max*d Issue 06

max*d ISUZU UTE AUSTRALIA

ISSUE 6

Unsung Heroes: Wheelchair-bound off-roading legend Jol Fleming

Out of the Box: Melbourne’s remarkable Sudanese community

Get Stuffed: Learn to make sushi with a Japanese chef

PEAK EXPERIENCE The Snowy Mountains minus the snow, plus a D-MAX

FLY TO BANGKOK

WITH BUDDY BONUS!

Total prize valued at over

$4,000!*

Refer Isuzu D-MAX to a mate and get $200 cash, $100 for you and $100 for your mate plus a chance to win a trip to Thailand for you and a buddy!* Isuzu UTE are doing unbelievable Buddy Bonuses with a generous cash back offer to current owners of new and demo Isuzu D-MAX utes who refer their mates. $100 cash for you and $100 cash for your mate with the successful referral and mate’s purchase of an Isuzu D-MAX. Plus the opportunity to take the “champion” referrer and a buddy on an all expenses paid (excluding shopping) trip to Thailand, the home of the Isuzu D-MAX! How to win*: The person to submit the most approved claims referring their buddies to purchase a D-MAX during 1st October 2011 to 31st March 2012 will win a trip to Thailand!

DOWNLOAD THE CLAIM FORM AT www.isuzuute.com.au/buddybonus

*Terms and conditions apply. See www.isuzuute.com.au/buddybonus for full details. NSW LTPS/11/07766 ACT TP/11/03527

FLASHBACK ■

1963:

S

porting clean Italian lines designed with input from Michelotti, the Bellett projected cool elegance. But it was more than just a pretty face – a front-engined rear-drive small car with independent rear suspension that predated Datsun’s much-lauded P510 (1600). The Bellett was also available in a water-cooled diesel variant that proved

ISUZU MOTORS TAKES THE JAPANESE PASSENGER MARKET BY STORM WITH THE BELLETT

immensely popular among Japanese taxi companies of the time due to its outstanding fuel economy and benchseat configuration that accommodated six adults in comfort. It won the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Prize in the year of its launch after a panel of judges singled it out as an “inventive and excellent feat of engineering”.

A mint-condition Bellett diesel PSD10 strikes a pose at Isuzu Motor’s Fujisawa plant.

The 1500cc petrol variant was sold in Australia

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■ CONTENTS 04 NEWS rld wo What’s happening in the alia str of Isuzu UTE Au

16

06 MAX TANK

esses – and A battler from Perth gu n Challenge Ru x wins – the 2011 Ma

08 ME 'N' MY MAX

l tales about Five tattle tellers tell tal e taken them hav s where their D-MAX

10 TECH HEAD

from breakneck How the turbo evolved vice de booster to fuel-saving

11 WISH LIST

test and most Four of the coolest, fas toys ever made over-the-top big boys’

N 12 THE GREAT AUSTRALIA DOORSTEP e a D-MAX, Sheree and Spida hav to use it... and they’re not afraid

16 OUT OF THE BOX

e’s Sudanese A look inside Melbourn s and dreams community, their hope

20 EAT MY DUST

a D-MAX A journo, a scientist and nal Park tio Na ko usz sci explore Ko

28 PASSPORT

t hilltop Tracking down an ancien of Taveuni nd Isla an Fiji fortress in the

32 UNSUNG HEROES

instructor Meet tetraplegic 4WD gs rin Sp ce Ali Jol Fleming of

28

RT 36 INTERNATIONAL REatPO the 32nd ge D-MAX takes centre sta tor Show Mo nal Bangkok Internatio

40 GET STUFFED

20 2

Restaurant We visit Sydney’s Toko a (maki) rolls rni lifo Ca ke ma & Bar and

43 DEALER LIST

Where to find D-MAX across Australia

dealers

ER 44 HOOK, LINE 'N' SINKws us how n sho Shimano’s Brett Wilso the easy way – ut tro sie Tas to catch

N O C S T TEN ISSUE 6

S

WELCOME ■ In this ever-quickening era, it’s said the only constant is change.

So it is with Isuzu UTE Australia as I hand the company over to new Managing Director Yasuhiro ‘Yasu’ Takeuchi. This comes after nearly four years establishing and running the import and distribution of D-MAX in Australia for Isuzu Motors.

It’s been quite a ride! We now have a network of around 80 Isuzu UTE dealers plus dealers’ satellite service that push the number of customer contact locations to about 100.

After 10 years in the United States, I adjusted easily to the Australian culture. I found it to be similar but different, less puritanical, more irreverent, yet equally diverse and hard working. Like Americans, Aussies love their utes, only here they’re more sensibly sized and more in tune with the changing world environment, which is why D-MAX makes such a perfect fit.

Yasu takes over after spending the past month here for an intensive induction into the Australian car market, to which he’ll now begin to add his wealth of managerial experience. I'm very confident he will lead the company and brand to bigger and better things.

As for me, I'm heading back to Tokyo and then, who knows?

Sayonara and thank-you for your support of our fledgling company. I'm leaving it in good hands and am sure it will continue to provide you with the service and sales backup you deserve.

Hitoshi Kono Former Managing Director Isuzu UTE Australia

Hello readers. Or should I say, G’day! Spending a month studying the local market with Kono and travelling around the country meeting dealers and fleet customers has been an invaluable experience.

