max*d Issue 28 by Isuzu UTE Australia

GO YOUR OWN WAY ISSUE 28

DOUBLE IMPACT It’s D-MAX versus MU-X in the Glass House Mountains.

SAND PEOPLE

TV presenter Liz Cantor tears up the beach

FIRE TO FORK

A masterclass in campfire cooking with Harry Fisher

HOW TO TOW

From reversing to lapping the continent

We are proud to have won the caravan manufacturer of the year award, for the second time running! This is the most highly sought after award in the caravan industry, judged by a panel of industry experts appointed by the CIV (Caravan Industry Victoria). The award stands for excellence in caravan manufacturing. The winner is selected via an intensive awards submission process where every aspect of the business is put under the microscope. Whilst our biggest reward continues to be the smiles on our customers faces as they enjoy their Crusader Caravans, it is wonderful receiving this endorsement from the caravan industry. Thank you all for your support.

www.crusadercaravans.com.au

ABOUT US

CARAVANS

WHY CRUSADER

DEALERS

CRUSADER CARAVANS NEW FACTORY COMING IN 2022! We are moving into a brand new state of the art, purpose-built facility in Epping, Victoria, in 2022! This new facility will effectively double our production capacity. That means more innovation, more caravans and more journeys are coming your way! Visit Crusader Caravans website to view the full range.

CONTENTS

S I H T IN

E U ISS FEATURES

The pest pesterer Sunshine Coast exterminator Mark Hayman on bugs, hoarder houses and his fleet of 15 D-MAXs.

Tow your own way Professional 4WD tutor and I-Venture Club guru Matt Taylor gives you a towing tune-up.

Sand people Isuzu UTE Ambassador Liz Cantor knows off-roading— but how will her mum go?

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22 DOUBLE IMPACT

The hits keep coming as the new MU-X takes on its award-winning D-MAX sibling in Queensland’s incredible Glass House Mountains.

IMPORTANT NOTICE SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE YOUR NEXT EDITION Choose to receive your next copy of max*d digitally or printed and posted to you for FREE. Visit isuzuute.com.au/subscribe to update your preferences.

UP FRONT 06 Readers’ Rides On road and off with Australia’s D-MAX and MU-X community.

10 News Isuzu UTE Australia joins the A-Leagues, five-star ANCAP rating for MU-X, and sales records are topped—again.

12 Wishlist Cooler is better with these summer-ready chillybins.

14 Inside Line Bite-sized tidbits of worldwide pub ammo miscellanea on utes, pickups and … bakkies?

MIDDLE GROUND 36 Campfire wizard Adventure cook Harry Fisher could be Australia’s best openfire chef—and now he has an ace book to go with his social media following. Join his masterclass.

41 How to cook the perfect steak Your ultimate guide to a perfect open-fire slab of beef.

42 Unsung Hero Meet one of the men behind fun workwear phenomenon TradeMutt—bona fide crusaders for mental health in the trades.

44 Hook, Line & Sinker You haven’t gone truly troppo ’til you’ve avoided lockdown in beautiful Far North Queensland.

OUTBACK 47 Great Isuzu Moments When legendary Italian car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro penned the incredible 117 Coupé.

48 Dealer List Wherever you are, there’s a local Isuzu UTE Dealer near you.

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BORN TO LIVE

START LIVING WITH THE 3-LITRE TURBO-DIESEL ISUZU D-MAX. Whether on or off-road, at work or at play, the Isuzu D-MAX has you covered. With a 3.5 tonne towing capacity+ and trailer sway control coupled with 4x4 Terrain Command and a Rear Diff-Lock on all 4x4 models, you can rely on the Isuzu D-MAX to get you there and back again. Plus with state-of-the-art tech, including Apple CarPlay®, Android Auto™ and a 5-star ANCAP safety rating across the range, the Isuzu D-MAX is Born to Live!

Apple CarPlay is a trademark of Apple Inc. Android Auto is a trademark of Google LLC. Not all devices will be compatible & functionality will vary depending on the device. +3.5 tonne braked towing capacity on all 3-litre engine D-MAX models when fitted with an optional genuine Isuzu D-MAX tow bar kit or tow tongue kit.

WELCOME

to the 28th edition of max*d magazine!

ello and welcome to 2022 and another edition of max*d magazine! I trust you had a wonderful holiday period and are excited for a great year ahead. The last 12 months certainly proved to be a year that will not be easily forgotten. For Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA), we welcomed the arrival of the new-generation MU-X, announced new major partnerships and saw our all-time sales record broken before the year even ended. We could not be prouder to have made these achievements alongside you. Since the previous edition, the new MU-X has earned positive feedback from drivers and the Australian automotive media, who have praised it for its class-leading 3.5-tonne towing, torque-rich engine and for retaining the reliability and capability for which it is known. With the latest in safety technology, plus refinements in connectivity and comfort, it’s hard to go past its appeal to Australian families,

business owners and adventurers alike. This good news is only made better by the growing popularity of the MU-X throughout 2021 where you, our buyers, were the driving force in surpassing IUA’s monthly MU-X sales record in September 2021. With our drivers leading the way, we welcomed the 2022 Model Year (22MY) Isuzu D-MAX, which features an array of enhancements and refinements based on your customer feedback. Increased capability and new levels of convenience followed. There’s no denying this is the most advanced Isuzu Ute ever. While the Isuzu family is expanding in terms of vehicles, it’s also grown elsewhere with the welcoming of a new major partnership with the A-Leagues, the home of premier football in Australia. Becoming the first-ever Naming Rights Partner of the A-Leagues’ Men’s competition, the Isuzu UTE A-League and the Official Automotive Partner of the A-Leagues’ Men,

Women, Youth and E-Sports Leagues, IUA will be working with the A-Leagues over the next three years to bring football— and a shared passion for adventure—to all Australians. We can’t wait. In this edition, we have everything from off-road adventures, kitchen delights and tales of everyday Australians making the most of their Isuzus. On page 10, learn all about our partnership with the A-Leagues, the 22MY D-MAX and more, before diving into Tech Head on page 17 to accompany the I-Venture Club as they learn to tow their own way! IUA Ambassador Liz Cantor feels the sand between her toes in Traveller on page 30 at Double Island Point, QLD, in her new MU-X. If you’re after some tips when it comes to campfire cooking, turn to Out of the Box on page 36. Then, before catching the latest from our friends over at Hook, Line and Sinker on page 44, learn about how an Australian workwear initiative is starting conversations for mental health in Unsung Hero on page 42. Finally, watch the D-MAX and MU-X go head-to-head as they take on the Glass House Mountains on page 22 and see who comes out top (spoiler: it was difficult to pick a winner). From all of us here at IUA, thank you again for your ongoing support, your passion for adventure, and your love for your Isuzu vehicles. Please enjoy this latest edition of max*d magazine and join us as we enter a new era for Isuzu UTE.

Hiroyasu Sato Managing Director Isuzu UTE Australia maxd@iua.net.au max*d

READERS’ RIDES

READERS’ RIDES Been going your own way? Tell us about it—and win.

PAUL & MAUREEN COLTHURST LIVE: BRIGHTON, QLD DRIVE: 2021 D-MAX 4X4 X-TERRAIN “I was keen on a 2019 D-MAX, and then a friend of mine told me the new model was coming out, so I took a look at it online and I just loved it straightaway. Our X-TERRAIN is our first new car—and what an adventure we’ve had with it. Over a four-week desert adventure we travelled more than 6000km. The tarmac ended in Innamincka, and then we headed down the Strzelecki Track, up the Oodnadatta Track, then along the Old Ghan Track into Mount Dare. Then the fun really started, crossing the French Line via Dalhousie Springs into Poeppel Corner and onto Birdsville via the QAA Line. Crossing the Simpson’s 1100 sand dunes, we thought Big Red would be a challenge—not so once I actually picked the right line (the centre line looked so tempting!). Up and over no worries. Since this trip we have also done another 4000km up to the Boulia Camel Races. What a blast!”

RILEY CARROLL LIVES: KEILOR, VIC DRIVES: 2016 D-MAX 4X4 LS-M “As a former diesel mechanic, I know that the D-MAX has always had an excellent reputation for being a reliable, capable vehicle with a great engine. I bought mine back when I was still living in Brisbane, and I have been exploring new places with it ever since, including camping trips to Moreton, Bribie and North Stradbroke Island and the forests of the Sunshine Coast. Then after moving to Melbourne the adventures continued, with a four-day trip to the Victorian High Country, even with a bit of snow thrown in! I’m looking forward to many more years of trouble-free adventure ‘going my own way’ in the mighty D-MAX.”

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AARON AND CARLY DUNCAN LIVE: TINGALPA, QLD / DRIVE: 2021 MU-X 4X4 LS-U “Our MU-X has become the perfect family car. We welcomed our second baby into the world in October, meaning we now travel with a baby capsule and toddler car seat everywhere we go, but the MU-X still feels really comfortable and spacious—even when the dog comes along, too. We love to take our young boys to some of our favourite spots, from beautiful Queensland countryside to local coffee haunts, and we look forward to every drive, long or short. Our three-year-old now points out Isuzus on the road everywhere we go. He doesn’t know how to read yet, so technically the first word he learned was ‘Isuzu’!”

