Western 4W Driver #114 Autumn 2020

Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge

A

In Search of Red Dirt

The Tin Horse Highway

Sidetracked on the Gibb

The

A Trip Through the Yilgarn

Exploring the Map of Tassie

Nick's month in

Parked up at Peppy Beach

south'

Australia's Longest Shortcut

the Outback

TESTING

Off-Road Warrior

The

Off-Grid Comfort

The

With

Contact

BE PREPARED

4Wheel Productions Pty Ltd

ACN 632 239 395

PO Box 2384, Malaga, WA 6944

Phone: (08) 9291 8303 admin@4wheelproductions.com.au www.western4wdriver.com.au

Editors

Chris and Karen Morton

Contributing Writers

Phil Bianchi

Peter Bindon

Linda Bloffwitch

John Bormolini

Ben Broeder

Amanda Burton

Jo Clews

Neil Dowling

Ian Elliot Alex Garner

Colin Kerr

Kristina Lemson

Bryan Mitchell

Lyn Mitchell

Ron Moon

Rob Robson

Ben Smith

Dick Stein

Nick Underwood

Susie Underwood

Shane Watts

Advertising

Chris Morton Administration

Chris Morton

Christine Arnasiewicz

Graphic

Karen Morton Photography

Christine Arnasiewicz

Printing Vanguard Press

Disclaimer: The

Productions

but

Productions

Justafter New Year we decided to take a short family holiday with some friends down south. Wanting to try somewhere new, we chose to stay at the Peppermint Grove Beach Caravan Park, a lovely spot about halfway between Bunbury and Busselton. Given that we were not going to tax our full off road, 24-foot, triple bunk caravan with any sort of challenge (we were not leaving the bitumen), I made the decision not to take a tool kit. I know, I can hear the gasps from here. ALWAYS. CARRY.

A. TOOLKIT.

So, we set up our little holiday home on wheels for a pleasant stay under the trees at Peppy Beach only to discover a small yet significant problem. A stone (most likely during our last trip down a lonely gravel road) appeared to have shattered one of the water line fittings, resulting in a major water leak when the water pump was turned on.

To make matters worse, remembering that this was a quick 4-day getaway with no possibility of remote travel at all, the pressure reducing valve that controlled the water flow into the van from the mains water connection had also carked it.

Now there is only so much that you can do with a Leatherman and sadly, fixing a valve and whittling a new connector was not amongst them.

I know that this really is a first world problem as we had access to the park’s ablution block and clean, running water from the tap behind the van however it does reinforce a few things:

1. Always thoroughly check your vehicle, caravan or camper trailer before setting off (regardless of the destination).

2. Always, always, always carry a basic tool kit.

3. Never assume that you won’t have an issue. Complacency is your biggest enemy.

WHAT'S GOING ON?

Wehad a great time at the Perth 4WD and Adventure Show and enjoyed meeting so many of our readers. We took the opportunity to conduct a Reader’s Survey both online and via some iPads in our marquee. We had a fantastic result so thank you

THOUGHT

Crowds at the 4WD show.

to everyone who participated. Of interest, we found that we are seeing a change in our reader demographics. Just over 44% of the responses from the online survey were from readers who had only started enjoying Western 4W Driver in the last year. Almost 60% of responders do not read or subscribe to any other 4WD magazine and almost 64% of readers share their copy with others. We also observed a monumental shift in terms of the perceived age of our readers. 28.17% of the responses were from those within the 18-29 age bracket. 3% more than the next closest age group of 30-39.

Encouragingly, almost 69% of responses preferred to read the physical magazine. This on its own was not surprising, however when you place it against the higher proportion of younger readers who we automatically assume prefer digital consumption, the results take on new significance.

Almost 99% of the responders were happy with the level of detail and content within our articles and over 87% would like to see more digital content in support of the magazine. Clear article favourites were our destination and gear to go pieces with all other sections of the mag polling well.

2020 is going to be a very busy year for

the magazine. We are heading to Yalgoo to work on some projects with our own Jo Clews over the Easter break, providing media support to Variety WA’s 4WD Adventure from Exmouth to Port Gregory at the end of May and venturing into the Pilbara during the July school holidays to create some new content. By the time you read this Big Boys Toys will have been and gone and we will be attending the Caravan and Camping Show mid-March.

A new website is currently in the final stages of production and we are working on growing our Facebook and Instagram presence. There will be some added benefits for our subscribers as well as partnering with some local non-profit organisations to produce even more guide books.

For anyone with an interest in the Canning Stock Route we are working on the draft of our next track guide. This will be the first comprehensive CSR guide book produced in 26 years and we are quite excited about it. Expect to see more about it over the coming months.

Western Australia is a pretty special place. It’s not just the stunning landscapes that are found nowhere else on earth or the rare plants and animals. Friendly, giving and accepting, the people that call WA home make it extra special. We are a breed like no other. When you are flicking through the pages of our magazine take a close look at our advertisers. Most are small, family owned businesses who see the value in supporting Australia’s oldest commercially produced 4WD magazine. We choose to partner with businesses who are great to deal with and who offer value for money. Next time you are preparing for your next adventure out bush give them a go.

Tell ‘em Western 4W Driver sent you.

Excerpt from Hema’s WA State map.

MOUNT HART WILDERNESS LODGE

Words by Linda Bloffwitch

Photos by Linda Bloffwitch & Philip Schubert

A station stay fit for a king along the Gibb River Road

After leaving Kununurra and meandering our way west along the Gibb River Road for a couple of weeks, I was looking forward to our return visit to Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge. Lying on the western end of the Gibb, Mount Hart is approximately 240km from Derby and 560km from Kununurra. But unlike other stations along the Gibb, Mount Hart’s location within a conservation park is unique and like no other station in the Kimberley.

Butit hasn’t always been this way, as the original Mount Hart Station pastoral lease was one million acres (which is a similar number to many other Kimberley stations). Despite many people giving Mount Hart a go as a cattle station over a 75 year period, the rugged and mountainous terrain made conditions for managing cattle difficult, and the property was eventually de-classified as a pastoral lease in 1987.

Once the lease was de-classified, the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation (now Parks and Wildlife) stepped in and bought the station which eventually became the King Leopold Ranges Conservation Park. After an agreement was reached to have a section of the conservation park allocated to tourism, work began to upgrade the station buildings which had laid dormant for a few years during the 1980s. By 1990, Mount Hart opened its doors to tourism for the first time.

Having visited Mount Hart a number of times over the years, we were eager to see and experience the changes that we’d heard so much about. As luck had it, we didn’t have to wait long, noticing the entrance track had received a huge makeover since our last visit. You could say it’s now more akin to a good formed gravel road, and no doubt welcoming news for

those towing caravans or trailers. Funnily enough, we find the entrance track here is one of the prettiest station drives along the Gibb. It winds through the towering King Leopold range and we allow plenty of time to admire the outcrops of black dolerite rocks which dot the landscape en route to the homestead. It’s hard to ignore these outcrops as they make a bold statement against the bright blue sky when they’re devoid of any greenery.

Driving along the entrance track towards the homestead.

The King Leopold Ranges - rugged beauty .

Walking to the homestead feels like being at a resort.

Before we knew it, we arrived at the homestead grounds which more resembled a tropical oasis. We’d heard while staying in Kununurra it hadn’t been a huge wet season in the Kimberley, but there appeared to be no shortage of water here. The magnificent looking garden and lush grass combined with paved paths and lighting all provided a resort feel.

To allow us plenty of time to take in all the attractions and activities, we checked in for a few nights and made our way to the campground to set up. Finding a good site here isn’t

Getting set up in the campground before heading out to explore.

difficult, as the campground is spacious and sits alongside the Barker River. With an abundance of tall trees providing shade at various times of the day, you’ve got plenty of options for setting up camp if you’re chasing the sun for a solar setup. The taps scattered all around the campground provide access to water, and firepits are dotted throughout the campground as well. Good-sized amenities are located at one end of the campground and include several combined showers and toilets. With the Barker River so close to the campground, you don’t need to go far at all for a swim to help wash off that Kimberley red dust. And if you’re travelling with a canoe or tube, either would be just as good for exploring the river from on top of the water.

You can’t miss these signs if you’re passing by along the Gibb River Road.

Taking a break at Barker Pool.

The odd couple –a strangler fig and old boab.

Away from the campground, there’s other accommodation options by reception. Here you’ll find rooms at the renovated homestead, and some good-sized ensuite safari style tents have been added since our last visit and located within the homestead grounds. There’s also payable wi-fi available around this area as well. Whichever style of accommodation you’ve chosen and once all settled in, there’s no shortage of attractions to explore. One attraction is the Secret Fishing Hole which is a nice little fishing spot further up the Barker River and just a short walk from the campground.

But if fishing’s not your scene, Barker Pool is a large waterhole located close to the homestead. With the tall trees offering shade, plus picnic tables provided, it wouldn’t be difficult to settle in here for a while.

To see other attractions further afield, hop in the car to visit places such as Annie Creek waterhole. What this attraction lacks in size, it makes up for in sheer relaxation. Having experienced flowing water here now on

each of our visits, this little oasis with its trickling water provides a refreshing refuge on warm Kimberley days, and while you’re here, be sure to check out the amazing relationship between a magnificent boab and strangler fig.

Enjoying the refreshing cool waters in the pool at Dolerite Gorge.

Dolerite Gorge is another Mount Hart favourite, and you’ll need your swimwear for this one as well. There are many places to swim as you walk into the gorge, but reach the large pool (about one kilometre from the car park) and you could be lucky enough to have this place all to yourself. This is another place where you’ll find those large outcrops of dolerite boulders lining the walls of the gorge, hence its name. While it’s not the typical landscape you see elsewhere in the Kimberley, it’s nonetheless picture perfect.

But there was also a new attraction for us to check out during this visit. We’d learnt from our lodge hosts a track had recently been cut to another gorge 20 kilometres from the homestead. Yellowman Gorge is a little further away compared to other attractions at Mount Hart, but what a spot it turned out to be. The track was in excellent condition and we managed to pull up right next to some water at the gorge which was lined

Attraction tracks were all in excellent condition.

Dark dolerite rock isn’t found in many places around the Kimberley, but there’s pockets of it around Mount Hart.

with water-lilies and shaded by tall trees. There wasn’t a lot of information available about the gorge at the time of our visit, but the water looked an ideal place to explore by canoe or to swim.

D-MAX

Flowing water was undeniably in abundance at Mount Hart compared to other places we’d stopped by along the Gibb River Road this trip. Elsewhere, we’d found most of the waterfalls had stopped and waterholes were drying up. While wet season rains had delivered some water to the east Kimberley, the rain gods had definitely smiled on this area in the west as water flowed freely wherever we went on the property, and where there’s water, you’ll find birds. Any bird lovers will be in their element here as there’s been more than 120 species recorded, including rare and endangered species like the purple-crowned fairy wren and gouldian finch.

Besides the water-based attractions, there’s much more on offer at Mount Hart

Safari-style ensuite tents are another accommodation option Mount Hart offers.

A dessert fit for a queen (or king).

Wilderness Lodge. Settlers Bar offers casual style meals and coffees, and is the place to be if you’re looking to relax with an afternoon drink. A communal firepit is located nearby and popular for chatting with fellow travellers and warming up on what can be chilly Kimberley winter nights. Aside from Settlers Bar, the lodge offers a dining room experience for meals 7 nights a week which we couldn’t go past. We’d heard so many good reviews before leaving home and wanted to try it out for ourselves. If you’ve ever had any reservations about not getting good food in the Kimberley, we can assure you there’s nothing to worry about. Our three-course dinner made by resident chef, Brad, was sumptuous and consisted of homemade breads and dips, followed by melt-in-your-mouth chicken cooked three ways, vegetables and Yorkshire pudding. My tastebuds were in sweet heaven with a homemade dessert trio of citrus cake, ice cream and an appropriate for the location heart-shaped biscuit. We shared our dinner table with other lodge guests, and all agreed the meal and its presentation would rival many eastern states restaurants.

But for an experience with a difference, it’s hard to go past having dinner under a million-star sky. If you time your Mount

The campground amenities have combined shower and toilet facilities.

Hart visit right, it’s possible to join in on their gourmet style dinners underneath the stars at Sunset Hill. This area isn’t far from the homestead’s airstrip, and as its name implies, it’s a top spot at Mount Hart to capture the setting sun. Sunset Hill comes complete with decking and the long table would easily accommodate a couple of dozen guests. Unfortunately for us, dinners weren’t scheduled during our stay, but that didn’t stop us making our way there on our last day armed with our camera, and some drinks and nibbles in hand.

At Sunset Hill we joined other lodge guests, who happily shared stories of their Mount Hart and Gibb River Road adventures. As the sun dipped behind the King Leopold Ranges, we were left with a striking pinktinged sky that had us longing for more. With that, we all chinked our glasses to toast the beautiful surroundings, and agreed it was the perfect way to finish our stay at Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge.

Time to pull up a chair with other Mount Hart visitors, settle back, and get ready for sunset.

For more details about travelling to Mt Hart and the Gibb River Road region, Linda and Grant have an audio travel guide available at www.myaussietravelguide.com.au

Reaping the rewards of a setting sun at Sunset Hill.

OFF-ROAD

By Neil Dowling Photos by Christine Arnasiewicz

Nissan has added a cherry to the top of its substantial Navara offering, introducing an Aussie-spec flagship version that adds a splash of colour and style along with some specialised kit for serious off-road ability.

TheNissan Navara N-Trek Warrior is to Nissan what the Raptor is to the Ford Ranger - a vehicle that introduces new levels of off-road competency for enthusiasts who want more leisure and family time in their vehicle than the traditional working duties.

It is now a competitor for the Ford Ranger Raptor (which costs about $11,000 more than the Warrior, mainly because of its bespoke Fox suspension), Volkswagen Amarok Ultimate, HSV SportsCat SV, Toyota Hilux Rugged X and some tamer ute variants including the Holden Colorado Z71, LDV Trailrider, Mazda BT-50 Boss, and limited-edition Isuzu Ute X-Runner.

Warrior is made only for Australia and was a local concept. It brings together Nissan with Melbourne-based specialist engineering company Premcar that

previously was Tickford and then Prodrive with experience producing cars like the FPV range of performance cars for Ford Australia.

The Warrior is made as an N-Trek version in Thailand (along with the rest of the Navara range) and shipped to Australia where Premcar remove the unwanted bits - body parts, suspension, wheels and so on - and replace them with its own components.

Most of the money in the Warrior - which sells from $62,990 including on-road costs, up almost $10,000 on the N-Trek - goes into the new suspension.

The suspension parts are sourced in Australia from Monroe (coil springs as the ute is a four-coil vehicle) and Tenneco (dampers) with Australian-made lift-kit, arms and control points. The aim was to get some more air under the ute while delivering a long-travel, progressive damper action with minimal bump-stop interference.

It now sits 40mm higher than the donor N-Trek, thanks to the 15mm lift kit and the 25mm higher tyres. Premcar boss Bernie

Quinn told us that finding the right tyre was a long and involved process, with Warrior uses Navara N-Trek as its base but adds gear including all-new suspension and wheels.

Under the rear is new coils, dampers and a bespoke spare-wheel carrier for the bigger 32.2-inch tyre.

exhaustive testing finally settling on the Cooper Discoverer AT3 rubber.

This is a 32.2-inch diameter tyre, giving a taller ride. It is also a 17-inch tyre, down from the N-Trek and ST-X variants that have 18-inch rubber. The idea is to have the bigger rolling diameter along with a higher profile for more cushioning air to improve ride comfort, and also to allow for plenty of air-pressure reduction to expand the tyre footprint for sand work.

The 40mm extra ground clearance may not sound like much but Premcar said Nissan wanted a durable vehicle that could easily meet the Navara’s five-year warranty. So the suspension arm angles are modest to ensure reliability and to maintain all the best ride and travel features without affecting high-speed bitumen driving.

The alloy wheels come from Taiwan’s Rosta company which has long been a supplier of performance wheels for Ford and FPV, and as an OEM wheel provider for Suzuki, General Motors and Volkswagen.

Mr Quinn said the suspension and wheel changes forced another change - the size of the spare-wheel cradle beneath the tray. He said the bigger-diameter wheel meant the cradle had to be re-engineered and its deeper profile meant it had to be slightly relocated to maintain a decent ground clearance and departure angle. At the same time, there is a new tow bar cross member.

Premcar spent months trialling different tyres and voted Coopers the best.

While the ground clearance rose 40mm to 268mm, the suspension changes also allowed the track to grow by 30mm to 1600mm front and rear. This helps on and off-road stability while ensuring the wheels remain in the ruts of tracks - something the Raptor has a bit of difficulty achieving with its expanded 1710mm track dimension.

The Warrior retains the Navara’s rear coil spring suspension, updated for the stock Navara’s in 2018 to have progressive-rate coils to mix payload with ride comfort. Premcar bins these in favour of the Monroe steel. At the front it is double wishbones with new coils, dampers and arms with some added features including different bushes.

What doesn’t change is the rear drums. There are conversions around to flick the drums and install discs but despite the Raptor making the change, that doesn’t have appeared to be on the Premcar wish list. Perhaps because of the additional cost. Thai-made utes (Hilux, D-Max, BT-50, Ranger, Navara et al) get tax relief if they have rear drums (go figure!) so export markets cop the same prehistoric brakes. Wagon versions (Fortuner, Explorer, MU-X, etc) aren’t penalised and match rear discs with multi-link coil suspension.

Walk around the Warrior and the other important points to note over the N-Trek are the 470mm long front LED light bar (from Hella); hoopless steel bullbar and

3mm thick alloy front bash plate (EGR); and plastic parts including the wheel flares (RP Group).

Inside the basics are carried over, with the Warrior adding more supportive partleather seats with orange fabric inserts and orange stitching to the seats and embroidered head restraints. The Warrior name is also spelt out in body decals. The ute comes in three colours - white, grey and black - with standard sports bar, side steps and rear step and with a plastic liner to the sides of the tub (but not the floor) along with the very handy Utili-Trak adjustable tie-down hooks.

On the bitumen this is clearly a Navara, with the same throbbing diesel engine note, slovenly accelerator pedal movement, firm ride and long steering wheel movement.

Cabin re-style lifts the look and comfort.

On the plus side, it always feels tough and boasts a relatively comfortable ride when touring while having plenty of cabin room for five adults.

The increased ride height may conjure impressions of excessive bodyroll through a fast sweeper but that’s not the case. The Warrior feels well tied down to the road and though there’s still vagueness through the steering wheel, it manages to give clear instructions to the front wheels.

The engine is noisy and as the revs increase, so does the ear ache. The Navara isn’t alone here but it’s a bit disappointing that with this push into the more upmarket ute segment, extra sound deadeningprimarily under the bonnet and on the firewall - has been left off the list.

But there is a solution. In the dirt the engine noise falls to almost inaudible as the rocks and sand pelt the underside of the ute and create their own racket.

Here, over corrugations, the Warrior is noticeably more composed than the N-Trek and ST-X Navaras (as you’d expect) with the most appreciated difference being the progression of the suspension and the absence of the harsh ‘bang’ as the standard suspension bottoms out.

The compliance makes the Warrior a far less stressful ute to drive and one that fills the occupants with more confidence in its off-road ability.

The tyres are part of that suppleness and showed plenty of bite when playing in the soft sand. They were, incidentally, quiet on the bitumen so a lot of kudos to Cooper for a great set of rubbers.

The Warrior is ideal for the leisure activities we pursued in filing this report. It also has commendable applications as a daily drive, though the length

Part tub liner, sports bar and Utili-Trak adjustable tie-downs are standard.

Not much changes here - Warrior inherits all top-end gear from N-Trek version.

of 5.4m and the very wide 12.7m turning circle mean city parking can be painfully slow and require patience by the driver and nearby road users.

There is also the elephant in the room with the average safety gear. None of the Navara range gets the cream of safety kit such as autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure and lane keep assist, and rear cross-traffic alert. Remember that many Warrior rivals (Hilux

Nup, no changes here. Engine remains stock 2.3-litre bi-turbo diesel with 140kW/450Nm.

and Ranger included) do have these lifesaving aids as standard.

Nissan Australia has great hopes for the Warrior as a competitor to the Raptor and Hilux Rugged X. The only downside is that Premcar currently can make only 13 units a day until it opens its additional production area in Melbourne.

However, enthusiastic 4WD ute owners won’t be disappointed in this Aussieenhanced, off-the-shelf multi-purpose tool.

54 per cent of the purchase price.

In search of

views on the way to Python Pool.

at Karijini - and this bit is only trail grade 4.

By Amanda Burton

by www.red-dirt.net.au

Welove our LandCruiser, but when your mechanic takes you aside and tells you he is considering dedicating a bay in the workshop to you in recognition of your increasingly regular attendance and significant financial contributions, you know it’s time to stop burying your head in the sand. There is only so long you can keep telling yourself, “this’ll be the last thing that’ll break, we’ll fix it and she’ll be all good again,” before it morphs from optimism into financial destitution.

When we took a deep breath and looked back on how much we had spent on repairs over the previous six months, despite more than regular maintenance, it was pretty clear that we needed to make some hard economic decisions. The old girl was getting, well, old and she’d lived a very adventurous life. An unreliable vehicle in a remote location is a recipe for disaster. Given that 'the more remote the better' is our travel motto, the increasing regularity of major failures (we’re talking stops going forward, onto a tow truck and you need to pull her apart just to access the failed component) it was making us nervous about venturing too far afield.

No matter how many things we fixed, there always seemed to be something else ready to break. Maybe it was time to bite the bullet and consider a new vehicle - $$$.

So after slipping the Minister of Finance (that would be me) a triple-dose of Valium, we hit the car yards to see what was around. Someone up there must have finally taken pity on us, as a few weeks later that we found a pearler – 2013 (prediesel particulate filter) low km LandCruiser, no mods and without a spec of red dust for a not too astronomical price. We took the plunge and then straight away started planning how to rectify the lack of red dirt. The destination was a no-brainer. Red dirt = Pilbara.

We thought we’d start off a little on the tamer side and re-visit Millstream Chichester National Park. There are a couple of campground options, Miliyanha near the Homestead or the slightly more rustic Stargazers; on this occasion we opted for Stargazers. A good tip is to have a careful look around on the ground before committing to your site. What looked like the prime location (we were thinking we must have timed our arrival just right to score this one) proved to be home to a seething ant’s nest, and the ants up here are not small. Possibly not an issue if you plan to sit inside a caravan, but for outside campers like us it was an easy call to move along to a less prestigious, fully unoccupied site.

Once set up we took a short drive back to Deep Reach Pool. In all our previous visits we hadn’t looked in here, and we had been missing out. It is a gorgeous deep, widePanorama on the way to Python Pool.

Sunset at Stargazers camp Millstream NP. Muck free access to Deep Reach Pool.

pool with stepped access (no squelching through slimy banks to reach the water) perfect for swimming or paddling a kayak. There are shaded picnic tables spaced out between the trees along with a few gas BBQs. It would be a great place to set up for the day. We were fortunate to have it all to ourselves, but I can’t imagine it is usually that deserted.

Next day we did a quick drive past the old Millstream Homestead and adjoining Miliyanha campground. This campground has access to fresh water, though it is recommended that you boil it before use. My highlight of Millstream NP has always been the Wetland Walk behind the homestead, with its trickling stream

and pools smothered with lily pads and their exotic-looking flowers. Unfortunately, Cyclone Veronica (and by the looks a subsequent bushfire) has decimated this area, which was closed off and looking decidedly un-wetlandy. Hopefully in time it will regenerate. The homestead itself is worth a look if you haven’t seen it before, with some interesting relics both inside the house and in surrounding outbuildings. In season, there are gorgeous Sturt's Desert Peas around here too, adding their fiery colour to the landscape.

We headed deeper into the park, towards Python Pool. Though this was the destination, the drive in provided what must be some of the most spectacular vistas in the Pilbara. No photo we took (and believe me we took plenty) could truly capture the shear vastness of this epic landscape with its pallet of deep red and bleached olive stretching into the distant haze.

Not so wet Wetland Walk Millstream NP.

Millstream Homestead.

Python Pool not inviting enough for a swim.

Python Pool was obviously feeling the effects of recent dry weather and was not quite what I had in mind when I had read the blurb of “a stunning spot for a swim in a cool refreshing rock pool”. The soupy, green water didn’t look all that inviting, though the further descriptor of “the spectacular backdrop of the imposing rugged ochre cliffs” was more on the mark, definitely making the walk into the pool worthwhile. Given the dryness we decided not to continue on to the 4WD-access-only George River Gorge as planned, anticipating it would be rather dry (it’s around a three hour drive from the Homestead). Instead we turned southwards to flirt with Karijini National Park.

Now I have a bit of a love-hate relationship when it comes to Karijini NP; I love the gorges and the scenery, but I’m very notfond of the camping options within the park. We have however worked a way around this and though it takes a bit more

Pilbara-length train.

effort, it means that we have still been able to enjoy some time in the beautiful gorges. We started on the western side of the park, taking in the stunning Hamersley Gorge. Though it is quite out of the way in respect to the other gorges in the park, it is well worth the effort. Contemplating the massive forces involved in buckling the surrounding rocks into picturesque sweeping waves whilst dipping your toes in the cool water is not to be missed. Camping-wise, we made use of the road reserve located just opposite the access road into the gorge

Waves of rock at Hamersley Gorge.

Kermit's Pool in Hancock Gorge - stunning!

(outside the national park boundary). It’s a very large cleared site in the bush with a skip bin (but no other facilities). I have heard a whisper that signage has very recently been erected by the Shire of Ashburton to declare that no camping is allowed here, which would be a real shame as it was a great spot and travellers who discovered it seemed to be looking after it well.

On the eastern side of the park the Albert Tognolini Rest Area makes a great base. The area for camping is extensive and is set on the side of a hill with sweeping views for those lucky enough to get a spot near the edge. Otherwise there are more private areas on tracks to the rear. There are no facilities and unfortunately each time we visit there seems to be more and more toilet paper littering the area.

Acknowledging that digging a suitable hole in the rocky ground can be quite a challenge (though pessimistically I wonder how many even try) there are bins at the entrance so anyone could bag and dispose of their paper responsibly. Sadly, the message still doesn’t seem to be getting through to where it is needed.

