My partner and I currently live in an aboriginal community 870km from Darwin in Arnhem Land. We run the community store there, our stock comes in by barge once a week...depending on the tides. There are lots of communities like these in the outback all full of interesting people. Many Australians don't get to experience what I do so I feel incredibly grateful.

@darcyw3174

9 ай бұрын

100 percent agree with you, i was lucky enough to do some contracting work out in the communities throughout the covid period :)

@janinemuller9792

9 ай бұрын

What an interesting service you do wow I'd love it

@juliemanley6570

9 ай бұрын

Are you in Maningrida We lived there in the 80s very isolated back then

@broeretop1

9 ай бұрын

Wow that's neat. The city I live in is also called Arnhem.

@anjehouse9507

9 ай бұрын

@@AlexB-pe6yb Gapuwiyak also known as Lake Evella...but Gove is lovely 😊

I actually watched that video a couple of nights ago and it really disturbed me to think foreign tourist drive off to find remote places with no idea what can go wrong. A couple of examples. Flash floods. It can rain a hundred kilometers away or even more. Not a cloud in the sky but very quickly the road will become muddy then slippery then you can't see it anymore because you are now surrounded by rising water. We went out to rescue a Scots family just out of Three Rivers in WA. On arrival we could see the family standing on the roof of their car. She was holding their two young children whilst the husband kept pushing away a deadly snake which was trying to use the car as an island. Bush fires. Wake up in the dead of night and smell the dustinct smell of a bush fire but you can't see it. The fear grips you when you know it can have a 350 km front and you know nothing more than it's heading towards you. Breaking down, the absolute rule is stay with your vehicle. Those that try to walk, especially in the heat are the ones that get lost and die. A car accident, need a medivac, you have no phone coverage and it may be a full day even longer before someone sees you let alone how long a medivac can take. Most snakes will bite you just above the ankle, best wear leather boots that come a couple of inches above them. These people taking off for an adventure who have not done their research, have no idea of the dangers and think when they arrive there will be a 24/7 McDonalds store are the greatest threat, to themselves. Always enjoy your comments Ian, good to listen to the opinions of others and you're always close to the mark. Onya 🇦🇺

Not enhanced, Ian. That’s exactly what the night sky looks for like in the Outback.

@sykotika13thirteen

9 ай бұрын

I miss the night sky and the red dirt

@Tsass0

9 ай бұрын

True mate

@mewoozy2

9 ай бұрын

Yeah if you're far enough out ay. Takes a bit for your eyes to adjust and it looks just like that, its likely a long exposure shot but that is exactly what it looks like once your eyes adjust.

@nedkelly9688

8 ай бұрын

Agree travelled the outback and slept in the back of a ute and looked up at that sky everynight and is true. Also worked on boats off QLD and is just as good out there too.

@michaelgraham6443

8 ай бұрын

Yep, I’ll second that….

A few years ago my husband and I visited family in far North Queensland, when we left them to return home to southwest Western Australia, we took the route labeled the Savannah Way, thinking this would be a good way to short cut across to the Northern Territory then into far north WA, we were excited. That is to say until we reached Hell’s Gate Roadhouse. From there we ended up on a dirt road, so deeply corrugated we could only travel at a snails pace for 50 plus kilometres as we were towing a camper trailer. Many kilometres travelled, many river crossings where crocodiles sunbathed on river banks, snakes galore, we finally we got into WA. Many months later, even years later, I’m still finding remnants of red dust in clothing and suitcases 😂😂😂😂

@nedkelly9688

8 ай бұрын

lol we did that trip once also while travelling Australia. We also travelled through N.T first time when wasn't even bitumen. Remember coming across a couple in a brand new caravan. by time hit Tenant creek whole inside of the van fell to pieces. all cupboards had collapsed and was being sent back to the manufacturer. Ours survived but remember years later still finding red bulldust inside hard to acess areas.

@AndyViant

8 ай бұрын

You will never ever get rid of the red dust now that it is in your car.

@danielponiatowski7368

8 ай бұрын

i caught up with a mate in karratha back in the late 80s and we headed north in his HQ statseman. we came across a very remote little place, dont recall the name but there was a small pub way out on its own. as we approached this place a head appeared at the door, the look on this guys face was something you would expect to see on somebody who had been alone on a dessert island for a year. he got us in and locked the door, he didnt want any money for the beer or food, his payment was just to see and speak to somebody from civilisation. im living in the SW as well, just out of manji.

The night sky is pretty impressive down here. I live on the QLD coast in one of the major northern cities and recently had some visitors from the USA. They were city slickers and had never really seen a proper dark sky. Just walking on the beach at night had them gazing at the sky in wonder. Once you get a bit inland and it gets properly dark. If you lie back on a deck chair or something and let your eyes get used to the dark it is pretty amazing. You can see the Magellanic Clouds and lots more really easily. There's a fair number of streaks of light from small things falling into the atmosphere too. Highly recommended to do. Just to reinforce what other people are saying, dark sky means no light pollution and no moon. Once your eye adjust so that you can take it all in, the night sky actually glows. You can make out shapes of trees, hills etc.

In 1960 the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party were working westward on the Gary Junction road. When the Grader gearbox blew up “the longest towing operation” returned to Giles. On 12th November… “Quinny stopped my Rover and bellowed “this is absolutely terrible”, the great caravan he was pulling had disappeared! Suddenly we observed a black cloud of smoke about 6km away and a plume of dust from a vehicle coming towards us. We thought here comes Scotty to tell us a stray caravan was lying dormant back up the road. However Scotty yelled from somewhere in the miniature dust storm ‘the ration truck’s gorn!’ The black smoke was coming from our harmless truck full of food supplies! We drove back to the exploding tins of stew and tomato sauce. The big tyres were spouting globules of molten rubber and a tin of pea soup splattered me. Doug and Rex could only save one tyre. The 1400lt water tank behind the cabin was boiling so I shot a hole through the tank side and with tea leaves from the wreck made a cup of tea.”

