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Cover image: Wharton Beach by Jane Pelusey
Welcome to the summer edition of Western 4W Driver! It’s that time of year when adventure beckons louder than the roar of my old Mitsi 4WD grinding through a boggy beach sand track!
First up, hats off to Pete and Chris Woods and the entire Premier Events team for another blockbuster Perth 4WD and Adventure Show. What a spectacle! From drool-worthy rigs to the latest in off-road tech, it was nothing short of a playground for us four-wheel adventure seekers.
It was awesome for the Western 4W Driver team to connect with so many of you at the show — our loyal readers, generous contributors, and spirited 4WD community members. Your passion reminds us why we do what we do.
In edition 132, we have some great articles, tips and tricks and a couple of reviews!
Tracey Laity ventures to Kepa Kurl (Esperance) for a bit of Blue Sky Dreaming, weaving the beauty of Birak (Noongar’s hottest season) into her journey. And if pristine beaches call your name, turn to Jane Pelusey’s Beach Driving Around Esperance. With invaluable tips for tackling WA’s soft sands, she’ll ensure your tyres — and sanity — stay intact.
Speaking of tyres, Ron and Viv Moon rediscover their faith in Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS), while John Collins delivers the ultimate guide to mastering off-road tyre pressures. It's rubber meets the road (and sand) like never before.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Vanguard Publishing or the editors but those of the authors who accept sole responsibility and liability for them. While every care is taken with images and photographs, and all other material submitted, Vanguard Publishing accepts no liability for loss or damage. Vanguard Publishing reserves the right to amend publication schedules and frequencies.
Edition 132 Summer 2024/2025
On the mechanical front, David Wilson’s Keeping Your Cool tackles vehicle overheating head-on — because no one wants a radiator meltdown 200km from nowhere. Meanwhile, Geoff Lewis offers his essential guide to packing wheel bearings, ensuring your summer adventures don’t end in outback heartbreak.
THE FRONT MATTER
with Michael (Spike) Collins
Matt Payne is revved up about the new Mitsubishi Triton GSR MV — a next-gen dual-cab beast that’s sure to grab attention. If that wasn’t enough, he’ll tempt you with his southwest escape to the serene Walpole Wilderness, a refreshing alternative to the hustle and bustle of Margaret River. Also, check out his review on the Quest Outdoors Air Gazebo.
For history buffs, Phil Bianchi retraces the steps of pioneers along The Gus Luck Trail, a fascinating journey into WA’s eastern goldfields heritage. And for those with a penchant for relics, Luke Clatworthy is detecting unusual relics in the outback with Old Dogs, New Tricks! He is also bailed up at Burbanks, looking for a ‘Birthday Gift’!!!!!.
The Kimberley comes alive in Blake Hales’ stunning photo essay, The Untamed Kimberley, a visual feast that’s sure to inspire wanderlust. Still in the north, start planning for next year’s adventure? The Pilbara town of Onslow is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025 and will be hosting a bunch of events and activities throughout the year to recognise its history and community. Kicking off with an Australia Day Regatta in January followed by a fullday festival on the foreshore in April, it's a great opportunity to explore the region's many treasures. In this edition, we uncover the history of the Old Onslow townsite, offering a glimpse into the past with its preserved buildings, old gaol, courthouse and cemetery.
Colin Kerr takes a light-hearted look at road signs. Hmmm, to me it’s got a Five Man Electrical Band vibe about it!! Meanwhile, Grant and Linda Hanan reconnect with Kalgoorlie’s rich Indigenous heritage through a walking tour with Jason Dimer of Kalgoorlie Aboriginal Cultural Experiences. If you’re heading east, don’t miss this insightful journey into Karlkurla Country. Jo Clews puts her camp oven away for the summer and whips up a beautiful lemon slice and Karl Fehlauer puts ND filters on his drone! All that and more, so, kick back in the shade, and dive into this summer edition 132.
Summer in WA is pure magic — long sunsets, warm sands, and an unshakable sense of freedom. Why not get out there and soak up the serenity of nowhere else but here. Ahh yes, the serenity! On behalf of the Western 4W Driver team, we would like to thank you for your support and to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with epic adventures. Here’s to 2025 and all the tracks yet to be driven!
Until next time — drive safe, explore often, and remember: half the fun is in the journey.
Cheers, Spike
Beach Driving Around ESPERANCE
By Jane Pelusey
There are few better feelings than cruising along a pristine white beach in your 4WD, feeling the wind in your hair and sporting a broad smile, just like on those 4WD ads on TV. While Western Australia has no shortage of beaches, not all of them allow off-road driving, and those that do can vary significantly depending on the weather and the time of year. In the warmer months, Esperance and its surrounds offer plenty of opportunities for this exhilarating experience. So jump in, and let's explore some of the top 4WDfriendly beaches this stunning region on WA's south coast has to offer.
Wharton Beach
Wharton Beach
Lucky Bay
There is an iconic image seen on tourism websites of a kangaroo lazing on a white beach with calm turquoise water lapping on the sand. It’s clear; even the locals can see why Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grand National Park regularly makes the 'best beaches in Australia' lists. The sand is fine, white and squeaky. In fact, in a national competition in 2005, the National Committee on Soil and Terrain put the Bay’s white grains to the test against the likes of Hyams and Whitehaven beaches, and Lucky Bay came out on top!
Four-wheel drivers are very lucky that they get to drive on Lucky Bay’s curved beach. The five-kilometre stretch of mostly hard sand encircles beautiful, clear waters. On the western end is the
Lucky Bay campsite, which is run by the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW). For summer camping, you need to jump on the Park Stay website 120 days before you plan to go, especially in school holidays. The campsite is fancy these days, with flushing toilets and hot showers. Access to the beach is from the western side near the campsite. The beach to the right of the access track is where the kangaroos hang out. Grab a National Park pass while you're there.
It was a very hot day when we last visited Lucky Bay, so we drove onto the beach, set up our awnings, and moved between the cool water and our camp chairs. The hot northerly wind suddenly gave way to the sea breeze, accompanied by a much-appreciated temperature plunge. Dramatic weather changes aren’t uncommon in these parts.
There are two ways to get to Lucky Bay:
1. Via the bitumen road, 63 km east of Esperance, or
2. Drive the 20 km of beach to Cape Le Grand.
The beach drive is generally easy, so any 4WD can tackle it with care. To get there, drive along Fisheries Road eastward, turn right into Bandy Creek Road, and right again into Wylie Bay Road.
Cape Le Grand
Wylie Bay Beach is another great beach to drive on. A sand bar joins the beach with a group of granite rocks. For added adventure, there are some tracks on the top of Wylie Rock. The ascent and descent up and down the granite rocks is steep, requiring 4WD skills, and is not for the fainthearted. It is a spectacular spot, as numerous drone footage examples on social media testify.
Access to Cape Le Grand beach is on the other side of Wylie Rock. The beginning bit can be boggy with varying degrees of softness along the way, so drop your tyre pressure.
This long beach drive is a joyful experience, cruising along the seemingly endless stretch of white sand and blue waters with the offshore islands of the Recherche Archipelago in full view. The drive is extra special as the massive granite dome of Cape Le Grand looms ahead if leaving from Esperance.
At the end of the beach, in the shadow of the granite dome, is the other DPAW campsite. It is the kick-off point for the spectacular Coastal Trail (20 km). Although not 4WD beaches, Hellfire Bay and Thistle Cove are worth the side trip. Hellfire came in second in the white sand test.
Wylie Beach
Cape Le Grand Beach
Cape Le Grand Beach
Duke of Orleans
Cape Le Grand is a national park, so it is not puppy-friendly. If you take your dog with you camping and 4W driving, Duke of Orleans might be more your thing. The Duke is 90 km east of Esperance. The Duke of Orleans caravan park is situated between the Duke of Orleans Bay and Wharton Beach. Mud maps are available from the Duke of Orleans shop.
When there is a peninsula sticking out into the Southern Ocean, one highlight is that you can always find a beach that is protected from the wind. Wharton Beach is our favourite beach; the colour of the beach and water are breathtaking. But when the southerly wind kicked in, we drove over to Nares Island Beach and set up our 4WDs on the beach. Nares Island is a granite rock close to the mainland, creating a narrow channel.
Other beaches in the area are Little Wharton, Hammer Head, and Hammer
Head East. To reach these, the off-roading is a bit trickier with steep rock ascents. Wharton Beach is a spectacular 4.5 km stretch of sand. On the eastern end, the beach bumps up against a headland where the surf rolls past, enticing the surfers to don their wetsuits. Did we mention the water is cold? In January and February, the temperature of the Southern Ocean reaches between 20°C and 22°C, but it is just so beautiful and clear that it entices you in.
Hammer Head
Wharton Beach
Bremer Bay
Esperance is a fair drive from Perth, so if you like beach driving but would like something a little closer to home, Bremer Bay is a good stopover. The previously sleepy Bremer Bay has become famous for the Bremer Canyon, home to pods of killer whales or orcas. The caravan parks have become busy with tourists wanting to take the boat trip out into the rough Southern Ocean.
The other drawcard in the Bremer Bay region is the amazing coastal scenery and drivable beaches. Like Duke of
Orleans, Bremer is a peninsula and caters for all wind directions. On the east side are Bremer Beach, Back Beach and the Gairdner River mouth. On the west side there is Little Boat Harbour Beach, Blossoms Beach and Dillon Beach.
Blossoms Beach
Blossoms Beach
and tremendous photo opportunities. We love getting up early for sublime sunrises, often softened by atmospheric sea mist. You can still get a sand fix near Esperance, where Great Ocean Drive meets the 11 Mile Beach Road. Beware that the sand on 11 Mile Beach is soft, especially near the exits and entry points, so lower tyre pressure accordingly.
Great Ocean Drive
If you are getting tired of deflating and inflating tyres and feel the need for bitumen, Esperance itself may have the answer. Starting and ending in Esperance, this 38 km drive hugs the cliffs overlooking blue bays, white beaches and massive granite headlands. There are plenty of parking spots along the way for easy access to swimming, snorkelling, surfing, whale watching in season, fishing,
For the more active who have a desire to stretch the legs, there is a dual-purpose walk and cycle trail. You can start the sign-posted trail in the town centre and weave your way along the path for 10 km until Twilight Beach. The scenic highlights come thick and fast with many stops, so best not to be in a rush. You can also break up the walk/cycle into shorter sections to suit your fitness if you wish. The trail continues away from the coast past Pink Lake (not pink anymore), but that will add another 5 km, making it quite a long day.
After a morning of taking in nature, we often stop for a coffee at historic Taylor Street Quarters (previously Taylor Street Tearooms).
We are so lucky that 4W drivers can access beaches near Esperance. For that freedom to continue, we must treat our wonderful coastline we enjoy so much with the respect it deserves.
Six tips for beach driving around Esperance
1. Lower tyre pressure before driving on a beach. Some beaches have sections as hard as a highway, while others are soft and boggy. Beach access and departure routes are often boggy and require special attention to avoid getting stuck and holding up other 4W drivers. Tyre pressure levels vary depending on beach conditions. If in doubt, ask a local if possible.
2. Drop the speed. The washouts are sometimes disguised, and hitting them fast isn’t good for the rig. Plus, other beach users include children and dogs.
3. Lookout for bits of seaweed sticking out. In winter, seaweed dumps on the beach and is then covered by sand. It can be really soft underneath.
4. Stay closer to the water, if safe, rather than near the dunes where birds sometimes nest. Avoid driving in areas designated as protected zones. Usually, these sensitive areas are signposted.
5. Always check the tides. Make sure you know when the tide comes in, so you don’t get one of those embarrassing photos of your car in the ocean. Tides in Esperance are not huge, but the unwary can get caught out. Best be forewarned and avoid a very expensive outcome.
6. There are good reasons why driving on many beaches in the Esperance region is not allowed. Only go on beaches designated as 4WD-friendly.
A New Era of 4WD Dominance
By Matt Payne
The front end of the MV Triton has been completely redesigned and sports an aggressive tiger-esque look.
The Mitsubishi Triton has been around for over 40 years, with the first models rolled out in Australia under the Chrysler badge in 1979. Since this time, the vehicle has undergone five model upgrades, although this could technically be seen as six, as the recently superseded MR model underwent a facelift in 2018.
Historically, the Triton has had a reputation in Australia as a ‘value for money’ ute, with pricing for the vehicle typically being ~$10-15K cheaper than comparable competing products from the likes of Toyota and Nissan. With the introduction of the sixth generation MV Triton, however, Mitsubishi has flipped the script on this and is now pushing the Triton as a premium dual cab offering, with a price tag that is substantially closer to that of its rivals. With this in mind, as you could imagine, the new generation Triton has undergone a complete redesign. Sitting on a new ladder frame chassis, the backbone is markedly stronger than its MR predecessor, and most notably, although it is slightly longer and wider than the MR, the wheelbase has been substantially increased by 130mm. Frontend suspension is also vastly improved, featuring a new double wishbone design with larger bore shock absorbers that have been valved based on Australian conditions. The rear suspension is also updated with a focus on improving ride quality while still retaining load-carrying capacity, moving from sixleaf spring packs to threeand four-leaf packs on the GSR/GLS and GLX+/GLX variants, respectively.
The 2.4L 4N16 engine from the MR has been retained but has had a power upgrade, now featuring a compound, twin-turbo setup, which sees the Triton pushing 150kW/470nm figures for power/torque. There have also been some changes to the internals though, including a new fuel injection system that increases fuel pressure from
Powered by a twin turbo version of the 4N16 engine, the MV Triton has almost instant power on tap thanks to minimal turbo lag.
Despite being a leaf-sprung ute, the new Triton has surprisingly good rear flex characteristics.
200 MPa to 250 MPa, improved intercooler and exhaust systems, newly designed, lighter pistons, and increased cooling capacity from new oil cooling jets with upgraded flow rates and straighter flow paths.
Now all of the above sounds fantastic on paper, but how does it all translate into driveability, functionality and comfort?
Fortunately, Mitsubishi Australia recently gave me two weeks in a new GSR in the signature Yamabuki Orange colour to see for myself.
As soon as you see the new Triton, you can appreciate that Mitsubishi has put a lot of thought into the redesigned aesthetics. The side body indents draw some similarities to the new Ford Ranger, but the front end is completely unique with aggressive styling that, especially
in the Yamabuki Orange colour, has a tiger-esque feel to it. The headlights and daytime running lights are all LED, and there is a notable absence of chrome highlights, a feature on the GSR model, which has undergone a chrome delete in favour of black, and it looks great.
Moving to the wheels, the Triton is supplied with 18-inch alloys wrapped in 30.5-inch tyres (most will round these up and call them 31 inches); however, with a 2-inch lift and removal of the front mud flaps, I think the wheel arches would easily accommodate a 32-33-inch tyre, something in the vicinity of a 275/70/17 or 285/70/17, and with the factory-fitted flares supplied on the GSR, you could easily fit an aftermarket wheel with an offset of +10-20 to give a wider, more aggressive stance (factory-offset is +30).
There also appears to be ample room under the tub to take a larger spare, something that is an issue on other dual cab offerings in the market when fitting larger tyres. As mentioned above, the suspension on the MV has been completely redesigned, meaning that for those who do want to lift the vehicle, aftermarket upper control arms are unlikely to be required for a 2-inch lift (as they were on the MR), as there should be ample clearance now to fit largerdiameter shocks.
In terms of underbody protection, the Triton comes with a front-end steel bash plate and a plastic one that covers the transmission. The transfer case is unprotected. For anyone planning on using the ute for 4W Driving, it would make sense to invest in aftermarket underbody plates, which, although add weight, more than make up for it in the protection they provide. Weight is also not as much of an issue on the new Triton as it is on other dual cabs, with a 1030 kg payload on offer on the GSR and 1095 kg on the GLX+.
Apart from the new front-end design, the most notable difference between the MR and MV Triton is the wheelbase. Previous
generation Tritons were renowned for having a very large tray overhang on the rear axle, and, when loaded to capacity (or overloaded in many cases), this resulted in issues with chassis cracking and bending. I should note that this is an issue with a lot of dual cab utes when overloaded, though. Axle placement on the newly designed MV chassis sees the rear axle pushed back by 130mm compared to the MR, meaning that even though the MV has a slightly longer tray (+ 35mm), it has substantially less rear overhang.
The Triton’s interior is clean and luxurious, featuring a 9-inch infotainment screen and sporty steering wheel design.
Moving into the cabin is when it becomes very clear that Mitsubishi is serious about offering the new Triton as a premium dual cab ute. The interior finish feels luxurious, with black leather and orange stitching present throughout. The dashboard has a super clean design, with a centrally mounted 9-inch touchscreen that comes standard with wireless Apple CarPlay. There is also a wireless phone charger cradle behind the gear shift, two glove boxes, and pull-out cup holders for the passenger and driver (only available on the GSR). One thing I loved was that buttons are still retained for key features like the heated seats, rear diff lock, and disengaging the auto/stop start, unlike the Ford Ranger, which incorporates a lot of these into its touchscreen. Speaking of buttons, there are also two blanks provided on the central column and a bank of another three next to the lane departure on/ off switch on the righthand side of the steering column; aftermarket manufacturers are already offering plug-andplay switches to fit these.
The seats are an absolute standout. Without a doubt, these are the most comfortable seats in a dual cab ute that I have sat in, with six-way electronic adjustment for the driver, including lumbar support. Even the back seat is supremely comfortable for a dual cab, featuring in-built body contours and more than ample leg room for your average adult. The front seats offer heating as standard in the GSR, and although the heat from the high setting is not as strong as other brands, it is still more than sufficient, and it doesn’t cycle down after being engaged, meaning that if you want constant heat (as many with lower back pain will love), then you don’t need to constantly disengage and re-engage this function.
The driving position is great, with ample view over the bonnet. The steering wheel feels nice in hand, has a sporty, almost rally-esque feel to it (think Lancer), and is incredibly functional with controls for the 7-inch dash cluster screen, audio and hands-free phone built-in.
So clearly, Mitsubishi has given the new Triton a serious engineering and design overhaul, but how does it drive?
In short, really nicely. Accelerating out of Mitsubishi Australia’s offices in Welshpool, the lack of turbo lag was immediately noticeable thanks to the new twin-turbo setup, with plenty of power on offer right across the rev range. The Triton moved quickly up to speed, with minimal engine noise and smooth gear changes that were barely noticeable with the six-speed transmission. It was only when planting my foot to extract maximum power from the engine that some characteristic common rail rattle was heard, but this is expected from this style of engine at the upper end of its operating range. Road noise in the cabin was minimal, perhaps not as quiet as
The front seats in the Triton feature heating and electronic adjustment and are incredibly comfortable.
The rear seat also offers surprising amounts of comfort and ample leg room for a standard adult.
the Ford Ranger, but certainly not far behind. Adaptive cruise control is a standard inclusion and worked seamlessly, with the Triton barely dropping 1 km/h in speed before cruise had it back on target speed going up an incline without dropping gears and going overboard on acceleration. Claimed fuel usage is 7.7 L/100 km, but I found figures at the pump were 9.25 L/100 km after 411 km of mainly city driving—still really impressive though, and I must admit I was not driving as economically as I could have, certainly appreciating the capability of the car to quickly get up to speed.
The suspension is very comfortable for a dual cab but is certainly on the softer side. It provides a refined ride over most surfaces, but I did notice substantial shock rebound going over speed bumps if they were tackled slightly too fast. A new feature on the GLS and GSR is active yaw control, and when pushing the Triton hard into turns, there was certainly very minimal body roll, and when coupled with selecting 4H to give you full-time 4WD with a 40:60 front/rear split thanks to the centre diff lock, the response from the electronic-assisted steering was incredible. The ability to engage 4H on bitumen should really be a selling point in the dual cab market, in my opinion, as in the wet it gives so much more control and sets the Triton apart from a lot of its counterparts, such as the Isuzu D-Max. Back to the suspension, the vehicle I was given did not have a towbar fitted, so I wasn’t able to test the GSR’s towing ability, but based on this, I would expect some rear end sag with any significant ball weight, especially once there is some weight in the tray. Regardless, your average 4WD enthusiast is likely
The 360-degree camera offers a super clear picture of the surrounds and is a great feature for both parking and navigating technical sections of track.
to upgrade the standard suspension in favour of lifted aftermarket options soon after purchase, and there are already a number of options available for the new Triton that can be tailored to suit the weight of your setup.
The Triton features the now expected swathe of modern safety features like blind spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic alerts, lane departure alert/ assist, and more sensors than you can poke a stick at. You also get a very nice 360-degree camera system, which is fantastic for parking and is also useful when tackling technical offroad tracks. However, thanks to new requirements to achieve a 5-star ANCAP safety rating, the Triton also includes a driver monitoring system (DMS), which is designed to keep you focused on the road and alert you when you have become momentarily distracted or appear fatigued.
