Western 4W Driver Magazine Edition #111 (Winter 2019) by Vanguard Publishing Perth

111th Edition WINTER 2019

Kalumburu: Beyond the Gibb

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CONTENTS

EDITION 111 WINTER 2019

DESTINATIONS

Kalumburu

- Beyond the Gibb River Road ..................................................................................................................12

- Wandering west of Haasts Bluff ..................................................................................................... 48

- Susie’s long weekend away ................................................................................................................. 156

The Concealed & Coveted Clelands Goldfields Easter

TESTING

Mitsubishi Triton

- A rugged new look ........................................................................................................................................... 20

- A sports ute with fun capabilities .............................................................................................. 40

- Jimny and Vitara ............................................................................................................................................... 59

- Launch of the new D-Max and MU-X ................................................................................... 85

- Bushranger LED Nighthawk ............................................................................................................ 127

- GoTreads recovery tracks .................................................................................................................. 153

- Black Duck Seat Covers ........................................................................................................................ 169

Ford Raptor

Super Suzies

Isuzu Gets a Makeover Driving with Dimmers GoTread Outa There! Cotton On To These 4

Western 4W Driver #111

FEATURES

Relaxation or Rescue - Part 1

- Preparing for outback travel ............................................................................................................... 30

- A next level camping rig ........................................................................................................................... 69

- Using the Energy ................................................................................................................................................. 77

- What’s winning the energy race

- Hitting the back roads

Prado To Go

Power to Burn - Part 4

Electric/Hydrogen Update The Road Less Travelled

.................................................................................................

149

.........................................................................................................................

172

Taking Care of Our Tracks ................................................................................................................ 177

COLUMNS REGULARS What’s New

109

Fishy Business

131

Over the Bonnet

143

Gear to Go Camping Popular Botanics

Capture the Moment Goings On

139 146 183 186

Subscriptions 189 Suppliers Directory Silly Snaps

190 192

EdSed 6 Wildtrax 93 What’s in a Name 95 The Things you See 97 Bindon’s Lore 101 Clewed Up 170

BITS ‘n’ BOBS Meet Chris & Karen 9 Gold! 155 Austravel Safety Net 165 Off Road Mobility 167 Supa Seat Covers 181 Good Reading 184 Western 4W Driver #111

4Wheel Productions Pty Ltd

ACN 632 239 395 PO Box 2384, Malaga, WA 6944 Phone: (08) 9291 8303 admin@4wheelproductions.com.au www.western4wdriver.com.au Editors Nick Underwood Chris Morton Karen Morton Contributing Writers Phil Bianchi Peter Bindon Linda Bloffwitch John Bormolini Ben Broeder Amanda Burton Graham Cahill Jo Clews Neil Dowling Ian Elliot Alex Garner Colin Kerr Kristina Lemson Lyn Mitchell Ron Moon Rob Robson Ben Smith Susie Underwood Advertising Nick Underwood Administration Chris Morton Graphic Design Karen Morton Printing Vanguard Press

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of 4Wheel Productions Pty Ltd 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, 4Wheel Productions Pty Ltd accepts no liability for loss or damage. Edition 111 Winter 2019

Western 4W Driver #111

Nickin’ Off

rue confession - it’s been 20 years since I’ve set foot in the Kimberley and a lifetime for my long suffering Susie - that’s almost a crime for the editor of a Western Australian 4WD magazine. From the time we combined our tag along tour business with our publishing timetable at the change of the millennium, our ability to travel further and wider at ground level has been seriously curtailed. Limited to two or three weeks at a time, we’ve had some wonderful adventures in excellent company exploring deep into the Pilbara and following an arc down to the Great Victoria Desert and further to the Bight. We’ve explored country many may never get to, but at the same time never explored where most do and that my friends, is a travesty at the ripe old of 65. So it’s time for us to down tools and bugger off. Susie and I have our new camper under construction and its shakedown will be a run across to the Flinders Ranges with Campfire Escapes (a couple of spots still available - plug plug) followed by a rest-of-life roaming further afield and enjoying the company of like-minded souls.

With that journey ahead of us, now’s a good time for a bit of a retrospective on the journey so far. Thirty years is a fair old stretch in anyone’s language. Back in 1989 in the trusty 60 Series I took my first tentative steps into the world of 4W driving. I discovered the joy of sand driving on soft dunes and wild beaches and cut my teeth on boggy bush tracks around Harvey and elsewhere along the Darling Scarp. This was a time for coming to grips with the amazing potential of 4WD, a time for meeting really interesting people who could show me how to make the most of four wheels driving and where they could take me. Leaving the bitumen and often the faintest of tracks behind, I followed Ian Elliot into the scarily remote Great Victoria Desert where traces of long ago nomads adorned rocky overhangs and territorial wedgetail eagles perched in the nearby mulga to watch us set up camp. It was out there with Ian I developed an understanding of early white exploration of Western Australia and a passion to learn more. Giles, Forrest, Roe, Gregory and of course the ubiquitous Frank Hann to name just a few, are the heroes and inspiration for our modern day perambulations. Place names everywhere across this state hint of their wanderings and discoveries (think of Len Beadell) and contribute to a dimension that

can truly enhance our own explorations. Then there’s the geographical space we have to roam in. If a state-based 4WD magazine was going to flourish anywhere, Western Australia provided the greatest opportunity. The biggest state by far, it enjoys tropical and temperate borders, an enormous accessible coastline the envy of many Eastern Staters and an interior to get lost in (which unfortunately many have). This is the land of the long drive and a very high per capita level of 4WD ownership which points to our strong desire to follow our forefathers into the bush to explore, camp and soak up the environment. It also points to our very parochial nature. As a relatively small population in a vast state, we Sandgropers exhibit a sense of pride and ownership that’s never more evident than when we gather around a campfire to solve the problems of the world. Over the last 30 years we’ve enjoyed many hundreds of campfire evenings under a starlit sky and with many different personalities, all come together to share the day’s experiences and contribute anecdotes of past travels far and WA wide. This is the stuff for us, of 4W driving. The communal essence of nomadic wanderings.

More than anything Western 4W Driver is about people and that is what has made our journey so worthwhile.

Over three decades we’ve unearthed a caravan of talented writers who so eloquently inspire with their love of travel and the mechanics of our motor-vation and bound them together in each edition of Western 4W Driver for the pleasure of thousands. The joy for us has been in the creating of each edition - a true labour of love requited by feedback and appreciation from you the reader. Your pleasure has been ours and over the years we’ve taken great delight in catching up with many of you at 4WD shows, on the road or in the bush to hear your stories and often take editorial direction from them. Circle complete. Hopefully now as Susie and I shift our office from home to the road, we’ll (not literally) run into many more of you with a chance

Sed

with Nick Underwood

perhaps to share more anecdotes around the communal campfire as we acquaint ourselves with unseen parts of Oz. From this point we become roving ambassadors for the mag. We plan to write of our travels and the characters we meet along the way so you haven’t heard the last of us in Western 4W Driver.

The good news now is that the mag is in the youthful and enthusiastic hands of Chris and Karen Morton - dedicated 4W drivers and travellers who will ensure your favourite writers continue to splash their collective characters across the pages of future editions.

So thanks for the memories, so long and see you on the road. Nick and Susie

@4wdadventur

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W .C O M .A U

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Meet Chris

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hat an act to follow. Nick, you have done the 4W driving community proud with your dedication over the last 30 years in producing a magazine of such high quality. Speaking to some of our subscribers and to hear them tell me that they have kept every copy they have ever bought speaks volumes. So, who are we? Karen and I have been together for 20 years and have two daughters. Karen grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth and made a career in graphic design. She has extensive experience in the printing industry and an extremely sharp eye for spelling and grammar. I was born in Geraldton and have since lived in a multitude of locations around WA. I grew up on farms in the south west and spent holidays mustering on my grandparent’s sheep station in the Goldfields. I served for 5 years as a Rifleman in the infantry (Army Reserve) and worked in an alumina refinery before settling into an IT career. I gained experience working on contracts for Alcoa, Water Corp, the Navy and CBH before branching out and going it alone. We built our own IT business from the ground up, having 25 staff at its end when we sold it in 2016. I guess you could say that we came into the 4WDing scene late. We bought our first 4WD in 2013 - a 150 series Prado Altitude. It quickly experienced various ‘upgrades’ in preparation for a Kimberley tour. In the meantime, we undertook smaller trips around the state. Inevitably, our setup morphed from a tent and trailer, to a camper trailer, to a chuck wagon with rooftop and 30 second tents. This setup successfully made it through 6 weeks in the Kimberley (with a couple of minor mishaps) before we then decided to upgrade again. We bought a Jayco Expanda before settling this year (finally) on a New Age Big Red.

So, why buy a magazine?

When we found the business for sale (by accident while searching through the internet) we were both a little sceptical. Regardless of our concerns, we decided to investigate a little further. For us, the business offered a change in lifestyle and an opportunity for both of us to work together. Nearly 20 years in IT can take its toll. For the most part you only get contacted when something goes wrong and very rarely do you get thanked when everything goes right. Moving to a business where the topic excites people is refreshing. As a family, we are all very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of us. We feel honoured to be taking over the reins of Western 4W Driver.

With a background in IT you can expect us to expand the magazine’s digital offerings. We are investigating the options for digital subscriptions (for those who prefer to read on their devices) and having a greater social media presence. We are working on plans for some new and exciting publications that will complement our regular magazine editions as well as bringing in some new content. Rest assured, all of your favourite writers and contributors are staying with us and we hope to continue to deliver to you an amazing magazine. Chris and Karen Morton Western 4W Driver #111

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Western 4W Driver #111

KALUMBURU:

Beyond the Gibb River Road By Ben Smith

The great migration is upon us yet again in Australia’s North West. Like a herd of wildebeest seeking greener pastures, the grey nomads - and the ever-increasing number of not-so-grey nomads - prepare to head north to escape the southern winter. Western 4W Driver #111

Western 4W Driver #111

the Wunambal and Kwini language groups. Kalumburu is a remote outpost and only accessible by 4WD in the dry season - April/ May to October - via Kalumburu Road, a 267km stretch of dirt running north from the Gibb River Road.

arm sunlit days, crisp nights and star-filled heavens are but a few of the reasons this pilgrimage occurs every year. The promise of bountiful waterways, picture-perfect landscapes and a plethora of outdoor activities awaits the faint-hearted and thrill seekers alike. The Kimberley region of Western Australia is truly a wonderland of adventure, just waiting to be discovered. There is plenty of useful information on the internet these days for those yearning to get off the beaten track and really discover the hidden gems on offer. Local visitors’ centres, small businesses and roadhouses also stock a great selection of maps, guidebooks and tips for finding these slices of paradise.

I have to admit, though, taking the time to chat with the locals in the most far-flung corners of the state has, more often than not, yielded the best and most interesting outcomes. I’ve discovered places that are not on any tourist map or visitor’s guide, which can only be described as “WOW!”. Yes, these wondrous places do exist and they are not as difficult to find as one might think. One such town, in the far North Kimberley, offers the intrepid traveller a welcome respite after an arduous journey. Kalumburu is situated on the banks of the King Edward River in the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley, Western Australia. Founded in 1937, Kalumburu Community is the northernmost settlement in the state. In the 2011 census, the town had a population of 467 people. It is inhabited mostly by Aboriginal people from

Kalumburu Community has a fascinating history, and adjacent to the site is a World War II air base, which came under attack by Japanese planes in 1943. It was on September 27 of that year that the world war became a hideous reality at the Drysdale River Mission, Kalumburu, as it was formerly known. Japanese war planes bombed the clearly marked mission buildings, killing a total of 6 people, including Mission Superior Father Thomas Gil OSB, one woman and four children.

The Kalumburu Mission has served the region since 1908, after the Benedictine monks, from New Norcia WA, first landed at Mission Bay aboard the lugger San Salvador in 1905. The mission was established 20 kilometres north-east of the present site, at Pago, near the southern end of Napier Broome Bay. By 1937, fresh water supply problems forced the missionaries to relocate to the present site at Kalumburu Pool, on the banks of the King Edward River. The mission continues to operate to this day and provides many services to the local community, as well as serving the countless weary travellers who arrive in Kalumburu. There are various accommodation options, including single or twin-room dongas with shared kitchen and amenities blocks. However, there are no self-contained units available. The other option is the campground with both unpowered and powered sites on offer.

There is a small general store which sells a range of takeaway items and groceries. It also has the only fuel bowsers in town with both unleaded and diesel fuel available. Filling up here is costly, but bear in mind the remoteness and the distance to the nearest roadhouses and towns. Those with long-range or dualfuel tanks can always fill up en route to Kalumburu at either Mt. Barnett Roadhouse, Western 4W Driver #111

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on the western side of the Gibb River Road, or at various other stations on the eastern side of the Kalumburu Road turn-off. The Kalumburu church and museum are both located within the mission grounds and offer points of interest for those seeking a quiet place of contemplation. The church contains significant paintings by local artists and one in particular is done in the Kira Kiro (Bradshaw) style which is unique to the Northern Kimberley. The Kira Kiro style is agreed to be tens of thousands of years old and served as a prelude to contemporary Aboriginal rock-art styles.

tours are available from the mission office. The building itself withstood the bombing raid by the Japanese in 1943 and is a testament to the local volunteers and staff who keep it in immaculate shape. It is surrounded by lush, tropical gardens and is cool inside as it is constructed of local stone and mortar with

The church lectern is finished from the trunk of a Djoan tree, a medicinal and energy tree to local Aboriginals and found in many places near Kalumburu. The trunk of the Djoan tree is protected with a grey-coloured bark, which, when detached and soaked in water for a period of time, produces a broth that is carried in a mainbun (conch shell) to provide sustenance for travellers making a tough journey. The museum contains a wide range of artefacts and historical information from World War II, and guided or unguided

Inside the Church, notice the Djoan tree trunk. Photo by Fiona Brown. Western 4W Driver #111

Ancient stories painted on or etched in stone tantalise the viewer.

a high-pitched roof, typical of the buildings of its day.

Following the onset of World War II, the Australian government commissioned an airstrip at the mission. When Japanese forces occupied the Dutch East Indies in 1942, Drysdale became a frontline Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base, acting as a staging post for Allied squadrons based further south. The airfield was a refuelling and ammunition depot for the RAAF anti-submarine aircraft operating between Darwin and Fremantle. On February 19, 1943, the mission provided assistance to the crew and passengers of the merchant vessel Koolama, which had been attacked by Japanese planes. In February 1943, Allied signals intelligence suggested that Japanese aircraft would be built up in Timor for attacks on Darwin. Eight Beaufighters from No. 31 Squadron RAAF were despatched to Drysdale River to

prepare for a pre-emptive strike. On February 28 it was confirmed that the enemy aircraft had arrived at Penfui, near Kupang. An early morning strike destroyed 12 Japanese aircraft on the ground and damaged another 10. Two Beaufighters were damaged by Japanese fighter aircraft but returned to Drysdale River. After the war ended, the mission airstrip was decommissioned. The newer Mungalalu (Truscott) Airbase, constructed in 1944, is still in use today as a commercial airfield. Further afield of the mission grounds, visitors can explore many other sites including Wongalala Falls which was opened by the traditional owners for tourist access for the first time in April 2018. An invigorating freshwater swimming hole awaits the more adventurous travellers after one hour’s drive via a 4WD track from Kalumburu.

Kalumburu mission main building.

Photo by Fiona Brown.

Maps are available from the Kalumburu North Kimberley Tourism office before departure.

For those keen on fishing, there are a number of options for catching - or, in the author’s case, feeding! - the fish. McGowans Sunset Beach located 16km north of Kalumburu is a great spot to set up camp for a day or several. From here, visitors have a base for day trips to the surrounding falls and also Honeymoon Beach, just north at Mission Bay. There are half-day and full-day fishing charters running from Honeymoon Beach; these can be booked at either McGowans or Honeymoon.

Both sites are open April to November (depending on the weather) and subject to roads being opened by the relevant jurisdictions. Visitors should always plan ahead if hoping to gain access close to the end of the wet season - typically mid-to-late April or early May. It is advisable to have a back-up plan if the weather does not favour the brave. Permits are required for travel through Kalumburu and surrounds, and visitors should be aware it is a dry community - strictly no alcohol is allowed in the township vicinity. Kalumburu is still one of the most isolated and far-flung destinations in our great state and all visitors should prepare themselves and their vehicles accordingly. It is a harsh and unforgiving landscape, but for the daring, it has so much to offer and surely rates as one of the greatest 4WD adventures in the land down under.

Excerpt from Hema’s WA State map.

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MITSUBISHI TRITON d e g g u ar

Western 4W Driver #111

Off-Road

k o o l new

with

Rob Robson

Since the launch of the L200 some 40 years ago, Mitsubishi have amassed sales of their Triton ute to the tune of a staggering 4.7 million units worldwide, making it one of the core models in their product range.

nnet o b , l l i r g d ne New desig e given v a h s d r a gu and front celift. a f a n o t i r the T 22

Western 4W Driver #111

will kick down a couple or three gears and wonder if, in 1978, Mitsubishi could have next thing the engine is approaching the red even contemplated the idea that their line. It took a bit of getting used to but after little L200 ute would morph into a dual a week of punting the Triton around town cab ute that would one day be competing and a change in driving style I reckon I had with manufacturers such as Mercedes, Ford, its measure. Nissan, VW, Holden, Toyota, Mazda and Isuzu for a share of one of the The second thing was “Both front seats most competitive vehicle the very firm suspension markets we have seen in transmitting every bump can be heated for this country. those cold mornings.” in the road through the body of the Triton and Since 2015 the Triton has into the cab remained pretty much unchanged (apart from a minor face lift in Admittedly there was no load in the tray and 2017) while many other manufacturers and with the upgrade from five to six leaf springs - it was particularly intrusive. several newcomers have pulled out all stops to take advantage of the unprecedented The harsh ride is probably made even more demand for dual cab utes here in Oz. obvious because the Triton, and for that matter most dual cab utes, are so car-like Now it is time for Mitsubishi to throw their these days that one expects a car-like ride hat into the ring, and looking at the new which of course you’re not going to get from designed grill, bonnet and front guards they a vehicle with a full chassis and cart springs don’t seem to be holding back – it certainly up the back. looks as tough and as purposeful as any of the others in this sector. So with that in mind, Other than these two points the Triton was let’s see what else this new top of the range easy to drive around town. Triton has to offer. The controls and switches for the most part Jumping in behind the wheel after picking up the keys, first impression was just how car-like the interior had become. Leather seats and plush carpets complement the aesthetically pleasing layout of the dash, instruments, infotainment screen, climate control and the centre console incorporating the super select dial, 4wd controls and automatic shifter.

are well laid out and easy to use.

Both front seats can be heated for those cold mornings and the driver’s seat adjustment is power operated.

Driving home, a couple of things quickly became apparent. Firstly, a lack of throttle response; under a light throttle all is fine but trying to accelerate a bit more quickly produces what I would have called a flat spot in days gone by if it was an old carburetted petrol engine. The new six speed auto seems to have trouble deciding what gear it wants to be in and the turbo is slow to spool up leaving a gap between pushing the accelerator and getting an appropriate response. After the computer has thought about it, the trans

Plenty of room for long legs in the back. Western 4W Driver #111

I found the infotainment device to be fairly user-friendly too – well, at least I was able to get the radio, phone and blue tooth up and running without a problem, but I’ve got to admit that I was a bit confused when I couldn’t find a Sat-nav function. Then I discovered (amazing what you learn when you consult the vehicle manuals) that it uses google maps via a smart phone which needs to be connected into the infotainment centre using one of the USB ports in the centre console.

That tough front end and wide guards are complemented by daytime running lights and high set, compact LED head lights. Fog lights and indicators are recessed into the body moulding below and out board of the headlights.

Leather seats and plush carpets complement the aesthetically pleasing layout of the dash.

Safety features are extensive in this topof-the-range Triton, in fact they are the best in the dual cab ute sector and include Forward Collision Mitigation (FCM), Blind Spot Warning with Lane Change Assist (BSW/ LCA), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) and Ultrasonic Misacceleration Mitigation System (UMS) which helps prevent a disaster if you happen to mash the throttle by mistake in the car park. These features are over and above the standard safety kit of traction and stability control, anti-lock brakes, hill start assist, trailer stability assist, reversing camera and seven airbags. A five star ANCAP rating has been carried over from its last testing in 2015. Once at home I was able to have a good look over the exterior and ran it up on the ramps for a quick squiz underneath.

Western 4W Driver #111

I think it looks terrific but I did wonder how in heaven’s name the accessory guys are going to design a bull bar to fit this new aggressive front end. I have since learnt that Mitsubishi have come up with a range of bars that are Autonomous Emergency Brake (AEB) compatible and have facilities to fit fog lights and a light bar. Needless to say, they are totally ADR compliant, however they are not winch compatible due to the likelihood of exceeding the maximum front axle load rating. It will be interesting to see what the aftermarket industry can do. Having said that, it seems that it has become a bit of a fashion statement these days not to have a bull bar at all - but I reckon the majority of the people who read this little mag would know the benefits of a frontal protection device for outback touring. One thing that did catch my eye was the length of well body that extends behind the rear wheel. It seems that at least three quarters of the tray is behind the back axle and this, in a dual cab ute, could put a lot of pressure on the chassis unless it is strong enough to cope.

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Our GLS Premium is fitted with a tub liner and sports bar, the former serving some function, although water getting under the liner won’t be a good thing long term and as for the sports bar, well that’s just pure bling. There are six tie down points in the tub instead of the usual four.

Underneath the vehicle, a couple of thin steel splash guards provide minimal protection for the intercooler, radiator, steering rack and part of engine sump, however the lowest part of the sump protrudes out behind a cross member and appears to be quite vulnerable.

The plastic box that houses an electric motor to operate 4wd and low range hangs off the back of the transfer case and is also quite exposed and could easily cop some damage from rocks or a log that might get flicked up on a rough track.

The steel fuel tank on the passenger side is pretty exposed as well and has only a small thin guard over its leading edge. I reckon investing in some aftermarket bash plates would certainly be worthwhile if the intention is to take the Triton out into the bush. One other thing that stood out like dog’s nurries on the underbody was a large steel bracket attached to the rear diff. (probably something to do with reducing harmonics from the tail shaft and universal joints). It sits

Although the suspension is on the firm side we did find that the rear has plenty of flex.

a good 50mm below the rear diff pinion and should do a great job grading the track before it digs in and brings you to a screaming halt.

Under the bonnet is the 4N15, 2.4 litre MIVAC turbo charged and intercooled engine providing the power through a new 6 speed automatic transmission. The DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) is also in the engine bay (much less of a fire risk there than under the vehicle) positioned behind the turbo which has had to be relocated forward and up quite high to make enough room for the big DPF cylinder and heat shields. I was going to hook up the horse float and see how it towed with a couple of horses on board but unfortunately there was no tow bar fitted to our Triton.

Driving at night, the LED headlights on low beam provided a good bright vision at close quarters but high beam, although plenty bright enough lacked any depth. I reckon a light bar or some long range spots would have to be on my shopping list.

Not much change in a compact engine bay. New six speed auto makes a difference.

The Ed had taken a break so Alex Garner and I took a drive along the maintenance track for the old Alcoa railway line just out of Byford heading towards Jarrahdale. It turned out to be just the ticket; plenty of spots to see what the Triton could do out in the bush but nothing too serious to cause any damage to the brand new vehicle.

The Super Select 4wd ll system is one of the best and easiest to use that I have come across. It is a simple external dial that is turned to select 2H (rear wheel drive), 4H (allwheel drive), 4HLc (4wd – centre diff locked) and 4LLc (4wd low range). The information display on the dash provides excellent feedback to the driver as to what is engaged. With this Super Select 4WD system the 2wd option could be called the default setting for when the roads are in good condition and traction is at a premium. However if the roads become wet and slippery, engaging 4H provides seriously enhanced grip from AWD

without the risk of winding up the drive line which would be the case if the centre diff was locked.

Off Road Mode (ORM) allows the driver to choose between four different settings depending on the terrain encountered. It is available in 4HLc and also in low range. Using the ORM button next to the Super Select dial is simply a matter of scrolling through to select the appropriate mode for the conditions. Modes available are gravel, mud/snow, sand Western 4W Driver #111

At the time of writing Mitsubishi have extended the warranty to a sizable 7 years, 150,000km for new Tritons purchased before 30th June 2019. This warranty may be extended or revert to the standard 5 years, 100,000km plan plus they are also providing fixed priced serving for 3 years.

and rock. The selected mode is shown on the information display in front of the driver. ORM allows the Triton’s computer to adjust power, transmission and braking to control the amount of wheel spin and increasing traction in each of the different settings.

Our top-of-the-range Triton came with a rear diff lock which made all the difference at one stage when I had the Triton scrambling for traction on a very steep, rough and slippery pinch we encountered on our jaunt along the old railway line. The standard 265/60/18 H/T tyres certainly were a contributing factor to the lack of traction on this type of terrain.

We Reckon

With a price of $51,990 (plus on road cost) for this top of the range dual cab ute, fixed price servicing and an extended warranty, the Triton makes for an appealing alternative to some of the big names in this very competitive sector. Certainly it is not without its short comings but nothing that the aftermarket industry and a bit of cash won’t be able to sort out.

