November 2012
PO Box 655, South Perth, WA 6951
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Missing: Reward offered for anyone with information leading to where 2012 disappeared to. What went even quicker was my overseas holiday that I was so looking forward to. It’s now a memory, but a very good one, and I hope that age doesn’t diminish it too much. Although Karen and I thoroughly enjoyed travelling to Europe, I still prefer driving in the outback as a holiday. Many thanks to Vice President Peter Belcher for looking after the meetings while I was away. The club stand at the 4WD show proved very successful in attracting potential visitors to the club. This was predominantly due to the organisational efforts of Michael Gilbert and the assistance of Peter Cole. Great job guys. And a big thankyou also to those members that gave up several hours of their time to be at the stand during the show. Michael has arranged a visitor’s day trip for November 25 to Wilbinga and Guilderton, which judging by the interest shown at the show will be a big day. By the time you get this magazine the trip will be over but we hope to see a follow-on effect with many of the visitors attending the December meeting. I ask members attending the meeting to help David by assisting in greeting and talking to the visitors to make them feel welcome. Last year I left the Christmas wishes until the December magazine. But due to the magazine schedule, the message was out of date before it was received. This can’t be helped, but with that in mind, I will wish every member and their family a very joyful Christmas and hope the New Year brings all that you wish for. Please also spare a thought for those members that are going through very difficult times at the present. The club’s Christmas get-together is at Manning Park, Spearwood on Sunday December 2. Hopefully I’ll get to see most of you there for a pleasant day in the sun. As I said, this year has flown by and before we know it the New Year will be here. That means it’s time for you to start considering playing an active role in the management of the club. Although the AGM is not until March, there is only one meeting (February) before it. There are several committee roles coming up for election, including the President and Secretary. With the recent changes to the election process, in that each committee member must hold just one role, and considering some committee members have submitted their intention to discontinue prior to their 2 year term expiring, there will be a good selection of roles for you to choose from. Regardless of the role you choose I guarantee that you will enjoy the experience in having a more influential role in how the club runs. Start inquiring now with the person that is currently fulfilling the role you may be interested in. Time to hit the dirt road, Martin Archer 4
5 star camping, but where is the home theatre! Thanks Pat O, for this great pic. Got a funny pic to rival this? Send it to the Editor.
Snake Facts When snakes strike they have near 100% success rate. There are up to 3000 snake bites each year. Between 1 and 4 deaths each year, most from brown snakes. With many snakes bites only local effects occur because either not enough venom is injected or the snake is non venomous. 70% of snakes lay eggs others give birth to living young. Next month - Treating snake bite 5
WHAT THE?
With the weekend weather predicted to be perfect, six vehicles assembled at
the Baden Powell camping ground for some four wheel driving and conviviality. Trip Leader, John Holbrook, accompanied by friend Laura and John Snr arrived early to select a suitable area to make camp. The popularity of the Reserve was indicated by “FULL” signs against many of the camping areas. The Baden Powell camping ground was well populated, but oil & gas engineering expert Laura found an area which she assured us would be out of the odour zone of the conveniences should there be an atmospheric inversion during the night.
Now that’s a rut! By 0940 hours tents, tables and swags had been set up by the overnighters, the airing down done, the formalities completed and the briefing delivered. The various routes had been reconnoitred on the previous Monday by our Trip Leader and Michael Gilbert to ensure we had a good look at the scenic offerings of the area, plus a few challenge for those who felt so inclined. Daniel sportingly offered to eat most dust by going “Tail-end Charlie”. The convoy set off with our Trip Leader followed by Michael and Marion in the 6
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Triton, visitors Peter and Tanya and daughters Ashley and Jamie-Lee in another Triton, Richard King in the ‘Cruiser, Craig is a Patrol and Daniel and his mate Nick in a Patrol. The first challenge was a relatively short rutted climb from one contour road to the next contour road at a higher level. All attempted and all successfully negotiated it. Our visitor, Peter admitted to plenty of experience on the beach, but absolutely none in these conditions. He was amazed at the ability of the vehicles in front of him to negotiate the seemingly impossible hazards, but even more amazed when he succeeded in doing likewise. All thought that it was a pretty good effort so we came back down again and had another successful go. After some more touring and hill climb challenges, we came to one of the several gravel quarries in the area. For the adventurous, there were some very steep, but short slopes to enable them to show off their undercarriages. It was then time to head back to camp for lunch, but on the way was a steep downhill with a severe serpentine scour. All decided to go down instead of taking a longer alternative route and once again there was the bold few who turned around and went back up again. Lunch took the usual format; reliving the morning’s activities and discussing the merits or otherwise of modifications or proposed modifications to the vehicles. By 1300 hours we were on the road again. Between them, John and Michael managed to get us lost several times but we eventually found all sites on the programme. Blame for taking incorrect turns was laid at the feet of Mr Hema, because at this stage he hasn’t produced detailed maps of the area. It was noticeable that there were quite a number of fallen trees across the tracks.