GARY SMITH LIVES: BEMBOKA, NSW / DRIVES: 1965 ISUZU WASP “My Isuzu Wasp is a 1965 model. No need to replace it yet as it just keeps on going! I purchased it 12 years ago from Caboolture in Queensland and brought it home, and even found an original set of wheels and hubcaps. Our Isuzu car club has regular outings and a national display every year; this year the nationals were held in Adelaide. I take one of my old Isuzus for a drive—I’ve got about 15 in the shed. It’s a big shed! And the Wasp attracts a lot of attention. Only one shipment of 122 Wasps came to Australia, in late 1964. There were 30 utes and 92 cab chassis; traybacks for the cab chassis were built here. I actually purchased a new Isuzu Wasp trayback in January 1965. I’ve been an Isuzu enthusiast ever since!”

SALLY MIERS LIVES: THORNLANDS, QLD DRIVES: 2019 MU-X 4X2 LS-U “Our Isuzu MU-X really has become our dream car since our little family has grown to three. There is so much room in the boot for all of our baby stuff, and I promise you we don’t travel lightly. It’s a good feeling knowing we can easily throw everything in the car and drive to our favourite spots on the coast for a spontaneous weekend away. We go our own way in making family memories that we will cherish for a long time!”

We are giving away 5 x $100 Ampol gift cards thanks to our good friends at

WIN 1 OF 5 AMPOL GIFT CARDS Featured Readers’ Rides will each receive an Ampol gift card valued at $100 each.

Simply send us a high-resolution image of your D-MAX or MU-X and a 100-word blurb, along with your VIN, name, contact details, suburb and model of your Isuzu to maxd@iua.net.au

Disclaimer: Non-genuine aftermarket accessories and modifications are not recommended or endorsed by Isuzu UTE Australia. For detailed info on ‘what is’ and ‘what is not’ covered by the Manufacturer’s Warranty please refer to the Warranty and Service Booklet.

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READERS’ RIDES

Readers’ Rides: In Focus

THE PEST PESTERER NAME:

MARK HAYMAN

BUSINESS: ACCURATE PEST, SUNSHINE COAST, QLD FLEET:

15 x D-MAX 4x2 SX

Pest control guru Mark Hayman is a creepy-crawly’s worst nightmare. How did you get into pest control? Through my old man—he had a big pest control company here on the Sunshine Coast. When he retired I found my perks dried up pretty quickly, so I took my ute and trailer and started my own business. How many employees do you have now? We have 27, soon to be 28. I’ve had a constant appetite for growth, and dad’s a great mentor. Why the D-MAX? I’m a bit of a rev head and I was sent a technical diagram of the Isuzu motor back in 2016. Everything was just over-engineered and built like a really durable truck engine versus a lightweight diesel! With that build quality, if you look after the exterior and they present well, the interior components will easily outlast your lease, so it was a no brainer. And they’re cheap to maintain. Plus now the tech in the new one is so good. Safety is key, because our technicians do a lot of miles. But with the technology, our technician can hop into his car, cool it down with the air-con jets, select his job through Apple CarPlay, from there notify the client, then send the address to the GPS as they’re driving along. And saving a few minutes on each job adds up. Are you still on the tools day-to-day? I mostly do pre-purchase inspections. I get a kick out of helping someone make a big life investment and providing as much advice as I can. The rest of my work is on the back end.

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What’s the worst infestation you’ve seen? One old fella who was, ah, let’s say in his final house and just band-aiding everything that went wrong with the place until he … exited. So he’s built this homemade box sauna that he’d twisted wires and plugged into the wall to get power to. And the hot water system solar installers came in for that, but when they were walking on the roof, the whole thing was moving. I crawled up in there, and you know the big square gang nails on the corner of a truss? I grabbed one, and the whole truss fell apart in my hands. They had to demolish his house. It was heartbreaking. How often have you been covered in bugs? Never, but I’ve worn a lot of spiderwebs. When you go under a house you can tell how far the previous person made it because there’s a tube they’ve made pushing through the webs. And you come out with them all over you: on your face, in the corners of your mouth. And then there’s the snakes and dogs snapping at you. But bugs don’t creep me out. I’m more disgusted by the hygiene of some houses. In hoarders’ places you’ll find yourself stepping over dog poop and dirty nappies piled up beside each other in the same loungeroom. You think, well, I can see where the pest problem may have come from. How many bugs do you think you’ve iced? I’ve killed them by the billions. But once I got in trouble with the wife for squashing a bug when we were away on holidays. I said, “Dear, you do know what I do for a living?” Finally, you’re a proud Queenslander. Are you annoyed that the Origin goalkicking genius of Cameron Smith means that, to NSW fans, you can only ever be the state’s second most accurate pest? Haha! Yes.

Contact Mark and co at www.accurate-pest.com.au

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NEWS

max*d is published on behalf of Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd by Smart As Media Locked Bag 327 Balmain, NSW, 2041 smartasmedia.com PUBLISHER Smart As Media smartasmedia.com ISUZU UTE AUSTRALIA MANAGING EDITORS Mark Harman, Madelaine Walsh EDITOR James Jennings james@smartasmedia.com maxd@iua.net.au

2022 Isuzu D-MAX Range: Better than ever Fuelled by customer feedback, the 2022 Isuzu D-MAX range has been updated to better meet the needs of drivers right across the country. New variants have been added to the range, alongside increased capabilities—including an increased Gross Combination Mass to 6000kg on 4x4 models and a Lane Support System Switch—and advanced levels of refinement. Further bolstering the D-MAX’s reputation for being fit-for-purpose, the entry-level Single Cab Chassis 4x2 now has the option of being paired with Isuzu’s new RZ4E-TC 1.9-litre turbo-diesel engine, a popular choice overseas for supreme fuel efficiency and refined operation. Some other highlights of the updated 22MY stable include Cab Chassis options now available on the mid-spec LS-M and LS-U models, the introduction of the premium LS-U+, and additional levels of comfort for the already feature-packed flagship X-TERRAIN.

SUB-EDITOR Paul Rodger ADVERTISING SALES Nicole Prioste nicole@smartasmedia.com

Check out the full range for yourself at: www.isuzuute.com.au/d-max

Cover image by Matt Williams Photo+Video mattwilliamsphotography.com

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 Smart As Media 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 Smart As 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 has been sourced from iStock Images.

max*d magazine is proudly printed in Australia using renewable resources. Hanno Gloss 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.

SGS-COC-003898

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Game changer: Isuzu UTE Australia partners with the A-Leagues Driving the game forward, Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA) has announced a three-year partnership with the home of Australia’s premier football competition, the A-Leagues—becoming the first-ever Naming Rights Partner of the A-League men’s competition. Kicking off back in November, the inaugural ‘Isuzu UTE A-League Men’ competition has been one to remember thus far, with fans returning to stadiums to witness this defining new era of football. “This is an historic day for the A-Leagues,” said Danny Townsend, the organisation’s Managing Director. “We have an ambitious vision for the future of professional football and IUA will be a key partner on this journey.” In a further commitment to bringing football to all Australians, IUA has also signed on as the Official Automotive Partner of the A-League’s Men, Women, Youth and E-Sport competitions. “Football is a great vehicle for bringing families and communities together,” said Isuzu UTE Australia Managing Director Hiroyasu Sato. Catch us at a game near you—or visit www.keepup.com.au for all your football news.

NEWS

MU-Ximum 5-star safety for the whole Isuzu family

Flying the flag for water safety With life beginning to return to some normality, people have been making their way back to some of the best beaches in the world: Australia’s! A steady increase of beachgoers heading back to the coast has kept our partners at Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) busy, with the iconic organisation redoubling its safety message. Swimmers, parents and others have been urged to swim only at patrolled beaches, between the red and yellow flags, to supervise children on, in and around water, and to wear a lifejacket when boating, on water craft, or rock fishing. Isuzu UTE Australia has supplied a fleet of D-MAX and MU-Xs to assist SLSA across the country as support and rescue vehicles. Catch us at a beach near you and join us in support of SLSA by visiting www.sls.com.au.

With the new-generation MU-X achieving the maximum 5-star ANCAP safety rating, the entire Isuzu range has the 5-star stamp of approval from Australia’s leading independent vehicle safety authority. Tested against the latest, toughest ANCAP criteria to date, the D-MAX and MU-X achieve the maximum safety rating thanks to a new, stronger body, more robust chassis design, and Isuzu’s Intelligent Driver Assistance System (IDAS). Combining Active Safety, Passive Safety and Driver Assistance technologies into one complete package, IDAS improves the level of safety for all occupants, pedestrians and other road users— and includes features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM), Lane Keep Assist (LKA) and more.