@bethmetcalf3447

9 ай бұрын

It was pretty straight forward so I don’t understand why they didn’t understand it?🤷🏻‍♀️

@Reneesillycar74

9 ай бұрын

Cheers for the info ✌🏼

@gedece

9 ай бұрын

it's the 1400 liters tank, he could not understand that.

@johnwatters6922

8 ай бұрын

Australian (and international ) spelling is litre @@gedece

@fishnchips8132

3 ай бұрын

when the sh!t hits the fan - make tea.

Fun fact. Trucks aren't 18 wheelers in the outback. The cab has 10 wheels and the first trailer has another 12. So the smallest semi, (we call them semi-trailers or semi for short), is a 22 wheeler. A B-Double, (cab plus one short trailer and one standard trailer), has 34 wheels. And a road train has another 12 wheels per trailer. So with 6 trailers, (biggest I've ever seen, although they usually only have 2 to 3 trailers), you have 70 wheels.

In the early 1980s Kiwirrkurra was established as an outstation to help facilitate the Pintupi people’s desire to return and live on traditional homelands. In 1984 the Pintubi Nine became the last known group of traditional Indigenous Australians to make contact with Western society. The family of nine had lived a traditional nomadic life in the desert until they entered Kiwirrkurra to be reunited with their extended family. Many of the group and their descendants still reside in the community. I was actually watching a Malcolm Douglas video last night & he was driving to Kiwirrkurra & through to our Indian Ocean. Great stuff! 👍👍

@got-to-wonder

9 ай бұрын

Been there twice 30 years ago

@jenniferharrison8915

9 ай бұрын

That's really interesting, we hear of so many indigenous leaving there traditions and and family behind, this family connection is unique!

@redhammer9910

9 ай бұрын

Yes Malcolm Douglas video's are excellent. I spent a lot of my youth working near remote communities in WA and his videos are a real blast from the past.

@baabaabaa-yp2jh

9 ай бұрын

Is the Mal Douglas video where they try Coca cola for the first time!?! That was pretty funny, the old man worked at Amata yrs back...l went up for Xmas holidays as a kid. .. Lived in SA & NT got a lift from Katherine to Alice in the back of his ute, we had beers, so it was all gd

@sandgroperwookiee65

9 ай бұрын

@@baabaabaa-yp2jh no,it was this one kzread.info/dash/bejne/Z4Wrt82whautkpc.htmlsi=v1D3zKQcgCmaLTHC

I just ran across Australia from Port Hedland to Brisbane. I went via Marble Bar, Kunawarritji and Kiwirrkurra. It took me 6 days to run from Kunawarritji to Kiwirrkurra - proper remote. After 78 days I made it to Brisbane. Love your channel mate! Keep it up!

@Revheadrev

9 ай бұрын

You that young tradie with a mullet? Or someone who did it and it wasn’t covered much in the media? Either way - crazy stuff man. Hope your recovery is going well.

@Guys_Home_Run

9 ай бұрын

@@Revheadrev nah he went across the Nullarbor. I went a little more low key and more remote. Recovery going well although longer than I thought.

@kazzaandrew

9 ай бұрын

Wow. Well done

@TRAVISGOLDIE

9 ай бұрын

I reckon kuna is more remote in my mind

@lawlerscorner4420

8 ай бұрын

Good lord what was chasing you ??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

As a 60 yr old Aussie I always find it so funny the way people react to things that are so normal to me. Also that ain't red dirt knackers that's Red Earth. Full of Iron.

Australians avoid driving at dusk, too much chance of your vehicle getting destroyed by a kangaroo!

Those stars are not enhanced . When you finally get here you will be blown away . Let your children age a bit and then ask us Aussies to crowd fund a visit ( twelve months minimum ) and I am sure we will give you enough money but also welcome you and your family into our homes to save on accommodation .

Camels came to Australia during the exploration period. Due to the long distances and heat to carry the logistics around we needed an animal that could go without water for a period of time and could carry large quantities of items. Tge Afghanis were brought here to do the camel trains. The most famous train in Australia is called The Ghan

Hi Ian. I work DIDO (drive in, drive out) in a town called Meekatharra in WA. I live on the coast and drive 7 hrs every two weeks to work. During my drives I come across dingoes, bungarra’s, emus, cattle and roo’s on the regular. The stations aren’t fenced so hitting a massive bull is a very real issue. I time it so I’m never driving at sunset or sunrise. I work at the hospital which services an area of 600,000 square kilometres, including 66 cattle stations. The town itself is tiny, it has a population of around 350 but the stations and aboriginal communities bump up the numbers big time. The RFDS service the area as well and we work together to get people to larger hospitals if needed. For example a guy rang through the other day, he found his boss of the station by a water trough and thought he might be having a heart attack. Next thing we’re organising the RFDS, ambulance and cops to get him with the help of latitude and longitude details. He was bought to the Meeka hospital, stabilised and flown to Perth. Meeka has a massive aboriginal population and quite a few, if they’re from an outlying community don’t speak English. The pub here is always flat out with gold prospectors (which I do too on my weekends) and FIFO mine workers. The gold in Meeka and Sandstone is some of the purest in the world. So if you ever get the chance, look up Meekatharra and see the red dirt country at its finest.

A note about driving on unsealed roads in the outback. Vehicles on open dirt roads all tend to travel around the same speed, so a bump on the road that makes one car's wheels bounce will also make any other cars' wheels bounce. These bouncing wheels will all tend to land at the same point forming corrugations. If you happen to be on one of these roads for some time you will be advised to run over them at a decent speed that smooths out the vibrations, otherwise your kidneys will be pretty much shot at the end of the journey. So look after yourself, tell someone where you are going and when you are expected to arrive at your destination, take lots of water with you, have respect for the outback and you will have a great trip.

@Alberthoward3right9up

9 ай бұрын

It's mostly trucks that cause that

@35manning

9 ай бұрын

Yep, it sounds crazy, but going faster makes it feel smoother. Of course, this doesn't mean it's more gentle on your wheels and suspension or that its safer. It just feels nicer in the cab of the vehicle.