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Possibly a result of the reduced rainfall in recent years taking its toll. But we were equipped when no alternative route was available. Michael pulled out his chainsaw, and with the ladies pitching in to remove the sawlogs, the convoy was soon on its way again. Several more hill climbs of varying difficulty were available for the willing and all proved to be willing and all negotiated them successfully. The travels along the river showed how popular the area is with plenty of canoeing and swimming activities. This is probably the perfect time of the year for water activities in this area, with the water at a reasonable temperature and a steady, but not strong flow to keep the river pools flushed.
Craig lends a helping hand. Peter had the misfortune to have a tree branch jam beneath the Triton. It was removed with a team effort. On the way back to the camp, his transfer case refused to engage, possibly a legacy of the jammed branch. Lots of expert opinions, rocking the Triton back and forth, a few beers and a few prayers later the Triton finally engaged in 4wd low range. Subsequent to the trip, Peter told us the problem was a $30 part. Back at the camp, Richard departed, as he had to be back in town to meet Nicole’s rescued canines. Peter and family were also due to depart, but he decided to have the Triton taken back to Perth on a carrier truck. The only suitable vehicle available, one that could not only carry the Triton, but also his family, 9
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4WD SHOW 2012 The club had a great show this year. Everyone worked very hard to put it all together. Everything ran smoothly over the 3 days. During last years show I noticed the Land Rover club was offering a visitors day trip within a couple of weeks of the show. This became the inspiration for our visitor trip this year. Now a reality, as of today we have 25 visitors cars confirmed for Sunday. This is a great result for the club. The computer system again proved to be a big time saver enabling us to accurately record 59 new visitors to our stand, it's worth mentioning we are the only club at the show to use this type of system. As a direct result of our efforts at the show followed by the visitor day trip we are expecting a large numbers of visitors at our December meeting, some of them my even join. A special guest speaker has been invited Nick Underwood to share some of his 4 wheel driving adventures to inspire our visitors. A big thank you from me to all that helped man our stand over the 3 days, and specials thanks to Peter Cole who was on hand to help me setup and pack down the equipment. Michael Gilbert— Club show organizer ( another pic on page 15)
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November POTY entry by Peter Cole. Taken on the Big Valley club trip this month. Well done Peter. See all the 2012 entries in this issue.
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had to come from Bunbury. It was scheduled to get to the camp at 2000 hours; it finally arrived at 2150 hours, but only after our Trip Leader and Peter went out as a search party and were fortunate to intercept the carrier truck as it was heading back to Bunbury, having given up trying to find us.