The first iterations of this system, however, received a huge amount of negative feedback from owners, with many complaining the system would beep and tell them they were distracted for performing normal tasks like checking mirrors and blind spots. In response, Mitsubishi Australia issued a software
upgrade that reduced the sensitivity of the DMS, meaning that it now requires a user to appear distracted for a longer time (still a matter of seconds though) before it activates. The GSR I was given for review had already had this upgrade performed, and the DMS didn’t really give me any grief, activating on only a handful of occasions, where, in all fairness, I probably was mildly distracted anyway. For those that still aren’t fans, the system can also easily be turned off through the setup menu on the dash cluster; however, it needs to be done each time the vehicle is started. I can only assume that a button to deactivate must have been out of the question to maintain the ANCAP 5-star rating. It will be very interesting to see how other new dual cabs navigate this new requirement, as the Triton has been the first in line, and in my opinion, following the software update, Mitsubishi has done a pretty good job.
Emissions-wise, the Triton features the usual now mandatory inclusions on diesel engines, EGR and DPF systems, but also requires AdBlue. The 17-litre onboard tank is supposed to last you from service to service, but you are alerted to low levels at around 2,500 km from empty. Regardless, if you are doing serious longdistance, remote touring, you would be mad not to carry a small jerry of this with you. Auto stop/start is also included on the Triton, and luckily, there is a button that allows you to turn this off easily (again, has to be done with each start), as it’s a feature I am really not a fan of.
On the Triton, it seems to be particularly bad though, taking longer than I have experienced with other vehicles for the engine to kick back in after turning off. Next it was time for me to test the Triton’s off-road prowess, and to do this, I pointed the vehicle in the direction of the Wilbinga sand dunes. Anyone who knows this
area would be aware of the multitude of both straight up dune climbs and more technical tracks on offer, so I thought this would be a great place to put the Triton through its paces. The Triton retains the highly acclaimed Mitsubishi Super-Select 4WD system, which allows on-the-fly shifting from 2WD to either 4H or 4Hc (locked centre diff) at speeds up to 100 km/h. You also get a number of different drive modes, such as ECO, gravel, snow, sand, mud and rock, the most relevant to West Australian 4W Driving being the latter three—from my understanding all three turn off yaw and stability control; sand and mud modes increase throttle response, reduce gear shift thresholds, and limit the ability of traction control to interfere with wheel slippage; while rock mode increases gear shift thresholds to hold gears longer and heavily applies brake to wheels with slippage via traction control to redirect power to those with traction. You also get an electronic rear diff lock as standard, selectable in 4Lc only, and the traction control system will still work on the front wheels with this engaged—not quite as good as a front locker, but certainly handy and less intrusive on your steering. After dropping the tyres to 18 PSI, I selected 4Hc and proceeded onto the start of the Wilbinga track maze. Navigating the typical ups and downs of a WA beach access track, the Triton performed well, and the softer suspension provided a comfortable ride so long as sections were tackled at appropriate speed. One thing that was almost instantly noticeable though were the parking sensors—these turn off automatically in 4Lc but not in 4Hc, and it would be great to have a button to do this. I had to manually turn them off through settings in the dash cluster screen. Walking the Triton up an off-
camber hill, I was surprised at the amount of suspension flex the vehicle had for a leaf-sprung ute, certainly more than I was expecting. Testing this out further on an even deeper wombat-holed hill, I decided to engage the rear diff lock and test out the rock mode feature. I was pleasantly surprised as the car clawed its way over the off-camber sections despite big wheel lifts, something that would normally have required a front locker to push onwards. Engaging sand mode, dune climbs were effortless, with the instant throttle response from the new bi-turbo setup coming into its own.
Another feature I loved was the hill descent control coming down dunes or steep track sections; with this feature, you simply get to the speed you would like, engage the button, and then the car maintains this speed until you disengage it. It provided supreme control on steep sections of track and really overcomes the lack of engine braking capacity so often associated with automatic 4WDs in D. The only real negative I had coming out of the offroad test was the issue of ground clearance, but this is common to nearly all standard dual cab utes, and was the main factor that limited where I could take the Triton. As I mentioned earlier though, most keen 4W drivers will opt for aftermarket suspension soon after purchase anyway, and with a standard 2 inch lift and bigger tyres, this will overcome clearance issues for most WA tracks.
So, is there really nothing that frightens a Triton, as Mitsubishi’s marketing department claims?
All in all, Mitsubishi has done an amazing job on the new MV Triton. It is leaps and bounds ahead of the MR model in almost every aspect, and I have no doubt that it will increase sales for the brand and improve their status in the highly
competitive dual cab market. The vehicle is comfortable, capable, has plenty of power, a 3500 kg towing rating, and yet remains fuel efficient, and this will tick a lot of boxes for many new buyers. One feature in particular that will also be a major selling point for buyers is the 10 year, 200,000 km Diamond Advantage warranty they offer with the Triton, so long as you have it serviced within the Mitsubishi network (which also features very reasonable capped-price servicing). This warranty is a huge statement in how confident Mitsubishi are in the vehicle’s reliability, and in my opinion it is one that will certainly require the likes of Toyota, Ford, Isuzu and Nissan to rethink their standard 5-year inclusions in the future.
Suspension – Front: High-mounted double wishbone with coil spring and stabiliser bar; Rear: Leaf spring (Standard – 3 leaves)
Wheels/tyres – 18-inch alloy/265-60
R18 (30.5 inches)
Towing capacity – 3,500 kg braked, 750 kg unbraked
GVM – 3,200 kg
Payload – 1,030kg
KEEPING YOUR COOL
By David Wilson
I’ve just been reminded why staying cool is a good thing. I mean, there’s not much joy in life wandering around dork-like, is there? Cool is just cool! So too is having a vehicle that’s reliably cool, not one that’s just booted its temperature gauge into the red and about to really mess with your day.
Four-wheel-drives get used for journeys way beyond those of mere mortal cars. Running around town and under little stress will almost never in a car’s lifetime cause a heat issue. Running around in the bush and lugging huge loads up hill and down dale almost always will.
There are 10 bars of indication here, and you want your typical temperature reading to be within the first 5; higher than that might mean something’s crook.
You see, a vehicle designer will engineer just enough cooling capacity to satisfy the likely average ambient range of temperature for the country it’s being marketed to. Climate change, however, is throwing up temperature anomalies in Australia that no one in Thailand, Europe, or the USA would believe, and temperature creep is putting increasing demands on engines and transmissions when they are working at their hardest. If you believe the BS that vehicle makers peddle about towing capacities, you have an excellent case-in-point.
The “Great Towing Lie," as I like to call it, is that many of the medium utes and wagons sold here have their manufacturer’s stamp of approval to tug a braked 3,500 kg caravan or trailer... That sound you can hear at the moment is me rolling around on the floor laughing hysterically.
Whilst there are plenty of 4WD utes and wagons rated to tow 3,500 kg, you better do your arithmetic, because the real-world capacity won’t even be close.
Apart from being under-powered, underbraked, and under-suspended, they are also under-cooled, with radiators for engine duties needing very little obstruction (read spot light placement, bumper ventilation, a smattering of foreign 'bug-like' objects, or a fouling thanks to that last muddy stream you ploughed through) to start cooking to a steamy oblivion.
You might as well add a transmission that’s fried its innards at the same time, its oil burnt to a crisp and unable to change gears because the vehicle didn’t come with a trans cooler exfactory, and the same maker reckons a modern automatic is sealed for life (more hysterical laughing).
I’ve got a head start on this summer with my D-MAX, with a recent service changing out the now 80K-old transmission fluid for some fresh stuff, and the filters changed and raring to go. I also pulled out the radiator for inspection because I know from past experience that my Barossa Valley training track has a couple of mud holes that in mid-winter put the lower half of the front of the car in the ooze.
Pre-summer checks might include a radiator removal and inspection after a mud-heavy winter of 4W driving. The discolouration on the bottom half of the radiator confirmed what the temperature gauge might be telling you.
My D-MAX sports a brace of three driving lights, which puts an obstruction right in the way of the upper half of the radiator. Luckily, there is a big meshed slot underneath to funnel a cooling breeze.
And there is the evidence flushed out of the fins— some of our Sandy Creek sands from the Barossa Valley where I do my training.
Luckily there was little gunk wedged between the cooling fins this time, but I remember doing the same thing on my previous 2014 model, and it was chock-ablock, and on the first hot day in spring the temperature gauge went for a soar. This summer will be particularly demanding on the car because Mrs. Wilson and I have joined an exclusive club whose members enjoy having their bank balance bled dry. We’ve become bigger boat owners (you likely all know what BOAT means—Bring Out Another Thousand). Our Yellowfin YF7000 and its Yamaha 225 and trailer tip the scales at around 2.7T, about the maximum load I like to carry; any more and it’s a bit of a lottery.
Our favourite port of call is a place called Coffin Bay in SA, home of some extraordinary piscatorial adventures and a lazy 800 kilometres west of Adelaide. We like to go further too, to Ceduna, Fowlers Bay, and the Bight (and I hope soon to explore the WA coastline), and mostly in the heat of summer and autumn. Lugging 2.7T into a hot northerly wind will bring
out the worst in a poorly maintained vehicle, and it will always fail when help is a long time coming.
Not only will those days on the blacktop be putting the vehicle in peril, but also when we go for a meander of the 4WD kind, because we love beach sports too. There have been plenty of times I’ve driven a 4WD in near-impossibly deep sands, fluffy and with no grip, and slogging away only to see the transmission warning light aglow and the engine temperature gauge creeping around its scale.
What to do?
In the first instance, removing the load/
You better believe the saying “happy wife, happy life” because the captain of this ship is a better fisherperson out of the two of us!
The D-MAX will be challenged by some hot head winds in the coming months, but hopefully my preventative maintenance will keep it cool.
cause of the temperature overheat moment is a good starting point, so taking a moment to quietly let the car catch its breath is a good idea. But don’t turn it off; whack the air conditioning on if you haven’t already, and let the forced induction of cooler air, drawn through the radiator’s core via the fan, bring in some chill. A few minutes of quiet respite should see some improvement and the warning lights disappear.
Operationally, getting more engine speed going will help the cause. A vehicle labouring in HIGH range in stinking hot and trying conditions is setting you up for a fail. Get it into LOW range and use the gearbox to get the revs up, and the combination of extra torque will make a mockery of the track space, and the extra air drawn through the radiator via the faster spinning fan will keep a lid on the temperature.
If you were unlucky enough to spill some coolant at that moment, you’ll likely want to replenish it.
I was in QLD at the Glasshouse Mountains recently and happened upon a bunch of young things in their GU Patrol, of
The poor old Patrol’s coolant reservoir should have looked like this with bright green coolant filled to the brim.
the 3.0L variety and boiling its head off. They were at a loss as to what to do to get going again. Luckily the coolant lost wasn’t catastrophic, but it was a good couple of litres worth and needed topping up before they headed home. With the level restored in the overflow bottle, we set about gently pouring in fresh water through the radiator cap and with the engine running to keep the water pump circulating the shandy of now tap water and the remaining coolant. This lessens the risk of a sudden thermal shock and a cracked head if we’d just topped the radiator to the brim and then
A day swanning around the Lancelin dunes mid-summer can leave your buggy pretty hot and bothered. Don’t labour the vehicle; get the revs up, the tyre pressures down, and give the vehicle some pause from time to time, and all should be well.
started it. My instructions were to get the vehicle at the next soonest opportunity to their local radiator shop and get it serviced before it blows up in their face.
And that brings us to another operational matter, the top-ups.
Most vehicles today no longer sport a radiator cap on their radiators; all inspections and top-ups are done via the cap on the overflow bottle. The same rules apply to that cap as once did a radiator cap. If the motor’s been running and it’s hot, it will be under pressure. Open that up, and not paying attention might reward you with a deep and scalding burn and a lifelong scar to remind you of your folly.
The coolant cap on most modern 4WDs will usually display a warning that the contents are under pressure and only to remove on a rested and cold motor.
Either wait until things cool down or get a towel to drape over the cap and then crack the seal, the towel catching the likely hot torrent you’ve just released with no risk to person.
A thoroughly serviced 4WD with attention paid to keeping things cool might need expertise beyond that rendered by your franchised dealer. Get to know your local transmission and radiator shops and ask for their advice before you go into meltdown.
WALPOLE WILDERNESS HAS THE wow FACTOR
By Matt Payne
"I’m going down south for a few days." It’s a sentence that’s synonymous with Western Australian summer weekends and school holidays. For most people, however, going ‘down south’ only sees them venture as far as Margaret River/Augusta, despite the fact that south-western WA has SO many other incredible destinations on offer.
Now don’t get me wrong, the Margaret River region features some absolutely spectacular beaches, plenty of highly rated wineries and eateries, and some great 4W driving and fishing opportunities, but it also attracts the crowds during peak season. If you are anything like me, I try to avoid crowds at all costs; one of the biggest appeals of camping for me is getting away from the rat race and finding solace in my
Bottleneck Bay
own piece of paradise, usually at the end of a secluded 4WD track by the coast or in the bush.
So, back to my original point about heading ‘down south’, if you allow yourself an extra hour’s travel time from Perth (so about five hours in total), you really begin to open up more and more travel opportunities for you in the south-west region, and, for me, the most underrated area without a doubt is the
amazing ‘Rainbow Coast’ region around Walpole. Despite the huge amount of time I have spent exploring our great state, both north and south, it wasn’t until the end of 2020, after what can only be described as a turbulent year thanks to something called COVID, that I pointed my 4WD down the South Western Highway and discovered this area. The drive down the South Western alone is spectacular in places as it winds its way through the prime fruit-growing soils of Donnybrook towards Manjimup. The section between Manjimup and Walpole, however, sees you winding in and out of dense Jarrah, Karri and Tingle forests — an amazing sight to behold, but one that needs to be enjoyed with your wits about you, as the wildlife is also very prominent towards dusk/at night, and I’m not just talking about kangaroos! I’ve seen quokkas (yes, on the mainland — the Walpole area is one of the few mainland areas where they can be found), wild pigs and more.
The town of Walpole is located at the end of the South Western Highway and lies on the border of what is designated the south-western WA region. Without a doubt, the town is most known for the famous Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk that is located only a short drive to the west; however, this attraction, although impressive and certainly worth the visit, is, in my opinion, surpassed in grandeur by several other locations in the area. Bordered by national parks on all sides — Mt. Frankland to the north, D’Entrecasteaux to the west, and WalpoleNornalup to the east — the Walpole area is one of the few remaining places in WA where you can truly immerse yourself in nature. The town itself sits behind the majestic Nornalup Inlet, the only inlet in the area that is open to the Southern Ocean year-round. There is plenty of
coastal and bush camping on offer throughout D’Entrecasteaux national park, and for those who prefer amenities, Walpole has two great caravan parks at Coalmine Beach and Rest Point, both of which are nestled on the edge of the inlet. On my first trip to the area, I explored the D’Entrecasteaux side, with absolute highlights being Banksia Camp, Bottleneck Bay, and Broke Inlet. To access these, you turn onto Mandalay Beach Road, located at Crystal Springs, about a 10-minute drive to the north of Walpole. For those towing camper trailers and small vans, there is fantastic camping on offer among the peppermint forest at Crystal Springs, while for the more adventurous, Banksia Camp and Broke Inlet offer incredible coastal camping opportunities. The tracks into Banksia Camp and Broke Inlet are your typical undulating WA sand tracks that demand lowered tyre pressures, especially during summer. Broke Inlet, in particular, is very soft at times, and I would recommend 15 PSI as a start.
The beach at Banksia Camp can be accessed on foot via the staircase from the campground behind it or via vehicle using the track that snakes around the
headland and drops down onto the beach. Whichever option you choose, it is a breathtaking site to behold, with the lush green headlands and turquoise blue water resembling something out of Jurassic Park. The granite monolith that is Chatham Island juts up out of the ocean a few kilometres offshore and offers incredible fishing opportunities when the weather allows. Keen fishos will launch kayaks and small tinnies off the beach here, but it needs to be very calm for this to be done safely. Even without a boat, there is fantastic fishing and diving from the shore, with common catches being salmon and herring.
Heading out the back of the Banksia Camp campground, the track climbs up the headland towards two other
Broke Inlet beach camp
Broke Inlet salmon
locations that are well worth a visit: Bottleneck Bay and Cliffy Head. The first of these is a narrow bay that is nestled in behind the Banksia Camp headland on its western side. It’s accessed via a very steep walking track that offers incredible views of Chatham Island as you make your way down. Keen fishos will make the extra effort to walk around on the rocky headland on the eastern side of the bay, where there is a chance to tussle with species like blue groper and queen snapper — just remember though, whatever you catch, you have to walk back up the access track! The walk back out requires a reasonable level of fitness, with the first 20 m in particular being a soft sand scramble on all fours up a steep sand dune where it feels like you are on a treadmill at times.
Making your way out of the carpark at the top of Bottleneck Bay, Cliffy Head offers expansive views of the coastline to the west. It is very exposed to the wind though, so try and make the trip in the morning.
Another must-visit location within D’Entrecasteaux National Park is Broke Inlet. It’s one of the largest inlets in southern WA and is accessible on the
eastern and western sides via a maze of 4WD tracks and on the northern side via a corrugated dirt road that leads into a small shack town. Accessing the inlet from the (eastern) Banksia Camp side will see you taking the seasonally closed
Banksia Camp campground
Broke Inlet sunset
Banksia Camp beach
Fisherman’s Track (generally closed during winter and spring due to track flooding; ensure you check conditions at the park entrance) as it winds its way about 20km into the area where the inlet meets the Southern Ocean. The track is slow going, and I would allow 45 minutes to 1 hour for the trip. The camping opportunities on offer at the end though are well worth it; when the inlet is closed to the ocean (it typically is once the track reopens), you can set up camp right on the water's edge, and for those with paddle boards, there is a huge amount of exploring to do. Like Banksia Camp, there is also great fishing from the inlet mouth, with the proximity to Broke Reef meaning that catches of snapper and other demersals are also possible from the shore at certain times of the year.
Heading east out of Walpole to the Walpole-Nornalup National Park will see you pointing your 4WD in the direction of Bellanger Beach, accessed via Station and Bellanger Roads on the western side of Nornalup. Bellanger offers an incredible beach run to the east and is best travelled with very low tyre pressures (I recommend 12 PSI) due to the beach being extremely soft in places at certain times of the year. You should also be aware of the tide and swell conditions, as the section closer to the Nornalup Inlet mouth can be impassable on high tide if the swell is up. The inlet mouth is without a doubt one of the highlights of this area, and for those without a boat, it can only be accessed via this beach run. There are a huge amount of activities on offer here, from surfing at the inlet mouth to snorkelling, fishing, and paddle boarding in the protected inlet waters. It’s an amazing family location, and the scenery, as is so often the case in this area, is absolutely breathtaking.
For those who are less coastal-inclined, an absolute highlight in the Walpole region for me is the majestic Frankland River. There are four rivers (three main ones) that feed the Nornalup Inlet, and the Frankland is by far the largest of these.
Nornalup Inlet mouth
Broke Inlet SUP
It snakes its way past the town of Nornalup and then proceeds up into the vast Walpole Wilderness to the north, where the opportunities for paddle boarding and kayaking are endless. It is also relatively immune to windy conditions thanks to the shelter the surrounding forest offers. The first time I paddle boarded on the Frankland, I was in absolute awe of the grandeur of this river system. Dense Karri and Tingle forests jut up directly off the river banks, forming a vast canopy as far as the eye can see. A chorus of bird calls echos through the
sky, and for most part the only other sound that can be heard is the gentle lap of the water against your board. It truly is a place to be at one with nature, and despite having paddled the Frankland many times now, it’s still a very special experience for me. Access is via either Nornalup or a couple of entry points located off Monastery Road (seasonally closed during winter).
I could go on for days about what else the Walpole region has to offer—there are some amazing boutique wineries (I recommend Moombaki), incredible hiking via the Bibbulmun Track, mountain biking on the Munda Biddi Trail, and for those who appreciate expansive views, Mt. Frankland is certainly worth the hike. However, as is so often the case, words just don’t do this area justice—this leaves you little choice other than to pack the 4WD and point it in the direction of the Walpole Wilderness. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
excerpt from Hema's WA State Map
Frankland River SUP
WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD
Setting tyre pressures for off-road adventures
Summer is with us, and people all over Western Australia are making the most of the sunshine and their holidays to enjoy outdoor adventures in their 4WDs with their travelling companions.
Lowering tyre pressures for crosscountry use is a well-discussed topic around the campfire or the BBQ, and there are many different techniques or rules of thumb as people look for the best pressure for their recreational vehicle setup for the terrain being traversed. The purpose of this article is to share the technique I use to set up the starting pressures for highway, cross country, and sand or mud terrain using technical information provided by the tyre manufacturer. Importantly, it also provides tyre manufacturer guidance about maximum travel speeds recommended when operating the tyres at reduced inflation pressure.
