FLOODED Kimberley river crossing GONE WRONG – 150m+ wide rapids - our most epic trip EVER FILMED!

tell you what there's adventures and then there's this halfway across the direct we're not even a fifth of the way through this track right now this is airbag i don't think i've ever been so nervous before a4 drive obstacle if something goes wrong here's drive it's getting it's getting a bit all right this track will definitely it'll test everything you've got it's early season in the kimberley the water is high the river's full of crocs and the tracks will push four-wheel drives to their very limit we're very remote in the kimberley right now this is as sketchy as it gets we're here to take on a once in a lifetime mission and that's to attempt to re-open one of australia's most remote four-wheel drive tracks the umbulgari track a single wet season can wipe this track off the map but thanks to the global pandemic it hasn't been driven in nearly two years this is something we can't fix so we're a bit of a pickle right now ahead of us lies 15 days off-grid and off the map with no servos no pubs no phone reception and no resupply [Music] heck of a lot to go yet uh look to be honest this is real live i don't know whether we're gonna make it i don't i don't know what's gonna happen there's only one way out and that's to push through hundreds of kilometers of extreme low range as we try to put the umbulgari track back on the map well this is it graeme very iconic moment mate i i've done it a few times now and i still get a big smile on me dial crossing the pentecost how is it probably the single most iconic four-wheel drive picture ever like this is just wild and for us our adventure begins right here tim you must be part mate your first time in the kimberley couldn't be more excited mate this place is stunning you're not wrong and rocket mates could be back yeah it's been a long two years mate i'll tell you what i've missed you guys a lot what better place to um come and meet up again yeah mate and look this time of year as well i reckon we're gonna have our work cut out the pentecost itself is a bucket list destination for many four-wheel drivers but for us this is just the road in to the start of our journey for this trip sean's behind the wheel of his reborn dirty 30 mark ii i'm in the new isuzu d-max which i've just fitted with 33-inch tyres tim and harry from mitz alloy are wheeling a single cab 79 while rockets in his auto converted cruiser towing a maverick ranger forward fold camper but there's one more face in the convoy our very own nissan guru jesse gleason who somehow managed to swap the keys of daryl for something a little more sophisticated in the goodyear truck now look the umbulgari track is about as remote as any track gets starting out of the back of home valley station and winding its way over 500 kilometers through the heart of the kimberley and all the way back to the dirt near columbaroo with the closest thing to civilization being the ruins of the former township of umbulgari our first objective about 90 kilometers into this track but first up we've got to meet up with ronnie he and his family are the traditional owners of this area and ronnie's invited us to help him try and get the track open once again so what do you reckon ronnie we're going to make it this year or a bit early there's a couple of places i know that's going to give us trouble it might be a game changer there but i've never seen so much water around this time of year nice yeah and well we had a big wet man so most of these crossing i know but after a big wet you always gotta make new roads yep build stuff yeah this this track will definitely it'll test everything you've got at last after months of planning and a lot of sleepless nights waiting we're finally pointing the rigs down the umbulgari track this track is driven by special permission only and you won't see another person or vehicle from start to finish ah i mean where do you even start have a look at that view pentecost ranges over there the most remote part of australia in my humble opinion the kimberley region especially this region we're going through right now it's been six years since i was last in here and this very track right here the umbulgari track with ronnie was the reason the whole start of my career within the full drive industry doing what i do today i owe so much this little patch of land and i i'm so excited to be back up here and it's funny the things you remember you might be able to see it as i go past right now that old international right there i remember that from day one kimberly region doing the trip again with the boys frothing absolutely from thing i was excited it's a dog with two tails let's just get into this what do we got here ronnie big salt flats mate yeah mate this is the uh maliaka flats here and in front of us there'll be a little creek that we have to get by so given that uh we had better higher tides um it'll make things much more interesting you wouldn't want this to be wet when you cross it mate a month ago this would be impossible they just all would've been underwater lucky we uh timed him right eh this early in the season driving these can be a risky undertaking with sections of wet mud under the surface that can bury a vehicle it's so muddy you just go like yeah i've already put my tiny bit off like as soon as it's wet it just goes it's almost bottomless we just got to get through it's only about four or five meters but it's a car length there's nothing to winch off it's not as you can see we need one car to at least make it up we need a hero that's what we need right let's send running through i agree oh this is gonna be interesting to watch after a bit of deliberation ronnie's picked a likely looking spot to cross the creek all i can say here mate is good luck i'll be done get into him quench him out of there that's it that's all she wrote folks i'll get you out mate you say right there hey little milligan there hey what a snack what they're very poisonous really yeah all right yeah good thanks for stirring him up well to be honest with you that's actually a positive sign i didn't think ronnie's gonna make it that far um i'm of course up next we've got to get him out first he'll have another go and i reckon he finds another gear with a little bit more right foot he's got this here we go yeah if you just give it a little bit more nissan and a bit less toyota that's a good one he's got it in third gear now this time yes that was hard in the mouth that's my line nobody used that do what he did well we've got a path of sorts now to follow but the boot is going to have to be to the floor to make it through wow yeah jerry can i hit that i'd be lying if i said it wasn't a bit nervous well that's about as much fun as you can have this is the first big challenge um we're just keeping the same sort of wheel tracks as ronnie because he's sort of taking a lot of the slop out and it's actually a little bit of traction under there still going to get heaps out of to get through yeah they said it you'd is make it but he's done it on his own windows up tim and harry are opting to follow the d-max's wheel tracks and boom easy yes rocket's up next mate you've got the camper trailer as well yeah but it's an off-road camper and they wanted to test it so we said well i bet you're taking it to him we're going to get tested because this is the first of many challenges yep a lot of mud he's gonna have to give it everything and rockets aren't gonna slow down he's gonna he's gonna have to break somewhere down there yep i don't think the trail is his problem stopping could be his problem he's gonna see how he goes get ready get ready oh he's coming for us what's he doing yes yes yes oh he's done it he's done it and the good news is the trail is still attached excellent oh oh yes let's go that's it that is the go well we're at the point in our return now boys onwards and upwards it really is more boggles i don't want to go back that way [Music] see what this is so wild coming