I’ve always thought that paddle shifters on a 4WD were a tad superfluous but after spending a few hours on this very bumpy track in the Triton with its far-from-supple rear suspension, I found using low range and the paddle shifters made for a far more controlled experience.

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Western 4W Driver #111

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Relaxation Hitting the remote tracks of WA can lead you to some hidden gems, fantastic scenery and magical camp sites; however, without the correct preparation, these same tracks can very well be a road to ruin…

Western 4W Driver #111

or Rescue?

n this two part series, we will look at why it is important to adequately prepare for the outback, some suggestions on how to prepare and lastly, how best to manage the situation if things go wrong. Many will have heard the sad news that Jack Absalom passed away in March of this year. Jack’s early bush travel information was part of my own and many others’ experience growing up in Australia. Jack published his first book “Safe Outback Travel”, in 1976, after an incident where he had come across a family in a desperate situation, after becoming stranded around Lake Eyre. Upon his return, Jack was amazed to find that there were no books available containing information on outback travel safety, so he decided to write one himself.

Regarded as the father of safe travel in the bush, Jack drew from his experience travelling and working in the remote Australian outback to produce practical and important information, which was desperately needed by the increasing numbers of travellers who were at the time, buying shiny new four wheel drive vehicles and setting off to explore Australia. Since Jack’s first book in 1976, many other publications and television programs have been produced, all offering tips and advice on how to prepare for the outback and how to travel safely. Despite all of this information, in all its forms, we still in 2019 hear of disaster stories and ruined trips on a regular basis. Why is this?

Put simply, many still underestimate how quickly situations can go wrong and how what might be a negligible incident around town, or on the highway, can be a life and death scenario in the bush.

Part 1

By Ben Broeder What makes outback travel more hazardous?

Without trying to state the obvious, there are multiple aspects to remote outback travel that make it inherently more hazardous than a trip down a major highway. Some of these factors include:

Distance – Australia is a big country and many locations in the outback can put you more than 1,000km from the nearest population centre. If something goes wrong, help isn’t just around the corner. Likewise, due to the vast distances, helicopters cannot operate at the ranges required for outback rescues.

Isolation – Unfortunately, more often than not, a friendly service station or homestead is not just around the corner. Even when a town is marked on the map, it may offer limited, if any, mechanical, medical or recovery services. Extreme environment – Summer and winter can both bring temperature extremes. Summer in the outback is particularly hazardous due to lack of water and shade, combined with the low humidity and high ambient temperatures.

Expense – Due to the isolation and distances over rough terrain, recovery or mechanical help can be a very costly exercise. This is due to the operators having to put their staff and equipment at the same, if not greater risk than those travelling in these locations needing assistance. Because of these reasons, even seemingly minor medical, mechanical and tractional issues can escalate rapidly. A broken limb, Western 4W Driver #111

There’s never enough cooks when it comes to breakdowns.

a failed water pump, a bogged vehicle, can all become life and death scenarios with the addition of remote travel.

Do not let this scare you off that bucket list outback adventure though. Be assured, that with adequate preparations and contingency planning, outback travel can be extremely safe, as it is for thousands of travellers each year. A good mechanic will check for signs of wear that could become an issue in the bush.

What should I do before heading out?

Whilst there’s is no ‘one size fits all’ checklist to ensure that you are set to go, there are three key area that you must ensure are adequately prepared for outback travel. Your vehicle, yourself and your travel companions.

Preparing Your Vehicle

Your vehicle is quite possibly the most important thing to ensure is well prepared and equipped for outback travel. Ultimately, more often than not, the vehicle causes travellers to become stranded in the outback. Conversely, a well prepared and equipped vehicle can equally get you out of trouble if it occurs. Some key points in vehicle preparation are:

Vehicle Maintenance

I cannot emphasise strongly enough that owners of all 4W drive vehicles should have full log book servicing regularly

carried out by a reputable and experienced mechanical service centre. Preferably one experienced in remote travel. Keep in mind there is much more to vehicle maintenance than just changing the oil and waving a grease gun around. Developing a good relationship with your local service centre is important. At the end of the day if you suffer a mechanical failure, they will most likely be your first call for assistance.

Quality Accessories

The second most common failures seen are attributed to poor quality or ‘knock off’ accessories. Poor quality suspensions, bar work, roof racks, and other accessories are seen to regularly fail. Ensure you do thorough research on accessories and only buy reputable, wellbacked products.

Overloading

Just as common as seeing accessory failures, all too often we see vehicles grossly overloaded suffering chassis failure, or the overloading

Suspension issues like this could possibly be picked up in a pre-trip inspection.

causing failure of suspension or premature failure of other vehicle components. Check what the maximum GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) and GCM (Gross Combined Mass) of your vehicle is and ensure you stay within the manufacturer’s limits.

Similarly it’s common to see accessories such as roof racks fail due to overloading from excess fuel and tyres exceeding the manufacturer’s loading specifications. Keep in mind some manufacturers have a different load rating for on road and off road use.

Heading Off?

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Western 4W Driver #111

Spare Parts

Tools

You are best to discuss with your local mechanic, who knows your vehicle well, what parts you should carry with you for your vehicle.

A good basic tool kit should comprise of the following minimum items:

Even if you are not capable of fixing your vehicle yourself, at least if you have the parts with you, someone else stands a good chance of getting you going.

Tyres

Modern tyres have come a long, long way from even what was available when I started four wheel driving. Tyre failures are a much rarer occurrence; however, that is no reason not to be prepared. Ensure you operate good quality all terrain, light truck or four wheel drive tyres off road. Be sure to operate them at suitable pressures for the speed, load and conditions. It is common to carry two spare tyres for outback travel. This is a good idea, but in addition, it is recommended to carry a tyre tube with you, which will fit your tyre/rim combination.

This way, if you destroy a tyre beyond what a patch kit can fix or bend/damage a rim, you have another trick up your sleeve that may keep your vehicle mobile. That being said, it is even more important to carry not just a ‘speedy seal’ type plug kit, but you should also have radial patches, glue, spare valves and equipment to mount and unmount tyres from your rims.

All travellers should carry a basic mechanical tool kit with them. Whilst you may not be a mechanic, you may be surprised at how simply you can fix some issues yourself or with assistance over a satellite phone. However, without any tools, you do not stand a chance.

• Comprehensive 3/8” socket set (1/4” & 1/2” sets would be excellent additions)

• Combination spanner set (keep in mind many vehicles have nuts ranging up to 22/24mm)

• Shifter, combination pliers, needle nose pliers, large and small side cutters • Slip joint pliers (multigrips) and vice grips • Comprehensive screwdriver set

• Cold chisel and large ball peen hammer • Small and large pry bar

• Test light and/or multimeter

Fuel Capacity

It’s not uncommon for inexperienced travellers to run short of fuel in the outback. Keep in mind your fuel consumption will be vastly greater off road than it is on road.

Do a couple of short off road trips, fully loaded, before your first big outback trip. This way you can gauge your vehicle’s fuel consumption and plan accordingly.

If you’re in convoy you can avoid duplication by having other vehicles carrying different tools, spares etc.

Western 4W Driver #111

It is also best practice to treat your fuel load in thirds. One third to get there, one third to get back and one third ‘just in case’.

Without harping on the matter, fuel tanks are another accessory where it is extremely important to buy quality, not just the biggest or the cheapest. Nearly every week we are removing a fuel tank to have cracks and leaks welded; whilst there some makes that we never see with issues. Be sure to do thorough research on what lasts in the outback.

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Water Capacity

It is well understood that water is important in the outback. With all remote travelling, water must be conserved at all times. If something major goes wrong with your vehicle, you and your family can last many days without food, but your demise will come exponentially quicker without water.

Ensure water containers are well strapped in. 20 litres of water can be a 20kg missile in a rollover.

Navigation

Ensure you carry adequate digital and paper maps, as well as your GPS and It’s also a good idea to a compass. You may be break your water storage Save water by only washing familiar with where you up in multiple tanks or dishes once a day. are planning to go, but containers, that way if one what if something blocks fails, you don’t lose the lot. your path and you need to take an alternate, First Aid unfamiliar route? All vehicles travelling in the outback should What happens if the device containing your carry a well-equipped first aid kit. St. John maps and route information fails, the screen breaks or the charger was to fail? Ensure you Ambulance and other organisations can have a backup in the form of paper maps or provide excellent information and kits to best backup devices. suit remote travel requirements. Ensure that you and your party can perform Likewise, it’s important that you and those in basic navigation and are able to determine your party have at the very least, basic first you current position via maps or GPS. It is aid training. important that everyone can relay position information in latitude and A comprehensive kit updated regularly is essential. longitude in case you need to convey that information to emergency services.

Communications

In the modern age, we are extremely lucky to have the capabilities of keeping in touch and calling for help from virtually anywhere in the world.

We are not just limited to the reliable, long serving HF radio, but many satellite based services, such as satellite two-way radio and satellite telephones. Western 4W Driver #111

Important Outback Contact Numbers RFDS WA 1800 625 800 / 08 9417 6389 RFDS SA 1800 733 772 / 08 8648 955 RFDS NT 1800 733 768

RFDS QLD 1300 69 7337

RFDS NSW 08 80881188

Main Roads WA 138 138

NT Road Report 1800 246 199

SA Outback Road Reports 1300 361 033 QLD Traffic Hotline 13 19 40

If you are going to carry a satellite phone, ensure you know how to use it and have a list of contact numbers for medical, mechanical and recovery assistance at the ready.

Whilst UHF CB radios are great to chat to those in your travel party, or for your spotter to guide you over an obstacle, they are not a suitable device for emergency communication in the outback. Having come across travellers in remote areas who were solely relying on UHF CB as their one and only form of communication, it is clear that not everyone appreciates the risks involved.

Recovery Equipment

All vehicles travelling in the outback should have suitable recovery points and carry, at the very least, a basic recovery kit. A suggested minimum would be: • Snatch Strap • 2 x Rated Shackles • Shovel • Traction Boards • Jacking base • Winch Extension Strap and/or Towing Strap

By carrying these items, some difficult recoveries can be achieved when combining equipment carried across multiple vehicles.

Box of Tricks

This is what can at times, be the most useful item carried in your vehicle. Again, there is no set guide, but it is something you will eventually build up and add to as your outback experience grows. Items kept in my box vary, but these items are permanently in there: • Gasket paper, gasket compound • Cable ties, fencing wire

• Spare nuts/bolts/washes

• Silicone, liquid steel/JB Weld

• Gaff, silicone, rubber & electrical tapes • Radiator sealant & solder rods

• Various wire, crimp terminals, relays & fuses

Less Is More Keep in mind that every kilogram of weight you put on your vehicle is another kilogram of strain on tyres, driveline components, cooling system and fuel consumption. Ensure you go well prepared, but pack sparingly. Leave what conveniences you can live without at home.

A great idea is to pack and use items that can have multiple uses and ensure you keep as lightly loaded as practicable. Western 4W Driver #111

Preparing You & Your Travellers

It’s all well and good if you are an experienced outback traveller, have all the medical and mechanical experience in the world, but what if it is you who is injured? Then what?

An important factor is to ensure all those in your travel party have at least some training and preparation in outback travel, first aid, communications, navigation and what to do if something goes wrong. Ensure that everyone is familiar with the route you are going to take, how your

communications and navigation equipment functions, including backup systems.

Likewise, take the time to ensure your party understands how the vehicle operates; teach them basic four wheel driving and recovery techniques so that they can assist if things go wrong. Preparing yourself and your family are just one of the many areas where joining your local four wheel drive club can impart a wealth of experience to you quickly, without you having to make the mistakes for yourself to learn from.

Summing Up As with most things, nothing can better extensive experience. However, the only way to gain experience in outback travel is to go out there and do it for yourself. The better you prepare yourself and your vehicle, the less risk is involved and you will enjoy the experience all the more. Key points to consider would be: • Ensure you vehicle is well maintained by a reputable service centre experienced in four wheel drive vehicles. • Only buy quality accessories. • Pack lightly – leave the kitchen sink at home. • Ensure you and your party learn basic outback skills, such as first aid, basic mechanical repairs, recovery and navigation techniques. • Join a local four wheel drive club, enjoy the camaraderie and learn from their wealth of experience. All clubs are only too eager to welcome new members. Join us in the next edition, where we will discuss what to do if things turn pear shaped and highlight the importance of a cool head, playing cards and a cold beverage …

Western 4W Driver #111

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FORD

R O T RAP il Dowling Words by Ne od ick Underwo Photos by N

There are times when the concept of a $75,000-plus sports ute with a dislike for heavy lifting seems a bit daft. What’s the point in looking tough if you can barely pull your own weight around the paddock? Then, on a warm autumn day in the hills high over Perth, the penny drops. Over the deep ruts of wash-aways, over ruts formed by off-road tyres squelching through wet mud, and over scattered granite rocks, Ford’s latest derivative of its globally-successful Ranger ute just breezes through.

Western 4W Driver #111

his is the Ranger Raptor - a wholly Ford Australian concept based on the Thaimade Ranger and using the styling and engineering skills of a clever bunch of Ford employees in Melbourne.

It is a conglomerate of Ford’s global parts bin and though that has a bit of Frankenstein’s monster feel about it, in practice it creates a sports ute with fun capabilities in a genre where the words fun and ute don’t co-exist.

The bits from Ford Performance - previously called Ford Racing, so you get the high level of expertise here - centre around the suspension, introducing a wide-track layout with front aluminium wishbones - Ford calls them short-long arms or SLA - and race-bred coil springs.

To this is added Fox dampers with meaty 2.5inch centres. The extra wheel travel - up 30 per cent on the Ranger - immediately enhances off-road performance and raises the ground clearance to 283mm (up about 40mm on the Ranger), requiring some modifications to the 42

Western 4W Driver #111

Fox shocks smooth out the ride.

fenders which pick up extended arch flares.

In turn, all this extra room accepts the 33-inch tyres mounted on special alloy wheels. That then brings in other problems which we’ll cover in a minute.

At the back, the Ranger’s leaf springs are ditched and with them, a severe re-rating of the payload (down about 300kg to a modest 758kg) and a 1000kg slashing of the maximum tow rating, now a miserable 2500kg. Caravan time? Forget it.

The new coil springs sit on a live axle with Watts linkage and extra locating points (multilink). It is similar to the set-up of the Ford Everest - the Thai-built wagon based on the Ranger - but with lots of Ford Performance’s input including boosted chassis rails for added strength.

The two litre twin turbo with 10 speed box is surprisingly responsive.

But the engine - now replacing the 3.2 in other models and available in the Ranger and Everest - is actually pretty good. It’s smoother and quieter than the 3.2. It’s also more economical, more responsive and at 157kW/500Nm, is more powerful than the five-pot by 10kW/30Nm.

Coils on a live axle provide plenty of articulation but at the expense of load carrying.

Then there’s four-wheel disc brakes. This is a rarity on dual-cab utes - SsangYong Musso, Mercedes-Benz X-Class are among the only ones - mainly because it attracts a higher rate of vehicle registration tax in the country that makes most of them, Thailand. The Raptor isn’t sold in Thailand so the tax angle doesn’t matter. Then the once common 3.2-litre inline fivecylinder turbo-diesel that opened the Ranger (and its clone, the Mazda BT-50) book in 2012 has been replaced.

History will show that Ford in the US made a Raptor ute in 2010-2014 and revived the name again in 2017, slotting in a 5.4-litre V8, 6.2-litre V8 and more recently, a 3.5-litre biturbo V6. If you remember the Jurassic Park movies, velociraptors had big teeth. V8 (and blown V6) engines are big teeth. A 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel has as much comparative bite as loose dentures.

To make it work better, the Raptor is the first to inherit the Mustang 10-speed automatic. This same box is also trickling down the line, available now with the 2.0-litre in the Ranger and Everest.

Skid plates protect some of the important bits.

So now we have the basic building block on which to place the cabin and tray of the Ranger in its top-shelf Wildtrak version.

Standard kit includes Ford’s beaut infotainment system called Sync3 that contains satellite navigation, six speakers, digital radio, leather upholstery and trim with blue stitching (its sister the Ranger Wildtrak Western 4W Driver #111

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has orange thread), cooled centre console, dual-zone air conditioning, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and voice-activated commands for all functions. Outside there are recovery points front and rear, underbody protection plates, wide side steps, bed liner with tie downs, electric lock for the tailgate, electric fold mirrors with heating, the unique black grille emblazoned with the Ford letters, and mud flaps. DRIVING: It may be a vehicle that draws breath from fellow motorists on the highway and the shopping centre carpark, but on the inside it’s a lamb.

The engine idles cleanly, relatively quietly and is surprisingly responsive to a prod of the accelerator, showing less turbo lag than many of its rivals as a by-product of the two turbochargers working an asymmetrical rhythm.

Strong acceleration - it will run to 100km/h from rest in a respectable 10.5 seconds shows up the ability to pick and choose from the 10 cogs in the transmission, taking off in a higher gear as it senses little load, then Lined tray looks good, carries less.

Interior is tricked in line with the exterior but hard plastic reflects Ranger roots.

skipping some of the interim cogs on its way to settle at a 100km/h cruise at just under 1500rpm. You won’t pick it up but those big 33-inch diameter wheels caused havoc with the final drive ratio, producing a vehicle that was too highly geared. To fix that, the drive ratio was dropped to match the overall ratios of the standard Ranger.

The driver has control of manually selecting the gears via the magnesium paddle shifters on the steering column, though the box generally knows what it’s doing. There can be some hunting and hesitancy when aborting acceleration, or when there’s a need to come off and then quickly back on the gas. There is a part-time drive system controlled by the now familiar twist dial on the console, with changes from 2WD High to 4WD High - and back again - made on the run. Getting into 4WD Low requires the vehicle to be stopped and we did the same exercise when engaging the rear diff lock. 46

Western 4W Driver #111

On the road it is an impressively stable and even fun ute to drive. It steers beautifully through the bends and the ride comfort is almost cloud-like in comparison to some competitors. It also shows the sophistication of the Fox dampers by keeping the body roll to a minimum. In the dirt the ride gets even better - even though the track may be gnarly. Where other 4WDs would choose to pick a path over the whoopdees, the Raptor can build up quite a speed and absorb the impacts through the long-travel arms and elasticity of the dampers.

This is seriously where the Raptor outshines others. Where you’d get higher payloads and better towing rates in rivals, this Ford delivers ride comfort in some pretty harsh tracks with maximum comfort - and safety for its occupants.

But it’s not perfect. The cabin is nicely put together but the hard plastic surfaces reflect its commercial-vehicle heart.

It seats five adults and even has positions for two baby seats in the rear, but hooking those baby seats up is a pain in the butt.

We reckon: The engine is a winner from ownership and general performance points of view. But it is the same as the Ranger and Everest and really doesn’t do justice to what Ford Australia has done with the chassis and exterior presentations. Oh, what we wouldn’t give for a supercharged - or turbocharged - V6 diesel. Want one? See Nuford Wangara who are experts on this machine and who lent us this flame-red example for the test.

Nuts ‘n’ bolts Ford Raptor. Price: $75,390 plus costs Built: Thailand Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl bi-turbo diesel Power: 157kW @ 37500rpm Torque: 500Nm @ 1750-2000rpm Fuel Average: 8.2 L/100km (12.2km/litre) Fuel Tank: 80 litres Transmission: 10-spd auto Drive: 2-spd transfer; part-time 4WD, lockable rear diff Suspension: front: wishbones, aluminium arms, coils, Fox 2.5-inch dampers; rear: live axle, multi-links, Watts linkage, coils, Fox 2.5-inch dampers Brakes: front & rear: 332mm vented discs Steering: Electric

Turning Circle: 12.9m Wheels: 17-inch alloy, full-size alloy spare Tyres: 285/70R17 Dimensions: (L) 5398mm; (W) 2180mm (H) 1873mm; (WB) 3220mm Clearance: 283mm Approach: 32.5 degrees Ramp-over: 24 degrees Departure: 24 degrees Weight: 2332kg Payload: 758kg Tow: 2500kg Service intervals: 12mths/15,000km Warranty: 5yr/unlimited distance with 5yr roadside assist and for life capped price service program costing $1415 for three years. Service Interval: 6 months/10,000km – capped price servicing. Resale (Glass’s Guide): After 3 years is estimated at 58 per cent of the purchase price. Western 4W Driver #111

Haasts Bluff stands tall above the road

Western 4W Driver #111

THE CONCEALED & COVETED

Clelands

By Ron & Viv Moon

The Cleland Hills lie deep within Aboriginal Land west of Alice Springs and Ron and Viv Moon were lucky enough to get permission to go to this long wished for destination.

Exploring in this country can be challenging Western 4W Driver #111

he comment from the Aboriginal Traditional Owner (TO) sounded ominous,

And it turned out to be a bit of a classic understatement!

Our adventurous journey had started a few hours earlier when we had travelled from the Aboriginal community of Papunya down to the much smaller community of Haasts Bluff. This route can be an alternative from (or to) Alice Springs to the Tanami Road, or the route west via the Gary Junction Road as it passes the great distinctive peak of Haasts Bluff, which is worth the drive just for that.

We dropped in and saw Douglas and after our introductions all round, we got the latest information on the track and the access to the hills, along with the warning if we dared push on further west.

This track almost sits on top of that imaginary line of Longitude that marks the Tropic of Capricorn. To our north a big sheer-sided massif stood high above the sandy plain, Mt Crawford being the most dominant point of this range. Behind the range and visible past Mt Crawford was Blanche Tower, which the local people call, ‘Winparku’. Sadly we didn’t have permission to go there, so with my curiosity held in check we pushed on to

“You’ll have trouble heading much further west to Kintore but you can try”.

We were talking to Douglas Multa, the chairman of the Haasts Bluff community and the TO of all the country in and around the Cleland Hills that we hoped to get to. Brenton, a friend of mine, with his job out in the community, had been in touch with us regarding a recce to see if a guided tour could be arranged to the enigmatic hills as a commercial venture for the community to engage in, and for their newly formed indigenous rangers to be employed in.

Western 4W Driver #111

With full tanks - both Brenton’s and my Patrol carry over 250 litres of fuel when fully loaded, along with a 100 litres of water plus all the assorted gear you need for a remote desert trip - we cruised out of the small community on the red sandy and graded road westwards.

Limestone Bore, then, with the track striking south-west we headed for the more remote Tarawara Bore, both signs of the pastoral occupation of this country before it was handed back to the Aboriginal people.

Further on at Browns Bore we became slightly geographically embarrassed as we took the wrong track, but after a few hundred metres on this better used route we knew we were heading the wrong way. We retraced out steps back to the bore, tumble-downed fencing and troughs that mark this spot and picked up a fainter track that first headed north, before striking west once more.

This was a much less used route with tall seeding spinifex standing in the middle of the track and it wasn’t long before we fitted grass blinds to the front of both Patrols to help protect the radiators from blocking up with junk and causing them to overheat. We passed yet another ‘No Entry’ sign and pushed on, dodging through a gap in a low rocky range where an ephemeral creek had washed away all signs of wheel tracks and modern man. Nearby we found, close to the

Radiator blinds to help stop grass seeds blocking the radiator were essential.

low cliffs of the range, signs of Aboriginal people who had once used this favoured area to camp and hunt.

Another 50km west we swung onto a fainter track and headed towards the eastern ramparts of the Cleland Hills, pulling up at the small camping area used by TOs and indigenous rangers when they come out for sacred ceremonies or for environmental work. Our camp was close to the Muruntji Rockhole (marked on most maps as, ‘Muranji’) but it

Browns Bore on the track west.

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was late in the afternoon and we decided to wait till next day for any further on-foot exploration. Next morning we woke to a glorious sunrise which lit up the nearby cliffs in a blaze of rich colour and while the omens seemed good our search for the ‘faces’ of the Cleland Hills, made famous by Michael Terry in the 1960s, was to no avail.

Those ‘faces’ and stylised figures have made the Cleland Hills famous, and while Terry thought they might be indications of visitors from outer space (see: https://secretvisitors. wordpress.com/2012/03/13/michael-terry/), other researchers aren’t so out there with their theories (see: http://austhrutime.com/ cleland_hills_faces.htm). Similar petroglyphs have been found in other Australian desert environments, but the Cleland Hills engravings remain unique, and while a nearby occupational site has been dated to 22,000 years ago, no such age can be determined for the faces. Terry wasn’t the first Whiteman to these remote hills, even though he first went there in the 1930’s and returned in the 1960s when

One of the faces of the Cleland Hills, which we didn’t find on this trip. (Photo by W Kempen).

he discovered the rock engravings. William Tietkens, who had gained fame under Ernest Giles as his 2IC, was in command of his own expedition west of Alice Springs in April 1889, when pushing west from the MacDonnell Ranges, he came to the low range he named the Cleland Hills. A few days later he named the more spectacular Kintore Range and the impressive abrupt bluff of Mt Strickland once seen, never forgotten! Sunrise at our Cleland camp.