@optimusmaximus9646

9 ай бұрын

@@35manning Yell me about it 🙂On one trip I lost one of my number plates. Vibrations can loosen nuts on bolts and I am sure this is what caused it.

@35manning

9 ай бұрын

@@Alberthoward3right9up umm, no it isn't. Take the trucks away from the road and it will still happen. Correlation DOES NOT EQUAL causation. Yes, trucks contribute to it. But so do cars and even motorbikes. In fact, heavily loaded cars can contribute MORE to it than a lightly loaded truck. It's to do with the ground pressure each tire exerts. Think of it like walking across wet sand at the beach, compared to running. Now add a backpack full of weight and walk and run on that same sand. The more weight you add, or the faster you move, the worse it becomes. Add lots of weight and go really fast for the maximum damage. Want to ACTUALLY make a difference when driving on a corrugated road? Pull over, let the air out of your tires and drive slowly. See your vehicle and tire manufacturers for recommended tire pressures for dirt roads. In my 4WD, I run as high as 45psi on the road (recommended pressure for maximum vehicle weight) and as low as 10psi (slow off road use). You SHOULD actually adjust your tire pressures every time your vehicle weight changes or road conditions change (sealed, gravel, dirt etc). Logging trucks often have Central Tire Inflation (CTI), a system that allows you to adjust your tire pressure from in the cab whilst driving. When they turn off the sealed road (actually, just before), they lower tire pressures to avoid damaging the dirt roads. Then raise them just before returning to the sealed road.

@Alberthoward3right9up

9 ай бұрын

@@35manning I'm not reading an hour long essay. I'll just say I disagree n leave it at that. Hope that diatribe made you feel superior for a minute or two.. lol. I have a life.

it dosn't take three hours to drive from sydney to alice springs it takes 29 hours between the two cities (well if you can call alice springs a city) the distance is 2,775km or 1724mi

@allangoodger969

9 ай бұрын

Best I have done it in was three days.

@top40researcher31

9 ай бұрын

@@allangoodger969 that be around 72 hours

@dickwilliam3793

9 ай бұрын

he said fly, then drive from Alice 3 hrs

@top40researcher31

9 ай бұрын

@@dickwilliam3793 ok then

If you're ever going on a great adventure like this in the outback, don't watch the movie "Wolf Creek" beforehand 😳 Awesome video thanks Ian!

@davidareeves

9 ай бұрын

or Razorback....

@julzhunt7790

9 ай бұрын

Ikr. I was thinking exactly the same😆

@nkosanamakhubela2586

9 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂 wolf creek 2

@davidareeves

9 ай бұрын

@@nkosanamakhubela2586When you get to this point as a tourist, you earn the "I survived Australia" T-Shirt

@zwieseler

9 ай бұрын

Or Wake In Fright….

I worked remote WA years back, i was about 150km east of Kumarina, the closest light source was a mine site located around 200km south so there was next to no light pollution. To say the night sky is amazing is an understatement. Everyone needs to see it once in their life. The meteor showers are unreal, I would get lost in the night sky for hours. It makes you feel so small its incredible

People can't believe you this is real when you try and tell them. This is surprisingly a large part of Australia and why much of the population lives near the coastline. I absolutely love living in this type of country. Also, it can be hundreds of kilometres before you see another human. No food/ water, no fuel, no services, nothing

@fishnchips8132

3 ай бұрын

plenty of camel steaks walking around................ just saying.

In regards to the plaque at the truck Ian, check out "Len Beadell" He opened up the outback with the roads that are there now. He just had a big D9 Cat a Grader and caravan and drove in a straight line to a spot on the horizon, The Gun Barrel Highway was one such road named that because of the straight road, from one point to the next.

@allangoodger969

9 ай бұрын

Would drive ahead and use a mirror to direct the dozer.

@richarddoyle3561

9 ай бұрын

I had the pleasure of meeting him at a function one night, what a legend.

@keithad6485

3 ай бұрын

Good to read you have acknowledged Len's achievements and let the readers know of him, there is even a road named after his wife, the Ann Beadell - East of Kalgoorlie, way East.

This four wheel drive truck was the ration truck for Len Beadell’s party for several years. It caught fire during the construction of the Gary Junction Road on 12th November 1960 at the 160 mile point from Sandy Blight Junction. Destroyed were their supplies of food, water, fridge and much of their camping gear.

The red dust that gets everywhere when driving is called bull dust.

@6226superhurricane

9 ай бұрын

red dust is red dust. bulldust is ultra fine talcum powder like dust that can fill big holes in the road hiding car breaking potholes. driving into thick bull dust is like driving into a puddle of water it makes the car behave in a similar way.

@sykotika13thirteen

9 ай бұрын

@@6226superhurricanebull dust takes years to vacuum out of your car Every step looks like Wile E Coyote hitting the ground

In March (Autumn/Fall in Australia) we were the first cars to drive a road in 5 months. Not an exaggeration. We left details of where we were going from and to with local authorities, and took weeks of food and water in case we had problems. Temperatures exceeded 55 Celsius (131 Fahrenheit). Middle of the desert. One of the vehicles got bogged. To the chassis rails. It took almost 3 hours to recover it with shovelling, 2 winches and almost 60 metres of recovery gear, as getting any closer would have seen both vehicles trapped. We were going to take a satphone and Emergency beacons but didn't. We were lucky, but we're also highly experienced 4wders with very well kitted out vehicles. We spent almost a year planning that trip. After we completed the trip we heard that the next cars to try and go that way took 2 days to clear the same obstacle we did. The outback is not a joke. It can kill you more easily than you can imagine, even without a snake bite or medical emergency. Temperatures range from extreme heat to extreme cold. You can wait weeks for help to arrive, even if they know you're out there because ground transport might get stuck and it's huge area to search by air.

@jenniferharrison8915

9 ай бұрын

Look our for storm warnings and rain too!

@daintree98

8 ай бұрын

Don't leave home without a very powerful torch/flashlight. It's very handy in emergencies for signalling others at night (especially Roo shooters) and distance road users. Also, a sheet of 3 plywood, makes it easy to remove sand if bogged.