here this time of the year and to have the dirty 30 on these tracks absolutely insane i mean i built this vehicle for this sort of stuff for remote area travel i wanted these people to be able to do it all from drive hard tracks to come to places like this which is as remote as you can get and so far well it's going insane the ombu track sees only a few four-wheel drives on a good year but with covert stopping all of ronnie's tours last year the track is exceptionally overgrown with almost two years and two wet seasons since ronnie's last visit the first challenge is just finding the track with the grass so tall it literally swamps the vehicles after a big day on the track it's become clear that we're going to have our work cut out to make it to columbia road last time we visited we made it to the old town of umbulgari in just a single day but today we've made it about a quarter of the way and if we continue at this rate we could be out here a heck of a lot longer than we planned i got to be honest though i really couldn't be happier a goal of this scenery mate is just getting better and better this time of day late afternoon in the kimberley i i don't think there's a place like it in australia just the colors that come alive out here i know i'm sounding a bit romantic but it's the photographer in me mate well i reckon the best way we can sit down and appreciate it is um maybe we might get a campsite start thinking about where to camp and maybe get a cold one ronnie's got the perfect spot for us just up ahead but that's the beauty of this track anywhere you choose to pull up is practically the finest campsite you'll ever see [Music] yeah good zest this time of day in the kimberley we're just making camp i love setting camp up the best of times but the sun's set in the kimberley everything's gold we're about to get a fire going of course get the fridge out a couple of cold ones i mean it really doesn't get much better than this all right gonna find out we're gonna have for dinner now because it's such a long trip we've actually got a lot of meat crivac in here this is all turned to a freezer so we're using the camper trailers my coleman has a freezer snaggers tonight we've got everything in here yeah that's for me too we are going to be sorted [Music] with camp set up and the fire cranking it's safe to say this has been an epic start to our kimberley adventure i mean look at this colors in the sky this is this is kimmy just day one boys yeah for an absolute treat well boys that's it for me i'm going to sit back and enjoy the fire cheers cheers to that big fella coming up we take on the wildest river crossing we've ever attempted a raging croc infested river that could spell the end of our journey before it's even started overnight we had an unexpected surprise from the skies with rain bucketing down in the early hours of the morning aside from some wet canvas that rain also suggests that the water level at the durac river is going to be extra high and that could spell disaster for our plans to make it to kalumburu last night of course did rain a fair bit it's muddy everywhere you walk which is a little bit of a worry because we passed a big mud flat so we can't exactly go back now and um ronnie does tell us there's another big mud flat forward so we're sort of stuck in a bit of a place we just have to suck it and see good news is we get up over this mountain range there is a river that i've marked on the gps that i want to fish there's a chance of a barramundi and if all goes well tonight um the boys will be enjoying a show and i cooked meal with barramundi or it's gonna be chicken one of the two we'll see how we go today he's been doing a few morning checks this morning you're probably thinking oh he's checking his oil checking his water and all that now i'm not checking for damage that jocko might have done the old d-max i'm glad to say he's actually not done too much to it one thing he hasn't damaged at all is this brand new canopy up here and there's a bit of a story behind this this is what timbo is calling from mitz he's calling the evo ii it's basically a concept canopy and he's just gone and put a whole leap of ideas into it i'll tell you what you can really see he's thinking it's the small things that make such a difference i mean little things little tiny things i mean you can put your sauce bottles upright in the drawer now so when you slide the drawer back in sauce bottles don't leak little things i tell you have a look at this ear he's got two little grooves in the table so you can hang your rubbish bag i know small makes a huge difference come with me down in here it's actually joined using rubber mounts so that he's been actually working with fulcrum with regards to this rubber mount so this whole thing is almost like a huge shock absorber on the back trundle tray's new design i like the shape of it but who cares what the shape is like if you're going to get mud and water in it now spurs box have set me up with pretty much anything i need here in case i break something i've got hoses belts i've got everything on oils i've got brakes i've got everything i could possibly need near air filters the whole lot it all fits in this trundle tray which would be absolutely of no use to me at all if it got mud and water in here it doesn't bone dry inside here massive fan come around here now this here again this is something tim's really proud of he's rejigged the entire hinge design on this door up here for two reasons one strength but the other one is what i like about it you bucketed down rain last night and i left my door open like a numpty that i am and no rain has got in here at all because what's happened is the rain's hit the roof it's come down into the gutter here on the on the edge of the roof and then all the rains just run down these gutters here a bag everything inside here is bone dry this is the kind of r d i'm talking about and this is why mitts canopies are blowing my mind tim's out here living this he's got an evo on his truck as well and he's out here sniffing around my canopy every morning to make sure he's learning seeing what needs to be changed as far as i'm concerned he's got a spot on it's gonna be a cracking day boys let's get into it i can't wait to get into some of these challenges the umbi isn't just known for its water crossings it's also full of these rocky shaley hills that seem perfectly designed to puncture tyres and rattle teeth and up ahead is our first creek crossing of the day salt water flows into this one and with that comes the risk of big salties there's no way we're walking this one yeah is this growing we got oh there's a big rock there mate big rock yeah there's a section there that looks relatively deep that's a bit daunting going through a creek that's as murky as this i'm going to do my window up and the main reason is i don't want to crop jump in here i i like water crossings they're one of my favorite four wheel drive features to do oh man what is that over there something jumping out of the water but i get a bit unnerved up here in the uh kimberley when it comes to water crossings because there's just so many folders and bundies that you can get hung up on and snapping handbags oh the rocks the d-max has gone through there i reckon way smoother than sean i made the dirty 30 look and better to the point there's no teeth marks on the side of the door buddy this is epic very murky water very lizard feeling a bit bumpy in there yeah mate she's bumpy as long as we get to the other side i do not want to be stuck in here it feels very crocky it's a good opportunity to wash all that mud off from yesterday with a full canopy and rooftop tent rockets rig isn't exactly lightweight and combined with a trailer loaded up with our food and water supplies he's packing some weight but so far the big auto has been just cruising i've soon enough we're back into the long grass and it's taking ronnie every bit of knowledge he's got just to keep us on track and with that in mind ronnie has asked the