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As it was we were searching in the wrong area for the ‘faces’ - a great example of not doing enough research before embarking on a remote desert jaunt, but the offer to come to this remote place had come suddenly and I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity, poor research or not. As it was, we never had permission to visit Thomas Reservoir (as named by Terry) where the ‘faces’ can be found with some diligent searching, but next time, hopefully, we’ll have a TO with us and/or a local ranger to guide us on our exploration of these unique hills.

We explored around the escarpment of the ranges for the morning till the sun and heat drove us back to camp. We found some rock shelters and pools of water hidden in the hills along with some faint Aboriginal art and grooves where spears or tools had once been sharpened, but little else. With little more to

gain from staying there we fired up the Patrols and headed south around the great arc of the Cleland Hills to continue westward and then north towards distant Kintore. A few hours later the track network began to peter out and while we had the latest maps, Google Earth satellite images and Hema navigators to guide us, we were forced to cross-country or use the faint shot-lines that could still be seen. Most of these shot lines were established in the 1970s, over 40 years ago and with a lack of use most have disappeared, or darn near so. Later that afternoon our small convoy of just two vehicles ground to a halt on top of a soft red raw dune as the faint shot line we had been following completely vanished. Marked clearly on all the maps of the area, the route had varied from barely visible to absolutely non-existent and now we were again faced with the prospect of another section of cross country travel. This time though the country in the swales between the dunes Old grinding stones are often found - you need to leave them where you find them. Muruntji Rockhole was low due to a long period without rain.

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“I think we should head that way!” - Cross country was the final option.

and the depressions around the saltpans and short-lived creeks seemed to be even more crowded with thick scrub and vegetation.

Off in the distance, to our east, was what looked like a corridor of thinner vegetation, and while it wasn’t in the exact direction we wanted to go ... in fact, it was in the complete opposite line, we decided we’d head that way and see what the next wide inter-dunal valley would hold. Sooner or later though we’d have to swing west.

Excerpt from Hema’s NT State map.

Just as we were about to head off, the barely audible wheezing of air from a slowly deflating tyre on my mate’s Patrol caught our attention. Out came the spray washing fluid and the tyre plug kit and within five minutes we had found the offending leak, plugged it, and were on our way again.

I wasn’t really set-up for cross-country and trackless travel, the Patrol was wearing its normal attire of Cooper ST Maxx rubber, and while I hadn’t got a puncture to that stage, it

Our final campsite near Mt Strickland

was more good fortune than anything else. In such conditions I prefer to run old style, but tougher, cross plies and even have a set at home of seemingly solid rubber, MRF M77 tyres, which have proven to be darn near puncture proof in such scrubby and stakey conditions. They are shocking to drive on the blacktop though so I leave them at home saving them for the cross country stuff. Still, as it turned out I never got a puncture on this trip, but my mate, Brenton, ended up with a couple of punctures from this latest offroad foray.

So our travels went on. Sometimes we had a clear run across easy country and other times we were forced to smash our way through spindly scrub, hoping not to hear the dreaded sound of a wheezing deflating tyre. Two days later after leaving our camp at the Cleland Hills we burst upon a modern track network south of Johnstone Hill, not marked on any maps and not visible on Google Earth. Our maps showed a track to the south so we headed that way even though it was in the wrong direction we wanted to go, but our hunch paid off and we drove onto a well used mining and oil exploration road, about 70km east of the Sandy Blight Road. Our speed increased from the 5-8kph we had been averaging for the last day or so to an impressive 40-50kph and we soon ate the kilometres up and camped just short of the Sandy Blight Road with the impressive peak of Mt Strickland in view. 56

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Next day we were back on a good dirt road humming back towards Papunya, our little adventure over for this year. All that remained was the not unsubstantial discussions with the TOs on further access for tour groups ... the efforts are still ongoing!

Papunya, is 250km west of Alice Springs via the Western Macs and Haasts Bluff. The community has a general store that supplies fuel and food to passing travellers. Kintore is 520km west of Alice Springs along the Gary Junction Road. Again it has a well set-up store supplying fuel and supplies to passing travellers. Visiting the Cleland Hills is only possible with permission from the Haasts Bluff Traditional Owners or from the Central Lands Council in Alice Springs. Guided tag-along tours may be available in the near future.

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When it comes to compact SUVs, there aren’t too many manufacturers who have been around as long or who have the reputation that Suzuki’s Jimny and Vitara can lay claim to. Although they are out of the same stable, Suzuki engineers and designers have taken the Jimny and Vitara in quite different directions.

Off-Road with

Rob Robson Photos by Nick Underwood

R E P SU S E I Z SU

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ecently we have had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with both the Jimny and Vitara.

Let’s start with the Vitara. I’m sure many of you, like myself, would remember the early Vitaras and Grand Vitaras. Put simply, they were a more refined offering of the ‘agricultural’ Suzuki Jimny (or Sierra as they were known in Oz).

Over the years it has to be said that the Vitara has become the softer and softer option no longer a 4wd but rather an AWD SUV wagon - although a compact station wagon might be a better description for this facelifted 2019 model. That might sound like I’m having a bit of a dig, but as soft as it has become, in reality this new Vitara is very impressive in many ways, even if it has lost much of its off road cred. The facelift is based on the 2015 model and includes the addition of some new features, minor styling changes, new safety features and a simplification of the range.

There are now three levels in the latest model - Vitara, Vitara Turbo and top of the range Vitara Turbo Allgrip. For this test we got our hands on one of the top of the range Allgrip models finished in stunning Bright Red with a Cosmic Black roof (it certainly wasn’t hard to find in the car park). Up front, both the Turbo and Turbo Allgrip models get LED headlights and are complemented with fog lights and daytime running lights set low into the front guards. With a relatively low profile (215/55/17) road biased tyre and a noticeable lack of ground clearance it was pretty obvious from the start that this Vitara wasn’t designed for anything much more than gravel roads or maybe a reasonable dirt track.

Checking underneath only reinforced its lack of bush readiness. The exhaust was by far the lowest point, with only lightweight splash guards under the engine and along the body that were certainly not designed to take much punishment. In fact, the front splash

Limited clearance and low profile tyres kept the Vitara off the beach

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Interior is light and airy thanks to a long transluscent sunroof.

Cruise Control, audio and phone can all be controlled from switches on the steering wheel, plus paddle shifters make for easy gear changing.

guard was already torn on our test vehicle and it had only travelled 450kms.

The interior is well laid out, seats are comfy and the dash looks good. The colour information screen between the tacho and speedo gives excellent feedback, particularly when twiddling the Allgrip selector knob, so that there is no confusion as to what has been engaged.

A massive sun roof retracts extensively so that the rear seat passengers can also enjoy its benefit. When it is closed however, the interior cover acts only as a shade covering allowing a lot of light into the cab - no big deal – just different. Although the Vitara is not a big vehicle it feels quite roomy inside, particularly in the front seats, plus there is plenty of headroom

The 7” infotainment screen sits above the Climate Control system. It has all the usual connectivity plus multimedia features including audio, hands free phone, navigation and smartphone integration but on the negative side I did find that the control icons were too small and the touch screen was unresponsive at times. Plenty of cargo space for a vehicle of this size.

The little 1.4 litre petrol was quite perky.

and leg room in the second row for tall passengers. There is lots of luggage space in the rear with the large door opening up nice and high making for easy access. Under the bonnet, the 1.4 litre turbo intercooled petrol engine is mounted east – west (that’s transverse for our younger readers) driving through the six speed automatic and to the front wheels via a couple of axle shafts. Drive to the rear wheels is through a tail-shaft to the rear diff. Brakes are discs all round. As you would expect the Vitara has a five star ANCAP safety rating and hosts a raft of safety

The engine is no fire breather, but it combines well with the six speed auto giving it plenty of get up and go for overtaking and on hills. The auto does a pretty good job of selecting the best gear for the situation on most occasions but if you are keen to make your own selection then the paddle shifters on the steering wheel are at your fingertips. On the highway, the little Vitara is quiet and comfortable and provides the driver with lots of confidence in its ride and handling. is quiet and took both the new comfortable and provides We After driving the Vitara Suzies down to the the driver with lots of around town for a Preston Beach area week I’ve got to say and with the help of confidence in its that I was reluctant Terry and Maggie ride and handling.” to have to hand it who own a little place back to the guys at in the town, found Gardner Suzuki. some forestry tracks in amongst the pine plantations and set about seeing what they It is nimble and quick on suburban streets both could do. and not too big, making it nice and easy With the limited ground clearance of the to get into those tight parking spots, yet it Vitara we were restricted to gravel tracks has plenty of room to load in lots of gear but we did find a soft, sandy pinch which and carry four passengers, one in the provided us with a chance to try out the front and three in the rear – although two in Allgrip functions. the back makes it not so squeezy. features including six airbags, stability control, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, weaving alert (a feature to warn of possible driver’s drowsiness), blind spot monitoring, reversing camera, with cross traffic alert and my favourite - adaptive cruise control (it keeps the vehicle at a predetermined distance from the vehicle in front even to the point of bringing it to a stop if necessary). In addition our little Vitara has hill hold control, brake assist function and hill “The Vitara descent control.

The Jimny should have been named Sandgroper, it’s so at home on our beaches.

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Enthusiastic members of the Suzuki club get out regularly in their well kept vehicles. Photo by Danica Szkiela

I managed to get our little red rocket stuck a couple of times but was able to get mobile again with a bit of backwards and forwards movement and some gentle use of the throttle. I tried all the different settings on the Allgrip selector and to be honest, none of them seemed to make a whole heap of difference, but resorting to lower tyre

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pressures, disabling the traction control and using a bit of momentum did the trick. We decided not to take the Vitara onto the beach as the access track and the soft sand above the high tide mark was chopped up and very powdery. I’m sure it would have been fine on the hard packed sand below the high tide mark but we weren’t super confident that we would get it down there without a fair bit of effort and possibly further damage to the splash guards. If I was going to ask the Vitara to do that type of thing on a regular basis, then a pair Maxtrax or similar would be good insurance. Speaking of getting the Vitara out of trouble there are only a couple of tie-down points front and rear which could be used in an emergency but definitely not with a snatch strap. Now it was time to give the Jimny a workout on the beach. We let the tyres down to 12 PSI which seemed to lengthen the tread contact enough. Of course the Jimny’s light weight is one of the factors that make it such a great off roader but that also means that tyre pressures need to be lower than on a heavier

Size matters and Jimny certainly has expanded after 34 years.

4wd to get those tyres to squat down - hence the relatively low pressures of 12psi.

As it turned out, Maggie owns a 1984 Suzuki Sierra which she uses to get along the beach to wet a line and to take Sam the German Shepherd for his daily swim. It was really interesting to compare the brand spanking new Jimny with its 35 year old heritage.

There is no denying the DNA between these two is very similar.

Our modern Jimny has gained quite a bit of weight and widened its stance considerably over the years and although the leaf springs of the Sierra have been replaced with coils and three link suspension front and rear, live axles remain which go a long way to provide the Jimny with its legendary off road capabilities. On the negative, side the Jimny retains drum brakes on the rear. Of course, the Jimny comes with a raft of modern electronics and safety features although it can only claim a three star safety rating.

The roomy interior of the Jimny (above) compared to the smaller Sierra (below)

A 7 inch touch screen infotainment centre – the same as fitted to the Vitara, sits high up in the middle of the dash and the information screen between the tacho and the speedo is also very similar to the Vitara but without colour. Steering wheel controls are also similar but that’s about as far as the similarities go in the cab. Nice to see the Jesus Bar in front of the passenger is still alive and well as is the stubby gear stick to select 4wd and low range. Western 4W Driver #111

Safety electronics include front, side and curtain airbags, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, weaving alert, hill hold and hill descent controls as well as ABS with EBD, ESC and traction control. It even has cruise control, although not adaptive like the Vitara. To put all this technology and safety features into perspective, the little blue Sierra wasn’t even fitted with retracting seat belts way back in ’84. Inside, the Sierra is markedly smaller than the Jimny. Maggie has made a false floor for Sam to lie on giving him a terrific vantage position to keep an eye on what’s happening outside. She carries all the gear she needs in the space beneath the false floor. Admittedly, Sam, at more than 50 kg is a fairly big dog, but there is not much spare room for anything else. Anyone who has owned a Sierra will know that carrying a bit of gear can sometimes require an innovative approach. Engines have come a long way in 35 years too. The 1.5 litre engine of the 2019 Jimny has multi point injection, 4 valves per cylinder, is controlled by an ECU and makes 75Kw of power. The little carburetted 1.3ltr engine in the Sierra can only muster at best 47kw. With tyres deflated, low range selected (and the free-wheeling hubs locked on the Sierra) both vehicles made light work of the soft sand on Preston Beach.

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Having a look under the Jimny, it is all business, full chassis, live axles, transfer case radius arms – all just a smaller scale compared to the likes of a 79 series, Land Rover or Patrol. Rear suspension travel is limited by the three link set but proportionate to a five link on a full sized coil sprung 4wd which gives far more articulation. While the running gear on this little beast is quite robust much of the rest of the vehicle appears to be built to a price. Flimsy plastic bumpers, door panels and fittings along with a lack of storage spaces give it a utilitarian ambience. Maggie’s little Sierra may well have been described in a similar way back in ’84, but of course times and expectations change, so what is utilitarian these days is a whole lot different than utilitarian way back then.

We Reckon

Sierras and Jimnys have always been a no frills, value for money, compact and capable 4wd. In this day and age, the 2019 Jimny, compared to many modern 4wds is no different.

On the other hand, the Suzuki Vitara Turbo Allgrip has most of the bells and whistles we have come to expect in a modern motor car and although it has very little off road cred, it is a very comfortable, easy to drive wagon with AWD for those times when a bit of extra traction could be useful.

Nuts ‘n’ bolts 2019 Suzuki Vitara. Price: Built: Body: Safety: Engine: Power: Torque: Fuel Economy: Fuel Tank: Transmission: Suspension:

$33,990 Japan Monocoque 5 Star 1.4ltr, 4-cylinder turbo, intercooled petrol 103kW @ 5500rpm 220Nm @ 1500-4000rpm 6.2L/100km (stated) 47 litres 6-speed auto, AWD MacPherson Strut with coil springs - front Torsion beam with coil springs – rear

Brakes: Front & rear - discs Steering: Power-assisted rack & pinion Wheels: 17” alloy Clearance: 185mm Turning Circle: 5.2m GVM: 1730kg Weight: 1235kg Payload: 495kg Warranty: 5 years/140,000km and 5 years roadside assistance (as long as it is serviced by Suzuki dealer) Service Interval: 6 months/10,000km – capped price servicing.

For a full review of the brand new Jimny by Neil Dowling, grab yourself a copy of the previous edition of Western 4W Driver (110).

While you might not exactly call a 150 Prado ‘small’, you’d have to admit that loading one up for an extended jaunt in the bush requires a little extra thought and preparation. Mark Bailey has taken the packing of the Prado to the next level; building a camping rig to rival any full size wagon or dedicated canopy build.

PRADO TO GO

By Alex Garner

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ark snapped up the GXL Prado brand new in 2010, complete with that new car smell and enough tyre shine to drown a cow. The new car smell was quickly replaced with campfire smoke however, and the tyre shine scrubbed away with red dirt and beach sand. Early on in the life of the Prado, Mark worked in the city, so kays on the clock weren’t wasted on city roads, unless it was taking a trip to Off Road Equipment in Myaree. Off Road Equipment is now Mark’s place of employment, although he only ended up working there after spending so much time getting to know the rest of the team as the Prado was steadily built over the course of the year. The usual necessities were first crossed off the list. A colour coded ARB winch bar with a set of Lightforce HTX spotties and upgraded fog lights which are almost as bright as spotties themselves! A winch lives here too, which hasn’t yet been needed to save the day. 70 Western 4W Driver #111

Far from a brand purist, a Kaymar steel rear bar with twin wheel carriers provides functionality and protection at the rear, and TJM side steps protect the sills. Mark reckons the TJM design sits a whole 50mm higher than other types he looked at, hugging the sills for better ground clearance. While the owner doesn’t exactly seem like the rock bouncing, hard knock 4W driving kinda guy, a set of ARB underbody protection panels can’t go astray. Already you’re probably looking at more weight than the factory suspension was designed for, not including the extensive interior setup which we’ll get to soon. RidePro springs and Bilstein shock absorbers fix this, with 400 kilo springs in the rear and 200 kilo in the front, and a set of Polyair helper bags helps when the van is hooked up. Most people these days will play around under the bonnet and squeeze the engine for every drop of power. But not Mark.

Howling Moon rooftop takes care of the sleeping arrangements.

Preferring to err on the side of longevity and reliability, the only thing close to a performance chip here is a Torqit throttle controller module. This improves the throttle response dramatically, although the Manta 2.5 inch stainless steel exhaust probably lends a hand as well. While bog stock reliability is all well and good, it stands for nothing if the vehicle cops a gut load of bad fuel. The logical way to tackle this is with a second fuel The Diesel Care fuel manager is hiding down there somewhere.

filter, which is mounted on the firewall. Just underneath this is the ARB air compressor - kudos to whoever fitted this in such a tight spot! It’s out of the way but still perfectly usable. Finally, I’d better mention the battery setup. 150 Prado owners have it pretty good, a second battery drops straight in behind the driver’s side headlight with only the addition of a battery tray and shifting one bolt. The battery here is fuelled through a Winch is yet to be baptised.

Redarc DC-DC charger, which is mounted in front of the radiator. The maximised air flow here ensures optimum performance.

We’re going inside the vehicle now, and having been told that it’s very nicely set up, I’m anticipating greatness. I’m not disappointed. At first glance, I wonder how this is comfortable with no front seats! But I soon pick that the standard Prado seats are in place, albeit hidden by camouflage pattern canvas seat covers crafted by Supafit. Sneaky! Mark has added extra power outlets for charging devices and the Hema Navigator, and the UHF radio lives in a department of the interior roof console. What’s to follow in the middle row seats and cargo area couldn’t be guessed from the outside. A full set of Solarscreen insulation makes sure of that! They also keep a lot of the heat out, and protect the windows from rogue camping gear on the loose. Hopping back into the second row of seats, and this time I’m not fooled by camo seat covers. The middle row seats are in fact, not present. In their place is a fully custom storage solution designed and crafted by Mark. This cabinetry provides a flat surface on which is mounted a 38 litre Engel Eclipse fridge. The other half of More storage under the fridge.

Seat covers handy to hide the results of a hair-raising descent. No middle seats = plenty of storage.

the platform is used to throw bags of clothes and similar bulky items. Also stashed here are a couple of folding chairs restrained against the cargo barrier, keeping them in place over the rough stuff.

As the platform is quite high, it’s left plenty of space underneath where Mark has crafted nooks to tuck away tools and whatever else fits. Water Maxtrax are cleverly tucked away behind the wheel carriers. storage also finds its home in this area, with a side in the bottom, and a taller stacked atop 40 litre water tank in the foot well. on the left. Above the right hand drawer As Mark swings away the wheel carriers to is the Engel Legacy Anzac Edition 40 litre open the back door, it becomes apparent fridge, in its camo bag. Your camo tricks that the Maxtrax are not mounted to the won’t fool me twice buddy! Everything has spare wheel as I had first thought! There’s its place back here; the much loved travel a clever piece of custom fabrication here buddy oven, tie down points for camera which Mark discussed with the workshop gear or bottled water, even the two butane team at ORE, and had them knock up. This stoves slot into their own spot between the way, the Maxtrax can be mounted using drawer and the fridge. the spare wheel mount holes in the door. Swing that door open, and we behold Last of all back here, I’ve gotta mention some rather genius custom work. the drop down table mainly for the sake of you 150 Prado owners. You’ll know of All of the drawers and frame were once the little plastic hatches in the rear door again designed and crafted by Mark. Three where tools are stored. Well Mark has drawers in total. Two slimmer ones side by Folding chairs are restrained against the cargo barrier.

Nifty drop-down table on the rear door with casual storage behind.

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Mark built his own drawer system and it works a treat.

cleverly removed one of these and replaced it with a perfectly cut piece of chequer plate, hinged as a table; but with space behind to stash some condiments. Not a large table, but very clever!

For a fella so well set up, you’d be surprised if I said he prefers to sleep in the dirt next to the campfire wouldn’t you? Well, no surprises today because Mark is a roof top tent kinda guy. Mounted to a Pioneer roof tray on Rhino Rack bars, a Howling Moon tent folds over the back of the vehicle. This orientation has always been my preference for a wagon, as unfolded it offers a little extra cover. There’s a light installed on this one so that when folded over it is perfectly positioned to light the fridge, drawers and table.

The recovery gear lives up top too, aside the awning. In a lockable box bolted to the roof tray it’s easily accessible and strips away the bother of having to throw muddy snatch straps in with the camping gear.

Mark mostly gets the Prado out on Campfire Escapes trips, helping out where he can, acting as tail end Charlie, or just being the ‘meat in the sandwich’ so to speak. The Prado also gets hauled around and shown off under the Off Road Equipment banner at most of the four wheel drive or camping events around Perth, and if you see it on display, it’s absolutely worth a closer look.

All space maximised on the roof rack. Redarc charger with its own viewing slot.

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POWER TO BURN ... Part 4

USING THE

ENERGY

With Alex Garner

Over 3 gruelling articles you’ve learnt how to choose a battery for your 12 volt system, the various ways you can connect it all together, and you’ve come to understand the pros and cons behind the different methods of charging. The energy is all there, now let’s look at how we consume it.

very point in this final instalment should be considered right from part 1. The accessories you choose to run will have an impact on the battery you select, wiring you install, the charger you need, and the method you use to deliver that charge. So grab a notebook and start listing all the accessories you might like to run.

Include the 24 and 240 volt accessories too. Lights, fridge, sound system, water pump, camera charger, disco lights ... make sure you get it all! Write down the voltage and current draw in amps as well. You’ll often find these in the instruction manual, online specifications, product labels, or even just printed on the box. Some products will just have a wattage, which we can be broken down into amperage very easily with this equation: Amps = Watts ÷ Volts

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12V or 24V Wherever possible, always use accessories designed for your vehicle voltage. It’s more efficient this way. Some items such as fridges will run 12, 24 or 240 volt, and a good number of LED lights will work on any system from 9 to 32 volts. That’s brilliant, because no voltage converter is needed! However, amp hour consumption changes with voltage, and you may like to get an idea of what it will be. Personally, not being a mathematician, I prefer to do it the following way. First determine the wattage of the item. Amps x Volts = Watts. So an appliance running at 12 volts with a 10 amp rating would be 120 watts. Now flip that equation back around to get amps, ensuring you replace the voltage. Let’s say 24 volts. Amps = 120 (watts) ÷ 24 (volts). That’s 5 amps! So by doubling the voltage, we have halved the current draw. That works great for multi voltage appliances, but maybe you’ve pilfered some nifty bit of 24 volt tech off a military Humvee; and you really want it in your 12 volt system. For this, you’ll need a voltage converter. You will lose some energy in the conversion process, and exactly how much depends on the model of voltage converter you choose. Generally 85 to 90% efficiency is a pretty good rate.

Inverters While cases where you need to boost 12 volts to 24 are rather uncommon; boosting to 240 volt mains power seems just about a must do

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these days. There’s two key points to consider when shopping for an inverter; wattage, and pure vs square vs modified wave. Pure, Square, or Modified wave?

AC power is very different to DC power. If you hooked up something called an oscilloscope to your mains power at home, you’d see what’s called a sinewave. It would be full of beautiful smooth curves.

An inverter delivering a square wave is about as far from a beautiful smooth curve as you can get. In my opinion, they’re pretty much useless for most appliances, and may damage a range of items. If you’re not careful and buy a 1000 watt inverter off eBay for 20 bucks, you’ll probably end up with this. My advice is to give these a wide berth.

Modified sine wave lands in between square wave, and sine wave. It’s really just a square wave tidied up a little with some extra processes. It’s a bit smoother, and much more efficient than square wave. Most battery chargers or power bricks actually convert AC to DC within themselves. These will be safe to use on a modified sine wave inverter, though there are exceptions. AC appliances with digital controls may give you trouble. Think digital TVs, motorised devices with electronic speed control etc. Pure sinewave, as the name suggests – is pure as a sinewave can be. Hook up that oscilloscope and it will look just like the power at home. The internal process is the most complex of the three inverter types – which makes these larger, and significantly pricier. However, there’s no limitations here –

just about anything will run as well on a pure sinewave inverter as it will at home. Choosing Your Wattage

240V appliances just about always have their wattage printed on the product, or power adaptor. This makes it simple. Just find the highest wattage appliance you wish to use and shop for an inverter which covers that need. If you plan on powering multiple items at once, just add their wattage up and search for an inverter to cover the total.

As you’re shopping around, you’ll come across ‘peak’ or ‘surge’ ratings. This is important if you’ll be running a device with a motor, 240v fridge or freezer, or an air conditioner if you’re that way inclined. These devices can draw double or even up to 5 times their continuous rating on start up, so it’s super important that your inverter can handle this.

How much will my inverter use?

