It's not a birthright...

We 4wders come to the recreation from varied backgrounds, with varied needs and ambitions.

Some want a quiet creek to fish in, others want creeks to cross. 

Some want to climb a mountain for the views, others merely want to just get to the top.

Some want to do all these in there life, others all in one weekend- and why not??

One thing that we all want, is places to go, without onerous permits and permissions.

But is this access really a birthright?

Tread Lightly have many resources like this one. See link below.

You should understand that I support the recent  activities and efforts of Unlock Australia - It is firmly my belief that the members of that organisation will agree at least with my sentiments, if not with all of my words.

The term birthright implies that there should be an unhindered, unregulated and unsupervised access to whatever you believe that you are entitled to. I guess that that is a nice, utopian, view of open and equitable access for all. The reality is, however that many events, days out, or even 'magazine' shoots are occuring on land that is not actually gazetted as public access, or in some cases is actually privately owned - their is no 'birthright' that lets you go onto someone else's land.

Likewise, many areas of public land are tenured as resource reserves, or scientific areas. These two land uses are very, very different but each one needs to be respected - noone wants to come around a corner and find heavy machinery working an active quarry and noone should find themselves in a quarantined, protected scientific area - the significance of which is likely unapparent to the casual observer. The harm which can be done by one group of bike riders or 4wders entering and traversing a quarantined area is significant.
You must always know the tenure of the land you are on - the lack of a "Do Not Enter" sign is not an invitation.

I suggest to you, the reader, the 4wder, the enthusiast, that, rather than looking upon our natural places as some kind of entitlement or inheritance, or as you as the 'end user', we should see our roles as ones of caretaker, educator and defender.

Locking things up does not protect our natural places, nor does allowing unregulated access.

We, the offroad community need to stand up for our access (Joining Unlock Australia is one way to do this), participating in beach clean up events, or other community sponsored activities is another...

BUT we must stop the small minded in our midst, who see their access as a right rather than an equally weighted responsibility..

We must stand up to those people who act dangerously, or unsustainably on public land, we must not sit by while rubbish bins are allowed to overflow, while careless campers just throw sand or dirt over smouldering fires, while doughnuts are dug into wet ground.

These actions are deliberate and they cost us all, in real terms with limited public money bring spent on repairs rather than improved amenities but they also cost us actions and freedoms.

We have a responsibility to get our kids and grandkids outdoors, and to demonstrate best practice and behaviour to them when we do. These kids need to learn, more than any previous generation, to love but equally to respect our land, water and sky.

Actions:

Join or follow Unlock Australia
Join or follow Tread Lightly
Join or follow Tarangoa Blue

If you see a picture or post on social media, or people behaving irresponsibly, ask them to take it down. ( I remember a post a few years back when I confronted a member and asked them to remove an image of their 4wd on dune vegetation - what ensued immediately was lost of chest beating but it turned into a great discussion, with lots of involvement about why we simply must be better at portraying our recreation, and why we simply must be more thoughtful of our media - plenty of other similar events have only resulted in chest beating and name calling unfortunately, but there is always hope).
Keep your convoys small and manageable (if you are the organiser of even a casually arranged convoy you have a duty of care to the people who will follow you.)

6 reasons to build a 4x4

Vehicle manufacturers do a pretty good job of building safe, comfortable and capable 4x4s.

What they also do, is give us options. 

Right now, as I tap this out on my phone, there are 15 vehicles below me on the vehicle deck of the Kingfisher Bay Resort Barge. 

There's a Camry, and 2 delivery trucks, so we'll look at the other 12. 

2 prados

1 Pajero

1 Landcruiser ute

2 BT50s

2 Rangers
1 Hilux

1 Triton

A 100 series 

And a patrol ute with a great canopy setup. 

That's 12 different vehicles, 12 different kinds of owners and 12 different plans. 

Here's 6 ways that people build their 4x4s, there's others of course...

1. The school run. 

Range Rover, so much underestimated ability.

Bags, dogs, friends, soccer or karate practice: there's plenty of reasons to want the practicality of a 4x4 ute or wagon. Maybe you have three kids and one row of seats just doesn't cut it. Maybe you have two kids who have lots of friends. 

Your vehicle build might be limited to seat covers and DVD players, and that does what you need. 

You might have a fur baby rather than kids, that fur baby might be very furry and the practicality of a ute with a canopy could be just what you are looking for for trips to the beach.