Just a note to let people know if you are travelling around Australia get a personal locator beacon. EPRB I think they are called. They are about $350 AU. if you get lost or break down you press the button and the next satellite coming over the top will pick up your signal and within minutes the Australian Search and Rescue will know exactly where you are and come and get you. But it may take 12hrs for the satellite to initially pick up the signal.

@RealHooksy

9 ай бұрын

And it might take a week to get to you

Not been to this community but been to a heck of a lot of others. Next week I’ll leave Adelaide for Yalata on the Nullarbor then hit the dirt and head North to Oak Valley. From there I’ll go up to the Anne Beadell highway and cut across the Woomera rocket range (kinda like Area 51) to Coober Pedy to top up with Diesel after about 1000km of dirt. Then I’ll keep going to Oodnadatta and out to Macumba, then back via William Creek and Maree to the Gammon Ranges, and duck down through the Flinders Ranges back to Adelaide. I’ll spend a few days in Adelaide, get the Land Cruiser serviced, and head off for another Jaunt into the South Eastern NT and then over into the APY Lands North West of SA. I love my job, happy to get you some photos Ian.

love their spirit and humor ♥ they should've bought an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) though, its a land based version of the EPIRB that people at sea use. Very enjoyable video

@leemorris9157

7 ай бұрын

Satellite phone and UHF radio as well.

On the plaque you couldn’t read. ‘HOT WATER LAID ON’ In 1960 the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party were working westward on the Gary Junction road. When the Grader gearbox blew up “the longest towing operation” returned to Giles. On 12th November… “Quinny stopped my Rover and bellowed “this is absolutely terrible”, the great caravan he was pulling had disappeared! Suddenly we observed a black cloud of smoke about 6km away and a plume of dust from a vehicle coming towards us. We thought here comes Scotty to tell us a stray caravan was lying dormant back up the road. However Scotty yelled from somewhere in the miniature dust storm ‘the ration truck’s gorn!’ The black smoke was coming from our harmless truck full of food supplies! We drove back to the exploding tins of stew and tomato sauce. The big tyres were spouting globules of molten rubber and a tin of pea soup splattered me. Doug and Rex could only save one tyre. The 1400lt water tank behind the cabin was boiling so I shot a hole through the tank side and with tea leaves from the wreck made a cup of tea.” Len Beadell - Outback Highways

@stevehall734

8 ай бұрын

Len Beadell was a bit of a legend out there.

@peterrobbins2862

2 ай бұрын

I met len beadelll once he was a very interesting man told some very great stories of the history of the areas and also bumped into his daughter at Warburton once

I love how your knowledge of Australia shows through with each video. It's gonna be epic when you, Dani and the kids finally get here! (And yes, the outback night sky is incredible 😊)

First time watching this channel. I just love your enthusiasm. I crossed the nullabor before it became bitunen. Was a big adventure in those days. At the time a big bush fire and snakes, camels , kangaroos all trying to escape. The saddest thing was flocks of budgies flying into our windscreen. I loved the red dirt against the blue sky and the stars at night were magical. Not many appreciate the unique beauty of the outback in comparison to green lush tropical landscapes. This planet is a beautiful place we need to look after it

I have added to ration truck story here. RATION TRUCK STORY ‘HOT WATER LAID ON’ In 1960 the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party were working westward on the Gary Junction road. When the Grader gearbox blew up “the longest towing operation” returned to Giles. On 12th November… “Quinny stopped my Rover and bellowed “this is absolutely terrible”, the great caravan he was pulling had disappeared! Suddenly we observed a black cloud of smoke about 6km away and a plume of dust from a vehicle coming towards us. We thought here comes Scotty to tell us a stray caravan was lying dormant back up the road. However Scotty yelled from somewhere in the miniature dust storm ‘the ration truck’s gorn!’ The black smoke was coming from our harmless truck full of food supplies! We drove back to the exploding tins of stew and tomato sauce. The big tyres were spouting globules of molten rubber and a tin of pea soup splattered me. Doug and Rex could only save one tyre. The 1400lt water tank behind the cabin was boiling so I shot a hole through the tank side and with tea leaves from the wreck made a cup of tea.” Len Beadell - Outback Highways

Your love for Australia is so infectious. I grew up in Perth, and the desert landscape is so beautiful - there's nothing like that amazing red earth. Incredible. Love this!!

In 86 I was solo across the Simpson from Alice Springs to Cairns via Mt Isa to Normanton on a Yamaha XT600 Tenere thumper, i was given the back of an envelope mud map for a short cut to the Iza from a pub I had been having a beer at in the NT. All good until I got to the 3 way fork in the road (take the middle one) when I got there it was a 5 way fork and of course I took the wrong one. I got lost - I mean long way lost. I had low fuel and wisely decided to back track following only my tire tracks and got back to an aboriginal community on fumes and luck and nightfall. The WIND 10 degree of leeway to counter act and tire tracks fading out. Was given the school house to sleep in (thanks) and in the morning full fuel and a better map. The rest of that trip is another story..... When in the Alice I needed some bike work done, the bloke in the shop was on crutches, I go what happened ..? He goes I went between the fore legs and back legs of bull in the middle of the road...???? I go that don't make sense, he says well I was doing nearly 220 K on a big Yamaha went round a sweeper and this big bull was in the middle of the road, all I could do was head to tank and aim to the middle = 4 months in hospital but not dead. He was in the final stages of fitting a blowen 350ci in a Jaguar XJ6.... No speed limit in the NT in those days. I am not sure if that bloke made the 90's

Hi Ian Ive passed through Kiwikurra 2 times in the early 2000s. My grandparents were missionaries out in the APY lands (where South Australia, NT and WA meet) in a community called Yunyarinyi. They were accepted into the Kenmore Pitjanjara community and taught in Pitjanjara at the school and farm where they worked. The head uncle there is Uncle Donald and his wife Aunt Col. We went out passed Kiwikurra to watch the school boys play AFL. One of the best trips ive ever done

@ancient_connection.

