Flinders to the Back of Broken Hill

[Music] get a pat kaolin on here don't you just love this time in the morning everyone else is tucked up in bed and you're out here packing you four-wheel-drive ready for your next adventure and although this is my 20th year making 4x4 adventure films I'm as excited as I ever was this year's series takes us into new regions and onto more challenging tracks than ever as we explore this beautiful country of ours as usual I've teamed up with Australia's finest full bar for suppliers to push the air marks to their limits and beyond and it's all in the name of adventure discovery and escapism what an absolute slice of paradise you'll see deserts dirt dust June's mud mountain ranges forests and bog holes it's brought versus country in a contest where everyone's a winner you'll experience Australia in all her magnificent glory and be left asking yourself the questions when do I go and how do I get there [Music] so now to our first adventure we're starting at our ruler village in the northern Flinders Ranges then heading down to Willow Springs and skytrak before cruising into Bendel be stationed at the southern end of the ranges from there we head east past Broken Hill to finish our journey at LD station what an incredible adventure we've lined up for you on this episode we'll drive arguably australia's most spectacular 4x4 track we'll dine out on native cuisine and we'll have the privilege of being the very first people to drive Australia's newest 4x4 track Owen did I mention a cracking competition for off-roading families in the outback joining me is Scotty Mason on assignment he's one of Australia's leading 4x4 professionals and a photojournalist with our magazines okay let's get down to business which means dropping off the T Van Atta and picking up the keys to our first track [Music] and we are into it folks the echo camp back truck is kind of one of those essential tracks here in the northern Flinders Ranges the track itself it runs for 9.6 kilometers and they say on the notes that it is a serious fall drive track and it is serious but it's serious in the sense that it is challenging for your vehicle but it's not the sort of track that I would say would break your vehicle and it does get you a large variety of different scenery you will see the spin effects you will see the rain and mountain ranges and you will also drive over the beautiful boulders at the base of the valleys around the Flinders you can pull over just about anywhere around here and find something to write home about Scotty is doing his bit for the environment and reporting a noxious weed and I found something uniquely Australian for the last three years or so the Northern Flinders Ranges has suffered from an incredibly serious drought and even something as hearty as this spinifex plant is having a tough time of it you can see that there is no green left on these things and normally these things don't get better at much at all because they have a really long root system goes down to eight to twelve metres in depth so we're really only seeing just the top of the plant but what you can see here is the Wallabies have actually made a little bed in here it's a case of outback adaptation the spiky foliage offers Wallabies protection from predators [Music] looks like we've got something serious coming up here folks [Music] and here we go she's grown II working very hard to get up here but up she goes folks and Wow look at that that is like from' rolling out into the distance very cool let me tell you a little bit about this amazing part of the Flinders Ranges arkaroola is a wilderness sanctuary set up by Ozzie outback legend and Douglas Mawson protege reg sprig among his many achievements are saving the yellow footed rock wallaby from extinction and being the first person to drive across the simpson desert to get this he did it with his wife Rose elder and their young kids Doug and Marg almost 60 years ago in a six-cylinder petrol Nissen Patrol carrying 44 gallon drums of fuel behind the back seat it was an epic adventure which I had the privilege of recreating with Doug and Mark back in 2012 so you can imagine how fantastic it is to catch up with Doug who continues his mums and dads legacy and arkaroola red black as the who drives me and one of his many jobs is taking visitors on guided tours in the air [Music] like what really caused incredible uh tonight confluence of run for my are the Flinders Ranges in general our sedimentary geology old sea beds but below that there's molten rock an innocuous case that both rocks been where I've lived it towards slowly and then we had hot springs bubbling up through that and we also had before the Rangers we had the breakup of the supercontinent and we probably had candidate or not the very richest out for the right of us so good thank you 902 billion years ago you can walk eight or ten kilometres nippy in Canada North America travel is cheap we didn't have camera I think it should've been called you type given anyway yeah we like up just a little bit further door up to the boss of Plato this is where we gonna get those bumps I should have been called clairvoyant but that's a girl's name but meanwhile as Doug fills my head with scientific facts and blue ribbon dad jokes Scottie is on assignment for our bimonthly