Just a few paragraphs back you saw the equation for watts to amp hours, so the idea of a 1000 watt inverter may be scaring you. “NEARLY 80 AMPS AN HOUR!” you say? Well, yes. But only if you’re running a 1000 watt appliance. If your 1000 watt inverter is only running a 100 watt appliance, you’re below 8 amp hours; not allowing for inefficiency within the inverter. If you’d like to calculate for inefficiency, you can extend upon the formula you learned earlier; Watts ÷ Volts ÷ Inverter efficiency = amps. If the inverter you’re looking at has 90% efficiency, that should be entered as 0.90 in that equation. One final thing to keep in mind here, is that all inverters have a standby load when switched on, even with nothing plugged in. It can be up to a couple of amps, so always switch it off when not in use.

Western 4W Driver #111

A quick note on inverter wiring Always wire an inverter as close to the battery as possible. If you choose a 1000 watt inverter, and plan to install it 4 metres from the battery, the cable size is ridiculous. It comes out at around 46mm if the inverter is used at full power. That’s never going to happen! Change that distance to 80cm and a cable of around 10mm will do the job nicely.

Will I Need 3 Batteries? So you’ve done the maths, and figured out the total amp hour draw for everything you want to run. As I mentioned briefly in the first part of Power To Burn, most batteries can only be drawn down to 50% capacity, or down near 20% if it’s lithium. An average capacity for an AGM battery around N70 size is 100 amp hours or so, meaning you’ve got 50% of that to play with. Say you’ve got a 2amp LED light going for 5 hours, a fridge drawing an average of 1 amp over 12 hours, and an 80 watt camera battery on the inverter charging for 4 hours at 7.5 amps. You’ve used 52 amp hours over that 12 hour period. Either you need a charging solution first thing in the morning (refer Power to Burn part 3 for that) or you need extra batteries. I mentioned my personal setup in Power to Burn part 2, which involves two batteries linked in parallel. You can see the wiring diagram for it if you flick back to that edition. For extra capacity, I reckon this setup is the way to go. You can use the same charger to fill them both at once, and connecting a 80

Western 4W Driver #111

load to either battery will drain them both simultaneously. It’s essentially one big battery.

However, there are some rules that must be followed to ensure its effectiveness. First of all, the two batteries to be linked should be right next to each other. Secondly, they must be exactly the same. Same brand, same chemistry, same exact model and both brand new. They will be connected positive to positive terminal, and make sure the cable connecting them is able to flow the full capacity of the battery – you want effectively no resistance here. Now, attach your charger to either battery as per usual, and the same for your loads. The other way to add a third battery is to install a completely separate system. This is obviously more expensive; but it may be your only choice if two batteries can’t be set side by side one another. The difference here is that the batteries will be charging separately, and you’ll have to pick which accessories will draw from which battery. An example of one such system may involve a wet cell deep cycle battery under the bonnet, and a lithium battery in the cargo area. Charging the wet cell battery could be managed by an electronic relay isolator under the bonnet; while the lithium would have its own lithium capable DC charger mounted down the back. Both would be linked to your start battery and charge independently from there.

Voltage Drop: the enemy of everything Voltage drop occurs because all conductors, every part in your circuit, has a level of resistance. To reduce the impact that the resistance has, wire diameter must be increased. Using wire with a diameter too small for the task can mean such a loss of voltage that your fridge or other accessories do a very poor job, or even no job at all. If you’re an auto electrician doing this install entirely by the book, you’d perfectly size each wire diameter after calculating the length of the cable run, and power requirement

at the other end. There are a number of generalisations out there which err on the side of overkill, but that’s always a better alternative to not going big enough!

Well, most of us aren’t auto electricians, so we’re lucky to have the internet full of wire size calculators and charts! If followed correctly, these will get us pretty close to perfect with our wire size choices while erring on the side of caution. It’s generally a case of entering your system voltage, the length the cable must be; and the number of amps you expect to draw through that wire (already obtained since you’ve wrote this down earlier right?). It takes some solid planning, but soon you’ll know exactly which items will share a power cable, which ones will have their own, and exactly how thick each of these should be.

Monitoring your remaining energy The final piece in the four part ‘Power to Burn’ puzzle is monitoring your consumption, and it can be as simple or as whiz bang as you like using different tools or meters. Measuring By Volts

The basic measure for approximate state of charge is voltage. A good multimeter which measures to two decimal places will tell you

what you need to know. Rather than write it all out, I’ve inserted a chart here showing approximate battery voltage as they relate to remaining capacity in percentage (FLA means flooded lead acid, or wet cell). Be very wary looking at these charts, because some are for referencing when your battery is under load, while others are to be used where the battery has been given time to rest. This one is after rest. Resting voltage is the most accurate, but the battery must sit with no load and no charge for 12 hours or more. Not really practical in the bush. Give it at least half an hour with no load and no charge, and these values will be acceptably close to accurate Next up is a simple volt meter. It just takes the voltage reading function like that in your multimeter, and places it in a gauge or digital readout which you connect to the battery. It’s permanently connected to the battery, and gives you a constant readout. Measuring With Amps The most basic ammeter will tell you how much current is flowing through it at that exact moment. You can often purchase these as cheap as a simple volt meter, and often with a volt meter and ammeter in the same gauge. Being able to see the amps currently drawing alongside where your battery voltage is sitting; will allow you to get a pretty good picture in your head of how long you’ve got left. Or you could even be precise and

Comparison of Battery State-of-Chart to Open Circuit Voltage for 12-Volt Batteries % Charge

FLA

Gel

AGM

100

12.70-12.60

12.95-12.85

12.90-12.80

12.40

12.65

12.60

12.20

12.35

12.30

12.00

11.80

11.80 Western 4W Driver #111

A volt meter and ammeter in the same gauge is an easy way to see how many amps you are drawing.

work it out mathematically. But why stress over maths when you’re trying to relax? There’s battery monitors to do that for you. Measuring with battery monitors

If you opted for a full battery management system such as a Redarc BMS to handle alternator, solar, and 240V charging, as well as connecting and switching loads, you’ve got it easy. These will have full amp and volt measurement as part of their function, while a microprocessor keeps an eye on exactly how much juice is going into your battery, and out of it! This information can be presented to you in a variety of forms such as amp hours remaining, amp hours consumed, time to battery depletion, watt hours used, and more.

But if you’ve already gone a different route, don’t be sad. There’s no need to miss out. There are stand-alone battery monitors that will do a similar job. Take the Victron BMV 700 for example. It will measure volts and amps, just like a basic gauge; and constantly monitor these measurements through a microprocessor. Just like the BMS system you’ll get battery voltage, amp hours consumed, time remaining at current discharge rate, discharge alarms and all sorts of fun stuff!

REDARC Manager30, Battery Management System.

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Western 4W Driver #111

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One Final Thought

There’s a lot of consideration which goes into an auxiliary power system, as four parts of jam-packed information has taught you! One thing is for sure when it comes to 12 volt electrical; everyone is going to have an opinion on what’s right or wrong. But in the end, if the food and drinks are cold – and your vehicle isn’t burning down, you’ve done a good job. Kick back and enjoy your hard work.

ISUZU GETS A MAKEOVER By Neil Dowling

Lower ownership costs continue to sweep through the Australian new-vehicle market with Isuzu Ute this month announcing a substantial boost to its warranty, roadside assistance and capped-price service program that coincides with a make-over for its increasingly popular D-Max ute and MU-X SUV models. Western 4W Driver #111

uyers swayed by Isuzu Ute’s reputation for durability, reliability and low fuel consumption - in comparison to its rival body-on-frame ute and SUV manufacturers - now have even more reason to pick the Japanese-owned, Thai-built brand that usually isn’t the first choice for offroaders. The lift to six years or 150,000km warranty (from five years and 130,000km) and the sixyear roadside assistance plus capped-price service that now stretches to seven years allows long-term owners plenty of scope to budget. It gets better. If you own an Isuzu Ute, the company has also confirmed capped-price servicing for MY16.5 and MY17 models at five years or 75,000km, and for MY18, five years or 75,000km. The pricing schedule is the same as MY19 models. It is an excellent warranty beaten only by the SsangYong Rexton and Musso that has seven years plus seven-year roadside assistance and seven years of capped-price servicing.

Mitsubishi’s latest Triton has a seven-year warranty, one-year roadside assist and threeyear capped-price service program but the extended warranty period - effectively adding two years to the existing cover - ends on June 30 this year.

Other dual-cab ute-makers are Ford (fiveyear warranty, one-year roadside and lifetime capped-price service); Nissan (5/5/6); Mazda (5/5/5); Holden (5/1/7); and Toyota (5/0/3). Isuzu Ute said at the model launch at the Lindsay Fox-owned Australian Automotive Research Centre driver training and proving

ground complex near Anglesea west of Melbourne that the total cost for scheduled annual servicing for the seven years would be $3600. That is especially of interest to grey nomads who have been lured to the brand like chewing gum to a boot sole and have made up a surprisingly large percentage of newIsuzu buyers over the years. Isuzu Ute isn’t going to let that owner group go anywhere, so aside from the better ownership offering, the ute and SUV don’t look a whole lot different to before. In fact, run a competition and few would pick the 2019 model year in a carpark. In a world of intense rivalry, Isuzu Ute’s relative inaction to progress is partially because of the adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t change it’ and because in 2021, there will be a completely new model in a joint venture with Mazda. The agreement puts common underpinnings but not necessarily engines - under distinctive bodies badged D-Max or BT-50. For those who cannot wait, the 2019 modelyear D-Max and MU-X launched last month have new grilles, different wheel designs, retuned steering (for the MU-X) and the release of a limited-edition X-Runner version that adds more fruit to the top-line LST ute variant. There are no changes to the MY19 drivetrain or body choice, with the in-house 3.0-litre turbo-diesel marching on for its seventh year with the same 130kW/430Nm driving a six-speed manual or automatic transmission through a part-time 4WD low-high range layout.

D-Max body styles remain the dual-cab or space-cab for the ute, and a single-cab for the cab-chassis. There are rear-drive variants and both standard height and High-Rider 2WD versions as well, reflecting the core workhorse audience.

Prices for the D-Max have risen a couple of hundred dollars at best and now start at $28,600 plus on-road costs for the 2WD single-cab cab-chassis manual, with the least-expensive 4WD dual-cab being the SX manual at $44,600 plus costs.

Isuzu Ute sits about fourth on the ute sales ladder, ahead of Nissan, which is a pretty comfortable position for a brand that is not as gossiped about as regularly as Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi. The MU-X SUV is 15th on the list but this single model is still ahead of SUV sales for Audi, Jeep and Volvo. In 2018 its two models - the D-Max and the MU-X - outsold all the models from Audi and were a fraction off outselling BMW. That’s a

The most expensive permanent grade is the LS-T auto at $54,800. The limited-edition X-Runner, of which only 645 will be made available, is based on the LS-T and has a $54,990 sticker price that considering its extra features, makes it a bargain. The MU-X SUV versions, which are not available with a manual transmission, are priced from $42,990 for the 2WD to $56,400 for the LS-T plus on-road costs.

The pricing is right and there’s a lot to love in the package, particularly from an owner and driver perspective. I’ll touch more about driving later but firstly, there’s a bit missing inside the 2019 models. Western 4W Driver #111

massive accomplishment for what people see as a small player and an indication of the swell surrounding ute and SUV sales and, perhaps, even a better indication of the reputation the brand has amongst owners. But put the two models up against the respective offerings from Ford - Ranger and Everest - and it’s clear where Isuzu has slipped a bit in not catering for the ever-increasing customer demand for higher safety and convenience (particularly infotainment) features. The latest D-Max does not have autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that comes standard in utes including the Ford Ranger, SsangYong Musso, Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

Western 4W Driver #111

It also lacks a contemporary infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and even the satellite navigation could do with much better screen graphics. This year Isuzu acknowledged that things could improve. It has offered a safety option pack with blind-spot monitor and rear crosstraffic alert for the MU-X at $955 that is also available as a retro-fit for MY17 and MY18 versions.

Front parking sensors are now available for the ute and SUV for $545, including retro-fits for the same two previous years. From little things big things may grow and these safety options may lead to a more comprehensive package in the future.

So that’s the end of my grizzle because in most other areas, the D-Max and MU-X are sturdy and competent, pleasingly economical (to a point), comfortable (to a point), quiet (most of the times) and above all, reliable.

The heart is a 3.0-litre JJ1 turbo-diesel that has its basics shared with the Isuzu N-Series truck. Note that Isuzu (truck maker) and Isuzu Ute (ute maker) are not directly related so don’t expect the truck people to stock parts for your ute and vice versa. Unchanged is the engine’s carry over 130kW at 3600rpm and 430Nm that comes in at 2000rpm and stays around until 2200rpm before gently drifting off.

They are not big figures for a four-cylinder turbo-diesel. Compare, for example, the 2.0-litre bi-turbo mill in the Ranger at 157kW/500Nm; the Holden Colorado at 147kW/500Nm; the Navara (140kW/450Nm); and Triton (133kW/430Nm) that also has last year’s tech. Run those figures around your next friendly barbecue meet and the chatter becomes distinctly embarrassing. Until you take the vehicles into the bush.

Owners who know what is what under the bonnet will identify the Isuzu’s open engine bay and good location of serviceable items, plus the high air intake. It has a chain-driven camshaft to minimise maintenance and eliminate breakage. There’s also a primer for the diesel fuel pump in case you run out and have to expel the air before restarting.

There’s no room for a second battery - not uncommon today - so that needs to be relocated under the rear seat.

Under the body is the same full-ladder frame chassis that is one of the reasons the ute (and wagon) have a reputation for strength.

The suspension is wishbones at the front and leaf strings on a live axle at the rear while the MU-X gets coils and multi-links on the live axle. Isuzu Ute is in the middle of a recall of the leaf springs, with 4717 utes in Australia being recalled to ensure a spring eye won’t bind and cause damage to the leaf. There is also hydraulically-assisted power steering, front disc brakes (rear discs for the MU-X, drums for the ute), and an Aisin sixspeed automatic that was upgraded in 2016 from a five-speed Aisin.

Why rear drums for the ute? It’s a peculiarity of the Thai road licensing rules where the drums designate workhorse vehicles. So any ute made in Thailand - Nissan Navara, Ranger, Hilux, Triton and the D-Max - get drums while the SUV versions (Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest and MU-X) are allowed to have rear discs.

Driving:

Don’t expect a huge change from the previous Isuzu D-Max or MU-X and you’d be happy. The pair drive exactly like their predecessors and even the steering tweaking on the MU-X - designed to make low-speed steering a bit lighter - is barely worth a mention.

Off the mark the D-Max is pleasantly brisk with strong low-speed torque and a noisy growl. It will run past the 4000rpm mark but it’s best not to go there as the torque has practically left the building and the noise level has reached the aural pain threshold. It is best to operate it around 1500-3000rpm which, despite being a narrow band, is handled perfectly by the six-speed automatic (the manual wasn’t available at the launch).

The box is a beauty, with slick changes and perfect ratios. The ute tours beautifully and while it isn’t a fan of fast corners, it has positive steering feel and strong brakes.

The suspension is choppy at low speeds and produces shudders through the empty tray over ruts, though it’s comfortable on smooth bitumen and even better with a load.

I tried it with a 1600kg boat and trailer combo on a single axle and the ute barely raised a sweat. The winding roads around the coast of Victoria were taken with ease and it was only on the hilly sections that the bulk behind the tow bar started to drag down the performance.

On the AARC’s (very) steep concrete downhill sections that aim to prove up descent and ascent performance, the Isuzu Ute’s in-built technology that keeps the vehicle at an even pace proved simple to use and very effective.

Making the ute travel faster or slower on such descents is as simple as touching either the brake or accelerator, replacing some manufacturers who have complex crawl buttons and push-button descent switches. The MU-X is a more comfortable vehicle because of the rear coils, multi-links and some extra weight over the rear axle. It is similar to the Ford Everest and SsangYong Rexton, which puts it in good company.

The cabin is functional but has a lot of hard plastics to reflect its workhorse ancestry. However, the trim and fit are excellent and well made for someone demanding function over form. It’s still an impressive machine that has its reputation for reliability as the ace card. It remains highly recommended.

Nuts ‘n’ bolts Isuzu D-MAX & MU-X

Price: from $44,600 (ute 4WD) and $50,200 (SUV 4WD) plus costs Built: Thailand Engine: 3.0-litre 4-cyl turbo diesel Power: 130kW @ 3600rpm Torque: 430Nm @ 2000-2200rpm Fuel average: 7.9 L/100km (12.2km/litre) Fuel tank: 76 litres Transmission: 6-spd auto (or 6-spd manual) Drive: 2-spd transfer; part-time 4WD, lockable rear diff Suspension: front: wishbones, coils rear: live axle, leaf springs (ute)/ multi-links, coils (SUV) Brakes: front: vented discs; rear: drums (ute)/solid disc (SUV) Steering: hydraulic Turning circle: 12.6m

Western 4W Driver #111

Wheels (LS-T): 18-inch alloy, full-size alloy spare Tyres: 255/60R18 Dimensions: (L) 5295mm (W) 1860mm (H) 1855mm (WB) 3095mm Ground clearance: 235mm Approach: 30 degrees Ramp-over: 22.3 degrees Departure: 22.7 degrees Weight (LS-T): 2026kg (ute)/2157kg (SUV) Payload (LS-T): 1024kg Tow: 3500kg (ute)/3000kg (SUV) Service intervals: 12mths/15,000km Warranty: 6yr/150,000km with 6yr roadside assist and 7-year capped price service program costing $3600 for seven years. Resale (Glass’s Guide): After 3 years is estimated at 49 per cent (ute) - or 53 per cent (SUV) - of the purchase price.

GO YOUR

OWN WAY GET OFF THE BEATEN TRACK IN THE 3-LITRE, 430Nm, 6-SPEED ISUZU D-MAX & MU-X The Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X are stand out performers on or off-road. With the legendary Isuzu 3-litre turbo diesel engine, 430Nm of torque and an intuitive 6-speed transmission across the range. Coupled with a Terrain Command 4WD system and outstanding towing capacity, the D-MAX and MU-X have everything you need for any adventure. GO YOUR OWN WAY! Discover the Isuzu D-MAX & MU-X at your local Isuzu UTE Dealer or isuzuute.com.au

5-star ANCAP safety rating on all MU-X models & 4x4 D-MAX Crew Cab models built from November 2013 onwards & 4x2 D-MAX Crew Cab High Ride models built from November 2014 onwards. ^6 years/150,000km (whichever occurs first), for Eligible Vehicles with a Warranty Start Date on or after 1/1/19. Excludes trays & accessories. <6 years Roadside Assistance (unlimited kilometres) for Eligible Vehicles with a Warranty Start Date on or after 1/1/19. > The Capped Price Servicing Program (“CPS Program”) applies to Eligible Vehicles at Participating Isuzu UTE Dealers only. For 19MY & later vehicle models, the Capped Price Servicing covers the first 7 Scheduled Services for up to 7 years/105,000km (whichever occurs first). CPS Program is subject to change. For full terms & conditions, current pricing & model eligibility visit isuzuute.com.au/service-plus-disclaimer.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

AS TIME GOES BY

Wild Trax with Ian

Elliot

I’ve been bumbling about in the bush for more than 60 years now and since I retired from the Public Service in 2002, this has become pretty much a way of life for me.

be sporting. In fact, one of my group has suggested that decisions have already been made concerning the sharing out of my gear should I meet with unfortunate misadventure.

a laughable discussion on how deep a hole would be necessary and whether it would qualify for an entry into the books on lonely graves compiled by two of our group, Yvonne and Kevin Coate. Also, there is often loud argument on who should inherit the surplus 4WD or the after market equipment it might

It’s always a good idea to inform camp mates of your intended route whenever you go off for a bushwalk. In the past, used to my lone desert wanderings, I’ve been one of the worst offenders in this respect. No-one knew where I was when a pair of dingos had a go at me 3km from camp away out near the Millar

We’ve long had an unwritten agreement that, if an accident or sickness required y expeditions tracing explorer’s routes calling in a chopper, we’d all share any cost or searching for particular rockholes that might be involved, and no doubt the or gnammas generally involve a hefty same agreement would be in play should chunk of remote, cross-country travel. I’m any of our party become lost. I’ve had a little very fortunate in having an interested group experience of a couple of these scenarios. I of friends whose eagerness to accompany was on the point of calling in the SES for a lost me on these jaunts has allowed me to teenager out near Cave Hill back in the 1990s continue them so far into my senior years. In but, fortunately, he turned up a few hours fact, I would probably have given the harder later on a track I was patrolling, much to the expeditions away by now if it hadn’t been for relief of us all, especially his Mum. A roll-over mates a little younger than I taking over all experienced by two of our group in 2011 the heavy lifting jobs that go with travelling between Meekatharra and Wiluna gave us all in tiger territory. a fright but a triple zero call on a sat phone However, none of the members of the had a crew in Canberra organising help Wildtrax mob are getting any younger and it’s for us almost immediately. They had police a fact that more and more 4W Drivers getting and volunteer ambulance officers out to us out into remote country are seniors. I’m well within the hour, wonderfully helpful people past my allotted three who not only had score and ten and “Sitting around a campfire our injured friends we have others in of an evening on our travels, quickly in Meeka the group a fair bit Hospital before being I’ve more than once noticed older than I. Sitting around a campfire of the conversation swing around transferred to Royal Perth by the RFDS an evening on our to the proper procedure that evening, but also travels, I’ve more for a remote death.” arranged for a tiltthan once noticed tray truck to get the the conversation wrecked Landcruiser swing around to the proper procedure for a to a lockup yard in Meeka the same afternoon. remote death. Usually this degenerates into

Western 4W Driver #111

suggested that, if possible, it’s a good idea Range in the GVD when I wasn’t carrying a for two people to check for lack of pulse and hand-held. The same along the Fitzroy River breathing before you make the assumption South of Camballin in the Kimberley when, of death. after driving about 7km from camp, I came windmilling down a flood plain embankment A cousin of mine died of a massive heart I’d climbed and was very lucky not to break attack while driving in Scotland, so I asked my both legs. It occurred to me, as I lay painfully police officer friend about such an occurrence on a meat ants’ nest in the desert. He felt trying to get my breath “I’ve been wondering lately, that, if the vehicle back, that, had my legs stalled and jerked to a exactly what is the proper been broken, I’d have halt as the result of the procedure if one of us does had a hard job crawling driver’s demise, it could back to my nearby eventually fall off the be deemed a natural vehicle and reaching death. On the other perch out there?” the radio microphone hand, if the vehicle ran to call for help. Since into a tree or a rock, or over the edge of a then, I’ve been trying hard to follow my breakaway, this could be considered to be own advice to keep people informed of my an accident. If the deceased was alone in the intended movements although I don’t walk vehicle who’s to say whether the heart attack far these days due to dicky knees that, thank caused the accident or whether the accident goodness, have also prevented further illcaused the heart attack. advised marriage proposals. It’s clear that there are many different Nevertheless, I’ve been wondering lately, interpretations that may apply depending on exactly what is the proper procedure if one the circumstances and, for that reason, even of us does eventually fall off the perch out though I have happily travelled alone with just there? A particular factor in the situation an epirb at times (and during my earliest trips my Wildtrax mob may be in is that we could I often had no means of communication), my be two or even three days from the nearest preference for many years has been for a sat track. While this doesn’t prevent a chopper phone. Don’t get me wrong, an epirb or a from reaching us, it could create very real HF radio remain excellent safety precautions difficulties for any 4WD assistance. When I put in addition to informing friends or relatives this to a police officer with Coroner’s Court of your route and intended date of return experience he explained that, while all remote (always good to leave a note to this effect deaths need to be reported to the authorities, with a convenient police station too). Also, there is a distinction between natural deaths don’t forget to stow an epirb where it’s easy and accidental deaths. to get at. With a natural death, someone expiring in My preference for a sat phone is because it their sleep for instance, I was told there would will allow discussion concerning requirements probably be nothing wrong with transporting with the relative authorities before deciding them in their swag or wrapping them in a upon the best course of action. My fervent tarp to get them to the nearest police station hope is that such an event will never occur or medical centre. But the Coroner prefers to any remote travellers, especially me and the bodies of people killed in accidents to my mob, but, as greater numbers of us remain in-situ until they can be examined by ageing 4w-drivers are knocking around in the authorities. If you need to leave the body our fabulous desert heartland, the possibility in order to meet and guide people to the becomes more and more probable as time goes by. My thanks to Blair Montagu, Paul site, you should protect it from the attentions Kennedy and Terry Bentley for their input into of dingos with a tarp or some other firmly this topic. fastened covering. A nurse friend has 94

Western 4W Driver #111

What’s in a name?

with Ian Elliot

A Shrinking World?

well recall my father’s indignant response whenever I spoke of Eighty Mile Beach on the Pilbara coast.

“It was always Ninety Mile Beach when I went to school,” he’d remark, “are you suggesting our country is shrinking?” “No, Dad, Ninety Mile Beach is in Victoria.”

“Rubbish,” he’d reply, “WA’s got longer and better beaches than Victoria any day.” Although Dad is no longer with us, I decided recently to check the relative claims of Gumsuckers and Sandgropers in connection with the lengths of their coastal sand deposits with the following results.