3 ай бұрын

Beautiful story thanks for sharing

Check out Laverton WA. Four hours north north east of Kalgoorlie, Ten hours west of Perth by road. I lived on a cattle station of 500,000 acres and I was the only person living on it at the homestead. So serene, 12 miles from tiny Laverton village. Mulga country. in the Great Victoria Desert. The area has a beauty all of its own.

My family and I did the Tjukaruru Rd/Gunbarrel ‘Highway’ (dirt road for 2500k through the middle of WA) in 1994. In 5 days we saw 13 cars and 5 graders. No mobile phone coverage, and you could hear cars coming for literal miles. To this day one of my favourite experiences of travelling anywhere in this country. But it did teach me how one small piece of misinformation/miscalculation could possibly kill you. We were told one fuel stop was 7k in from the main road, and it was in fact 42km in. Finally got in there and he had no fuel after all. We were almost on empty. Weirdly, the guy had a phone box (like, this is hundreds of km from ANYWHERE), so we could call through to the next community and tell them to come look for us if we didn’t arrive by x time. I’ve seen too many people underestimate the isolation and end up in a lot of trouble. I am proudly from the outback and it feeds my soul.

@heatherhoward2513

Ай бұрын

5 graders! I did the run from Alice to Carnegie homestead, back quite a few years ago, at least 15, never saw a grader, us in a badly equipped tourist bus. We got bogged. Got mentioned in newspapers! But I loved it anyway.

Lived in Outback Queensland and we call the Red dirt Bull dust! Camels were brought to Australia with the Afghan Cameleers who were the first transporters of mail, goods etc. from major centres to remote areas.

Len Bedell was the guy who surveyed and built most these roads. He has written many books and is a gifted artist. There is a recording of a speech he made. It is well worth listening to.

I had to travel the north west to promote sport at schools and I noticed that most vehicles were being driven off road around aboriginal communities. Apparently the mining companies are almost forced to give the vehicles to the locals to maintain the peace and continue their operations. Many of the locals do no have drivers licenses, so they drive on the side of the road. They do not maintain the vehicles in terms of checking water, oil etc. or get them serviced or insured, and there is a general drinking problem. So the vehicles are essentially trashed within 6 moths to a year and they are left to rot where they stand. The locals then go back to the mining companies and ask for another new vehicle, and the mining companies almost have to oblige them or face blackmail, protest and other problems. Hence you see destroyed vehicles all over the place and the cycle just keeps repeating at the expense of the companies. The thing is that these companies then do not properly disclose the losses they are incurring to their shareholders, so it remains a bit of a mystery to most people or people just makeup their own narrative based upon assumption. A lot of people living in Sydney and Melbourne have no perspective on what goes on in these places, so they tend to romanticise. Some of the schools I coached at had more shards of broken glass than blades of grass on their sporting fields. Sad but true...

Bizzare facts about australia Australia is the only country with wild camels. Australia exports sand because it is so fine it is used for construction, sand blasting and beaches

@chrismaynard4117

8 ай бұрын

We export camels too right back to middle east,they reckon they are superior to their camels!

Laying on your back looking at the vastness of the desert night sky makes one feel so insignificant but connected. Some one commented that this might be the reason the great religions come from the desert.

@IWrocker A few years back we drove the Canning Stock Route, top to bott, a single vehicle drive and no roads. Just a couple of wheel tracks to follow. You may go for days and not see another vehicle. It took us five days just to do the top half. Roughli 2000kmms top to bottom. Only one town, community or settlement and it's at half way along the Canning at Kunawarritji. Kunawarritji is an Aboriginal community in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and located on the Canning Stock Route at Well 33. The nearest town is Newman which is approximately 490 kms to the south-west. You don't want to get lost out there.

I've been fortunate enough to have done a little bit of work in and around remote communities in WA. That desert country is almost too beautiful for words. The people are great, the environments are stunning, and man...those night skies are incomparable. Give me that over a 5 star hotel any day.

60 000 years of looking after the environment and you know you are approaching an Aboriginal settlement by the trail of abandoned cars, bottles and general rubbish.

@nordic5490

9 ай бұрын

Less rubbish and damage to the enviroment than Europeans cause to Oz

Can confirm that the stars in the outback are unbeatable . Not a light anywhere for over 200km so all you see is natural black sky lit up like a Christmas tree

Lesson 1 Make sure you know exactly how long it takes to get to your destination. Lesson 2 When travelling the out back or going on long road trips, Try to avoid travelling when it’s dark due to high amounts of wide life on the road. #Roos #Goats #Emus #Cows etc Lesson 3 When leaving the city on your road trip you will have very limited to no phone signal, so it’s best to be with Telstra as other phone networks won’t work in remote places. Also make sure you have updated your road maps and navigation devices. It’s also very handy to have a UHF in your car. Lesson 4 Make sure your car has been serviced before leaving on a long time such as oil, coolant, tyres etc.

@brucemckenna7035

9 ай бұрын

3 hours to fly there.

@glenod

9 ай бұрын

flying is just over 3 hours, thats what they were referring to, not driving.

@FoLlOwThEwHiTeRaBbIt1

9 ай бұрын

@@brucemckenna7035 Oh my mistake. 👍🏽

@sykotika13thirteen

9 ай бұрын

Never hit the road at Roo o’clock. Roo o’clock it’s time to boil the billy

@utha2665

9 ай бұрын

@@sykotika13thirteen I was about to say the same thing. I made the mistake once just leaving Perth to drive to Boddington under two hours away and saw over 40 roos, luckily I didn't hit any, but never again.