journal I've been here quite a few times now but I've never had the chance to get out and shoot the LF wooded rock wall of you amazing amazing wallaby and this is this a perfect opportunity right now actually there goes one now so what they're doing is they're coming down off these cliffs here this is their habitat and with this beautiful sunlight I'm really gonna try I'm praying for a really nice shot of them just descending these cliffs coming in for a bit of a feed hunting by humans cats and foxes along with loss of habitat pushed the yellow-footed rock wallaby to the edge of extinction then in 1968 driven by a desire to save the little wallaby reg sprig made arkaroola a wildlife sanctuary and their numbers recovered however not even the sprigs can make it rain and these guys are once again classified as near threatened [Music] we move pretty fast and pretty hard when we're on the road folks and we are running quite a bit of gear we run around about nine cameras and we're usually days or even weeks away from mains power so to keep our cameras batteries lights computers fridges and compressors running we've kitted out our Amer ox with two lithium batteries and read our converters it's all controlled by the red arc BC DC management system and trickle charged with our solar panels and blankets it's a perfect marriage of technology and wilderness adventure and it's not just for the TV show we're also gathering stories and still images for our three magazines which is why scotty has been swinging that giant lens around how did you go with that thing Matt you get anything you focus all the gear no idea Scotty is actually being characteristically modest these shots are beautiful and if you'd like to see more of his work subscribe to our bimonthly magazine every issue is packed with great stories and information to help you get the most from your future adventures but while scotty plugs away i want to show you why i love t Vance I don't think I've ever really explained just how easy one of these things is to set up I often show people the full tent set up on these but check this out for a quick camp so you're cruising along the road you've just been on the road for eight hours you're super tired what you do is you fold those two doors down and up and then you slide straight into bed folks that really is an incredible setup and you're not gonna find a whole lot quicker than that the other bonus about this is not just the cabinet room inside and all the storage for underneath the bed it is the fact that you will notice that there is no dust at all in here and you can see how good the ceiling is all around the sides there you can see the dust doing its best to try and get in here but it doesn't manage and we've taken her over thousands of extremely dusty kilometers and not a speck gets into the main cabin or any of the storage areas of course when you do get to a campsite worth settling the TiVo none fills in to something quite remarkable it has tons of Rome and the awning over its kitchen is a cut above in fact this aussie designed and built machine sets the industry benchmark having said that you do pay for quality this one around the $60,000 market but the resale value is strong [Music] time now for a bit of 4x4 magic we're about to take on one of South Australia's most challenging drives to see one of her most breathtaking views but first a bit of homework we are really privileged to be driving our next truck and it's a place called Cilla's look out in my eyes one of the most spectacular trucks in all of Australia but we do need to take a few precautions because normally you're not allowed to take your own vehicle on there it is a very fragile environment so we have to clean all the mud and potential seeds from our vehicles another thing to note about this track is that it's single lane and really quite dangerous with sheer drop-offs but if you want to experience it trained arkaroola guides do take tour groups up here every day so Scottie mate this is a first for you sellers look out are you excited the ridge top track I've been here a couple of times as you know but never made it up here [Music] and might just come around this Bend here and just have a look around already she's starting to get a little bit serious oh my how the views already is insanity [Music] we have an ally little climb coming up here folks this is challenging stuff the water in learning I'm just here those pranks actuate grabbing the wheels that are slipping and firing the power across to the other axle and sending me up this hill reasonably sounds place folks but that's the way we like it ladies and gentlemen if I'm looking at this correctly my goodness there is a serious drop-off off to the side and this is kind of dangerous because the view that is surrounding me is she's not a million-dollar view folks it is a billion dollar view [Music] the blue sky the spinifex and the Red Rock how good is that sillas look out folks want a spot [Music] what do you reckon mine [Music] [Music] the next leg of our adventure takes a South Pass will peen a pound two well-known sheep station and four-wheel-drive playground called Willow Springs this place it is absolutely one of the icons of the fall Drive areas in the Flinders Ranges and the reason being is for a track called skytrak Willow