By John Collins
Road Safety Solutions, in a report about the role of tyre pressure in safety, found that many vehicle tyres operating on Australian highways are overinflated, and as a result, the tyre footprint is suboptimal. This does not allow the tyre to perform at its maximum potential, leading to early deterioration of the tyre, fuel inefficiencies, traction deficiencies, safety issues and control problems. While vehicle manufacturer-recommended tyre pressures are placarded, these recommendations assume standard tyre rim combinations operating on highways. Obviously, these recommendations are unable to allow for modified tyre rim combinations or other non-standard changes.
The problem for 4W drivers is that the correct tyre pressures in cross country will significantly reduce vibration and damage to your 4WD (even wearing holes in your beverage cans on long overlanding trips!)
while making the vehicle much easier to drive, travelling much safer, significantly reducing component damage, and extending the vehicle life considerably.
More broadly, incorrect tyre pressures substantially reduce safety while being a demonstrable operator health hazard that is damaging our world unnecessarily.
Symptoms and effects of incorrect tyre pressure include:
• Driver control and vehicle predictability are substantially reduced. Poor handling and uncertain predictability increase driver work load, stress, and fatigue.
• Road bumps and potholes are amplified, which is detrimental to passenger health and increases driver stress and fatigue due to Whole Body Vibration (WBV). Truck driver life expectancy is 16 years less than other industry averages, thought in part due to WBV.
• Uneven tyre wear, suspension wear, and drive train wear and tear are amplified by at least 33%, resulting in additional tyre costs, according to the road transport industry.
• Blowouts or tyre shredding can cause vehicle fires that are dangerous, if not deadly.
• Wear and tear, plus fatigue damage to vehicles and camper trailers/caravans, are substantially increased, making recreational overlanding less safe and more expensive.
Whole Body Vibration comprises the transfer of relatively low-frequency environmental vibration to the human body through a broad contact area. Motion sickness is associated with
frequencies below 1 Hz. The result is a condition in which the body or a part of the body will vibrate at a magnitude greater than the applied vibratory force. In response, muscles will contract in a voluntary or involuntary manner and cause fatigue or a reduction in motor performance capacity. Resonance of the body or its parts due to WBV causes adverse health effects, especially with chronic exposure. These include interference with or irritation to the lungs, abdomen or bladder. Effects of WBV on vision have been reported since 1965. Driver stress leads to accidents. Wasting one tyre out of three due to poor tyre pressure management is bad for our bank accounts and bad for our environment. Getting rid of all the dead tyres is a major problem, with huge stockpiles 'stored’ because we don’t know what to do with them. Prematurely destroying your overlanding vehicle of choice with unnecessary vibration has a high environmental cost. Premature failure of suspensions, axles, wheel bearings, shocks, springs, chassis, and vehicle accessories is expensive.
Optimising tyre pressures for the load and terrain makes everything last longer, costing us less, both in money and in environmental damage. Hammering our infrastructure into dust by excessive impact, high-pressure tyres that are vibrating and bouncing, costs every citizen while increasing the high environmental cost of massive road work repairs. Optimising tyre pressure is safer, healthier, smarter, more cost-effective and greener.
My Solution:
My tyre of choice is the 365/80 R 20 Continental Multi-Purpose Tyre (MPT 81), which is specifically designed for highway
and rough terrain operations while providing long life, outstanding wet grip, and optimum suitability for use on sand. This is a specialised tyre designed for applications that fulfil mobility-dependent functions such as Emergency Services or military purposes. For these reasons, premium brand manufacturer products may be subject to a UN embargo or some other form of end-user restriction related to various international sanctions because this class of tyres is linked with consentavoiding strategies associated with the Russia-Ukraine war.
To obtain the optimal tyre pressure for my vehicle, I use a weighbridge to measure each axle load and then consult the Continental Technical Data Book MPT Tyres to establish the optimal tyre pressure from their inflation table. Should the load change, I use the same method to change the tyre pressure for the front and rear axles individually to ensure the axle loads remain within manufacturer specifications.
For my tyre and rim combination, both axle loads of my vehicle are practically unchanged at approximately 7.1 tonnes all-up weight when the truck is fully ready for overlanding travel. Hence, the potential load-carrying capacity of the vehicle tyres is 14.2 tonnes, or twofold my actual vehicle mass measured by the weighbridge. For ease of calculation, I use 50% of the potential capacities, or in my circumstances, the single axle loading prescribed by the Continental data and shown in Table 1, which keeps me operating within the prescribed manufacturer guidelines for my MPT 81 tyres. For example, for highway operation, the tyre pressure I use is 45 PSI, which approximates 50% of the maximum axle load, which I will fine-tune by plus or minus 10% depending on tyre wear observations.
Maximum Axle Load (Actual Axle Load) Maximum Tyre PSI (Actual Pressure)
Table 1: Technical Data for the MPT 81 tyre size 365/80 R 20 from the Continental Technical Data Book MPT Tyres
One significant element that doesn’t seem to get addressed elsewhere is the impact of reducing tyre pressure on maximum travel speed. Whether it be a social media conversation, a BBQ discussion, or counsel from influencers, travel speed isn’t usually discussed. While there is considerable research and published advice available, this important component seems to get lost.
If your tyre manufacturer doesn’t publish suitable technical data, a good place to look is the Tyre and Rim Association of Australia. This technical information often isn’t easily available from tyre manufacturers, and the vehicle tyre pressure placarding doesn’t appear to acknowledge the different types of terrain (highway, cross country, sand, mud) that their products are expected to regularly traverse.
Interestingly, central tyre inflation systems that can be user programmed to inflate or deflate tyre pressures automatically while the vehicle is travelling often have a speed sensor. The speed sensor has a failsafe purpose to protect the tyre from damage, which will occur if the vehicle speed is too high for the selected tyre pressure and inflates without operator involvement to the default highway pressure.
For my application, Continental recommends reducing the tyre pressure by approximately half from highway pressure when transiting sand and mud
together with a massive maximum speed reduction as outlined in Table 1 without reducing the load-carrying capacity. The recommended maximum speed reduction was an “eye opener” for me, because for the load characteristics of my overlanding setup, Continental recommends approximately 90% speed reduction for sand or mud terrain!
I don’t believe there is a magical pressure one should use when, for example, towing your camper trailer with a heavily loaded 4WD along the Gibb River Road, as there are so many rim and tyre variations that come into play. However, using available technical information provided by my tyre manufacturer, I know to reduce my pressure down by 13 psi, and my maximum speed should be 65 km/ hour, while knowing the overall vehicle weight is well below the maximum rated load. Having followed this pressure regime for more than 50,000 kilometres, I remain very satisfied with the tyre performance.
While this solution works for my vehicle type, rim, and tyre combination, other drivers must determine the best operational perimeters for their circumstances. I acknowledge the invaluable input from the late Chet Cline, the founder of AIR CTI, for making time to discuss the implications of reduced tyre pressure for road trains, heavy trucks, and recreational overlanding vehicles in nonhighway situations.
GUS LUCK TOUR
By Phil Bianchi
The Gus Luck Trail in the Eastern Goldfields offers history and lots to see and do, including climbing various rocks.
Gus Luck was a Frenchman who served in the French Foreign Legion before he came to Australia in the 1890s. He forged a direct route between Southern Cross and Goongarrie, a significant saving in travel time for freight delivery. The previous route involved going to Coolgardie or Kalgoorlie before heading north to Goongarrie. The Public Works Department constructed a series of wells along the route so teamsters and other travellers could access water for their stock.
I commenced this trip at Coolgardie and headed up the Coolgardie North Road
via the hotel ruins at Kunanalling and Rowles Lagoon. I then took the turnoff to Coonmine Well. The turnoff is a track, and without digital mapping, you could easily miss it. The first section of the track was a little scratchy in places but easy to follow. Coonmine Well, which contained water, was our first stop. It's on the northern side of the rock and is a stone-
Inscriptions at Turturdine Rock
Coonmine Well
lined affair with a corrugated iron roof and a hinged metal trapdoor providing entry. Coonmine Rock is an easy climb. At the time of our visit, it had many rock holes filled with water. On the rock near the well, numerous names were inscribed, including B Frost (prospector), SK, and Dimer (a govt dogger).
Continuing along the track, Turturdine Rock and Well were next. The track passes the eastern end of the rock; before you reach the turn-off to the well, keep your eyes peeled, and you’ll notice a commemorative plaque laid by Luck’s descendants in 2012. Nearby the plaque are several inscriptions: R Dimer, B Dimer, ED and SD. Soon after the inscriptions, you’ll see a rusting sign pointing you to WATER. This well is situated at the foot of the rock and is constructed in the same way as Coonmine Well: stone-lined, with a corrugated iron roof and metal trapdoor for access; it contained water with tadpoles.
Who was Gus Luck?
Augustus Jules Luck is believed to have been born in 1867.
He served in the French Foreign Legion in Algeria and came to Australia circa 1887. Because of his experience with camels in Algeria, he was recruited for a survey and exploration expedition to Western Australia in 1888. Luck then went prospecting and exploring with the Honourable David Carnegie and is credited with teaching him bushmanship and camel work. Carnegie then successfully completed a major expedition from Coolgardie to Halls Creek and back in 1896–97.
A desert hill, Mt. Luck, was named after him by Carnegie in 1894. Luck died in 1958.
Gus Luck plaque at Turturdine Rock
The track tends southerly to Udardunging Well and Tank. It is set in a flat area among the rocks and is, as before, stone-lined with a corrugated iron roof and metal trapdoor. Take your time here and walk around. At the time of our visit, the everlastings were abundant, making for pleasant exploring. Not far from the well was the lone grave of a dog. It was marked out in stone and had a welded metal bar crucifix.
The landscape varied most of the day, with vast sandplains often covered in a blaze of flowering shrubs, mallee, and belts of tall eucalypts. We considered ourselves fortunate with the abundance of wildflowers on display, the result of excellent rains earlier in the year. In one spot, the everlastings were so thick that you could smell the flowers without bending down.
Dog's grave at Udardunging Tank
Udardunging Tank
The next stop was 71 Mile Well. This well also had water, but cave-ins at the bottom of the well made it risky to get too close. If you travel with little ones, keep them away from the well. The well is unlike the other wells or tanks where water is close to the surface. This well still has the rusting remains of a steel windlass used to bring water to the surface. This well is situated about 500 metres from the main track and is accessed by an overgrown track that has a small turning circle at the end. Thankfully, the shrubbery was short,
green, and soft and didn’t leave scratch marks on the vehicles. Fellow travellers had a camper trailer with them; they managed to traverse this section of the track without any problems.
Returning to the main track and trending south-westerly, our next stop was Wallangie Soak at Ives Rock and the grave of an unknown person thought to have been a prospector. The body was discovered by prospector Alfred Ives and his son Len in 1910. They buried the body some distance west of Ives Rock, but it's trackside. The grave is marked by wrought iron posts and rails, a fitting memorial to an unknown pioneer. The group known as Outback Graves Markers has placed a plaque here.
Lone grave at Wallangie Soak
71 Mile Well
Wallangie Soak
There are several tracks in the area of Wallangie Soak. Take the eastward track near the pastoralists' dam to get to the soak. It only goes a short distance before it stops. Continuing eastward, follow a wrecked fence line on foot for about 80 metres; the corrugated iron-roofed stonelined tank is in a thicket and easy to miss. Following the old fence line is the key to finding it.
A short walk across to Ives Rock and then up to the top will give you views across the bushland. We also discovered a number of deep rock holes, which were closer to the bottom of the rock but near the soak.
The vegetation was now predominantly eucalypt woodland, with the species changing as dictated by the soil type. There were plenty of good spots to take photos here.
We then headed southward to Jaurdi Station Homestead, a Parks and Wildlife facility that offers basic accommodation, but you need to bring everything.
Bookings can be made via the Kalgoorlie office by phoning 9080 5555. We didn’t stay because others had already set up camp in the vicinity.
The drive to and from Ives Rock to Jaurdi Homestead is superb, with mature eucalypt of the Great Western Woodland all the way. The variety of eucalypts varied as we drove along, providing many photo opportunities, especially in early morning light.
Great Western Woodland
Grave marker at Wallangie Soak
Returning to Ives Rock, we continued southwesterly through more woodland towards Ullambay Well (also known as Government Well No. 2). The well, situated on low-lying rocks, contained water. It was the typical stone-lined, corrugated, iron-roofed affair we had been seeing along the route. There were everlastings scattered around the rock, but they had seen better days.
Continuing south-west through the woodland and patches of everlastings, we reached the Trans Australia Rail Line and Darrine Siding. Take care here, because high-speed trains could catch you by surprise as you cross. Our intended track to the south-west proved a little tricky to find because of the myriad of tracks in the siding area.
Darrine Well, our next stop, was again the stone-lined corrugated iron roof affair. This well contained water, and the trapdoor was heavily inscribed in pencil by people who had been there. The most prominent being R. Dimer 1958 (he sure did get around).
Our next stop, Lake Eva, proved to be an excellent lunch spot, with terrific views across the salt lake. It was dry on this
Darrine Well lid inscriptions
A superb camp site
occasion, but on a previous visit, a friend found himself ankle-deep in mud. It pays to be cautious here, or you will also have shoes made from clinging mud, or like him, you could slip and land on your backside. Having said all of that, it’s a terrific spot to visit and take in a change of scenery.
Crossing the Vermin Fence, through a gate that needed Arnie's muscles to operate, Weowanie Rock and Hunts Dam were next. Charles C. Hunt came through this area in the 1860s, building a series of wells, tanks and dams. They began in York and ended near Kambalda. When gold was discovered in the Eastern Goldfields, this line of water was a well-trodden path for many would-be prospectors chancing
their luck. The dam is high up the rock and is an earth and rock affair blocking a ravine that channels water. We found the dam full of water with many tadpoles and frogs. The trees surrounding the dam tend to camouflage its existence. Travelling a few hundred metres around the rock is a smaller man-made dam, made using rocks and cement. It was also full, providing a home for many tadpoles.
Continuing on, we came to Thomas Davidson's lonely grave. He committed suicide in 1895, but we don't know why. His grave had a welded pipe fence surrounding it and a marble slab headstone, so it's easy to spot in the bush. Outback Graves Markers have also placed a plaque here.
Hunt's Dam at Weowanie Rock
We
We
Duladgin Well, near the rock of the same name, was our last stop on the Gus Luck tour. The well was the ugliest and least attractive of all the waters we had seen on this trip. It was right by the road to Yellowdine and had a star picket fence surrounding it, and for the first time for me, I found water in it.
This is a superb trip, offering many opportunities to enjoy the solitude of the bush. We didn't see any other vehicles for the two and a half days we were on the track. There are many rocks to climb, tanks, and wells to explore, and the ongoing, ever-changing mosaic-like vegetation patches make for scenic driving.
INFORMATION BAY
Track Conditions
Thomas Davidson's grave. He committed suicide in 1895.
During my most recent trip, the track was easy to follow and caused no problems with washouts, rocky areas, or bogging despite heavy rains during the winter months. However, if heavy rain has fallen recently, parts of the track, especially near the rocks, can turn to mush, and severe bogging can result. This occurred one Easter some years ago. The bogging and lengthy de-bogging are permanently etched in my memory.
Choose the time of your visit wisely.
Further reading
Gus Luck's book Outback Trails, published in 1988 by Hesperian Press.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
By Colin Kerr
Near Carnarvon, WA
Confusing speed signs - Dardanup, WA
Right around Australia, the visual trauma of road accidents, which result in death, injuries, and an enormous amount of damage to vehicles and property, is unfortunately part of our everyday lives.
This is indeed a serious subject, and much is being done by the government, police, automobile clubs, driver education campaigns, and increased penalties for traffic law offenders. but much more is probably still needed.
To help brighten up your day (away from all this doom and gloom), we have hit the tracks, roads and highways around the country to see if there is something out there to give us a smile and, maybe, even a laugh ... and it wasn’t hard to find.
SIGNS, SIGNS, SIGNS and more SIGNS — IF THIS IS THE INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY — then heaven help the lot of us!
Yes, that multitude of signs with arrows, warnings, speed limits, parking restrictions, stop, go, give way, wrong way back out, one way no entry, no exit, do not stop, no go, no u-turn, and many more ... all ‘designed’ to help us on the roads! Right? Or are they?
Have a look at a few of these ... Would you feel helped or harassed, comforted or confused? How much does this sort of roadside misinformation actually contribute to our traffic problems?
Should we just laugh or cry? Have you seen any real ‘clangers’ lately?
Nowhere Else Road - sign - near Rapid Bay - Fleurieu Peninsula, SA
Swim faster!
Ned's Corner - near Lightning Ridge, NSW
Caravans thrive on vegies - near Broome, WA
Nude bathing in litter bins onlyat Floreat Beach, WA
Hope the stock can read! Sign on the Murray Valley Highway, near Echuca, Vic
Look out - it's the Policeat Port Douglas, Qld
Seen in Wyndham, WA
Where you leave your husband when you go away - in Mandurah, WA
Land skiing only hereLake Navarino - between Waroona and Dwellingup, WA
No bikes - all other vehicles ok as long as they float - Weipa, Qld
These people obviously don't want visitors!
They didn't stop here - Kingsley, Perth, WA
Town Sign - No Where Else - Tasmania
Sign near Lightning Ridge, NSW
Looking for an old second-hand aircraft?
- Oenpelli, NT
Sign near Lightning Ridge, NSW
Present your bust here pleaseseen at Craigie, Perth, WA
Don't take this corner in a hurry - seen near Mt Surprise, Qld
No standing around here, for anyone or anythingNorth Beach, Perth, WA
Our Aussie symbol takes a diveNullarbor Plain
Telephone Creek - on the Silver City Highway, 216 km south of Tibooburra, NSW
Sign near Lightning Ridge, NSW
Sign along the trail - near Ned's Cornernear Lightning Ridge, NSW
The southern coast is an ode to blue at this time of year. From the lightest hues of its cloudless firmament to the deepest ultramarine of its whale-churned waters, the coastline around Kepa Kurl (Esperance) is at its sparkling finest during the Noongar season of birak (first summer).
Unlike the traditional European calendar, Noongar seasons don’t follow a specific start time or finish. Instead, their six seasons are marked by subtle changes in the landscape — from a change in wind direction to a plant in bloom — all of these tiny nuances are vital indicators to indigenous people who survived on the land for centuries, moving as the weather and food allowed.
Birak is the hottest time of the year, marked by the lessening of rain and the onset of cloudless blue skies. To nonindigenous people, the landscape looks increasingly stark and inhospitable even in this southernmost corner of WA, renowned for its plant biodiversity and nutrient-rich waters. But there are signs of sustenance — you just need to know where to look.
Julie Dabb and her sister Wanika offer the only indigenous cultural walking tours throughout Kepa Kurl and its surrounds. Their family-run business, Dabungool Cultural Experiences, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to walk through the
seasons and learn about the seasonal foods and bush medicines that have sustained the Wudjari people for 40,000 years.
“Birak is signalled by the warm winds in the morning and the rise in temperatures,” Julie explained. “It can reach up to 40 degrees down here in Kepa Kurl. The sun burns hotter down here because it reflects off all our beautiful white-sand beaches and crystal-clear water.
"Traditionally, our people would have moved closer to the coast to take advantage of the cooling coastal breezes and the abundance of fish and shellfish in the water. However, for visitors to the south-west, there is also excellent fishing to be had in our creeks and rivers too.”
Birak was marked by the movement of the Wudjari people to the coast, and a shift in diet to seafood. But it was not only people who were on the move at this time, says Julie. Lizards and snakes, as cold-blooded creatures, all start to make their presence more widely felt.
“Kaarda (goanna) would have been another vital food source as would have norn (snake),” Julie said. “We get plenty of snakes down here — tiger snakes,
Julie Dabb, Dabungool Cultural Experiences
Dabungool Cultural Experiences
dugites and western browns. They’re all poisonous, of course. Nowadays we don’t approach them; if you see a snake, just let them go on their way. But in the past, we would have considered them as another potential food source.
“Not necessarily eaten abundantly, we were more likely to eat the non-venomous snakes over the venomous ones. On the rare occasion that a venomous snake was caught, we would have gotten rid of the poison first, and then we would have cooked them over the fire. Snakes weren’t considered an everyday food source and were only eaten when food was scarce.”
And in the ocean, another formidable creature is making a seasonal appearance — the djulam (shark).
“Wherever fish go, sharks will follow,” Julie said. “We are fortunate to have some of the most beautiful clear water for snorkelling, but you do have to be vigilant for sharks at this time of year. Kelp forests are a haven for some types of sharks that use them as a nursery for their eggs.”