back of the convoy to start some early season grass burns to try and open things up fire has been a key part of indigenous land management for thousands of years and burning early in the season stops big fires in the dry it goes without saying though do not try this at home folks [Music] i mentioned before that the rocky tracks here are pretty brutal on tyres well the first victim of the day is the camper trailer this terrain is just full of jagged little rocks the problem is it's easy enough for the vehicle to sort of follow course but then the trailer goes on a different line and just gets dragged over some of these rocks so you've done a tie up we'll fix this one luckily we've got a couple of spares up in our sleeve it's an absolute definite that rocket is the first person to open the umbi with a camper trailer in tow and the maverick is definitely going to be put through its paces but with the spares easy to access on the back we've soon got it up and running again stunning view out here that we've got to our right the jurak river down here but like a lot of these really remote places up here a little bit of a dark history to them we don't really get talked about doesn't really get mentioned too much but i think it really deserves to be mentioned this was actually the site of a large aboriginal massacre many many moons ago and it was just an absolute atrocity you know ronnie ronnie doesn't talk about it that much and rightfully so but yeah there was a some real sorry business happened just down here off this cliff that i'm driving across right now just above up above the durac here it's a bit of that sort of australian history that we sort of hired we sort of put it in a bit of a closet not only talk about it but did happen and i think the more people that know about it more people are educated about it the better and avoid happening in the future as we make it down off the ridge the durack river is up ahead and i gotta say it's looking pretty damn daunting as the first people to attempt this crossing in two years it really is anyone's guess how hard this will be and while this water still looks fresh with last night's reign the rapids to the right of us are fully title which means the level could go up or down in the next couple of hours and of course there could be some big crocs hiding under the surface what do you reckon wrong she's bloody high yeah like you know i never crossed it like this and this is all flood water too isn't it yeah pretty much this is all flood water so you know i can see some of the rocks there yep and it looks shallow but those you know you got to remember those rocks they're huge big boulders you know so and where the road goes is straight over to the sand bank over there and on the other side there's normally not that much water so yeah there's that hole oh it'd be pretty deep yeah you go down on it so what's the verdict well i don't know if i can convince you of maybe to wait one more day yep camp it back up here go down do some fishing for tonight then come back and reassess it and so that's that's our option you have to go barrow fishing yeah that's it if we're bad we can either do this or better fishing tonight we're always up for a fish of course but there's good logic to ronnie's plan you see the tide is still coming in and attempting the crossing this late in the day with the possibility of the water getting deeper is just simply not a smart move the next low is due tomorrow morning and not only will that be the safest time to make the crossing it'll give us another night to let the flood waters settle down a bit but as we settle in for the afternoon for a little bit of fishing there's a drama with the camera car that could spell a world of trouble camera crew have gone done a bad thing they've got to stick up through the radiator and they've totally cooked to the throat so what we're going to do is get this radiator out of here try and crimp it all up put a bit of the candy weld on it put an egg in there um and then let someone else drive the camera car no that's not true that's not true we're trying to fix it up while we're down here we got plenty of time we're only a tenth of the way into this massive journey and with daily temps in the high 30s the gu is gonna struggle if we can't bush mechanic fix this radiator well we've come up with a bit of a plan here and it revolves around several large hammers heaps of glue some putty and rocker pretending he's a watchmaker not even kidding so we're going to put we're actually going to put glue up in this top part here where the holes are then we're going to use putty to repair the rest and then we're going to crimp these off we've got the bottom end of the radiator facing up just a little bit we're gonna try and pour our concoction in here and then i'm gonna knead it in for all the little gaps and everything that fix is looking pretty promising so far but we'll need to leave it overnight to cure before we try hook everything back up when it rains it pours and sean has just noticed a major leak under his rear diff i suspect that i've hit a rock and it's just enough to have um grabbed a bit of the gasket on the bottom of the diff here and actually pull it out and it's just dripping constantly so while the camera car is um pulling the radiator out of that one i want to go and try and diagnose this so i've got to capture my diff oil which i'm going to do with this and then i'm going to basically try and pry the center out of the diff housing just a little bit use some gasket glue chuck it in there clean up first of course see if i can't get it to seal properly what's what i've done here instead of pulling the axles out and taking the tail shaft off and doing it a long way to get the diff center out what i've actually done is just taken all the nuts off and um used a jack to go straight off the pinion here that's separated made a nice gap in between here where just make a makeshift gasket in there put a fair bit in close it all back up and hopefully it holds diff oil that's the plan well it might not be the perfect workshop but it looks like sean has managed to stop the leak and that just leaves one thing try and catch a barra the waters around here are teeming with life and rarely see a fisherman i've seen hooked a small shark which is exactly what i'm not looking for but later that night things really got going after a massive session sean bags a fish he's been dreaming of for years a genuine meter well guys i don't bearer how to say this this if i can lift it is the single biggest barrel i've ever seen let alone court have a go at this folks that is that's a meter bus every day of the week every day of the week i'll get a measurement but i'm just gonna go back it's a big girl i'm so stoked it's not funny i dream about fish off this i dream about it the size of it is just enormous i can't even hold it i can't do this justice that is a real one well done mate of course this one's over the allowed catch size so she'll have to go back in the water something tells me i'm going to be hearing about this for a very long time in the morning light the durac is still looking pretty wild but the water level has definitely receded a little overnight the biggest concern though is not the depth but the huge boulders hidden under the surface just like these ones up on the bank we've seen the damage they can cause already and they've certainly also made for some interesting camping requiring a few innovative solutions to stay comfortable sean has had some good luck last night and caught another barra that was within the allowed catch size so he's got the ingredient he wanted for his next cook up well have a go that that is um that's dinner tonight that is that's about a 70 centimetre barrett we got a real big one last night which very very excited about my pb i'm running in this vehicle fridge at the back here and i've also got my fridge in the normal fridge space i'm running two fridges plus all my camp lights i've got a bit of a demand for 12 volt as you can imagine