Ninety Mile Beach lies on the SE coastline of East Gippsland and separates the Gippsland Lakes from Bass Strait. It stretches between Port Albert and Lakes Entrance, a distance of around 151km or 94 miles. I’m not sure who first coined the name, but there is no doubt that the feature has a definite claim to its title.

Eighty Mile Beach, on the other hand, was named and described by the Inspector of Pearl Fisheries in a Notice to Mariners dated 8 October 1888 that was published in WA’s Government Gazette. This name was added to all relevant Lands Dept. Public Plans in 1890. Sometime prior to 1903 it was changed to ‘Ninety Mile Beach’ on maps. This situation remained static for twelve years which explains my Dad’s schoolday memories. The alteration back to Eighty Mile Beach may have been to avoid duplication with Victoria’s beach. An official description of the WA feature can be found as part of the Admiralty Sailing Directions in the Australia Pilot, Vol. 5,

Excerpt from Hema’s WA State map.

7th Edition. It maintains that this feature is the stretch of low sandy coast extending “nearly 80 miles south-westward from Cape Jaubert to Red Hill.”

I’ve measured this stretch of coastline and found that it’s actually some 146km in length, more than 91 miles, which fact may have prompted the early twentieth century temporary amendment that used to get my Dad stirred up. However, 12km southwards of Cape Jaubert the beach is interrupted by a rocky headland named Cape Missiessy and this reduces the unbroken length of beach to 134km or 83¾ miles.

I would have been fairly happy to leave it at that, but I noticed that modern maps apply the name Eighty Mile Beach well past Red Hill. Despite the presence of some shoreline reef in the vicinity of Red Hill, this is covered at high tide and the beach continues unbroken inshore of it. In fact, when you have a good look at it, I think it could be said to continue unbroken by anything more than tiny creeklines all the way around to the commencement of the rocky cliffs of Cape Keraudren. From Cape Missiessy around to Cape Keraudren is about 213km of beach, altogether around 133 miles. I can’t help thinking my old Dad would be pleased with this result. Western 4W Driver #111

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Tombstones of Menzies

ll that remains of most ghost towns in the goldfields are the lonely cemeteries. Those of us who enjoy travelling the deserts, charge past most ghost towns without giving them a second thought, and miss out on so much. If there is one cemetery that stands out for me it would have to be at Menzies, some 130 kms north of Kalgoorlie.

Yes there is the usual marble orchard of tombstones, but Menzies also has the most unusual galvanised sheet metal memorials. These first appeared around 1908, with some dated in the 1920s. No one is sure how they came about; one can presume however that because at that time most marble tombstones came from Perth, the cost and time involved for delivery may have been prohibitive. A local tinsmith / blacksmith seeing an opportunity, made one for the family of a dearly departed and because of the high degree of craftsmanship and artistry shown by him, other orders soon followed.

THE THINGS YOU SEE! With (Truthful)

Phil Bianchi Images by Phil Bianchi

front so ceramic immortelles can be placed behind for protection from damage. Despite being in excess of 100 years old and fragile, many immortelles are still in excellent condition and on display to celebrate a life that passed so many years ago.

Menzies in its heyday had four blacksmiths who were busy making horse shoes, wheels, axles and implements for everyday use. No one is sure who the craftsman was who made the memorials. But no one can argue that the creative skills displayed in creating twisted sheet metal edging and various types of scrolling, tulip and rose like flowers, square metal vases and then soldering them into position is nothing short of remarkable, as is the use of punched holes and doming. It’s like embroidery on a blanket or decorations on a cake.

The galvanised tombstones are very artistic and ornate; most have a glass inset at the

The galvanised tombstones are artistic and ornate.

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Some of the memorials stand upright tombstone-like, others are horizontal almost cradle-like. The frame of each tombstone is cut and folded from one sheet of metal and then soldered; usually the year and a crucifix are fitted high up on the front. Some tops are peaked and others domed. Sadly though and presumably because of the difficulty in cutting and affixing letters and numbers, most don’t have dates of birth, death or other information included on them, and therefore full particulars of the person buried are unknown. This lack of detail is presumably why some graves with a metal memorial, had at a later date, a marble memorial erected in front of it with relevant details.

Immortelles can be found throughout the cemetery. They are usually individual ceramic pieces, that have been wired together to form the display, with many still having the glass dome cover. They include doves, flowers and clasped hands and so on. During my research I found each ceramic has a meaning, including: ivy for memory and immortality, 98

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Ceramic immortelles can be found throughout the cemetery.

lilies symbolise majesty, innocence and purity, clasped hands symbolise union, doves are for peace and if the dove is on an olive sprig it’s for hope or promise. Dead leaves signify sadness, roses for love, hope and beauty and so on. Another discovery at the Menzies Cemetery was that between 1895 and 1930, 240 or 43% of burials were children up to 15 years of age with over two thirds of these being infants under one year old. In the ten years from 1905 typhoid accounted for 105 or 19% of all burials. Life on the goldfields in those days was tough.

The Menzies metal memorials are unique in Western Australia. If you want to know more about the topic, a Hesperian Press book “The Tin Memorials of Menzies Cemetery” written by Yvonne Coate should quench your thirst. Menzies Cemetery; don’t race by, take a break, have a cuppa and gander at some exquisite craftsmanship and ponder over how brutal life was on the goldfields.

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ACACIAS & VON MUELLER When the German botanist Ferdinand von Mueller arrived in South Australia in 1847 to begin his study of plants in that Colony, he was really only following in the footsteps of Sir Joseph Banks and Dr Solander, who, during Cook’s explorations of the Pacific, were fascinated by the botanical oddities they were continually discovering.

anks was so impressed by the number of new and bizarre plants that he found around what Cook had called Stingray Bay that he convinced the navigator to change its name to Botany Bay. After five years of hard work in South Australia including some time as a pharmacist (chemists at that time used mostly plant-based medicines), Von Mueller went on in 1853 to become Government Botanist of Victoria. Four years later he was appointed as the Director of the botanical gardens of Melbourne and continued his botanical studies across most of Australia. It was pure chance that just 100 years after he had predicted and roughly drawn on a map of Australia, what was to become known as ‘the mulgaeucalypt line’ I was criss-crossing southern and Western Australia seeing exactly what von Mueller had predicted. Western 4W Driver #111

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the big changes that Von Mueller’s mulgamay eventuate, what eucalypt line, which more-or-less follows the will be most interesting is the changes in local 250mm isohyet remains a vegetation that may demarcation line between occur. Clearly, big bulky the parts of Australia in eucalypts need a fair drink which the vegetation is of water to survive, let predominantly eucalyptus alone grow. I can’t imagine species or gum trees and the Karri forests reaching the regions where acacia for the sky around Wiluna, species are the principal but will they eventually be component of the flora. replaced by Salmon Gums, On the inland side of this which seem to survive on imaginary line, there is much less water? However an average of less than this is unlikely to bother us 250mm of rain while on too much and von Mueller the coastal side, there is is well and truly out of the more than this, however, Ferdinand von Mueller named picture too. Actually, the both the eucalypts and and/or identified thousands of eucalypts, of which there the acacias seem to have plants during his lifetime. are many hundreds of evolved to cope with arid species, are pretty well adapted to drought climates, because they are both major parts as well as fire, but from their preference of the flora on the world’s driest continent. for somewhat wetter parts of Australia, it By how much the mulga-eucalypt line seems as though they are not so droughtwill shift over the next few years as global tolerant as some of the acacias or mulgas. climatic changes take effect, is something When Ferdinand said ‘mulga,’ he was using that is being closely examined. But despite the word as a general term for the acacias which most of us refer to as ’wattles.’ The dominant tree species in the more arid inland of Australia are acacias which I’m Mulga is great to camp under and provides good firewood.

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In the Great Victoria Desert the Mulga is very dense with occasional Mallee signifying transition areas.

as he said, just like Christmas trees. I was sure we all recognise by their furry flowers determined that at the next opportunity I that appear as yellow worms or globes. would read up on these trees to see exactly While I had met many acacias on my travels what was happening with this species. I hadn’t really taken too much notice of what ’mulga’ actually was until the variations in Imagine my surprise when I discovered that this tree were brought there were not just to my attention by “In most parts of Australia, two forms of Mulga, the German chef in there were six! Each wood from acacias was used charge of a mining one had the scientific by Aboriginal people in exploration camp name of Acacia dozens of different ways.” in the Pilbara (I am aneura but something certain he was no else was added to relation of von Mueller’s). One morning describe their unique forms. he asked me whether I had seen mulgas It’s a great delight to drive through the that grew like Christmas trees. I had to tell landscape enjoying vegetation changes, him that I hadn’t. And when I looked a bit spotting new plants, trees and shrubs. sceptical he promised that on his next day Especially interesting to me is researching off he would take me into the scrub to see their uses and applications particularly this phenomenon. I was surprised when I those made by Australia’s Aboriginal first saw trees, that by their foliage, bark and peoples. They have been tremendously size were clearly mulga trees but instead forthcoming in providing information about of a low-branching trunk with many main the traditional uses that their Old People branches, they had one single trunk and made of various plants, their flowers, fruits, thin horizontal side branches and looked, bark, leaves and trunks. This encyclopaedic

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knowledge should not be a great surprise for us considering that these Australian First Peoples have inhabited this continent for upwards of 60,000 years. They must have discovered a thing or two in that time. What is astonishing is their willingness to share this information with us late comers so that we too can share their fascination with the natural resources of the Australian landscape. And there are applications for these trees with their tough but resilient wood that you might not have expected. Could I suggest (with tongue in cheek) that you check out a couple of episodes of ‘Bush Mechanics’ before you next venture off-road. It is no surprise to discover that in most parts of Australia, wood from acacias was used by Aboriginal people in dozens of different ways. Most acacias have very hard and tough wood making it suitable for things like digging sticks and clubs and even spears. A range of non-returning boomerangs are also made from acacia wood and these

Boomerangs made from Mulga wood

occur in a surprising number of different shapes apart from those with a simple curve, and range up to the more complex ‘number seven’ that has two bends (cut from the bent trunk and a surface root of Ac. coriacia, the Cork-bark acacia). Traditionally, most Aboriginal-made boomerangs are coloured with red ochre, however beneath this painted exterior they often have wonderfully colourful timber with yellow sapwood and dark red to almost black interiors.

On an expedition into northern Central Australia I became acquainted with the appropriately named ‘Waddy wood’ which, among the best examples, is an extremely decorative tree with pendulous foliage and

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Waddy wood has fine and delicate foliage.

The acacia known as Boree or Myall

small branches hiding a surprising interior. who need to describe these amazing trees using language which is clear and precise. The wood is dark purple, heavy and of This is no mean feat; there are almost 1000 course extremely dense. This is a rare different species of acacias in Australia acacia only growing in a few spots north scattered right across the continent but of Birdsville and is a protected species. generally concentrated in dry regions However, those who appreciate the droughtaway from the coast. A few years ago there tolerant trees of Australia have discovered was a threat from parts of the botanical that it will grow readily from seed, although community to rename the Australian acacias these are infrequently produced and occur with another generic name. Happily, this sparsely on the tree. Recently I discovered threat never eventuated that Wills, of Burke and “Acacia comes from and our hundreds of wattle Wills fame, had plucked a a Greek word that tree species can be assured pod from a Waddy wood means thorny.” that they remain known somewhere near Coopers as acacias rather than the Creek and carried it with proposed ‘Racosperma,’ which is a decidedly him all the way to the gulf and back again unattractive name. - probably because he was intrigued by the elegant form of the tree from which While we are talking about names it may be he had plucked it. The foliage of Waddy as well to point out that the name Acacia wood is fine and delicate, unlike my other comes from a Greek word that means thorny, favourite pendulous foliaged acacia known and although I have not seen the formal as Boree or Myall. Remarkably, this small description for the meaning of racosperma, tree has silver foliage much more leaf-like in there is a possibility that it also is related to appearance than the fine thread-like foliage the Greek word for ‘thorn’. The common of Waddy wood, although, what you and I name ’wattle’ refers to the use made of the might call leaves on all the acacias are not whippy stems of acacia that grow in close really what botanists like to call leaves but association with each other in thickets, rather are called phyllodes. To my mind particularly after a fire has burnt across this really only matters to another wattle ground where pods full of seeds have fallen. These rod-like stems were used by the early tree, but I admit it is important for botanists 106

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settlers of Australia to make walls for their ‘wattle and daub’ huts made at Botany Bay during the first years of European settlement. While this method of construction was well known in Europe it was not commonly used by Australian Aboriginal people. However, in outback Queensland and in the Corner Country, Aboriginal people did make huts using very robust branches cut from acacias. These stout domed frameworks were covered in grasses and spinifex clumps and then plastered with mud. Remarkably the skeletons of some of these structures can still be seen beside the roads in a few parts of the Corner Country, giving testimony to the tenacious hold that Aboriginal people had on inland arid Australia. These relics also give some indication of the remarkable properties of the wood of the Acacia species used and its resistance to termite attack. On the other hand there are species of Acacia, some very attractive trees, that have very soft and spongy wood. One inland species that I am always pleased to see from afar is the Corkwood wattle, (Ac. sutherlandii) which grows on heavy black soil plains and is a good indicator that after rain, you should not stray from the formed track. The very white and soft wood of this species is not much good for anything and in any case this tree is relatively short lived compared to many other acacias which might live for 30 or 40 years or more. In fact the principal use of acacias in nature is as a pioneer species whose seeds, split by a passing wildfire, germinate quickly and produce numerous shrubs which develop quickly into small trees that are nitrogen fixing, making a very important contribution to the health of soils in arid lands. Although quite a number of acacia species have been introduced into horticulture, they are not particularly long-lived and can be disappointing if you were thinking to establish a windbreak or avenue of trees in your garden or on your property. Living and dying quickly as they do, also contributes scrubby material and fallen trunks for the benefit of other animals. Large white wood-boring grubs which are the larvae of certain moths seem to colonise these fallen trunks and are a favoured

Corkwood wattle

food of black cockatoos, another stunning inhabitant of our roadsides and tracks. I’m sure the cockatoos are not displeased by the short lifespan of many of the acacias as some gardeners might be. Ferdinand von Mueller named and/or identified thousands of plants during his lifetime. Some he collected himself, others were sent to him by explorers and settlers with an interest in the vegetation around them. I wonder whether he would be surprised that almost 1000 different acacias have now been identified in Australia? And would he like the somewhat unimpressive Acacia muelleriana, from the inland ranges of eastern Australia that bears his name?

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Jeep has again unlocked its skunk works, revealing six concepts at its annual Easter Jeep Safari that traditionally lets the designers and engineers go wild while teasing customers about potential future models.

From Neil Dowling

NEW?

Easter Jeep Safari

WHAT’S

Jeep FiveQuarter

he Easter event, held in Moab, Utah from April 13-21, lures thousands of Jeep aficionados from around the US - and some from around the world - to the desert for some challenging off-roading and some glimpses at new vehicles and parts and accessories. Production and prototype Jeep Performance Parts went on show from the FCA Mopar parts brand, many fitted to the concept vehicles. Mopar’s head of parts and service, Steve Beahm, said: “Customisation is one of the highest priorities for Jeep brand enthusiasts. This is why we have proactively developed a

portfolio of more than 200 exclusive parts and accessories for the all-new Jeep Gladiator.”

This is the 53rd year of the safari and this year resurrects some of the names of long-gone Jeep models, including the Gladiator that resurfaces as a dual-cab ute based on the Wrangler Unlimited. The concepts that went on show were:

1. Jeep Wayout: A fully capable overland

concept utilising the Gladiator’s best-inclass payload to allow for a full roof-top tent and custom canopy. It showcases a new Gator Green colour that will be available on production Gladiator models. The Wayout has a custom bed rack with an integrated Western 4W Driver #111

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ladder to the roof-top tent that sleeps two adults, a 270-degree awning with amber LED task lighting and two custom-fit auxiliary fuel tanks integrated into the bedsides. It also has an ARB on-board air system with a bodymounted quick-disconnect air supply line allowing adventurers to travel further off the grid. Wayout gets a Jeep Performance Parts 50mm lift kit and has a 15500kg Warn winch and Jeep Performance Parts. It is powered by the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine and mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. 2. Jeep Flatbill: This is an extreme version of the Gladiator with a playful nod to the motocross culture. The exterior has a vented carbon hood and high-clearance flares, matched to a custom-designed shortened front bumper and skid plate to improve the approach angle. It is designed for the dirt bike enthusiast with wheel ramps installed behind the tail gate that slide out for easy access and loading of the bikes. Custom body work plus the addition of a tube rear bumper, increases the vehicle’s departure angle for added capability. It features Dynatrac ProRock 60 front and rear axles, plus an OffRoad Evolution custom 100mm lift kit, 20-inch wheels with 40-inch tyres - the first time on any Jeep Gladiator - for superior traction and off-road performance. It also has a Pentastar V6 engine - with a cold-air Mopar intake and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Jeep Flatbill

3. Jeep Five-Quarter: This is a “Resto-

Mod” of 1968 Jeep M-715 Gladiator-based military vehicle and a true 4WD showpiece that blends vintage and modern chassis and drivetrain components. The term “Five-

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Jeep Wayout

Quarter” is a historical nod to Jeep trucks of the past that were one-and-one-quarter tons or “five quarters.” Outside, the original front sheet metal was removed and replaced with a full carbon-fibre front end. It adds an all-new, bobbed 1.8m custom-fabricated

Jeep Five-Quarter

aluminium bed that has been perforated and enhanced with wood slats. Additional body modifications include an 85mm drop to its convertible soft-top, further enhancing its factory monster truck silhouette. Headlights have been replaced with new HID lights along with LED auxiliary lights, while at the back there are LED halo lights. To protect the body, the original rockers were removed and replaced with functional rock rails that run the length of the body side. Modified front Jeep Gladiator Rubicon steel bumpers have been installed, which complement the brushed metal-finished body and tailgate, producing a polished look. Its off-road capability has been enhanced by reinforcing the original frame and replacing the leaf springs with a heavy-duty link/coil

suspension system. The front axle has been pulled forward 50mm and replaced with a Dynatrac Pro-rock 60 front axle and a Dynatrac Pro-rock 80 axle in the rear, while 20-inch beadlock wheels are wrapped with large 40-inch tires. Power comes from a 6.2-litre supercharged “Hellcrate” HEMI V8 engine, which produces more than 530kW. 4. Jeep J6: Mixes classic Jeep truck styling from the 1970s with concept and production Jeep Performance Parts and accessories from Mopar. It is a Rubicon customised two-door design to maximise cargo space with a 1.8m bed area that is 300mm longer than the standard Jeep Gladiator. Mopar and the Jeep Design team reached back in time for the custom Metallic Brilliant Blue paint, a homage to the exterior look of the 1978 Jeep Honcho. Features include a body-colour matching spray-in bed liner, 56mm steel prototype sport/roll bar that carries a set of four, 125mm Jeep Performance Parts LED lights that shine at 4800 lumens each. A prototype spare tyre carrier stores up to a 37-inch tyre. It has prototype 17-inch beadlock wheels with a deep-dish design and a Brass Monkey

Jeep J6

finish, encircled by a silver bead lock ring. A production Jeep Performance Parts 50mm lift kit works with aggressive 37-inch tyres to add extra trail clearance. The concept hardtop is removable, and classic Jeep J6 badging is swapped in on the tailgate and side fenders. It has a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine with Jeep Performance Parts cold-air intake. 5. Jeep JT Scrambler: Combines retro 1980s-era appearance with Jeep Performance Parts and innovative touches. Jeep recreated the look of the early 1980s-era CJ8 Scrambler with prototype Punk’N Metallic Orange and Nacho body-side stripes running from the

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front panels to the bed and a matching hood graphic. The bed area is customised with a spray-in bed liner and sport/roll bar painted body-colour white. This version of the sport/ roll bar anchors to the bed and also extends the length of the bed rails on each side, offering a total of eight tie-down points to lock down cargo. Based on the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, the Scrambler pulls liberally from the Mopar brand’s Jeep Performance Parts line, including a set of four 125mm LED lights stationed atop the sport/roll bar and two stationed on the vehicle’s A-pillars. A pair of Jeep Performance Parts seven-inch LED lights have 8000 lumens each. It also gets 17-inch slot wheels in bronze to tie in with the exterior colour theme. A 50mm Jeep Performance Parts lift kit helps accommodate large, 37inch tyres and tough Jeep Performance Parts rock rails feature a non-slip grip. The 3.6-litre engine is augmented with a Mopar coldair intake and cat-back exhaust. Inside are leather seats in brown bordered in orange thread with Jeep grille logo embroidery, a Mopar bright pedal kit and all-weather floor mats. 6. Jeep Gladiator Gravity: Rockclimber-themed trail vehicle courtesy of launch-ready Jeep Performance Parts. The Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, coloured in attention-grabbing Punk’N Metallic Orange, is a ready-to-order expression of how Jeep Performance Parts can help enhance the allnew pickup’s capability and versatility. In the bed area, Mopar cross rails work with a cargo carrier basket to deliver storage space for rock-climbing gear, such as ropes, carabiners, helmets and shoes. A unique Mopar/Decked truck bed storage system offers additional lockable cargo space through dual sliding drawers, while still allowing for storage on top in the bed area. The open-air potential of the Jeep Gladiator - a first in a production mid-size truck - is realised through Jeep Performance Parts 50mm steel tube doors, a mesh sunbonnet that provides cover while keeping the topdown feel, and tie-down straps that secure the windshield when lowered. 112

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Jeep JT Scrambler

It has a 50mm lift kit and runs on 17-inch gear wheels carrying 35-inch tyres. Heavy-gauge steel Jeep Performance Parts rock rails are thicker and wider and use the same powdercoating on Ram Truck bed liners to provide a non-slip finish. In front of the Mopar satin black grille, Jeep Performance Parts 175mm LED lights show the way forward, with help from 125mm LED lights on the A-pillars. The V6 engine is upgraded with a cold-air intake and cat-back exhaust system to enhance horsepower and torque. Inside, the interior is dressed up with Katzkin leather seats featuring the Jeep grille logo embroidered in tungsten-colour stitching.

About the event: Jeep’s Easter Jeep Safari

consists of trail rides, mostly day-long trips, departing from Moab, Utah, throughout the nine-day-long event. The Jeep Safari was started in 1967 by the Moab Chamber of Commerce as a one-day trail ride. Over the years, as participation grew, the Safari expanded until it finally reached the current nine-day event. “Big Saturday” remains the culmination of the event on the Saturday of Easter weekend.

Jeep Gladiator Gravity

Upgrade to Trailrider C hinese vehicle-maker LDV (known as Maxus in other markets) has launched a T60 dual-cab ute variant specifically for Australia that includes suspension calibrated for local conditions. The T60 Trailrider is a limited edition version of 650 units available now from LDV dealers and priced from $38,937 drive away (manual) and $41,042 drive away for the automatic. It is basically an upgrade of the flagship T60 Luxe ute launched in Australia in 2017 but with the additional equipment work and specific suspension tuning done by Walkinsaw Automotive Group in Melbourne. The Trailrider is identified by 12-spoke, 19inch black alloy wheels and black used for the nudge bar, grille (replacing the standard vehicle’s chrome), side steps, sports bar and the lockable roller tonneau cover made by Mountain Top.

It also introduces an extended warranty, now five years or 130,000km and including a loancar program and roadside assistance. Beneath the black is the T60 dual-cab body with ladder frame chassis, four-wheel drive and a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.

Standard equipment includes a 10-inch touch screen display with smart phone connection by Bluetooth or USB, smart key for keyless entry and starting, roof rails, electric windows, climate control air conditioning, leather upholstery and trim, electric front seats, automatic wipers and headlights, and heated and folding mirrors. It also has a tub liner and six load tie-down points, four at low level and two on the tub rim.

Safety features include a 360-degree camera, blind spot warning, six airbags and tyre pressure warning.

The LDV T60 range has a 110kW/360Nm 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine with auto or manual transmissions, high and low-range 4WD, and in the Trailrider, a rear on-demand differential lock. All T60s have a tow rating of up to 3.0-tonnes with a brakes trailer, and 750kg for an unbraked trailer.

The Trailrider has a payload of 875kg (manual) and 815kg (automatic) though higher payloads are available with the Pro version at 1025kg and 995kg respectively. The GCM is 6050kg for the Pro and 5950kg for the Luxe and Trailrider.

A Great Wall for Oz Neil Dowling reports from Shanghai

reat Wall Motor plans a new turbodiesel ute and the option of coil rear suspension when its next-generation model launches in Australia late next year. Shown at the Shanghai motor show in April, the ute - to replace the current Steed model shows a more mature design and technology approach as the Chinese company aims at the major ute makers. The single show vehicle at Shanghai was the upmarket Adventure version shown as a concept with regulatory bars and largediameter wheels.

Great Wall Motor (GWM) said it will make the ute in three versions - commercial, passenger and recreational - with either rear drive or 4WD (including low range); short or long wheelbase; dual-cab or single-cab; all-coil rear suspension or leaf springs at the back; manual or eight-speed automatic 114

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Great Wa ll shows m ore class, mo re ability fo r next-gen ute

transmissions; and with petrol or diesel or hybrid (China only) power.