Isuzu family growing faster than ever 2021 was a monumental year for Isuzu UTE Australia, with new partnerships, a new-generation 7-seat SUV, and most notably, new members of the Isuzu family. Both D-MAX and MU-X set records. With 25,117 deliveries, the D-MAX finished the year as the 7th best-selling vehicle in the country. And with 10,618 sales, the MU-X rose to second place in its segment, outselling its ute-based rivals, and cementing its position as Australia’s top-selling ute-based SUV—a title it has owned for eight-consecutive years (2014-2021). Overall, Isuzu UTE Australia as a vehicle brand charted the top-10 list six times over 12 months, finishing the year as Australia’s 11th best-selling marque, with 35,735 vehicles delivered—surpassing the previous annual record of 27,640 units in 2018. With Utes and SUVs continuing to top the sales charts, IUA is looking forward to welcoming more owners to the Isuzu family.

If you want to keep up with all things Isuzu UTE, make sure you’re following us on our social pages! facebook.com/isuzuute Instagram: @isuzuute_aus max*d

WISHLIST

LET’S BE BESKIES

Travel with a top-notch cooler and it’s always ice to meet you. Words: Gregor Stronach

YETI TUNDRA 45 HARD COOLER

Built tough like its (probably) mythical namesake, the Yeti Tundra 45 Hard Cooler can handle life rattling around the back of the tray, as well as the rough and tumble of a campsite. Featuring 5cm of insulation and a well-armoured exterior, it’s got non-slip feet and moulded tie-down points, so it’s going to stay put while you’re on the move. It’ll carry a couple of cases of beer, with a 2:1 ice to drink ratio, despite its small size. You could probably put food in it too, in case you want to eat while you’re away, or have children, etc.

From: Yeti Website: au.yeti.com Price: $449.96

This behemoth is a favourite for loads of folk, primarily because Techni Ice are insulation wizards. The signature range will retain ice for up to 25 days, so provided you don’t leave it open, all your supplies will be colder than a cashier’s smile, even if you’re off the beaten track for a couple of weeks. It’s super-solid, with wheels on the bottom for pulling it to where it’s needed. And despite its whopping 120-litre capacity, it’ll fit snugly in the back of your rig and tie down with ease.

From: Techni Ice Website: Techniice.com Price: $519.00

EVAKOOL ICEKOOL 53L

At the budget end of the spectrum, but still boasting a tough polyethylene cabinet, is the Evakool Icekool 53-litre. Capable of maintaining ice for up to six days, and small enough that it won’t use up all of your cargo space, this icebox is just the ticket for spontaneous weekends away. Solid construction, with lockdown latches to keep a lid on all your provisions, your bevvies and steaks will be cooler than a cryogenically stored Fonz when you get to your campsite.

From: Evakool Website: evakool.com.au Price: $289.00

COLEMAN 58L XTREME WHEELED COOLER

Coleman is ‘the’ big brand when it comes to coolers and the 58-litre Xtreme Wheeled Cooler shows just why. It’s obviously got wheels—the name’s a giveaway —but it also features a no-tilt drainage system so your snags won’t be swimming in melted ice and you’re not forced to chock a full icebox up sideways to get rid of liquid. The two-way handles mean you can drag it to your ute and then lift it into the back with ease and the drink holders on the lid are a nice touch.

From: Coleman Website: colemanaustralia. com.au Price: $155

2 12

TECHNI ICE SIGNATURE HYBRID PREMIUM 120L

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4 Products shown are not to scale.

D O N ’ T G E T B O X E D I N W I T H O U T D AT E D D E S I G N S

1300 AFN 4x4 | www.afn4x4.com.au sales@afn4x4.com.au | 85 Kabi Circuit, Deception Bay, Qld 4508 facebook.com/AFN4x4australia

VISIT WWW.AFN4X4.COM.AU FOR A DEALER NEAR YOU

INSIDE LINE

Weird ute laws from around the globe

JUST THE FACTS, MA’AM

Thailand

A grab bag of miscellanea from across the Isuzu UTE world.

Fact bites

Great minds think alike: MU-X review scores

$3,653 Price of a first edition Isuzu Gemini—sold in Australia as the Holden Gemini—in 1975, the year it won Wheels Car of the Year.

132.5%

utes may only be built or sold with rear leaf springs.

8.2 CarExpert

82%

8.2

8.4

Carsales

Drive Section

Exhaust Notes

Cape Coral, Florida pickups can’t be parked on a driveway, or in the street, from 7pm–7am.

Growth of D-MAX sales in the first half of 2021 vs 2020.

USA

1.7million kilometres Mileage of South African Gerhard du Toit’s 1997 Isuzu Faster ute in 2016, the year it set that benchmark. It has all its original parts.

ew Funny revi quote!

“Championing function over form—they’re as aerodynamic as Barnaby Joyce—utes spent decades pointedly ignoring mod-cons… until now.” Men’s Health Australia’s D-MAX review

85%

Joe Isuzu’s best lines

American pickup owners who don’t use their utes for anything work related.

881,641 kilometres Mileage on Kuala Lumpur owner Cheah Chee Ying’s D-MAX (“without any sign of needing a major engine or component overhaul”) as of 2019. He took top spot in Isuzu Malaysia’s ‘Super Mileage’ contest, winning RM15,000 (equal to AU$5K). 14

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A tariff called, oddly, the ‘chicken tax’ applies to four specific items: potato starch, dextrin, brandy and light-duty pickups.

“Hi, I’m Joe Isuzu and I used my new Isuzu pickup truck to carry a 2,000-pound cheeseburger.”

“It has more seats than the Astrodome!”

“If I’m lying, may lightning hit my mother.” (“Good luck, Mom!”)

Alaska “Isuzu Trooper II can hold the whole state of Texas!” (Disclaimer: 78.2 cubic feet of it.)

“I swear on my mother’s grave the quality of this Isuzu!” [cell phone rings]

“Hello? Oh, hi Mom!”

Played by David Leisure, Joe Isuzu was the (fictional) spokesman for Isuzu in America in the 1980s. His gimmick: pathological lying.

Transporting a dog in the tray is permitted, but dogs may not be tied to the roof during travel.

Pope Francis travelled in style on his first-ever visit to the Philippines—in a D-MAX-based Popemobile.

“Beautiful, beautiful car.” —Pope Francis on his custom ride, which took

him to a world-record, 6 million-follower mass.

Cobalt Blue

Width of the Nullarbor Plain at its widest point.

1,193 kilometres

Mineral White

Combined length of all D-MAX and MU-X models sold in Australia to December 2021 if parked nose-to-tail.

Marble White

numberplate wherever he travels (it stands for Status Civitatis Vaticanae, or ‘Vatican City State’ in Latin).

Magnetic Red Volcanic Amber

The best bits from Wheels magazine’s 1964 cover feature on the Isuzu Bellett 1500 Deluxe:

Go the distance

1,100 kilometres

Obsidian Grey

SCV1 is the Pope’s

“In an opposite-lock slide on dirt, the car tends to lift a rear wheel, but handles otherwise well.”

Basalt Black

Mercury Silver

The D-MAX later served as Francis’s transport in Lithuania, Paraguay, Bolivia, Bulgaria and Ecuador.

“It is particularly fast, and brutal ‘power-shifting’ will reduce the standing quarter time to 19 seconds.”

The Isuzu D-MAX X-TERRAIN comes in an exclusive selection of eight colours. Could you name them all?

416 kilometres

1963 Isuzu Wasp kerb weight: 921kg 2021 Isuzu D-MAX kerb weight: 2030kg

“The speedometer on both cars was marked in kilometres, which posed an interesting mathematical task for the test crew.”

Combined height of all D-MAX and MU-X models sold in Australia to December 2021 if stacked—or more than 300km into space.

“We liked it very much. It would suit everybody from the young married man who would like a sports car except for his two children to the older, mature driver who still likes to hunt it along a bit.”

Pickup vs ute vs bakkie: how often each term is used (according to Google).

Is it norm al to talk

to my Isu zu?

2.9 billion

195 million

12 million

pickup

ute

bakkie

American for ‘ute’

Australian for ‘pickup’

South African for ‘ute’ max*d

WORDS MATT TAYLOR

TECH HEAD

TOW

YOUR OWN WAY

Make the most of your D-MAX or MU-X’s pulling power with I-Venture Club trainer, Matt Taylor.

irst things first: there’s no substitute for experience, especially if it’s gathered under the watchful eye of professional instructors. “Driving with a trailer is safe,” says I-Venture Club trainer, Matt Taylor, “until you forget it’s dangerous”. First there are the basics, such as taking corners wider than you would without a trailer, never altering both your speed and

direction at once, and maintaining a constant vigilance to scan and plan. Then there’s more intricate knowledge, such as driving etiquette, providing ‘spotter’ advice to a reversing driver, or conducting comprehensive safety checks. Taylor knows it all—and there’s no-one better to pass it along, as he does at I-Venture’s regular Isuzu UTE customer sessions. Finally, there’s the rarefied knowledge

understood only by those at the very top end, such as how to tow across a postapocalyptic future desert landscape in furious pursuit of Mad Max. Taylor knows that, too. Unfortunately we’ll have to cover that off in a future issue. In the meantime, to tow your own way, here’s a reminder of some of Taylor’s teachings. Go to www.iventureclub.com.au to book your own hands-on lesson.

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TECH HEAD

BACK IT UP, CHIEF

Reversing takes time to master. Here’s what to keep in mind.