Springs is a well-established adventurous destination the station owners offer excellent facilities and campsites for all lovers of the great outdoors but for us for all drivers there are plenty of reasons to pull up and take a closer look so Scotty what do you think we're actually looking at here mate I'm seeing a lot of animal footprints so got a Mew almost looks like an arrowhead folks the local Aboriginal people here they will call the aDNA mutton of people which basically means Rock people because they lived in this beautiful but arid rocky place in the southern end of the Flinders but these petroglyphs they predate those so we're talking about these things being well over 20 to 25,000 years old people come from all over the globe just to experience a tiny slice of that Aboriginal culture but for us I've got it right on our doorstep this Drive is designed for tourists like us and as a result it takes you through some pretty special country country that really does contrast at the moment we're driving through this gorgeous creek bed combined with a gorge and then we'll start to scale up those hills and we'll see some of that magnificent Cypress pine pine that is virtually impenetrable to termites so they use that for a lot of the buildings and the stumps and stuff around the Flinders Ranges well track starting to get a little bit more serious up ahead folks how do I know that because I have been told that at point 43 I must engage four-wheel drive and you can see that as the track starts to snake up the hill it does get a little bit steep and a wee bit rocky now I'd also recommend that you might want to dump a bit of air out of your tires we already have so we're down to 24 in the back and 22 in the front we are gonna do a bit of a climb and we are going to end up but somewhere around the 747 metre mark and the views up there they're gonna be better than down here in this valley I remember skytrak as a great entry-level track but it's been a few years since I drive it and the extended drought seems to have taken its toll hang on a minute I think it's turning to something a little bit different folks I thought this is gonna be a lot easier apart from these challenging climbs skytrak ranges from easy to intermediate it's an accessible adventure for most for all drivers and although we do our best to show you the highlights you really do have to experience these ranges for yourself it's funny you know driving through a place like skytrak you do need a high clearance four-wheel drive you do need low range or some sort of hill descent control on your vehicle but once you've got that and you got your keys you can drive these tracks and impede it and it just opens up this spectacular slice of Australia this is special this is the reason why you love driving full drives [Music] just a word of warning folks skytrak is a good six hours drive don't be like us and run out of time I've still got to grab the tea van and get to our next location not very smart that was a close one as you can see from my dashcam the Roos think tonight they are in play proportion folks and this is what happens in these drought times the Roos come and they will go for any sort of green pick and the best pick is often just on the side of the road obviously you don't want to drive at night or a dusk that tends to be when they come out but sometimes you just can't help it and you have to make a mile and if you do have to drive at night or a dust then you want to do quality Boober on the front of your vehicle and some good quality driving lights that really like the way the head there are over 40 million kangaroos in Australia at the moment it is such a wasted resource surely we can do something better we're heading further south to bindle B station but making a quick stopover at the little town of Ora roof Scotty I might split for a few minutes might have a bit of a look around or Aroo I know Scotty is not a big fan of roommate and they did it help me out with a problem a mate of mine is not real convinced yet on the whole kangaroo thing but here in our Aroo they sell award-winning group pastrami brunette Wurst and other group products that are absolutely delicious I'm gonna make it my mission to convert Scotty to being a fan after a bit a real mate what are your thoughts on the our route we're heading out now to catch up with Charlie and Warren at Ben Derby station you may remember we were here last year doing billy goat track spectacular and challenging with views to almost die for now by going to this next place Mendeley station I am actually breaking one of my own little silent rules and that is never to go the same place the next season as I did the last season but it is for one very good reason you see there's something rather new that's just happened and mentally remember Ben will be is a working sheep station that is diversified into 4x4 adventure tourism in fact 50% of their income comes from us for drivers taking on their tracks and paying for the privilege and the latest track is a doozy in fact even their bulldozer almost couldn't climate so Charlie why a brand new track and one now mate guys are coming here saying you know that was easy Fela go rich wasn't a challenge so we had to amp it up a bit and really we didn't want to build this track for a lot of time