From here we transit in to Karijini NP via the Visitor’s Centre. Dales Gorge is always worth a look, with the maiden hair fern adorned Circular Pool being a highlight. If you don’t mind flirting with hypothermia it’s a lovely spot for a (very quick) dip. Less frigid are the Fortescue Falls at the other end of the gorge and if you make it down

Campsite on the cliff edge - Tognolini rest area.

there don’t miss out on Fern Pool. It’s just a very short detour to this tiny waterfall and tranquil pool, filled with fish that will provide a complimentary natural pedicure if you sit still long enough.

My absolute highlight of Karijini NP though is Kermit’s Pool in Hancock Gorge. It took me a few visits to summon up the courage to attempt the full length of the walk to reach the pool, but WOW was it worth it. Be warned, it is not an easy walk / climb / scrabble / wade / spider-walk to get in, but it is absolutely worth every terrified moment once you reach the end – it is stunning.

Circular Pool - pretty but cold.

By now the new Cruiser had a lovely reddust-hue, but as we headed south-wards home there was one more spot that we wanted to check out - Peak Hill. This is a (now abandoned) gold mining town gazetted in 1897, located south of Karijini NP (north of Meekatharra). Our map showed access across what is now a huge, fencedoff open-cut mine pit, but follow your nose and the roads will get you around and in to the old townsite (which is located right next to the pit).

There isn’t a lot left, but the stonework on the few remaining structures is a work of art (unfortunately these are fast degrading after the roof materials were scavenged, exposing the mud-mortared walls to the erosive rain). There is still a lot of 'trash' laying around (one man’s trash being another man’s treasure) and it’s easy to while away many hours fossicking amongst

the old bottles, cans, machinery and other odds and ends. Just fossick very carefully as there are open mine shafts all over the town area.

A thoroughly enjoyable trip through some of the mainstream highlights of the Pilbara, with the goal of infusing the new Cruiser with some red dirt well and truly achieved. She didn’t miss a beat, we arrived home safely (under our own steam) and hopefully I can now take our mechanic’s number off speed-dial on my phone.

Excerpt from Hema’s WA State map.

Watch

Camped at

Millstream Chichester National

150km

time to

of Karratha

and early October.

at Miliyanha (generator

Campgrounds.

at the

and Miliyanha

Karijini National

Very busy / high

from June to

for

Camping available within the park at the

areas at Dales (run by

or Karijini Eco

(owned by

Camping outside the park at Albert Tognolini Rest Area - 179km north west of Newman or 17km south of Auski Roadhouse.

facilities –

GPS: 22 29 23

only.

Peak Hill

north east of Perth /

north of Meekatharra.

38

TT-VJ33 $1350

TT-VJ38 $1350

TT-VIGM $1350

TT-VI58 $900

TT-VIBR $900

TT-VIDW $1350

TT-49135-07310 $1350

TT-VIEZ $1350

TT-K0422-582 $1350

gst

gst

3.2L Pajero TT-49135-03410 $1350 + gst

Mitsubishi Pajero 4M41 TT-VT13 $1350 + gst Mitsubishi Pajero 4M41 RHF5 3.2L TT-VT12 $1350 + gst

Mitsubishi Triton TT-49135-02912 $1350 + gst

Mitsubishi Triton / Challenger RHV4 4D56 2.5L 100 Kw TT-VT10 $1350 + gst Mitsubishi Triton / Challenger RHV4 4D56 2.5L D-ID 100 Kw TT-VT16 $1350 + gst Mitsubishi Triton 4M40T 2.8L TT-49135-03130 $1350 + gst

Nissan Navara 3.0L ZD30 D22 1411-9S00A 170 Kw TT-HT12-19D $1350 + gst

Nissan Navara D22 2.5L RHF4H TT-VN4 $1350 + gst

Nissan Patrol HT18 TD42T Y61 GU watercooled TT-14411-62T00 $1350 + gst

Toyota CT20b 100 series 1HD-FTE TT-17201-17040 $1350 + gst

Toyota CT26 80 series 1HDT TT-17201-17010 $1350 + gst

Toyota Hi-Ace TT-17201-30180 $1550 + gst

Toyota Hi-Ace TT-17201-30200 $1550 + gst

Toyota Hi-Lux / Prado / Front runner 2.8 L TT-17201-11080 $1550 + gst

Toyota Hilux 3.0 L 1KZ-TE CT12B TT-17201-67010 $1350 + gst

Toyota Hilux 3.0L CT16VGT 1KD-FTV D4D TT-17201-30110 $1550 + gst

Toyota L/Cruiser 12HT 1HJ61 TT-17201-68010 $1350 + gst

Toyota L/Cruiser 1VD-FTV V8 twin turbo LC200 series TT-VB22 $1850 + gst

Toyota L/Cruiser 1VD-FTV V8 twin turbo LC200 series TT-VB23 $1850 + gst

Toyota Prado 3.0L CT16VGT 1KD-FTV D4D TT-17201-30160 $1550 + gst

The Tin Horse Highway A real laughing matter!

By Colin Kerr

At just 15km long this outback highway is probably one of the shortest there is, but this is more than made up for with the colour, interest, ingenuity and creativity that lines the way on both sides of the road.

Out here in the vibrant wheatbelt area at Kulin, just under 300km south-east of Perth, the town’s popular bush race meeting held at the beginning of October each year has brought out an unexpected creative talent in the locals living along the road leading to the race course.

With the race track located 15km east of town in a picturesque setting near Jilakin Rock (a huge granite outcrop overlooking the track) and alongside Lake Jilakin (a natural salt lake which is especially appealing when full of water - usually around race time after normal winter rains), it is, indeed, a splendid setting for the annual event that usually attracts around 4,000 visitors.

Colourful wagon.

No one can say they lack imagination in the small WA wheatbelt town of Kulin!

With a view to promoting their beloved races, a number of years ago Kulin resident Mary Lucchesi started to enthusiastically encourage local farmers to build horse statues in their paddocks en-route to the track. Mary had seen the interest that scarecrows had brought to the southwest town of Balingup and thought the concept was worth a go here in Kulin. Records show that Anne-Marie Carmody and Serge Lucchesi built the first couple of ‘horses’ and from there it seems everyone suddenly had a tin horse idea and got to work in friendly rivalry to try and outdo their neighbours.

Creative works of ‘horse-art’ were soon beginning to appear in a quirky open-air gallery on either side of the road en-route to the track.

Like farmers everywhere, the property owners around Kulin can always put their hands on farm junk – odd pieces of metal, pipes, drums, kerosene tins, star pickets, push bikes, car bonnets, doors, mufflers, old plough discs and the like from around

Mary Lucchesi came up with the idea of the Tin Horse Highway.

their farms. With a creative flare and talent previously untapped (and using their bush welding and painting skills), they set their minds on creating a unique, unexpected and entertaining array of outback 'horsie' sculptures in all manner of shapes, sizes and poses along the road. Some are standing alone, some are pulling ploughs, others in groups. There's a family riding a Harley, some are drinking at a bar, others dancing, playing golf, hockey, darts and tennis. One is sitting on a loo reading a Playhorse Magazine, there's one up a tree, one in an aeroplane, one on a rocket, a couple playing backyard cricket and even a team of horses playing football - truly ingenious! At last count, and growing each year, there were around 100 humorous horsie creations now in place in paddocks and on the verge along the highway. This is indeed, a seriously entertaining drive and a real laughing matter every kilometre along the way!

Keeping fit.

A farm working horse.

The highway has, in fact, become a popular WA icon in its own right regardless of the bush races it set out to promote!

When next in WA wheatbelt country, whether or not it coincides with the colourful Kulin Bush Races, travel along the Tin Horse Highway and enjoy the verge-side entertainment that the folk around Kulin have created. It is also a popular alternate route for travellers on their way to or from WA’s famous Wave Rock at nearby Hyden.

Reading a Playhorse magazine on the loo.

A game of hockey.

Giddy up!

Australian Defence Horses on parade.

Kulin Bush Races

The Kulin Bush Race weekend starts on Friday night with an art and craft exhibition. Saturday has the horse races, gymkhana, track-side Calcutta, trick riding, licensed bar, children's entertainment, games and play area, a grand parade, novelty events, two-up, fireworks, live bands/supervised disco and genuine country-style food and hospitality ... and as a real treat you can purchase a 'Nag Bag' - a Kulin Bush Races show bag packed full of goodies! Sunday's Great Aussie Revival Breakfast winds up this most enjoyable weekend.

The next Kulin Bush Race weekend is 2nd to 4th October 2020. The first Kulin Bush Races at Jilakin Rock took place in 1995. A camping area with hot showers and toilets (including disabled facilities) is available at the racecourse during the Bush Race weekend.

A tin horse competition for new creations to keep the highway growing, is conducted each year in conjunction with the Bush Race weekend.

Ticket Prices

Adult - $55 which includes free camping on the Friday and Saturday and free shuttle bus between the race course and Kulin township. If you wish to come earlier than Friday night a camping fee of $30.00 per vehicle, per night payable by cash only at the gate with a valid event ticket. Gates are open Wednesday and Thursday 9am to 9pm - gates will be closed outside of these times. Tent, swag, caravan, RV and camper trailers recommended. Camping is restricted to designated camping zones. 8km/h speed limit applies. Some accommodation is available in Kulin.

Children under 12 are free – otherwise $10 each. No concessions. Photo ID required (18+) No BYO, No dogs, No EFTPOS

On the bagpipes.

Other accommodation -

Kulin Caravan Park - phone (08) 9880 1053 Kulin Hotel/Motel - phone (08) 9880 1201.

There is a free overnight camping area (72 hours maximum) for fully self-contained RVs near the Visitor Centre with a new (free) shower and toilet block. Nearby at the Kulin Aquatic Centre is Australia’s biggest water slide!

Also out at Jilakin Rock is the most isolated known stand of Jarrah trees, some 150km from the nearest Jarrah growing region. They are surviving here at the base of the rock from the water run-off from this huge granite outcrop. There is a picnic area here and a climb to the top of the rock is rewarded with a great view over the lake and race course.

Adjacent to Kulin’s Visitor Centre in town there is a splendid Tin Horse Highway interpretation display (a walk through the history of the highway) well worth checking out. There are several other tin horse creations in Kulin and along other roads heading into town.

Kulin is approximately 285km south-east of Pertha 3.5 to 4 hour drive.

The Tin Horse Highway (Kulin-Holt Rock Road) is fully sealed from Kulin except for the last few kilometres (good gravel) into the Jilakin Race Track, 15km east of Kulin. In regional WA this quirky highway of entertainment has become a really popular self-drive trail and it’s not hard to understand why!! It is open all year and is free.

Kulin Races Website: https://kulinbushraces.com.au Kulin Visitor Information Centre Phone (08) 9880 1021 Email: crccounter@kulin.wa.gov.au Bush race enquiries - contact Kulin Visitor Information Centre

Towing a load.

OFF-GRID COMFORT

By Neil Dowling

The electric caravan has arrived!

Australian caravan manufacturer Retreat Caravans has teamed up with technology company OzXCorp to bring a radical caravan that has almost unlimited, self-contained and gas-free power thanks to a bank of roof-mounted photovoltaic panels and a large lithium-ion battery.

Called the ERV and recently shown at the Perth 4WD and Adventure Show, the solar-boosted caravan goes on sale this year after successfully completing a plug-free 20,088km, 176-day trip throughout Australia.

Thisfirst caravan used for trials has solar panels rated at up to 2kW and has a 240-Volt system using a special inverter.

The 20-foot van was used by test couple Fran and John Huett to travel for 20,088km over six months from their home base in Melbourne via the Nullarbor to WA’s west coast, then north via the Gibb River Road to Darwin then back via Alice Springs.

ERV national sales manager George Drak spoke to Western 4W Driver after displaying the van at the 4WD show. He said the Huett’s test was “completely ‘offthe-grid’ travelling.”

The van was tested without any battery charging assistance via the Anderson plug of the tow vehicle or any 240Volt mains power. During one test, the system showed it was powerful enough to also feed two other caravans with electricity, including running two air conditioners and appliances.

Tests also included parking the caravan in the shade so the solar panels had diminished sunlight. It still produced enough to run all the appliances in the van.

“This was a class-leading six-month test,” Mr Drak said. “It proves the ERV is a renewable power plant on wheels as well as a home away from home.”

He said the ERV technology would be extended to other caravan manufacturers in the near future, including to overseas brands.

“We have global interest in this caravan and the technology,” Mr Drak said.

OzXCorp’s technology uses a lithiumion battery pack fitted into the chassis of the Retreat caravan, alongside the van’s water tanks.

The caravan’s chassis-integrated energy system is also waterproof to a depth of one metre for about 10 minutes, is dust proof, and has a 50mm crush-resistant shell around the battery to protect it in severe off-road conditions or accidents.

The ERV electrical system is fed by an OEM automotivegrade 14.3kWh, 48-Volt lithium-ion battery, a 5000-Watt Smart Inverter and up to 2033-Watt solar system. The battery is about the size of a 90-litre water tank and weighs about 115kg.

Now proven to create self-sufficient and sustainable accommodation, the electrical system has another surprise - it has a 15Amp industrial heavy-duty socket outlet in the tunnel boot that is capable of running any three-pin, 15-Amp welder.

The battery is rated at 16 kW/h but Mr Drak said it has been conservatively derated to

"... the ERV is a renewable power plant on wheels as well as a home away from home."

14.3 kW/h to ensure the power is reliable and consistent.

The inverter has a 5000Watt continuous rating that is designed to assure the power supply.

Mr Drak said the lights are the last function of the caravan that remains if the power supply is depleted.

“Because we see lights as being very important to the safety of the caravan occupants, they are the last function to go - but that is very unlikely to happen,” he said.

“The system will never drain power to the lights even when supplying peak power of 240-Volt appliances exceed the 5000Watt rating.

“If the battery is critically low, the lights and fridge will continue to draw power right to the end. This keeps the occupants safe and ensures they have food.”

Mr Drak demonstrated a full-load scenario at the Perth 4WD show with a toaster, kettle, induction cooktop and air conditioner operating, drawing from the battery. It was then further loaded by turning on a hairdryer.

“People at the stand had to be reminded that the lighting, TV and the full-size fridge were all running simultaneously as well,” he said.

“This was without the van being plugged into the grid-connected mains, a generator or any other external power source while running any combination of 240-Volt appliances up to 5000-Watts continuous.”

The ERV does not have a gas system. By removing gas as an alternative energy source, the caravan doesn’t need to comply with gas regulations and that includes not needing vents in the caravan.

Without vents, the caravan interior can be sealed and means no dust will enter the

cabin when off-road and also means no heating or cooling will escape the cabin which improves efficiency.

The roof panels are designed specifically for the caravan by OzXCorp. They are light and flexible so use a patented curved mounting system to improve exposure to the sun’s rays. They also sit above the caravan roof to keep the panels cool and reduce heat flow through to the caravan, acting like a tropical roof.

The panels cover most of the roofdependent on the caravan model and the customer order - with space for a vent and antennas where needed. The caravan that was on display at last year’s 4WD show was an ERV2 20-foot caravan fitted with the bigger solar panels from the 22.5-foot long ERV5.

There is no roof-mounted air conditioner. Retreat has moved this to beneath the double bed so it frees up roof space for more panels, reduces air drag and sits in a protected area within the caravan’s interior so it is insulated from moisture and dust. It also ensures the air conditioner is very quiet.

Mr Drak said that without a large roofmounted air conditioner, the cabin headroom has been increased and there’s now room for a person of 1.95m high to walk around without contacting the ceiling.

The idea for the self-sufficient solar power source for a caravan came about 10 years ago but the technology wasn’t then perfected to suit production, Mr Drak said.

More recently it became viable because of lower battery prices, smaller and lighter batteries, better inverters and more refined caravan design and technology such as cabin thermal qualities and more compliant suspension to protect the van.

Now it is being presented as an excellent competitor to existing caravans and caravan technology.

“Having a fully self-contained power pack gives the caravan - and the travelleralmost unlimited scope to travel off the power grid, to remote areas previously difficult to access,” Mr Drak said.

“It also brings the economical benefits of not having to choose a powered site at a caravan park, taking the non-shaded site (because the solar panels should be exposed to the sun to maximise the energy), and even the potential of reduced fuel consumption because there’s a flush roof without an exposed air conditioner.”

The ERV uses a Retreat caravan as its donor, with structural changes to the chassis to allow the placement of the lithium-ion battery and alterations to

the roof. The van also has improved thermal-insulating properties to ensure the cabin stays cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

The ERV2 has a weight of 2700kg and features a 150mm A-frame, recessed DO35 coupling, has four 16-inch wheels with 265/16 Mickey Thompson AT tyres, drum brakes and a Dexter sway control system.

The standard suspension is Control Rider TS (twin shocks) but optional units are Al-Ko, Simplicity and airbags.

Electrical gear includes electric steps, an electric awning, and a slide-out electric Weber barbecue that can be used - with some caveats - despite fire bans. It has a Fusion sound system and optional outdoor TV unit.

There is a convection oven and grill, 274-litre fridge, Swift 48-Volt electric hot water system, induction cook top, full LED lighting and a 24-inch TV with arm. It has a fold-down picnic table and an external shower as an alternative to the ensuite.

The caravan comes with a reverse camera, single spare-wheel carrier, jerry-can holder, dual slide-out tool box and eight-inch jockey wheel made for off-road conditions. Retreat does its own cabinet work and features acrylic doors, extended door

runners, tile-finish splash back and shower recess, waterfall kitchen bench top and plenty of under-seat and underbed storage.

Plumbing equipment includes a ceramic cassette toilet, 3kg top-loader washing machine, two 110-litre water tanks, one 65-litre tank for drinking water and one

110-litre tank for grey water. The tanks have galvanised protection guards.

The ERV range available from March will be available in a range from 18.5-feet to 22.5-feet. They are the ERV1 at 18.5ft; ERV2 as shown at the Perth 4WD show at 20ft; ERV3 (21.5ft); ERV4 (22ft); and ERV5 at 22.5 feet.

Prices start from $109,900 and all ERV vans come with a five-year warranty. The ERV2 as displayed at the show is $119,900 with the off-road suspension and the largest 2033Watt solar panel from the ERV5.

OzXCorp also came to prominence early last year with plans to develop an electricassist drive for caravan axles.

Mr Drak said it is yet to be released though is under development.

SIDETRACKED on the Gibb

By Benedict Smith

To many of our four wheeling brethren, the mere mention of the famous Gibb River Road in the wild and ancient Kimberley region incites feelings and emotions only too familiar to the adventurous. The secluded campsites, the crystal-clear water holes, the abundant wildlife and the world’s oldest surviving cultures are among the reasons why, year after year, we see an influx of folk taking the rite of passage, along the Gibb.

Excerpt from Hema’s WA State map.

Ask anyone who owns a 4WD in our great state and they will surely have the Kimberley region high on their travel bucket list. For good reason too! It is larger than the state of Victoria and has fewer people per square kilometre than just about any other corner of WA.

The real appeal of the Gibb however, is the sheer number of incredible attractions along its 660 odd kilometre length, and more often than not, it is the side tracks that provide the most stunning and memorable adventures. Everything from panoramic vistas, to rough and tumble goat tracks to pockets of rainforest and hundreds of creeks, rivers and springs to cool off in!

Just remember, not all water holes along the Gibb are safe to dive into. Always ask the locals first and be croc wise!

Many a traveller on the Gibb will no doubt visit all the well-known attractions they have read about or heard about from others. However, there are some real gems on offer that are not visited as often and for good reason. Often the tracks to reach

them have been washed away in the wet season rains, from December to March, or they are deemed simply out-of-reach for many for a variety of reasons.

There are a few though, with good preparation and planning, that are accessible and reached in under a day’s drive from your camp site.

Beginning your journey in Derby and heading east along the Derby-Gibb River Road, roughly 155km, Windjana Gorge offers travellers a feast for the senses as an entrée to the main, further down the track. Located in the Napier Range and formed by the Lennard River over 300 million years ago, the gorge is composed of Devonian Limestone. With walls reaching between 10 and 30 metres in height and a width of over 100 metres, the gorge has a series of permanent waterholes, which are home to the resident freshwater crocodiles. They can be spotted sunning themselves on the riverbank, so swimming here is not recommended.

The gorge is however, a popular tourist attraction and can easily be hiked through in the dry season, May to September, via a well-maintained walking track. On some of the rock walls, fossils of shells and various other marine organisms can be seen with a keen eye. The bird life will keep the twitchers happy and is great for the budding photographers. Camping is available within the Windjana Gorge National Park and is the perfect spot to explore your surrounds. A little further down the track, the FairfieldLeopold Downs Road leads to Tunnel Creek National Park. The highlight here is the walk itself through Tunnel Creek, with a bit of adventure thrown in for good measure. Carved over millions of years by fast flowing wet-season rains, the 2km round trip runs underground through a naturally formed tunnel and is one of Western Australia’s oldest cave systems. Walking through the

water in the dark is a bit of a thrill but taking a good torch and your camera is a must on this excursion.

The surrounding range is made up of limestone formed about 350 million years ago. It is the remains of a Devonian reef system, similar to that found at Windjana Gorge, 36km up the road.

The area was made famous in the late 1800s, when a local Aboriginal hero named Jandamarra of the Bunuba tribe, led one of many organised armed revolts against the European colonists. Pidgeon, as he was known to the settlers, was initially used as a police tracker. He was forced to capture his own people and became a fugitive when he fought back against the injustices he had witnessed. He led a three-year campaign against police and European colonists, achieving legendary status for his hit and run tactics and his

(Photo by Chris Morton)

The stunning Windjana Gorge.

abilities to hide and disappear. Tunnel Creek became a safe haven and a hide-out, however, Jandamarra was eventually killed by another tracker at this location on 1 April 1897. He is revered by the local people even today and his story has been the subject of various novels, stage plays, documentaries and songs as recent as 2016.

The ruins of the Lillimulura Police Station, which are of historical significance because of their connection to Jandamarra, are a few kilometres south of Windjana Gorge on the road to Tunnel Creek. Both Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek are popular tourist attractions and visitors interested in learning more about Jandamarra are well advised to visit these ruins.

Back on the road, the next must-see on any Gibb Adventure is the majestic Silent Grove, where Bell Gorge is the star of the show. The campground here has good facilities, including hot showers, toilets and drinking water but no powered sites.

It is the perfect base to explore Bell Creek Gorge, 11km away.

The gorge has been formed by water flowing west from the King Leopold Range, named in 1897 by Alexander Forrest, in

recognition of the great interest taken by His Majesty King Leopold of Belgium in exploration of the region.

Bell Gorge, roughly 300 metres above sea level, is the first of a series of waterfalls which descend through the Isdell Range to Walcott Inlet, over 100km to the north. It is a spectacular spot for swimming, photography and enjoying what nature has to offer. The falls are reached by a 1km walk from the car park. On arrival at the top of the waterfall you may wish to relax or take a dip in the top pool or cross, further upstream, to the opposite side. From there it is a reasonable walk over the hill and through the spinifex to the bottom pool. Here is an excellent swimming hole and a magnificent view of the waterfall and the gorge to the west.

Another such spot is Wunnamurra Gorge, on Mt. Elizabeth Station. The gorge is accessed via a 4WD track from the homestead and it is recommended to travel the 12km in convoy. The waterhole that greets you is nothing short of spectacular and the white sandy beach below is perfect for soaking up the afternoon sun. Further downstream is a rock art gallery that is

Reflections in Tunnel Creek.

well worth the 15 minute hike to view.

A refreshing dip on your return leg is a great way to cool off before hitting the track back to base camp. Hot showers, new amenity blocks (installed 2019) and spacious bush camping all add to the experience and make for a comfortable stay at Mt. Elizabeth Station.

Further down the road, Ellenbrae Station is one of those much talked about destinations in travellers’ circles. It is the perfect spot to pull up for morning or afternoon tea, as they offer the most delicious scones with jam and cream you will find anywhere in the Kimberley. Tea, coffee and souvenirs are all on offer here as well as some great bush camping and cabin style accommodation options. The Managers love telling yarns about the station to visitors and are more than happy to accommodate groups for both tea and scones and private camp sites. Ellenbrae Station covers 1 million acres and is located roughly 230km west of Kununurra. The homestead is surrounded by lush gardens and is full of interesting artifacts, photos and history of the region. It is always a hit with the tourists and is not to be missed on your Gibb adventure - the scones are amazing!

At the eastern end of the Gibb, Home Valley Station, on the banks of the mighty Pentecost River, truly encompasses everything the Kimberley region is renowned for. Friendly hospitality, a plethora

Sitting at the top of the waterfall at Bell Gorge is a must-do. (Photo by Chris Morton)

Scones were a hit at Ellenbrae Station.

of adventurous activities, the choice of riverside camping or glamping closer to the homestead, while surrounded by arguably some of the most stunning scenery in the region. If sipping your favourite beverage in your comfy camp chair, fire crackling, while watching the last rays of the day descend on the Cockburn Ranges, you simply can’t beat the riverside camp. The fishing isn’t bad either!

Whether you’re a bush camper or a newage glamper, the Gibb has so much on offer to all that makes the journey to this wondrous corner of the state. Just come prepared and do a little research on those not so well-known tracks. Often pointing the front wheels down a bumpy old goat track, will take you to the most memorable destinations and have you planning your return trip as there is never enough time to see it all. But isn’t that the beauty of owning a 4WD?

Wetting a line at Home Valley Station.

Ancient rock art below Wunnamurra Gorge. Wunnamurra Gorge at Mt. Elizabeth Station.

Taking the Gladiator MaximusTO the

By David Wilson

is a seriously tough truck. Oh, and it’s big."

Do you remember the Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius? Well, old mate Max (AKA Russell Crowe) was the Gladiator with a fearsome reputation having led the Roman Army to victory over the Germanic tribes near Vindobona, now known as Vienna.

Max became the gun-Gladiator after political treachery (surely that never happens) saw him demoted from becoming the likely Regent and anointed by Emperor Marcus Aurelias ahead of his own son Commodus, to save Rome from corruption.