now because of the heat and i'm talking about you know high 30s 40 degrees every single day puts a lot of stress on battery so you need to make sure you can charge your batteries really quick considering that we're doing a lot of idling a lot of low range stuff it's not like those big highway drives we can really charge your auxiliary batteries so luckily a few of us are running the redarc stuff now all the redarc chargers do a great job of charging your batteries but more importantly i'm running red vision the camper trailers running red vision as well they are just foolproof because you can have a look at the screen actually monitor how much battery you got left how much charge is going into it so you can actually work out your day to make sure by the end of the day you're gonna have enough charge so you can run two fridges or your camp lights and that sort of stuff so i've woke up this morning i've still got about 40 50 so i know that by the time i get to camp tonight i'm gonna have full suite of batteries plus my fridges are not gonna miss a [Music] beat what do you reckon about that crossing over there like i my dead set think that it's dropped probably about half a foot overnight half a foot that's hard for me yeah look that's about that's about a quarter one of them but look what i'm getting out of here i reckon we can cross i reckon we're not gonna i'm not gonna know if we don't have a go at it i think i might even go first yeah i'll put the 30 down there first just the fact that it's probably lighter than all these other vehicles twin locked yep anything goes pear-shaped i mean it's only a toyota at the end of the day that's right more importantly for us so we can get across i'd love to be able to walk it but there's just too much danger of crocodiles what i'm hoping and i don't know if this is science or not but i'm hoping that when you go through it's going to disturb them and they're not going to want to come in no the noise i'll make there's no track yeah okay so i think first things first we'll get that radiator back in the camera car yep get all the cars mobile again let's do that okay all right we'll get started on this i reckon rocket should quit the the automatics business and get into radiator repair because that right there is it's immaculate absolutely immaculate it's a good job jesse might have thought he'd gotten away from nissan's this trip but no such luck mate good news though the radiator looks to be holding water and so the camera crew might just be out of strife yes last job of course is to clear the crossing entry and then we should be good to send our crash test dummy one mr sean whale tracks open while we're not going to walk the crossing we're going to take every precaution we can think of and that means preparing a rear recovery option for the 30 as well as pre-spooling out the rumba in case sean needs to do a forward recovery wow i don't think i've ever been so nervous before a4 will drive obstacle since you've got to imagine like obviously deep water fast flowing but we're so remote and miles from anywhere something goes wrong here i'm in strife recovery gears on the back ronnie's winch if i need to go back if i'm at a point where i'm going forward i guess it's up to me all right big boy another locker all right mate here goes nothing [Music] [Music] that's it you can see right here the pick and a clear path through is almost impossible every inch of this river is packed full of boulder after boulder and if one gets stuck under your diffs you could be in a world of hurt as sean fits his way towards the middle the rocks are getting bigger and nastier suddenly he looks like he's in trouble okay now look this is not a place you want to get stuck right in the deepest section of the river in full flow but just like that thank goodness he's free again and thankfully on the move you know things are serious when seano's not talking and judging for the whites in his eyes he's giving up everything he's got done yet let's have a look section of the river which ronnie reckons could be very deep speaking of which he's making his way across as well [Music] well that was pretty nerve-racking it was hard in the mount stuff you're not through it yet yes yes yes yes yes yes yes i can't believe that just happened oh boys that was only yet sean and ronnie are making it through but not exactly making it look easy and given these are two high clearance rigs with lockers engaged this crossing is going to be a huge challenge for the rest of the convoy oh man my heart was in my mouth ronnie i'm not gonna lie to you mate that was one of the loosest things i've ever done ronnie you mad bugging mate that was awesome that was oh it was one of the wildest things i've ever done well a bit when i was stuck in there and i couldn't go forward i tried to go back but the rocks were so slippery that i couldn't turn my tyres yeah and i was worried that a big boulder's gonna get stuck under my diff and then that's me done you know what i mean but i like i got lucky i think and just found a way through far out there buddy like that makes you feel alive i've done it oh yeah man after worrying about last night and yesterday and you know you did it yeah like i'm glad to be on this side oh i totally might totally well look at these other buggers throughout yeah that's it for those of us still on the other side the nerves are still building after seeing sean and nearly gets swallowed in the river all right i'm in position here um the idea here is we're going to try and use uh the big vehicle to get these two smaller vehicles through so jimbo's going across in front but he's going to stop at strategic spots where he feels comfortable and then i'll attempt to get close to him and the theory there being that if i get stuck i can winch off the back of him without him to do some massive recovery right across the river i might even just go out the rough bar in between the hand yeah solid yep now while tim's got plenty of clearance and 35s the lockers have been playing up all trip and the boys are gonna have to attempt this one unlocked it's not even hard i'm just sweating with nerves if it wasn't for that deep hole i'd be frothing to go across it's just that big deep hole i don't want to get stuck in that good news is i can spot a bunch of rocks for you from here as well hang on hang on back up yeah you're right and that right there shows just how much lock has helped in situations like this tim has got the front diff caught up by boulder but with traction going to the wheel with least resistance on it he's struggling to get free i might have to pull you off that rock mate that wasn't pretty well let's hope the crocs have been scared off already eh because we're going in like the legendary is rocket is the first to jump in the water and jesse soon follows man tim is really stuck here have a drive have a drive drive drive drive drive slow it down slightly there we go okay take two hopefully the guys can find a better line swing up but it's a no-go they're beached sounds pretty sick mate we're thinking running a wing strap right out across to that tree to your part right get jesse to grab an extension i'll meet you yeah we got one there's only one way we want to finish this track and that's at the far end so we're gonna risk it and try and winch tim forward through the river and for sean that means the river crossing of his life just try not to look like croc bait mate so slippery it's rather hook throw the hook at me up [Music] here alright with a huge effort shawn's dragged the winch back across the raging current and to the one likely looking tree on this stretch of water you ready it's kitten it's getting a bit hot far you can get that one to me sideways it's a heck of a struggle to get it hooked up but finally it's done winching through a river folks you've got to admit that's not something you see every day right hand down right andy yeah yeah right hand downwind even with the witch picking a good line is virtually impossible and each rig is moving