Power will come initially from a 2.0-litre turbodiesel rated at 140kW/440Nm or a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol claimed to have 120kW/360Nm.

The new ute - which is as yet un-named but coded as the P9 - uses few components from the current ute but remains with body-onframe architecture. It is identified in concept guise by its single bar grille, LED headlights, black wheel arches, sports bar and a tail gate suited to carting bikes. GWM said it also had a built-in front winch, three diff locks, a 900mm fording depth and a seven-setting All Terrain Control System. It will be made alongside the next-generation Haval H9 SUV - which all share drivetrains and suspension - at a new $1 billion plant in China. Haval and GWM are brands in the same Great Wall company.

Shackle Me Softly R ecovering a bogged vehicle is not a task anyone would consider a fun experience.

There are two sets, rated at either 14,000 or 17,500kg minimum breaking strength.

Or you’d collect whatever tractionable material you could find to shove under the wheels and drive out, or you’d try to find a dozen strong lads to push or pull your stuckmobile to firm ground.

Fine. Here comes the technical bit: they’re made of high strength, low friction, 12 stand single braid UHMWPE rope.

In earlier years, you’d travel with a shovel and dig your way out, or hike to the nearest farm and bribe the farmer to haul you out with his tractor and a chain.

Then the snatch strap arrived, which made things a lot easier.

Made of stretchable webbing, they could store kinetic energy, which did all the hard work. Problem really.

solved?

They’re safer, lighter and they’ll float, so you can recover them if you need to be yanked out of water. Saves diving or schloofing through mud searching for sunken steel shackles.

What rope?

Glad you asked.

It stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Ironman says they have a dual splice design with a class 2 diamond knot in a protective sleeve.

Not

Those straps were attached to tow hooks or steel shackles, some of which would part company with the bogged vehicle as the kinetic forces did their thing, and the results were sometimes disastrous. Over the years quite a lot of good people were killed as a steel shackle became a catapulted missile, many more were severely injured and property of all kinds were damaged.

One chap in Perth used a snatch strap on his Landcruiser to uproot a palm stump, which worked a treat. Except that the stump went skywards and returned - not to earth, but to his brand new pool.

Cost him lots of folding stuff at the Pool Doctor.

So the problem is not really the strap, but the shackle, and that’s just been solved by our mates at Ironman 4x4, with their new soft shackles.

We didn’t know there were things like diamond knots - we thought they came in carats - and that you can get them in various classes, but hey, you’re never too old to learn.

They also feature an integrated release system that allows the soft shackle to easily decompress after a recovery. Ironman also offers a new 9500kg kinetic snatch rope, which seems the logical thing to use with the soft shackles. They can stretch up to 30%, compared to 20% for traditional webbing straps, thus increasing kinetic energy and providing a more effective and safer recovery while reducing shock load. So is you need to be snatched out of trouble, softer and safer is clearly the way to go. Western 4W Driver #111

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AUTOMOTIVE • INDUSTRIAL • FLOORING • MARINE

Marvellous

China’s biggest car maker, SAIC, has rolled out two pure electric SUVs that are not only economical and free of exhaust gases, but are eminently practical, great looking and potentially very affordable.

AIC is the most likely to be the first Chinese company to introduce a SUV with pure electric power into Australia, following SUV EVs including Tesla’s Model X (on sale now from $152,263), Jaguar I-Pace (here now priced from $123,814), and the Mercedes-Benz ECQ (here later this year). One SAIC product is on its way to Australia with the MG ZS EV expected here late next year or very early in 2021. But though it is an SUV, the ZS EV - based heavily on the current ZS petrol wagon - is only front-wheel drive. The MG ZS EV is expected to be priced at about $32,000, making it possibly the cheapest all-electric SUV on the market when it arrives. SAIC sister company Roewe has made subtle improvements to its allwheel drive, pure electric Marvel X in China, based on the MG RX8 SUV.

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Launched in September last year, the Roewe Marvel X is also available with front-wheel drive but the all-wheel drive version is the most popular in China. It has two electric motors - front and rear - with 222kW/665Nm for impressive performance. The Marvel X will accelerate to 100km/h from rest in only 4.8 seconds and has a range of 403km from a single charge of its high 53kW/h battery, according to the NEDC fuel tests. It can charge a depleted battery to 80 per cent in 40 minutes using a fast charger with conventional chargers taking about 10 hours for a full charge. By comparison, the MG ZS EV has a charge time of about eight hours because of its smaller 44.5kW/h battery. SAIC claims it will also be able to be charged up to 80 per cent in 40 minutes.

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The MG has a range of 335km under the NEDC tests. Its performance is brisk, quiet and the wagon is ridiculously easy to drive - twist a dial to D for drive and go. It has a 110kW/350Nm motor and an automatic transmission. MG Motor Australia product planning director Pavel Meck said the launch of the MG ZS EV into Australia was still some way off and final pricing, specifications and safety features are yet to be firmed up.

Staying in Control S

o, you’ve got your king-size caravan or motorhome and you’re off across the middle of our vast country, where the sun sure does shine and it gets so hot that lizards have been known to raid tents to steal your tube of sunscreen lotion and water bottle. Of course you’ve had your vehicle fitted with extra water tanks, but after day two in the scorching desert, you wonder just how much H2O you have left. Dare you tackle day three?

Well, if you’ve had RedVision installed, you’d have the answer in an instant, because

the latest innovation from the Redarc electronic whizfolk offers an unprecedented level of automation in the recreational vehicle industry. RedVision lets you control multiple on-board devices, such as turning lights, inverter, water pumps and other loads like TVs, electric steps and fridges on or off. It also lets you check water levels.

RedVision comes with a display mounted in your vehicle and an app for your smartphone so you can see and control a heap of functions, including the ability to monitor up to 6, yes, six, water tanks. RedVision is available as a standalone product and is also packaged as a kit with the company’s Manager30 or Manager15, which add temperature and battery info to the equation.

However, the vital element out there in Great Australian Endless Adventure country is water - and you really need to know how much you have left in the tanks - and whether you can spare a drop for a parched goanna. More info at: www.redarc.com.au/redvision

Western 4W Driver #111

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Track anything with a battery! Introducing the LiveTrack GPS Tracker from iDRIVE

here’s no better feeling than getting away to your favourite camping spot for a week or two. After a few hours’ drive you finally pull up at an idyllic, secluded spot beside the lake and unhitch the caravan. You go to make a cup of tea and soon realise you’ve forgotten a few supplies and need to head into the nearest town to stock up. But what about the caravan? Will the van still be there by the time you get back? How can you tell if someone is taking your prized possession if you are 45 minutes way?

time live tracking to location updates every 30 minutes.

Introducing the LiveTrack GPS Tracker from iDRIVE; the easy way to monitor the location and safety of your prized possessions. This small, hidden GPS tracking device is just $299 with no ongoing or maintenance fees, and allows you to monitor your assets using a free iCAR app on your smart phone. The LiveTrack uses GPS satellites to determine the exact location of the tracking unit and then uses the mobile phone network to transfer that location data directly to your phone. Tracking updates can be setup anywhere from real

Features:  • No Ongoing Fees • 2 Wire Install • No External Antennas  • Incredibly Small Size, easy to hide  • Encrypted Tracking App, with multiple tracking modes  • Track Unlimited Vehicles from the one phone -G Sensor notification activation  • 12 month warranty • 15 minute installation and setup

The answer is keeping track of your valuable possessions with modern tracking technology. However, there are so many tracking-device options now available for your car, boat, caravan, jet-ski, trailer or motorbike that making a choice can be overwhelming. Some of these can have extensive ongoing fees, running into the hundreds of dollars a year, while others at the cheaper end of the spectrum may be missing the key features you require or don’t have sufficient coverage in regional/outback areas.

The LiveTrack also features a very sensitive G-Shock sensor that will alert you any time someone moves in or around the tracking unit. You can also setup virtual boundaries that will alert your phone anytime the tracking unit leaves a certain location. You can even track your trip on any day in the past week showing locations, time, speed and total distance travelled. And best of all there are no ongoing, monthly fees – you simply pay for the very little data it uses ... no more than $15-$30 for the entire year!

For more information or to order please contact iDRIVE Australia on 03 8740 1170, sales@idriveaustralia.com.au or visit www.idriveaustralia.com.au

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Western 4W Driver #111

your one stop shop for everything 4wd. Melville’s home of ironman 4X4 is here. come down and have a chat with our knowledgable & friendly staff.

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Global Vision Sooner or later sooner if you do a lot of night driving you’re going to have to replace your vehicle’s headlight globes.

t used to be a task as easy as pie - pop out the blown bulb, put in the new one and Robert’s your uncle. Or something like that. But many modern vehicles have greatly restricted under-bonnet space and with some of them it’s a difficult, almost impossible task. On one brand, you need to remove the air filter, windscreen washer housing and a few other components, then twist your arm into a sort of corkscrew to prise the rubber dust cover off the light before feeling around for the actual globe. And good luck with doing the reverse with a new globe. Which is why it makes a lot of sense to replace the used with a long life new one. The good news is Philips’ new EcoVision long life halogen globes. They claim to provide up to four times (3000 hours) more globe life compared to standard globes, without compromising light output.

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That’s great for any drivers who regularly spend long periods with their lights on, and who can’t afford the downtime and inconvenience caused by blown globes. For regular drivers, the benefit is that their headlights should be maintenance-free for the life of their vehicle. The added longevity is achieved through quality construction including the use of Xenon gas instead of Krypton - isn’t that the stuff that blew Superman’s fuse? - a longer lasting filament and a higher precision overall production process. The EcoVision long life globes are available in twin packs and cover the most popular globe types such as: H1 12V 55W; H4 12V 60/55W; H7 12V 55W and H11 12V 55W. If one globe dies, you should replace the other as well, because they’d be of the same age, and, as in life, one doesn’t last much longer if the partner pops off.

V2 for Intensity V 2 has an ominous ring to it, to anyone who was in, or knows much about World War II. It was a fearsome rocket that blew the hell out of parts of England, Holland and Belgium - but, on the happier side, it was the start of what we know as the Space Age. Now space is something we have in abundance in the Oz Outback, but once the sun sets, it’s nice to throw a bit of light on it, so you can see which way to point your 4WD, avoid a kangaroo, a billabong, giant rock or that abandoned heap under that big tree. Which brings us to a V2 of a different kind. It refers to ARB’s Intensity V2 driving lights. They’ve been on the market for the past six years, but the just-released ones feature a wad of technological advancements that all but turn night into day. “Once you have experienced a quality driving light, you will wonder how you ever did without it,” ARB says. Improvements in LED technology and advancements in internal reflector design have resulted in useable light now stretching more than a kilometre down the road. A common driving light set-up couples a

spot beam light with a flood light, so you get distance and spread. The good-looking Intensity V2s come in two sizes: the AR21 V2 has 21 LEDs and the AR32 V2 packs 32 of them.

You’ll score 20,000 lumens in a single AR32 V2 light (40,000 per pair), which gives you a 35 per cent increase in light output from the original Intensity V1 equivalent, while the AR21 V2 lights gain over 35 per cent increase with 13,170 lumens per light. For drivers looking for the ultimate in long distance vision, a pair of AR32 V2 spotties offers a very usable one lux of light that lights up 1.3km of path ahead. That’s a long way, Jimmy.

The lights are dust and waterproof with voltage protection and integrated intelligent thermal management systems and have folded mounting brackets, vibration certification and a 50,000-hour lifespan. If you’re tackling the Outback at night, best invest in decent lighting - or you might end up at the pearly gates assuming you’d been hit by a V2 of an explosive nature.

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Home of the Ironman 4X4 is here

ow happy are you with your 4WD?

Reckon you can take your stock standard machine through the Outback and across our big (it really is) brown land without any hassles? Think again.

Many more of today’s 4WDs are driven in the urban area rather than in places like minesites, farms and the back tracks. So the makers have naturally changed the original workhorse concept into one with a lot more class and comfort.

Still, while most are used for ferrying kids to school, or managers to the office, they’re bought by people who at some stage want to tackle something seriously adventurous with it.

Here’s the rub, as they said in Hamlet: You’ll need to carry a lot more water and fuel, have recovery gear, radio communication, fridge, freezer and a zillion other essentials if you expect to arrive at point B three weeks later with a smile on your face. Which is why Essential 4WD has opened in Carr Place, Myaree, serving the greater Melville area.

Described as ‘Melville’s home of Ironman 4x4’, it has an up to date workshop where whatever your vehicle needs - special suspension kits, bull bars, winches, camping gear, solar panels, UHF radios and suchlike can be expertly fitted. The range is vast and includes items as diverse as snorkels, lockable drawer systems, long range driving lights (it’s very dark out there at night) and air compressors, roof racks, underbody protection, even free-flow exhaust systems. ‘We’re a one stop shop for all things 4x4,’ the Essential folk say.

And instead of schlepping around the country looking for what you might need, it’s all right there in Melville.

Get your gear, whack the Travelling Wilburys into the audio system and take on the Dirty World out there with confidence. Also, you won’t get Rattled or end up in the Poor House, as you’ll learn from the wise words of those Wilbury lads.

Western 4W Driver #111

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ST G

By Alex Garner

Driving with Dimmers

hts g i l t o p s LED t! s i w t a with

I imagine it’s pretty hard to come up with something new in the LED driving light market these days. The moment someone drops a new form factor into play, a dozen no-name rip offs pop up with all sorts of radical claims. Such as, enough lumen to turn a kangaroo to ash before you can even hit it; at half the cost. But this Variable Light Intensity thing that Bushranger is spruiking on the LED Night Hawk has my attention! Western 4W Driver #111

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he stats on paper are quite enticing. Per pair, you’re looking at 21,600 lumens output. 1 lux at 74 metres wide; and 1.3 kilometres long in spotlight configuration. A pretty impressive distance! That distance can be reduced to 1 lux at 636 metres, while increasing the width to 200 metres; just by snapping the spread beam covers into place. Or, you could just turn down the brightness! But more on that in a moment, first I’ve gotta bolt them on. My first opinion pulling one out of the box is, “Wow these things are solid!” 3.1 kilos each kind of solid! Certainly not the sort of light you want to bolt straight to the bumper of a Yaris. The body is die cast aluminium, mounting bracket is 4mm steel, and we all know how tough a polycarbonate lens is by

now. From the base of the bracket to the top of the light, they measure 224mm. Across, they are exactly 230mm. It was a close fit to the alloy bar on my GU Patrol. I had to sit them right on the forward edge. The mounts are impressively engineered; a big 12mm bolt through the centre, and two 8mm bolts either side hold it to the bar. Another four 8mm bolts hold each light steady after vertical adjustment. While the Bushranger Night Hawk comes with power leads, you’ll still need to purchase a wiring loom or craft your own using a relay. However … you won’t get the full Variable Light Intensity function to play with, and that’s no fun! Certainly purchase the optional VLI loom to suit the lights if you’re thinking of getting a pair.

Before you fork out for new lights, it’s a good idea to make sure they fit your bar.

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The VLI wiring loom is plug and play - the only soldering I had to do was hooking into a high beam pickup. There are two sockets in the back of these lights, one for a power feed; and the other for brightness control. Waterproof plugs all around just screw together, and after finding a nice spot on the dash for the switch; it was off for a night drive. Scenario number one. Gravel road, slightly corrugated, full brightness. The beam distance is very impressive! With a twist of the brightness controller down to minimum setting, the Night Hawk reduces to about double the brightness of my headlights. For those winding roads perhaps with lower speed limits, dimming the lights is actually quite handy. It drastically reduces the glare back off street signs that LED and HID are famous for. In the following shots, I captured the road ahead ensuring the image best represented what I saw, and then kept the same camera settings as I turned the lights down to minimum:

Even on their dimmest setting, the spread of light is great – this setting would be useful over slower terrain.

A wide brightness range for sure!

Scenario number two, I opted for a low range scramble. One certainly doesn’t need to see so far ahead out here, so dimmed all the way I went. The major positive I noticed in this situation was my eyes response after looking ahead, and then out the side window; watching for the next object that could potentially crumple a door sill. With less blinding light cast on features ahead, my

The switch makes changing the brightness easy.

vision was quicker to adjust to dark areas I’m trying to watch around the wheels. I daresay your spotter would be thankful for that too. Time will tell as far as longevity goes, but with 5 year warranty and RRP of $895 per pair; the Bushranger Night Hawk seems like a solid investment with a little extra functionality.

On their brightest setting the output is massive!

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PART ONE

The

Western Cliffs Western Australia is blessed with plenty of spectacular and unique stretches of coast around the perimeter of our big state. Each region has something special to offer for those who enjoy exploring the coastline and catching a fish, but for experienced shore based fishos who enjoy tackling the bigger challenges, it’s the rugged midwestern sections that hold the most attraction. Over these next two issues we’ll look at two of the most well-known and revered spots for western rock hoppers that have long been renowned for some of the best shore-based cliff fishing in Australia.

n this issue’s part one we’ll feature one of those stretches commonly known as the Cuvier Coast, an area of rugged northern coastline that lies just north of Carnarvon and runs through the Indian Ocean station country of Quobba and Gnaraloo. Most of it is rugged limestone and sandstone cliff country and once through the 50 odd kilometer stretch of sealed road out to the coast from the highway, it becomes dirt road, with the odd sections of hard white limestone caprock protruding through, especially on any of the minor side tracks.

An early morning Spanish mackerel on a cast lure from the rocks for the author. Western 4W Driver #111

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The spectacular landscape that is the Cuvier coast.

Reaching the unmistakable start of this stretch near the Blowholes Beach is marked by a stark reminder of the dangers here. A very large sign stating ‘Danger - King Waves Kill’ alerts everyone exploring and especially fishing the area, to be very wary of the dangers. Numerous people have died along this stretch particularly on Quobba after being washed in by massive waves that can roll in unannounced from the deep, unbroken, waters that pound these shores.

Quobba’s blowholes, along the rocky Cuvier coast.

some 4WD essentials is always important even if this is far from the most remote or isolated of places to be visiting. All up it’s about an eighty kilometre stretch that goes up to Gnaraloo station and the Gnaraloo bay where the access finishes. Some research and map surveillance will soon point out the places of interest and even possible fishing options but be very clear, this is not the place for novice shore-based anglers or even experienced anglers that have never tackled cliff country. It requires dedicated preparation and the right gear, along with contingencies around safety.

Heading north from Blowholes Beach opens up a series of interesting sites to check out. Almost within view of the sign, towering sprays of water will indicate if North of Blowholes the swell is up and the Beach lies some “Being well equipped with blowholes are really low cliffs and ledges a second spare, recovery working. Another including the seven kilometres up gear and some 4WD essentials Blowholes themselves. is always important.” the track the Quobba Further up, High homestead will come Rock sitting about ten into view. Like a metres off the waterline number of station properties, Quobba is is virtually within view of the Quobba Station geared up with some basic accommodation homestead. Don’t let the height off the water facilities and bungalows and allows campers fool you though. In a reasonable swell the at relatively cheap rates. It’s worth noting water can crash up over the top and if one that camping is ONLY ALLOWED around of those much bigger sets comes through it the homestead or at Red Bluff, a headland can easily wash anyone and anything into the and beach right up at the northern end of drink. And once in, there’s nowhere to go but the station. further out because the oysters and caves along the base of this shoreline make short The terrain is far from impossible when work of even good swimmers. exploring the most spectacular or wellknown spots here but it’s mostly about slow Around the 20 kilometre mark, a track veering speeds and careful wheel placement to avoid off to the left at a fence line, leads to the punctures and damage. Being well equipped coast and some magnificent vantage points with a second spare, recovery gear and atop the cliffs where the water lies a hundred 132

Western 4W Driver #111

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ran aground right up onto the rocks, on this spot. Within no time it had split in half and for many years became an interesting close up attraction for off road visitors as it rusted away. Now all that’s left I’m told is a small section of the bow sticking upright just off shore.

Hiking back up the long trail from the Ledge.

metres below. The view to the south takes in the Macleod salt loading jetty at Cape Cuvier that services the operation The foot of these towering cliffs have from Lake Macleod inland. There is amazing rock formations and caves. no access on this sealed haul road to the coast. Lying at the base of the cliffs and The ‘17 Mile’ refers to a small area of beach a few hundred metres south is the ‘Ledge’ that emerges between the cliffs further north (or Garth’s Rock), a flat platform jutting out and is popular with beach anglers at night. from the base of the cliffs that is one of the The coarse sand on the beach is deceptively area’s most popular and renowned angling soft and gets many inexperienced drivers in spots for dedicated sports fishermen. But it’s trouble. Leaving the vehicle further back from not for the faint hearted, requiring a decent the real beach and walking a bit further isn’t a hike down a steep incline. Be mindful that the bad idea around here. more you carry down the more difficult the At around 36 kilometres from the homestead tough climb back up will be. Getting to the there’s a faint track veering to the left that’s Ledge itself requires careful negotiation of a easily missed. It winds its way back and forth narrow passage of rock at the base we nickover very hard rocky outcrops to finish back named the Gauntlet, because getting across at the top of the cliffs. This spot is known as requires timing between waves and being the Caves, a self-explanatory title given one surefooted. Do not venture down unless the look at the landscape and massive undercut swell is low. sections at the base of the cliffs. No more than a kilometre further along and Running in along the final fence line at the in view of the Ledge is what was known as northern end of the station is the track Camp Rock. In years gone by it was a tough leading to Quobba’s own Red Bluff. It’s a 4WD drive track down and worse clawing popular spot with world travelling surfers back up but it too provided a ledge to fish and 4WD campers alike with the consistent from. It came to greater prominence in May left-hand break off this point providing some 1988 when salt freighter, the Korean Star, of the best surfing in Australia. The ledges dragged anchor in cyclonic conditions and Western 4W Driver #111

135

A common summer target from the Quobba rocks, a shark mackerel.

here are much lower and easier and safer to access.

If the exploration has got you this far, it’s worth venturing the extra distance onto Gnaraloo station. Here the cliffs start to give way to some sandier beach country and bays between the rocky areas. The 3 Mile Campsite, the homestead itself (also with accommodation options) and further north Gnaraloo Bay, are the three most prominent attractions, all worth checking out.

Fishing the sandier beach sections is safer and easier than tackling the rock hopping options but still requires a more “northern” approach compared to what we do in the temperate south. Fishing too light here usually results in frustration and grief. Heavier casting outfits rigged to handle the more tropical species such as trevally, queenfish and mackerel if using lures or poppers and decent braid or monofilament if trying the bottom or surf for spangled emperor and other demersal species, are essential. This part of the world is not the place to pull out a little flick rod and expect instant success. 136

Western 4W Driver #111

The seasoned campaigners use the prevailing (sometimes howling) easterlies in the winter months to balloon. This productive and specialist approach makes use of large helium-filled balloons to drag out large baits to deeper water in search of big spanish mackerel, tuna, cobia or even the occasional sailfish from shore. Done properly, it’s highly effective but it does require specialist tackle with lots of line capacity and purpose-built flying gaffs that can be used from the ledges to bring up the fish. In the early mornings in summer before the breeze sets in, big shoals of shark mackerel and longtail and mack tuna become more prevalent and spinning with the approach lures or lead head jigs can be very productive. The whole area can form a great getaway and place to explore. It can also prove to be disappointing if you’re not well set before a trip because there will be things you wished you had brought along or prepared better for. Even though there are some basic supplies at the stations and camp ground these days it pays to be relatively self-sufficient. And

remember there is only one way in and the return trip back to Carnarvon if something is needed is a long haul.

There is no substitute for getting good, detailed information and background, especially these days when there is so much to research easily online. My advice would be to go beyond that however and also use the old-fashioned approach of talking first hand to people who know the area reasonably well. That’s where the little tips on what to avoid or what to make sure you bring, will prove invaluable. If like me, most trips have to include a fishing component, then you’ll need to do even more research if you’re a Cuvier novice. Hunting through some past issues of Western Angler, or chronicled fishing features on the hotspots in the area and the best techniques will be very worthwhile.

The Cuvier coast is certainly an exciting part of our extended coastline with plenty to reflect on after spending time there. It can be windy, dusty and dry with little in the way of shade given that this is where our western semi-arid desert country reaches the coast. But then that’s what makes it all the more captivating.

A very youthful looking author with a nice pink snapper from the Ledge with the Korean Star wreck in the background (before it disintegrated).

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GO CAMPING Swag, tent, porch

A RECENT survey by One Nation showed the most popular song sung around the campfire in Australia is Waltzing Matilda - because it’s all about a jolly swagman. It was written by Banjo Paterson in 1895, but now, 124 years on, it’s still a top song, especially among lone adventurers who have had the pleasure of using Oztent’s RS-1 Swag.

It comes with a comfortable and removable 25mm foam mattress, it’s made of flame retardant material and its awning has a reflective underside, which you can flip during wet weather.

It’s easy to keep clean, comes with attached guy ropes, storage pockets, heavy duty pegs and a robust carry bag.

The bloke in the song obviously had a traditional swag, which was a large, heavy and annoying bit of kit that you had to strap to your horse, roll it out and lie down, facing the wrath of the weather and the insects.