You know how the rest of the film plays out, but I couldn’t help myself feeling all gladiatorial driving Jeep’s new Gladiator ute in Russell’s backyard amongst the mountains and valleys of New Zealand’s Wanaka region, a beautiful part of the world.

Gladiator. This is a seriously tough truck. Oh, and it’s big. If you take a new JL Wrangler wagon and extend the chassis to a 3.4 metre wheelbase and make it 5.5 metres long overall, you end up with a dual-cab ute that’s ready for battle in the Pilbara, the Gascoyne or the Goldfields, even Perth.

The convoy makes its way to the off-road circuit in the foothills of the Mt Aspiring Range.

The first arrivals of the Gladiator in mid2020 are petrol-only, powered by the venerable Pentastar 3.6L V6. The outputs are respectable if not earth-shattering, with 209kW and 353Nm. With 2.3 tonnes of heft (empty) to get going, it’s sprightly but not racy. There’s talk of a 3.0L V6 diesel, which would be the natural choice for Western Australia usage with the promise of extended range and heaps more torque (try 660Nm), but that might be a year away. Jeep plan to electrify the entire range in the coming two years which is great for the city dwellers, but with no outback infrastructure to properly support refuelling that’s of little value for the remote travellers amongst us. So diesel it should be.

The cabin is a glorious place to be because there are buttons that control some proper 4WD stuff. In the Rubicon, you’ll find double diff-locks on top of an already impressive traction control system that’s finely tuned for off-road work. Heck, it can even disconnect the front sway bar if you’re looking for a bit more flex!

The dash is upright and square with accent colour-coded areas in amongst a sea of switches, gauges and air vents. It takes a little while to get around the Japanese convention of window switches being placed on your armrest, in the Jeep fashion it’s in the middle of the dash under the info screen. Another quirk points to its LHD origins and that’s the indicator stalk on the

LHS of the steering column like you’ll find in any Euro or USA-design vehicle.

The infotainment centre isn’t Apple CarPlay or Android Auto but its functionality was as good during the test. UConnect has been around for a while in FCA (Fiat Chrysler Australia) vehicles and the latest variant possesses an 8.4” screen with plenty of connectivity. The Satnav worked for the test route even with the potential conflict of US-spec LHD vehicles being used in NZ on the other side of the world and amazingly it could name the remote tracks we were driving on. The young things amongst the gathered assembly of journalists even had it streaming their favourite tunes at full blast, so if doof-doof is your caper you’ll find plenty of volume in a Gladiator. The seats were comfy and with just enough rake in the base to accommodate my sixfoot legs. If you were any taller you’ll be reaching for the seat back adjuster to stretch out a bit further. The back seats were a bit of a revelation because the extended wheelbase has left the interior designers with a bit more measuring tape for leg and knee room. The space seemed better than any Jap dual-cab ute I’ve been folded up into of late.

On-road dynamics were sharp and that’s something I wasn’t expecting. Remember this is a proper live-axle front and rear, highriding 4WD that’s packing a few kilos and rolling on light-truck all-terrain tyres.

Thankfully the tyres were set for the placarded pressures and not stolen from someone’s imagined higher pressure of being right, so the sidewalls had some flex to absorb the initial road imperfections before the Fox shocks and coil springs combo went to work to smooth out the big bumps. The ride is very good and shows once more what a manufacturer can do if they put their mind and pocket to it.

Changes of direction were done without drama. I caused a bit of a stir in the cab of my vehicle when I deliberately chucked the car in rapid succession left and right as if there were a skippy running out on

The fording depth Jeep quote got a workout on more than one occasion on the off-road drive route.

the road ahead (apparently there’s plenty of deer over here in NZ that do the same thing). My partner for the week Ian and one of the USA cameramen were reaching for the sick bags, not for any wallow because there wasn’t any, more the G-forces being applied in the changes of direction. I barely noticed the stability control lights flicker, so it was mostly the work of grippy tyres, a sound chassis and suspension.

The tyres on the Gladiator Rubicon are a set of Falken Wildpeak light-truck all-terrains. You might have been expecting a set of BFGs as is seen on the Wrangler but no, Falkens get the gong on the Gladiator and I think that’s not such a bad thing because I find the BFG pattern rowdy and bitumen grip levels at times dubious. You’ll find disc brakes all round (hallelujah).

Our Rubicon test vehicles ran automatic transmissions and eight-speeds coupled to Jeep’s Rock-Trac transfer case, but it’s a part-time version, Australian Wranglers run a full-time trans. I found the runs on the high-speed dirt legs were more poised running in 4H which can be engaged on the move and based on past experience more likely to keep you upright than 2H will ever do.

This crossing was made all the more treacherous by the current midstream and loose rubble; no Gladiators were lost in the making of this pic.

When the made roads ran out and the rough and tumble started 4L was a revelation. Rock-Trac kicks off with 4:1 in low; a reduction which when coupled to the Dana diffs at 4.1 arithmetically arrives at a 77.2:1 crawl ratio. This thing was never going to run away on any of the descents and we had our fair share of steep pinches. Did I mention the suspension? It’s worth mentioning that the back end of the Gladiator was pinched mostly from a Dodge RAM.

In a world where IFS rules and in a land of ruts and gullies your typical Jap dualcab will be cocking wheels up in the air like a drover’s dog taking a leak on the nearest available fencepost. Not so the Gladiator. Those coil springs offer fantastic amounts of articulation, further aided with the disconnecting sway bar feature. The suspension fairly soaked up the challenge and the only real advice from the car that something was going on came courtesy of the inevitable scrape on the belly thanks to the shallow ramp-over angle of eighteen degrees (can’t have both a whopping wheelbase and good clearance).

Those scrapes were thought of well-before my bum was on that seat because Jeep engineers have placed plenty of bash plates under the vehicle for this very purpose and they can support the weight of the vehicle too. No nasty tinfoil waiting to get bent out of shape.

As there were epic amounts of rain just before our arrival in NZ and a lot of the roads we were slated to use went underwater, I can attest to the fording ability of Gladiator because there were more than a few times when bonnets momentarily disappeared. Luckily the intake design had this in mind and no Pentastars were harmed in the making of this and other reviews. Jeep lists the fording depth at 760mm.

We can’t wait to get the Gladiator onto home soil and load it up to the max and take it for a spin at Lancelin or up in the Kennedy Range. It’ll also be interesting to see how it tows because the quoted payload of 620kg in the tub and we think 3,400kg worth of pulling capacity looks good on paper and capable of dealing with most people’s toys or a tradie’s trailer. Make no mistake Rubicon Gladiator is definitely Trail-Rated, it’s a killer ute and nothing I’ve seen in the marketplace except for a G-Wagen Professional or an Iveco Daily 4X4 can hold a candle to it off-road.

The Overland misses out on double diff-locks but its traction control system was able to cope with ledges and steps like the one out of this creek.

A trip through the

YILGARN

With Ian Elliot

During my absence in Arnhem Land last year, the Wildtrax mob did a cold and rainy Yilgarn jaunt without me. Checking out Terry's drone video after my return, I found they'd visited a few spots that were new to me so I asked for a repeat visit. As it turned out, their directions had come from a YouTube clip, Yilgarn Water, posted by Alan McCall, a 4WD adventurer who appears to have similar travel tastes to my own and the same respect for the history of watering sites and their importance to our nomadic first Australians and the explorers and prospectors who followed them.

Unnamed waterhole off the Bullfinch Evanston Road.

Alan's

video takes in some fascinating mining and pastoral country northwards of Bullfinch and his waypoints are available from his ExplorOz blog. Terry had extended his route somewhat from Alan's directions, and I requested a further extension northward to take in the Olby Gnammas, Giles' Pigeon Rock, an abandoned mining area called Yarbu and an old stone well out west of the Clampton Mine. I also hoped, while we were in the vicinity, to have an opportunity to pinpoint the old Jackson Cemetery.

Terry, Paul and I left after lunching at the Bakers Hill Pie Shop on a Wednesday in September and camped that evening at Baladjie Rock where we confirmed that the bush flies were enjoying the very pleasant spring weather in impressive numbers. Next morning, after briefly calling in to Hunt's Cowine Soak of 1865, we visited East Gnammas, a group of interesting waterholes on a side track 6km out east from the Bullfinch Evanston Road, a track I'd never been on. Here, on a low outcrop of granite, there are six gnammas, several of which have improvements in capacity and catchment that I assume date from goldrush days.

On his previous trip Terry had followed this track further out to where it dead-ended on a bluff lookout with distant views of the Helena and Aurora Range, so we repeated this drive. Eight kilometres on from East

Terry at East Gnammas.

Stonework at East Gnammas.

Rockholes near the dead end.

Gnammas and about three kilometres before the dead end there is another group of impressive gnammas situated amongst small scattered granites, and again, historic improvements are evident. I was surprised that these have no known name and don't appear to be shown on any maps of the region.

Back on the main drag northward we called in to Glasses Well (where there doesn't appear to be a well, only some gnammas on a low granite outcrop) to have a look at some old Kurrajongs there, one of which has the initials 'AL' carved into its trunk. I agree with Alan McCall that these would probably have been cut in the 1890s by Augustus Luck, a well-known prospector of that time who was a mentor to the explorer David Carnegie and author of the book Outback Trails.

Some 62km further northwards as the crow flies, this time on the Mount Manning Range track, again trending eastward from the Bullfinch Evanston Road, we visited Olby Rocks. These are a seemingly insignificant set of low granites that support no less than seven gnammas, four of which can hold what would have been important water supplies in the old days. Two were substantially improved in 1911 by the Mines Water Supply. Their capacity was increased and timber covers provided at the request of John Henry Stubbs who was working the 'Olby Extended' lease at that time.

Geological maps show the 'Olby Mine' to the north east of Olby Rocks, but I've searched there years ago and found nothing but sand plain. The same maps show the name

'Olby Rockholes' some distance westwards of Olby Rocks, so I asked Paul to do a foot search as the scrub looked a bit thick for any cross country driving. What he found was a very old vehicle track that he traced back to our camp and this gave me hope that one of the granite outcrops out that way might be hiding additional gnammas. Paul's track allowed us to get the vehicles out to the vicinity of the supposed rockholes but an exhaustive search, including a drone reccie, failed to reveal any trace of water sources there. So now we had not only found gnammas not shown on any maps, we'd found that rockholes shown on maps did not exist.

After a pleasant night at Olby Rocks, we moved westwards to Pigeon Rock named by the explorer Ernest Giles who camped

Small Gnammas at Olby Rocks.

Vehicles at Glasses Well granite.

there in October 1875 when completing his first east-west traverse of Australia. Giles' party had been attacked by natives at Ularring Rock a few days earlier so his nervousness can be imagined when he heard Aborigines yelling as he approached the north east edge of Pigeon Rock. However, firing his rifle into the air appears to have scared the nomads off and he and his party camped there without incident for three nights feasting on the many pigeons they shot, hence his name for the feature. We found that the old government well had fallen in but a rusted tank and an ancient roofed trough were still evident nearby. After having a wander around these relics, we followed the track to an old stockyard and dam on the SW side. Terry carried out a drone reccie of the rock while we stopped briefly for morning tea. There is a track to the west north west from this point that leads out to a defunct mining area at Yarbu. Assuming this would be badly overgrown, we protected our radial tyres by taking a longer route arriving at Yarbu for lunch. On the way we discovered that Ryan Gnamma is shown a kilometre too far to the north on the Natmap 1:250,000 topo map while the track shown out to the supposed position of Yarbu Gnamma no longer exists. I was

Old trough at Pigeon Rock.

A dry waterhole near Ryan Gnamma.

disappointed at this as I'd been looking forward to retracing a route taken by prospectors whose grit was praised in a 1912 issue of the Southern Cross Times. Apparently, parked at their claim, they had a spring cart with a 100 gallon water tank mounted on it. When they ran out of water they found their horse had strayed. Not wanting to spend time away from their diggings searching for the lost nag, they pushed the cart 6km to Yarbu Gnamma, filled the tank, then pushed it all the way back again. That would have been hard yakka.

To reach the old well west of Clampton, we heeded the unwelcoming signs at the mine and took to the bush. Fortunately this was fairly clear amongst the tall timber, although we had to weave around a bit through more scrubby sections to reach the westward track. We found the remains of the old stone well right at the edge of this track which we followed on to a bluff that gave us a wide

overview eastward. I would have enjoyed tracing this track further to the west but it is very indistinct in places on Google Earth images so it would probably not be an easy drive.

Returning eastward we looked for a bypass track around the Clampton 'Keep Out' signs without success. Eventually we decided to drive past the mine workings and offices, apologising for our intrusion if necessary. We didn't encounter anyone so I assume the mine may have been temporarily abandoned at the time of our visit. An uneventful drive then ensued down to bare open plains where once a booming mining town had existed.

This place sprang up following the discovery of gold there by James Speakman and Harry Ryan in January 1894. The Aboriginal name of the find was given as 'Currajibbin' in newspapers of the day but the settlement there was eventually gazetted as Jackson townsite in 1897. Despite this it was always referred to as 'Mount Jackson' by locals although it's well west of that eminence. In its heyday it boasted several substantial mines with all their associated head-frames, sheds and machinery, several shops, two pubs and a public library besides the rows of timber, hessian and corrugated iron shacks that housed the mine workers. All these buildings were left vacant, some still furnished, when the town was abandoned in 1908 and one visitor a couple of years later commented that the beer pump was still mounted on the bar at the Mount Jackson Hotel. Over subsequent years

there were sporadic attempts to revive the place but it never returned to its former high flying years. Nowadays, hardly a trace of this township remains.

Prior to this trip I had found photos on the web of the cemetery taken years earlier by Kevin Coate who often travels with us. I questioned Kevin but he wasn't sure of the position and could only tell me that it had been visible from the road on his visit. Our search for the cemetery there was not successful so, if anyone out there knows its exact whereabouts, please let me know.

Old well west of Clampton.

Old signpost near government built Kurrajong Dams.

We finished the day by camping on the salt lake shore at Yacke Yakine.

On day four we continued our southwards course down the Mount Jackson Road, a road that just brims with history (see Wildtrax column). Terry hadn't got into 3 Mile Gnamma on his previous trip, due to the lack of a track, but I was pleased that he gave it a go this time around. I'd tried to get out there in October 1995 using just a compass and odometer but gave up when I staked a tyre in the thicket surrounding the rock. Terry got us to an equivalent position, then sent up the drone while I went searching unsuccessfully for the gnamma on foot. When I got back he showed me an aerial pic of a pretty impressive body of water at a small granite and told me it was what we were looking for. Used to receiving photos on screen I innocently asked how old the photo was. He and Paul looked at me incredulously before replying, “Maybe two minutes!” They'd just taken it with the drone. (I promised to include this event to prove I don't only dwell on their off moments for the amusement of readers, although it does seem appropriate now to

Trough Well Rockhole.

mention Terry putting Deb mashed potato into his coffee this trip instead of sugar.)

Anyway, armed with a bearing and distance provided by the drone we were at this magnificent gnamma within minutes. After having a look around we returned to the road and resumed our southing. On the way we visited Trough Well and Trough Well Tank, Ennuin, Barcooting Hill and Golden Valley (where I'm sad to say the old five head battery, once a well-known landmark, has toppled over) before camping again at Baladjie Rock. The final fifth morning of our trip was spent going our various ways home, altogether an enthralling 1,250km trip that wasn't hard on us or our vehicles.

The impressive 3 Mile Gnamma.

Campground

Eachyear, millions of visitors traverse Western Australia’s vast landscapes, exploring the state’s stunning and expansive coastline, lush forests and arid deserts, often looking for their next place to set up camp.

The distances between these areas can be great, so the smiling faces of the campground hosts who are there to greet visitors are often a welcome sight. These campground hosts are members of an army of hundreds of people who give their time to support national park rangers in visitor and park management, and make it their mission to help visitors make the most out of their stay in some of WA’s most iconic and spectacular areas. They are often a font of information about the places in which they’re posted and are known for creating unforgettable memories for travellers.

The success of the campground host program helps to build a greater awareness of and appreciation for the environment by creating positive visitor experiences. The volunteers also help to maintain facilities that would otherwise stretch the resources of the department.

A Growing Program

Campground hosting in Australia began in South Australia in 1985 and was modelled on a scheme that had been successfully operating for five years in Joshua Tree National Park in California. Following SA’s

success, WA, the Northern Territory and Victoria all developed their own programs. The WA Campground and Homestead Host program began in 1989 through the then Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM). It was implemented to support the work of the department by providing approved personnel at campgrounds to ‘meet and greet’ campers visiting Western Australian national parks. The first volunteer campground host in WA was posted at Lane Poole Reserve near Dwellingup. It didn’t take long to see that the benefits of the program extended beyond just improving the department’s services – it enriched visitor experiences too.

By 1997, 15 national parks throughout WA were supported by 29 volunteer campground hosts. Since then, the program has significantly expanded to include ex-pastoral lease homesteads and visitor centres. In 2016-17, more than two decades after the program started, there are 65 locations throughout WA that are supported by more than 240 campground hosts. In addition, interstate arrangements have been in place since 2005, enabling WA-based campground hosts to take part in similar programs elsewhere in Australia. It is also not uncommon to find visitors from other states volunteering in WA as they make their way around the country, stopping in for stints at various parks along the way. The passion, protectiveness and

Visit one of Western Australia's national parks and increasingly, chances are you'll come across special volunteers whose role it is to make your camping experience in WA truly unique.

Hosts An Outback Welcome

By Lee Hollingsworth

pride for WA parks is strong in our resident hosts and there’s always a friendly rivalry between them and those from ‘over east’.

Playing Host

Typically, campground hosts are people who love the natural environment, are interested in its conservation and are passionate about sharing it with visitors. They are trained by Parks and Wildlife Service staff to help department staff to deliver excellence in customer service and carry out a variety of roles associated with park and visitor management in WA’s world-class national park campgrounds. They are often the first point of contact for visitors to a park and they assist Parks and Wildlife Service rangers meet and greet campers and help them to settle in and enjoy their experience. Then the campground hosts show travellers to their site, collect camping fees (at those sites that don’t yet have online booking) and outline the camp rules and facilities. They also carry out other duties such as cleaning and maintaining facilities. In addition, they work closely with rangers to ensure and improve fire safety and support the department to collect visitor surveys and other visitor-use data.

Many hosts return to the same parks each year and all hosts are encouraged to explore their environment in their downtime, which has multiple health benefits and helps to reduce burn out. This, combined with the training they receive, means they often amass a wealth of information about the plants, animals and cultural heritage of the area in which they host. They are also usually the go-to

people for all the best fishing spots, places to view Aboriginal artwork and secret gorges and pools.

Out of the Ordinary

Hosts have been known to be involved in emergency situations from rendering basic first aid, to rescuing bogged vehicles and even searches for missing tourists.

Thanks to their training, experience and common-sense approach, these usually have a good ending. One case that demonstrated the hosts’ commitment was when a tourist became lost on Bluff Knoll in Stirling Range National Park. After the search team returned without her, the host stayed up all night to maintain contact, providing advice to rescuers until she was located the following day. With stories like these and others involving support to departmental staff during bushfires and other emergency incidents, it should come as no surprise that campground hosts are regularly nominated for Volunteer of the Year awards.

Who, What and Where

Campground hosts are mostly self-sufficient and bring their own caravan, camper trailer or tent which they set up onsite at the park for up to three months. Campground hosting is ideal for people who love the WA bush and is popular amongst retirees. However, it’s not exclusive to ‘grey nomads’ and the department is seeing more interest from younger couples taking career breaks or fitting it into periods of long service leave.

Some hosts choose to stay close to their home – within a day’s drive so they

Ranger Dan Petersen, Karijini National Park

“If it wasn’t for campground hosts we simply couldn’t do our jobs. The commitment from our hosts volunteering their time ensures visitors receive a warm welcome to the campground and information about the park on arrival. Campground hosts are valued members of the Karijini National Park team who all work together to enhance the visitor experience.

Dales Campground in Karijini National Park is 110km from the closest town, Tom Price and we get people turning up at all hours of the day to stay with us. We don’t have a booking system because we don’t have an internet connection and we don’t turn people away when they turn up, particularly when it’s getting dark, as it’s too dangerous. Our campground hosts do an amazing job running the campground, making sure our guests have a place to stay and keeping amenities up to scratch.

As rangers we are out patrolling gorges and walk trails every day, maintaining visitor facilities and sharing our knowledge of the natural values of the area to keep people safe. This is only made possible through the generosity of our wonderful campground hosts – if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have time to be out in the field.

People appreciate great service wherever they go, and national parks are no different.”

can remain connected to their home and families, while others prefer more isolated locations with limited phone service and hundreds of kilometres from the nearest amenities.

With such a variety of campgrounds, ranging from the extremely remote with no running water or power, to the more local sites with a few more of the ‘home comforts’, there is a campground to suit the needs and desires of a variety of hosts.

Since it began, hundreds, possibly thousands of people have taken part in the campground host program, spending time in some of WA’s most beautiful spots,

meeting interesting people from around the world and forming life-long memories and friendships.

Priceless Gems

The value of campground hosts to the department is immeasurable and hosts are highly regarded by rangers across the state, particularly at large and remote parks such as Karijini National Park. There, campground hosts help throughout the year as the park is more than 627,000 hectares and is one of the most visited national parks in WA. While rangers try to cover as much as possible, geographic challenges and resource limitations make

Dales Gorge, Karijini National Park

Photo by Karen Morton

it a massive undertaking so hosts provide an invaluable link between the rangers and visitors.

Trained to Help

Each November, campground hosts assemble for a workshop which aims to gather campground hosts from across the state. The workshop is an opportunity for new and experienced hosts to share stories, tips and advice with fellow volunteers. The 2017 workshop saw more than 150 hosts hear from rangers from each region, who showcased their parks in an effort to entice hosts to spend time there in the upcoming season. Over the year many guest speakers have been invited to the workshop, including those from the tourism industry, Keep Australia Beautiful WA, native flora and fauna experts and the always-popular talk by one of the department’s wildlife officers on the illegal reptile smuggling trade.

Hosts are also offered additional training in disciplines such as bushfire awareness and Aboriginal culture.

Proof is in the Pudding

The department regularly receives glowing feedback from travellers about the campground hosts they have come across. It is not unusual to hear tales of campground hosts going out of their way to help visitors get the most out of their stay – taking families fishing or hiking, showing them where the wildflowers are, or directing them to where to get the best photographs of extraordinary landscapes and biodiversity.

Campground hosts derive a great deal of pleasure from helping others to enjoy their holiday. They also meet new people and make new friendships with visitors, staff and other volunteers, while spending time in the natural environment in some of the most beautiful parts of WA. Why wouldn’t you want to be a campground host?

DARK MATTERS in Western Australia

By Bryan Mitchell

How to get into Astronomy

Camping under the stars. (Photo by Chris Mania)

Many people ask me, how did I get into astronomy? While growing up I had plenty of camping adventures with the family out in the bush and looking up at the night sky in these remote locations inspired me. Although I was always happy to keep an eye on the stars, it was not until I got older that I started paying attention to celestial movements and moon phases because it impacted other activities I liked doing via the weather and tides, such as boating, diving and kayaking. Also, whilst fishing there is a definite correlation to catch success by fishing these tides which are all based on the moon phases.

Myuncle, Roy Duperouzel has also had a keen interest in astronomy and we spent a lot of time looking through his telescopes in the bush or at home in Riverton over the years growing up. Roy loaned me my first scope, mount and tripod and I was hooked. Now I simply go out at night time or early morning and experience the night sky in as many locations as possible. Even in the metropolitan area, it is possible to admire the vista of the night sky with the naked eye.

Obviously the further away from light polluted areas you are, the better the astronomical viewing can be. However,

in January I attended an Astronomy and Stargazing night in Carine, a northern suburb of Perth, hosted by Carol Redford and the Stargazers Club of WA, where an amazing number of stars were revealed by eye, even in the metro area.

Do not underestimate the power of looking up at the sky with just your eyes. There are so many reasons to explore this night sky, as when we look up we literally enter into a time machine.

The light we see reflected from the sun via the moon, from other solar system objects or emitted from the distant stars, clusters, nebulae or galaxies is travelling at light speed. Light travels at 300,000km per

Mark Davies – Earthside Astronomy/ Stargazers Club of WA setting up the scopes for the evening in Carine.

Pink waters. (Photo by Paean Ng)

Carol Redford – Stargazers Club of WA, addressing the attendees of the Astronomy and Stargazing night in Carine.

second, meaning that light from the sun (which is approximately 150,000,000km from the Earth) takes just over 8 minutes to travel this distance. Other distant objects in the universe are much further away and when looking up through more advanced equipment, we are looking back in time at light emitted up to 13 billion years ago from the beginning of the universe.

Think about all the navigation on this planet Earth from ancient civilizations - it was successful because of either the sun or the moon (if visible in the day time) or via celestial objects in the night sky. Familiarity with these objects and their movements through the sky was crucial in ancient times

and as technology increased, the invention of the astrolabe (an elaborate inclinometer) and the ability to measure speed, distance and time (with the chronometer invented in 1761 by John Harrison) meant that if you couple your knowledge of astronomy, mathematics and navigation theory you could fairly well predict your position on the earth.

If you go to technical book stores, such as the Chart and Map Shop in Fremantle or shops like BinoCentral in Joondalup which specialise in binoculars, telescopes and other optics, you can purchase a planisphere or books of star maps. A planisphere is a simple device for identifying the objects in the night sky based on your location and the time of year.

There are also many apps for our mobile phone and tablet devices these days that do the same job as a planisphere with more information and search functionality. I personally use SkyView Free on my android phone; you just point your phone into the sky and it will superimpose the objects over your camera view. You can also learn about the constellations, stars, nebulae and galaxies from the information provided.

Many 4W drivers also carry binoculars and cameras in their vehicles. A good quality, wide angle set of binoculars will reveal a surprising amount of detail of the features of the moon and other distant objects, and because of the wide field of view, you can sometimes see a whole star cluster or nebula in the eyepieces that you may not be able to with a telescope.

There are also adaptor mounts for many types of binoculars to attach them to a tripod for additional stability while viewing,

Father and daughter both enjoying astronomy. The crowd for the evening.