The BT/Ranger - Tradies can now go almost anywhere.

2. The work ute

Brickie, builder, vet and mobile mechanic need a vehicle with flexibility, tow capacity and functionality. 

It's likely that 4x4 would only be engaged if the job site is wet or slippery. The build might comprise of floor mats, tow packs, drawers and maybe even a dual battery for the fridge. 

The FJ Cruiser has all the traction options.

3. The weekend escape

School run midweek, camper trailer hauler on the weekend. The owners of this car need to be mindful of keeping the around town manners that we expect of a modern 4x4 while carefully choosing their modifications to enable them to get out and about further and safer than their stock vehicle will allow. 

It's likely that you'll find a UHF radio, mats, seat covers, bullbar and driving lights, entertainment for the kids and a set of aftermarket tyres, possibly a diff lock, but probably some standard form of traction control.

4. The purpose built tourer

The Patrol ute downstairs comes to mind. The owners of this vehicle have taken the stock car as a platform to customise and improve. 

Radios, dual batteries, traction aids, bar work, quality winch, customised storage solutions, roof racks and any number of clever solutions to unique problems. 

This owner is very proud of their 'never-quite-finished' project.
And then there's this.

I can think of so many places I want to go.

The GQ and its friends are a great place to enter the game.

5. The entry level

Here we find 80 series cruisers, previous generation utes and many other genuine used car yard treasures. These owners are still working out where on the Offroad spectrum they belong and as such often have a not completely lucid view of what mods their vehicle needs. 

It is here that we find 'entry level' winches and modified eBay finds. 

These owners are learning heaps, and having a ball (and often have an inflated view of what their 'built not bought' gem is worth come trade-up time).

6. The 'comp truck'

These are the cars built to perform either high speed events or very slow speed events. Each needs it's own specialised equipment. 

This is the domain of massively modified long travel coil suspension, crawler gears, roll cages, high speed winches and body armour. 

The owners of these vehicles have built a dedicated Offroad machine, without the compromise of needing to maintain road worthiness. (Of course no one would drive such a heavily modified vehicle on road, would they. ) 

Add caption

We all have different reasons to go Offroad, some of us even have multiple 4x4s, each built for different tasks, and there would be many examples of vehicles transitioning between usage needs as their owners have begun to discover more of the attraction of going off road.

Something for Everyone

 Where are you on my list of six?
Or, are you on a different list altogether?

www.4x4training.com.au

info@4x4training.com.au

www.facebook.com/australianoffroadacademy

Top 5 reasons to go to Fraser Island on a rainy day

Some say, it rains 300 days a year on Fraser Island. I don't doubt it, it's 120 kms long, has lowland marshes, elevated forests and lakes, and a rainforest. 

All of the postcards for Fraser Island show blue skies and clear lakes but if you happen to arrive on a rainy day, don't be sad, there's more to see and enjoy. 

5. The tracks get easier to drive, kinda. 

The inland tracks can be an easy drive or, if it's been dry and hot (as it was this last summer) inland conditions can catch out even the most experienced and well prepared driver. 

One good shower of rain goes a long way to restoring the tracks, however, heavy, continuous rain brings out a whole new challenge. 

For the 4wder with some experience this 'liquified' sand is a whole new driving experience. 

4. It tends to be a bit quieter. 

If it's been really raining, people tend to put off their trip, or if they are already there they look to stay in camp reading a book. 

Imagine being set up on the beach, well setup, and watching the weather roll in or across the beach, with your feet up and a good book. 

Your visit to Fraser Island does not always need to be about seeing as much as you can. 

3. Free car wash. 

Let's face it, camping on the beach is a fairly hostile environment for your 4wd. 

A couple of good fresh water soakings does wonders to break down, or prevent that salt incursion into every panel gap. 

Clearly, this won't help with the underbody, but you've already paid for proper rust protection there, right?

2. Go for a bush walk.

Grab a quality rain jacket, your boots and day pack and go for a walk. 

The tracks get firmer, the wildlife always seems to be more visible, it's cooler and the only way to truly experience a rainforest is to immerse yourself in it, in the rain. 

I'll personally endorse the Pile Valley walk along the banks of Wangoolba Creek from Central Station as an excellent wet weather walk. 

1. Because you are on Fraser Island

Honestly, would you rather be at work, or driving in the city, or catching a train?

Probably not. 

General Redwalls.