Later, as things became modernised, you’d chuck said swag into the back of your vehicle, but still be subjected to the elements. After several more decades the swag morphed into a tent of sorts.

But it was still a pain in the guava. You still had to roll it out, then erect the beast by threading the poles and inflating your mattress. That left you cursing and sweating and barely able to get the top off the beer bottle. Enter Oztent, with their revolutionary RS-1 Swag. No more stuffing around with poles or a bulky mattress. Rather, you can now set up your swag in less than 30 seconds.

Indeed, it has a trademarked easy-lift mechanism that pops it up, ready for occupation before you can sing the first line of Waltzing Matilda.

Perfect for solo adventuring, Oztent says.

It costs $599 and you can have a look at oztent.com.au

However, if you’d sooner get your swag off the ground, the same company has come up with its RS-1S King Single Stretcher.

You can attach your RS-1 Swag on top, so no inquisitive snake will be able to crawl into bed with you - because it takes the swag a full metre off the ground - and it’s really strong, able to accommodate a MacFed person of up to 200kg! Also, like a decent car, it has built-in anti-sway bars for a better night’s sleep. Western 4W Driver #111

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Ironman adopts Alu-Cab

APART from things like lions, elephants, rhinos and meerkats, there are lots of similarities between Australia and South Africa.

Camping is a big thing in both countries and some serious enthusiasts set up a company called Alu-Cab 20 years ago, initially producing the first aluminium canopy for bakkies, but one specially engineered for offroad travel. What’s a bakkie? South African for ute.

What’s a ute? Australian for a pickup truck.

We could go on for a bit, but what matters is that the Alu-Cab folk expanded their range and, in the process, built a reputation for premium quality products. Then they had a look at other countries that might like what they produced, and for Australia, they homed in on Ironman 4x4.

What followed was a quick trip to Springbokland by the Ironman chaps, who were so impressed they quickly agreed to become the distributors of Alu-Cab products, which include vehicle-mounted canopies, slide-on campers, roof-top tents, awnings and camping accessories.

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The aluminium rooftop tents, which have a unique clamshell opening and awnings, are said to offer a complete touring accommodation solution.

Why aluminium? Well, two decades of touring experience proved the strength-toweight ratio of the material and its resistance to corrosion. The beautifully-engineered clamshell thingo is also super-quick to set up - about a minute - and just as quick to pack up again. More info at www.ironman4x4.com

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Ford / Mazda Bravo 2.5L RHF5 B2500 TDCI Ford Ranger/ Mazda BT50 3.0 J97MU 115 Kw Holden Colorado RC 3.0 L Holden Rodeo <97 Holden Rodeo 98-2002 Holden Rodeo Isuzu Dmax Hyundai KIA / SANTA FE 2.2L CRDI TF035 Isuzu Dmax / Holden Colorado 4JJ1 3.0L Mazda CX7 Petrol Mitsubishi 4M41 TF035 early 3.2L Pajero Mitsubishi Pajero 4M41 Mitsubishi Pajero 4M41 RHF5 3.2L Mitsubishi Triton Mitsubishi Triton / Challenger RHV4 4D56 2.5L 100 Kw Mitsubishi Triton / Challenger RHV4 4D56 2.5L D-ID 100 Kw Mitsubishi Triton 4M40T 2.8L Nissan Navara 3.0L ZD30 D22 1411-9S00A 170 Kw Nissan Navara D22 2.5L RHF4H Nissan Patrol HT18 TD42T Y61 GU watercooled Toyota CT20b 100 series 1HD-FTE Toyota CT26 80 series 1HDT Toyota Hi-Ace Toyota Hi-Ace Toyota Hi-Lux / Prado / Front runner 2.8 L Toyota Hilux 3.0 L 1KZ-TE CT12B Toyota Hilux 3.0L CT16VGT 1KD-FTV D4D Toyota L/Cruiser 12HT 1HJ61 Toyota L/Cruiser 1VD-FTV V8 twin turbo LC200 series Toyota L/Cruiser 1VD-FTV V8 twin turbo LC200 series Toyota Prado 3.0L CT16VGT 1KD-FTV D4D

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Hi guys,

I have always loved exploring Western Australia, but have not visited much in the way of off-road areas. Being new to 4W driving and camping, I had the opportunity to visit a cattle station in Kalgoorlie for several nights.

I am now the converted - what an amazing trip we had! I loved the off road experience with ever-changing terrain, being able to see the clear night sky in all its glory and just being out in the beautiful Goldfields. The scenery was breathtaking and I have to say it was one of the best trips I have been on. I have also included some photos from our trip. It was also wonderful to discover that there is a 4W Driving magazine dedicated just to Western Australia! I still have much to learn but I look forward to seeing much more of off-road Western Australia. Christine Draper

world that owning a lcome to the wonderful Thanks Christine and we 4WD offers. regions of WA and the many spectacular The Goldfields is one of intended). There is n your 4WD journey (pu a great place to start d a campfire with un aro sit ut being able to something cathartic abo es and sharing ing the mesmerizing flam friends and family, watch e of electronic lur ually be kids, without the d using their stories. Our kids can act an t dir red playing games in the m, the y up occ to s get gad ng able to see the far, the best thing is bei imaginations. I think, by t pollution. stars without the city’s ligh readers are doing . We love to see what our Thank you for your photos n. and where they have bee Western 4W Driver #111

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Hi Nick,

I have enjoyed the latest edition. The electrical information etc. is excellent. The Connie Sue brought back a few memories but not the full details. I cannot remember who we travelled with at the time. I had the Nissan Patrol 1998 model and very little 4WD experience. My motto was no bogging, no break downs and no flats. Worked most of the time. The bit that caught my eye was Tyre Terrors. When I went down from Warburton to Rawlinna I did not recall any major problems. The camp at Neale Junction I recall as we were camping the layer of ice on the tent.

As I do not have your experience in this area, I was surprised that you had trouble with the rim damage. In my younger days I was a boilermaker and steel was the most common metal used. Heat to distorted or bent item be worked if heat was applied making it more ductile. In all my 4WD trips I took as one of my tools a small gas cylinder about the size of a car fire extinguisher. About 300mm long, 70mm diameter. It was Bernzomatic TS 8000. You can get them at Bunnings. It will heat metal up to cherry red and does not require a oxygen cylinder.

A handy light tool for those moments that require it. You could also do your marshmallows. Great publication so keep it up. Not 4WDing any more as I am getting old. Regards,

Terry Wilson

r Terry and glad to hea Thanks for your input d goo tty pre a t’s g. Tha you’re enjoying the ma up. I saw a great sticker it p kee can you if tto mo ly that read, ‘I’m not on an old Patrol recent e it! bogged, I’m thinking.’ Lov gas cylinder. I keep the of Like your suggestion emergency suspension one myself for making e. Not too sure about bushes out of plastic rop h - could be a flame the marshmallows thoug too far.

Got a question? Got an opinion? Send your letter to: admin@western4wdriver.com.au

Everyone’s a winner!

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LIFE ON THE ROCKS

otted across the Western Australian landscape lie thousands of granites. From hulking masses rising far above the horizon to flat sheets almost hidden by soil, these ubiquitous remnants of a truly ancient piece of the earth’s crust are home to some special, tiny ‘forests’. Much of the greenery is formed by mosses and liverworts, small plants with simple leaves and no roots or

Yellow on this pin cushion plant suggests heat stress.

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flowers. Mosses really look like a plant, with tiny leaves and a delicate stem, but many liverworts are flat and lobed (a liver-like shape is the source of their name). Both are held fast by minute hairs, which work into the microscopic nooks and crannies of the rock face. Take a second look, though, and you’ll notice there is also plenty of grey, cream and even orange, contributed by strange coral-like objects, or dry plates and crusts. These are lichens, oddball cohabitations of a fungus with a microscopic alga. Mushrooms and the white fungal fuzz growing on rotting strawberries are probably familiar to you, as are seaweeds and the green algal scum in our ponds. In a lichen, these radically different life-forms combine into something unique: a tough network

of fungal filaments woven around single-celled algae, within which there is a mutual exchange of sugars from the alga and minerals from the fungus. This enables each to survive in incredibly harsh conditions - lichens are found in virtually all landscapes, and form the main coverage of about 6% of the Earth’s land surface.

Summer daytime temperatures on granites can reach beyond 70 degrees C. Despite their delicate looks, many mosses and liverworts are capable of looking completely dead without pegging out completely. They shrivel up to nothing and even turn black, only to revive back to green, functioning plants within a few hours of receiving moisture. Others form tiny tubers under their leaves, protected from direct sunlight. Lichens are capable of extremely deep dormancy, with one even surviving 15 days exposed in space!

Popular Botanics with

Doctor Kris and providing food, and shelter for many animals. Mosses in particular act like a big sponge, holding and providing water. Their grassy look can create a false impression that a surface is safe to drive over when, in fact, there is a deep pocket of very wet material beneath.

All are key components of soil pockets that bring life to the big rocks, bursting with orchids and tiny daisies in spring

Wheel ruts gouged deep into moss banks as a result of this deceptiveness are especially common on larger granites. Unfortunately, in the natural world, the flip side to toughness is often slow growth, and damage to granite communities can take decades to repair, so care is due on both counts. These tiny wonders play significant roles on granites, alive, dead or dormant - so next time you visit, why not take a closer look?

Avoid driving over rock as mosses can take decades to repair.

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Electric / Hydrogen By Neil Dowling

Update

The new pure-electric Rivian R1T

Australia is rushing headlong into a carpark powered by electricity as the nation chases slashed greenhouse gas emissions and a future of clean air and hushed streets.

n the face of it, there is nothing more honourable than cleaning the air. For decades, the car has been blamed for the current state of high airborne pollutants and the resulting ill health of citizens and warming of the planet. A world of electric vehicles (EVs) will cure that, we are told. Here’s the problem: We should feel a bit insulted being pushed into an EV future by people who will benefit precisely from this action. There’s the government which likes to be seen doing green things to the environment; there’s car-makers including Elon Musk (Tesla) who stands to make a big(ger) buck making EVs and batteries; there’s the charging station manufacturers; the mining companies digging for lithium, cobalt and manganese; and all the suppliers along the chain including the power stations selling electricity to charge the batteries for your EV.

And the last point is the most pertinent. Because it’s at the bottom of the list but without it, there’s no list. And this is exactly what is happening in countries, including Australia, at the moment. We are rushing to an EV future because we’re being told a battery electric vehicle (BEV) is the future. Yet Australia today struggles to fulfil its electricity obligations. By 2030, Labor wants half of the cars sold each year (about 700,000 SUVs and passenger cars in total, so 350,000 EVs) to be running on electricity. Where will this come from as we dismantle our coal-fired power stations, and how much will a recharge of a car cost? EVs are probably the correct answer to the question about future mobility. But sourcing the juice for the EV motor from batteries charged by an electricity grid is not. The future seems more clearly to be hydrogen. Western 4W Driver #111

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This month the general manager of China’s biggest car maker - one that in 2018 made 7.05 million vehicles - said the future of the EV was being stifled by what he termed a battery “bottle neck”. SAIC, under brand names including MG, LDV, Maxus and Roewe, made 140,000 EVs. It made even more in its joint venture with General Motors and Volkswagen. “We expect EV sales of 600,000 a year by 2020,” said Mr Qiuhua Xu.

cell EVs that use hydrogen as an onboard fuel to make electricity, erasing the need to plug in the car to the mains grid.

Back home, Australia has emerging problems with power generation. Many coal-fired power generation plants are being closed with the replacement expected to be from sustainable sources. But each summer, in Victoria particularly, authorities warn commercial businesses to reduce the power load because the generators cannot cope with the demand.

“The future seems more clearly to be hydrogen.”

“But for EVs - across the globe - we need new policies. We have bottle necks on batteries that is slowing delivery.”

He is calling for better planning between different battery manufacturers to ensure an efficient flow of the products. Meanwhile, to have an extra hand in the game, SAIC is pressing ahead with plans to release five fuel-

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Add EVs into that and Victoria - and Australia - is in a parlous position where energy may not be available for transport. The result is likely to be booming energy costs. The answer appears to be hydrogen. Fuelcell EVs, that use on-board hydrogen tanks to fuel an electricity-producing unit called a fuel cell, does not need to be plugged into the mains power grid.

It uses hydrogen that will be available from your local service station and takes about the same time to fill the tanks as petrol. The hydrogen secured and safe within its three or four pressure tanks that resemble LPG car tanks, can give the fuel-cell EV a range of about 500km. That effectively gives a vehicle - including SUVs and 4WDs - the ability to have the same mobility and range as a current diesel or petrol vehicle.

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Western 4W Driver #111

At the same time, fuel-cell EVs mean zero emissions and - perhaps of interest to offroad travellers - a vehicle that has a tiny fraction of moving parts compared with conventional engines, a history of durability, operating costs on par with diesel (hydrogen is expected to sell for about the same price as diesel), and a power source that is quiet and has substantial performance benefits including high torque outputs. Perhaps it’s not such as bad thing to be pushed into.

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magine a set of full size recovery tracks strapped to the roof of a Jimny. We reckon they might look a bit oversized (or is that ‘over the top’) for the vehicle. Not that the tough little off-roader is likely to need recovering often, but you get the idea - small vehicles need compact solutions when it comes to recovery equipment. And soft roaders with less off-road cred need the right gear when and if they venture into the dark side or just onto a soft sandy beach - which is where we found ourselves recently with a brace of Jimnies and a set of GoTreads - fold up recovery tracks for sand and soft ground. Made of high impact polypropylene copolymer and weighing 2.6kg, GoTreads fold up to 310x230x200mm when not in use which means they can be stored in the back of the vehicle taking up minimal space. Unfolded, they stretch out to 1165mm long - perfect for extricating light vehicles.

We did our best to bog the Sierra pictured but had to resort to digging holes to bury the back wheels to a point where it needed help to get out. Over the years we’ve tested a number of flexible tracks on sand and often they’ve failed to grip and spun out under torque but the GoTreads with their curved ridges did it easy. Digging out to build a ramp in the direction of travel makes the job easier and the GoTreads gripped well. Bigger wheels on bigger vehicles might bugger the hinges on this product but they’re perfect for lightweight SUVs. Maggie was happy to throw a set in her Sierra and leave the old bit of mat for the dog to lie on. Win, win.

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Western 4W Driver #111

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For more info visit: www.minelab.com or contact your local dealer

M E TA L D E T E C T O R S

Guess the weight and win!

GOLD!

e get some interesting articles and photos sent through to us so you can imagine our surprise when we received this photo. Yes, that is gold and it was found by one of our readers, who has asked to remain anonymous. We will refer to him as ‘Goldfinger’. When pressed for an approximate location, Goldfinger gave us the finger and then very kindly provided the following map.

Winner will receive a complete set of Explorer Series Trip Books and a 2 year subscription to Western 4W Driver magazine.

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Explore the

PILBARA in Your 4WD

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Goldﬁelds in the

INCLUDES TRIPS SUITABLE FOR SOFTROADERS

of WA 2nd EDITION

20 fabulous 4WD adventures in Western 5(.É Xccfp n_\\cj 5:_ifd\ [ffi d`iifij 5Gi`mXZp ^cXjj 5=ifek ]f^ cXdgj 5Iff] iX`cj 5Jgfikj ^i`cc\

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Australia’s rugged north-west

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EXPLORER SERIES Western Australia: No 6

Simply guess the weight of the gold nugget pictured to the nearest gram.

16 amazing Day Trips out of Southern Cross, Coolgardie, Norseman, Kalgoorlie and Menzies

RR RR RRP RP P $17.95 95

EXPLORER SERIES Western Australia No. 4 Second Edition

Email your guess, along with your contact details to:

comps@western4wdriver.com.au

To be eligible to enter you need to have FOLLOWED and SHARED our Facebook Page For those of you who are interested, Goldfinger found his nugget using his trusty Minelab SDC2300 metal detector at a depth of approximately 30cm.

www.facebook.com/western4wdriver

The entry with the closest guess in grams will be awarded the prize. If we get multiple entries with the same guess then these entries will be placed into a hat and the winner drawn out. Western 4W Driver #111

155

Goldfields All set for the evening’s viewing.

We had planned to spend a couple of weeks in the Pilbara over Easter, but due to unforeseen happy circumstances (see Edsed), we had to shorten our time away and look a bit closer to home for a quick break over the Easter weekend. After discussing various options, all either too crowded at Easter or booked out, we opted for the Goldfields. 156

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Easter

Words by Susie Underwood Photos by Nick Underwood

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157

here else in WA can you get more thoroughly away from it all than the vast Woodlands out Kalgoorlie way? There is nothing more stunning than those woodlands in the afternoon light with the bluebush understory and salmon gums glowing in the sun. I know I keep on waxing lyrical about this country, but I really, really love it out there! We have friends who have a mining lease not far from Kalgoorlie, so took off for a few days R&R in the splendid isolation. Having said that, we headed east on Thursday with one wary eye on the weather. There’s nothing more nerve wracking than trying to pick your way through the woodlands when they’re a bit on the damp side. We did find a few large-ish puddles to navigate and when we got a little closer to our chosen campsite (via a circuitous route over rocks), we did experience that sinking feeling when trying to sneak between a couple of trees on low ground. Luckily the back wheels were still on rock so we managed to back out without having to resort to the Maxtrax. We eventually found our campsite, which

The Hyden Norseman Road is far smoother than some parts of the Great Eastern Highway.

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Preparing my buns with full confidence.

Very hot and very cross.

came complete with a large granite outcrop, so handy for sunset/ sunrise photography, climbing and sitting on, and lots of puddles to facilitate those arty reflection shots.

We arrived late in the afternoon and after setting up camp, got the fire cranking for a camp oven roast dinner. We’ve eaten at some pretty fancy restaurants in our time together, but nothing beats lamb roast and vegies in the camp oven, it is just heaven on a stick. The next day being Good Friday, I had brought

A jet trail gets in on the sunset act.

all the ingredients from home to make hot cross buns in the camp oven. Well, it all came together fairly well, though it was a cooler day, so finding somewhere warm to rise my buns was a bit difficult. I put them in the cab of the car for a while and got a sulky little rise out of them before dropping them into the camp oven. I have made bread before but not for a long time, and had forgotten the cardinal rule when it comes to camp oven baking never leave anything for too long, and never pile the lid with coals. Jo Clews would have been horrified, her advice is always to put the coals only around the edges so that heat goes down the sides of the pan. Anyway, I then compounded my mistake by going for a short walk while the buns cooked, coming back 15 minutes later to an oven full of very hot, very cross buns. Anyhoo, after we cut the burnt bits off the top they didn’t taste too bad. They did have an interesting smoky

flavour, and by the next day resembled rock cakes, so there’s a lesson learned!

We lazed around our lovely little camp site for a few more days, walking on the rocks, Scrabbling, reading, shooing flies and catching a couple of amazing sunsets from our viewpoint, before driving into the bright lights of Kalgoorlie to catch up with friends before reluctantly turning west for home.

Our route home took us past a couple of interesting sites. That’s one thing about the Goldfields - there is so much history out there that every time we venture out that way we

The Goldfields past is never far away. Western 4W Driver #111

159

An old shot line makes a nice clear campsite when there’s not too many options close to dark.

spot and had a very pleasant evening sitting under the stars constellation-spotting. Those of us of a certain vintage probably remember lying out on the buffalo-grassed back lawn, gazing up at the Milky Way. Sadly that’s a thing of the past for our urban youngsters, but it is such a treat and a thrill to gaze up and see it all spread out there. Unfortunately Pleiades was hiding from us that night, but the Southern Cross was front and centre and we saw Orion’s belt (or the saucepan as we used to call it) and Nick did see a shooting star. We stayed up long enough to watch the moon rise in crimson splendour before calling it a night. The next day we back-tracked to the Not much left of the Vultee Vengeance although there is a replica at the RAAF museum at Bull Creek. memorial site. There are a few plane parts scattered about here and there and a few words about what happened on the plaque, but for a fuller version of the events of 1944, there is a very interesting book on this plane wreck, called ‘Vengeance of the Outback’, written by Charles Page. Mr E had lent to us a copy before learn something new. We have spent many happy hours turning over rocks and looking at bottles at the old woodlines campsites which are dotted all over the place and there is something magic about driving along an old rail line shaded by trees and spotting the occasional dog spike and piles of sleepers. This time we were on the hunt for a plane wreck site which Nick had been wanting to visit. As it was getting late in the day by the time we got to the memorial for the plane wreck, we drove on down the road until we found a shot line which headed off into the bush. We tootled down there till we found a likely

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Quiet contemplation on the highway of life.

and many volunteers from the farming we left Perth and a very absorbing read it communities surrounding the crash area. Jack is too. It was commissioned by the Shire of Ingram miraculously walked into a farmhouse Yilgarn to document the various accounts owned by Clinton McGaw four days later. The of the 1944 crash of the RAAF diver-bomber wreck of the plane was discovered several the Vultee Vengeance. Pearce Air Base was days after that out near the No. 1 Rabbit Proof the home of the Vultee Vengeance aircrew Fence. Sadly Clyde King was never found. The training program at the time. The plane memorial is just off King Ingram Road east had a patchy safety record, being variously of Narembeen and the Emu Proof Fence. described as ‘a flying dunny’ and ‘a bitch of When you see the country surrounding an aeroplane’, however, Noel Aldous of 25 the crash site, it is a miracle that anyone Squadron was a little more forgiving, saying, walked out of such a remote place alive. “The Vengeance was designed for one If you ever get the opportunity to read thing only; to fly vertically, which it did very well. Other flying was Holleton is a minefield of old holes and crumbling adits. somewhat foreign to its nature.” The plane came down in bad weather in September 1944 with pilot Warrant Officer Jack Ingram and navigator Flight Sergeant Clyde King bailing out before the crash. When the plane was reported missing, it sparked one of the biggest searches in Australia’s history, involving the RAAF, army, WA police force 162

Western 4W Driver #111

The resident reptile kept an eye on us.

‘Vengeance of the Outback’ do so, it is a very interesting account of a forgotten part of Western Australia’s history. From the crash site we moseyed on over to the abandoned gold mining town of Holleton via a Very Public Convenience. Sometimes you wonder just what goes through people’s minds! Holleton is a small abandoned goldfield about 70km south west of Marvel Loch and located in the Neendojer Nature Reserve. Gold was discovered there by Alf Heaton and Joe Hollows in 1924 and the townsite was eventually abandoned in 1942. Nearby lies the romantically named Leary’s Lament goldfield, but lamentably we didn’t have time to visit. There’s not

Excerpt from Hema’s WA State map.

an awful lot of Holleton townsite left, just a few rusting cans lying about, but there are some frighteningly deep holes and you should really be on the lookout if you happen to visit the place. It looks like the whole area has been undermined, so here and there you can see narrow trenches which look to be miles deep (I may or may not be exaggerating here), and it made me very jumpy wandering about. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the whole hill has collapsed in on itself one day. We spent an hour or so wandering around the old town site, me nervously keeping to the road and Nick wandering in amongst the holes and trenches before heading back on the final leg to Perth.

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There were a few wheatbelt towns on our route home which I had never visited, so we took the opportunity for a few side trips to Marvel Loch (which is neither marvellous nor home to a loch), Bruce Rock, Narembeen and Quairading. Just out of Bruce Rock and east of Quairading you will find Kokerbin Rock, also known as Kokerbin Hill. This is a granite rock and is the third largest monolith in Australia, Mount Wudinna in South Australia being the second largest and Uluru the largest. Sadly we were running out of time for a visit, but it is certainly on my bucket list for next time we are wheatbeltbound. I’m surprised that more people don’t know about this place, or is it just me who didn’t know it was there?

OH&S wasn’t part of life at this site.

We took another detour into Northam before home to check out our luxurious new camper which is in the process of being built for us. Watch this space for more details...

LET’S MEAT AT YOUR CAMPSITE

Select from our extensive menu and we will:

• Vacuum pack your meat by the meal. • Tag each pack by contents and day. Eg: breakfast - bacon & sausages, day 4.

• Freeze for your convenience.

354 MARMION ST. MELVILLE

Phone/Fax orders:

(08) 9330 3863 164

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Get all your trip meat from the little butcher with the big reputation.

FOR YOUR SAFETY HF two way radio with 21st century connectivity

ustralia, Western Australia and the North in particular have a great many wonderful places to visit. Many of the locations are outside mobile phone coverage with the road access often rough and four wheel drive only. These travel conditions when combined with a lack of communications escalates the risks of travel in these areas. Many people have heard of High Frequency (HF) radio and the benefit it offers of communications from anywhere but may believe they need to do exams to have use of this type of radio, or it is old fashioned. This is not the case. Anybody can have a HF radio and become licensed to transmit by becoming a member of Austravel Safety Net. Austravel Safety Net maintains a virtual security blanket for remote area travellers by supporting HF radio communications Australia wide day and night.

an extensive Australia-wide base network, enabling communications and telephone inter connect, from outback locations where a mobile phone will not work. (That’s a fact).

Austravel Safety Net recently introduced state-of-the-art technology, named Telcall+ and the Out-n-About™phone app, linking HF radios with mobile phone networks. This revolutionary system connects HF radio to satellite navigation and cross-pollinates with services such as map position marking, Bidirectional text messaging, direct SMS to any mobile phone and telephone direct dial interconnection from your radio.