Binocular tripod mount.

to assist in keeping the object in the field of view. I made my own adaptor with a bandsaw using plywood scrap I had laying around and it definitely makes a difference when trying to view objects high in the sky.

I also included a platform to support my mobile to be able to take photos through the right eye piece.

Another cool piece of technology currently gaining popularity is an adaptor for your mobile phone to connect the camera of your device to different types of optics, be it a single eyepiece of a binocular or directly onto the eyepiece of a telescope.

This is a cheap and easy way to take photos of the objects being viewed and as technology marches forward there are some impressive results being captured. You can also use it as a video screen if you have multiple people queued up, rather than waiting for a turn to look through an eyepiece.

For camera enthusiasts this next part comes with a warning! Astrophotography is a slippery slope that can lead to relationship breakdowns and other discomfort due to long nights alone and an ever-increasing expense bill for the next new piece of equipment you just have to get! Seriously though, if you already have a decent DSLR camera and a tripod you can capture some fantastic images.

Landscape astrophotography is an interesting technique involving capturing a series of images to encapsulate an illuminated foreground and brilliant night sky backgrounds that are then turned into a composite image via image processing and stacking software.

Natures Window. (Photo by David Aitkins)

David Aitkins is an awardwinning professional photographer also known as The Nocturnal Photographer. Have a look at his website in the Information Bay at the end of this story. He runs workshops teaching this style of photography and provided the following information regarding his equipment setup and techniques: “I use a Nikon D750 for most of my images,” said David. “This is generally paired with either a Sigma 14mm f1.8 or a Nikkor 20mm f1.8. You’ve got to have those fast lenses to capture the stars! I have all manner of accessories to go with these, each of which help me to find my way, stay safe and be creative in the dark.”

“Shooting Astrolandscapes is unrivalled for me and pretty much all I shoot. The adventure is why I do it, with the resulting

image just being a bonus. Pre-planning is very important, you can’t just wander aimlessly around in the dark hoping for results! But once that’s all done and the 4x4 is all packed, you’ll find me heading off to dark skies at every opportunity.”

“For the St Andrews Church and Natures Window images I used a method called stacking to reduce the noise that is caused by the high ISOs when shooting with little

St Andrews Church. (Photo by David Aitkins)

Pinnacles. (Photo by Astrotourism WA)

light. The Wave Rock image is a panorama made up of six vertical images that were then stitched together. To process these, I use Lightroom, Starry Landscape Stacker and Photoshop.”

If you are using a camera tripod without an equatorial tracking mount your exposures will need to be quite short as the rapid rotation of the sky will lead to stars ‘trailing’ in the image. Sometimes this can be an excellent effect but if you want really highend images of deep space objects an equatorial tracking mount that is correctly aligned is a must.

There are plenty of clubs such as the Astronomical Group of WA, the Astronomical Society of WA, Stargazers Club WA, Facebook groups such as Perth Astrophotography and books/ magazines from libraries to help people who are new to astrophotography as it can be quite daunting.

The next step is actual telescopes. Now again, I want to post a warning, there are many different types of telescope and they all serve different purposes. This can be a very expensive hobby and if you do not do your research before purchasing, it can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction with your equipment and hobby. My best advice is to go out and join a club (some of them are free!), or attend a community event either in the metro area or out in the regional areas that are really starting to support Astrotourism to see what sort of equipment would suit your interests and budget.

Telescopes vary in design with some of the more common types being the Refractor, Reflector and Dobsonian, and then there are Schmidt Cassegrain, Maksutov Cassegrain - Catadioptric type telescopes. Without going into too much detail all telescopes use a mirror and lens combination to bring the image to focus at the viewing eyepiece.

Wave Rock panorama. (Photo by David Aitkins)

Karijini camping star trails. (Photo by Chris Love)

Karijini camping. (Photo by Chris Love)

How they do that varies on what the scope is designed for. Some are small, compact units designed for transport and others are larger units designed for fixed installation.

Telescopes are often advertised by their aperture (the diameter of the tube) and focal length. Depending on the design the focal length may actually be the length of the tube or by using a series of lenses and mirrors can be much shorter. The aperture is important because this determines the amount of light-gathering ability the scope has. The focal length is important as it determines the level of practical magnification the scope is capable of when coupled with the eyepiece.

The mount and tripod assembly are also important considerations. If the tripod is not stable, steady or is not capable of taking the weight of the scope and mount, it will lead to vibration and an inability to keep the object in the field of view of the eyepiece. This is a hobby killer; your rig must be stable.

With the mounts there are various types from Alt-Azimuth (up, down and side to side) and Equatorial (the ability to track an object through an arc) in hand control or computer driven GOTO mounts. Although the GOTO mounts are great, they can be tricky to set up correctly and there is a lot to be said for learning how to guide a scope around the sky by hand control.

For me as a 4W driver and traveller, a compact scope design is what I required and keep in mind there is a tripod, mount, accessories and possibly a battery to cart around as well. After using a few 127mm and 150mm Newtonian reflector telescopes with tube lengths of 700-1000mm, I have now settled on a 150mm Celestron Nexstar 6SE because of its short tube length at just over 400mm, but with a 1500mm focal length. I am constructing a sturdy heavy-duty foam lined box to transport the scope and mount for those rough off-road trips. The tripod can be wrapped in an old blanket to protect it and stowed next to the wing section of my drawer and fridge slide combo. Telescopes and the associated accessories like eyepieces and guides are

Refractor telescope.

Refractor telescope.

Carol Redford with a Dobsonian telescope.

Verge collection restored Dobsonian telescope.

delicate and need to be protected. Some are more susceptible to rough treatment so take into account the type of travelling you are going to be doing.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on your gear, but I always find it is better to buy once and buy the right equipment. There are scopes for sale secondhand on Gumtree, Marketplace, FB groups and other shops, but make sure you know what you are doing to avoid disappointment or get someone to

go with you who knows what to look for. Do not discount verge collections also. I know of quite a few people who scored some nice equipment in good nick and some that were able to be rebuilt or refurbished by an experienced astronomer.

For the real deep space objects there are adaptors and focal length reducers and extenders to connect your DSLR camera directly to the telescope basically turning it into a huge lens; however, this is where you need a correctly aligned equatorial mount to track objects through the sky. Or there are dedicated astrophotography cameras for this purpose, but that is another whole article itself.

On Thursday 16th January, I attended an Astrotourism WA event at the southwest town of Wagin. The event was held at the showgrounds during school holidays. Carol Redford once again hosted another awesome evening with about 40 people in attendance, with several people down from Perth and others up from Albany.

I counted 12 telescopes set up and everyone had a great night learning about

Orion Nebula. (Photo by Mike Whait)

their equipment and about WA’s wonderful dark sky environment and its implications for tourism in regional areas with a fantastic presentation from Carol.

Wagin Shire President Phil Blight was in attendance with his own 100mm Newtonian Reflector with hand controls and was quite impressed by the turnout of locals and travellers alike. I asked him if there were any quantifiable benefits from hosting such an event and he responded, "Well, it opens up opportunities in regional areas to allow them to benefit from additional tourism income."

While most of the attendees were local, we both agreed that additional business to the town, whether through the purchase of fuel, a cup of coffee, a dinner in town or

camping fees brought a welcome benefit to the region. Phil also acknowledged the opportunity for locals to explore new experiences with professionals that they may not previously have had. So how do you get out and experience these beautiful night sky vistas for yourself? Well, just go outside at night and learn the skies above. As Carol Redford says, if we all go out and look at the night skies for five or ten minutes each evening you will learn to identify what is up in the night sky at different times of year.

The Stargazers Club WA has the following events in regional towns so check out the Information Bay at the end of this story for links to the events below: Friday, 20 March 2020 Coorow Saturday, 21 March 2020 Chittering Saturday, 28 March 2020 Mingenew Saturday, 4 April 2020 Northam

While in the metropolitan area the Perth Observatory in Bickley and the Gravity Discovery Centre in Gingin host regular stargazing events including: Night time tours, school day tours, guided day tours, indigenous astronomy, tame your telescope and off-site astronomy events.

Carol Redford at the Wagin Astronomy night.

Wagin Shire President Phil Blight addressing the crowd.

MAP OF TASSIE Exploring the

By Susie Underwood

Did I tell you Nick and I have retired?

Well, as we now have so much time on our hands, we decided to trek across the country to Tassie for a proper look around and to spend Christmas with sundry east-coast-dwelling rellies.

First taste of the rugged Tassie landscape southwest of Sheffield.

After the long drag across the Nullarbor, we 'camped' under the high transmission power lines at a caravan park in Melbourne for a couple of nights to catch up with family and do a spot of shopping before hopping on the night ferry to Devonport. It was exciting lining up with hundreds of other travellers and freight trucks for our turn to drive into the guts of the Spirit of Tasmania. It was like driving into a multi-level car park. I couldn't believe how many cars and trucks were packed in. They certainly have the process down pat and in no time we were parked up and mounting the stairs to the fun areas of the ferrybistros, bars and even a couple of cinemas. It was very impressive and before long we were fed, watered and watching the fairy lights of Melbourne fade on the horizon.

Out of adversity ... we lost a day getting the brakes done but landed a perfect one-day-out-of-ten at Cradle Mountain.

We wedged ourselves into our tiny little cabin for the night and next morning were disgorged efficiently onto the streets of Devonport (not Davenport, that's a couch) for an appointment with an auto electrician. We had some trouble with the speedo and wipers on the way over, which Nick will elaborate on later. Suffice to say I'm rolling my eyes as I write this. Several hundred dollars later, we were on our way to Cradle Mountain after a short stop to stock up on thermals. I know, I know, Tassie is a cold place, but this was just

Stanley and its nut had oodles of old world charm.

ridiculous. It was practically snowing! The Tasmanian countryside reminds me very much of New Zealand - very green, very beautiful and mostly perpendicular. We stopped in at Sheffield to stock up on comestibles and have a look around and were blown away by how friendly everyone was, one woman even crossing the street to introduce herself and say hello. After spending a delightful hour or so in Sheffield checking out the murals and having a cuppa, we continued on up (and up) towards Cradle Mountain. Alas, we were not to reach our destination - on one of the many steep and winding descents, our back brakes started screeching and an ominous smell of hot metal infiltrated the cab. By the time we inched our way to the bottom of that particular slope I was screeching nearly as loudly as the brakes and poor Nick was nearly as hot and bothered as the rotors. We motored into Ulverstone late in the day for an unscheduled stop over at a delightful little RV park called the Blue Wren while the very friendly and efficient Gordon from Bakers AC and Mechanical re-shoed the cruiser.

Next morning we retraced our path, this time making it up to Cradle Mountain without incident. After booking ourselves into the camp ground, we set off for Dove Lake. My first big ticket sighting was a wombat grazing beside the road.

I've never seen one in the wild (well not a live one) and I was tickled pink

Our folding bikes got us around nicely without having to break camp.

to actually spot one. Dove Lake is a place of unsurpassed beauty. It's like walking around in a post card. We were particularly lucky with the weather - we had struck the one day in ten with a cloudless sky and bright sunshine. With the snow melting up high, the mountain sides were glittering with waterfalls and the lake itself was just breath-taking. It took us three hours to circuit the lake and it was worth every minute - except for the last 30 minutes when I was making a beeline for the ladies - all that running water! We had a great night there entertained by Fatso the Porky Pademelon before bailing out next morning to visit the Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary. Here they are building an insurance population of healthy disease-free Devils with a view to reintroducing them into the wild when a cure for the Devil Facial Tumour disease is found.

From the heights and wild beauty of Cradle Mountain it was back down to earth with a thud. Our visit to the auto electrician in Devonport had proved unsuccessful and we were heading to Burnie to source

another auto electrician in a bid to have our wipers and speedo fixed. The one place in Australia where you cannot function for long without windscreen wipers is Tasmania and as the weather had closed in after our sunshiny day on the mountain, the wiper issue was becoming rather urgent. Well, what can I say about Burnie? Not a lot as it happens, but we did literally run into a certain yellow-scarved politician as she popped out of her electoral office. We were resigning ourselves to spending the night in Burnie when the call came through from the auto electrician that they had found and fixed our problem. After emptying the wallet once again, we decamped for points west, arriving in Stanley late in the afternoon and booking ourselves into their charming caravan park. Now I'm not usually one to sing the praises of caravan parks. I do prefer the wide open spaces and a bit of P&Q, but this place was quite lovely. Our site was surrounded by high hedges and the ablution block provided us with clean shower mats every day which was a lovely homely touch. We were woken in the night by unholy screeching from under the hedges, to be informed the next day that it was penguins coming home to roost after a night's fishing. We never spotted any of the elusive birds, but jeez they were noisy. Stanley is a lovely little town. We unloaded our folding bikes the next morning and set off to explore the place. The weather continued to be unpleasant and very windy and there was no way Nick was going to get me into the chair lift to get up to the Nut, however we did wind our way up

A look around Sarah Island gave a fascinating insight into the convict ship building utilising timber floated down the Gordon.

the hill to Highfield where we spent a couple of hours wandering around the house and grounds. From Stanley it was on to Strahan in the pouring rain (wipers obediently clearing our windscreen) - our route taking us along a dirt road through the Pieman Reserve. I can't really report much on what we saw. It was foggy and rainy, which in itself made for a memorable drive, and quite atmospheric and spooky, but whether it was mountains or dark clouds we saw I couldn't tell you. We stopped briefly in Corinna and drove onto the little ferry across the Pieman and on to Strahan. This place was another highlight of our trip, despite the dismal weather. We booked onto the Macquarie Harbour cruise the next day, which took us out through Hell's Gates into the Roaring 40s, and then

The first part of our Macquarie Harbour cruise took us out through the entrance at Hells Gate.

on to Sarah Island for a fascinating tour of the old settlement with a very entertaining guide and then up the magnificent Gordon River. What a stunning place - the forest is so thick and tangled it was a wonder anyone got anything done. On the way back we stopped off at an old mill site. Nick spent a happy hour checking out all the different types of wood on offer and then we found a gin distillery. After selecting our poison for the evening, it was back to our chalet in town (yes very decadent I know) for gin and the oysters we had picked up in Smithton the day before for $1 each.

I think the final oyster tally for our time in Tassie was 8 dozen (14 all up if you include the SA oysters we scoffed on the way over and back).

The weather continued dismal the next day as we wandered over to Queenstown for the Western Wilderness steam train. It was to be a shortened trip because there had been a landslide up the line (because of rain), but it was just long enough for us to enjoy chugging through the wilderness, tea and scones in hand. The drive out of Queenstown was more than a little nerve wracking I have to say. It was very foggy, freezing cold by this time and the road had many S-bends and precipitous slopes along the way to our next stop, which was Lake St Clair. It's very hard to keep a positive attitude about a place you arrive in on a freezing cold, wet and windy day.

Finishing the day in style with freshly shucked oysters and a drop of local fire water.

Newly built and luxuriously appointed wagons of the Wilderness Express took us up the Rack and Pinion rail line towards Strahan.

Historic Strahan is the centre of Tassie's wild west coast.

A beautifully restored steam engine added a touch of romanticism to our journey.

The camp site was crowded and muddy, so we floated about the place for as long as we could before setting up camp. I was sitting in our camper, wrapped in every article of clothing I possessed when Nick coaxed me out to see a wombat snuffling around near our camp. Well that certainly brightened up the day for me. The next day the weather was perfect and we strolled around the lake to Platypus Beach (sadly no platypus) before heading to Derwent Bridge and The Wall. I'd not heard of this place before - 80 metres of three metre high Huon pine carved with images of the first European settlers and local flora and fauna. It certainly is very impressive and it was very hard to keep my hands to myself - the carving was so detailed, I just wanted to touch it!

From here we were headed to Lake Pedder, (largest inland water body in Oz) camping for the night at Ted's Beach,

which was a lovely spot on the lake's edge. One thing about WA, if you're heading somewhere which is 100km away you can pretty much guarantee you'll be there in an hour or so. The Tassie roads are so winding (much like NZ), you start to wonder how many days it will take you to travel 100km. The dam wall was very impressive and the lake vast. After the obligatory snaps, we headed down to the Huon Valley to spend a very pleasant couple of days with friends in Glen Huon.

For its size, this dam plus a series of canals and Lake Pedder only contribute about 13% of Tassie's power needs.

Looking out over Lake Pedderlargest inland water body in Australia.

After leaving Glen Huon we turned south, driving through Franklin (home of the Wooden Boat Festival), to Geeveston where we stopped for breakfast. After stocking up (me on souvenirs at the Visitor's Centre and Nick on chunks of wood at a specialty mill in town), we breakfasted at the Old Bank Cafe in Geeveston. If you are ever down that way, drop in. Their food is outstanding. Bellies full, we headed off to our next destination, Hastings Cave. On the way there we encountered a bewilderedlooking young man, his car sideways and up to its gunwales in mud. He had stopped on the side of the road to take a phone call and slid into a deep ditch. Lucky for him it was Nick to the rescue and he was soon out and on his way to explain to his dad why the Triton was so dirty.

Now I'm not much of a one for holes in the ground, but I will make an exception for Hastings Cave. It is extraordinarily beautiful with towering stalagmites and tites, all dramatically lit. The lowest chamber is huge, big enough to hold an orchestra and appreciative audience.

From there it was on to the ferry and over to Bruny Island where we camped up at the end of the beach at Cloudy Bay and had a lovely restful couple of days fishing, walking and exploring the place and girding our loins for the big smoke of Hobart and a bustling family Christmas.

This hapless driver reckoned he pulled over to take a call but ended up taking a pull.

Hastings Cave is quite spectacular.

Three Ks down this South Bruny beach at Cloudy Bay is the best campsite complete with new dunny.

Ferry ride number six between North Bruny and Kettering.

Hobart is an absolutely delightful city. I just love it. After the excesses of Christmas, in that week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day when you're never quite sure what day it is and you've lived on cheese for a week, we diverted ourselves with a visit to MONA on the ferry and were lucky enough to catch the yachts crossing the finish line and sample Tasmania's food and wine at the Taste of Tasmania. If you are ever in Tassie at that time of year, the Taste of Tasmania is a definite must-do. It's so well run, everyone is friendly and polite and it was an absolute joy to visit. Another little gem I found in Hobart is the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG), I do have a thing for museums and this one delivers in spades.

From Hobart it was up to the Hazards in Coles Bay for NYE with the family. This is the site of the famous Wineglass Bay, which I had always assumed was named because it was shaped like, well a wine glass. Apparently not, its moniker is much more sinister. Whales were slaughtered on the beach there and the bay would fill

Wineglass Bay is much more preferable in aquamarine.

with blood, making it look like a glass of red wine. After learning this I looked at the place with fresh eyes. We took a water taxi from Coles Bay which dropped us at the isthmus from where it was a 30 minute walk through the bush to the beach. It was just lovely and we picnicked on the beach before heading back to our water taxi and our last night at the Hazards. From here we drove up to St Helens winding our way up the stunning coastline and then across through Fingal to our final night in Ulverstone before boarding the ferry.

Even though we'd had a month in Tasmania, we still only scratched the surface of this beautiful place. Because WA is so vast, I had assumed that we'd be able to 'do' Tassie in four weeks but how wrong I was. We are both keen to get back there and visit all the places we either missed or didn't have enough time to thoroughly explore.

There was a huge turn-out for Taste of Tassie as Sydney to Hobart contestants charged up the Derwent to Constitution Dock.

Australi YARNa

By Nick Underwood

Salt lake sights

Just west of Kondinin, larrikin cocky wit on display in a salt lake with fabricated swimmer doing laps, while on shore a ubiquitous blue painted tree reminds us to keep an eye on the mental wellbeing of our mates.

Last resting place

Rusting car hulks at Koonalda just over the border in SA evoke the 50s and 60s with a mix of English and Aussie marques. A cemetery of broken opportunities to make the journey west or east.

Imported Entertainment

Chinese tourists are as entertaining as the sights they're ostensibly there to enjoy. Camera is king - not to necessarily capture the view but to record themselves as being there.

At another stunning coastal panorama on the Great Ocean Road, girls drape themselves over the bonnet of hire cars while another makes several attempts at a star jump for the camera - and this is just in the car park - not a stunning vista in sight. At viewing points, kids and grannies are jostled into position to record a memory of them at this place. Elsewhere, photos are snapped of info boards as the manic rush to record and hurry on continues. I tried to imitate the star jumper in the car park but failed.

Possumbilities

At Lake St Clair our nearest neighbour, Pirate Jim from Bunbury, regaled us with stories on fishing success, axes, Japanese knives, amazing deals on camper trailers and, more recently, how a possum the night before undid the zip on their camper trailer, hopped inside and helped itself to a loaf of bread and a packet of Pringles. We are the sum of our anecdotes.

Roaminclature

By Nick Underwood

Intriguing place names tickle our fancies - little highlights as we pass by to fool around with and conjecture over until a fresh one looms up to start us off again.

Here's a small taste of some we discovered over east.

Burnt Creek: Three we found and there were probably more. They all did look a bit the worse for wear and in today's climate (excuse the pun) just a tad too close to home.

Bust-Me-Gall Hill: At the top of a saddle after a steep and winding climb in east Tassie, this unofficial signage speaks for everyone who doesn't do heights and perhaps for those who just discovered they don't.

Asses Ears Road: Really tested the imagination. Deep in the East Grampians this name refers to a profile in the range, but the ears must have been lying flat during our visit as we couldn't spot a likeness anywhere.

Murdering Hut Creek: The mind boggles. A search of NSW geographic names might expose the deed behind the name. Gotta watch those huts - you never know when they're going to turn on you.

Bird in Hand Road: Hints at decisions made and opportunities taken, or a twitcher from the Birden On Society lives there. Worlds' End (SA): So named because at the time the place was settled everyone thought the land was marginal at best. We camped there in Burra Creek and it was delightful.

Get Brawlin Road: Warring neighbours are common. These must have been exceptional to evoke a road name.

Turn Back Jimmy Creek: Was it a flood that took Jimmy down the watercourse? Or was Jimmy on the rampage and repelled here? Either way a welcome change from Five Mile, Six Mile, and Ten Mile Creek ad infinitum.

Suez Canal Road: We didn't drive (or float) down this road, so never spotted a culvert that might have invoked the moniker or met anyone living there of middle eastern appearance. Well, it's a mystery.

SAND DRIVING HOW TO

Driving on sand is a favourite pastime of many off-roaders and being able to get onto a secluded spot on the beach is something many West Aussies enjoy on a regular basis.

For many newcomers to sand, driving it may seem like a daunting task with tales of disasters lurking in their minds, preventing them from wanting to venture too far on the soft sand. It need not be though, with the correct techniques and some prior preparation sand driving can be quite an easy and enjoyable task.

Factors affecting sand driving

• Tyre pressure (lower tyre pressures mean more surface area across the sand)

• Terrain

• Vehicle weight

• Tyre type (heavier side walled mud terrain tyres need to be deflated more than a standard tyre to provide the same level of surface area)

• Time of day (middle of the day and high temps mean drier sand)

• Gear selection

The basic rules for sand driving

• Always drop your tyre pressure before you drive onto the sand

• Start with no more than 18PSI in each tyre

• If driving an AUTO, select MANUAL Mode

• Don’t ride the clutch in a MANUAL

• Controlled momentum

• Don’t spin your wheels

• Start and stop gradually

• If parking, always point the vehicle down hill

• Turn off ESC (Electronic Stability Control) and Traction Control

• Always drive up and down sand hills in a straight line

• When stopping on sand reverse the car slowly about ¼ of the car length to ensure there is no sand piled in front of your tyres

• Don’t drive on sloping ground, especially near the water line

• If bogged, reduce tyre pressure, dig, use recovery boards BEFORE trying to snatch or tow the vehicle out

• Check tyre pressures regularly

• Don’t drive too fast or make aggressive or sudden turns

TOURING IN STYLE

By Neil Dowling

TheTLX 4WD range is aimed at the tourer, tradie or a person who wants a bit more style in their ute for leisure, off roading and work activities.

TL Engineering CEO Dan Oldham said the company started TLX as an offshoot to its existing trade business in trays and canopies, and now plans to expand TLX as the brand name for retail and trade customers looking for high quality alloy products and accessories.

“This blue Ranger (shown below) is one of our first TLX builds and has been the subject of a lot of thought and R&D about

what a tourer would want in a touring package,” he said.

“The key is to keep the weight low but retain strength – our engineering heritage means we guarantee the quality and integrity of each build. So it has the alloy canopy and 1.8m tray with short drop sides, 70-litre water tank with tap beneath the front of the tray, integrated billet fuel filler, tool boxes either side, and all electrics built in with either TLX or customer-choice inverters and battery chargers (such as CTEK and Redarc), an Anderson plug for easy connection to the vehicle and central locking for the two doors.”

TL also incorporated a long, shallow slide out drawer behind the rear number plate to store flat objects such as recovery boards, picnic tables and foldup chairs.

Dan said discussions with owners during the research and development phase of the touring module showed most

Western Australia’s TL Engineering, for 50 years a benchmark in vehicle fabrication, is expanding its business beyond the busy commercial range with a new label for a new push into the 4WD enthusiast and style-led market.

wanted the ability to demount the module canopy so it could be left at a campsite or, more frequently, taken off after a trip and stored while the ute could be used for general duties.

“People also said the module should have sturdy legs to ensure it remained in place when unhooked from the ute, so we incorporated a double-arm mount system that provides strength when the unit was freestanding,” he said.

“The twin location points for the legs is something we thought necessary to make it as strong as possible”.

“This versatility and the strength of the build make it perfectly suited to people who want a quality product that they can use on the weekends, during the week and on holidays.”

“The ability to remove the canopy to make way for tools or equipment or a motorcycle, for example, makes the TLX Tray and Canopy package a very flexible and smart investment that also has a lot of comfort for leisure activities and means you have multiple uses for the rear of the vehicle.

TL Engineering director Renato Bova said, “The ability to personalise the unit at our Perth factory also means buyers get exactly what they want, right away.”

The canopy modules are 1850mm wide as standard but can be adjusted to suit the customer and the vehicle. In cases where a customer has offset or wide wheel tracks, TL has a flared wheel solution to complement the TLX look to ensure the coverage of the rear wheels meets DoT requirements. With 50 years of vehicle engineering experience, all TLX products pass the same stringent process for approval before we release to the market.

