a mark on the wall,” Matt says. “The count is now up to 154.”

TRY THE REAL THING Piefection is at 1373 Logan Road Mount Gravatt, Brisbane,QLD. Open Mon–Sat 7am to 11pm and Sun 9am to 5pm. 07 3343 8344; www.piefection.com

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5) GREASE IT Grease your baking tin and line with shortcrust pastry (you can buy it in the supermarket or find a recipe online). Use your knuckles to press it into the edge of the tin.

6 6) BAKE IT Spoon the meat into the tin and cover with puff pastry, sealing the edges by pinching and twisting the top. Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated oven at 170ºC.

RTS SPAREwPnAonions

F TOOLS O DE A R T THE sharp knife

• Large n en spoo • Wood opping • 5 bro le oil h c b • Large • Vegeta nned green ti rd p a s o tb b 3 n • orns baking ti pepperc ced garlic • 28cm ase in -b m • 3 thick ns • 2 tbsp ry white wine ld saucepa • 150m ream c l m 0 • 10 ef risket be • 1kg b ots • 3 carr of celery 1 / stick 3 stock • l of beef • 1700m tter bu • 150g flour g 0 5 1 • st pastry shortcru e e • Sh t uff pastry p • Sheet black pepper ed • Crack

7 7) EAT IT Garnish with cracked black pepper and cool for five minutes. Serve with mushy peas, mashed potato and gravy – or good old tomato sauce. And that’s how you make a cracked pepper braised beef pie – the best pie I’ve ever tasted.

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■ HOOK, LINE ‘N’ SINKER

Land Arnhem

SHIMANO’S BRETT WILSON GOES WALKABOUT TO TEST A SECRET NEW LURE ON THE HUNGRIEST BARRA IN THE COUNTRY

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as a product manager for Shimano, I get to go to a lot of great fishing spots to test out our gear. But when max*d asked me to write about the best spot in Australia, there was no dallying around, because nothing compares to Arnhemland Barramundi Nature Lodge.

Set on Maningrida, a small town near the mouth of the Liverpool River in West Arnhem, the lodge couldn’t be in a more perfect position.

There are literally hundreds of kilometres of rivers and tributaries there, and when the surrounding floodplains drain into the sea at the end of the dry season, the waters wash millions of small fish along with them.

The barras know this and park themselves at the mouth of these rivers, ready to swallow anything that crosses their path. Which is where our new lure, the Squidgie Mongrel, came into play. After a year in development, we were pretty certain the lure realistically imitated the movements of a small mullet. This trip was make or break: we’d either sign off on it today or go back to the drawing board.

After spending the night at the lodge, one of the guys drove us to the boat ramp where they keep a number of Ocean Masters: a couple of 4.5-metre boats and a big 6-metre craft we used that day.

The skipper took us out onto the river and dropped anchor in front of one of the creeks that drains out to sea. Using a medium-spin outfit and a braided line, we hooked up a couple of Squidgie Mongrels and cast our lines against a soft bank. Then we started

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retrieving the lines, slowly, just like a mullet washing out with the mud.

Barra gobble up fish whole, so the inside of their mouths are really hard. When they bite, you have to strike hard. They’re also an acrobatic fish and the moment you let them, they’ll jump up into the air and spit the hook out. So it’s important to keep your rod bent and your line tight when reeling them in.

How’d we go? Let’s just say we stopped counting after 100 fish – and it was only midday. The Squidgie Mongrel had passed its test with flying colours.

Tried & true.

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