boulders around into new positions that can hang up the next four drive but with a huge effort we're getting tim through to a good position to be a closer winch point if i need it yes let's give it a go boys now i've got a factory diff lock in the d-max that's really helping me navigate the boulders and i'm feeling pretty good until i connect with a rock that fully catches under my yep i'm stuck it's gonna try the shark alright [Music] turning it doing it yeah yeah yeah soon enough i've made it to the shallow section in the middle there nice one bro all right let's get rocket although i seem to have brought a fair bit of the river with me all right the plan had changed about four or five times but this is the plan so far and i think it's gonna work a treat now we're going to get tim now over to the next sort of rock step so then he graham can winch off him then we'll get rocket in graham's place we're just going to leapfrog the cars because you need somewhere to winch off essentially yeah and we've got the dirty 30 right at the back there yeah so i think i think that'll work yeah that's it hold on straight up straight up mate all right let's give this a go give it a go so i'm on a big rock brian's got a big one in front of him and barry that's a bit of rolling momentum hit a wrong momentum keep it going keep tim's got the perfect line going here and he's gotten through that deep patch perfectly but in all the excitement he seems to have thrown the plan straight out the window hi so the plan has changed a little bit was supposed to stop on that rock bar but he got so excited i think i was meant to stop and uh win training no we don't blame you tim i know i left you right away i'll bring the 30 back over oh someone owes me a couple of beers at the campsite with my anchor point now gone thanks tim looks like shawn he's gonna have to get the 30 wet again thanks mate are you a beer well got the 30 in position now the boys are just hooking up the winch right from the d-max on the back of 30. that way we've got two anchor points for rocket and also graeme can winch through this bit if he does get stuck that's pretty smooth sailing so once we get growing up in here and then rock it again up to here we are home and hose then we've got jesse to worry about in the camera car actually we've got a favorite of work to do all right are you all ready i'm taking a different line so we'll see what happens here he goes there literally is no precedent for a camper trailer opening up the umbi track at this time of year and to add to the challenge rocket's also been having locker troubles and only has the front locked and like the two cars in front of him he's gotten caught up in the same spot i'll be here that's exactly where he got i can't work out whether i'm stuck on the left or the right side of the cat i think it's right in the middle at the back by the looks of it i can just probably winch it by its size you don't want to caulk through a tail shaft look at him staggering across look ryan's gone now got a good chain of recovery going with a few vehicles spaced across the crossing and soon we've got rocket hooked up and ready to winch the camper itself is following along well and clearing the rocks so it's not long until we've got rocket to the midpoint yeah keep coming to that lock that's good that's good yep that's perfect perfect keep coming to that keep coming keep coming probably just a little bit more left there swing a bit wider for the trailer you're ready to go forward straighten up a bit rocky keep going big up kick arms kick up you're doing spectacularly this classic rocket yeah i'll stop there like every rock's an obstacle it's like there's not a it's like there's no flat ground in between any of these boulders now it's my turn again and with a bit of leap frogging i've got the d-max up to the rock bar making room for jesse to jump in that does not sound good already now jesse spent quite a bit of time in the water quietly scoping a line and would you look at that he's sailing through that is a darn good drive mate got cars in front of me pretty soon we've got a recovery chain gang in full swing and to save a bit of time we've been putting the winches on free spool so the vehicle in front can continue without unhooking unfortunately that can also mean running out of winch rope well that's very unfortunate and a bad place for rocket to not have a winch but there's always plan b and that's to send the 30 in once again yes now remember jesse i've just cleared every rock there is in the state of western australia so you can get across yeah it works well in the first yeah i appreciate that thank you with rock it through safely there's one more car to get through and of course that's the camera car yeah beauty keep it driving keep it up right now [Music] and the boys look like they've nailed it [Music] as jesse heads into the second part of the crossing tim has hitched to lift and once again the plan seems to have been forgotten i didn't have to reverse at boys i did the exact same as timmy yeah jimmy timmy got in so i just kept going you got yeah that's what happened yeah yeah yeah yeah sorry chewie timmy was in here telling me go go mike i'll make it sure enough they've nailed it nice one lads and with that the durac is behind us and we truly are now on our own on the umbugari track with the only route being forward and to the other side of this iconic australian track before we head off though we're going to air up again and check that all the kit is still dry well i think that's a water crossing you'll all agree not to be trifled with in fact probably i would say one of the most epic river crossings i've done just checking out the canopy here not a drop of water in here but the real test the real test is down here let's have a look this definitely went underwater you saw it dust line perfect no water there your gas bottles are bone dry that is a success well boys that was nothing short of epic i think i'm going to remember that crossing for a long long time dude try and name a more epic river crossing in australia i actually remember last time i came here what six years ago we actually you didn't even know there was a river he just drove straight over it this time absolutely incredible difference amazing enjoyed it well now we're past the durac um ronnie's going to take us to one of his uh favorite little fishing spots and he he assures me that even you might stand a chance of catching a barra mate ordinarily i'd have a smart com come back with that but i think if you joined all my barramundi together they'd still be about as big as the lure you're using so i i've got nothing made if i can catch a barrel i'll be stoked i can't wait to get down there mate because if this spot wasn't epic enough where we're going next um blow your socks off i've heard the fish are so thick there you gotta bait your hook behind a tree mate it's a bit like that i can't wait let's get down there [Music] now the kimberley is jammed back full of epic camping but the secret little spot ronnie is taking us to well it'll blow your socks off [Music] would you ever look at that what a place to roll out some canvas it is simply magical in the dry season most of this water disappears and becomes a series of small barrel filled creeks but right now it's an inland ocean and quite simply stunning [Music] do [Music] camper soon sprung up and with a cold one in hand we can reflect on a massive few days on the track while seano tells us for the hundredth time about that barrier he caught and i swear it's getting bigger every time you mention it mate but you know what none of us are complaining because fresh bearer is exactly what's on the menu for tonight [Music] well how's this for a campsite i mean you know i've said it before and i'll say it again every now and again you get to come to a very special place and that's where we are tonight so of course i need a special meal to sort of cut the mustard i'm literally running this cooking show by myself because i've caught all