Dan said TL’s location in Perth allowed it to provide a service of working alongside the customer to ensure the product is exactly what is required.

Future service work and the installation of complementary accessories and equipment is also easier when the supplier is close to the customer.

With an increased focus on towing ability and weights, TL Engineering works with suppliers including Pedder’s and West Coast Suspension to ensure each build meets the customers’ needs with regards to safety, payload and handling. Most builds will require a GVM upgrade and for those serious about performance, front and rear-wheel disc brake conversions and upgrades are becoming increasingly popular with ute owners on selected models.

“That also allows us to discuss weights with the customer, so we can arrange a GVM upgrade if necessary and now can add rear disc brakes to those utes that have standard drum brakes,” Dan said.

“Both are ideal for buyers who are looking at improving the weight-carrying of their vehicles, including when TLX modify LandCruiser wagons to ute conversions to accommodate a tray.

“We have been doing chopped LandCruisers - from current right back to the 80 Series - for a long time and understand that they are very popular for buyers wanting a lot more comfort than the traditional 70-Series Toyota at about the same price.”

Renato said, “It’s all the same quality and heavy-duty durability as our commercial trays and canopies, but we have added more style, colours and designs and the ability to personalise the product for the leisure-focused customer. TLX means heavy duty alloy trays, canopies and accessories – hand-picked proven products”.

“There is also the choice of new-style bullbars from Rival.”

The heavy-duty design of the canopies includes a 4mm alloy one-piece floor and 6mm thick main runners, with mill finish interior and colour matched 2 Pack Automotive paint externally as standard features.

There is also floor-to-ceiling internal strengthening. From there, TL offer custom-made electrical packages to suit the customers' fit out and touring or tradie needs.

“We had a lot of interest and a lot of orders from the Perth 4WD show. Most people who came and saw us really loved the product and especially that it was all WAmade. That’s great for our industry and our state,” Renato said.

“TLX is built to last. It’s all about high quality and durability and the heavyduty engineering and components is for commercial applications as well as for the weekend warrior.”

Drones. Love them or hate them they have become a part of our travelling landscape. Almost everywhere you go someone is putting a drone in the air to capture that next Instagram-worthy shot. Our digital device’s screens are flooded with spectacular aerial imagery that were once beyond the 'average traveller’s' reach, depicting stunning seascapes and patchworks of Australiana. Even if you don’t intend to ever own your own drone, understanding the rules and regulations that govern them is helpful to understand them better.

By Chris Morton

Photos by Christine Arnasiewicz

Therapid advancements in technology, subsequent fall in equipment costs, camera quality and ease of piloting has resulted in a boom in recreational drone ownership around the world. Like any rapid advancements in technology, the use and development of drones outpaced world government’s ability to legislate effective laws quickly enough. This however, is no longer the case with the operation of any UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) in Australia falling under the jurisdiction of CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority). Currently only UAV’s being operated for commercial use are required to be registered with CASA, however this will become a requirement for ALL UAV’s in the not too distant future.

There is a huge range of drones available on the market with a wide price range to match, allowing consumers to pick a suitable unit that matches their budget and requirements. Chinese manufacturer DJI currently holds the lion’s share of the world

consumer market at just over 74% with their development of easy to operate aircraft and development in 4K camera technology. Regardless of where you fly your drone you MUST adhere to both the CASA rules and regulations as well as the location at which you are flying. If you observe someone using their drone unlawfully then you can follow this link https://www.casa.gov.au/ drones/report-unsafe-drone-operations to report the issue to CASA.

Before reporting an issue to CASA however be aware that it is NOT illegal to fly a drone over your house. No one owns the airspace above us (just like aircraft flying overhead) and as long as the operator is not breaking any of the rules listed then there is nothing to report.

As Western 4W Driver intends to use footage shot from our drones for commercial purposes, I decided it was time to enrol in some commercial drone training.

RULES

• You MUST NOT fly your drone higher than 120 metres (400 feet) above ground level.

• You MUST keep your drone at least 30m away from other people

• You MUST only fly one drone at a time.

• You MUST keep your drone within visual line of sight with your own eyes at ALL times.

• You MUST NOT fly over or above people or in a populous area.

• Respect personal privacy. Don’t record or photograph people without their consent.

• If your drone weighs more than 100 grams you CANNOT fly within 5.5km of a controlled airport.

• You MUST only fly your drone during the day and NOT through cloud or fog.

• You MUST NOT operate your drone over or near an area affecting public safety or where emergency operations are underway.

• You MUST NOT operate your drone in a way that creates a hazard to another aircraft, person or property

• You CAN operate within 5.5km of a helicopter landing site or aerodrome that DOES NOT have a control tower but you MUST keep a look out for other aircraft. If you become aware of other aircraft, you MUST manoeuvre away and land as quickly and safely as possible.

• It is ILLEGAL to fly for money or reward unless you have a remote pilot licence (RePL) or you are flying in the excluded category (sub 2 kilogram).

www.casa.gov.au/knowyourdrone/drone-rules

We chose Global Drone Solutions as our training provider and just before Christmas undertook the intensive 5 day course to qualify with a Remote Pilot Licence (RePL). As well as learning how to fly your drone safely the course teaches you components such as Air Law, Aeronautics and Aeronautical Radio Operation. The course is designed to graduate you as a safe and effective drone pilot who can then operate in a commercial setting.

Of course, Global Drone Solutions also offer basic training for those who do not want to complete a RePL qualification and only want to fly their drone for personal use. They can also put you in touch with a wide range of trained pilots close to where you live who can also teach you how to operate your drone safely.

In Western Australia the operation of a drone is allowed in National Parks and land managed by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions with the prior permission of the relevant district office (refer to our links at the end of this article). However, the flying of a drone over Rottnest Island, The Perth Zoo, Kings Park and Bold Park is PROHIBITED. For the operation of a drone over the Swan and Canning Rivers you must first consult with the Rivers and Estuaries Branch of DBCA.

Each local government entity have their own rules regarding the flying of drones from their public space (that is the location that you take off and land from) and you should consult with the particular local government prior to flying. Flying on private property requires the permission of the land owner.

Did you know that flying a recreational drone between Lancelin (just North) and Grey (again just to the north of Grey) is illegal without permission? The airspace in this particular area is controlled by the Department of Defence. If caught, a first offence could cost you $1,050. If you go to court the fine jumps to $10,500. If you are found to be operating a drone that is hazardous to other aircraft (in this area

Map showing illegal flying area between Lancelin and Grey. (Image courtesy Air Services Australia Perth VNC)

think fast, low flying military aircraft) then you could face 2 years imprisonment and/ or a fine of $25,200 for an individual. The same penalties apply for shooting down or interfering with a drone, even if it’s flying over your house or backyard. So, how do you operate a drone safely without breaking the rules? Contact Global Drone Solutions and sign up for one of their recreational courses, or get them to put you in touch with one of their CASA certified drone pilots if you are only planning to fly recreationally. Sign up for their commercial drone course if you intend to make money with your drone.

Global Drone Solutions

Phone: 0499 085 777

Website: www.gdronesolutions.com

Parked up at Peppy Beach

By Chris Morton

Located about halfway between Bunbury and Busselton, nestled alongside the base of the sand dunes is the Peppermint Grove Beach Holiday Park. Ideally situated for anyone who wants a 'down south' holiday without the crowds during the peak of summer, Peppy Beach is the perfect spot.

The crystal clear water at Peppermint Grove Beach makes a morning dip a pleasure.

Aquick

20 minute drive puts you in either Bunbury or Busselton and right on the doorstep to the Margaret River wine region and the beautiful south west beaches.

The park’s smaller size and plentiful shade makes it extremely attractive for those wanting a more peaceful holiday.

The lack of services in Peppy Beach (the caravan park has a small bottle shop and limited basic supplies available at reception) means that most coming into the town are either staying in one of the myriad of holiday beach houses or guests at the park. With Capel and a well-stocked IGA less than a 10 minute drive away, keeping yourself fed is not a challenge.

Amelia and Darren Grey purchased the 27.5-acre site back in 2015 with plans to develop and improve the park. Having sat dormant for over 10 years, it took the couple

12 months of hard work to be able to open the park to guests. Amelia, a schoolteacher and Darren with a construction and cray fishing background, were looking for a new challenge that would allow them to work together. Amelia concedes that not having a background in tourism made the task feel even more daunting at the beginning, however they feel that they have really started to make their mark on the place.

Amelia pointed out that, “More people are opting to holiday at home instead of going overseas and are choosing lower cost holidays such as camping and caravan parks - the kinds of holidays their parents took them on when they were younger.” The park is the perfect place to build some great memories with your family.

Amelia and Darren are hoping to build a legacy that their three children can be proud of with plans already approved to continue the development of the park. One of the first things they added to the park was theThe holiday park has large grassed sites with mature trees providing welcome shade.

inclusion of cabin style (donga) accommodation. This has seen a steady occupancy both from the local mines in the area as well as construction workers tasked with road upgrades in the area.

The park is open all year round with wood fired pizzas on offer every Friday night during the peak season. There is a mini-golf course, tennis/basketball court and beach volleyball as well as a nature style playground. The beach is just a short 5-minute walk over the hill. The park’s amenities are clean and well maintained and there is a centrally located camper’s kitchen as well as laundry facilities.

For further information check out the park’s website www.peppybeach.com.au

18 holes of mini golf was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Kids had a great time jumping off the pontoon and we saw dolphins close to shore every day.

Australia's Longest Shortcut

By Lyn Mitchell

The Outback Way, or Australia’s Longest Shortcut as it’s often called, is one of Australia’s great 4WD odysseys, but like so many other roads and tracks in the backblocks, more are being bitumised every year.

Crossing the Queensland border into the Northern Territory on the Donohue Highway.

Providing

a much-needed direct route between Perth and Cairns, the Outback Way stretches 2,700km from the gold country of Laverton in Western Australia through to Winton in Queensland, the birthplace of Australia’s favourite song, Waltzing Matilda.

Around 1,300km of this distance is already blacktop and the rest is made up of graded gravel or unsealed sections of sand, bull dust holes and corrugations. The west-east link is made up of seven interconnecting highways – the Great Central Road, Tjukaruru Road, Lasseter Highway, Stuart Highway, Plenty Highway, Donohue Highway and the Min Min Byway.

It’s called Australia’s longest shortcut because it passes diagonally through the heart of outback Australia, cutting off more than 1,000km versus driving on Highway 1 and other main roads. Weather conditions can make the road conditions treacherous and sometimes, sections are closed to all traffic if there’s been plenty of rain in that particular area.

The signage at the turnoff to the Donohue Highway near Boulia, Queensland.

Diesel was $2.30 per litre at Tobermorey roadhouse.

The idea to establish an Outback Way to make remote access easier across Australia came from Patrick Hill, who was a Councillor at the Shire of Laverton in WA.

In 1997, Councillor Hill started to gather local government support from councils along the route. The following year, the Outback Highway Development Council Inc. (OHDC) was formed to lobby for upgrades to the road. Councillor Hill has been the chair of the OHDC ever since and the group hopes to secure further funding to complete the Outback Way by 2025/26.

Over the years, OHDC’s lobbying has been successful in securing millions for road

One of the new bitumen sections on the Plenty Highway was nearly ready for use.

upgrades and to promote tourism along the route. The Australian Government has committed $330 million in funding from the 2013-14 financial year through to the 2026-27 financial years to upgrade key sections of the Outback Way through a project in conjunction with State and local governments.

Once the sealing is completed, the new road is expected to reduce travel times, bring down freight costs, open up new opportunities for industries and tourism and improve the overall safety for travellers.

While Alice Springs is the largest location on the route, many other spots along the way are simply remote roadhouses, outback stations or Aboriginal settlements. Many of these provide vital services to travellers such as fuel, meals, showers, basic groceries, medical assistance, caravan and camping sites and occasionally motel-style rooms with air conditioning and ensuites. When we came through the Outback Way in July 2019, we discovered fuel in limited supplies along the Donohue and Plenty Highway sections. It’s a good idea to either phone ahead (if you have mobile service) to check that each stop has fuel for sale or ensure that you have long range fuel tanks that can do the required distances or carry a spare jerry can of fuel just in case.

When we got to Tobermorey cattle station on the Queensland/NT border, people

were queued up for fuel at $2.30 per litre. However, the only person serving in the shop advised everyone that she was busy warming pies and couldn’t leave the shop to start any refuelling. We all had quite a laugh at that and it was a timely reminder that these are often small communities running on limited staffing and resources.

Next day, we stopped at Gemtree near Harts Range. Gemtree is a lovely spot run by the Chalmers family and features a fullyserviced caravan park and a licensed bar that operates a couple of nights a week. They also sell great coffee and have a pleasant, shady outdoor area where you can sit and enjoy it.

As the name suggests, Gemtree is famous for its gemstones and fossickers from all round the world visit the area to try their hand at searching for garnets, zircons and other gemstones. However, we discovered that fuel was in limited supply at Gemtree too. Signs on the fuel pumps advised patrons that they were only able to buy 25 litres of fuel. Staff advised us that Gemtree had received its 5,000 litre delivery of fuel for the month and didn’t want to place another order until the first of the next month otherwise they would have to pay for two deliveries in the one month.

These issues highlighted the often tenuous financial position that many small outback roadhouses and communities face. It is important for travellers to support these local businesses by stopping and buying fuel or other items wherever they can to help keep these vital services going.

On reaching the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory, the Outback Way dog-legs south through Alice Springs. At Erldunda Roadhouse south of The Alice, it then continues west via the Lasseter Highway through Curtin Springs, Yulara to Docker River at the NT border. It continues into WA to pass through Warakurna, Warburton, Tjukayirla and Cosmo Newberry on the Great Central Road before finally reaching the end of the Outback Way at Laverton.

One of our camps in the bush just off the Plenty Highway.

While more and more bitumen is being laid, this vital roadway still wends its way through beautiful, remote, rugged desert country providing travellers with the opportunity to continue to capture and experience the essence of the outback.

Gemtree was a delightful place to have a much needed coffee.

Ron Mitchell refuelling at Gemtree –only 25 litres allowed.

Sunset over our camp at the very busy Curtin Springs free campground.

Two Aboriginal permits are required to travel the Outback Way. One is to travel from Laverton to the WA/NT border, which is available from the WA Department of Lands on (08) 6551 8024 or online at https://aapapermits.microsoftcrmportals.com/

The other permit is for the section of road from the NT border to Yulara, which is available from the Central Land Council on (08) 8951 6320 or online at www.clc.org.au

For more info about The Outback Way go to https://outbackway.org.au/

The Melbourne Cup of Camel Races

By Lyn Mitchell

Heading back to WA across Australia’s so called ‘Longest Shortcut’, a challenging 2,800km gravel and bitumen road between Winton in Queensland and Laverton in WA, we had no idea that our last-minute decision to stop and attend the Boulia Camel Races would be such a winner.

Camel and jockey at the Boulia Camel Races.

Photo by Aliven Photography.

The tiny outback town of Boulia in western Queensland is located in the Channel Country on the Burke River around 300km south of Mt Isa and 200km east of the Northern Territory border. Normally, Boulia’s population is lucky to crack 300 but when the races are on it grows to more like 8,000. And, as we discovered, in 2019 for the first time in five years, there was an extra special celebration in the town because a locally-trained camel named Wason, ridden by Tiana Taratoa, won the 1,500 Quality Electrical Qld Boulia Camel Cup with a total prize pool of $30,000.

Professional camel trainers, jockeys and their teams, plus thousands of caravanners and campers all travel across Australia each year to compete, soak up the festival’s fantastic atmosphere and experience Boulia’s great outback hospitality.

The annual three-day event provides plenty of fun and activities for young and old. There were yabby races, a tug-ofwar, foot races, ride-on lawnmower races, camp oven cooking demonstrations by Ranger Nick, helicopter rides, market stalls, plenty of food vendors and even a fabulous fireworks display on the Saturday evening. Many people we met there told us they had been planning their ‘bucket list’ trip to the Boulia Camel Races for years and while we didn’t know anyone there, it didn’t take us long to meet up with lots of friendly fellow travellers enjoying this unique experience.

The event has been running for 23 years and is extremely well managed by a small army of dedicated local volunteers.

On each day, the racetrack gates and the bar open at 10am and the festivities continue throughout the day, finally closing at midnight on the Friday and Saturday nights and at 6pm on the Sunday evening.

We took advantage of the camping included in our event ticket ($80 per adult for the three-day event) and set ourselves up at the campsite next to the racetrack, located just 5km out of Boulia. There are no set campsites, it’s a case of camp wherever you like. While there is no power available at the campgrounds, generators are allowed. Pets are welcome at your camp but not at the races as they may spook the camels. A friendly shuttle bus service operates all weekend, transferring visitors from town to the event site and back again every half hour.

So many campers enjoying Boulia’s hospitality.

Campers enjoying a campfire. Photo by Aliven Photography.

Campfires are permitted and in fact, the local volunteers provide free cut-up firewood at various locations around the camping area for everyone’s use. Access to toilets and showers is provided at the racetrack just a few hundred metres away.

For those who prefer to stay in a little bit of luxury, they have some glamping sites available. Each site includes a spacious bell tent that sleeps two adults and features a queen-sized bed, rugs, linen, pillows, cushions, blankets, side tables, solar lights and a table and chairs.

In addition to the camel race card, there are lots of novelty events throughout the weekend, including the very popular camel tagging competition. This is a timed event where each contestant is required to run across an enclosure, tag a camel on its rear haunches with a piece of duct tape, then run back to the starting area before running back to the camel to try to un-tag it in the fastest time.

There’s plenty of action for the kids too with sheep tagging, which is similar to the camel tagging process, three-legged races and children’s amusements, including several large and very popular bouncy castles.

The local primary school students made camel-themed costumes and an auction

of each child was held with some serious local bidding occurring – sometimes up to $2,000 per child – to raise funds for the kids to go on a popular school excursion to Cairns.

A little girl competing in the sheep tagging competition. Photo by Aliven Photography.

Aerial shot of the campgrounds and Boulia Camel Races racetrack.

Photo by Maree Azzopardi.

On the Friday and Saturday evenings, there was a variety of musical entertainment from 6pm through to midnight. Performers included singer-songwriter Bridget O’Shannessy and the Harte Street Band, Owen Blundell with his hilarious musical impressions and yodelling, and The Chris Cook Band who performed Dustier Than Ever, a tribute to Slim Dusty. Unfortunately, country rocker Travis Collins was top of the billing but he had to pull out at the last minute due to illness. However, his band members and the other performers quickly stepped in to fill the gap and soon had everyone up dancing and rocking along to the great music. The Boulia region has a remarkable history dating back more than a hundred million years. Back then, the whole area of western Queensland was part of the Eromanga Sea

which featured prehistoric marine animals such as the long necked Plesiosaur and the Ichthyosaur, a large marine reptile a bit like a dolphin. Today, Boulia is home to the best Ichthyosaur ancient fossil collection in Queensland.

In 1861, the illfated Burke and Wills expedition aiming to explore from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north passed through the area and in fact, the Burke River that runs through Boulia was named after expedition leader Robert O’Hara Burke.

The settlement of Boulia itself was established in 1879 and was given its name three years later when the surveyor Frederick Hartnell is believed to have used the name of the local waterhole, Bool-yo from the Pitta Pitta language, to create the name Boulia. As the town grew, Afghan camel traders passed through the region bringing vital goods and equipment to help the settlement grow.

Camels coming down the final stretch watched on by the crowd.

Kids and parents enjoying some of the fun competitions.

Photo by Aliven Photography.

While the township of Boulia is tiny with only around 20 blocks to its name, it took on interstellar fame in 1991 when a 10km-wide crater on the red planet Mars was specifically named Boulia to recognize and commemorate the town’s red outback landscape.

Today, the predominant industry in the region is grazing beef cattle. When it rains and floods the Channel country around Boulia, the Mitchell Grass flourishes, making it some of the best low-rainfall beef producing country in Australia.

When the camel races are on, the whole town gets into festive mode. Even the Australian Hotel, the town’s local pub, promotes the camel theme with their novelty meals of camel burgers, camel schnitzels, camel sausages and their Crazy Camel Lager.

Betting on the camel races is done through a Calcutta auction, where all of the proceeds are pooled and divided accordingly to the winning camel bidder.

We found camel racing to be quite hilarious to watch. The jockeys seem to perch precariously on a tiny saddle on the rear haunches of the camel, desperately trying to hold on. The camels often start a race with great gusto but sometimes part-way through, one decides it has had enough and simply saunters off mid-race.

Ranger Nick cooking up a storm in the camp ovens. Photo by Aliven Photography.

Ron and Lyn Mitchell enjoying the proceedings.

A bookie taking a bet from a patron.

To the amusement or frustration of the punters depending on which camel you bet on, no amount of encouragement by the jockey can induce that camel to continue racing.

Camels were first introduced into Australia in the 1840s and as they were well suited to our arid conditions, more than 20,000 were imported from British India and Afghanistan over the following 60 years.

They were mostly used for exploration of the outback and transportation of vital goods and equipment for the new settlements. However, in the early 1900s, as motor vehicles became more popular, the camels were gradually released into the wild. Today, Australia has one of the largest feral camel populations in the world.

In 2008, it was estimated that there were around one million feral camels spread over an area of 3.3 million sq km. As the land degradation issues were increasing, a $19 million Australian Feral Camel Management Project was instigated to reduce the camel numbers.

The project was a partnership of 20 organisations supported by the Australian Government and involved the trapping, mustering and shooting of camels. In addition, 150 motion-activated cameras were set up in the outback of Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia to monitor camel movements. Around 50 satellite tracking collars have also been fitted to camels to monitor their movements to help maintain the lower densities. Today, it is estimated that there are around 300,000 feral camels in Australia.

Feral camels are highly mobile and can cover over 70km per day foraging for food. They prefer shrubs and trees rather than grasses and as a result, they destroy waterholes and habitat, damage fences and sometimes carry exotic diseases that may be a threat to livestock.

Camel staff putting a camel saddle on a camel.

Photo by Aliven Photography.

Dancers and punters enjoying the rock band entertainment.

While Boulia’s camel race is considered to be the longest and richest nowadays, back in 1988, the longest camel race of all, the Great Australian Camel Race, was held. The arduous course covered 3,236km from Uluru through Alice Springs, Boulia, Longreach, Charleville and Warwick to the finish line at Expo 88 on the Gold Coast in Queensland during Australia’s BiCentennial celebrations.

The idea for the epic endurance race came from Australian millionaire Arthur Earle who wanted to recognize the important role that camels had played in the development of Australia’s outback.

More than 60 competitors and their camel teams entered, raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service as they travelled across country. A cash prize of $40,000 was available for the winner with individual money prizes for various sections of the race.

However, as the conditions were so arduous, only 28 teams made it to the finish line. The winner, Gordon O’Connell and his camel Carla covered the distance in a total of 480 hours over a three month period with assistance from a small back-up crew.

A Special Air Service team came second more than 30 hours behind Gordon O’Connell despite having over 100 servicemen taking part with 13 camels and a truck to back up each and every one of their riders.

If camels aren’t your thing, Boulia is also famous for sightings of the mysterious Min Min Lights, described by witnesses as floating, fast-moving balls of colour that glow in the night sky and stalk people, leaving some confused and frightened. The name Min Min was given to the lights after a stockman, who was based at Min Min, a small settlement between Boulia and Winton, Queensland, saw them in 1918. However, Min Min lights have also been recorded in Aboriginal myths

Feral camels in the outback.

Camels crossing the finish line.

before European settlement. The fact is the lights are a strange phenomenon that has spooked many people travelling in the outback.

According to science though there are several theories that could explain their existence, including bio-luminescence from insect swarms, piezoelectrics or marsh gas involving the creation of an electric charge, refraction where remote lights appear above the horizon, or that they are pockets of light trapped in a layer of cold air.

Whatever the reason, the Min Min lights remain one of Australia’s most puzzling and intriguing outback legends. To tap into the tourist appeal of these strange sightings, the Boulia Camel Races event organizers have some new ideas planned for the 2020 event, including the first ever Min Min Light Camel Race, where the camels will be wearing eerie lights during a twilight race.

Boulia is located at: Latitude: -22° 53' 59.99" S Longitude: 139° 53' 59.99" E

In 2020, the Boulia Camel Races will be held from 17 - 19 July.

Camping is available from Wednesday 15 to Wednesday 22 July however, ticket prices for next year’s three-day event are still to be set.

Volunteers are needed to join the 2020 Boulia Camel Races crew and if you are willing to contribute six hours of your time over the course of the weekend, you will be given free entry to the event.

Volunteer roles include bus drivers, organisational helpers in the days leading up to the event, and people willing to check visitors in to the event and issue wristbands etc.

For more information or to complete a Volunteers Form, check out the website at www.bouliacamelraces.com.au

Mount Jackson Road

Asan historian, one of my habits before a trip is to see if I can find any interesting history of the places I'll be passing through and the roads or tracks I'll be travelling on. As mentioned in my Yilgarn article, I found some fascinating snippets relating to the Mount Jackson road. As a result of Speakman's gold strike up there in 1894, a route from Perth via Mangowine and other stations was described in the Daily News. However, most prospectors keen to try their luck at the new find came via Southern Cross. A rudimentary track between that place and Ennuin had existed since the first gold finds at Golden Valley nearly a decade earlier and the growing community of Mount Jackson was only some 70km further North of Ennuin.

Before the year was out there were 40 men fossicking around the new centre some 15km westwards of the mount itself. As mines at the centre developed over ensuing years, all manner of machinery was dragged up this track. Donkey, horse and camel teams hauled giant wagons bearing heavy stamper batteries to crush the ore. To power these machines, steam engines loaded onto the wagons, together with their immense boilers, trundled along the same route as did all manner of belt-driven machinery. Loads of fire bricks for the furnaces,

wild trax

bricks and sheets of corrugated iron for sheds and other mining infrastructure, galvanised Metters fireplaces and flues for living quarters, hotel furniture and bar room equipment, books for a library: everything required to make the place workable and liveable was carted up that track from the railhead at Southern Cross. A weekly mail coach ran up there, with a police officer sometimes acting as gold escort on the return trip.