Austravel Safety Net has low membership cost as it is a not-forprofit organisation. High Frequency (HF) long-range radios on the Austravel Safety Net are capable of accessing

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Telcall+ and Out-n-About™ provides a map display for family and friends of your camping locations, no matter where you are in Australia.

No need to contact them every day to say you are OK but you can if you wish to. In addition to the above features and possibly the single most important of the Telcall+ system:

By depressing a single button on the HF Radio, users can call for emergency help response which can be used for general help or life threatening emergencies. Extensive knowledge of using radio use is not required to make an emergency call (a partner can make a call). For the first time, this extraordinary technology value-adds to HF radio and brings all its features into the 21st Century. Austravel Safety Net help response system is unparalleled by any other network.

The Telcall+ technology is not available anywhere else in the world with the program purpose developed in Australia, by Australians, for Austravel Safety Net.

To recap, the Out-n-About™ phone app can send text messages from anywhere in the world to HF radio located anywhere in Australia. Today’s HF radio user can make an emergency call for help, mark their GPS positions on a map, send text messages to the radio mail box system, SMS any mobile phone or make a phone call from anywhere in Australia. Family and friends do not need Austravel Safety Net membership to run the Out-nAbout™ phone app. With the app they can view GPS locations of selected user members and communicate to those radios by text. Different levels of access are PIN-protected for privacy. Some travellers already have HF radios and can achieve these extra features just by adding Austravel network to their existing radio. This does not interfere with any preexisting network. Total cost for Austravel membership is less than $2.00 per week with fees including radio license and usage costs for phone, SMS, GPS mapping and emergency monitoring services.

Do you think your safety is worth it? HF radios are readily available new and second hand from a number of different suppliers through Australia wide dealerships. For any technical or operational queries on Telcall+ or the Out-n-About™ app please contact: Kim Rhodes on 0427 983 329 or email: 7880@westnet.com.au For further information and to join the AustravelSafetyNet, contact the membership officer: Geoff on 0403 309 020 or email: two.pecks@bigpond.com 166

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Off-Road Mobility By Chris Morton

bout 6 years ago I was involved in a motor vehicle accident which has left me with ankles full of screws and plates and knees that will most likely need to be replaced by the time I am 50. As a family we love to explore and go on adventures whenever we can. Trips out to the Goldfields, Karijini, the Kimberley or even walking along the beach, as much as they are fun, all cause me pain. I know I am not the only one out there who quite often has to remain at the car because the terrain is too painful. Two months ago I stumbled across the UBCO Utility Bike. The bike is built in New Zealand and is two-wheel drive.

Oh, did I mention it is also electric and makes almost no noise? We have a full vehicle review planned for Edition 112 where Neil Dowling is going to put my bike through its paces.

If you would like to know more about these amazing little bikes, 4Wheel Productions (the publishers of Western 4W Driver Magazine) are the exclusive dealer for Western Australia.

Check out the video of our bike in action on the Western 4W Driver Facebook page. Contact Chris on 0450 954 550 with any questions or queries you may have. Demo rides can be arranged.

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e recently received a set of Black Duck seat covers for our Landcruiser. Having decided to treat ourselves with a 2018 200 series Sahara, we didn’t think we would want seat covers hiding the luxurious leather in the car. Then I remembered we have two children. Children and leather seats, any seats, can’t happily coexist without ending up filthy. Add a Labrador into the mix and really, there is no way the seats in our car are going to stay in the pristine condition they are in currently. With the arrival of the seat covers I was quickly impressed with the workmanship. Black Duck know how to work with canvas. They have been making high quality seat covers for years and each set is made to order to fit your car.

By Chris Morton

Cotton on to these!

As advertised, they fitted our car perfectly. The canvas material was soft enough to be comfortable for long trips and tough enough to stand up to pretty much anything you can throw at it. The only fault I could pick, if you can call it a fault, was related to the Sahara’s heating and cooling seat function. The heated seats eventually permeate through the seat cover however I was struggling to get the seat cooling function to be very effective. We found this to be a small tradeoff when compared to the overall protection that they afford.

Black Duck seat covers mean that our seats are now kid and dog-proof!

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Fabulous Fruity

fruit cake

Morning tea is just not morning tea without a special little sweet something and often that sweet something is fruitcake. That most amazing combination of fruit, butter, flour and all manner of aromatic spices combined magically to create that perfect little 10am pick-me-up.

now love fruitcake but it hasn’t always been that way and for those of you who don’t like fruit cake I can almost guarantee it will come down to a couple of reasons. One being your traumatic childhood experience of being made to eat 170

Western 4W Driver #111

Great Aunt Flo’s dry, tasteless afternoon tea offering that was like winning the lottery if you were lucky enough to find a withered sultana and not even drowning it in hot custard could make it palatable.

The second reason is the compulsive need for mixed fruit manufacturers to overload their product with mixed peel. I really, really, really dislike the stuff and for me as a kid, that is what put me off fruitcake. I pride myself on being a capable human being and over the years I have tried in vain to make a good fruitcake but sadly it has been one of my failings. The other is reversing a trailer but that’s a whole other story for another time. I was delighted, early on in my relationship, when my father in-law introduced me to the Lions Fruit Cake and as he was a member, I had an unlimited supply, so no need to learn how to make one.

Another successful road test at the Caravan and Camping Show

The finished product ready to share for morning tea

There have been passable shop-bought ones throughout the years, but none like the most amazing fruitcakes that came into my life a few years ago, from a friend who is a compulsive fruitcake maker. According to her husband it is not unusual for there to be a whole pantry of aging fruitcakes in their kitchen. Over the last few years I have been the eager recipient of about four, three kilogram homemade aged fruitcakes a year. They are just perfect to cut into small slices to serve to my guests when they arrive at the homestead to have with a cuppa after a long drive. This latest lot came with instructions to let them age a bit longer as they were only a couple of months old. We are resisting the urge.

Fruitcake is such a good travelling companion as it needs no special treatment like refrigeration and can even be heated and had for a quick dessert on a cold night with some hot custard. There are always a couple packed in my tuckerbox on every trip. Fruitcake has had such a reputation as a great source of energy that just recently there has been a 106 year old fruitcake unearthed in a hut at Cape Adare in the Antarctic that apparently could have still been edible. Amazing, that’s older than my Homestead.

CLEWED UP

with Jo Clews

I am lucky enough to be given recipes to road test in my camp oven and this fruit cake recipe came to me a few years ago but it has taken me all this time to have a go. Now, since making it multiple times, I wonder why it took so long. This one is a bit of a camping and cooking hack and who ever came up with it is a genius. Three ingredients is all that is needed and so far it has been the best fruit cake I have ever made.

The three ingredients are:

1 x 600ml carton of chocolate flavoured milk 500g of mixed fruit

Approx. 2-2.5 cups of self-raising flour Place the fruit and choc milk in a large mixing bowl and gradually add the flour until you form a not too thin and not too thick cake batter - you will know when it’s perfect.

Pour the batter into a baking paper lined cake pan and cook in a camp oven or your oven at home at a moderate temperature of around 180-190 degC for approximately 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes away clean.

This cake will last a few days after being made but is best eaten fresh as my experiment on storing and letting it age was a miserable failure but a spectacular success if I was intending to start a mould factory. If it was vacuum sealed or frozen then no problems with longevity. Enjoy. Tip. Coffee flavoured milk works just as well.

Tip. You can add booze, extra cherries and spices if you desire.

Tip. If you are like me and don’t like mixed peel, then make your own mixed fruit by buying the individual ingredients. Western 4W Driver #111

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From endless fields of golden wheat, picturesque salt lakes and breathtaking breakaways, regional Western Australia has some of the most amazing back-roads in the country, all you need do is take ...

THE

ROAD

Less Travelled

Words and pics by Ben Broeder

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he common cliché thrown around is that ‘the journey is the destination’. Whilst that may have been worn a little thin, there is a lot to be said for venturing off the black top and exploring some of the backroads on your way to your next camping or holiday destination. You may be quite surprised. Whilst we may lack some of the towering topographic features and extensive forests that the eastern states enjoy, Western Australia can certainly hold its own in terms of scenery and experiences to be found with your 4WD.

minutia that is dotted along our endless gravel roads linking our major thoroughfares and regional centres.

The loneliness and isolation of a remote gravel road is somewhat more relaxing than its six-metre-wide bitumen counterpart. There’s a peace and restfulness that comes over the mind whilst travelling these roads, as well as an affinity amongst travellers that you pass.

These remote roads are one place where if you happen find yourself pulled up on the side of the road, every single car that passes will check to see that you are okay. Even if said passing car doesn’t come until after lunch, peace and tomorrow.

I am quite lucky in my travels across Australia, “There’s a generally clocking up restfulness that comes around one hundred One additional benefit thousand kilometres over the mind whilst for family travel, is per year. As one could the lack of cellular travelling these roads.” imagine, I get to see phone service. many of the same Whilst this may result areas time and time again. To that end, I in initial dismay and complaints from make an effort to take alternative routes as the back seat, eventually all will sit often as possible. back, admire the scenery and begin to fire off the usual questions of, “What’s that This habit has led me to some isolated and growing in that paddock?” or “How’d that big beautiful locations that the vast majority of rock get there?” travellers would never get the chance to see by sticking to the main roads. The sites that you do come across may lack the glamour and grandeur that you Most of the time I don’t save any time may hope for, but even a shady gum by a getting to my destination, even if the journey dry creek bed can be an excellent place is slightly shorter, however, there is much for lunch and a memorable stop. Especially to be said for seeing the different sights when compared to the alternative; fly-blown, and experiencing the myriad of interesting

Scenes of old sheep yards, rustic sheds and fences set amongst scenic gums as well as rock breakaways can be stumbled These interesting routes can be found almost across following many of these dusty, lesser anywhere. They bring back the uncertainty used tracks. and excitement that travel used to bring, It won’t come as a surprise to many, that back before it became a menial task, or just not all history is held within the confines one extra thing you had to do on the way to of a museum. These dusty, desolate tracks your holiday destination. also hold a wealth of history and interesting Some of my favourite backroads are the artefacts if you take the to time stop and ones between Carnarvon and Kalgoorlie, look around. in the areas surrounding Meekatharra and Right the way around Western Australia Cue, extending out to the Gascoyne and you can find ruins and rebuilt relics from Murchison regions. These areas offer some yesteryear, lonely grave sites and castaways excellent scenery, several impressive historic from various industries and booms. All with relics and ruins. their own unique The scenery can “Sometimes having nothing story to tell. change from endless Many local shires and to see is of great benefit. organisations have gibber plains, through That way, there’s nothing done a great job of to wooded creeks, to spoil the view.” piecing together their rock holes, incredible local history, offering gorges, expansive guide books and river beds and some of the most impressive signage to help you along the way. breakaways that you’ll spot anywhere. So why not give it a try next time, pick an Similarly, for those travelling not quite as alternate route, take a little extra time, pack far afield, there are no shortage of some lunch and your camera. Get out there fascinating rocks, lookouts and rolling hills to and get a little extra dust on the back window be found throughout the wheatbelt areas of and see what you can find and experience Western Australia. that you otherwise wouldn’t have ever known was there. Aside from the obvious rolling fields of wheat, barley and vivid canola, the wheatbelt region, The biggest thing I’ve learnt to appreciate right the way around Western Australia’s through my extensive travels, is that south western corner, offer some other sometimes having nothing to see is of great interesting surprises that you won’t find along benefit. That way, there’s nothing to spoil the main roads. the view. rubbish littered roadside rest areas found along the highway.

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WHY? • Access to Facebook only competitions • See what’s coming in future editions • Communicate with other readers • Submit photos

Been on an amazing trip? Tell us about it!

www.facebook.com/western4wdriver/

Melangata STATION

Situated in the Yalgoo region of WA, this sheep station has a unique homestead and offers various types of accommodation.

June & July 2019

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Accommodation in a standard queen room with dinner, bed and breakfast. Station tour with sausage sizzle lunch and Turret Sundowner (provided one is fit enough to climb up) for $595/couple or $445/single.

The Camp Out Cook Up (2 nights)

Campground fees, homestead tour, 3-5 hour station tour, camp oven cook up and long table shared meal (BYO camp oven and ingredients). $85.00/person (min. 8 people, max. 20 people).

For more info and booking, contact Jo 08 9963 7777 • melangatastationstay@gmail.com 176

Western 4W Driver #111

Taking care of our tracks Warriedar on the Karara Block between Perenjori and Paynes Find.

rack Care WA Inc is a group of volunteers with a common goal of maintaining ‘Access for the Future’. This means that the group, their children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy the fantastic country that we live in.

was a good idea to help keep it clean. Track Care builds the dunnies on the CSR, yes, we do. Last year over 7,000 vehicles travelled the CSR which demonstrates the foresight of the founders of Track Care.

In recent years we have established a strong working relationship with Track Care started when a bunch of 4W the traditional owners of the CSR drivers (including Nick Underwood, the founder of this magazine), decided that the and we now work in conjunction with their rangers and community Canning Stock Route (CSR) was basically unmanaged and this created a risk for those adventurers who One team, one dunny, one goal - Access for the Future! wanted to travel the route. Initially the risk was water and considering there were 50+ wells along the route it became obvious that those wells needed to be restored to allow access to the water. So, Track Care restores wells on the CSR! But wait, there is more! If more people use the CSR there will be a large number of ‘brown and white butterflies’ in the area. This is ONE of the local names for incorrectly disposed of toilet paper. The team decided that building a dunny on the CSR

members in the restoration and construction work along the track.

Track Care has grown a lot since its inception and has diversified. In the early days we rebuilt, renovated and maintained Woolgorong station, Narloo, Warriedar and many others in the Rangelands of WA.

Currently, some of our members are working to repair white ant damage at Warriedar and others will be along the CSR this year with a dunny at Well 33, a joint work venture with the Global Gypsy tour company, (and funded by their customers), at Well 46 and another dunny at Punmu for the local traditional owner’s rangers. Track Care was intimately involved in the powerline track cleanups where now a whole new group manages the regular outing with some of Track Care’s members helping along. The annual Wilbinga Cleanup is now managed by ‘The Shacks Crew’ initially with Track Care’s assistance. Yeagerup Dunes clean-up.

Track Care still does the Yeagarup cleanup every year heavily supported by Pemberton Discovery Tours. Last cleanup they were involved with citizen science work looking at the plastics that occur in our sands on the beach. Work has been done in the Wandoo Wetlands 80km east of Perth to help preserve a wetland where a rare trigger plant survives.

Over the last year Track Care, the 4wd Association, the 4wd Club of WA and the Conservation Council of WA have formed an alliance. The Tending the Tracks Alliance (TtTA) have just received funding to perform restoration work along the dunes from Perth through to Geraldton as a beginning of a new era. Many people have tried to get fourwheel drivers and environmentalists to work together to achieve common goals. There are very few 4W drive clubs that do not have some form of environmental officer because we all understand that if we don’t look after it, we will either not have it or lose access to it. We are looking for new members to help support the numerous tasks that lie ahead. Track Care is an incorporated body and therefore has an Executive (board), that oversees the projects and processes within the group. It is the Executive in conjunction with the members that find new and exciting projects to be involved in, like: ‘Create Ranger Parks’ with the Pew Trust, creating an offroad Gascoyne-Murchison pathway with local pastoralists to support the infrastructure and as part of TtTA, doing work at Hill River near Jurien Bay and Wedge Work with Team W4.

It’s not just about the work.

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Working on Track Care projects allows people to participate in the greatest volunteer experience in the world and do so safely. We insure all project associated members, take defibrillators, RFDS first aid kit and satellite communications on projects and just recently purchased a SPOT device to allow loved ones to see where the team is currently located as well as reducing the risk in the event of something extraordinary occurring. Track Care is active on Facebook but less

active on its website. Facebook is the place to find out more about what is happening in our world. Track Care is a group of 100% volunteers who lend their support, energy and time to restoring the history of the state, access areas of WA, relationships between the people of WA and the reputation of the four-wheel drive community. We are looking for financial support for our volunteer work and new members!

Full payment for membership must accompany this application form.

Membership Application 2019

(*Cross out the one that is NOT applicable)

I/we wish to apply for / renew* membership of Track Care WA (Inc.) Company/Club Name: ........................................................................................................................................................................................ Surname 1: ............................................................................................... Given name: ................................................................................... Surname 2: .............................................................................................. Given name: ................................................................................... Postal Address: ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... State: ............................... Postcode: ............................................. Phone: ....................................................................................................... Mobile: ............................................................................................. Email: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Skills to Offer: ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Please Note: Important information on Track Care WA business/activities is normally obtained by attendance at our monthly meetings, or via dissemination on the Track Care WA Face book page or website, and/or emails to members. Personal information submitted is used solely for membership and Track Care WA Inc. purposes. Data is not sold or disclosed to any third parties.

Signature: .................................................................................................. Date: ................................................................................................. Type of Membership: Two types of Membership are offered. Active participation is sought at all levels of membership. Full Membership of $80.00 is open to all persons, groups, associations and organisations that satisfy the Committee that their aims and objectives are aligned with Track Care WA Inc. A Full membership carries one full vote. Members are encouraged to be involved in the running of the association. NOTE: Pensioners & Seniors Card holders can renew their Full Membership for $70 with proof of senior status. 4WD Club of WA Members: can renew their Full Membership for $70 Associate Membership: No voting rights but full participation rights for $40 and $35 for seniors. Email form to: treasurer@trackcare.com.au Post payment/form to: Membership Officer, Track Care WA (Inc.) PO Box 8338, Perth Business Centre Perth WA 6849 EFT to: BSB – 036 063 A/C No – 173229 Name: Track Care WA Inc

Track Care WA (Inc.) is a non-profit organisation. All work and administration is carried out by volunteers (non-paid). Our mission is to support organisations, government bodies, and programs in the sustainable management and environmental protection of vehicular tracks including those of cultural & heritage significance. Our aim is to facilitate the preservation of these tracks for generations to come so they too can enjoy the privileges, which we have today.

9274 7844

201 GT EASTERN HWY MIDLAND Email: admin@midland4wdcentre.com.au

e ic v r e s t a e r g & r a of ge e g n a r e g u h e h t e e s Pop in and DL 23701 MRB 3762

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SupaFit Seat Covers were very excited when local customer Steve R. reached out with the opportunity to make a custom set of black canvas seat covers for his new 2019 Suzuki Jimny.

ith every new vehicle to market, we value the opportunity to add seat covers to suit, to our already extensive range of products.

major motor vehicle manufacturers), ensuring in the event of an accident, seat airbags will deploy safely and correctly.

Our highly skilled motor vehicle upholstery trades staff carefully removed the seats* from the 2019 Suzuki Jimny allowing for the most accurate, and safest seat cover pattern.

With canvas fully covering the front and rear of each seat, the Jimny front seats are protected from sandy little feet in the back, and the rear seats are safe from all those things thrown randomly in the cargo area.

In the design of every SupaFit Seat Cover we ensure all features and functions of the seating remains available after seat covers are fitted, including armrest allowances and covers, folding split middle and rear seats.

For his 2019 Suzuki Jimny, Steve chose our 14.9oz Australian made canvas – 100% waterproof, mould resistant and UV treated, offering hard-wearing and long-lasting protection, for all his off-roading and trips to the beach.

Most importantly we also identify and locate the presence of seat airbags and include a seat airbag seam to the seat cover pattern. SupaFit Seat Covers’ airbag seams are designed and manufactured using computer controlled settings (similar to those used by

Steve also added some personal, one-off embroidery to his seat covers ‘Jimny #1’ in recognition of being SupaFit Seat Covers’ very first set of seat covers for the mighty, pint-sized 2019 Suzuki Jimny. With the largest range of seat covers for all vehicles (and machinery) big and small, the team at SupaFit Seat Covers will have a custom, proudly Australian made cover for your pride and joy.

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TURE THE P A

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We Love Photography

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arawine Gorge is one of those locations where you really benefit from locking your legs in low range and leaving the 4WD at camp to get the most out of the location. Michelle Parton has done just that and in doing so, nailed the perfect ‘been there, done that’ photo. The trick with this shot is giving our eyes a place of reference. You see the model in this image is obviously engrossed in that view from up on the gorge rim and there’s a couple of things in this pic that really make

With Graham

Cahill

this work. Firstly we get to see the view; that’s important and Michelle has done that well but even more importantly the human element in the pic in looking ‘into’ the view as well. This is not always easy to do but in short, always try and give your subjects room to look into within a photograph. It allows our brains to associate the view with the model; we are basically seeing what they are seeing. It’s a trick of the eye but works especially well in presenting a well-rounded image such as this one here.

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100 Things To See In The Kimberley By local guide Scotty Connell

Having spent 6 weeks in the Kimberley in 2016 on a family holiday, Scotty Connell’s 100 Things to See in The Kimberley certainly brought back some great memories. The book is filled with spectacular imagery that awakens the adventurous spirit within us all and calls out to you to come and experience this ancient landscape. The guide is well laid out, methodically starting in Broome and working its way east before coming back and covering the aweinspiring Kimberley coast. The information provided is to the point so that the reader must go there to discover the complete story with pertinent points to get you started.

Review by Chris Morton

we had already visited and marking those that we had missed. If you are planning a trip to the Kimberley, then this book is a must if you want to get the most out of your trip.

Published by Exploring Eden Media, the A5 book retails for $29.95 and is available online at https://www.thekimberleyaustralia.com/ The site also offers a free Kimberley travel planner. As a special offer to Western 4W Driver readers, just enter FREESHIP at check out for free shipping Australia-wide!

Once I opened the pages, I couldn’t put it down, mentally ticking off places

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GOOD READING The Beadell Roads This is an excellent publication for anyone who wants to travel the rich and varied desert country west of the Stuart Highway and north of the Eyre Highway. From Coober Pedy and Alice Springs west to Kalgoorlie, Wiluna and Marble Bar the book covers large areas of the Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Little Sandy and Gibson Deserts.

Many of the roads through this vastness were put in by Len Beadell and his Gunbarrel Road Construction Party during the 1950s and 60s, opening up the country for others to follow.

ONE WEBSITE

The book also covers the early exploration of this vast desert region as well as each of the main roads and highways surveyed and constructed by Len and his team. There are some great old pics included, which I hadn’t seen before.

Half of the book is taken up with a series of excellent maps in the Westprint style that not only shows the tracks but also points of interest, camping spots and the routes of the early explorers.

Published by: Westprint Outback Maps www.westprint.com.au RRP: $39.95

Review by R & V Moon

ONE QUOTE FOR A GREAT NOTE

WWW. PERFORMANCE-EXHAUSTS .COM.AU Western 4W Driver #111

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Phil’s the one on the left.

Phil gets a gong

ld Bill Shakespeare once wrote, ‘The bad that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones’ but we think that in the case of our own Phil Bianchi, (OAM) the opposite will one day prove to be truer. For Truthful Phil is now a man of letters.

OAM (which sounds like a noise my grandmother used to make) stands for the Order of Australia Medal Phil picked up in this year’s honours list for services to community history. At 65 years of age and having become (in his own words) a ‘grumpy old bastard’ - which we don’t believe for a moment - Phil has had a simmering interest in Western Australian bush history which came on the boil in 2006 with his first published work, Early woodlines of the Goldfields followed by other woodline stories, diaries of early bushmen and his crowning glory, Work completed, Canning: a comprehensive history of the Canning Stock Route 1906 - 2010.

All this work sent to print by that indefatigable 186

Western 4W Driver #111

publisher of Western Australian history, Hesperian Press.

His own printed works aside, Phil has been involved with the state sponsored Explorer’s Diaries project as a researcher, been active in 4WD clubs since Adam was a cowboy and is a member of numerous Historical Societies. It goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyhow) that Phil is an inveterate wanderer who, if he could, (much like our Mr E) would spend every waking hour out in the bush, exploring, camping and digging into the history of every place he visits. We salute you Truthful Phil, for your dedication and contribution to keeping bush history alive and your achievement of such an honour. From now on we will bow deeply in your presence. In traditional costume, for those who don’t recognise him above

Opinion by Nick Underwood

hat sort of pea-brained idiot would rip down a fence at the top of Calcup Hill in D’Entrecasteaux NP - a fence built to help revegetation and prevent erosion?

Probably the same sort of pea-brained idiot who chose to shoot up the sign explaining why the fence was there, then leaving a calling card in the form of a sticker saying ‘Destroy was here’ and showing a symbol of anonymity that many around the world choose to hide behind because they’re too gutless to stand up for what they believe in and be accountable for their actions. Come on boys, show us how brave you really are and do this sort of thing in front of the 4W driving public. Same with litterers. Don’t wait until there’s no-one else about before you chuck your rubbish out the window. Do it with an audience then let’s see how you handle having to deal with the consequences. Better still, sell your 4WD and stop tarring the rest of us with your infantile and illconsidered actions.

GOINGS ON

Taking a fence

Western 4W Driver #111

187

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Western 4W Driver #111

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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: 192

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Western 4W Driver Magazine Edition #111 (Winter 2019)

Articles inside

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