In the air, birak sees larger bird species starting to venture out and leave their nests. However, the infamous koolbardi (magpie) are still nest-bound and reliant on their parents. If you listen carefully while walking through the bush, you’ll often hear their constant calling for food. Julie and Wanika want visitors to Kepa Kurl to realise there is more to this corner of the world than beautiful beaches. They
invite you to immerse yourself in the local environment, its sights, sounds and smells, and learn how a close relationship and understanding of the natural world enabled their ancestors to survive and thrive through the most challenging of environments.
“We love being able to share our cultural knowledge of bush tucker and medicine with our visitors,” Julie said. “For Wanika and I, every day spent on Country is a good day for us.”
The walking trails utilised by Dabungool Cultural Experiences are accessible for families; on some, fur babies (dogs) are welcome to join the journey too. Julie and Wanika are operating throughout the summer holidays.
Birak’s botanical beauties
Munjee (Christmas trees)
The citrusy, cloudlike blooms of the munjee (Christmas tree) are unmistakable at this time of year. Not only is the sight of this tree joyfully pleasing to the eye, at a time when the landscape is becoming increasingly dry from the relentless heat of the sun, it is also an important seasonal indicator to the Aboriginal people. For those who know how to read its foliage, the tree will indicate how long birak will last and whether it will be a particularly hot season.
Greniny (macrozamia)
This plant is so ancient it dates back to the age of the dinosaurs. Its cones contain fiery-red seeds that, although poisonous (much to the dismay of the early settlers), have been a valuable food source for Aboriginal people who, over many millennia, developed a treatment process to ensure it was safe to consume. The harvested seeds are carefully soaked in water to flush out toxins and carcinogens before being dried and enjoyed as a snack on the go. The dried seeds were also traditionally ground into a flour and used to make bread or cakes.
Ngaminy (native grape)
Found growing abundantly along the coast at this time of year, they are similar in size and appearance to table grapes. The globes are initially green but age to yellow and/or red when mature and are highly prized as bush tucker for Aboriginal people. During the height of birak, the grapes would have provided refreshing bursts of hydration in a mostly arid landscape.
Bain (coastal pigface)
The vivid pink flowers of this plant, also found along the coast, are another seasonal treat enjoyed by Aboriginal people. Every part of the plant — the
flowers, its leaves, and its fruit — is edible and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Being a succulent, the liquid stored in its leaves helps to soothe itches, bites and burns, and it is another welcome source of hydration during hotter weather.
Cheerup (native cherries)
This ruby-red berry, from the same family as the quandong, is delicious but tantalisingly small, and you will have to harvest many to satisfy your appetite. You’ll also have to get in early because cheerups are favourites among other foragers, including birds, insects, possums and kangaroos. It was not an uncommon sight to see a kangaroo resting beneath a native cherry tree in the summer months in order to take advantage of its dense canopy and succulent fruit.
GLOSSARY
Kepa Kurl: Where the waters lay like a boomerang
Birak: First summer
Kaarda: Goanna
Norn: Snake
Djulam: Shark
Koolbardi: Magpie
THE UNTAMED KIMBERLEY PHOTO ESSAY
Images by Blake Hales
Blake is a keen drone photographer who captures the breathtaking beauty of landscapes, especially in off-thebeaten-path destinations.
"I enjoy the tranquility and natural beauty of landscapes," he said. "The drone allows good access to areas and perspectives that you can't really see or appreciate from the ground."
Mirima National Park, WA
Blake's recent trip to the Kimberley region was part of a 12-month Australian road trip with his fiancé. The vastness and geological wonders of the region left a lasting impression, and the "almostdaily" late-dry season storms provided unforgettable photo opportunities.
China Wall, Old Halls Creek
The Grotto, Wyndham, WA
Lake Argyle, WA
Blake has been taking photos across Western Australia for several years now, using his DJI Mavic Air 2 to capture stunning aerial shots in 4K resolution. As an avid off-roader, Blake owns a modified 2015 D-MAX space cab. Equipped with a long-range tank, a 60-litre water tank, free-wheeling hubs, heavy-duty suspension, and a rooftop tent, this versatile vehicle is built for exploring hard-to-reach locations.
Diversion Dam, Kununurra, WA
Blake is excited to explore more of our beautiful state, with recent trips to Mt. Augustus and the Kennedy Ranges during wildflower season adding to a stunning collection of photos and memories that he continues to expand.
Old stone hut, Old Halls Creek, WA
New Fitzroy Bridge, WA
Y a w u r u m a r i n e a n d c o n s e r v a t i o n p a r k s
Gala bagu warrgarnda jimbin Yawurungan buru.
Warranyangany warrajala buru jayida.
Welcome to Yawuru country.
Help look after our country.
Turquoise waters, sandy beaches, pindan plains, rugged red cliffs, biodiverse mudflats, extensive mangrove systems, wetlands and tidal creeks are what you ll find here These parks protect the rich cultural heritage and
incredible environment around Broome There are four Yawuru Parks covering approximately 100,000 hectares of land and sea, including many well-known local visitor sites and much of beautiful Roebuck Bay The marine and conservation parks are managed in an integrated way by the Yawuru Parks team at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions together with joint management partners the Yawuru Traditional Owners and the Shire of Broome
OLD DOGS, NEW TRICKS
DETECTING UNUSUAL RELICS IN OUTBACK WA
By Luke Clatworthy
Metal detecting isn't just about gold nuggets and coins. Western Australia's rich history is hidden beneath the surface, waiting to be uncovered. One such treasure is the humble dog registration disc. These seemingly ordinary relics offer a glimpse into our state's past, revealing stories of early settlements, local government, and the everyday lives of our canine companions.
W1940-41
Dowerin Roads Board Dog Registration Disc
hen the topic of metal detecting arises, most people automatically think of searching for gold nuggets and, to a lesser degree, finding coins and jewellery. Here in the Golden West, detecting enthusiasts are blessed with abundant locations in which to look for gold and for coins, both modern and pre-decimal, as well as a wide variety of other treasures that people have lost and misplaced since European settlement.
However, one of the best aspects of metal detecting, especially here in Western Australia, is endeavouring to uncover other, lesser-known and appreciated relics of interest from a bygone era. One item that is keenly sought by collectors and detectorists alike is a seemingly mundane piece that the vast majority of people across our great state have had to purchase at some stage of their lives, especially if they have ever owned a dog. Sounds intriguing? You guessed it! I am referring to the humble and ambiguous dog registration disc.
At first glance, most readers of this article will question why such a common piece of humble metal that once hung around the necks of countless and much-loved canines of all breeds, shapes, and sizes would warrant such attention amongst an ever-increasing number of metal-detecting enthusiasts. Some may question if the author has taken leave of
their senses (I hope not anyway!). The simple answer is that here in Western Australia, the dog registration disc has a fascinating history, with some pieces being extremely rare and of increasing value and desirability amongst collectors. Like pre-decimal coins, dog registration discs can be found where human habitation has occurred. Unlike predecimal coins, however, dog registration discs are far fewer in number than our coins from the past due to a range of factors. Still not fully convinced that dog registration discs are worthy of collecting and detecting? Let me endeavour to explain in greater detail why these simple relics from our past are so eagerly sought. For the first sixty-one years of European settlement (sixty-four if you start with Albany), Western Australia was under direct management from the English government in faraway London. Finally, in 1890, Western Australia was granted permission to govern in its own right, a decision that had been sought for many years. A few short years later, gold was discovered at Coolgardie and Hannans (Kalgoorlie-Boulder), and the floodgates opened with a wave of gold-hungry fortune seekers flocking to the land, all determined to strike it rich and live a life free from poverty and hardship. New towns and areas of settlement mushroomed as our permanent population grew. With this unprecedented growth and expansion came the need for more government representation, especially at a state and local level. New municipalities and road boards were instigated to ensure that all populated areas were properly governed, including the introduction of new laws and regulations as well as a range of essential services to be provided, such as roads and transport, health and sanitation, and the provision of lighting and simple forms
of communication. Naturally, the cost of providing critical infrastructure, especially in the more isolated parts of Western Australia, required capital. What better way to help cover the cost of progress than the introduction of council rates and charges? This also included the humble dog.
The Western Australian Dog Act of 1903 required that dogs needed to be registered with their respective local government authority. To prove that a dog had been registered, a dog registration disc was to be worn by the said dog via a suitable collar and that the disc in question should be inscribed with the name of the district the licence was issued in, the year of registration, and the registration number. New dog registration discs were to be issued every year.
There is clear evidence that some local governments in Western Australia commenced issuing dog registration licences prior to the Western Australian Dog Act of 1903. At this point in time, the earliest dog registration discs were issued by the Municipality of Menzies in the Eastern Goldfields in 1898. The Municipality of Cue was quick to follow suit, issuing their own dog registration discs in 1899. Other local government authorities jumped on the bandwagon,
and by 1902, most Eastern Goldfields and Murchisonbased councils had issued their own dog registration discs, including Coolgardie, Boulder, Norseman, and Day Dawn Municipalities and both the Bulong Municipality and Roads Board, respectively.
The earliest disc found from the Perth metropolitan area is a 1903 Cottesloe Roads Board example. Not to be outdone, agricultural areas also began to issue discs with the Northam Municipal Council commencing in 1900, followed by the Collie and Midland Junction Municipalities in 1902. By 1904, all local government municipalities and roads boards had commenced issuing their own dog registration discs. It is interesting to note that the local government councils that instigated the requirement that dog owners within their jurisdiction have their dogs registered prior to the Dog Registration Act of 1903 were probably doing so illegally.
As mentioned above, in the early days of responsible government in Western Australia, two forms of local government were operational. Municipalities or Municipal Councils represented gazetted towns with larger populations and populated urban areas, typically with an elected mayor. The second were Roads Boards that represented the needs of districts and smaller, concentrated areas of population.
Let me refer to the question of why detecting and collecting dog registration discs is gaining popularity, especially for the earlier issued examples. Firstly, dog registration discs are relatively scarce. The low numbers of discs detected or found are only a fraction of the number of discs manufactured and issued. Secondly,
Municipality of North Fremantle Dog Registration Disc
locally issued discs vary in shape, how information is represented, and in overall ornamental design. Each year, dog registration discs were different from their predecessors. Thirdly, these humble pieces of metal are a tangible link to early Western Australian European settlement and development and to the expansion and development of local government. Finally, the chance of unearthing examples of dog registration discs where, as yet, no examples have been discovered or only one or two discs from a local government authority have been found previously. These factors all help add to the thrill of the chase, so to speak!
Dog registration discs can also be valued according to the issue number for each year. Discs from each year of issue that wear the Number 1 (first disc issued) are the most keenly sought by detectorists and enthusiasts alike. The lower the issue number, the greater a disc's collectability. There are also the very rare examples where a local Roads Board or Municipality was only in existence for a very short period of time, thus the number of discs produced was already extremely few in number.
Some municipalities, especially in the Goldfields regions, were forced to downgrade their status to that of a humble Roads Board or merge with another local government authority due to the inevitable drop in population when the gold began to run out. One example of this occurred in the Murchison. Cue and Day Dawn, only separated by a few miles geographically, both initially enjoyed Municipal status. By 1912, the town of Day Dawn, home of the famous Great Fingall gold mine, was only a shadow of its former self and was forced to merge with the Municipality of Cue, who themselves were facing a decline in population when their gold production began to diminish. In turn, by the early 1920s, even this Municipality had to dissolve and revert to being a Roads Board.
This was a scenario that was repeated throughout the Eastern Goldfields and Murchison Goldfields up to the early 1930s, including the total dissolvement of Municipalities such as Malcolm and Mount Morgans and, in turn, Municipalities changing to Roads Boards
1917 Black Range Roads Board Dog Registration Disc
like what occurred at Leonora, Laverton, Menzies, and a score of other earlypopulated towns. As you can imagine, dog registration discs from these periods of varying local government authorities are fewer in number and thus more highly valued. In addition, the earlier the year issued, the more sought-after a disc will be.
The history of manufacturing Western Australian-issued dog registration discs is also very interesting. Back then we designed and manufactured a range of quality goods and equipment ourselves, and in the initial period of the issuing of discs, local government authorities would commission local metal-working tradesmen or businesses to manufacture them. It did not take long for larger companies based in Perth specialising in metalwork and stamping to take over producing dog registration discs for Muncipalities and Roads Boards respectively. Before 1915, there were a large number of firms and businesses that manufactured discs. After 1915, only two companies manufactured discs: Cumpston Engraving Works and Sheridan’s Engraving Company, where the design of the dog registration discs became more uniform.
Up to 1919, most dog registration discs in Western Australia were manufactured from brass, with the very occasional examples made from bronze. After this time, most discs were bronze in composition. The early 1930s saw the introduction of the aluminium and coated copper (copper coated with nickel) dog registration disc. In turn, by the 1960s, aluminium was the dominant metal used in their manufacturing, and this remained up until the 1990s.
Now that I have hopefully provided suitable explanations on why Western Australian dog registration discs are so keenly sought as well as a snapshot of how they were manufactured, I need to attempt to address why they are relatively scarce. Early discs were made using brass. After the boom of the gold rushes and the initial development of our key agricultural land, Western Australia faced a range of unstable economic times and world events. During World War 1, Australia, like all other nations that were involved, needed metal for the production of essential equipment and ammunition. The cost of metals skyrocketed, and their availability was extremely hampered. Selling scrap metal became a very profitable pastime for
individuals and families struggling to make ends meet. Brass was especially valuable for munitions production, so your favourite pooch’s humble discarded dog registration discs suddenly were in demand.
Again, during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the numerous individuals who were out of work and were desperate to put food on the table once again turned to various forms of recyclable scrap metal to sell. These two major world events certainly put an enormous dent into the number of dog registration discs that remained. This also included camel and goat registration discs that I will go into
more detail about at a later stage. Further losses were incurred when out-of-date dog registration discs were simply thrown out in the rubbish or at the local dump. These locations later became landfill and the development of these sites meant that any historical relics or artefacts, such as dog registration discs, were lost forever. In more remote areas, dog registration discs were simply thrown away, burnt with other items deemed as rubbish, or simply disposed of down the residence's long-drop.
Today, many metal detectorists focus their attention on trying to locate dog registration discs, goat and camel
Old homesite ruins are ideal spots to look for buried dog registration discs and other relics.
Old ash pit, where some dog registration discs can be detected.
Inauguration of Responsible Government WA 1890 Medallion
Inevitably, when detecting for dog registration discs, there is a possibility that cart registration plates, bicycle registration plates, and bicycle manufacturer plates will also be discovered. These could be found across Western Australia. Detecting an even rarer-issued camel or goat registration disc will be more centred on locations within the Eastern Goldfields, Murchison, Gascoyne, Pilbara, and Kimberley regions of our great state. Searching areas that have been burnt previously should also be a relatively high priority for those wishing to have an improved level of success in unearthing an example of an older dog registration disc, as the metal discs were manufactured from will stand a better chance of emerging unscathed from fire.
DRB Cart Registration Plate
registration discs, as well as the early cart registration licence plates, bicycle registration licence plates, and bike manufacturer tags. Finding an example of an earlier-issued dog registration disc may also involve an individual using sieves by digging in potential locations where they may have been dropped, lost or buried. Like all forms of detecting, gaining the permission to search prior to commencing your hunt from the landowner(s) of properties or local government councils is paramount and will help ensure that enthusiasts will be able to continue doing so well into the future.
If this information has convinced you to have a go to try and detect for these very interesting relics from our colourful past, where should you start? As mentioned earlier in this article, older dog registration tags were issued across Western Australia in all areas of settlement. Locations that you could research and then detect include vacant older residential lots or home sites, abandoned home sites or ruins, and former abandoned townsites and settlements. Again, I cannot stress more strongly that if your research leads you to a likely spot to detect, remember to seek permission to detect from the owner of the property first. Some dog registration discs have also been found in or besides some of our local waterways where metallic rubbish was unfortunately disposed of in the past.
I have included some images of some of the types of dog registration discs that have been found metal detecting here in Western Australia to help whet your appetite so to speak regarding this
interesting facet of our early European settlement and expansion. If you find an older disc, congratulations!
If you wish to learn more about the history of these fascinating artefacts in Western Australia, I highly recommend the outstanding book written by Walter R. Bloom and Alf Campbell entitled, Dog Registration Discs in Western Australia.
This is published by Hesperian Press and available for purchase directly from the publisher, situated at 65 Oates Street, Carlisle.
Hopefully, this is all the more reason for 4WD enthusiasts to include at least one quality very low frequency (VLF) treasure hunting detector from Minelab (X-Terra, Equinox, Manticore), Nokta (Legend, Score, Simplex), or Garrett (ACE Apex, AT Max, AT Pro) as an essential part of your must-have equipment and accessories for your next outback trip. Remember, it is preferable that you use an example that is fully submergible in salt or fresh water up to a depth of at least three metres, especially if you wish to focus on searching in the ocean or in our local waterways and estuaries.
Enjoy your metal detecting, everyone!
THORNY DEVIL
By Colin Kerr
This quite bizarrelooking little creature found throughout dry, sandy regions of outback Australia would seem to be a good example of 'more bluff than bite’!
If he was considering appearance only, it would seem that botanist Dr. John Gray, back in 1841, probably had to come up with a somewhat gruesome name for this very odd-looking dragon lizard. While its row of conspicuous spines, including several imposing ones on its head, give it a ‘fearsome look, its rather gentle demeanour really belies the name Gray bestowed upon him — Moloch horridus!
Investigation reveals that Moloch was, in past history, a fearful Canaanite God to whom children were sacrificed, while horridus means rough or bristly — it also has a secondary Latin meaning of ‘dreadful’.
With this well and truly unjustified tag forever bestowed upon him, the Moloch, or Mountain or Thorny Devil as it is more commonly known, is, in fact, a docile, harmless little creature. To many, this little outback critter is so grotesque it is, in fact, cute, even beautiful. The Thorny Devil is ideally adapted to the harsh environment in which it lives, and its fearsome appearance no doubt evolved to protect it against predators, especially snakes.
Unlike other dragon lizards, the Thorny Devil is slow-moving and walks with a jerky gait on thin, weak legs — a little bit like a wind-up clockwork toy! When gently held, this small creature is quite warm and soft; even the spines are somewhat rubbery and not as sharp to touch as they look.
The Thorny Devil’s main diet is ants, especially small black meat ants. They are oblivious to ant bites and can be seen lying on the ground across an ant trail or around the top of an ant's nest. With a rapid flicking tongue action, they can lap up, one at a time, 1,000 or more ants in a single meal.
Over the years, there has been a lot of speculation about some of the Thorny Devil’s features. The large hump, or knob-like appendage on the top of its head, for example, was initially thought to be a defence mechanism that could be sacrificed in the presence of snapping predators such as birds. However, this theory may have been off the mark, as no Thorny Devil has ever been found without its hump! It has been witnessed, however, that the Thorny Devil, when it gets really alarmed, will put its head down with its horn (or false head) sticking up!
Studies have also been undertaken to determine whether the hump is actually used to store food or water (like a camel), but even today, no clear answers have been found — perhaps it is merely an ornamental crown befitting such a ‘fearsome’ creature. The Devils don’t have much of a tail, and its main bulk storage (from large ant meals) is in its fat body —
The Thorny Devil is found throughout the arid regions of WA, NT, South-west Qld, and Western SA, living in sand-spinifex grasslands and scrub. Here in WA, they are quite regularly seen around Shark Bay, especially in the red sands on Peron Peninsula, around Nanga, and on the verges of the Coastal Highway south of Carnarvon.
and then there is also uncertainty about the purpose of the quite large horns above each eye.
Somewhat different from other lizards that actually drink water, the Thorny Devil, whose skin is designed to prevent perspiration and dehydration in the hot conditions in which it lives, takes in moisture in a quite different way.
Water, including rain, is absorbed like a sponge through a number of fine channels located on its underside belly and legs. The water travels up these
channels by capillary action to the mouth and is absorbed by mucous produced on the lips. In fact, a Thorny Devil can stand in a puddle of water and draw moisture from its legs and feet up into its mouth. In effect, this little fellow can drink through its feet. Strange, but true!
Thorny Devils can live for at least 20 years. They take eight years to reach their full size of around 19 or 20 centimetres and start breeding at the age of three. Like other dragon lizards, they participate in an elaborate courtship during the mating season, including antics such as leg waving and head bobbing.
Young devils, which hatch from a clutch of three to ten eggs laid by the female in a chamber up to 30 cm below the surface of the ground, are born around 6 cm long and start eating ants almost immediately.