Watering places on the route were found and improved where possible. Some of the stonework around the granite outcrops along the way is magnificent and several

early reservoirs still catch the runoff as they were designed to well over a century ago. In the early days, the track wouldn't have been a smooth run. It would have been pocked with potholes and churned up boggy patches and littered with stumps. It's fascinating to think of all this as you drive the well-formed and graded road of today. Any decent storm back then was useful in filling the scant waterholes relied upon by travellers, but often such storms made the track impassable for days. Whole teams and wagons became bogged, stuck in deep gluey red mud. Perhaps the worst example of this took place in September 1904 when the rains were so heavy that the Southern Cross Times would subsequently dub one section of the track as the 'Ennuin Sea'.

According to that newspaper, there was a ten mile stretch that was six inches deep in water. The mail coach went down to the axles in the middle of this 'sea' and the horses were knee deep in it. When the horses refused to pull, the driver jumped from the coach and went down to his thighs in mud. He unharnessed one horse and completed the journey with the mails only, leaving his passengers adrift in the coach. The passengers on this memorable trip were newly-weds, Mr and Mrs Phil Stubbs, who were on their honeymoon. When the driver returned a couple of days later he found the coach empty. Not knowing whether the couple could swim, he was worried about them until he reached Golden Valley Station to which they had walked back 30km. The newspaper pondered as to the condition of their travelling finery, especially the groom's coat which they assumed would have been laid on the mud Sir Walter Raleigh style for the bride to walk on until it would be hard to say which was coat and which was mud. The coach driver had the last word on this memorable honeymoon trip when he suggested that they may well have “canoe-dled' their way back to Golden Valley.

Another reward in carrying out such Trove trawls can be the unrelated, but interesting, articles you can come across accidentally. An example that fascinated me concerned Mr James Black of Marwonga near Pingelly who, in February 1909, found a very large carpet snake “engaged in a deadly conflict with a live opossum, which it was endeavouring to swallow, the hind legs only protruding. Evidently, not being a Jonah, the 'possum strenuously resisted incarceration within the snake's stomach, and had either bitten or clawed a hole in the side of its voracious enemy, from which, by getting its head and one fore paw out, it appeared to be in a fair way of struggling through its captor's mouth and cheating it of its Sunday dinner. Mr Black considered his discovery would be a valuable exhibit for the Perth Museum, as giving ample demonstration of the swallowing capacity of the Marwonga reptiles, forthwith dispatched the 'possum, the snake being almost in the last throes of death. The Rev. E.B. Wichert brought the dead snake, with its intended victim locked in its last embrace, into Pingelly, and after being photographed by Mr F. Ayton, was covered with a preservative and sent to the Perth Museum.”

My Claim

We all moan about car insurance from time to time but, after a bit of a bingle last year, I can report that I was delighted with the treatment I received. Expecting the usual relentless indifference of most insurance companies, I have to admit that the level of support from QBE Insurance was nothing short of inspiring. Wayne Phipps Smash Repairs in Midland did a great job in organising repairs and I'm grateful to both Wayne Phipps and Ian Janssen of that firm. Nitin Shah of Auto Extra, Osborne Park and Ben Pratt and Brendan Vincent of TJM, Kewdale were also helpful. All these people took the trouble to go the extra mile to make sure I was happy with the end result. Thanks heaps guys.

What’s in a name?

with IAN ELLIOT

Mount Jackson and Olby Rocks

Whilethe town of Mount Jackson mentioned in my Yilgarn article emerged in the 1890s, the mount itself was named much earlier during exploration by surveyor Augustus Gregory on 17 August 1846. While Gregory doesn’t mention the person he named the feature after, it may be significant that he named Lake Moore a few days later, presumably after George Fletcher Moore, his neighbour on the Upper Swan who was then Advocate General of the colony and Acting Colonial Secretary. Since Moore married Miss Fanny Jackson, the stepdaughter of Governor Andrew Clarke, a few months later that year, it seems logical to assume that the feature was named after this young lady, newly arrived in the colony. Gregory himself never married and I have mused at times as to whether he may have had some romantic interest in Miss Jackson but was pipped at the post when she chose the much older and wealthier Moore. I guess I’ll never know for sure.

Mount Jackson became part of the trig network during the surveys of E.H. Absolon in 1895 and I suspect that it was Absolon rather than Gregory who erected the cairn and pole on the summit. Years ago, when Portmans began mining nearby, I learned that the carved pole from this trig station had gone missing. Enquiries revealed that it had been removed for safekeeping by members of the Southern Cross Historical Society. When I visited its guardian, the late Mrs Forrester, I found that this delightful elderly lady had it safely stowed under her bed. I don’t know its current whereabouts but one

hopes it can be erected again one day after mining operations are completed. The origin of the name Olby Rocks is given as a 1938 survey field book in Landgate’s Geonoma database which suggests it is of Aboriginal origin. I’ve found the name in March 1911 gold mining lease notices published in the Southern Cross Times. These were the 'Olby Reward' applied for by G.H. Vickery and R.M. Stubbs and the 'Olby Extended' applied for by J.H. Stubbs. Both these leases were situated near the track between Pigeon Rock and Ularring Rock. In May 1911 the Secretary for Mines, H.S. King, agreed to increase the capacity of gnammas at Olby Rocks so the name was well established by then.

I doubt the suggestion of Aboriginality. While uncommon, Olby is listed as a surname in an early census in Great Britain but I’ve found no prospectors of this name in postal directories or Trove searches. However, there are towns or villages named Olby in France and Denmark. Olby is said to mean 'beer town' in Danish so perhaps this was wishful thinking by the Stubbs.

Gnamma at Olby Rocks.

Mt Celia

In a computer glitch last issue, the final paragraph of my discourse on the origin of the name Mt Celia was omitted, leaving readers, although aware that it was named in 1897 by surveyor J.C. Watt, resident in Coolgardie, none the wiser as to the possible reason for the name. So, for those who have spent a frustrating three months wondering about this, the missing para is as follows:

However, idly browsing through goldfields newspapers of the 1890s in Trove, I couldn’t help noticing how often the name Celia appeared, especially in 1897. This newsworthy young lady was Miss Celia Ghiloni, a voluptuous eighteen year old actress and singer who became the darling of Coolgardie that year. She sang at the opening of the Coolgardie Mechanics Institute and appeared in many local shows and concerts before beginning work in vaudeville at Perth’s Cremorne Theatre. From there she was recruited by J.C. Williamson and performed all over the world before her retirement in 1920. She died in 1955 and I’d happily put money on the likelihood of Watt’s Mount Celia being named after her.

the things you see!

with (TRUTHFUL) PHIL BIANCHI

Camp Ovens

A camp oven cooked roast or sweets would have to be the ultimate meal for a connoisseur of all things 4W driving. If you haven’t had such a meal put it high up your bucket list alongside meeting bush cooking royalty Jo Clews.

Why are the meals so good? Camp ovens create their own internal atmosphere; moisture and heat is trapped resulting in a very flavoursome and tender meal.

Basically all camp ovens rely on a bed of coals on which the oven sits, then some coals put on the lid as well. Some have inverted lids to hold the coals from falling into the oven; others such as the Bedourie have a flat lid, requiring lid balancing skills to prevent an ash flavoured meal.

There are all sorts of camp ovens, they come in various shapes and sizes, some with feet but most are flat bottomed. Some come with accessories such as internal collars for roasting veggies, or have lids that can be turned over for use as a frypan. Cast iron camp ovens are the most predominate and others such as Hillbilly and Bedourie are made of spun steel.

I have a collection of ovens of varying types and sizes. My favourite is the Hillbilly - not only does it cook well it is significantly lighter to transport. The lid however is very big and takes up significant

space. One Hillbilly I was given had the lid modified by having a slice taken off either side making it much narrower; the oven still functions brilliantly.

With sick, cremated knuckles after endeavouring to position the pickup handle to lift the lid, I chopped it in half and straightened the rods (sorry Mr Hillbilly).

I now have a faster lid pickup system, and so as to make finding the new rods easier I joined them at the top with a length of chain.

Never use your new camp oven without thoroughly washing and seasoning it. Seasoning seals the porous metal and creates a non-stick surface that will make cooking and later cleaning easier. There are a number of methods to season a camp oven. I wash the lid and base thoroughly with a scouring pad. Then get the oven really hot, then add cooking oil and swish it around so the oven is completely coated. Let it cool, wash off the dirty oil and when dry wipe it all over with new cooking oil and you’re ready to go. After this wash of the camp oven I never wash it with detergent again. I just wipe it out and use water if needed. After it's dry wipe oil over it and it’s ready to go next time. Whatever you do don’t put it away damp, it could rust.

So you’re not sure what to cook? Queen of bush cooks Jo Clews, author hereabouts, has a brilliant cook book with easy to follow recipes. Check out her recipes on line.

When cooking roast vegies, a cake, damper etc., consider using a baking dish and sit it on a trivet. The trivet keeps the bottom of the dish off direct heat allowing more control over the cooking and reducing the risk of a burned bottom.

Mrs B’s Bung in Damper

My wife has been making this recipe for so long her measurements are three handfuls of this and a bit of that. Here’s her recipe.

3 handfuls (cups) self-raising flour

3 tablespoons Sunshine milk powder

3 small handfuls sultanas

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Mix all of the dry ingredients thoroughly in a bowl, slowly add room temperature water and keep stirring the mix until all of the dry ingredients are combined. Make sure the mix is wet but not runny. Tip the mixture in an oiled cake tin and then place on a trivet in a pre-heated camp oven.

Dig a small hole away from the fire and shovel hot coals in. Place the camp oven on top of the coals and add more hot coals on the lid. When cooked the damper should sound 'hollow' when tapped.

Damper can be eaten hot with butter, peanut butter, jam and cream or just plain. We’ve even served it hot, in a bowl, with custard over the top.

On a CSR trip I saw a custom made camp oven used by tour operators Outback Spirit. Using a large rectangular baking dish, they made a steel box-like camp oven with a closable opening at one end through which the loaded baking dish would be inserted. Hot coals were put underneath and on top in the usual way, and soon enough vegetables were cooked to feed the whole group.

I often cook a sweet damper after the evening meal for all to share. On one occasion I was asked, "What’s cooking?" "Pickled pork," was my reply. "It’s for cold meat over the next few days." After a while he said, "Gee that crackling smells nice." I couldn’t believe that he smelled pork let alone crackling. When I took the damper out of the camp oven he realised he had been had. He laughed at himself and then tucked in with jam and cream. Many people since have been caught out the same way.

You can vary the above recipe by removing the sultanas and replacing them with cooked chopped onion and bacon or dried apple, dried apricots or cheese and cooked bacon. Use your imagination.

Camper ovens - strongly consider having one on board, but do use gloves and wear enclosed shoes around the fire.

OVER THE

OUR READERS WRITE

Hi guys,

I recently spent three excellent weeks on the beach at Warroora Station WA.

I took with me a back issue of Western 4W Driver magazine that I was given free at the Lifestyle 4x4 open day and I read it cover to cover.

I've glanced though the mags before but never realised they were so good! Now I have my own subscription.

Mick Ryan

Hi Mick, We think the magazine is pretty special and are thrilled that you think so too. How lucky are we to have such a magnificent back yard? Glad to hear that you have got yourself a subscription. Thanks for sending in your photo!

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Hi Chris and Karen,

I would like to draw your attention to the wrong conservation group named as owners of Hamelin Station Stay.

On page 10 of Edition 113, it was stated that Hamelin is owned by Wildlife Conservancy. This is incorrect. Hamelin Station is owned by Bush Heritage Australia. It was acquired in 2015.

BHA is helping to protect over 11.3 million hectares across Australia. This total is made up of land owned by BHA and land managed in partnerships with Traditional Owners.

BHA was started in 1991 when Bob Brown (then a member of the Tasmanian Parliament) won the $49,000 Goldman Environmental Prize. Hope you will be able to correct the statement in your 2020 Autumn edition of this great magazine.

Best wishes for the coming season, John Adams

BHA Volunteer www.bushheritage.org.au

Hi John, Thanks for the correction. It looks like BHA, with the help of volunteers such as yourself, do some great work in protecting Australia’s natural landscape. Keep up the good work!

MelangataSTATION STAY

Situated in the Yalgoo region of WA, this sheep station has a unique homestead and offers various types of accommodation from our campground with basic facilities and plenty of room for tents, camper trailers and caravans, to our Homestead Dinner, Bed and Breakfast package.

For more info and booking, contact Jo on 08 9963 7777 or email melangatastationstay@gmail.com www.joclewscooking.com

Opening forthe season in April

You just never know!

few thoughts on surviving in Arid Australia

Apleasantafternoon drive turned into a fortnight struggling against heat and thirst and not everyone survived. Two females and a male set out from an inland city not expecting to have to practice their survival skills and so they were ill-prepared for what followed – and it could happen to anyone. Once their nonappearance when expected was reported to police, a search commenced; but it was three days after they had gone on their trek! In Australia most immediate searches in the arid centre begin with small fixedwing aircraft being deployed into the area where the stranded folk are expected to be located. The planes fly a grid-like search pattern across the area where the incident is presumed to have occurred. Thus, it is vital to tell someone responsible exactly where you are going and the expected time of your return. Give or take a few hours, you should leave directions about when to start looking for you if you don’t return when you expected to – don’t leave it for days! Of course, you will notify them of your safe arrival either back home or at your next check-point.

Hopefully, you will have in your vehicle an electronic communication device, say a sat-phone, which will let you contact the outside world in case of delay or emergency. Despite their limited range, even a mobile phone can get an SMS message through to receivers despite voice communication being impossible. It is worth a try. Regarding hand-held radios, UHF frequencies have a restricted range and VHF frequencies are mostly confined to mining projects or rural use, but if your vehicle has either fitted, then try to get a message through to anyone listening. Often, night-time gives better reception.

I would never leave my vehicle unless it was in immediate danger. A vehicle is a much larger visual target for a spotter than an individual person, and I would make sure that if I was part of a group travelling together, then they would all be staying together near the vehicle. A sensible idea is to carry several brightly coloured lightweight vests that could be worn to help spotters see members of the party all standing together next to their vehicle and pointing to the big ‘HELP’ sign that they

have scratched into the ground and outlined with branches from shrubs that emphasise the letter’s shadows. For a trip into Australia’s outback, I would choose bright yellow/ green coloured vests. They are more visible in the red/ orange outback landscape than the orange coloured type which is better suited to urban environments. The vest won’t provide any warmth or protection from scratches and insect bites so sensible clothing needs to be worn ‘just in case.’ This means a long-sleeved shirt or jacket, long trousers and strong boots or shoes – and a broad-brimmed hat. They will be uncomfortable and probably hot, but their benefits will be felt at night when even the desert cools down, or when plagued by insects and as sun protection if you do have to be outside the vehicle during daylight.

There are some things that you should always have with you, also – ‘just in case’ – whenever you venture into remote Australia. Making yourself easily seen by aerial searchers involves signalling to them so they can plot your whereabouts for a land-rescue team to find you. No smokers, no matches, no lighters, no green vegetation for a smoky fire? Then how about a rear-vision mirror from the vehicle used to flash the aircraft? Sure, it may be a bit difficult to detach, but you could use the one that you put in your vehicle survival kit that is always to remain with the vehicle, couldn’t you? Use the smaller one in your personal survival kit if that is what you have. There will be fire-lighting gear in your kit, but I hesitate to mention fire because I am writing this article close to one of the biggest fires to have hit New South Wales in decades. However, in the right circumstances and conditions, a signal fire may well save your life. Just remember to douse it completely before you leave in the rescue helicopter.

A hi-vis vest is inexpensive, doesn't take up much room in your vehicle and will make you more easily seen.

Surprisingly, in this very dry year, water was not particularly challenging to locate for the trio lost in the centre – at least initially. According to news reports, a waterhole was found about 1.5 kilometres from the car which had become sand-bogged in a dry river crossing. One person stayed by the waterhole while the two others left together to find help. It seems that a written message which was left in the car guided searchers in their search and helped to locate quickly the first of the three to be found. I have already pointed out that it is unwise to split a group of survivors, and if the footwear and clothing being worn by one or more of the party is inadequate, then it would be prudent not to split the group which would leave one or two alone even if they were at a waterhole.

Regarding water supplies, one of the survivors from the two who departed was found with a water container so apparently the two that had walked away initially had an adequate supply each. At this stage it is not known whether the second of these two carried a water supply. Like many readers, I have visited numerous outback waterholes that contained what appeared to be water that I would not relish drinking. For that reason, I carry a light but tightly woven cloth bag that is designed to CLARIFY water, that is, to remove most of the particles of ‘who knows what’ from the water so that purification tablets are enabled to work more efficiently (I also carry a few of these tablets). Cloudiness (or turbidity) in water supplies usually indicates the presence of suspended particles and these attract heavy metal chemicals and bacterial or microbial pathogens. The original cloth bag filter that is reasonably effective in

removing these particles was known in military circles as a ‘Millbank Bag’ and modern versions can be found by searching that term on the World Wide Web. While these filters function slowly, they do a remarkable job in removing silt and organic solids from water, but they do not purify it; so you have to render the water safe to drink by using water purifying tablets or by boiling the filtered water if you have a suitable container. Drinking cloudy water is enough to give you an upset stomach, which is the last thing you want when you are already in a difficult situation. This is not the place to discuss water distillation, but 4W drivers should remember that many inland water sources contain high proportions of dissolved salts that stock can tolerate but which may be rather unhealthy for humans to consume. These dissolved salts can really only be removed by distillation or reverse osmosis – usually an industrial scale procedure that is expensive. Human metabolism requires water to process food; consequently, in survival situations people are advised not to eat unless they have adequate water supplies or other liquids. Even so, it would be unwise to drink those liquids that tend to be diuretic – that is which tend to encourage the body to produce urine. Keeping cool, avoiding sweating and trying not to shed a tear will all help to avoid dehydration. And alcohol, despite the romantic notions of bush folklorists, is a complete no-no.

Cocooned inside a comfortable airconditioned vehicle, it is easy to become complacent about the outside world, until something unforeseen happens. Becoming sand-bogged in a wide creek crossing can quickly become a life-threatening condition

A Millbank Bag used for filtering water.

Photo from www.survivalsuppliesaustralia.com.au

unless you are prepared for this eventuality. A first option is usually deflation of the vehicle’s tyres to a suitable low pressure that helps restore some traction, but this action really requires a pressure gauge and the capacity to re-inflate the tyres to a suitable track pressure after vehicle recovery. Winching the vehicle out of the sand is possible, either forward or backwards given suitable anchors for the winch cable. Once again special equipment is required along with the expertise to operate it safely. What we are heading for in this discussion is one of the 'Ps' used in an expedition planning mnemonic 'Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Poor Performance.' But how many of us don’t think about the consequences when we are just heading out into what is virtually our own backyard for an afternoon?

So, apart from the equipment mentioned above, it is always worthwhile carrying a sheet of tarp or strong plastic as a groundsheet (shelter cover for rain or shade too) walking boots - well worn in, a small shovel and a pair of overalls. I’m not going to mention all the other stuff that you will have like personal survival kits, water containers (full all the time) and a decent cutting implement (I favour a strong knife and a pruning saw). Don’t forget, just having these things is not enough – you must understand their use and preferably have practical experience in using them. Finally, courses in 4W driving and vehicle recovery are available and even the best of us need a refresher every now and then. Meanwhile remember Baden-Powell’s motto for Boy Scouts – “Be Prepared.”

GO GEO-TOURING

Cruising on a hundred

With the sting of summer’s tail behind us, now is the time for planning trips to the north and inland. This is a story of a geocaching adventure I took with my travel buddy, Warren, through the Midwest and the Gascoyne. It was March, the wildflowers had gone, but so too had the tourists. I probably do not need to mention the flies. May to September is the best time for this region. Our primary goal was the Kennedy Ranges and Mt Augustus, with a personal milestone to complete on the way.

Our first camp was made inland of Geraldton at Ellendale Pool, a picturesque place you must visit. I had left two caches behind the last time I was here, so upon arrival I proceeded to get my name in the other logbooks. The first one could not to be found and I had little confidence in finding the second. A short walk from the camp and some ferreting around in the bush and I had found another, the second for the trip.

Missing a sandal.

In the middle of the night I was woken by an animal of some sort running into my camp table. In the morning, a look of horror washed over my face …. there was only one shoe outside the swag! The noise

I had heard earlier was a fox, making off with my sandal. This would be funny if I had brought a spare pair of shoes with me. Packing up with one foot in the gravel wasn’t much fun and we had to change our plans. Geraldton was now our first destination - for another pair of shoes. The philosophy of 'if it hasn’t got two uses, you don’t take it' doesn’t apply to shoes.

It must have been a hilarious sight, me walking through the main street of town, sandal on one foot,

nothing on the other. Warren deliberately followed quite a few steps behind. Inside the shopping centre, I spied Best and Less and had a win better than Lotto. A $2 pair of thongs. The girl behind the counter was in throws of laughter as I recounted my story of a dirty little fox and a sandal that had gone AWOL. But like a comfortable pair of old boots, I couldn’t let my one sandal go, so it was sandal on my left and thong on my right … for a while anyhow. I thought I may as well milk it for all it's worth.

Now on the coast, we decided on heading to Carnarvon before turning east for the Kennedy Ranges. We dropped into the Gladstone campground, but decided to give the limestone dust bowl a miss for a much nicer place just up the road. Wooramel River Retreat is a fantastic station stay, even without any water in the river. It was a hot day, so we spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting in the shade of the numerous river gums with a refreshing ale as we watched the sun go down and the full moon come up.

The next day we motored on up the coast and veered right at Carnarvon. With no geocaches available for a while we went into tourer mode. We turned north for the west Kennedy Ranges. Crossing the now dry Gascoyne River proved no issue and we ascended the Khyber Pass. We stopped for a look at a mine on the way up, famous for its 'Mookaite', a form of jasper only found in the Kennedy Ranges, and then we pushed on for Mooka Spring. A little oasis in a very dry land.

If we had found some shade by the water, we would have camped here the night, however, it was very hot, in excess of 40 degrees.

Mookah Spring.

Yenny Spring.

We decided to push further north for Yenny Spring. It was slow-going up the coarse stony track, with its numerous washouts that cut the track in numerous places. We arrived at a most remarkable place, Yenny Spring. It was too early to set up camp and too hot to stop, so after a quick explore on foot we drove further north, past Venny Peak and onwards a bit longer. The track gets a lot rougher past here and the washouts get deeper and more numerous. We decided not to continue into the unknown and doubled back for Yenny Spring. Parking in the shade of a patch of river gums, we did something a bit different and spent the rest of the afternoon cooling off with a relaxing ale. There was a trickle of water in the creek here, but it had nothing on Mookah Spring. A place where stock was once staged, we found some old troughs and a small spring fenced off with old wooden posts and wire. The spring is a very small hole, full of vegetation. We were surprised when we tested it for depth. A tree branch three meters long didn’t touch the bottom. If the vegetation was removed, it would be a splendid water source and more than likely permanent.

We watched the full moon crest on the southern side of the range while we cooked dinner, the temperature now rather pleasant and the annoying flies gone to bed for another day. Lying in the swag I heard old mate dingo off in the distance, howling from different parts of the range, obviously on the prowl in the light of the full moon. I now worried about my newly acquired $2 thong and my old comfortable sandal. I was still milking the situation for all it was worth.

Around 5am, I was woken by the blood curdling howl of old mate, still on the prowl. He was very close by. I note my shoes were still where I left them. With the dawning of the sun, came the heat and the flies. We found the spring had overflowed during the night and the run-off was now making its way down to the creek. Breakfast done, we hit the track south for the highway to go and explore the eastern side of the range.

Venny Peak.

$2 single plugger.

Entering the east Kennedy Ranges.

From Gascoyne Junction, we made the 50 odd kilometres to the eastern side and whilst cloud was forming in the sky, it was still hot as hell. We heard on the radio that tropical cyclone Veronica, a category 4 low, was going to cross the coast to the north in a day or so. We started worrying about the remainder of our trip out here as it's no place to be when it’s wet.

We tried to find some shelter in the minimal shade to be found at the campground. There was only one other camper here and he dropped by for a chat. I asked if he knew what geocaching was about and he didn’t have a clue. I said I would show him around 6pm, when it would be a bit cooler. We started off down the escarpment trail, on the understanding that daylight would be an issue departing this late in the day. Part way up the trail, the GPS pointed due north to the cache, only some 250 meters away. But the route is a very steep scree slope. I pondered the shortcut. If I could climb the slope, I would cut a couple of kilometres off the journey. It was very steep, loose and somewhat dangerous. If there is a hard way to a cache, you can be sure I will find it. I made the decision to climb whilst our new-found friend stayed behind on the trail. The further I climbed, the more I knew I had made a bad decision. I was struggling to ascend this slope and my $2 thong was giving me grief: the sole of my foot was sweating profusely, and the thong and foot were constantly parting company. I should have put on two sandals at least.

Going up was the easy bit. The further up I went, the more difficult and dangerous it was going to be to come down. The GPS was egging me on. Down to 180 meters, then 150. Eventually after a lot of climbing, down to 100. I got to the top of the range, and there is a large prominent knob on top. The cache was still some 60 odd metres away at the top of this knob, and I had no way to climb the vertical face I was presented with. All that work for nothing. The disappointment of having to log a 'did not find' was a heavy load to bear after all the effort I had just put in. Mind you, the scenery was stunning.

Camped in the east Kennedy Ranges.

I can't climb that!

What’s worse, the more adventurous challenge of getting back down without breaking my neck was yet to come. The single plugger gave me more grief on the way down, constantly pulling the plug through the base and the slip sliding of a sweaty foot on slippery rubber just compounded the problem. The terrain was intense to descend, but slowly and surely, I caught back up with my new friend, to make the short trek back to camp just before dark. Unfortunately I had no cache to show him. But I had gained knowledge on the stupidity of taking such a route in a $2 thong.