“If there’s one thing we’re asked to cover more than anything else, it’s reversing,” says Matt Taylor. With 17 years’ experience in the driver training industry, Taylor should know. And with a CV including gigs as a stunt driver in Mad Max: Fury Road and in the Team D-MAX precision driving team, Taylor does know that before you get radical, you’ve got to nail the fundamentals.

TURNING IS EASY, RIGHT? NO, THE OTHER RIGHT! When you’re going backwards, the trailer will move in the opposite direction to the steering wheel. So, if you’re turning the wheel to the right, the trailer will go to the left. If you turn the wheel to the left, the trailer will go to the right. KEEP IT STRAIGHT AND NARROW If you see the trailer appear more in your right hand mirror, turn the wheel right to straighten it up. If you see the trailer in your left hand mirror, turn the wheel left to straighten it up again. USE A SPOTTER Either way, if you’re at all unsure of what’s happening behind you—including but not limited to the layout, surfaces and any potential obstacles—get out first and take a good look at exactly where you’ll be reversing. “Wherever possible, try to use a guide to give you clear vision from outside the vehicle,” Taylor says. And their best

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position? “Ideally the spotter should stand at the front drivers’ side corner of the car, facing the van or trailer, and walk with the driver as they reverse.” SPEAK THE LINGO The best spotter will be the one you’re used to; over time, you’ll develop the audible and visual shorthand to make communications simpler. This could be the driver’s spouse, regular fishing partner, or a know-it-all-sibling who hasn’t got the moxie to reverse the van themselves. Regardless, the most important and often forgotten aspect is to establish, understand and confirm the commands—including hand signals— between driver and guide. PLAN THE MOVE Before you ease off the brake—in fact, before you get back in the rig—make sure that the driver and guide are both clear on the planned route and final position. Check and double check, then move.

It’s not a great idea to go in like a bull at a gate.

1 RIGHT IS (USUALLY) RIGHT “If it’s practical, always try to reverse to your right, or driver’s, side,” says Taylor. It’s easier to see where you’re going and the angles are friendlier. IDENTIFY YOUR PIVOT POINT It’s crucial to know where your van will pivot on its wheels. This will be the trailer’s axle, or in a multi-axle set-up, the leading axle relative to the direction you’re going. Understanding this point, and the angle between your trailer and your D-MAX or MU-X, will become second nature with practice—especially if you’re always towing the same load. LESS IS MORE “It’s not a great idea to go in like a bull at a gate,” says Taylor. “One of the easiest and most frequent mistakes is rushing into your campsite.” And remember that, when reversing, less is more. Smaller inputs. Slower speeds. Fewer turns of the steering wheel.

STEP 1 THE APPROACH From the top right corner of the bay, take 2 steps forward and 4 steps across. BAY

This is the point where you need to start reversing. STEP 2 SETTING THE VAN INTO THE CORNER

BAY

Turn the steering wheel all the way to the left, then bring it back half a turn. Now begin reversing. Aim for the right hand corner of the bay. STEP 3 CHASING THE VAN With minor adjustments, the back right hand wheel must reach the corner.

BAY

Then turn the steering wheel all the way to the right to align the van and reverse into the bay.

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TECH HEAD

GETTIN’ HITCHED

When hitching and unhitching you’ve got to get the basics right. “Getting hitched with a van or trailer, as in real life, is something you want give your full concentration,” Taylor says. “Like any marriage, if you take it slow and steady, you’ve got a better chance of being together at the end of a long and satisfying journey. And sudden break-ups

are dangerous, expensive and could cost you your truck.” Before beginning, make sure you’re on level ground and have your vehicle and trailer or van lined up nice and straight. If there’s a height difference between your trailer and load, you may need a jockey

Caravan hitching checklist:

Check handbrake is on/chocks in place. Raise corner stabilisers/jacks & store bases. Empty toilet cassette in an appropriate place. Ensure mains water tank is full. Remove, drain and store the mains water hose. Remove, drain and store grey water hose. Close and lock all internal fittings. Secure all internal loose items. Turn fridge to DC power. Turn lights and other accessories off. Turn hot water system off. Turn gas bottle(s) off. Close all external fittings. Adjust jockey wheel height. Open override/over-run brake latch. Reverse D-MAX or MU-X into position. Turn ignition and lights off. Secure coupling and check with jockey wheel. Remove / raise jockey wheel. Connect safety chain(s) and electrics. Release trailer handbrake. Remove and store power supply. Remove wheel chocks/blocks and store. Connect/adjust mirrors. Move car and trailer forward 1m. Walk-around visual inspection. Check all lights are working. Close and lock final door / toolbox.

Caravan unhitching checklist:

Close override/over-run brake latch. If required, check levelling blocks are in place. Reverse car and trailer into position. Turn ignition and lights off. Attach/lower jockey wheel. Engage handbrake. Check wheels chocks are secured in place. Remove safety chain(s) & electrics. Connect power supply. Turn gas bottle(s) on. Turn fridge to 240v or gas power supply. Connect mains & grey water hoses. Lower corner stabilisers/jacks onto bases. Level the trailer. Turn hot water system on. Relax and enjoy a beverage of your choice.

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wheel. Ensure your electrics are properly connected once the tow hitch has snapped into position and fasten the chain for safety. When you’re un-hitching, leave unhooking the safety chain for last—just in case—and either way, chock your wheels for extra piece of mind.

TRAILER SWAY CONTROL

A potentially deadly phenomenon —ironed out by technology.

“Trailers sway easily,” says Taylor. “A minor steering error, a gust of wind or a bump on the road surface can cause a critical increase in the swaying movement—and the counter steering and the acceleration of the towing vehicle make the critical situation more severe.” With the help of the ESC sensors, Trailer Sway Control—now standard on all D-MAX and MU-X models, and operating automatically when a trailer is attached— identifies these swaying movements of the trailer and intervenes by removing engine power and braking individual wheels of the towing vehicle. The vehicle and trailer are slowed to a safer speed and stabilised.

TECH HEAD

EMBRACE THE OPEN ROAD

Going your own way has never been easier—as long as you’re willing to learn.

Half of all MU-X and D-MAX buyers say towing strength was key to their purchase. Tow vehicles don’t come any better. But that doesn’t mean towing itself comes naturally. “Towing is more stressful than normal driving,” says Taylor. “That means it’s more likely to cause fatigue.” For one thing, checking your mirrors every five seconds, as the I-Venture Club recommends, along with monitoring crosswinds, road trains, and errant kangaroos, will sap your stamina fast. Plan more rest stops than you would on a normal journey, and reduce the overall distance you travel each day. “Better to be late in this life than early in the next,” says Taylor. GEARING Whether automatic or manual, your gear changes should follow the same general rules. “Change down when you drop below the torque band, and up when you go over

peak power,” says Taylor. “Grab a lower gear in either auto or manual gearboxes (also known as engine braking) to increase control or to lower the chance of cooking your brakes when you’re travelling downhill.” A simple guide is to use the same gear to go up the hill as you would coming down. “Never coast downhill in neutral, or in gear with the clutch depressed,” says Taylor. Only use cruise control on flat, open roads.

“Remember to allow for longer distances during braking, overtaking and merging,” says Taylor, “And if you’re travelling in convoy, keep big gaps between each other. “In ideal conditions, a properly set up tow vehicle should comfortably hold 90–100 per cent of the speed limit,” says Taylor. Be mindful of overtaking lanes, use lay-bys if necessary, keep left and back off by 20 per cent if there is a queue behind.

KNOW YOUR TRAILER Once your D-MAX or MU-X is loaded with the family, personal effects and the caravan on the back, you might be surprised with its overall heft. It pays to be familiar with your trailer’s weight, length, width, height, frame length and wheel track. Booking a mobile weigh station to give you a weight report specific to your 4WD and van is a great idea for safety and peace of mind.

OVERTAKING Looking for a chance to overtake on a single lane highway can be stressful—and take a while. “Obviously it’s important to be in the oncoming lane for as little time as possible,” says Taylor. “To do that, prepare by first pulling back from the car in front.” This will help you to better assess oncoming traffic and conditions, the better to speed up before leaving your own lane. “Also use your GPS for straights and corners ahead.” If you are the one being overtaken, says Taylor, “hug the left line, give a courtesy flash of the headlights for trucks and trailers, and always brake and defend before indicating when turning off”.

If you’re travelling in convoy, keep very big gaps between each other—for your own safety and that of anybody who might want to overtake you.

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COVER STORY

DOUBLE IMPACT 22

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It’s sibling rivalry as D-MAX and MU-X have a royal rumble in the Glass House Mountains.