Whilst their basic colours can range from brownish-yellow to reddish-brown, they have the ability to change their colour to closely match their surroundings; camouflaging provides an effective defence as they become difficult to detect when motionless in their surroundings. These ‘cold-blooded’ animals are sometimes found on outback roads, using the open space in the sun to regulate their body temperatures. To a motorist’s glance (even on a bitumen road), they blend in, often appearing like a twig or small piece of wood. Even as cars approach, they generally remain still, probably believing their camouflage will protect them. Their mortality rate on roads is therefore, unfortunately, quite high... Be on the lookout! Rough and thorny-looking they are, but certainly not a ‘fearsome’ part of our Australian bush!
BAILED UP AT BURBANKS
By Luke Clatworthy
Burbanks Mine Site
Scattered around Coolgardie are the remnants of numerous gold mining operations and former mining camps and townships, all within easy reach of 4WD enthusiasts. After the discovery of gold at Coolgardie in 1892 by Arthur Bayley and William Ford, it did not take long for other prospectors to find more gold deposits close to the famous township. Thanks to the concerted efforts of thousands of determined gold-seekers from around the globe, a range of finds within a sixteen-kilometre radius of 'The Old Camp' quickly came to prominence.
Two of the most famous, situated just south of Coolgardie, were the Londonderry, location of the infamous mine of the same name, and Burbanks. Both finds supported for a time quite comprehensive townships. Burbanks survived the longest of the two mentioned townships as it had promising gold mines such as Burbank’s North, Main Lode, and the Lady Robinson that employed for a time hundreds of men, not to mention quite rich 'shows' operated by small parties of prospectors.
The main mine in Burbanks was the Burbanks’ Birthday Gift, discovered in 1893 by W. Burbank and his partner named Sheldon. The two men discovered rich gold and promptly called their find Birthday Gift as it had been discovered on Burbank’s birthday. That is the kind of birthday present we could all dream of receiving even today! Today, there is some mining activity taking place in the vicinity of the Birthday Gift property. It was initially quite rich, as the company formed to develop and operate the mine paid its shareholders the equivalent of $126,000 by the end of 1899 and, in its heyday, averaged over 22
grams per tonne in grade. This area has produced over 400,000 ounces of gold since its inception back in 1893.
The town of Burbanks was surveyed originally with 32 lots priced at 15 pounds per lot in early 1897, with the town being officially gazetted on 15 October 1897. The town, initially with six streets, quickly grew in importance and, at its peak, boasted three hotels, two churches, several stores, a butcher, a billiards room, a mechanics institute, and a State School which, for a time, had a total enrolment of approximately two hundred students. Most dwellings were constructed of timber and corrugated iron, or the easy-to-erect and dismantle hessian and timber.
The town declined after 1900 and by 1916 had been virtually deserted. Interestingly, the mechanics institute became the only surviving building from Burbanks as it was shifted to be used initially as the South Kalgoorlie Fire Station. It has since been utilised in different ways over the many years since it was relocated. Burbanks has one other claim to fame. It played a part in one of the few armed robberies reported in Coolgardie that made headlines around Australia at the time.
Burbanks' Birthday Gift
In early 1897 and less than three kilometres of the Coolgardie town boundary, Mr. J. Mitchell, Manager of Burbank's Birthday Gift Gold Mine, and Mr. J. M. Paul, Manager of Burbank's North and Burbank North Consols Gold Mines, had driven into Coolgardie from Burbanks in a horse and buggy to go to the Union Bank and draw out the fortnightly wages for their respective workers. They had undertaken this task previously and had no issues. The thought of someone robbing them on route was highly unlikely (or so they thought), and thus they were not carrying firearms, nor did they feel the need for an escort. Both men chattered amicably as they left the outskirts of Coolgardie and travelled down the well-defined track back to Burbanks. After the robbery took place, it was thought that the men had been carrying between 700 and 1,300 pounds in total contained in two bags slung over their shoulders, a substantial amount for the time. What followed demonstrated that the two men had been carefully watched in the past and that the robbery had been meticulously planned and would be perfectly executed!
Suddenly and from behind thick bushes at the side of the road, Mitchell and Paul were stopped by three armed men. It was
a perfect ambush, and it was far enough from Coolgardie at that stage not to be witnessed by anyone else. Two of the men were armed with rifles and the third with a revolver and ordered to bail up. The men wore masks, and their sudden and dramatic appearance would have been extremely confronting to the now frightened mine managers.
The man armed with the revolver fired a bullet into one of the wheels of the buggy to show that the robbers meant business. The occupants of the buggy were told to, “Bail Up!” Both mine managers quickly complied and surrendered without a struggle. The two men were led into the bush at the side of the road and were quickly relieved of their respective bags containing their workers’ wages. One of the robbers quickly removed the horse from the shafts of the buggy and led it away further into the bush. Meanwhile, the other two ruffians quickly gagged the now terrified men, covered their eyes, placed sacks over their heads, and promptly tied them to a tree with stout rope. It was later reported that the actions of the thieves were cool and calculated, showing that the robbery had been expertly planned.
The robbery had been going without a hitch until it was noticed by one of the thieves that another man, on foot and alone, was walking in their direction. The unsuspecting individual named Houghton had heard the shot from the revolver and raised voices and was coming to investigate. Quickly he was bailed up also and subjected to the same treatment as the other two men. Now three men were bound, gagged, and blindfolded and fearing for their lives!
Quickly, the three bushrangers prepared
Burbanks' North Extended Goldmine, 1895
to leave with the money. Ominously, the three prisoners were told that they were being covered by someone armed with a rifle, and if any of them moved or tried to get free, they would be shot. The three men tied to trees heard the armed robbers moving away from the scene and then came utter silence. Luckily, one of the men’s bandages tied around his eyes began to become loose. He could now see through the hessian hood placed over his head. Carefully scanning the surrounding area, he could not see anyone lurking in the bushes nor hear anything. Emboldened, he reported what he had seen to the other two men, and all began immediately to try and retrieve themselves from the ropes tying them to the trees. Finally, one of the men succeeded in getting his hand free from his bonds and quickly untied himself and then proceeded to free the other two men.
They cautiously went back to the road and then began to run back towards Coolgardie. Fortunately, they quickly spotted a horse and buggy coming towards them. Waving their arms and shouting, the men stopped the buggy and babbled to the astonished passengers to quickly turn around and go back to Coolgardie as there were armed men waiting to shoot. Mr. Mitchell then calmed sufficiently to tell the other men that they had been bailed up and robbed, shot at, and then bound and gagged. Two of the passengers stayed with the three men while the driver of the buggy removed the horse and, in a cloud of dust, galloped back to Coolgardie to report the news to the police.
After what seemed like an eternity to the men waiting at the buggy, Inspector McKenna with two armed mounted troopers and an Aboriginal tracker arrived back at the scene and spoke to
the three men who had been tied up and gagged. It was also reported that a number of townspeople had also ridden down with the three policemen. Once questioning the three men, they were escorted back into Coolgardie. Inspector McKenna then began an extensive search of the immediate area. It was evident that the three bushrangers had hidden from view on the side of the road behind a natural bush to perfectly blend into the surroundings. Searching further afield, the tracker quickly discovered footprints, and these were followed until they came across the horse from the mine managers’ buggy. The horse had been tied up using its reins to a tree. It obviously had not felt threatened when led away into the scrub, as when it was found, it was fast asleep!
The tracker then pointed out to Inspector McKenna and the two mounted police troopers a further set of tracks. These too were followed for about one kilometre to the west of the discovered horse when they came across a fire that had been recently lit. In the still glowing embers were the remains of two rifles that were hot to touch. No trace of the revolver used in the hold-up was found. Hoping they were gaining on the robbers, the party proceeded with caution along the set of tracks leading from the fire. The trail led to the rear of the Coolgardie railway yards and then proceeded westerly along the main road to Southern Cross. The tracker expertly found the spot where the bushranger had changed his shoes he had worn and exchanged them for worker-type blucher boots. A quick search and the tracker found the shoes hidden under a log. Once examined, the tracks made with the boots turned back towards Coolgardie and travelled in the direction of the town oval. Any further trace of the tracks left by the boots was
Burbanks streetscape, 1898
destroyed by the countless traffic in the vicinity, including camels that had wiped out any sign.
As night was now falling, Inspector McKenna abandoned the search for the day and decided to return at first light to continue the search. In the meantime, news of the robbery had spread like wildfire, and this was the main topic of conversation in the Coolgardie pubs and wine halls that evening. Who had committed the robbery, and where was the stolen loot? The town was on edge that night, and some locals were concerned that this could be the start of more armed hold-ups in Coolgardie. Much speculation was made regarding who the culprits might have been, but without any clear evidence, the police were powerless to make any arrests. Further investigation of the crime scene was going to be required.
Well rested, the next morning Inspector McKenna returned to the location of the robbery with additional trackers. It soon was evident that a separate set of footprints moved away from the tracks found the previous day. These were followed by the police suspecting that the tracks were made by the man who had the stolen money. The trackers found a
tree where a horse had been tethered to a tree. This was obviously how the man had made good on his getaway. The horse tracks led the party to the remnants of still another fire. Sifting through the pile of now-cold ashes, the trackers quickly spotted the badly charred remains of a bridle and saddle. Further tracks clearly indicated that the man they had been following had set the horse loose and had continued himself on foot. After the robber’s footprints were identified, these tracks were followed. Unfortunately, this set of tracks led back to the vicinity of the first set of tracks found near the town oval the previous afternoon. It became obvious that they could not trace the whereabouts of the robbers. The trackers were unable to find any further evidence, so reluctantly the police party returned to town.
The Coolgardie Police continued to investigate the hold-up and in fact questioned several townspeople about the robbery, but to no avail. The police had their suspicions, but without any clear-cut evidence, the identity of the bushrangers could not be established nor proven. The police thought that one of the robbers had travelled to Londonderry and the other two were residing in Coolgardie. The police were also concerned that the same band of men may attempt another robbery or that other groups of ruffians would try and copy this crime. It was thought that this was a professional gang, and the good citizens of Coolgardie were on edge, fearing that another armed robbery was imminent.
Security regarding the transport of gold from Coolgardie to Perth was immediately strengthened, as were the methods used to transport gold and money in larger
quantities around the Eastern Goldfields. Thankfully, no armed hold-ups occurred after this incident, and nothing came of the theories of who may have committed the robbery, and the crime remains unsolved to this day. As it was reported that the money stolen was paper script, it could not be traced and therefore was quickly and easily disposed of. No chance of finding a rusted, strong box or metal chest containing the stolen money by an eager metal detectorist. What a find that would be, eh?
For those planning to visit the Eastern Goldfields Region and undertake some of the outstanding 4W driving available in this vast and historically significant area, careful research will uncover a myriad of locations to be properly explored.
Having as part of your 4W driving kit a specialist quality gold detector and an appropriate coin and relic detector will make your journey of discovery all the more interesting.
Plan a stay at the grand old Queen of the Murchison Guest House and soak in the history of Cue. Admire the preserved buildings, fossick for gold, photograph amazing sunsets. Owner Joyce Penny has created a fresh and homely environment for travellers and workers.
Pre Decimal Silvers found detecting at Eastern Goldfields settlement sites.
Stay and Play in North Western Australia’s Best Destinations
It’s time to explore three of WA’s most unique properties on the Warlu Way, a road trip tracing the Dreamtime sea serpent’s path.
Old Onslow, Heritage Police Station
Visit Ashburton
If you need an excuse to pack the 4WD, the upcoming centenary of Onslow is a great reason to consider exploring the heart of the Pilbara in 2025.
Located 1,400 kilometres from Perth, Onslow is the oldest town in the Ashburton Shire. As part of its 100year celebrations, events and activities will be taking place throughout 2025 to recognise its strong history and community.
A good place to learn about this rich history is the Old Onslow townsite. Located 40 kilometres from Onslow, you’ll need to travel 20 kilometres on sealed road before you see a turnoff onto Twitchen Road. Follow this unsealed road another 20km (which can become corrugated or muddy depending on conditions) and you will come across the original townsite with its old sandstone buildings rising from the hinterland.
Situated near the mouth of the Ashburton River, all that remains of Old Onslow’s original townsite are relics from the old
gaol, courthouse, police station and police quarters. You can easily spend an hour walking around the buildings, with new interactive signage providing plenty of information about the history of the original townsite, including photos and QR codes. You can also drive around to see where stores, hotels, homes and the old jetty were once located.
The old prison cells and central exercise yard are a stark reminder of our history. With no roof, the exercise yard was the only time prisoners saw daylight. Look out for the glass embedded into the top of the surrounding sandstone walls, which ensured there was no easy means of escape.
Dating back to 1883, the townsite was established after James Clark, an engineer, became grounded when his steam ship was damaged in a storm. Clark went on to establish a lightage service at the mouth of the Ashburton River and constructed a jetty.
The townsite serviced pastoralists, gold miners and pearl farmers, but from the outset, its location was problematic. With
Onslow town
Visit Ashburton
the Ashburton River carrying so much water, claypans near the town often flooded. Three jetties were constructed — the first was destroyed in a cyclone, whereas the second and third were affected by silting.
After 40 years of flooding and silting, a decision was made to relocate the townsite 18 kilometres away to Beadon Point. Everything was moved via camel, horse and wagon and in 1925, the new town of Onslow was established.
If you head another two kilometres east from the old townsite, you’ll come across the Old Onslow Pioneer cemetery. Utilised from 1883 until 1925, there are 90 recorded burial sites, including 27 memorial headstones. Well maintained, it’s a good insight into the pioneers of the area and well worth a detour.
For more information on Old Onslow and the Onslow Heritage Trail, scan here:
Once you’ve had your history fix learning about Old Onslow, plenty of 4WD tracks are waiting to be explored. Covering 105,000 square kilometres, the Ashburton region has endless plains and a vibrant river system. The mountain ranges surrounding the river are spectacular, but with plenty of low-lying areas, you need to move quickly if there’s rain, as conditions can change quickly.
There’s great fishing on the Ashburton River, and barramundi, threadfin salmon and catfish are prevalent. Four Mile Pool is a popular spot to stop, and a weir crossing nearby allows you to easily cross the river to explore more remote fishing spots on the other side of the river.
Once you’re out there, one of the most picturesque sights is where the red silty water of the Ashburton River hits the ocean. It’s amazing to see where the two bodies of water merge. It’s possible to drive right to the end of the point, but with the river flowing through the sand into the ocean, it can get boggy. With dead ends and razorbacks around the sand dunes, you need to allow plenty of time if you want to explore this part of the
Ashburton. Beach conditions are often windy too, so finding shelter away from the coast for a campsite is a better option.
If you’re seeking a camping spot with facilities, head to Peedamulla Campground. Located within 226,000 hectares of cattle station on the Cane River, this dog-friendly campground offers 20 campsites (five powered and 15 unpowered), lighting, hot showers, unisex toilets, a communal fire pit, drinking water, a covered BBQ area and expansive views of the countryside.
Once you’ve had your 4WD fix, you can head back into Onslow township for more creature comforts. With its relaxed country town vibe, it’s a beautiful location to set up camp at the Onslow Beach Caravan Park, which is in walking distance to all amenities in town.
To celebrate 100 years in its current location, Onslow has quite a line-up of events scheduled for 2025.
The festivities will kick off on 26 January 2025 with the Australia Day Regatta on the Onslow Foreshore, where people can make up their own raft and race them along the front beach.
Next up on the events line-up is a full-day festival on 26 April 2025, where they will light up the Onslow foreshore with live music and food stalls through to historical displays and interactive exhibits.
Other events will be held throughout the year to celebrate the town’s rich heritage and culture.
The on- and off-road adventures available through the Shire of Ashburton are endless. Peak season is April to October, so there’s plenty of time to plan your trip and help Onslow celebrate 100 years in 2025.
For further details on the 100-year celebrations, scan the QR code or go to: visitashburton.au/events
Onslow foreshore sunrise
Visit Ashburton
Western Australia’s
Reef to
Onslow — Gateway to Mackerel & Montebello Islands
In the mighty Shire of Ashburton, you are truly navigating through a world of natural and ancient wonder that stretches across the expanse of the beating heart of the Pilbara. From the pristine Mackerel and Montebello Islands set amongst sparkling blue waters and clear skies, along roads that weave through the ancient ranges set amongst the red dirt, taking you to the serene waterfalls and billabongs of Karijini.
Experience Western Australia’s ultimate Reef to Range adventure.
SAVING TYRES WITH A TPMS
By Ron & Viv Moon
My faith in Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) has been restored after a bad run over the last few years. You see, I’ve used and tested at least four different brands of TPMS in that time, including the cheapest I could find on the internet and some of the dearest available from reputable suppliers. None worked particularly well, and for the past two years I’ve been running pressure-monitor free, which in retrospect isn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.
After being on our latest sojourn on the Canning and then through the Gulf Country of north Queensland and the Northern Territory and having heard so many good reports of Safety Dave's Tyre Pressure Monitoring System — while also under pressure from my son and his experience with the product on many remote trips through his Moon Tours company — I relented and fitted a set.
There are a number of models to choose from, from the basic 4-sensor unit for around $380 to a 22-tyre version for long-distance truckies. We opted for the ST-3000 kit, which includes the receiver/ monitor with a rechargeable lithium battery, a suction mount for the monitor, charging cable and hardware, eight tyre sensors, spare sensor batteries, lock nuts and O-rings. The ST-3000 also comes with a separate signal booster unit to improve
TPMSs are very useful when towing.
signal reception from a trailer or van. This unit needs to be plugged into power and situated, for the best results, close to the rear of the tow vehicle.
The TPMS 3.5-inch monitor has up to 80 hours of rechargeable battery life and detects tyre pressures between 8 and 218 psi. The installation is pretty simple, with the first step being to pair the sensors with the receiver before fitting them to the tyres. Once they are talking to each other — the time taken was less than five minutes to pair all six sensors I wanted to use — you fit the sensors to the valve stem of each of the tyres you want to monitor. You can set the pressures (both high and low — say, 20 psi for the low setting and 45-50 psi for
the high setting) and temperature that the monitor will alarm at. I initially set the high-temp setting at 50°C, but I found this was too low on a hot day, so I have now bumped that to 60°C, which is still well within the safety parameters of a tyre. Once the vehicle is moving, the receiver may take a minute or so (usually less) to pick up the signal from each tyre.
The complete kit.
Simply screw the transmitter unit onto the valve stem.
Display is clear and easy to read.
However, we did find that without the booster unit in play, one of the campervan’s sensors was a little tardy in connecting; with the booster connected, that discrepancy was easily and quickly fixed.
On the screen, the monitor shows what tyre is being monitored at that particular time and the tyre pressure and temperature that the tyre is at. It took about 15 seconds for the monitor to look at all of the six tyres we had on the ground.
Where you position the screen is very much up to you, but I’ve got it out of the way as much as possible, as you don’t have to have the screen in your line-ofview as it will alarm whenever the tyre pressures (or temperatures) you have set are reached.
From my surveys on my Remote Australia Facebook page, the results were as complimentary as I had heard previously, reinforcing my impression about this particular TPMS unit. With around 20,000 km of blacktop, dirt roads, and rough tracks under the wheels since I’ve fitted them, it has already saved a tyre that picked up a slow puncture while we were wandering across the Gulf Road in northern Queensland. Before any damage was done, the TPMS alarmed, and we had a plug in the tyre and were soon on our way again.
Another hint I got from other travellers was to fit a piece of ordinary garden hose to the valve stem of the tyre. This stops the rubber valve stem from vibrating and the TPMS transmitter from knocking against the wheel, which does mark the rim (especially an alloy rim) and can possibly damage the transmitter. There’s a two-year replacement warranty on the units, and while the 8-Sensor unit we bought has a RRP of around $530, you may find them cheaper on the web. I’m more than happy with this particular brand and model of TPMS, and I reckon it’ll save more than just that one tyre, especially one of the trailer tyres, as a slow leak from there is so hard to feel through any change of driving conditions. For more info, check out: safetydave.com.au.
A short piece of hose helps protect rim and transmitter from vibration on corrugated roads.
CONNECTING
KARLKURLA COUNTRY
Jason Dimer from Kalgoorlie Aboriginal Culture Experiences.
Each time we’ve visited Kalgoorlie, the city streets have often been bustling with 4WDs, caravans, and camper trailers. The region is popular with off-roaders as it oozes history and boasts an abundance of 4WD tracks that showcase its gold, pipeline, pastoral, and Aboriginal heritage — all within a couple of days’ travel. For over a century, people have been drawn to the region for its connection with gold, but on this visit, we found there was much more to uncover in Kalgoorlie through its first inhabitants.
There are plenty of ways to experience the Indigenous connection around Kal. There’s a bush tucker and medicine garden located at the Museum of the Goldfields, an indigenous art gallery located on Hannan Street, plus other tours encompassing culture, honey ant bush tucker and more.