The outback only gets the unprepared and the unknowning its not a place for foreign tourists who have no real concept of distance or available facilities The outback will kill you if it's taken casually

RATION TRUCK STORY ‘HOT WATER LAID ON’ In 1960 the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party were working westward on the Gary Junction road. When the Grader gearbox blew up “the longest towing operation” returned to Giles. On 12th November… “Quinny stopped my Rover and bellowed “this is absolutely terrible”, the great caravan he was pulling had disappeared! Suddenly we observed a black cloud of smoke about 6km away and a plume of dust from a vehicle coming towards us. We thought here comes Scotty to tell us a stray caravan was lying dormant back up the road. However Scotty yelled from somewhere in the miniature dust storm ‘the ration truck’s gorn!’ The black smoke was coming from our harmless truck full of food supplies! We drove back to the exploding tins of stew and tomato sauce. The big tyres were spouting globules of molten rubber and a tin of pea soup splattered me. Doug and Rex could only save one tyre. The 1400lt water tank behind the cabin was boiling so I shot a hole through the tank side and with tea leaves from the wreck made a cup of tea.” Len Beadell - Outback Highways

That red dust is called" Bull Dust", and if you get Stuck in the dust, you will need alot of help. That is why trucks don't pull over for you, they need to stay near the centre so they don't get stuck

@sykotika13thirteen

9 ай бұрын

You have to always slow down and move over for them. I’ve seen what happens when the trucks hit the soft edge. My grandad was a truck driver and I used to go on runs with him.

When i first got to Australia from Europe in 1981, i got a job for a few months and saved all the pennies got all the camping gear etc and started traveling with my cousin on a 1200 Harley around Australia, i had travelled in Europe and North Africa but had never imagined the size and scale or conditions of this Country, i had no idea it was this big. We ended up doing around half of it, we had a crash near "Ayers Rock", as it was called then. We hit a bulldust hole, did some unusual acrobatics and ended up laying in the middle of the track dug into the country with broken pelvis, broken ribs, thumb, shoulder problems etc very painful! The Royal flying doctor was called, it took just about 10 hours in total of being on that track in the sun and the flight i was transported to Alice Springs Hospital to get the operation and recovery for three weeks. An expierience all its own. It was the wild, wild west then. The "broken bones" ward was special. Lol. The thing is you cannot take the outback for granted, BE PREPARED!! I was young, stupid and ignorant. BTW, the people that helped me includung campers we had a great party with the day/night before at the camp fire, police, ambulance and an army unit, sitting with me and standing in the sun shading me ill never forget. I was lucky, everybody was going to the Alice Springs rodeo that sunday morning. God bless and Thank you all.

I live in Western Australia and just love this place, there’s nothing better than loading up the 4x4 and heading out away from it all camping under the stars 😊

@keithad6485

3 ай бұрын

well said. lived on a cattle station out of laverton WA eleven years ago. Loved it. Laverton Downs cattle station

I'm just back from a 10,000km return trip out there. It's really nutty out there. We had to wait 3 days for a petrol station owner to return from a drunken bender to fuel us up. And yes, burnt-out cars all over the place.

I just wanna say as an Aussie your American Reacts videos to Australian content are really nice and heartwarming and leave me with a nice fuzzy feeling. Most Americans who do these react videos are just like "whoaaaaaaaaa that's craaaaazy" but you can tell they're just acting shocked for the views and that they have very little education about Australian things otherwise and no desire to learn more. But you seem genuinely delighted by everything you see and seem to have a genuine desire to come to Australia and to learn more about our country. It's just really nice is all. :)

@sarahbell158

5 ай бұрын

EXACTLY RIGHT. HE IS SO GENUINE AND NOT FAKE. ITS 'VERY' RARE AND JUST BEAUTIFUL .

Back in the 90's I worked out at Giles Weather Station on 6 month stints, this is near Warrakuna Community which you saw was South of Kirrawirra on their travel map. Just six people at Giles at a time and is a stop on the Gunbarrel Highway. Whilst their I went for a jaunt for a few days on the old Gunnbarrel where the road was as deep as the roof of the car and only wide enough for the ute to travel and full of sand. What fun!!

My brother had a mechanical shop in Sydney. One Friday afternoon two Brits showed up in a hire car and asked for a quick check of the vehicle because they had to be in Alice Springs by tomorrow morning (Saturday) My brother advised them to go back to the air port and book a flight to Alice and you might just make it in time.

There are places west of Ayers Rock where no emus and kangaroos frequent because it so dry. The Aboriginal people in that region, ate mostly lizards.

Hey! We've been there for work! We worked for an indigenous health service that ran the clinic out there. We were based in Alice Springs and then later in Perth but sometimes had to travel out to Kiwirrkurra for work stuff. Knew it was remote but didn't actually realise it was the remotest town in Australia. Not sure it actually is to be honest, we ran clinics in other outback towns on the lands too, such as Tjirrkarli, Tjukurla, Cosmo Newberry, they're all really far out of the way too! Luckily we mostly flew in and out but I have driven out of there once after flying in. That clinic from the vid is what our service ran (my job was doing Logistics at the time, getting all the equipment and stuff out there).

As a kid I was in Sydney. Then I was in Adelaide a city much smaller than Sydney but still an urban area 80 km long and about 1.3 million people. Then I was introduced to the outback. As a result I left the suburbs and I'm sure it is the best decision I've ever made! I can still enjoy city's buti don't have to live the daily noise and expense and hours per day traffic. Leaving the city was the most liberating move of my life

6:13 He says we have a full tank and 140 gallons of water ---- The specs on that vehicle state 140 *litres* of fuel and 40 litres of onboard water , they might have a bit more in drums but let's hope they don't get lost and have nice long showers because of all the water they think they have .

Chatgpt asked me to take a copy of your image and it would translate. Marvellous! So Australian. The plaque reads: RATION TRUCK STORY 'HOT WATER LAID ON' In 1960 the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party was working somewhat in the Sandy Blight Junction area. When the Grader gearbox blew up, the 'longest towing operation in history' began. "Quinny stopped my Rover and bellowed 'This is absolutely unreal, the great ghost we have been pulling has disappeared!' Suddenly we observed a black cloud rapidly approaching, and within a minute we were in the middle of a full-blown willy willy (dust storm). Through the swirling dust, we saw a ghostly pattern of dust from a vehicle coming towards us. As it drew nearer, we realized it was the ration truck's big food supplies jumbled and stacked with boxes of beer and various other sundries. The big tyres were spinning, glowing red hot. Doug and Rex could only shout with laughter and recall 'the boss's water' as hot water laid on, so I shot a hole through one of the boxes and made a cup of tea." Len Beadell - OUTBACK HIGHWAYS

On single lane roads & dirt roads. It is the REQUIREMENT of the CAR to give way to the hauler (semi, 18 wheeler). This is a road rule. It is a requirement, not a request.