WORDS IAIN CURRY IMAGES MATT WILLIAMS

t was that old sea dog James Cook, then just a lowly lieutenant, who named these towering chunks of molten rock the Glass House Mountains. Aboard HMS Endeavour, Cook was on an historically significant pleasure cruise up Australia’s east coast when he spotted 13 hills peppering the Sunshine Coast’s horizon. The soon-to-be captain named them for their resemblance to cone-shaped glassmaking furnaces back in Blighty, but didn’t drop anchor for a proper look around. We’re here to show Cook and crew what they missed. Armed with breadfruit sandwiches and a new Isuzu D-MAX X-TERRAIN and MU-X LS-T, our adventuring would be far more serenely regal (and air-conditioned, leather-seated and GPS-enabled) than those faced by 18th Century Europeans. For travellers not keen on a multi-day odyssey to reach places that take the breath away, the Glass House Mountains are a godsend. Just an hour north of Brisbane, we cruise up the Bruce Highway and soon spot the giant peaks on the horizon. Our Isuzus hang a quick left onto Steve Irwin Way (yep, it’s Croc Hunter homeland up here) and within minutes we’re in a land more akin to Jurassic Park than the Bruce’s three-lane rush hour. It’s a 20-minute drive to Glass House Mountains Lookout—our start and end point for a loop taking us through a variety of 4x4 terrain. Even if you don’t fancy exploring the numerous national parks, state forests and cute little Queensland towns here, to bypass this lookout so close to the highway would be a travesty. Majestic, magnificent, mythical, marvellous—it’s pick-your-adjective time as we gaze out across the mighty vista from this elevated spot. If you luck out with a clear day it’s all the more

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COVER STORY

spectacular, then amplified again if you time your arrival with sunrise or sunset. With the sky turning a variety of colours and the hills silhouetted on the horizon, it’s little wonder the region has huge spiritual significance to the indigenous Jinibara and Kabi Kabi people. At 556m, Mount Beerwah is the tallest Glass House, but the chunky 364m Mount Tibrogargan is more imposing. In the distance, the svelte Mount Coonowrin (377m) is unmistakable with its narrow peak and incredibly steep flanks. All were formed some 25 million years ago when masses of molten magma were forced upwards, then cooled and hardened. The hard rhyolite volcanic rock survived as the surrounding softer rock eroded, leaving us with these giant volcanic plugs. Dropping that little nugget of geological knowledge is sure to impress your passengers. It’s a hot one out there so once I drag myself away from the lookout I appreciate the D-MAX’s air-conditioned cabin. I feel rather smug as I’d used the remote start on the key fob to fire up the eager 3.0-litre turbo-diesel a few minutes before, ensuring I was greeted by an icy-cool interior.

This being the range-topping X-TERRAIN, the inside is a bit fancy. There’s red stitching for our power-adjustable black leatheraccented seats, trim and steering wheel. It feels more sports car than work ute. Buttons to heat the seats are noted (useful for winter, but not today), while my phone wirelessly connects to a 9-inch infotainment screen using Apple CarPlay. Had the Endeavour crew enjoyed such luxuries the decision to explore this place would have been much easier. Although, had the Endeavour crew enjoyed such luxuries, they might have stayed in Plymouth. We pick up Connection Road just beside the lookout and flick the D-MAX’s dial to 4WD as bitumen makes way for dirt. In no time the road is of hard-packed red earth, helping our aptly coloured Volcanic Amber ute blend in. Through the windows are ramrod rows of pine plantations, climbing to the heavens in mathematically regimented rows. We stop at a clearing near the base of Mount Beerwah with a powerline track undulating into the distance. There are some very gnarly, blue-blooded 4WD routes near here that have been popular

We pick up Connection Road just beside the lookout and flick the D-MAX’s dial to 4WD as bitumen makes way for dirt. 24

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COVER STORY

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COVER STORY

with serious off-roaders for decades. Big Red and Little Red are the most famous, but these are officially no-go areas. Formed roads—those with proper drainage—are the only ones Queensland Parks and Wildlife approve for driving on. On the plus side, these still provide ample scope for off-road joy. Our 4WD driving skills are tested over the steeper parts, although the D-MAX and MU-X barely break a sweat. I select low range and engage the rear diff-lock as the red ground looks very loose in places. Some deep ruts mean my passenger makes himself useful by acting as spotter while the ute steadfastly clambers over the toughest parts. Its 240mm ground clearance thankfully proves ample, as does the 235mm for the following MU-X. In fact, the whole route is remarkably stress-free, making it ideal for novice and intermediate off-roaders. The clay-based soil up here makes things far more treacherous and slippery after a lot of rain, but on a dry day like ours it’s a breeze. No modifications, off-road tyres or different tyre pressures required—you can come straight off the sealed roads and into the wilderness without adjusting a thing. Speaking of wilderness, as we join Millwood Road (Beerburrum) the environment takes a turn for the tropical. We’ve already passed open eucalypt forest and we’re now enjoying rainforest patches. Not on a luxuriant Amazonian jungle level, but there’s notably more colour variety

The clay-based soil up here makes things far more treacherous and slippery after a lot of rain, but on a dry day like ours it’s a breeze. 26

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COVER STORY

in the plants and flowers, plus the unmistakable cry of yellow-tailed black cockatoos directly over our Isuzus. Good views of the mountains from up there, I think. In no time the landscape changes again. The red earth is gone and we’re in farmland, where instead of perplexing goannas and possums with our presence, we’re confusing cows. We cruise a small patch of sealed surface called Cove Rd (Stanmore) and the D-MAX and MU-X show-off their versatility. Be it rough road or smooth, our imperially cossetted cabins remain delightful places to be. It’s a special feeling knowing a move from 2WD into 4-High or 4-Low means

we can rapidly adjust to our undertyre environment. Our route takes us along Commissioners Flat Road, into Reserve Lane and then back onto Connection Road to complete the loop back to that lovely lookout. We’ve not passed another 4x4 on our entire journey on the unsealed stuff, just a handful of motorcyclists out exploring the tracks. The whole loop could be travelled in a couple of hours, so if you have an off-road itch to scratch where there’s a fascinating variance in your surrounds, this Glass House area is tough to beat. The frugal 140kW/450Nm engines didn’t sip a great deal of diesel either, so not needing to carry

fuel supplies or scramble to find a servo is a welcome bonus. If you fancy sticking around the place you’re also well catered for. Beerburrum is ideal for coffee and cake; the township of Glass House Mountains (10km from the lookout) has the Glasshouse Tavern, fuel, and eateries; or in 40 minutes you could be in the lovely hinterland town of Maleny or chilling on the beaches around Caloundra. But above all, this is a place you want to be among nature. You feel humble next to the giant mountains and there’s climbing, trail runs and mountain bike tracks for the active set. Plus there’s ample walks not involving reaching one of those peaks.

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COVER STORY

The landscape everywhere else looks flat—literally and emotionally. And while it’s possible to summit Mount Tibrogargan, Mount Ngungun and Mount Beerwah, the traditional owners respectfully ask people not to. The other side of the highway, 30 minutes from the lookout, is Coochin Creek in Beerwah State Forest, where there’s good camping and fishing. If embracing a tourism icon is more your thing, Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo is only 20 minutes away. (Crikey!) We made our expedition a day trip, but I leave wanting to stay for much longer. The Glass House region has plenty of other 4WD routes waiting to be discovered and I’m not over-keen to leave the views. The landscape elsewhere looks flat—literally

and emotionally—by comparison. You could roam for weeks here, but the joy of this place is that it need only take a day to enjoy… or half a day, even. With the correct steeds—an MU-X and D-MAX in our case—we’ve had a bite-sized off-road experience to remember and witnessed one of Australia’s most enticing panoramas. Cook may have named these mountains, at least as far as the British crown was concerned, but he slid by in the distance. We get to properly embrace them, even as we weigh the merits of flash ute versus proper SUV. In the end, it’s impossible to pick a winner—except, perhaps, for the two chaps in the driver’s seats. Whether D-MAX or MU-X, the Glass House brings the heat.

TOP TIPS When to go South East Queensland can get stinking hot in summer, but otherwise there’s no bad time to visit these parts. The view from Glass House Mountains Lookout is best on clear days (obviously) and unbeatable at sunrise and sunset. Entry to Beerburrum and Beerwah State Forests (where we drove) is free, but you must stick to formed roads and avoid driving them after heavy rains.

What to take Maps are available on the parks.des.qld. gov.au website, or from Glass House Mountains Visitor and Interpretive Centre on the corner of Bruce Parade and Steve Irwin Way, Glass House Mountains.

Logistics You need to pre-book camping at Coochin Creek through the Queensland National Parks booking service (qpws.usedirect. com) and costs $6.85 per person per night.

Where to stay Maleny is 30 minutes from Glass House and offers a range of cottages, B&Bs and luxury retreats with views of the mountains from a different perspective. www.malenyaccommodation.com.au groups your options in one place.

More info Visit the Queensland Parks and Forests website for up-to-date information: parks.des.qld.gov.au

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(750kg Rating)

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Australia’s Toughest Off-road Jockey Wheel Range Multi height adjustable, variable wheel positions, magnetic removable handle and protective zinc finish. Suitable for Caravans, Campers, Horse Floats and Boat Trailers. Part No. FSP12AB

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Off-road Dual Trailer Sockets

From our growing XO Series comes a new electrical connector. This socket provides both the 12 pin connection for caravan and camper standard electrical with a 50 amp Anderson style connector. Just like the popular 7 Pin flat model, the 12 pin version has our integrated Nite-Lite feature for hitching up in the dark along with a reed switch for vehicles with reverse sensors.