the barra and the only barrack we've got here tonight is the batter that i've caught in fact i've got the scarf to prove it we'll go into that later but graeme what are you doing here mate hey grabbing a beer mate that's fair enough look rocket he made two rules about this actually one rule there was one big role that was wrong i'm making a mess on the kitchen side i decided i'd bring my cooker here you're you're a gentleman so i wouldn't make a mess no cheers right thanks mate cheers cheers there as well i must say oh super cold you have been the barometer of the stream and what you know what you know here's the thing what i've loved about this trip is when you can take a young fellow under under your wing which i've done for the last 10 or so years and been able to pass down some secrets and to see you catch a good barrier i know you must give it father-son moment foreign you don't get these from just uh playing in the in the shallow end mate anyway look look look what i want to do tonight is look at your arm with the tackle cook it a little bit a little bit but the thing is because i do all the hard lifting and all the heavy work around here we don't have a stacker barrel to go around because i let the big girl go yeah actually 55 and 80 in wa exactly right abided by the rules yeah and um i got a beautiful little seven seventy if i'm going to share that around the whole you need to bulk it out exactly right so i'm gonna do a yellow curry nice chef so now we need to raid rocket supplies because i've he's got some frozen onion in this section of my head i'm gonna go in the pantry oh look what he's got in there hey check that out i know that's some cool hey you know what i like about that the cut out you can get into it exactly it's so easy and everything stores in so easy just just in those two drawers there's more storage than my whole dirty thirty exactly exactly all right first things first mate put a little bit of oil in the pan so so this is a funny thing because we knew we couldn't take fresh onions on this trip so we decided we've got a fair few my corman fridges on this one we don't we've got freezers we've got fridges we've got all sorts of spots you put them all in okay you basically get your curry paste like this and i suggest especially if you're doing a top-end trip get a cup a little curry paste because look if you've got to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to fishing then maybe you've got to feed like a whole crew of people well sometimes you need a bit of a curry to make it work the onions make me cry go in there go go half that half that and then i'll put a bit oh is it crazy come back again you come back out he's done he's had a good old curry mix he likes it don't worry about that a little bit of coconut milk and what i basically want to do is gonna pour just like only oh cheese is like it's a lot of spillage oh we've all been a little bit of garlic basically two taps to the finger now you gotta be careful with this one two let's go four yeah a little bit of garlic oh i wish i had smell-o-vision right now that's not last night washing for a while that is a little a yellow curry yeah you get all you get all that infused together that's the word for you infuse together and um you want basically waiting for the oil to come back through the curry do you know what i love then you know it's on you know what i love about cooking with you and your buduri yeah so we've got a yellow curry going on here yeah we've put in some basic ingredients here they're all light in color yep what's with the black things what the well what in good god's name is that if they're not bugs they're probably from the last thing we cooked i'd imagine um a tiny bit of curry sausages in there look if you've got a canvas it just keeps get every meal gets better it does it just gets better and better and better and after 15 years with this oven has it been 15 years it's been 15 years man yeah today oh there's a lot of bugs getting around a lot of bubbles give me a fair bit of protein in this meal i guarantee that hey this is really hot today it's going good sorry chef i'm just going to figure out what i'm doing next now while i do that sure directly you put about call what about a spoon glass of water in there how's that looking yeah really good looks really good black things in here well we stopped scraping so hard you're scraping real you didn't scrape that hard you didn't find the bottom of the pan the key is fast use your wrist lightly mate that's why you're not catching as many barriers so you use my wrists like switch twitch boom you know what i mean yeah what i do but normally i don't have to oh i'm just in there like serving it like it like you're 15 again mate just it's coming right there i'm slow and steady right yeah sorry a bit of brown sugar a bit of brown sugar just open it up about two tablespoons of that if you can if you get jam it out yeah you gotta work your thumb in there you just massage that's it that's it oh yeah it's like milk in a ball it's pretty very similar you could have done that in the farm dude never oh where they come from what are they hey i'm pretty sure they're out of my fridge mate but thank you so much for the using the trailer i'll leave you two and the good thing about you guys being over here cooking is that you've left your fridge unattended d-max is closed you can't get into the canopy make yeah oh there's a big mop in there yeah get him out here yeah we're good can we put something else in here beside these things let's get the barrel out let's get the barrier all right so i've done i've done a solid and what i've actually done is i've skinned it and i've cut it down into small pieces where did you leave the skin but be honest i didn't realize at the time but it was exactly underneath the swag mistake mate there's jingos and saltwater crocodiles like a hundred meters everywhere and he left the skin outside my swag when you're looking for mates it's it's it's you that you vet them yeah you should yeah you've mucked up somewhere along the way anyway anyway anyway all right so what we've got here is this is dead set i reckon there's a kilo this is one barrel solid this is about a 70 centimeter barrel just cut up into smaller pieces and you'll find that augustine goes a long way i i carry a bunch of ziplock bags here's a little pro tip for you if you're like like for instance grey would not need to carry these with him but if you're likely to catch a couple of fish or something when you're out in the bush grab yourself a couple of these ziplock bags mate because when you fill them and stuff like that you can jam them straight in the fridge and um you know they don't take as much room and you feel them yep yep oh yeah so so basically that don't even stir it anymore because what you want that to do i'm going to put some veggies in with it oh really real quick right mate that is looking absolutely superb now we put a few green beans in there they're frozen of course we've got them out of the fridge and um it's actually smelling looking really good the rice is cooked let's turn that off now man now this is the exciting bit though because now you would have seen us run my corn fridges for a little while farewell now is your chance to win one because we're giving one away as simple as that mate i don't know how we get given that sort of power i know give your fridge away because you guys watching and literally you've got a really good chance of winning a 69 liter mike corman fridge freezer you've got one of those you've been i've actually had a quick look inside there you've got a little you've got some good stuff in there leave it alone anyway anyway if you want to win one it's really simple go to the comments below and let us know what i should cook on the next episode can you make it halfway decent folks seriously and easy because he's not he's not quite always that's camp meal i want to say in the comments below yeah give me some instructions a bit of inspiration i'm going to go through and pick