On dirt roads your speed will depend on the actual surface. Gravel you will slow down more than dirt. If the surface is really corregated then you usually need to go faster rather than slower to reduce bumping and shaking. Probably around 80kph on a road like that. Camels were introduced to Australia and we now export them back to arab states.

NOT 3 hrs from Sydney to Alice Springs. 1 day 5 hours (29 hours). Crazy as you can’t drive directly there, you have to go north or south to access it. No roads through the Simpson desert.

When in the SES (State Emergency Services) and we would come across folk who would mention they wanted to go 'off the beaten track' we ALWAYS recommended 2 full spare Jerry Cans of fuel, 2 full of drinking water, 2 minimum spare tyres completely legal and given a tick from the tyre shop when the vehicle has had a full going over to make sure its all good for where they are wanting to go with it. I mean, no one can guarantee that your vehicle isntt goint to break down, but they can make sure that at the point in time that its in front of them, things are working to the best of their knowledge. Did you know thatwith Camels in Aus - we have the largest amount of wild camels in the world, and the largest export to Saudi Arabia which probably surprisses a lot of folk. There are so many camels here because initially when Australia was settled by the English and everyone else who figured they could get a new start, make a buck etc and the Afghans brought out their camels to carry all their wares and either walked or rode one and led the rest in a camel train (which is why one of our major beautiful Travelling train services (Adelaide to Darwin) is called the Ghan) Once the motorised vehichles and trains came in, the camels basically were mostly releaased, some escaped, some sold for meat. .. One of our other trains that runs East to West of the Country is the Indian Pacific for the oceans on either side of the country. Cattle, Donkeys, Horses, Goats, Cats, Foxes and Rabbits, - a number oth other things that have slipped my mind right now - they are NOT Australian Native Animals.

the desert stars in Australia are indescribably.

Very entertaining and informative, good to see someone going off the regular tourist routes and risking isolation! 😂 Loved seeing your genuine enjoyment of this Ian! 🤗

National feral cat population estimate Feral cats in the bush - 1.4 million after continent-wide droughts and 5.6 million after extensive wet periods Feral cats in urban areas - 0.7 million The overall estimate of Australia’s feral cat population (in natural and highly modified environments) - Between 2.1 and 6.3 million In just over 200 years, feral cats have colonised all of mainland Australia and most of its large islands

The closest I have been to Kiwirrkurra is Kaltukatjara a mere 264kms on the way to irrunytiu. Does that count? Have a look at the history of the Gun barrel and Great Central Road. A lot of these roads were first surveyed by Len Beadell the same bloke that developed the Woomera rocket range

Whilst living in balgo, just down the road a little bit long way from Kirra , I looked after one of the original inhabitants , she would get a lift to Kirra every now and again to visit family. I met many of her descendants. I wasn’t able to go to Kirra as I needed to stay behind and look after the elders. I’m still in absolute awe of my times spent there

Being Australian I have done several trips into central Australia. One thing I know NEVER TRUST GOOGLE MAPS in the outback it never gives you the correct road.

I actually work for the service providers looking after the water and power to this community. Beautiful part of the country.

Driving at dusk is the WORST idea for tourists. That's when kangaroos, camels and cattle come out and cross the road. It's also MUCH easier to set up camp with light.

Thank you very much mate. I really enjoyed that. I guess we Aussies take what we have for granted. Thanks again IW.

@sarahbell158

5 ай бұрын

100% accurate. YOU NEVER APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE UNTIL YOUR REMINDED. IANS A LEGEND!

The night sky really is like that when you get out into the middle of no where. It is humbling in its majesty.

The Outback has the best Nightsky, no Light Pollution from nearby cities.

I went through Kiwirrkura when I was about 17 with a few drunk mates. We drove the gun barrel highway on the same trip and we did it in a 1964 EH Holden station wagon. We had around 6 cartons of beer but bought more on the road. Everyone we met said we couldn’t get through in that car. It’s a 4x4 track but we had a few bits of fun but nothing serious. Had a snigalong strap . 5 spares. 2 fan belts. We went east from what eventually was named Mulga park road and onto Amanta? Road Amarta ? Something like that. Got lost twice trying to find it. Mining roads made it a maze. Then right near the western end after a week or 10 days. Dunno. We were pretty well drinking the rum a mate had hidden mixed with beer so it was a bit of a blur but on the western end a cop appeared out of nowhere. We thought we were gonna be grabbed for our bomb car and drunkenness but he asked if we needed anything. One mate said beer and he laughed and told us a place that sells grog and petrol about 5 stubbies north west. The distance in outback Australia was often measured by the average amount of stubbies people would drink getting there. A stubby is a small bottle of beer. It just made us laugh hearing a cop use that measurement too. It was a great trip and we went to the Bungle Bungle mountains in the Pilbara . Saw a waterfall in the ocean. We weren’t hallucinating from alcohol. There really is a waterfall that is caused by the tide coming in so fast over a reef and it’s way off in both directions. We got home before we realised we went to the Olga’s but forgot to goto Ayer’s rock which is clearly visible from them. I love them more anyway. We went back past the Devils Marbles and some of them wanted to try to roll one,drunken stupor induced vandalism. Luckily they couldn’t. It would have squashed our car if it did. We took 3 weeks to get home and it was magic. Almost got eaten by crocs up Northern Territory and a buffalo chased one bloke. So funny . We were gonna leave him there but the blackfella said he’d die. Shoulda but coz he stole my toolbox

Drove 22 hours over 3 days with my wife. We started at Brisbane and drove to Melbourne. Spent a week in Melbourne for our wedding anniversary and flew 2.5 hours back home to Brisbane on a plane.

@coover65

8 ай бұрын

We used to drive 19 hours almost non stop from Brisbane to Melbourne. Originally down the Newell but in later years down the Pacific and Hume.