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TRAVELLER

SAND PEOPLE

TV presenter, Isuzu UTE Ambassador, and MU-X aficionado Liz Cantor joins the I-Venture Club at Double Island Point.

t was purely out of courtesy when I casually asked Mum, who lives in Noosa, if she’d like to join me for the day. I didn’t really think that a woman who suffers car sickness would jump at the chance to join an Isuzu I-Venture Club trip to Double Island Point, but unbeknownst to me, since retiring Mum has taken on a new life motto: ‘Live the day’. The next thing I know I’m heading

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towards the car ferry terminal at Tewantin with a wing woman. Since joining Channel Seven’s Creek to Coast as a presenter in 2005, I’ve been lucky to do my share of off-road driving. On a show that embraces adventuring in the outdoors and all things coastal, I’ve been fortunate to have opportunities to learn skills in a variety of environments and from some of the best in the industry.

WORDS LIZ CANTOR

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TRAVELLER

As iconic as it is breathtaking, Double Island Point—part of the Cooloola Recreation Area in Queensland’s Great Sandy National Park—is a perfect 4WD destination. With a verdant headland kissed by white sand and emerald blue, postcard-clear water, the view along the beach and the vista out to sea wage a constant battle for your attention. And it’s only two-and-a-half hours—including around 20km along the beach itself— from the middle of Brisbane. No wonder my mum was primed. So was I. Two generations taking to the sand—with a third happily ensconced at home. Perfect. These days my everyday driving takes place on the roads of South East Queensland. And often with two toddlers in the back. Since our new MU-X became a part of the family in August, I’ve been able to single out some much-loved features on the bitumen. Autonomous Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Monitoring, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist all compete for favouritism every time my MU-X leaves the garage. This car will teach you to be a better driver. It truly feels like a car that is assisting you. I’d driven previous MU-X models on the sand; a highlight was the stretch between Hat Head and Crescent Head in New South Wales, where it was a true workhorse. So how would the new model compare? The day starts with a gourmet breakfast and a Powerpoint presentation by Dave from the Australian Offroad Academy, today’s I-Venture Club trainer. I had the privilege of sitting next to a couple from Toowoomba. Paul had bought a D-MAX primarily for towing a campertrailer. He explained he was “used to towing without modern technology”, so initially didn’t have a clue what sensors to turn off, “or what all the buttons did”. It got me thinking that to optimise your relationship with your car, these training experiences should almost be a nonnegotiable.

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Today’s road hazards: crabs, sunburn, skimboarders.

Even Isuzu ambassadors can polish their skills on an I-Venture Club outing.

TRAVELLER

With a verdant headland kissed by white sand and emerald blue, postcard-clear water, the view along the beach and the vista out to sea wage a constant battle for your attention.

Fine print: not a great choice for road signs.

Warning: you may get a pinch of sand in the footwell.

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TRAVELLER

SHARON AND PETER THORNTON LIVE: HIGHFIELDS, QLD DRIVE: 2021 D-MAX 4X4 LS-M

“Are you happy with the ute overall?“ I asked Paul. “When it turned up I was so happy,” he said. “The red is a nice deep colour.” It’s funny how a car colour can still be the icing on the cake! Before entering the sand at the third cutting we turn our headlights and ESC (Electronic Stability Control) on. Dave’s words, “If a light is blinking, the car is thinking,” are at the front of my mind, but there’s a warning light that is not blinking. So I flag Dave down to check it. “That’s just the warning light that your tyres are low in pressure,” he explains. “Oh got it!” (Our tyres had been let down to 18PSI before leaving base.) Clearly my MU-X LS-T’s senses are always on-task. We enter through the cutting smoothly and I’m instantly reminded that this car’s true home is off the beaten track. Then we’re challenged to try and get bogged. None of us can. So Dave skilfully manages it for us—by turning all the technology off—and we’re able to observe a lesson in recovery. It’s here I learn another tip: only open

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one door at a time on the beach or your car turns into a wind tunnel, and you’re off, on foot, chasing loose receipts and the odd bit of footwell food packaging through the dunes. While your mother laughs at you. Next is lunch and a quick check of the surf at Double Island Point, which unfortunately is flat. Oh well, I’ll just have to come back and put my newly honed skills to use. “So, Mum,” I say, as we reach the end. “What have you learned today?” “That almost everything I was taught as a 17-year-old to be a safe driver no longer applies!” she says. “The education part of this day has truly changed how I will drive.” I don’t need to ask if she enjoyed herself, because she hasn’t stopped whoopwhooping since we left the blacktop. If there’s one thing apparent to all participating in today’s I-Venture Club, it’s an appreciation for living life to the max— and how much fun it is to do it with a 4WD that’s perfect for the Australian lifestyle. Mum’s new life motto was ‘Live the day’. At the end of our trip, it could just as easily have been ‘Go your own way’.

“We bought our D-MAX in October 2020, so we signed up for this course, and it’s been fabulous,” says Sharon. “We want to do more off-road driving and we thought, ‘Who better to learn from than the experts?’ We’ve very much enjoyed it—the catering was beautiful, but the practical part of it was so good. We learned a lot, including really useful tips, and Pete was the lucky one who got to drive the bogged car out of sand as well. “Why the D-MAX? Well, we’ve got such a variety of countryside in Australia. Snow if you want to go down south, the Outback—and we have relatives who live out in the middle, so we’re looking forward to visiting them— and the beaches. And I just love camping, which surprises some people. They think I’ll be a five-staronly resort person, but I can rough it. We’re both probably a couple of years off retiring, so we thought we’d begin learning a little bit now. It’s the beginning of our adventures!”

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OUT OF THE BOX

CAMPFIRE

WIZARD Meet Australia’s best open-fire chef. Harry Fisher’s new book, Fire to Fork, is the bible of adventure cooking.

Book extract

For years I would sift through blogs, recipe books, YouTube videos and magazines looking for campfire cooking ideas and I was constantly met with the same sorts of things: hipsters cooking on fire but buying their ingredients in Narnia, or celebrity presenters making variations of the same pre-packaged, bland camp meals (inevitably on a gas burner). I was getting pretty frustrated, so I stopped reading what was out there for campers and started adapting recipes from proper chefs so that anybody could cook them over a fire outdoors. In doing so, I established a few rules:

1 Only use ingredients I can buy from a butcher and a supermarket— no more activated avocados and vegan bacon sprinkles from hipster shops.

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All ingredients should travel well—san choy bow is delicious, but good luck keeping a lettuce leaf in good condition on a corrugated road.

If possible, use the long-life alternative— while most of my recipes are ideal for short getaways, there are also plenty that will work on a three-week desert trip.

Conserve water, which means conserve pots—I try to use as few different implements and vessels as possible to reduce washing up.

Everything is cooked on fire. These rules were simply the formalisation of what I was already doing, but they have helped simplify my cooking and planning process a lot, and will do the same for you.

WORDS HARRY FISHER

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OUT OF THE BOX Low Heat

LESSON 1: KNOW YOUR FIRE

If you are reading this, I will assume you know how to light a fire. If not, I suggest opening YouTube and typing “how to light a fire”. Lighting good cooking fires is a skill that is far better to watch than read about. Once your fire is going, the aim is to have a solid, steady and largely smoke-free heat source to cook on. Now, there are a few ways to go about this—one is to make a massive, raging fire and then shovel out a few loads of coals to cook over. That is a great method when it’s cold and you have a bit of time up your sleeve. However, if you’ve just arrived at camp or have just woken up and the fire is in its infancy, you are much better off using small pieces of good-quality, dry hardwood, no thicker than 5cm. It doesn’t matter whether you use an axe or splitter or just collect smaller, dry branches. Building the base of coals with smaller bits of wood makes it burn faster, cleaner and hotter. Then, when you have finished cooking, feel free to drop the big logs on and sit back for a few hours.

Low, steady heat is best for gentle cooking like toasting bread or sandwiches, cooking steaks before the reverse sear, or making sauces. You only need a thin bed of coals and about 20cm between the coals and the cooking surface. For reference, the grill pictured is 23cm high. There’s a simple way to tell if you’ve got it right. If you hold your hand 10cm above the grill, you should be able to keep it there for approximately eight to ten seconds. An infrared thermometer should read between 120°C and 150°C (250°F to 300°F).

120°C – 150°C

Medium Heat You will do a lot of cooking on fires at this level of heat. It’s the perfect temperature to cook most vegetables and meats that need to be cooked evenly and right through—fish, crayfish, sausages or chicken, for example. Under your grill, you want a healthy shovel of coals and sticks to get the heat source, and a little bit of fire, about 15cm from the cooking surface. The temperature should be around 170°C to 220°C (340 to 430°F). You shouldn’t be able to hover your hand 10cm above the grill for any longer than five seconds.

170°C – 220°C

Medium/High heat At a medium/high heat is where the majority of my cooking happens. It is hot enough to comfortably boil water, cook most meats and brown up anything in a pan. To get this much heat, you either need a serious load of coals only about 10cm below the grill, or a bit of flame licking the cooking surface. Using the hand-guestimation method, this is the right temperature when you can only hold your hand over the heat for three or four seconds, which is about 270°C to 320°C (520 to 610°F) at the grill.