UNCOVERING KALGOORLIE’S INDIGENOUS PAST THROUGH A WALKING ART TOUR OF THE
CITY’S STREETS
By Grant & Linda Hanan
by Linda Hanan & Australia's Golden Outback
For this visit, we hopped on a tour with internationally renowned artist and cultural consultant, Jason Dimer. He’s a local Wongutha and Ngadju man who runs Kalgoorlie Aboriginal Cultural Experiences, a walking tour of the city’s CBD.
Although, this isn’t a regular walking tour — it's one with a difference. If you’ve ever been to Kalgoorlie and taken a walk around the city streets, you may be familiar with many building walls being transformed with colourful painted murals. Being called 'the city of murals' springs to mind because it has one of the largest Aboriginal outdoor art installations found in Western Australia.
Images
So we were looking forward to exploring the city streets with Jason and learning more about the art during his tour.
This two-hour walking tour starts at the Paddy Hannan statue that sits outside the centrally located Visitor Centre on Hannan Street. It’s here where Jason introduces his tour and provides a welcome to the area. Coincidentally, this tour isn’t the first time we’ve crossed paths with Jason. As fate would have it, we purchased a piece of Jason’s splendid artwork during our lap of the map trip more than a decade earlier. We could see how thrilled he was when showing him a photo of the artwork and how it hangs proudly in a prominent position in our home. It was a very relaxed meet and greet, and somehow, I already felt like Jason was no stranger.
Jason kicked off our tour with a walk up Hannan Street towards the St. Barbara’s Square precinct. The square has long been an area for community gatherings and has now been transformed with building walls displaying exceptional
The Paddy Hannan Statue where Jason’s tours begin.
Learning about one of Jason’s murals on a city building
painted murals and other artworks. Along the way, Jason explained details of his connection and passion for the region and how artistry runs in his blood. Originally learning his craft from his parents and extended family, he explained how his artworks depict his family’s stories and their journey through life. He tells us this is something he’s very passionate about and a skill which he has now passed on to his children.
As we walked into the square, we were soon surrounded by many building walls adorned with painted murals. These
brightly coloured artworks were a feast for the eyes and made us feel like we’d arrived in an outdoor art gallery. They’re a mix of traditional and contemporary pieces designed to celebrate the unique cultural heritage of Kalgoorlie. One by one, Jason had us stop at each of the murals to share detailed information about the artists and the stories behind them. As we slowly made our way around the square, there was one particular full-sized mural on a building that caught our eye. We were immediately familiar with the artist’s contemporary style and quickly recognised it as Jason’s
Jason in front of his mural at St. Barbara’s Square.
handiwork. It made us smile, as this piece of artwork looked very similar to the piece we have at home.
Jason’s tour continued, and he guided us through city streets while making regular stops as we encountered the murals. We learned about their cultural history, and Jason included commentary about the prominent role aboriginal people played in the history of Kalgoorlie. We could hear through Jason’s stories that he has a strong passion for family and the local community in general, telling us he enjoys working with the Kalgoorlie youth by teaching them about art. He explained
it’s a 'who’s who' in the Indigenous Kalgoorlie mural art world given the multitude of pieces appearing throughout the city's building walls. It was refreshing to hear the local kids are also having a go, as we came across one wall they had been covered with well over 50 pieces of colourful art on round discs. One standout piece of art we came across was on the corner of Cheetham and McDonald Streets. We saw the amazing artistry talent of Jason’s family on a mural found at this location. Named Karlkurla Dreaming, this 30+ metre vibrant mural was painted a few years ago by Jason
The kids’ artwork at St. Barbara’s Square.
Learning the stories behind the Dimer family’s mural.
and his family over a two-week period. It depicts the family’s cultural heritage and connection to Kalgoorlie through this fabulous piece of art.
In front of the Goldfields Art Centre, we made another stop to gather around the Silky Pear sculpture. Having encountered a few unripened silky pears in the Great Victoria Desert just weeks earlier, we were already curious about this unique native plant, and Jason turned out to be an excellent source of information. This impressive bronze statue was inspired by the native fruit found in the area which carries deep cultural significance for Indigenous people. In fact, the Aboriginal
name for the silky pear is pronounced 'gull-gurl-la,' which is where Kalgoorlie gets its name!
Continuing our walk to the top end of the city, Jason showed us an important site where waterholes hide ancient spirits. This is a site that’s cherished by local Aboriginal people and close to where Paddy Hannan struck gold back in 1893. Should you take this tour with Jason, you’ll hear his views of who he thinks led Paddy to gold, but that’s a story for another time.
The final stop of our three-kilometre tour was at the gardens outside the Museum of the Goldfields. A stroll through what Jason refers to as 'the bush pharmacy garden' gave us an opportunity to learn more about important ancient Aboriginal practices using plants and their connection to the land.
We have been fortunate now to have joined in on several culturally inspired tours with Indigenous tour leaders, but usually it’s out on Country. And while they differ in surroundings, there is some similarity between them. However, a tour that showcases art in city streets was distinctly different and very educational. We found the way Jason interprets the art and explains the regularly used symbols for water, animals and plants to be enlightening. By the end of the tour, we wouldn’t necessarily say we’re art experts, but we have an increased understanding and awareness of being able to read the indigenous art interpretations. Jason is both a gifted artist and storyteller, and his tour was an enjoyable way to learn about the spiritual connection the Indigenous have to the Goldfields region through the city’s vibrant art.
For more information about Jason’s tour, visit: kacetours.com
The Silky Pear sculpture at the Goldfields Art Centre
This glass honey ant is the newest art addition at St. Barbara’s Square
BUSH MECHANICS
with Geoff Lewis
TIME TO PACK: SPARE PARTS AND WHEEL BEARINGS
One part that is always overlooked when it comes to taking spare parts on an adventure is wheel bearings. They are one part that no vehicle can function without, and I found this firsthand on the side of the Eyre Highway recently.
Ialways carry with me a hub kit, which replaces everything within the stub axle, which is the part that your wheel rim bolts on to. Depending on the make and model, you can purchase a complete kit off-theshelf or simply put one together yourself. It always pays to double-check that all the necessary parts are in the kit to be able to carry out the task. There's nothing worse than being one part short, and we all know how that feels.
Now, if you don’t feel confident changing such parts yourself and you have managed to get to relative safety, you at least have the correct parts at hand to pass over to the mechanic and avoid a two-week wait in the local would-be caravan park.
If you’re a bit more game, you might look at doing it yourself, and you may be surprised at how simple it is. But what might cause your wheel bearing to fail in the first place?
Many wheel bearings in modern vehicles these days are packed with grease. Some are packed with grease and sealed for life and are throw-away items, unlike in the past, when they were lubricated by the oil from the axle housing.
This notable change came about with the introduction of CV joints to 4WD vehicles, which saw the need to isolate the two types
of grease: lithium- or molybdenum-based grease (metal-based) from the wheel bearing grease (non-metal-derived grease and designed to operate and lubricate at a much higher temperature). The reason for the introduction of the CV was that it was a much stronger unit compared with the universal joints used in the past. Due to this, it makes the front axle wheel bearings a weak point for most modern 4WD vehicles. This is caused by the limited supply of grease and the tendency for water to work its way into the stub axle (where the wheel bearing is housed). This occurs in particular if you have been driving for prolonged periods and then park your car in a puddle with the stub axle underwater. The metal of the stub axle cools and contracts slightly, which leads to a low-pressure vacuum that is just enough for a small amount of water to be sucked in past the axle seal and then mixed in with the grease. Over time, this destroys the lubricating quality of the grease.
In turn, heat will slowly break down the grease’s effectiveness, and if the wheel bearing preload (tension, pushing the wheel bearing in to the axle housing towards the car) is too great, the bearing will generate too much friction and therefore too much
heat and fail. Not enough, and the wheel bearing is loose; there will not be sufficient support for the wheel bearing, and it will fail.
It's our responsibility to ensure that our wheel bearings are either repacked with grease or replaced regularly if we are conducting regular tough off-road adventures.
Now, back to the side of the Eyre Highway. Everything I mentioned above was a factor in the wheel bearing failing on the front driver's side of my Land Rover Perentie.
Realising this, I moved the Perentie under the shade of a low overhanging gum tree and pulled out my canvas tarp and tool kit and got to work. There are a few tools that are worth looking into before you head off on your next adventure...
1. Hub spanner: An impact socket of the correct size works best.
2. Torque wrench: Many people view this as a specialised tool, though there are few bolts on a vehicle that do not have prescribed torque spec, and this goes for the outer hub nut that holds your wheel bearing in place.
3. Punch or brass drift: It is very messy and time-consuming to knock a wheel bearing out without one of these, and do you have a hammer on board?
4. Bearing grease: Either in a tub or in a grease gun.
5. Gasket sealant: Always a good backup, just in case your gaskets don’t fit properly. If you get caught out without any of the above, thick paper or even newspaper can be cut out and used as a gasket.
With these above tools and items laid out on the canvas tarp (a clean work area is important to avoid dust and grit), I undid the drive flange bolts, circlip, hub locking nuts, locking washer, removed the brake calliper (disc brake), and then the stub axle. With a sharp pull, it came off with a light patter of metal hitting the canvas tarp. The inner wheel bearing had collapsed and completely disintegrated.
Prying the axle seal out, I investigated further, and water had gotten into the bearing, and this was the cause. The long run across the Nullarbor hadn’t helped either, and I’d noticed the Land Rover start to pull to the driver's side. There had been light noise of the brake pads rubbing on the disc (indicating the hub had excessive movement), and it took two pumps of the brake to peddle for the brakes to work properly.
This was caused by the first pump of the pedal pushing the brake pads against the disc and straightening the disc back upright, returning it to its normal position. With the second pump of the brake pedal, the brakes would function as normal. This meant there was no air leak in the brake lines, so the wheel bearing was on its way out!
Continuing to disassemble the hub, I knocked out the wheel bearing races, inner and outer (these are the hardened steel cones that tapered bearings run on and are a fitted match for each wheel bearing and can’t be interchanged), and then packed the new wheel bearings with grease by hand, which requires a series of motions to force the grease into and between all parts of the wheel bearing.
Having cleared away all of the old grease and metal debris, I simply reversed the process of stripping the hub, with a quick consultation of the workshop manual just to be sure I was on track.
An hour later the diesel motor rattled back to life, and we (the Land Rover and myself) continued our odyssey across the Nullarbor once more.
BOTTLE JACK
DIY BASEPLATE
By John Beadle
Bottle jack or high lift jack? Many articles have been written on that topic, so I’ll leave that alone and outline an easy DIY job to improve the humble bottle jack.
I’m driving the current model Toyota Prado, and the factory bottle jack seems robust enough to me, and I measured it to have 485mm of travel — not bad. However, the tiny baseplate makes it unstable once you are off the blacktop and next to useless in sand, soft dirt, or rocky terrain. I looked around at a few aftermarket baseplates available to enlarge the footprint of the jack. None of them seemed quite right, and I thought the jack could slip around on the new baseplate. The Toyota jack has four holes in its tiny base, so I decided to make my own baseplate.
You will need:
• A large plastic (polyethylene) kitchen chopping board. I used the Chef Inox brand, dimensions 380 x 510 x 12mm. These boards are very strong, and the size works well.
• 4 stainless steel cup head bolts (M10, 75mm)
• 4 wing nuts (M10)
• 4 spring washers
• A length of aluminium tube to sleeve the bolts (I got mine at Bunnings)
Use the jack holes as a template to drill four holes in the centre of the board. Then flip the jack around on the long axis of the board to drill two more holes at both ends of the board. Now you have three available positions on the board for your jack. The holes are eccentric, so make sure you have turned the jack 180 degrees before drilling the second and third positions (photos 2, 3). These three positions should
cover most situations where a rock or something else annoying gets in the way of your ideal jacking footprint.
Cut square templates to match the bolt heads on one side of the board. A utility knife does the job fine. Your bolts will sit snugly in the board with only smooth, rounded heads on the downside.
Cut four lengths of aluminium tube to sleeve the bolts so the wing nuts can swivel freely, clear of the jack body. Then simply tighten the whole job with spring washers and wing nuts. Now you have a capable bottle jack with a sensible baseplate and excellent stability. It works!
The chopping board has just the right amount of flex if you have uneven terrain or an annoying rock you can’t remove. If your situation looks like it may call for more travel than your bottle jack’s capacity, raise the platform for your board
by scooping some sand or dirt under the board. Before you start, try to get the flat tyre on slightly lower ground than the jacking area (I learnt this one the hard way).
I carry a second bottle jack in case I need to lift an axle, but I haven’t used it yet. I don’t carry a high lift jack. I also carry a second plastic chopping board, the same size, to put under my trailer jockey wheel if I’m unhitching in sand or dirt. This stops the dreaded sinking jockey wheel when it’s time to hitch up again.
You can roll the jockey wheel around on the board to get that last bit of travel when hooking up. As with the jacking baseplate, the board will flex a little, but it returns to a flat board pretty quickly.
THE THINGS YOU SEE!
with (Truthful) Phil Bianchi
JETBOIL’S GENESIS BASECAMP STOVE
I’ve owned my Jetboil Hiking Stove forever. I’ve made countless coffees, cups of soup, heated hot dogs, reheated meals, and shared many cups of boiling water with fellow travellers. I no longer heat water in the morning and put it in a flask for use at morning tea and lunch. Therefore, I no longer carry a flask. My Jetboil also saved the day when we couldn’t have a campfire because of the pouring rain. When desperate, I have set it up under an awning, on the tailgate, or even under a large umbrella, and it’s got me out of trouble. It's been so successfully accepted that most of my 4WD mates have purchased their own. My eldest daughter lives in Kalgoorlie, which means trips to and from Perth. I take mine
with me because my youngest daughter, who often travels with me, likes her cuppas. At around $180 online, they aren’t cheap stoves but are worth the convenience and the small space they take up in your camping gear.
On a recent camping trip, a mate, Murray, shared the driving with me. “Leave the cooking to me,” he said. I didn’t need much convincing; after all, he is a chef!
The first night of our trip was Good Friday, and out of respect for my mother’s religious beliefs, I didn’t eat meat. This was not a problem for Murray, who surprised me with crayfish and pink salmon. I kid you not, crayfish. I was dumbfounded and flabbergasted.
What surprised me further was how he cooked the meal. He had pulled out of his butcher’s tub of gear a large drum-like carry bag with Jetboil written on it. Upon opening it up, it folded out into two gas stoves hinged at the edge, so you have two burners to use simultaneously. It also came with a full-sized, non-stick 5-litre pot with a lid and frypan. After attaching a gas bottle, he was ready to go. Before going on with boring specs, I must say the meal was superb; after all, who gets to eat a meal of crayfish with a side of pink salmon while camping?
Murray’s stove was the Genesis Basecamp System. At around $750, it's not cheap, but its size, features, and build quality mean it will last a lifetime. And it takes up little space.
The specifications online are full of company jargon, e.g., Luna satellite burner, FluxPot, Jetlink, etc. Since it's still a stove, I’ll drop the jargon and stick with everyday speak on the nuts and bolts. Specifications
• The included windshield ensures troublefree cooking performance in the most difficult of windy conditions.
• An extra frypan with a foldable handle comes in at $130.
• It’s suitable to cook a meal for 3-5 people.
• A one-year limited warranty is offered (there’s no explanation of what limited means).
The stove’s name, "Basecamp," conjures up a hiking trip to the Himalayas. It certainly would be useful for melting snow to create water, but I don’t think that use will get much traction in Australia.
• When stored in its carrying bag, the whole system is 16 cm high and 27.2 cm across.
• Folded open, it is 52 cm by 25 cm.
• The stove is regulated, and the heat output is 10,000 BTUs, which is serious enough to boil 1 litre of water in just over three minutes.
• The gas bottles are extras and cost around $45 for two. They hold 450 gm of gas and weigh just 3 kg when full.
• A 450 gm bottle of gas is sufficient to boil 48 litres of water.
Regarding the non-refillable 450 gm gas bottles, I found numerous adaptors online claiming you can refill the bottles from 9 kg LPG bottles. I suspect that this would not be legal in Australia. Should you decide to buy an adaptor, then the risk is all yours. What is your eyesight or even your life worth in comparison to buying properly filled gas canisters?
Will I be buying one? Probably not at the moment because I mainly travel in cooler months and prefer to do almost all of my cooking on a campfire. But the day will come when campfires will be banned in certain areas because we are rapidly using natural resources and burning animal habits. That’s when I’ll be buying a Jetboil Genesis Basecamp Stove. In the meantime, I’ll continue to use my Jetboil Hiking Stove as backup.
COUNTRY STARGAZING
with Donna Vanzetti Star Tracks Astro Events
SUMMER SKIES
We have a terrific cosmic line-up of stargazing treats over summer, and travelling in country WA gives you an excellent opportunity to see something not normally visible under bright city lights.
JUPITER
Let's start with Jupiter. If you think Jupiter looks really bright lately, that’s because it has reached what’s known as 'opposition'. 'Opposition' is a word that astronomers use to describe the time when a planet is on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun. It means that the planet is as close as it gets to Earth for the year, which makes for great viewing. It looks like a super bright star in the night sky and is easy to find.
WHEN AND WHERE TO LOOK
From 9 pm right through the month of December in the north-east and north, with the best viewing on the 8th of December.
GEMINIDS METEOR SHOWER
The Geminids Meteor Shower is one of the better meteor showers for the year, and on a dark night, away from artificial light pollution, you might see up to 120 meteors (or 'shooting stars') an hour! Unfortunately, the full moon coincides with the peak of the meteor shower and won’t make it so easy to spot a shooting star, but it's still worth checking it out as the brighter trails will look lovely.
The Geminids Meteor Shower is generated from the debris left behind in our Solar System by asteroid 3200 Phaethon and is one of the most active and best meteor showers to see. Phaethon is 5.1 km across and is one of the largest nearEarth asteroids classified as “potentially hazardous” by NASA. Astronomers have closely monitored this asteroid, and there is no high threat level in the foreseeable future.
WHEN AND WHERE TO LOOK
From midnight until early morning, on the 13th and 14th of December. The Geminids peak on the 14th, but try nights either side as well. The meteor shower is active for a couple of weeks, so look north-east and north about 45 degrees above the horizon.
ORION THE HUNTER
Throughout summer, Orion the Hunter is a famous constellation and is up in the early evening to see now. First thing in the evening, look directly to the east. The brightest star you’ll see is Sirius. Directly to the left of Sirius is what is often referred to as the 'Saucepan', which is part of the Orion constellation. There are three bright stars in a fairly straight line that make up the base of the saucepan, and a handle sticks out at the top right.
Orion has been known since ancient times. In Greek mythology, Orion is a hunter. The constellation and his image are upside down in the Southern Hemisphere! The three bright stars of the base are Orion’s belt, and the handle is his sword.
WHEN AND WHERE TO LOOK
December through to February, early to late evenings in the east.
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
Two magical objects to look for in the summer sky are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (sometimes abbreviated to LMC and SMC). These are galaxies outside our own Milky Way Galaxy. From Earth, they look like two faint clouds in the southern night sky, one larger than the other, and form a splendid spectacle. We are super lucky here down under, as they are only seen from the Southern Hemisphere and look terrific with just the naked eye; no telescopes are required!
WHEN AND WHERE TO LOOK
The best time to see the Magellanic Clouds is when there’s no moonlight. They can be seen in the southern sky throughout summer.
With lovely warm summer evenings, there’s nothing more relaxing than looking up at the sparkling stars overhead and enjoying nature's astronomical wonders of the night sky.
Find more stargazing tips and country events at: astrotourismwa.com.au
If you’re a budding “astro-enthusiast”, check out Stargazers Club WA’s telescope classes and astronomy events for beginners at: stargazersclubwa.com.au
OUTBACK SURVIVAL
with Bob Cooper
HAVE FUN THIS SUMMER, BUT STAY SAFE!
As the warmer weather is upon us, it’s the perfect time to travel to remote areas of Australia for swimming and fishing in our beautiful oceans, rivers and lakes. But we are not alone! Many venomous or dangerous creatures can inhabit water bodies. Also, other hidden dangers, such as submerged rusty metal, broken glass, or powerful tides, can present challenges to unsuspecting vacationers. Just a bit of research, forethought, and preparation could make the difference between surviving a life-threatening situation, being crucially injured, or even perishing.
The Australian coastline is undoubtedly one of our favourite places to gather in summer. It is one of the most interesting areas in which to fossick, forage or catch food. However, the coastline and the shallow waters adjacent can present a number of potential hazards that could kill, maim, or at least ruin an otherwise enjoyable trip if not recognised and avoided.
Note: When fishing, it is generally good practice, especially in a remote area where assistance is often far away, to simply cut the line and let any of the fish listed in these notes swim away. The hook will eventually rust away, leaving the fish
with no permanent injury. For safety and environmental reasons, stainless steel hooks should never be used.
Here's a list of the most common ocean inhabitants to avoid:
So what should you bring with you to prepare for the worst-case scenario?