because we thought it was too steep but well went and did it anyway the new unnamed track was only short drive up the range but well maybe Scotty was distracted see if I can get off it if not I'm gonna have to do the unthinkable and call for help it's gonna hurt so what's happening here is the readiest hung up on a rock pretty damn well at the moment actually so just gonna see if I can get myself out of this safely it's not I'll call out for Pat oh and get him down to give us the oppa that's lost I'll maybe read the end of it what I'm gonna do is Chuck some rocks under the the front of the retards he try and give that rear axle a bit of elevation as a travel forward not happy Toby pad so um hang on a sec Scottie but we haven't even made it up to the hard track and yes my other sort of make it a bit more interesting for television if we breakfast the recovery less steep stuff huh what a mess thank you my dammit [Music] snatching up this loose steep track will present challenges still going to be fun pulling it up there because it's not like I've got a hip attraction go now the first and most important part of snatching is to make sure your recovery points are specifically designed and rated for the job and make sure you use a cable dampener to minimize any damage in case of a breakage did you want me to leave this on terminal you might cuz you probably need another couple of hands no thank you pat I'm good never gonna hear the body in this and finally we get to start what we came here to do christen the brand-new track well folks this is a first for this show we been given the privilege Scotty to actually name this track whoever drives this track with the most class the most style and finesse and I think who doesn't get hung up on certain rocks on the track they get to name the track Scotty you you happy with those rules absolutely mate excellent so with naming and bragging rights on the line we head off each of us with a judge alongside and in my passenger seat is Ben will be patriarch Warren a hard man and a tough judge and remember he's the guy who built these tracks on his 50-year old bulldozer I'm feeling the pressure mate because this is yeah this will be a Lifetime Achievement Award for me I've never had a track named after me and probably never will [Music] sorry tell me what you were trying to do Detroit because that's already I cheated a bit so well Warren judges my technique his son Charlie is keeping an eye on Scotty making sure he doesn't smash any more difference oh no once the drop down it's gonna be a bit a bit of trust in me behind the wheel this point in time oh well it gets your heart going yeah [Music] it's Bradley so it's gonna work best momentum or I think it's gonna be a bit of a combination of momentum and smooth throttle this track is seriously steep I'm glad I'm driving down the hill because I reckon if I spun around and tried driving up I'd have buckley's well folks as you can see it'll get your heart racing for the angles and the vistas so now to the big question who gets to name the track where asking in the end we each got a mountain got a bit hit ragged beard what have you been driving long it's just that I'm still on my old play stick with it okay folks it's now time to convert scotty to being a lover of roof and to do that i'm using a recipe taught to me by warren now this dish is a little bit interesting because you will have heard on many occasions that kangaroo must be absolutely lightly cooked otherwise it turns to shoe leather basically that's exactly what i've heard too but until i ate this dish from warren I could not believe just how succulent and tender the meat actually was I'm cooking beautiful tenderloin which has been resting at room temperature to eliminate that gamey flavor place into a hot pan of garlic butter and Cu for five minutes before taking out and resting and this is a real secret bit folks so you want to slice some fairly nice big chunks and you want to slice them against the grain now and this is the bit that will drive chefs nuts you put the chunks back into the pan and cook for another five minutes I like to whip up a sweet glaze of Billie tea and marmalade and it's time to witness Scots conversion okay Scotty Hawking champion and you'd be honest not too honest [Music] tender thanks much first light and something's not quite right with Scotty's truck we just noticed some oil dripping from the back of Scotty's differential now we don't quite know how much he's lost but this is a bit of an issue you see the nearest mechanic about an hour away and if you run these differentials dry you can have complete failure in fact worst case scenario your back diff can actually lock up completely unlucky that Scotty smashed his pumpkin on that rock yesterday lucky where it Bend will be where Charlie has a wonderful pit to help us crack into some running repairs and it's just a matter of cleaning and smoothing both surfaces applying a temporary gasket replacing the defile and we say a few prayers that it holds together for the rest of the trip thank you and our next stop is the last on this adventure we're heading east all the way to the back of Broken Hill beyond Silverton to the famous LD station where we park our t van and explore the property and I'm pretty excited folks because I've wanted to come