270°C – 320°C

High Heat A fire this hot is reserved for a small handful of tasks, particularly for finishing a piece of meat as part of a reverse sear. The coals will be 5–10cm below the grill with a clean, smokeless flame high above the grill. You need to treat this with a lot of respect because this is a quick way to turn a cutlet into a bit of coal with a bone sticking out of it. If you are using an infrared thermometer, most likely it will have maxed out its range (over 350°C or 650°F) and you won’t be able to hold your hand over the heat. 38

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350°C +

OUT OF THE BOX

LESSON 2: A QUICK WORD ON COOKWARE

Over many years and far too much money, I’ve trialled and discarded all sorts of camp cooking gear. What I’ve found is that the traditional, heavy and often cumbersome pieces of equipment aren’t necessarily the best if you really want to get the most from your food.

Grill Plate I’ve used a few different designs in my time. I was a big fan of one that fit over a spare wheel, but unfortunately, the design has changed and the legs are aluminium which melt in hot fires. Now, I use OzBraai’s Braai Grid (which I had input into the design of) and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Whatever you use, I recommend one that’s stainless steel, or it will rust badly. Choose one that has three legs, as they’re more stable than four legs on uneven surfaces. And I think they should always come with a bag because they always get filthy.

Camp Oven I have owned and used many camp ovens— from $350 Japanese hand-finished cast iron ones through to $20 cheapies from Aldi, but none have beaten the design, materials and finish of the Southern Metal Spinners 10-inch camp oven. These have been made in Australia for well over 70 years, and I wouldn’t be surprised if every one that has been made is still in use. I don’t seem to be able to kill them! They don’t crack, are easy to clean, are 75 per cent lighter than cast iron and the handle design makes them extremely stable and easy to use. You can also use the lid as a skillet in a pinch. A Bedourie oven will also work, but I find them wobbly and they don’t seal as well.

Grill Basket I have always been a massive fan of the grill baskets. I use them for cooking everything from a whole chicken or fish through to field mushrooms, asparagus or a truckload of toasted sandwiches. The best I have come across are OzBraai’s Camp Braai (large) and Travel Braai (small), which you’ll see used in heaps of my recipes. You don’t have to use these, but if you are looking for one, it’s important that they have a retractable handle, adjustable thickness for different ingredients, a stand with a clip to hold it steady, a good bag and, most importantly, it must be stainless steel.

Wok A wok is incredibly useful and I would strongly recommend buying one over a frypan or skillet if you can’t have both. I have a Hillbilly 350mm Wok with a folding handle and use it for pasta, chilli mud crab, stir-frying, fried rice and I even cook bacon and eggs in it. I used it instead of a frypan for around five years and it did a great job. The deep design of woks makes them very forgiving and hard to spill when you (inevitably) have your hot plate on an angle or want to drop it straight on the coals. Things to look for are a folding metal handle, a flat bottom and avoid non-stick surfaces.

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OUT OF THE BOX

The Pantry No two camping trips are the same, and there will never be a time when you need to provision your camp pantry the same way. However, after years and years of cooking in the bush, I’ve come to stock the same basic ingredients on just about every trip. I’ll then supplement them with the specific things needed for particular meals. Importantly, it’s almost all food that you can get from one of the major supermarkets, a good butcher or fishmonger, and almost all of it is available even in smaller towns.

Always In My Car • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Soy sauce Sesame oil Fish sauce Red wine vinegar Rice bran oil—lots, for seasoning cookware and deep-frying food Extra virgin olive oil—for everything else Cooking or table salt Rock salt Pepper BBQ sauce Ketchup—not tomato sauce Mustards—mainly American and Dijon Sriracha Stock Baker’s flour Fried shallots India Pale Ale—preferably Colonial and icy cold

Dairy I Can’t Go Without • Butter—proper stuff, not margarine or any oil-based fake • American burger cheese • Grated, three-cheese blend with mozzarella • Fresh mozzarella—in a ball, not grated or in brine • Buttermilk—awesome for marinating chicken • Thickened cream • Coconut cream—I know, it’s not really dairy, but I use it a lot

Veggies I Use A Lot Of • Garlic—I always pack a bulb or two • Fresh chillies—both red and jalapeños • Lemons • Burger or dill pickles—mostly sliced for my various burger creations • Potatoes—I usually use russet potatoes • Sweet potatoes—small, they cook faster than the big ones • Onions—plenty of brown ones and a few red and white ones, too • Cherry tomatoes—much more versatile than big ones • Broccolini—keeps well and is easy to divide into many meals • Carrots—so I can see well at night • Mushrooms—plenty of button mushrooms and a few portobellos • Peas—frozen

Stuff I Always Need

Herbs And Spices Always On Rotation

• Wraps—I prefer Mission brand as they’re the best you can easily get • Kewpie mayonnaise • Self-raising flour—or just add some baking powder to plain flour • Dried yeast sachets • Crusty bread—sourdough or Pane di Casa • Burger buns—potato or brioche are the best; or a gluten-free alternative • Eggs—free range, because I’m not a monster • Long pasta—like spaghetti and linguini • Rice—long grain, or sushi rice for Asian meals

• Brown sugar • Fresh, flat-leaf parsley • Fresh coriander • Oregano • Fresh ginger • Cumin • Paprika—any kind will do • MSG—yeah, you read that right. Get it from an Asian grocer

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How to cook the perfect steak As simple and pleasing as a perfectly cooked steak is, so many of us constantly struggle to get it right. I have certainly experimented more than I should have in the name of ‘science’ (i.e. eaten my body weight in steak) and, in the process, I have debunked a few myths. I should mention, these tips are based mainly around my opinionated assumption that you’ll want your steak cooked correctly—which means rare, medium-rare or medium. Take your well-done and buy an induction cooktop, if that’s your thing.

Step 1: The Reverse Sear

Step 2: Finishing The Steak

For most steaks, where you will need to get the internal temperature to at least 45°C (113°F), you are best to use a method called reverse searing. This is where the steak is cooked slowly to begin with, then quickly at the end. There are many ways to do this, but they all involve offsetting the meat from the heat. It could be as simple as leaving the steak in a wok near the fire for half an hour, or as elaborate as the tripod you can see on the cover of my book, below. When reverse searing a thick steak, the key is to regularly check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer and take it off when it’s approximately 10°C cooler than you want it to end up. The next step is to pat the steak dry with a paper towel and season it generously with cracked pepper and salt flakes or rock salt. This should be the last thing you do before you put it on the grill to sear it.

Now that your thick, thin or somewhere-in-between steak is nearly done, it’s time to do the most important, but also the easiest bit—the sear. The surface itself doesn’t matter too much here; you can use a cast-iron frypan, a grill basket, a hotplate or simply lay the steak straight on the coals. Whatever you do, it should be scorching hot and should be burning cleanly without too much smoke. Sear the steak until it has a nice, brown crust all over it—depending on your fire, this can take anywhere from 90 seconds to ten minutes. Ideally, you’re aiming for about two to five minutes of total cook time, depending on the size of the steak. Thick steaks take longer because you need to sear the sides, too. For medium rare, sear when the temperature reaches 45–50°C and pull it off when it hits 55–57°C.

3 Step 3: Rest it But for no longer than five minutes. Thicker steak = longer rest.

4 Step 4: Eat, boast, sleep.

This is an edited extract from Fire to Fork ($39.95, exploringedenbooks.com). Boasting over 60 recipes, sky-high production values and sumptuous Australian Outback photography, it’s a root-and-branch guide to preparing Michelin-worthy grub under the stars. Or just under your carport.

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UNSUNG HEROES

THE TRADIE’S TAILOR

Builder Dan Allen and his apprentice, Ed Ross, wanted to start on-site conversations about mental health. So they started a high-vis workwear empire: Trademutt. How did Trademutt start? Well, Ed and I met on a building site in 2014. Ed became my apprentice and we’d talk crap all day on site. One day our chat just turned into “Jeez, it’d be great if there was some funky workwear to wear to work.” Great idea. Then in 2015 I lost one of my best mates to suicide. I would just burst into tears on the job—which was hard for an apprentice to handle. Ed was my number one support network at work and he experienced it in a very different way to what I did. That was the beginning. We started to look into the mental health space in Australia and saw such a need for a social and cultural shift in attitude. How so? The tone of the conversation just felt really stale and scary. So over the next year we started to explore this idea of social enterprise and using profit for purpose—for a sort of social impact business. And that was when the two sparks met. We had this workwear idea, we’d been affected by mental health, and… ‘Oh, maybe we could use these funky shirts as a lighthearted approach to starting deeper conversations’. So we worked really hard, saved a lot of money and tipped it all into getting it up off the ground. How did you launch? Accidentally. Accidentally? How? Basically, when we got our first 42

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two correct samples back from China, which took ages, we wore them to the pub on a Thursday afternoon. And we had about six different people come up to us and be like, “Wow, what’s the deal with these shirts?” Starting conversations. Yeah! So we’re all talking about mental health and the last person who came up to us happened to be an editor for Quest magazine in the Courier Mail. He said, “I’d love to do a story on you”. We didn’t even have product ready to go. Wow. Then Channel 7 got hold of that article before it went to print, and on 15 March 2018 they called to do a story on us … that night! Luckily our website designer had been working away in the background and was just about ready to go. So that news story went viral on Facebook and we started selling products we didn’t even have. We made 30 grand, bought two computers and 1500 work shirts and we were cashflow positive in about five days. Now we’ve got 25 staff and we’ve launched our own non-profit, TIACS, where we provide free, unlimited and ongoing professional mental health support for tradies, truckies and blue collar workers. That’s amazingly fast. Absolutely. Before we launched the guys on site thought we were crazy. Like, “Riiight— colourful workshirts for mental health. Great investment, boys.”

