I came to a land down under

[Redman]

King's Birthday Getaway

The 7th of October was a public holiday in Queensland, the King's birthday. While each Australian state has its own date for this occasion, Queensland's was clever enough to time this holiday to fall during the summer.

To make the most of our time on North Stradbroke Island, we boarded the early morning (6:00) Sealink ferry from Cleveland to Dunwich. This is one of the highlights of the trip for the kids, and I have to admit that I find this pretty cool too. Unlike Morten Island where you are dropped directly on the beach, the Straddie ferry drops you on a paved road. This island was once a single landmass, which got divided in 1896. A barge grounded on the island in 1894 and explosives was used during the salvage operation. This created a week spot where the Coral Sea broke through to Mortan Bay during a severe storm in 1896. North Stradbroke is the world's second-largest sand island, after Fraser Island.

Upon arrival on the island, you are greeted by a familiar sight, a Spar supermarket. While it may share the logo with its South African counterpart, the Dunwich Spar serves as the island's primary general store, offering everything from groceries to camping essentials. However, given the island's location and reliance on ferry transport, prices are understandably higher.

One of the island's main attractions is its limited vehicle access. Only a certain number of cars can be transported by the two ferries, resulting in fewer people and vehicles on the beach.
After grabbing a coffee at the café next to Spar, we headed to the beach access track. Thanks to Maxtrax Indeflate the tires were at the right pressure very quickly. The beach campsites are only accessible via the beach, so when arrived an hour after high tide, it required some extra maneuvering.

The campsites are basic, with no water or electricity. However, the composting toilets are well-maintained, thanks to the fellow campers who make sure to leave it in a good condition for the person after you.
Our setup was quite simple, double swags for the adults and single swags for the kids. These are lightweight but bulky so were ideal for roof rack storage.

Along with the ferry, camping on the beach with no amenities is the highlight of the trip. The kids were on the beach or swimming in the ocean most of the day. We were also treated with some amazing whale, dolphin and sea turtle sightings. Then not to mention waking up to the sound of the waves with great sunrises over the beach.

To stock up on fresh water, we made a couple of trips to Amity Point. This town is also accessible by beach road, with the last bit to the town via the access track. My wife even took a turn at beach driving after a few I had a few beers at the local tavern.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend getaway. We're already planning our next trip and looking at upgrades to our basic setup. I originally ordered a 150Ah LiFePO4 battery for our trip but this ended up being on back order, so I ended up getting a 120Ah LiFePO4 from 4WD Supacentre (will do a separate post on this store).

All in all, the Queensland branch of the 4X4AG had a great time.

[Mad Manny]

Awesome trip Redman. Well written too...

[jakeslouw]

It shows that while a Nanny State, Oz still allows access to beautiful beaches in vehicles.

Not like here. The difference is the adherence to the rule of law, I suppose........

[Ricof4e]

The very first thing I noticed...

[iandvl]

The very first thing I noticed...

IMG_0556.JPEG

Willem. I expected more of you...

On the other hand - I completed this questionnaire the other day...

[Redman]

4eCoffee that is considered a dick move...

Maar op 'n meer ernstige noot, jy ry 'n Ranger so ek verstaan as jy net aan totties dink

[Redman]

Here’s a bit of an off-topic post, but I thought it was interesting.

Qube Logistics recently trialed double-stacking containers on a truck. While not strictly 4x4, camping, or overland related, I still found this really impressive. (although technically the truck is a 6x4 so 4WD)

This allows them to move more containers with less drivers and vehicles. The shortage of good truck drivers is global so this is one way of addressing it. Doing more with less. I know this is a very limited application but found these things fascinating when they drove past you.

[Mad Manny]

I thought all containers stacked?

[Redman]

They stack pretty well yes, they are however a bit of a bitch to get them to the places they should be efficiently

[Redman]

The National 4x4 and Outdoor Show Part 1:

The National 4x4 and Outdoor Show in Brisbane this past weekend was, as always, a highlight. I've been attending since we arrived in Brisbane 3 years ago, getting my tickets during the early bird special back in January. This year, Swambo joined me, and surprisingly, she enjoyed it even more than I did!

Getting to the show is convenient. Attendees can take advantage of free public transport by simply showing their tickets. Fortunately, my wife has access to the parking garage across the street, so we drove. However, the efficient train and bus services meant that even with approximately 10,000 attendees per day, entering and exiting the venue was smooth.