• First Aid Kit: containing bandages to stem bleeding or immobilise a limb, tweezers to remove tentacles/spines, tough gloves to prevent harm to yourself when removing spines, surgical gloves for hygiene/protecting the victim from
Stonefish
contamination and also the first aider from coming in contact with blood, sanitising gel to protect you and the victim, instant warm packs and ice packs are very useful, cortisone cream, vinegar (in some cases may not be recommended), and a thermal blanket if the victim goes into shock, to mention just a few.
• Fresh drinking water
• Cut-resistant gloves and powerful wire cutters to remove fishing hooks from venomous creatures
• Bob Cooper Outback Survival products that could be of benefit to bring: our survival kit (contains pliers for pulling or cutting), the HELP thermal blanket, and our venomous creatures kit (contains three elastic compression bandages that are designed to maintain the correct pressure on bite or sting sites)
Finally, a quick word on fires. A very real danger as temperatures rise is, of course, bushfires. Always check the most recent fire warnings before entering a remote, bushy, forested, or dry grassy area. If caught up in a flash fire, backburning can be your best type of defence. Remember, try to stay in control at all times. Underestimating the speed and ferociousness of a wild bushfire can be fatal. Which leads me to mention campfires; the person who lights the fire owns the fire (it is your responsibility to ensure the fire is completely extinguished before retiring for the night or leaving the campsite); check the local government burning periods before setting out (you may need to provide alternative cooking methods).
Remember, life is too precious to gamble with. Safe travels, everyone.
Holiday in WA
FISHY BUSINESS
with John Bormolini
ONWARDS TO ANOTHER SUMMER
Winter is great for escaping the southern cold and heading north to feel the sun on the back and the excitement of some big fish straining the back and the fishing tackle. In the same way, summer is the time to be in the south, and as things start to warm up down here, it’s time to head for the beaches and the estuaries.
Unlike being at the helm of the boat, where we’re spoilt by amazing fishing aides such as sophisticated sonar and echo sounders, GPS chart plotters, current flow monitors, and water temperature sensors, fishing the beach or shoreline is far more about a keen eye and well-tuned fishing instincts and a bit of experience. With the growing length of daylight hours and the inner stirring to dust off the shore-based fishing outfit, the onset of summer is always a good feeling.
For starters, the recent winter storm surges and rough weather leave plenty of scoured channels and exposed reef edges that don’t fill or cover over until at least a few months of constant summer wind and waves. These are great spots to explore in early summer, especially on a building tide. Studying the lay of the land and the wash patterns with a set of good polaroids for the best spots to target is better than belting out casts in all directions at random. There are definitely more productive spots to focus on that are more likely to hold fish.
The reef edges and overhangs are great natural marine highways, and for lots of surf species, they can be their preferred route or hangout at different times or stages of the tide. Herring and whiting are bound to be around with tailor, tarwhine, silver trevally (skippy), mulloway, or juvenile salmon all possible, depending on the way the winter season has panned out. With warming water temperatures further south, even
Summer solitude at first light.
swallowtail dart, small emperor, and other more typical northern species can even be a surprise turn up on our beaches.
I really enjoy stalking and sightcasting for yellowfin whiting, but they tend to be a better bet a little later, once the summer pattern has set in. Tailor are still the major drawcard as the summer pattern sets in and a common catch all along our west coast surf beaches.
Strangely enough, I also still get a kick out of enticing a finicky garfish or two if there’s any of them about, although the ulterior motive
is to stock pile a few in various sizes to bait cast along the mid-west beaches or use further north. I’ve been a popper convert for many decades and love the visual spectacle that comes with fish crashing them on the surface, but sometimes there’s just nothing that beats a well-rigged gardie, cast into the wash or drifting in a burley trail.
The reef sections themselves also help create some added channels, and even if it’s hard to spot anything different, I think casting around these areas is always hard to resist. The best mulloway I’ve landed have come from this type of country rather than bland, wide beaches, although they can certainly be found in the inshore gutters on the broad beaches.
I think the best approach is to go with a specific plan in mind, not with a truckload of all sorts of gear, but with a few likely scenarios. If you’re looking to work one favourite spot for a few hours, it is possible to cover a couple of bases. Soaking a large bait for a cruising mulloway or tailor is often a waiting game, but being organised with a rod tube or holder, it’s easy to stake that rod while at the same time flicking a light outfit around for smaller fare like a herring or yellowfin whiting.
If instead the plan is to prospect a good stretch of shoreline casting at various spots as you go, it pays to have the one set up and one target in mind, travelling as light as possible. A good shoulder bag or light backpack becomes essential here, and the ability to change lures or rigs quickly as things dictate is really useful. That means pre-made rigs. A metal slice or two, some small to medium soft plastics, a couple of poppers, and a little bait for backup, and you’re covered.
Where to? We all have our preferences. Around my favoured mid-west haunts, it’s about chasing big tailor and mulloway baitcasting or with poppers or a decent gardie. Around my preferred southern beaches within easy reach of the metro
Summertime favourite — tailor at sunset.
area, I have a few “go-to” spots that seldom fail with solid yellowfin whiting and even a couple that still produce a King George or two. Many keen anglers now use ultralight gear with mini poppers to target yellowfin whiting from the shore. The Peel estuary region is one such hotspot for this.
Summer is also the best time to target black bream in our rivers and southern estuaries as salinity levels push the fish further upstream. Exploring the various estuaries in locations along the south coast always provides great opportunities for wandering about with a rod that can keep you occupied for most of the day. And once you get far enough east along the south coast, there is always the chance of a resident salmon that has ignored the migration. The rocky headlands are the place to try.
It also needs to be said that recent offshore demersal fishing closures for certain times (15 October to 15 December and 1 February to 31 March) represent four months of largely summer time that are off limits to boat anglers fishing for demersal species. For those like me that enjoy both forms, the attraction of doing a little more shore-based fishing during the summer has increased.
Let’s hope this summer season will provide plenty of good days and weather conditions to get down to our favourite spots, be that early morning or dusk, and that the fish are just as obliging.
GEAR TO GO CAMPING
All featured products available from Go Camping & Overlanding 9/58 Erindale Road, Balcatta. Visit campingoverlanding.com.au
OXO OUTDOORS
Yes, the same OXO that might well be in abundance in your kitchen drawers has entered into a range of cookware and accessories that meets the demands of the great outdoors. At the head of the pack are some very nice frypans complete with removable all-metal handles, made from spun carbon steel, suitable for the open fire or the induction cooktop, and come in either 20 cm or 26 cm diameters (that's 8 or 10 inches for those working in imperial).
Along with the pans, OXO Outdoors have supported the range with such classics as a 4-piece Camp Cooking Set which includes a spoon, spatula, and tongs, conveniently supplied in a multifunctional tool rest and wrap; some leakproof squeeze bottle sets, which are durable, reusable bottles and are perfect for oil, ketchup, mustard, mayo, marinades, dressings, syrup, and even soap (just don't mix that last one up with the mayo); and finally, some nifty cook prepping hardware, including chopping boards and storage containers. Prices for the pans
Selected retailers in Australia have been chosen to launch the range, including Go Camping &
RED ROADS DIZZY GRILL FOR THE RED ROADS TRIPOD
Now, if that title doesn't confuse you, then nothing will. Back it up a bit: Red Roads, a local brand of well-considered campfire accessories, introduced their Stainless Steel Tripods a few years ago and have since continued to add to the ways of using them to cook.
The 6-foot Tripod is collapsible into 3 pieces (meaning just under 70 cm in total length) and has both a main hanging chain that is height adjustable using a neat little pressure clamp as well as a spreader chain to attach to one of their square grills, or their latest simple, but oh so effective, round Stainless Steel Grill.
This new grill is called the 'Dizzy Grill'. Why the Dizzy Grill?? Well, throw some food on the grill and use the Tripod's included spreader chains to hang it above the fire, give it a spin, and presto, a spinning grill that may or may not cause dizziness! Has to be used to be understood!! Grab one from Go Camping & Overlanding, WA's home of Red Roads.
HELKO WERK AXES
Hailing from Germany, and specifically from the home of fine European metalworking, Solingen, comes Helko Werk Axes. And do these things werk!!
After a swarm of very attractive Swedish axes flooding the market in the past years, which may look beautiful on a mantle piece, it's nice to finally have a tool that can cut its way through more than a young pine tree!
While there are many models, the pick of the bunch would have to be 'The Forester', a versatile, reliable, general-purpose axe. The 1.6 kg head is an ideal weight for medium-duty cutting and splitting work. This superstar of an axe is made with C50 high-grade carbon steel (with an approx 53-56 HRC (Rockwell) for the steel nerds out there), is hand ground and polished to a mirror finish for a rather exquisite look, comes with Helko Werk's standard top-grade cowhide 6 oz leather adjustable sheath, and has a handle as you would expect, made from Grade 'A' American Hickory.
A classic piece like this may cost a touch more than your local hardware jobby, but it is a forever piece...currently coming in at $249 down at Go Camping & Overlanding.
AWESOME SPICEHARRY'S FRIED CHICKEN
Guilty of making this at least half a dozen times in the last month, this is one awesome way of spicing up the chicken dishes at home or around the campfire. For those who haven't seen local legend Harry from Fire to Fork on YouTube, then do yourself a favour and check out Harry using his signature fried spice around the campfire and cooking up feasts all around WA (and Australia).
If Fried Chook is not for you, panic not; the range of Awesome Spices also includes Very Peri, Signature Braai, Lemon and Herb, Sweet and Smoky, Sunday Savoury and Salt & Vinegar. Grab them all and spend the summer becoming a masterful chef ready for 2025 winter camping!!
Luscious Lemony Sweet Summer Slice
As summer comes round again, the time for camp oven cooking has now diminished, unless you still use it in your kitchen or hooded BBQ, and our thoughts turn to easy cold foods that can be prepared with little to no thought or effort that will sustain us over the next few hot months.
All the while we dream of all the lovely belly-warming delights that we can create next time the temperature and fire restrictions drop and the camp oven is once again elevated to its rightful position back on a cooking fire out camping.
So for this edition, we are just going to go a bit retro and dig out an old favourite that doesn’t even need to be cooked — a sweet walk back in time when we knew how much sugar was hidden in our food because we actually put it there ourselves and it wasn’t all secretively added to everything to make us even more addicted to the sweet stuff.
Our recipe is the tried and tested good old Lemon Slice, with just the right amount of tart to sweet to get the taste buds doing a happy dance. It makes a great addition to morning or afternoon tea, or perhaps even after dinner dessert.
So long as you have a stove top and a fridge, this recipe can be made at home before you leave on your summer holiday, or it can even be made while you are there, and the bonus is that it has very basic pantry ingredients that are not hard to come by.
LEMON SLICE
You will need:
For the base:
1 packet of Granita biscuits
¾ of a cup of full cream condensed milk
100g of butter
1 cup desiccated coconut
The zest of 1 lemon
For the lemon icing:
2 cups of icing sugar
20g of butter, softened
2 ½ tablespoons of lemon juice
Method for the base:
Crush the biscuits until they are fine crumbs using either a food processor or smash them between two sheets of baking paper with a rolling pin.
Place crushed biscuits and coconut into a bowl.
Combine the butter, most of the lemon zest (leave some for garnish), and condensed milk in a saucepan and allow to melt together. Pour the melted ingredients into the bowl with the crumbs and coconut, and stir till well combined.
Press the mixture into a baking paper-lined 15 cm x 25 cm tray and place in the fridge to set.
CLEWED UP
with JO CLEWS
Method for the icing:
Place all ingredients into a bowl and beat together with a spoon or whisk until smooth and creamy.
Spread icing over the top of the cooled base and sprinkle with reserved lemon zest. Place back into the fridge and allow the icing to set for a couple of hours.
Slice into bite-sized pieces and enjoy with a cuppa for morning or afternoon tea or a sweet treat after dinner. Enjoy.
To make the lemon flavour more intense, boil the lemon juice either in the microwave or in a small saucepan over heat until the liquid has reduced by about a third
Finely chopped dried apricots make a nice addition to the base.
If you don’t have a rolling pin, then a round glass wine bottle or similar will do the trick
Other plain sweet biscuits can be used in place of Granitas
By Matt Payne
QUEST OUTDOORS AIR GAZEBO 3.0 AND AIR GAZEBO POD TENT 3.0
The humble 3 x 3 m gazebo is an Australian camping staple. You would be hard pressed to go on an outdoor getaway and not see one set up — typically either the standard or deluxe style options that feature a steel frame and a centrepitched waterproof cover. I have had a deluxe-style model in my camping repertoire for years now, and coupled with full solid walls, it has provided a fantastic base camp that allows you to cook regardless of the prevailing wind conditions.
However, I generally only bother setting it up if I’m on a trip where I’ll be staying in the one place for 1-2 weeks, purely due to how bulky it is and the time it takes to setup up and pack down when you factor in the solid wall kits that are a must have in WA’s windy conditions. Needless to say, I’ve been on the lookout for a simpler, lighter option for years now, and when the first inflatable gazebos emerged from Zempire, they instantly caught my attention. However, the price of these, especially when you factor in the additional wall kits, is well out of reach of the average camper. So when Quest Outdoors Australia released their take on the air gazebo in both 2.4m and 3m options and then, most recently, added a new hutstyle inflatable pod tent, all at much more affordable price points, it didn’t take long for me to break out the credit card and see if the products could live up to the hype.
The Air Gazebo 3.0 is super easy to pitch and is a solid unit once pegged down.
Quest Outdoors is a relatively new company on the camping and outdoors scene that is essentially owned by people who are passionate about the outdoors lifestyle. They have years of experience in the industry through previous roles in corporate adventure equipment companies, and according to their website, their products focus on elevating the camper’s experience by investing time in quality engineered features, customer support and great design. When I first saw the Air Gazebo 3.0, what really caught my eye was the additional head space gained by having no steel cross frame, coupled with the near vertical wall design — it really appeared to maximise space. Touted set up and pack down times were also very impressive at 3-5 minutes for each.
Unboxing the gear, initial impressions were very good. As expected, the weight of the gazebo was light at 11.5 kg; this is about 10 kg lighter than your normal deluxe-style steel gazebo. At 13.5 kg, the pod tent is
roughly twice the weight of your standard fibreglass pole-style gazebo hut, but I should point out it is also larger and has more headroom — hence there is a lot more material involved. Both items came in nice, oversized bags with compression straps, and you could easily fit these into the boot space of an average small hatchback. The mesh and solid wall kits for the gazebo also came in their own small bags (two walls per bag). Pitching was an easy affair on my own; this is a major feature of the product, as pitching a steel-frame gazebo almost always requires two people minimum, especially when there is a hint of wind around. The gazebo comes with a built-in heavy-duty tarpaulin-style floor (which is easily detached via buckle clips once the gazebo is set up if you want to remove it), so it was simply a case of pegging out the corners to keep the floor tight, closing off one of the air valves, and then inflating via the other valve using the supplied pump. Once the gazebo started to take shape, I just gave it a hand popping
With the walls attached, you can open and close the entrance to the gazebo as you please thanks to the centre zip.
up to full height and then kept inflating to 7 PSI (the pump has a cut-off valve built in that starts bleeding air once you reach this pressure).
I was surprised at how solid the gazebo was standing on its own, but once the four attached guy ropes were pegged out, it was pretty clear the setup would withstand some serious wind. Total set up time at a leisurely pace (just the gazebo) on my own was 8 minutes, 28 seconds, and I’m sure I could get this lower with additional practice. I reckon if you opted for the 12V automatic pump that Quest sells, you could substantially lower this time by starting to inflate the gazebo with the pump at the same time that everything is being pegged out.
Once fully set up, the most noticeable feature was the massive amount of headroom afforded by the design; it really removes the cramped feeling you get standing under a traditional steel gazebo due to the cross frame. The lack of a steel
frame also eliminates the constant rubbing of the canopy on the frame in windy conditions, meaning that this is likely a onceoff purchase. I used to go through a deluxe gazebo setup every three years, as once the canopy rubbed through at the apex or on the frame, it was no longer waterproof. Quest have also included velcro attachments to run LED strip lighting, and there is also a lantern hook. I was initially worried about hanging a lot of weight off the canopy due to it being an air frame, but it is seriously rock solid. The only thing that the design lacks at present is the ability to hang towels, etc., but I have seen this broached with Quest on social media recently, and they have indicated that this is a feature that will be easily integrated into future versions — it would be easy to hang a clothesline between two attachment points on the canopy poles. Attaching the side walls to the gazebo was super easy thanks to the lack of zip attachments. Quest have instead employed a full U-shaped run of velcro, and this works
The Air Gazebo 3.0 boasts massive amounts of headroom and feels incredibly spacious.
a treat. It makes it easy to attach and means that there are no issues with sand granules getting into zip mechanisms. The walls have a single centre zip so that you can open them up and tie them back as you wish, which is a great feature and allows you to open and close the gazebo based on the prevailing wind conditions.
Speaking of wind conditions, on the day I tested the gazebo, there was only a light breeze, but the unit barely even moved in this. A recent clip uploaded onto the Quest Outdoors Facebook page, however, shows the gazebo setup in a completely exposed oval, copping wind gusts over 60 km/h — far higher than what most people would ever go camping in. Now, although there is certainly some movement in the canopy (as would be expected), the frame simply bends slightly as it absorbs the bigger gusts before returning to its natural shape. A steel gazebo in these conditions would simply break with repeated big gusts. Another huge pro for the air gazebo in wind is the complete lack
of creaking that you always get from steel frame units, something that, when carried into the night, makes for disturbed sleep and unhappy campers the next day!
One issue I have always had with gazebos in the past is that once you have your kitchen set up inside, there is a major lack of space for storing gear you frequently take on long trips — diving gear, surfboards, fishing gear, etc., especially if the weather turns and you need to bunker down inside for a day or two. A 6 x 6 m gazebo is simply too big for most campsites, and you can’t get full wall kits for the 4.5 x 3 m models, so in recent years I started using the gazebo hut add-ons to give additional storage space. However, unfortunately most offerings on the market are very basic in terms of design and quality — the fibreglass poles are clumsy to insert, the huts don’t attach well to the gazebo frame, and when it’s windy they frequently invert (and leak if it’s raining). As such, after seeing the amount of thought that Quest had put into the air gazebo design, I was
The Air Gazebo 3.0 Pod Tent integrates seamlessly with the Air Gazebo 3.0 thanks to the attachment system and adds a huge amount of additional space for either sleeping or storing gear.
very excited to see if this flowed into the air gazebo pod tent as well.
Unpacking the pod tent, the same quality seen in the gazebo was evident immediately, and set up was quick. In this case, you need to inflate three air poles individually, attach the pod to the gazebo using the velcro tunnel attachment, and then peg the corners out, followed by the guy ropes. Total setup time for me on my own was 8 minutes, 50 seconds. The pod tent integrates seamlessly with the gazebo; there are no gaps for water or wind to get in, and the whole thing is super solid. It came with a removable inner fly section, which I removed to provide more room, but could certainly be left in place if you were planning on using the tent to sleep in as it would create a twin-skinned environment and likely reduce condensation. I should also note that one very cool design feature is that the pod can be used as a standalone tent in its own right if desired.
There is a wealth of storage incorporated into the pod tent, with multiple pockets flanking the door openings on both the outside and inside, as well as at the back. These are fantastic features that negate the need to hang folding organisers for additional storage. There is also power cord access provided via a zipped port.
When it came time to pack the gazebo and pod tent down, I was pleasantly surprised at how quick it was to do this. This was simply a case of detaching the pod tent and cracking the air valves, then cracking the valves on the air gazebo. After watching the video Quest have uploaded onto YouTube to demonstrate the appropriate way to fold the floor, I had both the tent and pod rolled up and back inside their bags with plenty of room to spare in 7 minutes 27 seconds and 8 minutes 22 seconds, respectively.
So, in my opinion, Quest are onto a clear winner with the air gazebo and pod tent. The rapid pitch and pack-up afforded by the design, combined with the substantial weight savings and ability to transport in the boot of a 4WD or car, are going to be embraced by a lot of campers and adventurers. What was a clear standout for me though was just how much thought has gone into the design — the two products integrate perfectly, and the many design features included just make the entire camping experience more enjoyable. The quality of the product is also very high and a testament to their company philosophy — the days of needing to replace a gazebo every few years are finally over! For more information on the air gazebo and pod tent, head to questoutdoors.com.au
Included on both sides of the entrance to the pod tent are storage pockets, a great feature for storing food and other items up off the floor.
CAPTURE THE MOMENT
with UNCLE DICK STEIN
All you need are a few clues. Bruce Wilson sent in the picture that wins this issue’s Capture the Moment prize. It’s an idyllic bush scene taken somewhere, and the somewhere has set me off on an exploration of the internet. Bruce says it is in the Peak Charles National Park. The internet has a host of listings to help people visit the area, and they are quite specific in pointing out that the area is a national park, but one that will require you to be self-sufficient.
