Western 4W Driver's content creation trip

HEADING NORTH

BY CHRIS MORTON

Scan QR code to view the stories as they were featured on Channel 9's Everything Outdoors.

In June 2022, Western 4W Driver embarked upon one of the longest content creation trips ever undertaken by the magazine. Our plan was to cover more than 7,000km of WA’s Coral Coast, Gascoyne and East Pilbara, while filming for both ourselves and Channel 9’s Everything Outdoors.

When the dust had settled, we had covered more than 8,300km and used more than 134 man-days in the field. We had shot just shy of six terabytes of data and consumed almost $8,000 in diesel. Producing content in the field is always tough on your crew and equipment, and when you add the unforgiving Pilbara and a very tight schedule, you push everyone and everything to the limit. My intention was to originally write an article that captured the essence of the trip, however I struggled. When I looked back over my daily logs I realised that I had found the perfect way to tell the story.

Excerpt from Hema's WA state map.

We left a very wet Perth and headed north. Looking for the most direct route to our destination, we headed up the Midlands Road, arriving at Gabyon Station midafternoon. After quickly setting up camp, we headed back to the homestead for happy hour and a chat with Helen and Mel. 4 June 2022

Treated to a beautiful sunrise, we started the day by watching the goats leaving the relative safety of the homestead to graze around the shearing shed and beyond. Rob filmed b-roll of the shearing shed and surrounds and we interviewed Helen. Scotty from REDARC had arrived during the early hours and he and wife Mel took us for a tour. 5 June 2022

We shot some footage of the quad bikes and ran the drone over the homestead one last time before saying goodbye to Gabyon. Needing fuel, we headed across to Melangata Station via Yalgoo, arriving with minutes to spare to head out on a tagalong tour around the property with Ken. Jo was hosting campground guests around the campfire so we chucked a roast in the camp oven and joined in. I even managed to whip up one of Jo’s apple pies, with a slightly burnt base.

Scott from REDARC with his new friend at Gabyon Station. On the road with Ian from Hema Maps joining us.

Rob shot more b-roll and we conducted multiple drone flights around the historic homestead. An interview with Jo included a walk-through tour of her homestead before we shot some pieces to camera. Ken took us to a spot on the western boundary to show us some country that was making a comeback, where we were lucky enough to see a bustard (or bush turkey) on the fence line. It hung around long enough for me to get the drone in the air and get some footage before it took flight. Ian, from Hema Maps, had caught up with us earlier in the day and was joining us for a week or so.

7 June 2022

An early morning start. We were meeting the crew from the Model A Restorers Club at Murchison Settlement, about two hours away, until a text message came through indicating that they were already at Gascoyne Junction. Bugger. Instead of just over two hours, we needed to cover more than six hours. We needed to cover the distance quickly and had to bypass a couple of spots that I had wanted to visit along the way. We quickly picked up the tell-tale marks of a Model A’s skinny wheels as we headed north. Another late afternoon arrival into Gascoyne Junction before heading out to the start of the Kennedy Range Loop Trail. The sun was getting pretty low when we started to