The next morning, Tropical Cyclone Veronica had made her presence felt. Although it was still warm, it was very dark and threatening and the wind ever increasing. It was due to hit Karratha, some 470km away sometime that day. With this in mind we headed for Mt Augustus, stopping to check potential camp spots by the Lyons River. Coming at the end of summer, the Lyons River disappointed with its lack of water. The scenery made up for it though, mounts such as Mt Phillips providing small, isolated bumps in an otherwise flat landscape. From Cobra Station it is a short trip to the mountain where you drive parallel to the inselberg providing spectacular views. Cattle Pool, prior to the caravan park is a must see, though it was nothing like I had seen six months prior. Summer hadn’t been kind to the water sources out here.

Arriving at the mountain, we almost had the place to ourselves, with only one other here. We elected to set the swags up under

the camp kitchen roof due to the wind and the risk of overnight rain (which didn’t eventuate). There are three geocaches located here - one I had found previously on the Kotka Gorge track. An earth cache and a traditional at the summit would have to wait for better weather conditions. The next morning with the wind howling, we left Mt Augustus without seeing anything so we could put as much distance between us and TC Veronica as we could. The Landor - Mt Augustus road is a part of the Kingsford Smith mail run – one of several tourist pathways in the region. A gnamma hole with petroglyphs can be found not too far south of the mountain.

Heading further south we found a marked location on our maps for an old homestead well. We stopped to investigate. A derelict bore and signs of old cattle workings were to be found. Here I noticed a Mt James homestead to the west. Not knowing if it was a working station or abandoned, we went in for a look and were rewarded

Petroglyphs and gnamma holes.

Mt James homestead.

handsomely. The homestead was abandoned and in quite reasonable shape. Evidence of prior occupation littered the landscape. Nestled on a plain surrounded by ranges, a large quartz blow rose out of the plain a few hundred meters west of the homestead. It was a great little find and we spent a good while taking photographs and imagining the harsh existence one would have had trying to make a living off the land.

We continued south before arriving at the Mt Gould lockup for the night. Still windy and quite warm we had dodged a bulletVeronica didn’t cross the coast and blew herself out. There was a remarkable sunset with the cloud starting to break up. Lucky for me, there just so happened to be a geocache here and I had its log signed in no time.

The next morning, the wind had dropped off. Heading south, we crossed the 26th parallel and arrived in Meekatharra for some fuel. Warren had to replace his butane stove which had partially failed, and of course, another cache at the town lookout had to be found before we left.

With the weather once again warming up and no evidence of a cyclone anymore, the plan was to head west at Cue for Big Bell and Walga Rock, both places a must visit if in the area. On the way we stopped in at Lake Nallan to pick up a cache at an old railway overpass and another detour to check out the graves at Milly Soak.

I suggested we set up camp early at Afghan Rock and we could do Big Bell the following morning. An early afternoon camp, with a cold beverage in the shade at the rock was hard to pass up. Climbing the rock to watch the sun go down was very worthwhile too. After an uneventful night we made our way to the Big Bell hotel, once a mighty structure indeed. Evidence of the railway can be found across the road and the numerous

Night falls at Mt Gould.

Heritage rail at Lake Nallan.

ruins of the township provide a photographer’s paradise.

It just so happens to have: yep, you guessed it, geocache nearby. We moved on down to Walga Rock. If you want to see some serious indigenous art, you have to check this place out. There is so much here to see, but please respect the indigenous heritage and stay behind the barrier. Treat it with respect so we get continued permission to visit. After Walga, we had to visit one other place that is essential to see - the Dalgaranga meteorite crater. I jest. Wolfe Creek it is not.

Big Bell Hotel.

had to offer, we stopped at Jokers Tunnel, where I again had to scale another tricky rock face, only to have to search for some time to get my name in another logbook. We made our way to Warriedar and were mighty impressed with the restoration work Track Care WA had done so far on the homestead. Again, it was blistering hot and with the volume of flying sultanas in the air, all we could do was relax with a cold bevvie (and a fly net) in the shade of the veranda until the sun went down. Something different I guess.

Onto Mount Magnet, we set up a quiet camp in the breakaways around Lennonville. That night, planning our last few days, I suggested we camp at Warriedar and nearby by the old Rothsay mine for our last night.

In the morning I knocked off another cache at the granites just to the north of Mount Magnet and we headed to Yalgoo for another couple. Checking out all Yalgoo

The following morning, as we shot off towards Paynes Find for some fuel, we found a most remarkable old shack a couple of kilometres to the north of the homestead. We contemplated what stories this structure may hold.

Walga Rock art.

The view at Lennonville.

Old shack on Warriedar Station.

The road to Paynes Find was in great condition. A picturesque drive around and across Mongers Lake and through Auriferous bearing ranges. The road was lined with many Kurrajong trees. Hoping to visit the battery at Paynes Find, we were disappointed to discover on arrival it is open only in the wildflower season (August to October). But all was not lost, because within a few minutes, I struck gold of my own. Another geocache. A little tricky to find, but I had the log signed without too much effort.

Fuelled up again, we hit the highway south before turning west once again towards Perenjori. On arrival at Camel Soak, I had added another six geocaching smilies to my tally for the day. We made our way into the Karara Rangelands and took the 4WD track out to Rothsay. Unfortunately, as it now stands, mining has restarted operations here with the inappropriate 'keep outactive mining area' signs in place. That means I will have to revisit Rothsay another time. Which is a little disappointing, but I need to explore the Karara Rangelands in greater detail sometime in the future. With a planned camp at Rothsay now out of the question, we needed an alternative. Visiting the Sir John Forrest lookout in the Damperwah Hills, we found what we were looking for. One being a place to camp for the night, the second being a special place to celebrate a personal milestone I will achieve before I return home - exceeding 100,000km of GPS logged trips away. I couldn’t think of a more fitting place than one that bears Forrest’s name. WA owes a

great deal to this man, for his services to exploration, surveying and politics - being the first Premier of this great state from 1890 to 1901.

Ascending the lookout on foot, tools and booty in hand, I laid an unofficial geocachetype hide atop the summit to celebrate my 100K milestone. I had a special coin, known as a pathtag minted. Unfortunately, it hadn’t arrived from the US in time for this trip, but in this hide I have left one of my signature pathtags and details on how to obtain my special 100K one that was made especially for the occasion. This was placed in March 2019 and to the best of my knowledge, has not been found by year end. So, as readers of this fine magazine, I share the coordinates with you. First to find wins the prize.

You will need to navigate your way to S29 18.552 E116 43.832 for this celebratory pathtag, and there is only the one set on offer. The great mate Warren is, he brought up cold beer to the summit. When the job was done, he congratulated me on my milestone and I thanked him for his companionship over many thousands of those kilometres over a nice cool one. I had a swig for Forrest too.

the morning we headed for home, 3300km traversed over 11 days and a personal milestone accomplished. The Midwest and the Gascoyne has so much to offer. Now is the time to get your map books out to plan for that winter getaway to the region. I guarantee you will find treasure out there. Cache on.

WHAT ,S NEW?

Smart Charging

Vehicle electrics company CTEK has released its new D250SE battery charger and Smartpass 120S in Australia. The upgraded products suit a range of 4WD applications.

he latest D250SE ($499) now has the ability to charge lithium 12-Volt LiFePO4 batteries, in addition to regular and AGM battery types. It suits leisure applications but also is ideal for a work van that needs to be fully charged between jobs.

The D250SE is compatible with smart alternators and is an easy to install solution that delivers 20-Amps of power for charging, conditioning and maintaining any 12-Volt lead acid or lithium LiFePO4 service battery while on the move.

It has a dual input capability so can also draw power from solar sources, allowing an easy connection to solar panels.

The Smartpass 120S ($530), an evolution of the Smartpass 120, is now smart alternator compatible. It is a fully automatic 120-Amp power management system that distributes power between the starter battery, the service battery and on-board equipment.

It can separate critical equipment from non-critical equipment to ensure the radio, emergency lights and navigation systems always have power. It can also use power from the service battery to help get the engine started if the starter battery is flat.

Both products come with a two year warranty and are available from all auto electrical outlets, some 4WD stores and Repco.

Sun Power with the Redarc 190Watt Sunpower solar blanketTESTING

By Ron & Viv Moon

Oneof the things which has always puzzled me about solar panels or solar blankets is how they are rated. A panel/blanket will be claimed to put out so many watts at a certain voltage but I've always found in our testing that a panel or blanket will never reach that stated wattage or current in practice. Then I discovered that the maximum current capability of these power generating devices is generally measured under short circuit conditions, (whilst disconnected from any form of regulator or charger), something that you don't want to see in any practical situation.

Then there are other factors (more of which later) that come into play. But take it from me, if you get anywhere near what a panel or solar blanket is rated at in current or watts, you are doing extremely well.

I've owned two previous solar blankets over the years. One so long ago it would be considered near useless by today's standards, the second a little beauty (one of the first amorphous blankets to hit the market in Australia) and I remember raving about it, to anyone who cared to listen.

Anyway, as with all things, time and technology has moved on and the latest solar blankets from Redarc are not only class leading but there is a range of four blankets to choose from, featuring two different types of

solar cell. These include one amorphous blanket rated at 112 watts, and three Sunpower blankets rated from 115 watt to 190 watt. Prices range from $1230 to $2026 for the monocrystalline blankets while the amorphous blanket hits the wallet for $2354.

The Sunpower blankets are a monocrystalline blanket and thus are more rigid and heavier than an amorphous blanket of similar output. However, rated watt for rated watt the monocrystalline blanket, aka, the Sunpower blankets, are much cheaper than the amorphous blankets, to the tune of a thousand bucks or so.

While a monocrystalline blanket mightn't be able to withstand a gunshot (as the amorphous blankets were designed for the military to do) the unique design of the SunPower cell reduces failure from corrosion and breakage. These blankets feature a solid copper backing with thick connectors for higher efficiency while the face has an anti-reflective, scratchresistant ETFE coating that has a high melting temperature, is UV resistant, chemical resistant, non-stick and the brochure reckons, even self-cleaning! That being said, I still give this unit a wipe down on occasions.

While these blankets may be a little heavier than the equivalent

amorphous blankets, they still weigh less when compared to a glass/aluminium crystalline panel, which produce around 10 watts of power for every kilogram you have to carry. A monocrystalline blanket produces approximately 25 watts per kilogram.

However, with price being a big factor for this black duck and the weight difference compared to the more expensive unit being deemed insignificant, we opted for the super grunty, 190W Sunpower unit.

It is recommended by Redarc that this panel be used in conjunction with, at a minimum, a 20amp solar charger. This will not only ensure the correct charge is supplied to the batteries safely and efficiently, but it will importantly protect the batteries from over charging.

A standard 'Anderson' SB-50 connector on the blanket allows you to connect the blanket, via a similarly set up cable, to your vehicle via a regulator. We opted for a Redarc 5-metre cable, but in hind-sight would have preferred a 10 metre cable. Still, these Redarc cables are as good as you can get with good weatherproof cable connections into the plugs/sockets.

As well, the type of regulator you use will also affect the outcome. To get the most power from the panel over any given time period, an MPPT type Solar Regulator is recommended. These include the Redarc BCDC1225D, BCDC1240D, BMS1230S2 and similar Redarc regulators, and the ones we see often in use in vehicle dual battery systems.

To see a peak current reading (which does not necessarily mean the most power over a given period of time), a PWM Regulator connected to a relatively flat battery will generally show the highest reading. The Redarc products suitable for the 190 watt blanket and using this technology, are the SRPA0240, and SRPA0360 regulators.

In amongst all these figures and facts, Redarc also make the distinction between Short Circuit Amps and Max Power Amps,

the difference being only slight in this case. Other manufacturers aren't so forthcoming!

Of course, added to those variables is how much sun light is available and the varying angle of the sun, both of which will affect the amount of current produced. Geez, no wonder I've had so much trouble getting a reasonably accurate reading that equates to the manufacturer’s specs!

As previously mentioned, how flat the battery is will also depend on the power output of a panel. For our tests we tested the output under mid-summer (Melbourne), midday sun (11am to 1pm), feeding into a partially flat battery which was running two fridges - an Engel and an ARB unitboth set to minimal temperature, ie maximum current demand. Current, voltage and watts were measured by an in-line electronic gauge. This Redarc blanket is rated at a maximum of 16.5 volts and 11.6 amps, which works out at a tad over 190 watts. By the readings on our test gauge our panel had, during our test, an output of over 13.9 volts and 8.96 amps giving 124.8 watts of power. As previously indicated that difference has more to do with the state of the battery, the regulator in use and the power demand of the fridges. Dare I say, under the right conditions I reckon I could even get this panel to deliver what is stated on the specs sheet!

I've been more than impressed with this Redarc solar blanket, its toughness, ease of use, as well as its electrical output. And it should give many years of effective service. What more can I ask for?

For more info go to: www.redarc.com.au

Keeping in Contact

By Ron & Viv Moon

In all my experiences with sat phones over the last 20 years or so - and I’ve used all makes, models and satellite networks - I reckon I’m fairly well versed in the advantages and disadvantages of each. Just recently, I was out in the scrub on the south coast of Oz and in our group of four wheelers there were three different sat phones, all on different networks. One seemed to work better than most and when I say ‘better’, I mean it connected to its sat network easier and quicker and more often than the other two.

In this case, and in other similar situations I’ve experienced, it was the Iridium phone that had you talking more often than not. The Iridium sat phone network consists of 66 active satellites in low orbit around the Earth which in my opinion, gives the best, most reliable coverage of any sat phone network, both here and around the world. However, as I've also learnt, there are places and times where a sat phone, Iridium included, won't let you dial who you want. In those relatively rare cases, you need to shift location, maybe just a few feet away from a tree or building, and/or wait for

The complete kit.

a few minutes, and don’t be surprised if a heavy cloud layer affects your sat phone reception!

This new phone - the Iridium Extreme - which I bought just recently after my old Iridium packed up after nearly 20 years of service, is a smaller, more robust unit with better voice clarity, quicker SMS messaging capability and with an easier, more intuitive user interface.

Handset with antenna extended.

The unit comes as a complete kit, which includes 12-volt DC and 240-volt AC chargers, along with a vehicle kit, which includes an antenna and a hands free headset unit. The handset itself is robust and IP65 rated to withstand a blast of a water jet, and is shock and dust resistant to MIL STD 810F.

There is inbuilt GPS tracking and location sending via SMS, as well as an integrated GPS enabled SOS button where you programme who you want the SOS message sent to in case of an emergency.

The unit weighs less than 250grams and with the standard battery you have 30 hours of standby time or four hours of talk time. Some may see the 30 hours

of standby time as an issue but with the 12-volt charger, four wheelers shouldn't have any problems keeping the unit ready and receptive.

Now don't expect this phone, or any sat phone in fact, to be as versatile as your normal smart phone. It isn't! While you

can send and receive SMS message and short emails, don't expect to be streaming the latest movies or playing with your favourite apps; even a solitary photograph will be an issue. You can connect this phone to a laptop where it will act as a data modem, but at a maximum speed of 13kbps you'll only be able to check emails - without pics!

Still, it does what a sat phone is supposed to do - make and receive phone calls. And, as far as I'm concerned, the Iridium Extreme does that better than any of the others!

Available from: www.trtelecom.com.au or www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/ mobile-satellite

RRP - Approx. $2,100 plus phone/data plans

with JOHN BORMOLINI

SERIOUS CARE FOR THE RODS

Fishingrods are one of the most critical elements for those in the pursuit of recreational angling. It’s not simply a basic tool for a job for those who like to fish but indeed an item that becomes more and more specialised and revered by those who are really into their fishing. As they’ve become more advanced, responsive, lighter and stronger they certainly need the right care, especially when transporting and even storing.

As an investment worth looking after it’s no coincidence that we’ve all used various

approaches over the years to ensure they’re not damaged or knocked about, particularly when taking them into rough terrain or on long trips to our fishing spots. Long homemade rod bags, padded containers and the trusty PVC rod tube have all been used but even then, individual guides or tips could still get chipped or broken and there’s no surer way to lose a good fish when a cracked or chipped ring guide has frayed the line.

Enter a great new local invention that I think will really hit the mark in addressing this in

Traditional home-made PVC carry tubes are not always effective, especially in very rough terrain or when accessing the rods.

the form of the SCUTE, a well thought out and seriously constructed rod transport product from Geraldton local, Wade Kalajzich. For years he’s grappled with the idea of a more effective and secure way to transport fishing rods and after partnering with good friend and industrial designer Adam Goodrum, they have to come up with this effective rod case solution.

Essentially this very functional, protective carry case is a hexagonal case that unfurls into an open flat carrier that can accommodate up to 9 rods, clipped or secured neatly in position inside. Impacts or throwing the case around will not impact the rods inside and therefore it’s the ideal carrier for rough off-road conditions or the floor of the boat on extended offshore trips in rough seas. If most of the rods are in the lighter category, it’s possible to even squeeze in one or two more.

Attached to the side of the 4WD, it unfolds and will allow easy access to whichever rod while allowing those not needed to remain in place. At rugged northern locations, especially for some of our rock hopping sports fishing meccas, it would prove invaluable. I can just see a unit hanging on the side of a vehicle camped at Steep Point where places like this can be extremely hard on rods and gear generally.

Another potential area for damage is when transporting rods on flights. The SCUTE

The SCUTE in action on a fishing trip.

prototype has already been bashed around by plenty of air miles and seen nothing more than a few external scratches.

Much of that is due to the ingenious design and construction which looks for the ideal compromise between strength and durability and limiting excessive weight. Lots of research has culminated in the units eventually being with a solid alloy outer shell and industrial strength nylon injection moulded parts. Refinements to the early designs have also seen solid locking clips, securing the unit in the closed position.

Each unit comes with a shoulder strap and shorter carry handles and balanced with rods sitting top to tail inside it's not difficult to manage and carry. The units are well sealed but Wade is comfortable with them not being one hundred percent dust proof or water proof, given that trapped moisture actually creates greater issues in a closed environment over time.

As with all good tackle maintenance, once rods are washed down and dried after a big trip, they can be stored in the case in a garage or suitable space. Here lies another potential advantage or feature, because for city folk with limited room or storage space, the SCUTE can be stored up high on a wall or free stand in a corner, giving the contents perfect protection from anything packed or competing for space around it.

Rather than rush into production with the first original concept, Wade and Adam have held back and refined the unit's final design to get the best outcome and balance in the various elements to produce the required strength and weight compromise. As with many things Western Australian, our

conditions can be some of the toughest when it comes to our outdoor pursuits so plenty of work and time has been expended in getting it right. It’s required a lot of research and testing, particularly with the specialised European extrusion process for some of the crucial components. The result is a product of quality.

Originally planned for release by Christmas 2019 the units are now in production and set to satisfy the growing interest from local off-road and boating fishos, keen to get their hands on one. The final pricing (inclusive of shipping around Australia) will sit just over $300, depending on which of the three preferred length options anglers opt for - 1.8, 2.0 or 2.2 metres. Custom lengths are also a possible option.

For those wanting to peruse more of the detail, a look at the SCUTE website provides more background and a detailed FAQ section. Go to scute.net.au

In short, there are lots of features and advantages with the concept that are worthwhile. Most surround the whole notion of providing effective protection

The SCUTE compact rod transport case designed by enterprising WA locals.

These units are very effective in protecting rods in transport but also easy to access.

particularly given that the rods do not need to be slid out of a container and they can’t strike or rub the wall of the case or each other. Each rod is locked in place separately and therefore can be removed individually and the support brackets for each rod can be adjusted to suit and cater for rod diameters from 0.5mm through to 32mm. All of that with an ingenious lateral opening, design and very robust reliable construction.

To me, a quality product always holds appeal. The fact that it comes from local West Aussie ingenuity and enterprise is great to see and hopefully the SCUTE will see some real success, appreciated by those looking for exactly this type of solution to the best in secure rod transport.

GO CAMPING GEAR TO

Roll Up, Roll Up

Wewere pretty excited to get our hands on an Atlas 46 Yorktown Tool Roll after seeing them on social media. Made in the good ol’ US of A, the materials and workmanship are pretty spot on – heavy duty 1000D Cordura (tough stuff!) and remarkably well finished. Four main zippered storage pockets suit a wide range of tools, with the reverse housing a section for a standard range of wrenches and sockets. Unclip the buckles and lay flat to access your tools, then simply roll up and clip the buckles back together

Smart First Aid

Designed in Australia by leading first aid experts, the colour-coded labelling system used in Survival First Aid Kits enables you to clearly identify first aid contents and explains the typical use for each item; this makes it quicker and easier to respond to an emergency situation. Their largest First Aid Kit contains all the extra components you might need to cover you in remote areas (and is workplace compliant as a bonus). The kit contains a revolutionary SMART bandage which uses a clever pictogram to demonstrate how to achieve correct tension when applying a pressure immobilisation bandage – a critical factor in snake bite first aid.

when you are done for easy and rattle free storage. The Yorktown comes standard at 40cm wide, but if you’re in the need for a wider unit, also available is the Mechanics Roll which suits tools up to 50cm. Standard Black is available plus a Coyote for those looking for the more drab colour way. This tool roll is $189 and available from Go Camping and Overlanding in Balcatta (www.gocampingoverlanding.com.au) and A247 (www.a247.com.au)

Available for $139.95 from Go Camping and Overlanding in Balcatta (www.gocampingoverlanding.com.au)

Digadoo

When a long handled shovel is too big but a trowel is too small, this Digadoo Half Length Shovel-Spade combines the handiness of a trowel with the strength and reach of a shovel, giving you that extra leverage without the extra weight or bulk. But what’s also really cool about this digger is that the blades are made from a strong high tensile grade of stainless steel that has a unique lapped method of joining handle to blade giving

A cut above the rest

extra strength in this crucial area, and an Australian spotted gum hardwood handle –and they’re made in Oz. Sure, at $125 it’s expensive for a digging tool, but you’ll have a keepsake and talking point that’ll make you the coolest person around camp. Available from Go Camping and Overlanding in Balcatta (www.gocampingoverlanding.com.au)

SICUT

(Spencer Innovative Cutlery) was established locally in 1994 and is now trading in the 3rd generation of the Spencer family with a goal to supply a stain-free, high carbon bladeware at affordable prices. Prototypes are extensively field tested before becoming SICUT production model design in Australia for Australian usage. All SICUT Knives are manufactured with an ergonomic, textured, slip-resistant, easy-to-clean polypropylene injected handle, which withstands both high and

Power up

Could the Nomad 100AH Lithium Power Distribution Unit be the alternative to a second battery for some? A 100aH Lithium NMC Battery housed in a sturdy unit containing a myriad of outputs including Engel and Anderson. Local WA owned Renewable Biz has designed this unit as a portable off-grid solution. AC and DC chargers are available as well as having regulated and unregulated (limited) charging options. There’s plenty of great info online about

low temperatures. The steels are stain-free, high-carbon steel blades of a 55 Rockwell Hardness, with an individually ground and honed edge at a 25 degree angle and are easy to sharpen. The Canvas wraps are manufactured here in Midland by Aussie Outback Supplies out of heavy duty canvas and a PVC front to easily identify blade shapes. This SICUT 6pc Knife Set is available for $135 from Go Camping and Overlanding in Balcatta (www.gocampingoverlanding.com.au)

the varieties of Lithium on offer, but at less than a grand, this is a pretty solid option for anyone looking to have a less permanent solution in their vehicle. 80% depth of discharge gives this unit around 80aH of life. We ran a Bushman fridge for 4 days in ambient of approx. 30 degrees to give some real world perspective on this unit. Available for $949 (including charger) from Go Camping and Overlanding in Balcatta (www.gocampingoverlanding.com.au)

Safari 4x4 – ARMAX Snorkel and ECU

By Chris Morton

Photos by Christine Arnasiewicz

Wayback before we became magazine owners we already had a passion for adventure. Heading off the black top and into the unknown is where we are happiest. When the opportunity arose for us to upgrade the trusty and reliable 150 series Prado we opted to go big and upsize to the legendary 200 series Cruiser. Already a formidable vehicle, the first items on our (well OK, my) shopping list was a snorkel and engine control unit.

Now, my old man has been a bushy all his life and couldn’t understand my want for a snorkel. “You’re not driving a duck so why would you want to put your car in the water?” he would say to me.

Once I pointed out the benefits a snorkel offered and the placement of the air intake on most 4WDs he soon got on board.

The clear choice was Safari. Ready to spend some hard earned cash on a Safari V-Spec snorkel, I was soon wooed into their latest offering - the ARMAX Snorkel and ECU combo. The snorkel is bigger than its predecessor and that extra size allows

for some pretty impressive performance improvements. Coupled with the latest Safari ECU it gives 30% more power and torque. It’s simple really. Cooler air in greater volumes allows the Cruiser’s V8 to respond accordingly.

The ECU is in a class of its own. Sometimes mistakenly referred to as a 'performance chip', the Safari ECU is anything but. Engineered to ensure your engine is protected the sophisticated ECU constantly monitors the engine’s exhaust gas temperature (EGT) reducing the amount of fuel delivered if a high temperature is detected. Adversely, if the engine is too cold, the ECU will gradually add power as the operating temperature increases. This feature is unique to Safari’s ARMAX ECU. An added benefit of the ECU is improved throttle response.

The Safari ARMAX ECU is specifically programmed to sense when the gear change is occurring and also reduces the torque to ensure the transmission's performance and service life is totally preserved. This feature, coupled with the engine protection systems offers a total drivetrain protection solution. A three year, unlimited km warranty on the ECU and a Lifetime Warranty on the ARMAX Snorkel gives you added peace of mind.

Now, the reason we upgraded was due to an upgrade to our mobile holiday home.

Moving up to a 'palace on wheels' that was built to go off-road does have its downside. Weight. 3.3 tonnes of it.

When you are covering long distances heading up into the Pilbara or Kimberley, every extra advantage you can get to make the drive more comfortable is worth it.

Our Kimberley adventure in July 2019 was the first big test for the new car and it performed flawlessly. The increased air flow through the larger ARMAX snorkel, sucking in relatively cooler air (instead of down near the baking bitumen) coupled with the ARMAX ECU ensured we had the extra power and torque. Knowing we had the grunt available to clear those huge quad road trains without any dramas or crest some of those nasty hills on the inland road north of Newman made the trip that much better.

With so many 4WD products on the market, it is great to see Safari, an Australian company, leading the charge with innovative solutions.

Now more than ever, support Australia, buy Australian.

