Sure, and Terry would know, he usually leads the way on our trips.
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Terry and
Lyn Gould
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 10:08 AM
To: Tony Russell
Cc:
Subject: Your birding vehicle
Not donga, but in places like Palm Valley NT, where it is a track along
the
creek bed - sand and rocks and up and down the creek bank. Clearance and
traction is mandatory.
At 09:56 AM 24/02/2006, Tony Russell wrote:
>Of course one doesn't actually use 4wd for most of the time but it's
>those awkward remote places with poor roads where street cars cannot go
>and where the birds you wish to see most often are. My bird list would
>be way below 700 if not for having a 4x4 facility ( Nissan Patrol,
>magic machine)when needed. And it takes my off road caravan with it
>too.
>
>Incidentally, for those frowning on the term off road, it really means
>rough road, not actually charging across the donga, birders never do
>that. Tony
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:
> On Behalf Of peter crow
>Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 9:38 AM
>To: Graham Etherington
>Cc:
>Subject: Re: [BIRDING-AUS] Your birding vehicle
>
>
>Hello Graham,
>
>Most places in Australia are accessible by 2WD. In saying this I will
>probably be rubbished by many who know better. I have travelled most of
>Australia including a few deserts where 4WD is necessary but in most
>other places 2WD does. I drive a Nissan Patrol (I can hear the laughs)
>but seldom use 4WD. In 150,000 km I have used 4WD for about 70km. (I
>did the Simpson Desert in another vehicle.)
>
>I own this large vehicle as I pull a caravan and only for that. If I
>didn't have a caravan I would probably own a Subaru Forester.
>
>On an Atlassing expedition in 1999 we were accompanied by a Forrester
>across much of western Queensland including about four hundred km
>within the Simpson Desert and only lack of clearance on a few sandy
>dunes gave it any problems. 99% of gravel, dirt or unmade roads do not
>need 4WD.
>
>Visit Inskip Point and see the Holdens and other sedans driven on to
>sand in the camping areas including some pulling trailers.
>
>The best vehicle I have used for desert and mud conditions was a Land
>Rover.
>
>4WD and low range is helpful in very steep situations ie climbing in
>and out of some river crossings on Cape York but one can cover much of
>the cape without encountering these places.
>
>In answer to your question the simple answer is 4WD in not necessary
>most of the time (98%) but it is handy at times. If you intend to do
>lots of desert work or climb steep hills 4WD is essential and a larger
>one is better. There are so many small all wheel drives or soft roaders
>availaivble at fairly reasonable prices that it is probably sensible to
>go for one of these rather than a low slung passenger vehicle.
>
>A thought is that a diesel vehicle will go further on a tank of fuel
>than an equivalent petrol one. this is handy in remote areas as one
>doesn't have to carry cans of fuel.
>
>Hope this is of a little help.
>
>Peter Crow
>Brisbane.
>
>
>On Thursday, February 23, 2006, at 08:35 PM, Graham Etherington wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone,
> > I'm expecting to move from the UK to Brisbane at the end of March or
> > the beginning of April. I'm planning of spending a lot of time
> > birding, probably going away for birding trips every other weekend,
> > by
>
> > car. My question is this - do you really need 4x4 to fully enjoy the
> > best of QLD/NWS birding? I know I'll need something with plenty of
> > space for camping gear and the like, but I'd be interested to see
> > how many Australian birders use 4WD vehicles (and where you use
> > them). I've visited Queensland once before and thought that a good
> > off-road vehicle would have been handy sometimes, especially at
> > places such as Noosa Plain and Lamington. Also, what about the
> > various different types of 4x4. I know about the usual Nissan
> > Patrols and Toyota Landcruisers, but what about the 'station wagon'
> > type 4x4. Anyone use one of them? So, what I'm really after is
> > comments from birders about what they drive (4x4 or other), how they
> > think their vehicle copes with birding terrain, how necessary they
> > consider a 4x4 to be, and where they spend most of their time
> > birding.
> >
> > Looking forward to joining you all in Oz and meeting up with some of
> > the local birders in Queensland. Best wishes, Graham Etherington
> > Norwich, UK
> > --------------------------------------------
> > Birding-Aus is on the Web at
> > www.birding-aus.org
> > birding-aus.blogspot.com
> > --------------------------------------------
> > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message:
> > 'unsubscribe birding-aus' (no quotes, no Subject line)
> > to
> >
> >
>
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