The show's occurrence was uncertain due to the amount of rainfall from the previous weekend's Hurricane Alfred. We measured 575mm of rain. Thankfully, the show proceeded as planned thanks to a week of sunny weather. The only affected item was the cancellation of the 4x4 obstacle course as they could not build it in time.

As in previous years, the cricket field was used for caravan and 4x4 rig displays. Having most of the caravans in one area is a fantastic feature. While the field couldn't accommodate everyone, additional exhibitors were located outside the exhibition hall, just 50 meters away. This layout made it easy to compare brands side-by-side. Although we're not currently in the market for a caravan or trailer, we began looking at a few potential future options. A big advantage of this show is the pricing displayed by all exhibitors, no need to register for email pricing etc.

Cricket field for caravans and some rigs: (will post some pics of the rigs in another post)

Outdoor exhibition

Old FJ as you enter the field

FJ

Caravans/campers on show

Main field

Opus has a new fold open camper that inflates instead of having the poles in it. Really roomy camper

Opus

Opus

Opus

Some interesting trivia about the Brisbane Show Grounds. The 1971 test between the Springboks and the Wallabies was moved from Ballymore to the Showgrounds as it was easier to erect barriers here. There were a lot of protests against this tour. Bokke ended up winning that test 14 - 6

Main Stand

[Redman]

The National 4x4 and Outdoor Show Part 2:

Like I said in my last post, here are some pics of the vehicles at the show. Most were displays by the aftermarket guys, showing off what they can do. Not many of the big car companies were there. Ineos had a cool stand, as always, and Kia showed off their new Tasman bakkie. What I liked about both stands was that they were run by people from the Aussie Head Office, not just dealership staff. I ended up chatting with the Ineos engineers and business guys for about an hour, just talking about the vehicles, not trying to sell anything.

Everyone's been talking about the Kia Tasman, and I've gotta say, it looks better in person than in the photos. The Kia test driver even joked that it's better for radio ads than TV, because it doesn't always look great on camera. I agree. It's still not winning design awards, but I get what the guy said: if you're going up against Hilux, D-Max, Ranger, BT-50, Navara, and Triton, you can't just bring out another boring looking bakkie. You've have to try something different, and they did. I'll give them this, the interior is really nice and roomy. I'm 1.89m tall, so I did my usual test – adjusted the driver's seat for me, then jumped in the back, and I still had about an inch and a half of legroom. I still don't think it's the prettiest thing out there, but I'm hoping they do well.

Ineos had their regular station wagons and the new Quartermaster double cab. There was also a Quartermaster on the Norweld stand with a full tray/canopy setup. You're starting to see more mods for these vehicles, like long-range fuel tanks (50L) and suspension upgrades. I've seen a few on the road by now and driven one as well, but I still couldn't help hanging around their stand. They're really interesting vehicles. There are just over 3,000 in Australia now. They're doing a deal on a tricked-out Station Wagon for $118,000, which basically lets you drive it straight to Cape York. (For comparison a stock standard LC300 GX is around $108,000)

They also now have a sound system upgrade. Part of this is a huge JBL speaker under the rear seat where the 2nd battery usually sits

There were also a bunch of custom truck builds, mostly Isuzu's. And the Toyota Prado was everywhere, by far the most popular vehicle at the show, with all sorts of different setups. Will post some Prado pics in the next post.

Patriot Campers RAM

[Redman]

The National 4x4 and Outdoor Show Part 3:

Here are some more photos, as promised, of the Prado's and other vehicles they had on display. I'm really like the new Prado. Toyota Australia could've put a bit more thought into how they packaged the hybrid system, though, especially how it eats into boot space when the third-row seats are down. There were a few mod options, but most of them involved some kind of drawer system.

I didn't get a picture, but I was also impressed by the number of tyre fitment companies there. Most of the tyre manufacturers were on site too, ready to answer questions. The Mickey Thompson guys were awesome, really talkative, and keen to hear about South Africa and the tyre market there.

Graham and Shaun from 4WD 24/7 were back at the show, and like always, their SNATCH stand was packed. My 10-year-old son wanted a picture with them, as he's been watching more of their videos (especially ones of places we've been to), and they were super friendly and talkative. They might not be everyone's cup of tea, but they're great ambassadors for the 4WD community.

Some Prado's on display;

Jimny Supercharging

I'm not familiar with them but from a distance these Piranha canopies looked familiar. Found out they are made in South Africa (most likely a known manufacturer that's just rebranded here in AUS)

More pictures

And then lastly found this Patrol in the parking lot on our way out.

That's me done with my spamming for now