Premium Engine Protection by Diesel Distributors

Australian owned Diesel Distributors recently opened their doors to Western 4W Driver and gave us a tour of their WA operations. Our initial interest was in their Direction Plus diesel pre-filter and catch can kits however we soon discovered that there is so much more on offer.

Diesel Distributors is part of the much larger Australian automotive parts giant Bapcor who also own Burson Auto Parts, Precision Automotive Engineering, Roadsafe, Autobarn, Auto Pro, Opposite Lock and Midas (just to name a few) and consequently have a proportional supply chain to match.

With this sort of backing, Diesel Distributors have placed a great deal of emphasis in ensuring that they source the best possible parts from around the world which is clearly evident in their Direction Plus Pro Vent and

By Chris Morton

Pre Filter kit. Utilising marketing leading Mann + Hummel technology, the pre filter kit can offer 100% water separation efficiency (based on 300μm droplet size) and a long service life.

What we found very interesting was that Diesel Distributors do not ship complete kits into WA. Individual components are sourced and shipped in bulk (saving on freight costs) with vehicle specific kits then being assembled on site in Perth. This gives Diesel Distributors the flexibility to make subtle changes to their kits and to custom assemble to suit customer requirements.

Directions Plus also stock a range of transmission cooler kits, Response Plus throttle controller and performance chips as well as diesel fuel products.

For more information or to find your nearest stockist go to http://direction-plus.com/

Western 4W Driver has chosen to partner with Diesel Distributors for our pre filter and oil separation requirements for our new Ford Ranger Wildtrak camera truck. Check out our next edition where we start stepping you through the build.

Yoghurt Dough

Yet again I have found a simple recipe that has been doing the rounds for a few years, but like a lot of things I learn about, it often takes a while to trial because that old thing called life just gets in the way.

Two ingredients are all you will need to be able to make all sorts of baked goods you never knew you wanted to and sweet or savoury are just as easy.

Summer,

I have found, is the perfect time to be doing some experimentation in the kitchen ... NOT, but it really is the only time I have to perfect a few new recipes to share with you and as luck would have it my kitchen at the station has only been sitting at a very balmy 40°C for what seems like the last six months, so just perfect to concoct a creation or two just for you.

Yoghurt dough is the baking revelation that will cause a revolution in your kitchen.

This dough can be used as a substitute for any bread dough recipe or any damper recipe so it can be used for pizza bases, dinner rolls, pizza scrolls, apple cinnamon scrolls and whatever else your imagination can create.

The recipe is very simple to follow as the ratio is one to one, so one tablespoon of yoghurt to one tablespoon of self-raising flour or one cup of yoghurt to one cup of self-raising flour. I think you get the idea.

The recipe I will share with you is a sweet one and just perfect to serve up with a cuppa for morning tea or nice and warm with custard on a cool night round the campfire.

APPLE, CINNAMON AND VANILLA SCROLLS

6 heaped tablespoons of vanilla yoghurt. I usually use the Greek one as it is a little thicker.

6 heaped tablespoons of self-raising flour.

2 apples, grated, or a small can of pie apple.

2 tablespoons of soft brown sugar, but any will do if you don’t have it.

2 teaspoons of cinnamon.

1 cup of icing sugar.

Juice of one lemon or just water if you don’t have it.

Place yoghurt and flour into a large mixing bowl and combine the ingredients to form a stiff but pliable dough. Place dough on a floured surface and gently press flat to form a disk of about 1 - 1.5cm thick and about 20cm diameter.

Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and cover the disk with the grated apple, take the closest edge to you and carefully roll the pastry into a log, making sure that all the ingredients have been encased.

Cut the log into six even portions and arrange cut side up into a greased or baking paper lined baking dish and cook in a camp oven or oven at a temperature of approx. 180°C for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Place the icing sugar into a small bowl and gradually add the lemon juice until the mixture is quite thick but will still drip off a knife. Drizzle the icing mixture over the scrolls when they are almost cold and serve immediately. Enjoy.

Tip - Use natural yoghurt to make a savoury dough and with the same process add pizza toppings to make pizza scrolls.

BUSHMAN'S CLOTHES PEGS

By Colin Kerr

During our recent Northern Australian travels we came across a real piece of Australiana – seed pods of the Grevillea glauca (Proteaceae family), known in the outback as ‘Bushman’s Clothes Pegs’.

The large woody seed capsules of this grevillea contain two winged seeds. These capsules only partly open and it was an old bushman’s trick to use them as clothes pegs. At this job they were very practical and efficient and what’s more, they saved the old bushies the cost of buying pegs and were usually in fairly ready supply. We collected a few on our travels and tried them out – they really work!

Bushmen's clothes pegs in action.

Grevillea glauca (Proteaceae family).

Bushmen's clothes pegs.

Yeagarup Clean Up

November 2019

About 16 vehicles participated in this year’s Yeagarup Clean up, held on the second-last weekend in November. About half the group met at the Crossings Café in Pemberton at lunchtime on the Friday. Whilst the food was great, it was an inauspicious start to the weekend, as it rained solidly for pretty much all the time we were there. However, the weathergods were smiling, as the weather cleared and, although a bit windy during the day and a tad chilly at night, proved to be just about perfect for the rest of the time. The entrance dune ascent proved a little challenging for some, but everyone was impressed with the way John’s Mercedes Unimog literally inched its way to the top, eventually! The rest of Friday was spent setting up camp for the weekend and by the time the campfire was lit, pretty much everyone was there. Saturday morning saw us split into two groups, with the first lot heading off after breakfast to trek north along the beach towards the Donnelly River mouth. The second 'sweep' group followed behind and there were still plenty of bottles, cans and sundry other junk to pick up off the track on the way down. Grant had recommended

Beach clean up.

everyone look not just on and immediately next to the track, but to take account of the 'flick zone' - the area either side of the track where rubbish is within flicking distance from vehicle windows! Bill provided homemade biscuits and fudge for morning tea on the beach. What was surprising was there was enough left over for afternoon tea as well! This is a tradition which it is fervently hoped will continue. After the morning break, we all headed north along the beach and what a collection of rubbish was picked up! Broken craypots, bottles, bits of rope, a large section of fishing net … the list is pretty much endless, unfortunately.

Lunchtime saw us all meet at the mouth of the Warren River for a group photo. It was great to see the children playing in the shallows. In fact, it was good to see the kids running around all weekend, kicking a soccer ball and generally doing what kids do - having fun and being inventive, all without an electronic device in sight!

Some of the group returned to camp around lunchtime and, by all accounts, had a relaxing time down at the river in the afternoon. The remainder headed south, over the closed bar at the river-mouth, to the Callcup beach exit. This proved to be quite challenging, not only the actual beach exit itself, but also the two inland sandy hill climbs. All the vehicles handled the various sections differently and unfortunately John’s BT50 didn’t like the last climb at all and shut down. It was fabulous to see how the guys pitched in to help him when he was in a very sticky situation. Everyone made it up and over in the end and, after airing up a little way inland, we had a very pretty (although dusty) drive, popping out again at Lake Yeagarup to air down for the climb back up the initial hill.

On returning to camp, all the rubbish was dumped into the trailer that Grant had bought along, provided by Cleanup Australia. It was heartening, or very disappointing (depending on your viewpoint) to see it accumulated to well over half a trailer full. Grant had also taken the opportunity to have a chat with various camped groups and fishermen along the way, giving them the Outback Packs and encouraging them to do the right thing. Gillie had success in tracking down and

speaking with a group of people the ranger had been trying to catch up with for some time. Sunday morning was pack-up and home-time for everyone.

As new members and first-timers to any event, we were delighted with how friendly, helpful and respectful everyone was. Advice and assistance was given freely, without any criticism or pressure. The nightly campfires were a great way not only to unwind, but also to continue to chat with everyone, listening to the banter that inevitably flows as the night (and wine and beer) progresses! Without doubt, our four month old Isuzu D-Max well and truly had its beach-sand christening! We look forward to catching up with everyone again at a future event, and are left wondering why we didn’t join Track Care sooner!

Best wishes and thank you to all, Paul & Dale, Bunbury

The Unimog climbing a sand dune.

Ginger Slice Man’s Volunteer Work Recognised

Any person able to inspire my husband of over 35 years to voluntarily venture into the kitchen without so much as an iota of trepidation, eagerly determined to expand his culinary skills beyond Vegemite toast, is a truly extraordinary individual. Bill Clarke or ‘Ginger Slice Man’ as he is affectionately known in my family, achieved just that!

Track Care WA is a volunteer organisation that has been going strong for over 28 years and although Bill has only been a member of Track Care WA for a few years, his generosity and determination to make a difference to our community is well renowned and regarded. So, apart from Bill, no one was at all surprised that he was acknowledged at the recent Jurien 2020 Tending the Tracks Alliance event as the Volunteer of the Year.

Bill is the sort of guy who shares his time and talents, without seeking accolades, for the sheer joy of helping and giving back. Bill is always prepared to be involved: from clean ups at Yeagarup, the Mundaring Power Line Track and the Karara Block; to helping to establish the new Wanagarren Nature Reserve Track and participating in all Tending the Tracks Alliance events over

the last 12 months. Not only does Bill get his hands dirty to get jobs done, but he also fills the bellies of other volunteers with delicious morsels that he bakes specially - delectable biscuits, heavenly slices and seriously, the most scrumptious sausage rolls in WA! A true master chef!

As a lad, Bill grew up in Cunderdin and maybe that explains his affinity with and desire to care for the land. According to his daughter Tracey, he is just a great guy whose passion is to bring joy to the lives of other people and to give back to the world. A sentiment that all Track Care WA members and Tending the Tracks Alliance volunteers would whole heartily agree.

Nicky Chamberlain Track Care WA member

Bill Clarke receiving the Tending the Tracks Alliance Volunteer of the Year Award from Steven Dawson MLC, Minister for Environment; Disability Services; Electoral Affairs.

‘Ginger Slice Man’ offering Minister Steven Dawson MLC a cookie.

The TTTa, the Wanagarren and a Weekend Getaway

Two years on, to kick start 2020, the Tending the Tracks alliance (TTTa) was back at Jurien Bay for a January weekend of celebration and forward planning.

Central to celebration was the official opening of the Wanagarren Track by Environment Minister Stephen Dawson. The Minister addressed the Jurien gathering. The action then moved to the Grey entry point for a Welcome to Country by Traditional Owner, Yued Elder Charlie Shaw, supported by grandson Caleb and then to the cutting of a ‘green ribbon’. The Track, 16km of winding coastal beauty, runs between Grey and Wedge Island. Partnering with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), it’s a first of type initiative to trial camping in a nature reserve. 15 beautiful family sized coastal camping nodes have been created and camping will be allowed from April 2020. Campers will be required to book and register with the DBCA, adding an additional layer of safety to track users who will be able to be contacted in the case of an emergency. In line with the TTTa ethos, teams worked in vulnerable areas along the Track where unsafe, unstable bypass tracks were closed off and measures put in place to ensure that the coastal environment is given a chance to recover.

A TTTa weekend is so much more than just the work. Typically, Saturday is given over to the weekend’s tasks followed by a social overnighter in a nature campsite exclusive to TTTa, and on Sunday a side trip to fascinating, little known spots. All this a couple of hours from Perth - perfect for busy people and families, children always welcome. Other TTTa projects are at Cervantes and Greenhead. The alliance is fortunate to be supported by funding from the State Government’s Natural Resource Management program.

Minister Dawson also presented the TTTa annual awards: Volunteer of the Year to Track Care’s Bill Clarke, Special Recognition awards to Roger Masters, Team W4 and John and Krystyna Gregory of the TLCCWA. A fantastic foursome who have volunteered much to this active alliance of the Conservation and 4W driving communities working to a common purpose.

Alison Goundrey Community Coordinator, Tending the Tracks alliance.

Minister on the Track. (Photo by Luke Sweet, CCWA)

Wanagarren Track view.

(Photo by Luke Sweet, CCWA)

THE PEOPLE WE MEET

By Chris Morton

This edition of The People We Meet is a little different. We are talking to two couples who aren’t driving a 4WD. In fact, the car that caught our attention couldn’t even be classed as a 'modern vehicle'. What grabbed our attention was the spirit of adventure that just oozed from them and their obvious passion for living life to the fullest.

Andreas and Anke

Meet German tourists Andreas and Anke. This is their twentieth trip down under since 1997 with just over 100,000km travelled in Australia since then in their trusty and reliable Citroen 2CV front wheel drive. Their car can vote (almost) as it lives here and the couple collect it for each new Australian adventure whenever they arrive. Having travelled the Connie Sue, Gibb River Road, Gunbarrel and Anne Beadell Highways (just to name a few) as well as participating in a Citroen Enthusiasts Club RAID every 4 years, Andreas and Anke can’t think of a better holiday. “Being under the stars with a campfire and enjoying the company of friends we have made is what keeps bringing us back,” Andreas tells me. He firmly believes in the philosophy of the car: 'more than just a car – a way of life' which was first coined by then Michelin Director of PR Jacques Wolgensinger in the 1960s. “The car is just so practical,” Andreas continues, “to travel into the Australian outback with just the bare essentials is invigorating. Everywhere we go people come up and want to know more about the car. It puts a smile on their face every time.”

L-R: Tony, Elizabeth, Andreas and Anke with the Citroen 2CV.

One of the bumper stickers on Andreas car sums it up: 'more miles, more smiles.'

Andreas confesses that the car has its challenges. You must drive to the conditions as there is very little margin for error. Pushing the vehicle too hard or carrying too much weight can break it. He showed me images of a 2CV being pushed onto its side and welded back together on the edge of a remote outback track, the driver not heeding the advice of other 2CV owners.

They wouldn’t have it any other way though, “Australia is our refuge and where we can escape the hustle and bustle of Europe”.

Tony and Elizabeth

Tony and Elizabeth had left their 2CV at home, opting instead to make this short getaway in their Subaru. Elizabeth’s uncle, Ralph Hibble, had first introduced her to the 2CV when she was much younger, and it was after driving a support car with husband Tony during the 2012 RAID that they made the decision to purchase their own. President of the Citroen Enthusiasts Club of WA, Elizabeth is extremely passionate about the little car. Passing up a career in Aeronautical Engineering and opting instead to become a nurse, Elizabeth loves

the challenge that the car presents when travelling in outback Australia.

“We love the challenge of fixing a break down out in the bush. It brings a completely different perspective to our adventures.” She goes on to say, “travelling with a group of socially diverse people whose shared love of adventure and enthusiasm of the 2CV really does make for memorable trips. The quirkiness of the car attracts people like a magnet.”

Belonging to a group such as the Citroen Enthusiasts Club has led to some lifelong friendships. “We know fellow 2CV owners all around the world who some we now consider family.”

Both couples have fond memories of the 2016 RAID, travelling from Perth to Alice Springs via the Great Central Road. “That was just to get to the starting line,” Tony tells me. “The RAIDs are not a competition. Everyone travels together and we finish together. No one gets left behind.” The destinations that they visited on this trip read like a 4W driver’s ultimate wish list: Tanami Track, Kakadu, Darwin, Nhulunbuy, Roper Bay, Lorella Springs Cape Lambert and Finke, a total of 12,500km over 5 weeks. “We travelled over 7,500km on gravel and it was fantastic. 67 vehicles from all around Australia.”

A little about the Citroen 2CV

First conceived in 1930’s France, the brief for the car’s development was simple. It had to be cheap, reliable and a farmer must be able to travel to market across a ploughed field without breaking his eggs. World War 2 prevented the car going into production until 1948 with nearly nine million units (including variants) being built until production ceased in 1990. Sometimes described as an 'umbrella on wheels' the 2CV boasted an air cooled 9HP engine, low fuel consumption and an extremely longtravel suspension that provided a soft ride and light off-road capabilities. The vehicle’s roof, which is a soft top, can be unrolled in inclement weather and allows for extra ventilation in warmer climates.

The later models of the 2CV sported a 602cc engine, providing 29HP, which enables the car to reach a top speed of 115km/hr.

The first car to circumnavigate Australia was a Citroen 5CV in 1925. The vehicle left Perth and travelled 17,220km. That vehicle now has pride of place in the national museum.

The next Citroen RAID is in August 2020. For more information contact the Citroen Enthusiasts Club of WA: Elizabeth Willison: willoclan@iinet.net.au • Serge Doumergue: serge64@iinet.net.au

INTERESTING FACT: It is impossible to roll the car while travelling forwards. Many including Top Gear have tried. However, the car can be rolled when travelling backwards.

ONE VISION, 50 YEARS IN THE MAKING.

Fifty years ago, when the remote Australian outback was so treacherous and communication was scarce, a broken vehicle part could mean the difference between life and death. In many ways, little has changed.

Our founder and Managing Director, Frank Hutchinson, listened to his touring customers to learn from their experience and saw the need for innovative solutions in the design and manufacture of strong 4WD parts.

Looking back over fifty years of service from those pioneer Bedfords to today’s modern 4WD’s, those thousands of lessons have culminated in over 40,000 unique Terrain Tamer parts and a network that now serves 80 countries all over the world. Thank you for being part of the journey.

CAPTURE THE

MENT

We

With Uncle Dick Stein

Thepick of this issue is a little different from landscape and seascape pictures in the past - it is a vertical shot taken by Jon Love at Cape Le Grand National Park.

This is located way down south near Esperance - a long journey for a city driver but no problem at all for a Western 4W Driver reader. I suspect that Jon took his drone with him to make this shot. The reason it got the nod this issue was the gorgeous art that he has captured - a combination of geography, colour, and abstract form. It is satisfying to look at from all these aspects. But did Jon see it when he took it? Some drones are clever - they send a picture to a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop that shows

what their lens sees. The photographer can manoeuvre the hovering platform until they get the composition they like, then trigger the capture. Some drones can be triggered, but you get what they saw without knowing beforehand what it will be.

In some cases, images can be abstracted from a constant stream of video - this may not be as good as single shots but the timing may be better. All good things to experiment with.

done Jon, you’ve won

and well. He’s probably read the CASA booklet on the subject and may have taken the CASA course on it as well. He’s a good citizen.

wise flyer as well. The average commercial photo drone can fly for a certain amount of time on its batteries, but you’d be surprised how short a time this can be. If you are

away over the ocean when the craft starts to lose juice you can see a very sad and expensive sight.

Jon’s a good story teller as well. The deep blue of the bay and the rock is carefully delineated. The wave splash is perfect. The foliage creeps down to the rock and sea. But is that a man-made track I see. Who made it? Where is it going? Are those rocks in a natural position or is there a secret there…?

is as good as aerial reconnaissance. I’m going to find the V-1 site if it takes me all day. Good flying, Jon.

Chris

TRAVELLING PHOTOGRAPHER

Wait a Minute! Wait a Minute!

“Wait a minute, Sun! Don’t set yet. Just hold up while I set myself up and change the setting on my camera. Stop where you are! I just need to …” *Green Flash* “Aww. I missed it. I was nearly ready and then you went ahead and set despite my instructions. Darn you stars …” Unless you are writing a science fiction novel or a bible you can’t really get the sun to stand still while you are re-setting your camera. You want to get ultimate dynamic range or lighter shadows or a cleaner sky but your camera might be in the same settings that let you capture the gorges at noon or the macro shots of the wildflowers - and the lengthy process of re-configuring it doesn’t match with that last 30 seconds at the seashore. The moral, Scouts, is to be prepared - and know what you are prepared for.

The same fumbling scenario also applies to chance meetings with wildlife, natural disasters or beauties, and all the events of a trip. You need to have your equipment set in the best way to deal with all of these chances - though in some cases the settings can be markedly different. Try these ideas:

1. Set your camera before you set off to give you RAW files as well as jpeg files. This is a costly exercise as far as battery life and memory capacity, but it can provide you with rescue files if your initial settings are duff.

2. Find the most automatic settings in your menu and let the camera control the functions. This means it will pick its own ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Leave the Auto Focus turned on. If there is a Quick Start or Boost setting for the camera, turn this on.

3. Put in a fresh battery each morning - that Quick Start or Boost might use up a lot of power when you switch one and you don’t want it to peg out halfway through a shoot.

Now these preparations are for your travel phase - the time spent driving through the land. If you encounter that rare shot that just cannot be ignored, pull over, leap out, and blaze away. The camera will return something based upon its own parameters and the RAW file will help you correct it later if needed.

Shoot more than you need, because you sometimes cannot see whether the camera has hit precise focus when you look in the back LCD screen.

Please don’t shoot on the run while driving as this is illegal and dangerous. If they ping you for talking on a phone, how much more trouble will you be in sitting upside down in the ditch clutching a DSLR…?

Now here’s where you box clever. Many cameras have inbuilt custom programs that can accept entirely different settings from those you normally use. Where you might have your camera in a particular film simulation or train of settings for sport or landscape or close-up in Custom A, Custom B might be an entirely different view of the world.

Some cameras will do three - some up to seven custom settings. If you plan out your likely needs, you can program the thing at home to give you a special shot at any of those seven subjects and improve your chances no end. I have Studio, Close-up, Wedding and Dance Show custom settings on my camera outfit and just switch from one to the other with one turn of the thumb wheel.

Even if you depend upon RAW files as your safety net (and I’ve bounced in there more times than I care to admit) they will be easier to work with if you’re close to the target the first time.

Note for the disappointed sunset shooter: Take heart. You missed it a minute ago, but if you just sit down and wait 1439 minutes more it’ll be around again. You might want to turn the camera off in the meantime…

PHOTOGRAPHY Tips & Tricks

Is your camera just about to get horribly dirty? Are you going to take it out on the track where the bull dust is thick? Or to Canberra …?

A quick precaution is to encase it in a ziplock plastic bag with a special hole for the lens. Get a bag, a clear UV filter for the front of your lens, and a lens hood. It’s likely that you got the lens hood with the camera and lens, but if you didn’t, now is a good time to buy one.

Clean the filter, screw it on, wrap the clear plastic bag round the rest of the camera and use the lens hood to lock it into place. Add a rubber band if need be.

It won’t be quite as good as a dedicated housing, but it’ll save you a lot of clean-up later.

GOINGS ON

ARB'S COMMITMENT TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA

By Chris Morton

protection from both sun and rain, allowing for all weather operations and cavernous doors which expedite the movement of goods.

What makes the distribution centre even more of a success is the speed at which it was brought online. “We had six days to move all of our stock from Canning Vale to the new Welshpool facility,” says Alister. “We made the decision to close the warehouse to all stock movements during that time and focus on the move. The team pulled off a momentous achievement and it is something that they can be extremely proud of.” When Western 4W Driver visited the site on 13th January you could have easily been mistaken to believe that the DC has been in operation for months. The scale of the move is testament to the skills, experience and meticulous planning by Alister and his team.

The investment in the new distribution centre is just the beginning of a series of infrastructure projects to be delivered for ARB in Western Australia.

Are we there y et?

Written by kids ... for kids

HANGING AROUND

the tuart trees in the Ludlow State Forest you will find Forest Adventures South West, a high ropes course consisting of flying foxes, zip lines, rock climbing walls and many other fun obstacles. We decided to try it out while on holiday at Peppermint Grove Beach and it was so much fun.

Amongst

They have six courses that vary in height and difficulty and range from 3 metres to 19 metres off the ground. You can hang around in the trees, balance on the suspended bridges, climb the ladders and fly along up to 11 flying foxes - with some spanning over 150 metres!

After completing Course 1, the training course we went straight to Course 3, the family course. This included a scary ride across a bridge on a BMX and a unicycle ride high up in the trees.

It's as easy as riding a bike ... on a suspended bridge ... up in the trees.

Climbing up the ladder to the zip line course.

Don't

Our favourite course was Course 4, the zip line course which has a total of 500 meters of zip lines. This was our favourite because as you were zip lining high up in the trees it felt like you were flying. This course had an optional advanced section which included a long climb up a rope ladder and then a wooden peg ladder to get to the highest point in the park, which was 19 metres high, then eight consecutive zip lines.

The scariest part was in Course 5, the advanced course, as it ended with a 13 metre base jump out of a tree!

Forest Adventures South West has been running for 3 years and is now run as a not for profit business, which means all the money goes towards improving and expanding the course. It will be exciting to see what they do here in the future. For more information go to www.forestadventures.com.au

Gently balancing.

illy naps

Breaking the Ice

An excellent morning spent fishing and swimming in a creek near Murnaninie in South Australia took a turn for the worse. While exploring a local track it became evident that it was impassable. I turned the vehicle, cracked the crust and buried the passenger side. After three hours of digging and some help from fabulous locals with a tractor we were back on the road.

Paul Clark

How you get stuck is your business. How you get out is ours. Now you can take the easy way out with Maxtrax. Get your pic in to win this great prize or, if you can’t wait, go to www.maxtrax.com.au to learn more.

Hi Paul. OK so it wasn’t ice, however there is nothing worse than that sinking feeling you get when you do break through that hard crust. The end result is quite often the same. Plenty of blood, sweat and tears (and maybe a few swear words) while you try and extricate yourself from a sticky predicament. It looks like you had the right idea with that piece of corrugated iron behind the rear passenger wheel however you were very lucky for a tractor to be available to rescue you. We think you will be extremely happy with a set of Australia’s original and best recovery boards for the next time you 'crack the crust.'

KEEP ‘EM COMING FOLKS. All you need is a potentially funny situation, a good sense of humour and of course, your camera. Send your silly snap to:

TRANSFORM THE WAY YOU RIDE

UBCO 2x2 will redefine the way you ride, work

Two wheels, two motors, no gas, no noise.

play.

BIKES WA

TRANSFORM THE WAY YOU RIDE

Two

With its lightweight frame and powerful, near silent motors, the UBCO 2×2 gives you complete control for all your adventures, both on- and off-road. Whether you’re getting the cows in or commuting to work, the 2018 UBCO 2×2 is ready to take on whatever you throw at it.

All terrain and all performance, the 2×2 gives you the power to go. The 48Ah Lithium-Ion power supply not only fuels the bike; it powers all your tools from your phone to your drill (at the same time).

Cart your gear from job to job with ease and adapt

bike as you need it with clever accessory lugs

across the 2x2.

The dual electric drive is smooth, ultra-quiet and low maintenance; it can go through trenches, up hills, over asphalt and down bush tracks without a second thought. And all of this with a running cost of under $1 per 120km.

The

awaits with the UBCO 2x2.