here for years but sometimes it just needs something to push you over the edge to get you out to some of these remote places and what's pushed me over the line this time is the ARB Easter Festival and this is a fantastic family event where you can not only bushcamp and explore this magnificent property but you can also compete in some very family-friendly 4x4 events it's pretty rare that we like-minded forward drivers get a chance to congregate at one Outback location and even rarer to put our beloved machines to the test against each other so it's great that every year LD host a fantastic weekend of competitions to assess our driving skills and of course no one takes it that seriously fun bike you sent over the eyes and that'll be it learn that kids of course I am joking this really is all about family fun and teamwork so every driver has to have a co-driver or navigator guess who drew the short straw sorry Scotty and my advice is hang on [Music] beautiful [Music] [Music] not script [Music] how do we go to a second very happy with that now we're testing our teamwork with a blindfold challenge they can see how funny what the gotta love this guy he's even got his grandson navigating [Music] [Music] around that tree not everything there it's a little fun the outturn now I trust Scottie almost with my life but not cool this is really weird I can't see any okay stop straighten up hard right now all right hold that right all right all right all right accelerate a Silver Age chill all right straighten up now to slow down a little bit right a little bit right and forward straighten [Music] pick on keep on keep on keep on keep going and stop good navigating because he's out in front on the stage apparently and amazingly Scotty and I are in the lead with only one event remaining and it's a simple test of reversing skills walk in the park ooh yeah Oh [Music] oopsies oh we have a shoka on the bright side we failed going back returning now to LD station out the back of Broken Hill and it's time for the Easter egg hunt every year Naomi has to drive a couple hundred meters down the road and hide a million Easter eggs for a hungry mob Oh super excited kiddies the tricky business out here one year is she hid them too early and by the time the kids turned up half the eggs had gone down the throats of the local crows so we can't leave the man overnight either because which is [Music] [Music] this really is everything you could ever want in an Outback holiday Naomi and Steven have set up LD has the perfect farm stay they offer camping swag higher powered and unpowered sites and they built several luxury cabins and the license cafe is seriously good especially after a solid week of camp dining but I reckon what's best about this Easter festival is the way families come together to bond and build strong friendships within the Australian four-wheel-drive community so we packed our bags and headed for home but if you were thinking that this was the end of our first adventure you'd be wrong we've just pulled up for some morning tea here and our camper trailer tire was almost flat so this is a really small crack in the tire guys and and what I'm doing now is I'm using what's called a reaming tool because I actually need to make the hole bigger so that I can then repair it properly with these self vulcanizing plugs that I've got there it is so we thread this through the end like so then we're going to ram it through the hole push it right through and then it starts to pull back out and curls over and that's actually what plugs the tire guys [Music] all the way in there and then Eddie comes now it's just time to throw some more air in get her up we'll be on the road again [Music] now let's look back at some of the magical places we visited over the last week bend will be south of the Flinders Ranges the iconic skytrak and arkaroola where everyone falls in love with the yellow footed rock wallaby and the magnificent landscape I think you'd agree that this is one of the most beautiful episodes that we have ever filmed but folks we've been here in the school holidays and you would expect these tracks to be crawling with other humans they're not and I can't understand it because Juke out four-wheel drives are the number one and two top-selling vehicles on the Aussie market at the moment so I think we might have a problem you need to get out here and have a blast and see it all for yourself if you want to learn any more about this region go to mr. 4x4 kaamdar you I'm Pat Cullinan and until next time keep the shiny side up join us next time as we explore some of the best tracks within a stone's throw of Melbourne we'll show you the perfect spots for a weekend getaway from the iconic mount disappointment to the muddy tracks of the t'lani state forests we throw the Emma rocks into some of the toughest mud ruts and inclines we have ever traveled on you don't want to miss it [Music]

Channel: Pat Callinan's 4X4 Adventures

Views: 28,589

Rating: 4.9565215 out of 5

Keywords: Pat Callinan, Pat Callinan's 4X4 Adventures, 4WD Australia, 4X4 Australia, South Australia 4X4, Best 4X4 Australia, VW Amarok 4X4, Amarok, Volkwagen 4WD, Four wheel drive, Travel Australia, Outback travel

Id: b8I4x6i5xPo

Length: 40min 31sec (2431 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 19 2020