out one i'm going to cook it yeah but more importantly we're going to win a 69 litre my corman fridge freezer now that's pretty good isn't it and don't just do the curry sausages again because i've had that no 900 different meals that's my meal your best your best cat meal let us know in the comments below and uh you win the fridge simple as that isn't it easy simple as that all right can we get stuck into this mate we'll call the boys i'm going to be right here are we ready i'm going to do rice judy because that because there's a bit going on over here all right mate yeah don't be don't be shy here should we just go like a ratio of how many barry you've caught how much barrier you get oh man that's a way to make a barra last big chunks off folks if you've enjoyed this meal let us know how you can better it or maybe you've got an idea of your own when it comes to bull herring in the south west of wa because they taste way better than barramundi in the region exactly you can win yourself a michael my fridge for now these jokers and i are going to go sit around the fire they all owe me a beer because i've taught them how to catch barramundi over the last few years thank you very shauna you've done yourself and it's actually not bad that's really good you know what tastes even better when you call yourself [Music] there's serenity and then there's this i tell you what folks i say it all the time but i really do mean it places like this are why we own a four drive and i gotta tell you it is so good to finally get the boys over to my side of the country [Music] we're soon getting ready for our next day on the tracks with a few running repairs on the go yesterday when we were driving um i could smell a little bit of corn i got out and actually tightened one of the hoses here that was just dripping a bit of coolant it's not too bad i felt that overflow good practice i suppose to get into the habit of just checking over the vehicle it's in the morning i was going to put a little bit more water in there just to sort of compensate for what i lost yesterday which wasn't much and just have a general look over the vehicle everything's going really well that's what i'm loving about this trip at the moment there's the 30s performing really well but this pays to be on top of it just have a look and try and find the problems before they actually happen that's the key because when it does happen sometimes it's too late [Music] so far we're only about day four into this adventure and it's an absolute epic we've got another probably 10 days to go about 600 k's of goat tracks hardcore stuff we don't even know what to expect this is a really remote journey now it's been a bit of a godsend having that camper trailer with us because it fits so much gear inside it and as you can see in there it's absolutely jam-packed full of spares it's got a big fridge freezer running with all of our frozen cryovac meat we've got so much gear in there that it just really pays to have that sort of space when you go on a trip like this well this has sort of been the central hub of our camp setups every time we get the cam we set the camper trailer up doesn't really take that long to set up slide the kitchen out we've got a gas cooker we've got heaps of storage in fact everyone in the convoy has sort of just been gathering around here to use the kitchen it's so handy to have a kitchen it's also got a couple of deep cycle batteries and a really good 12-volt system in there which is essential because they're running a massive mycorma 90 liter freezer both sides are set up as freezer we're also carrying a stack of water it's got a water tank on its own with about a hundred liters of water just on a trip like this you can't have too much space now not to mention when you get inside it's super comfortable now rocket's been sleeping in there and um from what he's saying he's living life in the big paddy now you're probably seeing us use this rack to put a bunch of swags on you're probably thinking why are we carrying so many swags on the camper trailer all those swags are actually the camera crew so we're just using every available square inch of space on this camper and it's actually worked out really well for a big trip like this but you know take yourself out of a remote area touring situation like we're on and just go to a normal family camping situation there's so much gear you need to take those little tin lids and a camper trailer like this i reckon would be the perfect way just to take all that gear out bush and get the most of a place like this [Music] all right like so many camps in the kimberley we can actually park up for a week and just fish and explore but the track is not going to reopen itself so we're going to hit the road first up though ronnie is going to try and find us a few deep water pockets to drop a line in this right here is nulla nala creek and while it's full of barra it's also full of snapping handbags including this bad boy here that ronnie reckons is about four meters in length and with none of us came to get too close to those reeds all we manage is a few near misses yeah you know what i reckon we might leave this one to the crocs [Music] mate we better get a bit of a mile on we've got feral distance to go boys i say we put heads down and just try and make a mile we've got uh we've got a fair bit of catching up to do oh we can't can't wait making a mile on the umbulgari track turns out to be more difficult than it sounds with the track being an unrelenting mix of rocky terrain and half hidden track soon we're stuck into another long jump up yeah this thing's so sick get kicked kick it come on come on with over five ton of combined car and camper rocket has got his work cut out for him on this one seems on bottom down and despite a huge effort he's eventually got to hop on the winch a little bit more yes i got up a little bit thanks tim thanks for the 35-inch holes rod that's right i can't have you spoiled back there young man i don't know how to take it one minute you're building the road for me next minute you're digging it up those sharp rocks have done a mischief though after the climb and the camper trailer has done yet another tyre bit of a predicament here well it's not a predicament yet but it could turn into one rocket's just done his second spare um that one there i can put my whole hand in that one she ain't repairable we're gonna have a look at this one and see if it is repairable he's been driving on it for a little while so we'll see what happens but that's it he's down he gets one more i'm caught on the choppering now two tyres in 50 kilometers might seem like a lot but let me tell you that this is just the start of what's going to be an ongoing puncture problem for the entire convoy for now we've got the maverick back in action [Music] we've soon got our heads down trying to get to our next waypoint of the trip the ruins of umbugari like i said earlier last time we made the run in a single day but that was much later in the season this time around we're four days in and we've still got another massive river crossing and 30 k's left of low range driving before we get there not to mention the several hundred kilometers afterwards [Music] and in the last light of day another problem has popped up and this time it's ronnie who's in [Music] trouble that's supposed to be connected but it's the rear universal joint on the front shaft it's broken but unfortunately it's taken out the flange with it completely just sheared the flange off so even though we have a new universal joint there's very little we can do with it so best thing pull it out and continue until we'll drive as far as we can now this is a bit of a game changer rodney knows this track better than anyone and getting him through in two-wheel drive is going to be an absolute mission well we haven't even made our campsite today the sun's just about to go down ronnie's come across on the radio said metallic bad noise got underneath the tail sharp is hanging down not only do you break