The cooking was done and the meal devoured. Just as dusk was upon us, the ‘Red Terra’ Landcruiser turned up with Glenn Bignell aboard. Glenn had a number of excuses as to why he had not arrived earlier to partake of the day’s activities; he had work to do around the house, he had shopping to do, he didn’t want to get his car dirty, etc. We chose to believe none of them. He finally admitted that he had come because he could not resist the opportunity to sleep under the stars. So he pulled out a packet of snaggers and a bottle of red. In keeping with his philosophy of not getting anything dirty, he persuaded Danny to cook the sausages then ate them straight from the pan. It was a beautiful clear night, with the stars twinkling through the tall pine trees. As is usual, we sat around as a group and discussed the day’s activities and solved a few of the world’s problems. The clear sky meant that the temperature quickly headed south, so most rugged up to combat it. Laura and Marion slipped off to read 50 shades of grey or something similar. The men sat around 14
sitting rum and beers and occasionally showing off their latest camping gadget. Sunday. The sun rose on another beautiful day, with its rays filtering through the slight smoke haze resulting from the remains of the numerous open fires throughout the campsite and which seemed to hover around the upper foliage of the trees. After breakfast we decamped, with Craig, Danny and Glenn heading back to Perth. Michael and John decided to do some exploring to look at other possible campsites for future trips – somewhere along the river, but a bit more private than Baden Powell. A couple of sites were identified. On the way home we detoured through Waroona, especially to have lunch at the “Pinjarra” bakery on the main street. Lane Pool is a lovely area within easy reach of the Metropolitan Area so expect another trip there in the next 12 months. John Holbrook Snr
Got something to sell? Send the details to editor@mitsubishi4wd.org.au
Mitsubishi 4WD Owners Club stand 2012 4WD Show 15
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February - T Shortland
March - B McPherson
April - G Bignell
May - M & T Harrison
June - M Archer
July - M Gilbert
August - B McPherson
September– P O’Dowd
October - M Archer
November - P Cole
Your Photograph Here? December - YOU???? 17
This award will be given to the member who provides the photograph that best represents the club’s motto “Outward Bound” Submit entries to editor@ mitsubishi4wd.org.au
Visitor Information
Benefits of Membership Traveling safely in a group with expe-
rienced trip leaders.
day trips, week end and extended trips. Tell Me About The Club
The Club currently has approximately 67 members consisting of singles, couples remote and unique places in Australia. and families. We are a family oriented Family activities including camping, club which promotes safe and sensible sightseeing trips and other social four wheel driving and the enjoyment of events. our natural environment. The members Driver education, promoting awareness are very friendly and love participating in of correct four-wheel driving techfour wheel drive trips and the various soniques. cial outings that are organized during the Accessing the collective 4WD year. knowledge of other Club members. Where & when are the Club meetings Gain invaluable technical info on your vehicle and trip prepara- held? tion tips. On the first Wednesday of each month Monthly club magazine mailed to (except for January) at 7.30pm Manning members. Club members only website, Senior Citizens Centre Cnr Ley Street & trip details, image library, trading post, Downey Drive Manning WA 6152 forum and latest news. Club shop and library at regular Do I need to be an accomplished 4 wheel monthly meetings. driver to join the Club? Discounts for members at selected outlets. No, the Club caters for all experience levels. We have a Training Officer who runs Why Join? training days during the year and the Club You will have the opportunity to develop trips are also graded according to their degree of difficulty. New members/visitors new skills and to learn more about your are provided assistance and coaching, if 4wd. Traveling with the Club will allow you to undertake trips which you may not necessary, while on Club trips. be confident of undertaking alone. The For more info feel free to contact club organizes a range of activities for its members including driver skills training David Jones both for novices and more experienced membership@mitsubishi4wd.org.au drivers, social functions, regular monthly Or visit: mitsubishi4wd.org.au Opportunity to explore the beauty of
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Do I need a Mitsubishi 4WD to join the Club? We welcome all brands of 4WD's however Mitsubishi Pajeros are driven by approximately 60% of members. Other members drive Toyota Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrols, Land Rovers and other makes of 4WD's. As we mostly drive larger 4WDs with dual range, the majority of our trips aren't suited to "soft roaders" as low range 4WD is considered necessary. When does the Club run outings? The Club usually has at least one organized 4wd trip on the last Sunday of each month. These outings are run by individual members and overseen by the Trip Co-ordinator. Events are varied and include day events, camping weekends and long distance trips over several weeks. What do I need to do to join the Club? New members are always welcome at the Club. You will need to attend at least 2 club meetings and participate in 2 club outings before nominating to join. This gives you a chance to see if our club suits you as well giving us a chance to get to know you. 19
CLUB CALENDAR DATE
DESTINATION
DETAILS
Dec 2
Christmas Party
Dec 5
Club Meeting
Dec 9
Maintenance Day
Dec 16
Day Trip—Lancelin
Dec 26—Jan 6
Fonty’s Pool
See club website
Jan 26
Evening at McBeg
See club website
Feb 6
Club Meeting
7.30pm Details inside Mag
March 1-4
Northcliffe Explorer
Camping
7.30pm Details inside Mag See flyer inside
See club website for further details
CLUB MEETINGS 7.30pm. FIRST WED OF EVERY MONTH (except Jan) WE LOVE VISITORS
Our Club Proudly Supported By
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