There’s a cat tree in the outback - can’t remember where I saw it - probably on the Oodnadatta Track - a tree with dead feral cats hanging from every branch.

Abandoned wrecks can be handy for parts and other makeshift repairs.

That was so interesting. Thanks for sharing mate.

I subscribed to u a long time ago but haven’t come across any of your posts for a long time and I was thinking what have I seen of yours, then u mentioned trucks and I knew who you were 😊

Of course it is in the NT mate😎👍🏻 Another excellent reaction my friend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👏🏻 No signal is exactly why most of us travel with satellite phones when heading in such regions out there👍🏻 Ps… You’re right when you say dangerous particularly Making sure that you stay away from the soft edges of the dirt roads when you’re driving… As you can lose it pretty easily Keep up the good work always love seeing your reaction to any video Kind regards Nigel WMH Team - Australia 3:01

@jadecawdellsmith4009

8 ай бұрын

I think you'll find it's in WA

@WesleyMediaHub

8 ай бұрын

@@jadecawdellsmith4009 G’day Jade thanks for your reply I was referring to Alice Springs & Uluru😎👍🏻

@jadecawdellsmith4009

8 ай бұрын

@@WesleyMediaHub my bad,I thought u meant Kiwirrkurra

@WesleyMediaHub

8 ай бұрын

@@jadecawdellsmith4009 All good mate!👍🏻

I love the Aboriginal lady in one of the most remote parts of Australia wearing an LA Lakers hoodie

My wife and I lived in Central Australia for some 5 years. I worked at Yuendumu and Kintore (Wallunguru) inclusive of Kiwirrkurra. Children (4) grew up in the bush there and attended the local schools. I worked as a Police Officer and my wife had employment in several occupations depending on where we were. This video brought back many memories of the Pintupi and Warlpiri people and off the numerous trips into Alice Springs on those roads to resupply. Vehicles were Toyota Landcruiser.and Hilux. We personally owned a Toyota Troop Carrier that enabled long trips with the 4 children. Cheers, Steve..

Kiwirrkurra is a community in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands; I've taught out there at a 'nearby' community called Warakurna, and my sister at another 'nearby' community called Mantamaru. It's seriously beautiful out there.

"Or a gigantic 18-wheeler that doesn't care to move over for you" 1st count those damn wheels again. 2nd, you're on their road. Get out of the trucks' way or get cleaned up

Kiwirrkurra, gazetted as Kiwirrkurra Community, is a small community in Western Australia in the Gibson Desert, 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) east of Port Hedland and 700 kilometres (430 mi) west of Alice Springs.[4] It had a population of 165 in 2016, mostly Aboriginal Australians.[5] It has been described as the most remote community in Australia.[6]

The stars are so clear out there that the Aboriginal people don't use constellations. They use the negative space between stars. They see an Emu (pronounced eem you) in the black shapes running through the milky way, for example.

ive lived in smaller towns in WA. one town had 5 houses and general store. the only new sound that was heard was when the community nurse arrived. I live in regional city now... 2500 people. Yep that's right.. that's alls you need to be a city in Aus.couple people a pub and a post office

Kara and Nate are definitely Americans, but love, they did something super different. Definitely don't venture into middle Australia without plenty of spare water, food and warm clothes and an emergency beacon. Most of Australia has limited to no ph service. Make that even a drive along the east coast will have no service in patches 🙄🙄! They are just called 4WD's here, lol. A truck is a Kenworth or Mack lol.

Last time i went to the outback i carried around 20 jerry cans of diesel in a 6x4 trailer and where i went it was 500km's between each petrol station. If you break down in the outback they send out a rescue helicopter to get you and your passengers but your vehicle is left behind to the elements so insurance is a must when driving in the outback.

I've seen it plenty of times but, the shooting stars in the outback are next level, never get tired of the view at night!

3hrs from Sydney to Alice springs is fly time not drive time, google maps don't work in the outback. unless you have Satellite connection, and there is nothing worse than travelling 300km in the wrong direction,because your navigator is reading the map upside down, roughly 4lt per gallon

What an amazing vid, absolutely fascinating. I might have to go over and watch their channel 😊. I loved your giggles and incredulousness, I also loved this pair really getting into the nitty gritty of the outback and meeting dinky di indigenous culture 💗👌

That red dust is , called bull dust and it covers everything. My truck has special air ram filters with oil that catches this dust and prevents it from fouling the engine.

The night sky is an intergalactic light show! It gets cold at night too.

The night skies are awesome in the NT, I drove Road Trains from Brisbane to Darwin for 12 years until I retired. The outback is the best & the Tanami Road was my regular run , which is where they are going

I love all the Australiana in your background. The Brock 05 Commodore. The Torana. You've done your homework. You're a legend mate 👍

Great vid mate. Look forward to you seeing it for yourself with your family. The outback is awesome.

I have been there when I was working on cattle stations in some of those remote areas. But when I was there it was required to have a permit to visit because it was during a period when there were alcohol restrictions in the communities so to aid in the restrictions it was required to have a permit to travel through those areas. That fella explaining the cat hunting was full of crap, the Aborigine/Indigenous never “traditionally” hunted the cat through tracking as cats are an introduced species since European arrival, but there is a cat bounty in many many areas of Australia where you are paid for the scalp, tail or full skin. Some areas request stomach contents for scientific research on the items being preyed upon by the feral & domestic cats. Also, many local councils now enforce a “cat curfew” where people’s cats are required to be restrained and restricted to their owner’s property and not wander. Yes it is very true recovery cost of vehicles that break down out there are prohibitively expensive, but on a side note, “most” of the vehicles that are burnt out on the roadside’s are indigenous vehicles that are literally driven to death then burnt where they’re left. Probably 8 out of 10. The others are the ones that have been abandoned and vandalised after parts have been stripped, have had electrical issues causing a fire or have had combustibles overheat whilst vehicle has been awaiting recovery.

The nights are amazing. The biggest impact in town is light pollution. The streetlights etc stop true night falling. Get out into the nulla and there is zero light to interfere. The sky is so clear and bright it changes your life you can see the light emitted from towns fir miles.