The main campgrounds seem to have a bush toilet and some camping sites, but they note there is no natural fresh water and caution you to make sure that you bring plenty for your stay. The nearest supply place seems to be Salmon Gums.
So what do people do at Peak Charles besides get there on a 45-kilometre dirt road? Well, they camp and watch the native birds and animals — one of the shots on the net shows a large brown snake slithering through the campground. They take pictures of the abundant flowers and flora at the right time of the year — in fact, they were probably blooming when he sent through this photo, in spring. And they hike. There is a 2 km looped trail
WELL DONE BRUCE! You’ve won a Vehicle Survival First Aid Kit valued at $130, from
walk about the peak, and you can scramble up it freely. Everyone advises good boots for this. It may be possible to make some assault on the nearby Peak Eleanora as well. But who are these inselbergs named after? It turns out there was a British Governor, Charles Fitzgerald RN, who, back in about 1848, came to us from being the Governor of Gambia. His wife was Eleanor. Governor Fitzgerald apparently introduced convict labour to the colony to help shore up its finances.
I’ll bet Charles Street and Fitzgerald Street in Perth are also part of his memorial.
Well, the Peak Charles National Park looks like a good spot if you want to explore east of Perth or north of Esperance. Remember that it can get busy in holiday season—they don’t do bookings—and you’ll need your own food, water, etc. No campfires or dogs, please.
Ah, but Bruce did make a note that you need not take a supply of bush flies, as these are provided on-site. Plenty for all...
Follow us on Facebook and watch for our request for entries for your chance to win! facebook.com/western4wdriver
with Karl Fehlauer
ND FILTERS FOR DRONE
PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY
Hi everyone, and welcome to my latest article. I hope that you are getting something out of them. My last two articles on drones covered the rules and some of the tips and apps that I use when flying my drone, and in this article, I will cover ND Filters, which are an important accessory I use when taking photos and recording videos while using my drone.
As mentioned in my first article, I am mainly concentrating on the sub-2 kg (recreational) category of drones, as they are the most commonly used by recreational flyers and all come with fixed small sensor cameras.
As with all small sensor cameras (smartphones, action cameras, etc.), these cameras all have a fixed aperture, usually between F1.8 and F2.8, and while this is good for low light situations, it does offer some challenges in bright light conditions when taking photos or recording videos as you can only adjust your shutter speed or ISO.
ND Filters
As a result, I strongly suggest that you invest in a set of good-quality ND Filters for the particular camera on your drone.
I use Freewell ND Filters on my DJI Air 2S and highly recommend them, but there are other quality brands out there; however, remember that you get what you pay for, and cheap ND Filters can leave a bad colour cast (usually purple) to your images or video that will require a bit of fixing when post processing.
Basically, ND Filters act as sunglasses for your camera and allow you to use slower shutter speeds, which is important especially when recording video footage, and I will explain why later in the article. ND Filters come in various strengths so that you can adapt the strength of the filter depending on the conditions on the day of flying.
ND Filters are ‘usually’ measured in ‘ND Factor’ or ‘ND Stops'—I say usually, but some filters may also be measured in optical density, just to confuse things a bit more.
Below is a table showing the three different methods of stating the
The most common is ND Stops, and it is easily the best and easiest way to work out what filter you need to use. As the ‘Stops’ (and factor/density) increase, so does the level of tinting, with an ND Stop of 1 being almost nothing and letting a lot of light in, to an ND Stop of 10 being extremely dark and letting very little light in, and therefore requires a longer or slower shutter speed.
A point to note is that when using ND Filters, you generally only adjust your shutter speed and leave your ISO at the lowest setting — usually ISO 100.
So when do you need to use an ND Filter? Well, pretty much every time, and in particular when using manual settings. On a bright sunny day, you will need to use ND Filters with strengths greater than ND 6 up to ND 10. On a cloudy day, you may need to use around the ND 4–ND 6, and on heavily overcast days then use a ND 2–ND 4 filter.
It will also depend on the time of day, as early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the sun is lower in the sky and closer to the horizon, the light is not as bright as it is during the middle of the day, and you will need to adjust your filters to suit the conditions.
The ND Filters come with either a fixed setting or an adjustable setting where you can rotate the filter to increase or decrease the strength setting. I have used the adjustable filters in the past, but I found that depending on the direction of the sun, I would get a weird effect in the sky where you would get a portion of the sky being much darker than the rest and not the even
Bird Island
exposure that I was after, and this was particularly annoying and distracting when doing video.
The one downside with fixed ND Filters is that you cannot stack them in front of each other like you do with normal photography, but this isn’t generally an issue because this is where you adjust your exposure by adjusting your shutter; however, it can be an issue for videography where you need to keep a fixed shutter speed.
Basically, you need to test and adjust as required so that you can get the exposure that you are after. Before launching my drone, I will put on whichever ND Filter I think I need and do a very basic test to see if I am getting the correct exposure, and if not, I will swap ND Filters. Also, once I am flying and I find that the exposure isn’t correct—especially for video—I will return and change filters.
Unfortunately, there is no easy way around it, but it is fun learning, and once you gain experience it will become almost second nature when deciding which ND Filter to use.
ND Filters and Videography
I mentioned early in the article that shutter speeds are important when you are recording video, and the reason is that if you are using too fast or too slow shutter speeds, the video will look unnatural. Too fast of a shutter speed will make the footage look too sharp and unnatural because there will be no motion blur, which is important as our eyes are used to seeing motion blur. Also, if the shutter speed is too slow, then everything will be in slow motion.
With video, ‘Frames Per Seconds’ (FPS) or ‘Framerate’ and shutter speed go hand in hand, and I will cover off more on this in a future article, but when you shoot video, you need to select a framerate (FPS) to shoot in.
The default FPS for most cameras is 30 FPS, but other common FPS are 24, 25 and 60. Which one you use will depend on your requirements — for me, I use 25 FPS.
To obtain the natural-looking motion blur in video, we use the ‘180 degree 'rule' — that is, the shutter speed is set 180 degrees to
what the FPS is; for example, 30 FPS will be 1/60th, 24 FPS will be 1/48th (or 1/50th), 25 FPS will be 1/50th etc.
If you record your video in the ‘automatic’ mode without using ND Filters, the camera will set a shutter speed faster than the desired shutter speed, and therefore it will look unnatural. However, having said that, if the footage you are recording is simply flight footage over and around a scene, then it won’t be too much of an issue until you have a subject that is moving, but again, this is your choice. If you do intend to shoot in
automatic mode, I strongly suggest that you use ND Filters as they will help improve your footage.
Personally, I shoot in manual mode, where I set my FPS and shutter speed to 25 FPS and 1/50th, with my ISO at 100, and then simply add the required ND Filter.
Well, that’s it for this article, and I hope I haven’t confused you too much. My next article will be about my approach to taking photos and recording video, so until then, keep the shiny side up and, if not, get a photo or video of it.
Grain Terminal
Mongers Lake
NOW WE'RE TAWKING!
Travelling Australia With Kids with Lucas Hay
EXPLORING MAGICAL ESPERANCE WITH KIDS
Welcome all to the summer issue from the TAWK team, Travelling Australia With Kids! Today we will focus on the top 5 family activities in the magical coastal landscape of Esperance.
Esperance, located along the southern coast of Western Australia, is a hidden gem brimming with natural beauty, rich history, and adventure. This coastal town, with its stunning white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and abundant wildlife, offers the perfect family-friendly destination. Whether you’re seeking a relaxing holiday
or an action-packed itinerary, Esperance has something to offer everyone. For families visiting, here are the top five must-do activities that will ensure an unforgettable trip.
TANKER JETTY: A STROLL THROUGH HISTORY
A visit to Esperance wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the historic Tanker Jetty. Originally built in the 1930s to service ships during the gold rush, this iconic landmark
has served as a vital piece of local history for decades. Though the original structure has since been replaced, its modern counterpart still holds significant historical and cultural value for the town.
For families, walking along the jetty offers a peaceful opportunity to admire the breathtaking coastal views and spot marine wildlife. Fishing off the jetty is a popular pastime, and kids will love the chance to try their hand at catching something from the crystal clear waters below. The sea life around the jetty is rich and diverse, with regular sightings of seals, dolphins, and various species of fish. Don’t forget to bring your camera, as you’ll want to capture the beautiful sunset views that make the jetty a prime location for evening family walks.
Additionally, the jetty offers an educational aspect for families. With interpretive signs detailing its history, visitors can gain insight into how this structure played an integral role in Esperance’s development. Whether you’re walking, fishing, or simply soaking in the views, the Tanker Jetty provides a serene yet engaging experience for all ages.
ESPERANCE MUSEUM: A STEP BACK IN TIME.
For families eager to dive into the local history of Esperance, the Esperance Museum is a must-visit destination. Housed in a former railway goods shed, this museum offers a fascinating look at the region’s past, presenting exhibits that range from the town’s early days to its unique space age history.
One of the museum’s standout features is its collection of debris from Skylab, NASA’s first space station, which famously re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and scattered across the Esperance region in 1979. Kids will love hearing the story of how Esperance humorously issued NASA a $400 littering fine (which was eventually paid!).
It’s a story that adds a touch of comedy to the museum’s broader display of historical artefacts.
The museum also features a variety of exhibits showcasing early settler life, farming equipment, vintage cars, and relics from the town’s maritime and railway history. These exhibits offer a hands-on educational experience, allowing children and adults alike to understand how Esperance transformed from a small settlement into a thriving coastal town. The interactive displays make history engaging for younger visitors, while parents will appreciate the rich context provided about the local community.
THE GREAT OCEAN DRIVE: A SCENIC ADVENTURE.
If your family enjoys road trips, the Great Ocean Drive is an absolute must. This 40-kilometre scenic loop takes you along Esperance’s breathtaking coastline, offering unparalleled views of turquoise waters, dramatic cliffs and pristine beaches. As you make your way along the drive, you’ll come across numerous stop-off points where families can swim, picnic, or simply take in the stunning views.
One of the key highlights of the Great Ocean Drive is Twilight Beach. Often cited as one of Australia’s best beaches, its calm, shallow
waters and soft, white sand make it an ideal spot for young children to safely swim and play. The striking granite rocks surrounding the beach also offer opportunities for light climbing and exploration, adding an element of adventure to the visit.
Along the route, you’ll also find Observatory Point, a perfect spot for whale watching during the migration season (June to October). Families can use the telescopes provided to spot humpback and southern right whales as they journey along the coast. It’s an exhilarating experience, especially for children who may have never seen such majestic creatures up close.
The Great Ocean Drive also includes several smaller, secluded beaches where families can enjoy a quiet picnic away from the crowds. With its endless opportunities for beachcombing, swimming, and wildlife spotting, this scenic drive offers families a perfect blend of relaxation and exploration.
WOODY ISLAND: THE ISLAND ADVENTURE.
For families seeking a more adventurous outing, a trip to Woody Island should be at the top of your list. Located just 15 kilometres off the coast of Esperance, this eco-friendly island is a part of the Recherche Archipelago and is perfect for a day trip or overnight stay. Accessible by ferry, Woody Island offers a range of family-friendly activities, including hiking, snorkelling and wildlife watching.
The island’s walking trails vary in difficulty, making it easy for families with young children to explore. Along the trails, you’ll encounter native flora and fauna, including many species of birds, lizards, and even the occasional dolphin swimming along the shoreline. For those interested in birdwatching, Woody Island is a sanctuary for seabirds, and you’ll likely spot species like Pacific gulls and wedge-tailed eagles.
The island’s protected coves are also ideal for snorkelling. The clear waters allow for excellent visibility, and children will delight in the colourful fish, crabs, and other marine life that call this underwater paradise home. If you’re visiting during summer, you can also rent kayaks and paddleboards, giving your family the chance to explore the island’s coastline from a new perspective. For families who wish to extend their stay, Woody Island offers glamping options, providing a comfortable and eco-friendly way to experience nature overnight. Spending a night under the stars on this tranquil island is a magical experience, and waking up to the sounds of the ocean is something your family will remember for years to come.
PINK LAKE: A NATURAL WONDER.
Last but certainly not least, no trip to Esperance is complete without visiting the Pink Lake. Although this lake has lost much of its famous pink hue in recent years due to environmental changes, it remains a fascinating natural site to explore with your family.
The Pink Lake gets its colour from a unique combination of salt and algae, which, under the right conditions, produces a pink hue. While it’s no longer as vibrant as it once was,
the lake still holds significant scientific and environmental interest. Families can learn about the delicate balance of nature that creates such phenomena and discuss the importance of environmental conservation.
To enhance your visit, consider taking a guided tour, where local experts explain the history and significance of the lake’s changing colour. Alternatively, you can simply walk along the shore and enjoy the surrounding beauty of the area. The views are particularly spectacular at sunrise and sunset when the light casts a soft glow across the landscape.
Although the lake itself may not be as vividly pink as in years past, the nearby surrounding area remains a picturesque location for a family picnic or leisurely walk. Plus, the lake’s proximity to other attractions in Esperance makes it easy to include in a day of exploring the region.
Esperance is a destination where the natural world takes centre stage, offering families a blend of history, adventure, and relaxation. Whether you’re wandering along the iconic Tanker Jetty, exploring the fascinating exhibits at the Esperance Museum, cruising along the scenic Great Ocean Drive, embarking on an eco-adventure to Woody Island, or marvelling at the Pink Lake, there is no shortage of memorable experiences to be had.
With its combination of stunning landscapes, engaging activities, and a laid-back atmosphere, Esperance provides the perfect backdrop for creating lifelong family memories. So pack your bags, gather your family, hook up the caravan, and why not stay at Esperance Bay Holiday Park, where TAWK MEMBERS' kids stay two nights free? Get ready to explore one of Western Australia’s most enchanting coastal towns. For more information on the TAWK program please visit travelingaustraliawithkids.com.au and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Until next issue, we hope to see you on the road and safe travels from the TAWK team!
Snorkelling at Woody Island | Tourism WA
GOINGS ON
Australia’s most iconic charity motoring event returns for 50th year celebrations
Children’s charity organisation Variety will celebrate its 50th year of operations in Australia in 2025 with the return of its iconic charity motoring event, the Variety Bash. It will be the first ‘national’ Variety Bash in 10 years, whereby every Variety Bash route will be coordinated to be in one place to acknowledge the collective achievement. Traditionally, a National Bash is staged every five years; however, the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID restrictions.
In the first two weeks of August 2025, around 650 cars with over 1,600 Bash entrants from across Australia will venture to South Australia to celebrate this momentous milestone. The journey is set to depart from Adelaide on Friday, August 8 and finish in Kalgoorlie on Saturday, August 16.
In 1985, famous Australian entrepreneur, aviator and businessman Dick Smith invited his mates for ‘a drive in the bush’ to raise funds for Variety. The Variety Bash was born and quickly became an incredibly successful fundraising event.
Offering a unique blend of adventure and philanthropy, participants in the event traverse remote and regional areas, raising essential funds to support children who are sick, disadvantaged, or living with disability.
Each year, the Variety Bash features a colourful convoy of creatively themed cars and a route that takes participants through some of Australia’s most stunning and remote landscapes, covering diverse terrains from outback tracks to coastal roads.
For more information and to donate, head to: fundraise.varietywa.org.au
New round of EV grants to ‘Charge Up’ WA’s energy transition
The State Government is furthering its support for EV uptake with a third round of Charge Up Grants to support not-for-profits, small businesses, and local governments to install charging infrastructure throughout Western Australia.
Charge Up Grants, which cover up to half of the costs for installing EV infrastructure, are designed to increase the availability of EV chargers throughout WA, including at workplaces, local attractions and tourist destinations, and for public charging along key travel routes.
To date, more than $4.5 million of grant funding has been approved to assist organisations, businesses, and local governments to install 611 chargers in 341 locations, spanning as far north as Port Hedland and as far south as Walpole.
The grant applications opened on Tuesday, October 8, and close on Monday, June 30, 2025.
“These grants are a great way to help organisations support the energy
transition,” said Energy, Environment and Climate Action Minister Reece Whitby. “This funding is available to support a wide range of users to install EV charging infrastructure where there is growing demand, including at workplaces and local tourist attractions.”
For more information, visit: wa.gov.au/chargeup
Opening date set for Wilman Wadandi Highway
Thousands of commuters heading to and from the South West will get an early Christmas present this year with the Australian and Western Australian Governments this week announcing the Wilman Wadandi Highway will officially open to traffic on Monday, December 16.
The new road, previously known as Bunbury Outer Ring Road, will slash commute times to and from the South West by around 20 minutes depending on traffic conditions, and divert an average of around 15,000 vehicles from local Bunbury roads every day.
The new road will separate freight and tourist traffic from local traffic, improving road safety, reducing congestion, and providing more efficient travel for motorists.
The four-lane highway stretches 27 km, connecting Forrest Highway north of Bunbury to Bussell Highway south of Bunbury. It includes five new bridges and four grade-separated interchanges, while commuters heading to and from the South West will now avoid 13 sets of traffic lights.
For more information, head to: mainroads.wa.gov.au
Gear up for your next adventure at the Perth Caravan & Camping Show
The Perth Caravan & Camping Show returns in 2025, taking over Claremont Showgrounds from Thursday, March 20 until Sunday, March 23.
Featuring WA’s largest showcase of caravans, campers, trailers, equipment and accessories, it’s an opportunity to compare the newest and best products in the market, all in one place.
The show will also feature interactive displays, live demonstrations and educational seminars. Covering everything from camp cooking to the effects of weight when towing, there are plenty of opportunities for both seasoned campers and novices to upskill and expand their knowledge.
The event is a family-friendly affair, with plenty of free activities for kids to enjoy in the Family Fun Zone, while the Piazza is a food and entertainment precinct with catering vendors, shaded seating, live music and educational seminars on the Main Stage.
The popular Passport to Freedom competition is on again with thousands of dollars’ worth of prizes up for grabs, plus, thanks to The Electric Bike Company, there’s the chance to win a brand new ebike, valued at $4,900.
For more info and to buy tickets, head to caravanandcampingshow.com.au
QUARTERLY CROSSWORD
Read the mag cover to cover and you'll have no problems solving this puzzle.
DOWN
1. Esperance jetty built in the 1930s
3. German axe
4. Bring Out Another Thousand
6. French Foreign Legionnaire turned Goldfields surveyor
7. Home of the Great Fingall Gold Mine
9. River that flows into the Nornalup Inlet
10. Thorny Devil
12. Unique native plant found around Kalgoorlie
ACROSS
2. Granite island visible from Mandalay Beach
5. NASA's first space station
7. Animal law introduced in 1903
8. Biscuits for lemon slice
11. Site of a robbery in the Goldfields
13. Colourful body of water
14. 'Saucepan' constellation
15. Beach famous for kangaroos
16. Wall in Old Halls Creek
17. Nothing can frighten a...
Answers will be published in the Autumn edition of Western 4W Driver
Crossword solution from Spring Edition #131
• Featuring on-road, o -road, and adventure maps to guide your adventure
• The most comprehensive collection of Australian maps of any GPS currently on the market
• 100,000+ Points of interest featuring 10,000+ campsites, caravan parks and free camping spots
• Plan and record your trip and share it with your friends and family
ILLY SNAPS
I was having a day out at Mundaring Powerlines testing the ute out and found a nice little bog hole. Well, turns out it wasn’t that little… With some good mates pressuring me to give it a go, off I went and well, what can I say? Mates are there to pull you out when you get bogged, am I right? Good lesson learnt and that was I’m going to need some bigger tyres. Running 7” lift on 37s already so definitely gave it a good go, but that ‘little bog hole’ sure made the ute look small.
Arno Louw
Well, when you’ve dug yourself a hole like this, the only way out is to keep digging! I sure hope his mates grabbed a shovel as well — because on this day, the infamous Powerline track looked hungry enough to swallow that ute whole!
Proudly sponsored by
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.
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: submissions@western4wdriver.com.au
Passionately pre-owned
It’s no wonder it comes with an additional 1-year Toyota-backed Warranty #
TOYOTA CERTIFIED
PRE-OWNED IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN
Vehicle shown fitted with optional Toyota Genuine Accessories, sold separately. See your Toyota Dealer. # Applicable to pre-owned vehicles purchased as a Toyota Certified Pre-Owned (TCPO) vehicle on or after 01/01/2022. TCPO Warranty expires 1yr after sale, or 1yr after the current New Vehicle Warranty expires (if applicable), or 10 years from the date of registration in original owner’s name, or at 160,000kms (whichever occurs first). TCPO Warranty does not apply to vehicles used for commercial purpose (eg taxis or rideshare). See toyota.com.au/tcpowarranty for T&Cs. This warranty does not limit and may not necessarily exceed your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