I would just randomly burst into tears at work, which was hard for an apprentice to handle.

WHO: Dan Allen, co-founder of Trademutt and TIACS (it stands for ‘This Is A Conversation Starter’). DID YOU KNOW? 190 Australian construction workers die by suicide each year. NEED HELP? It’s available at www.tiacs.org or 0488 846 988 from 8:00 am until 10:00pm, Monday to Friday. “Our goal is to provide 24/7 support in the future,” says Dan.

Ed was your apprentice back in the day, you must have pulled a prank or two on him on site. Some of the pranks I pulled on Ed in my past life as a chippie are moments I am not real proud of, to be honest. Ha! But one time Ed was in a Portaloo on a site here in Brisbane. And he was in there for way too long—probably on his phone as usual. I took a squaremouth shovel and I smacked the side of the toilet to hurry him up. But little did I know that where I smacked the Portaloo was right where the soap dispenser was affixed on the inside. And it just exploded inside the Portaloo and covered him. So we had to hose him down, hose it out. It was like a bubble bath from one end of the site to the other. How will your new TIACS initiative work? There is some incredible support out there: Lifeline, Beyond Blue, your suicide callback services. But they’re all very much at that crisis end. We wanted to create a service where people could access help earlier on, as more of an everyday thing. A preventative service where you could talk to the same person over and over. Is TIACS just for tradies? No. We target tradies, truckies and blue collar, but we want to remove the barriers for anyone wanting to access professional support. You know, it’s expensive. It takes time. You have to take time off. We’re an Australian mental health service that will provide care for anyone who reaches out.

WORDS RHYS COLLINS

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HOOK, LINE & SINKER

TROPIC In 2021, the D-MAX took the Hook, Line and Sinker crew from Tasmania to the Top End. Here’s what happened when they hit the tropics.

ne of the best road trips we did this year was from Airlie Beach, in the Whitsunday Islands, to Cooktown, which was just shy of 1000km. This journey saw us drive past so many famous fishing locations—given we were on a tight timeframe—but the places we did manage to stop to cast a line did not disappoint, with some serious world-class angling experienced. It started out the back of Proserpine one

PLUNDER Sunday afternoon. We’d organised a local gun barramundi angler to take us out on Lake Proserpine, or Peter Faust Dam, as it’s also known. The lake is massive, full of flooded trees and shallow weedy bays. Jono, our guide for the day, told us that an afternoon session on the lake would be best because of moon phase and weather. It turns out there’s a bit of science involved when fishing for dam barra. He said bite time will be at around 2.30pm for about

Giant trevally: you know it’s a good one when you each get to hold half a fish.

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WORDS ANDREW HART

half an hour and could tell this simply from the moon. I didn’t understand any of it, but was happy with an afternoon fish rather than a super-early start after sampling the restaurants and bars in Airlie Beach the night before! As it turned out at 2.35pm and on just my sixth cast of the day, I hooked a beautiful barra of about 90cm and the job was done! We ended up fishing into the night, till about 10pm but didn’t get another fish. Still, one big barra is better than zero. The best tip I learned here was to use the sounder to find the fish. We spent a lot of time driving around the lake slowly, searching for weed edges, bait and fish, which showed up on the sounder. Once we found a good-looking spot, we’d stop and start casting. The next day, we towed our 7.3-metre Bar Crusher XT boat with the D-MAX from Airlie Beach to Mission Beach. Here we unhitched the boat and picked up Dallas, a local kid who told us he’d catch us a jungle perch. The next few hours were spent clambering up one of the most picturesque and scenic rainforest streams in the world. It was hot and humid, but the flowing water was surprisingly cool. As it turned out, this exercise wasn’t the easiest to film, as the boulders where super slippery, and although Dallas was very nimble on his

HOOK,LINE&SINKER

Ho Sinker ok, Line and and is a airs on 7mat e ls to streao available m on 7plus.

It was hot and humid, but the flowing water was surprisingly cool. As it turned out, this exercise wasn’t the easiest to film.

feet, Mike the cameraman and myself were not! We spent the whole day trying not to break a hip. It was slow going, but we captured a spectacular little segment for the show with a beautiful jungle perch being caught in the last part of the river we could reach. These are native Australian fish, about the size of a bream and they’re stunning to look at. With sore legs, we successfully made our way back to the D-MAX and we were off to Cairns. Next morning, we were heading some 30km out to sea to one of the many reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef. I was joined by Al Simpson who is a fly-fishing legend. We spent the next couple of days fishing the shallows at the very top of the reef. With the water only around a metre deep, it was all sight fishing

and we managed to catch a massive trevally and a whole range of reef fish, such as big coral trout. This is world-class fishing, which also produced permit and bonefish (the Holy Grail of fly fishing). The spot is somewhat protected by the weather as you need a boat big enough to get you out to the reef, but small enough to allow you to sneak around the flats in a metre of water. Turns out the Bar Crusher was perfect! The final fishing trip of the far north saw us tow the boat to Cooktown. From Cooky, we headed out 50km and tried to catch a giant black marlin, which this area is famous for. Despite missing a couple of marlin, we didn’t catch the big one we were after, but it still made a great episode in a very special part of the world.

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ISUZU MOMENTS

When Isuzu met legendary Italian stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro Destined to be the world’s first diesel-powered sportscar, the 117 Coupé prototype stuns the Swiss.

t’s one of the most memorable years in automotive history. Two-time world champion Jack Brabham formed his own F1 team, built his own car and won a third title … at the age of 40. An irate Caroll Shelby bested Ferrari at Le Mans. America controversially mandated seat belts and reversing lights, and in the European home of yodelling, clocks and banking, an unexpected debut lit up Geneva. It was 1966 and storied Italian master designer Giorgetto Giugiaro— then working at Ghia—was approached by Isuzu to produce a sporty two-door halo model. As noted by Road & Track magazine, “plenty of Japanese automakers were building small, four-seat, rear-wheel drive cars in the ’60s, but none featured Italian design. Isuzu’s 117 Coupé was the first of its kind, and remains one of the most beautiful Japanese cars ever made.” Named Car Designer of the Century in 1999, Giugiaro’s pencil case spawned such iconic shapes as the De Tomaso Mangusta and Maserati Ghibli to the Volkswagen Golf and, er, DMC DeLorean. His 117 Coupé is a breathtaking combination of flowing silhouette, defined edges and effortless fastback roof. With a

dual-overhead cam four-pot, electronic fuel injection, independent suspension at the front and a live axle at the rear, it proved both wildly popular (more than 86,000 were built) and enduring (production ran for an outrageous 13 years). The genius of Giugiaro, meanwhile, extended beyond automotive. His other works include camera bodies for Nikon, Lausanne cathedral’s 7000-pipe organ and, in 1983, a new shape of pasta, the Marille. It failed. Unlike the 117. Indeed, when a diesel variant arrived in 1979, the world’s first oil-burning sportscar had arrived.

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NORTHERN TERRITORY Alice Springs Centralian Motors Isuzu UTE (08) 8959 7700 Katherine Katherine Isuzu UTE (ASF) (08) 8974 0000 Pinelands Darwin Isuzu UTE (08) 8924 8600

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ISUZU UTE SERVICE PLUS AT ISUZUUTE.COM.AU/SERVICE-PLUS

^6 years/150,000km (whichever occurs first), for Isuzu UTE Vehicles with a Warranty Start Date on or after 1/1/19. Excludes trays & accessories. <The Roadside Assistance Program (“RSA Program”) provides Coverage to RSA Eligible Vehicles with a Warranty Start Date on or after 1/9/20 for a maximum of 7 years (unlimited kilometres). Initial 13 months Coverage provided from the Warranty Start Date. The Coverage will be reset for another 13 months from each date that a Participating Isuzu UTE Dealer conducts a Scheduled Service on the vehicle. For full terms & conditions visit isuzuute. com.au/roadside-assistance-disclaimer. >The Capped Price Servicing Program (“CPS Program”) applies to CPS Eligible Vehicles at Participating Isuzu UTE Dealers only. For 19MY & later vehicle models, the Capped Price Servicing covers the first 7 Scheduled Services for up to 7 years/105,000km (whichever occurs first). CPS Program is subject to change. For full terms & conditions, current pricing & model eligibility visit isuzuute.com.au/service-plus-disclaimer.

max*d Issue 28

Articles inside

Traveller

Cover Story

Tech Head

Readers Rides: In Focus

Welcome

Campfire wizard

Wishlist

Great Isuzu Moments

Unsung Hero

Hook, Line & Sinker

Readers’ Rides

News