a uni but also break the yolk as well so that means we've got spare unis we do which is weird because we don't usually even take those but this trip will really prepare yep but this means that no matter what we can't fix you can't glue them on you can't mate so basically what that means is that ronnie's in two wheel drive from here on in and we've still got probably good three quarters of track to go more more than three quarters of the track to go we've also been told that it gets a heck of a lot harder from here we've done the easy bit so far sorry crossing we've got a big jump up to go yeah yeah the mud flats heck of a lot to go yet uh i look to be honest this is real live i don't know whether we're gonna make it i don't know what's gonna happen here but let's go get some tools well folks i'll tell you what this is shaping up to be an even bigger adventure than any of us could have imagined there's some sort of vague resemblance of the track right here this is this is next level join us next time as we fight to make it to umbulgari and onwards into the depths of the kimberley as we lose the track track obviously isn't here for a long hasn't been here for a long time but lose tyres and even lose a vehicle we're running very low on water tyres well we've got basically no spares between the whole group trust me this adventure only gets better right here on four-wheel drive 24 7. stick around because coming up it's the four wheel drive outtakes but first let's take a look at the gear we rely on to get to places like this well now's the time of the show where we're going to sit back and go through some of the gear we've used to make this trip possible now one thing i'm absolutely loving is a new rooftop tent now this i've used the drift of rooftop tents a few times now but this one here comes with the little upgrades now they don't sound like a big thing but there's um over center latches on it which just makes look it makes the pack up about 35 seconds quicker you're blinking you're missing anything about 35 seconds me too dude me too it's got the egg shell mattress in there as well super comfy yeah i've just been laying up there every night you open it all up the breeze comes through yep and especially last night's game we had that yeah yeah yeah i mean it was just incredible the the only request i've got now that she's been going around the boys have been saying it can you just do the windows up when you go to bed at night because it's not a pretty sight you was it the crying or the shaking it's the shaking and the whole lot man it's the whole piece together three days yet mate something to get worse from here tell you what one thing i'm very grateful of is that i've got the mid canopy on the back because i can get away from a little bit i've got my own little house there now timbo of course he has done so much work into that canopy he's done things it's the new prototype but it's blocked you were saying little tiny things that make a huge difference like you raise the floor up see it's not sunken anymore so when you bring things out it's so much easier to get them in and out it's modular as it's always been he's actually been working with fulcrum to make this is a weird thing for a canopy but the canopy's got shock absorbers yep little tiny shock absorbers all the mounting points so it kind of moves independently of everything else pretty cool it is the bomb bro your canopy what it's actually i don't know if it is but it seems like it's a lot bigger because i've been putting a bit of light it is in there i know you got to be comfortable yeah and i'm i'm like a rockstar back there without the groupies or the phone or any of that no you got to be comfortable when you're out bush mate speaking of which how's those bison boots going because well i've hardly taken them off yeah these were in a river a day ago i was i was a bit i was wondering like you know a trip like this is really hot up here a lot of water crossings will have been eating boots it's so tough in the top end everything will ruin your feet and you get a cut in your foot day one you're done you're out yeah so look i've been living in those things basically when i'm bare fishing running through rivers of winter ropes even just you know just walking around day to day those boots have been on my feet really all the time and look straight in i had no problems wearing them in either yeah they're super comfortable they've got that gel insert too which is really comfortable yep and i was a bit concerned because they are steel cap i thought they'd be real heavy my little chicken legs are carrying anyone again i like that you've opted for the other the heels option so it gives you a little bit more i've got a little bit more height it's great i'm allowed into nightclubs now no they can't be mate and that's yeah good footwear it's essential when you're at the bush i agree well folks make sure you stick around because coming up next the outtakes guaranteed in that the god there'll be a few mate we've got a little bit trouble with the heat so grab your beer and maybe crack a new one who knows oh no army pluggers push shoes mate yo bush boots don't worry about it you guys only drink lights sorry mate there's a lot of bugs hurry what tastes like well i'll tell you now go only i'll eat it [Music] crunchy chewy you gotta fill them first you can chew it under this big you gotta fill them yeah we should rather be down at once yeah we could do oh yeah yeah 100 percent rather bit coughs 100 i love coffs harbour i just imagine having a barrett hat in the kimberley and catching barra it's like you deserve it gonna have to drive this one just oh ronnie's stuck but he's keep he's got it cheapest creepers ron that's not confidence building it's been three days driving in first year low range going a little bit crazy it's a little bit stir crazy i can't i can't comment no what was that that was a bit of terrible oh my goodness gracious [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] hey what do you need have you got a lighter no i forgot a lot get out of there there's a lot of bugs there's a there's a lot of bugs there's a lot of parks all right let's get going professionals this is what happens what i'm a bit concerned about i just don't know why you're cleaning it so often every night every night you get a better here you're cleaning it yeah yeah yeah that's all that shaking that you're here up there it's just just me just sorting out the sheets good on you you know you got to keep your keep your your apartment good at good yeah depends on the real world these are the things you don't see behind the scenes yep dealing with dragonflies and moths and yeah that'll be men that's the thing we'll get past this oh we won't we'll see how we go i'm quite the semen not even weird [Laughter] [Music] you get them in weird places aren't you yep but i'm professional for the call i had one of those real buzzy vibrator ones that went straight no it went straight up my shorts not wearing undies allow me it's awesome all right oh what is that wow look at that thing right at the snotter you just got one right up there look at that thing wow [Music] is it are you serious rocket's got it driver at the start oh i was just trying to work out why it was so hard to get down and the car's beating four [Applause] [Applause] haven't used it yet push comes to shove though i'll just let it go i'll i'll just i'll throw it if i have to throw this look out i'm not afraid to use it just waiting for the time just waiting for the time [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: 4WD 24-7

Views: 3,153,067

Keywords: 4wd, action, 4x4, offroad, outdoors, travel, overlanding, toyota, nissan, hilux, patrol, landcruiser, adventure, camping, fishing, diesel, petrol, surf, shaun whale, graham cahill, australia, dirty 30, shorty, gq, gu, 80 series, 40 series, 60 series, 79 series, troopy, 4wd action, 4wd 247, 4wd 24/7

Id: bgk66lQTisY

Length: 81min 12sec (4872 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 02 2021