I’m lucky that Kono has done the tough groundwork here. D-MAX now has strong brand recognition in this country and a reputation for the reliability Isuzu enjoys globally.

This is my first time back in Australia since my backpacking days.

I’m really appreciating the friendliness of the people and the climate, the immense size of the country and its stark, beautiful colours. I’ve also learnt the D-MAX is a ‘ute’ not a ‘pick-up’!

My background lies in aeronautics and aerospace. The car industry may not be rocket science, but in many ways it's more challenging because we're constantly trying to second-guess human nature and responses to an emotional yet sophisticated product. I'm learning that humans are a lot less predictable than technology.

My immediate mission is to build on the presence of D-MAX in Australia. I'm also making it my mission to expand and enhance the capability of our backup service as more and more people become D-MAX drivers.

I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead and seeing how things are done the Aussie way!

Meanwhile, there’s lots of interesting stories in the pages ahead so please enjoy your read…

In our cover story ‘High Country’, we visit the Snowy Wilderness brumby sanctuary

Yasuhiro Takeuchi Managing Director Isuzu UTE Australia

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■ NEWS

IUA CHIPS IN AGAIN D-MAX WINS THAI TRIFECTA The D-MAX scored a trifecta at the annual Bangkok International Motor Show’s Thai Car of the Year Contest, held in Thailand on March 25.

Named Best Selling Registered Pickup, Best Lifestyle Pickup and Best Fuel Economy Pickup by a panel of judges, the result brings the number of accolades carted off by the one-tonne ute at the awards program to 27.

Manufactured in Thailand, the D-MAX has won at least two awards a year at the Thai Car of the Year Contest since it debuted there in 2003.

The MU-7 wagon – an SUV derivative of the D-MAX – took home Isuzu Motors’ fourth award for the evening after it was named Best 2WD Pickup-based Passenger Vehicle.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD After almost four years at the helm of Isuzu UTE Australia, Managing Director Hitoshi Kono has returned to Japan to make way for his successor.

Mr Kono and his deputy Takeshi Kasahara arrived in Brisbane in January 2008 to set up the initial national network of Isuzu UTE dealers in Australia. The business took off in earnest in October of the same year and now boasts a national network of 83 dealers, as well as significant fleet sales to government and mining entities.

Mr Kono will be replaced by Yasuhiro ‘Yasu’ Takeuchi, who has spent the past month working with Mr Kono, familiarising himself with the Australian marketplace.

Mr Takeuchi holds a masters degree in Aeronautics from Tokyo University’s Graduate School of Engineering and previously worked on aircraft, airborne equipment and defence systems for Mitsubishi Corporation’s aerospace division. In December 2009, he took on a new role as deputy general manager of Mitsubishi Corporation’s Isuzu business division.

New Managing Director, Yasuhiro 'Yasu' Takeuchi

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The Royal Brisbane Show – known to locals as the EKKA – brought the country to the city in August and demonstrated how resilient the Queensland agricultural industry has been following the devastating summer floods.

For the second consecutive year, the Isuzu D-MAX Woodchop Arena hosted the state round of the National Woodchopping Championship – one of the show’s most popular spectator events.

“Seeing those uncanny axe men wield their razor-sharp blades and send the chips flying is always exciting to watch,” says Isuzu UTE Australia’s Cornelius Ionescu, who organised the sponsorship. “They filled the D-MAX’s big tub full of firewood logs in no time.”

BUDDY BONUS FLIES YOU TO THAILAND

The Buddy Bonus referral program has just upped the ante with a reward for a D-MAX owner with the most referrals through the program.

Up for grabs is a trip to Thailand, worth more than $4,000, with a buddy of your choice. All you need to do is refer the D-MAX to as many buddies and family members as possible. Not only can you earn $100 for yourself and $100 for a buddy, but you can also go into a draw to win this grand prize.

For full details, T&Cs and a claim form go to www.isuzuute.com.au/ buddybonus.

*

Did you know?

The most recycled consumer product in the world today is the automobile.

The first cars didn’t have steering wheels.

Drivers used a lever instead.

NEWS ■

DATES FOR THE DIARY

KNIGHTS IN SHINING ARMOUR!

OCTOBER 4-6 Elmore Field days Elmore, VIC 6-9 Melbourne Leisurefest Springvale, VIC 16-17 West Beach Leisurefest Adelaide Shores, SA

The mischievously medieval-themed advertising campaign for this year’s D-MAX Limited Edition III departs from more mainstream approaches of yore to raise some eyebrows.

Playing on the Limited Edition III’s Starry Black mica or Silky White pearlescent colour options, these head-turning utes are presented as black and white knights jockeying for a joust.

Featuring $8,000 of extras – including Kenwood touch-screen audio with GPS, DVD, rear camera, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity, embossed leather seats, monogrammed carpet mats, chrome front features, special polished alloy wheels, body-colour side steps, stripes and deals, chrome sports bar and tub liner – for only around $3,000 more than the recommended retail price of a standard LS-U, the Limited Edition III offers sensational value.

18-20 Australia National Field Days Orange, NSW 19-22 Royal Hobart Show Glenorchy, TAS

NOVEMBER 19-21 Bendigo RV & Camping Leisurefest Bendigo, VIC

D-MAX SHINES AT MOTOR SHOW A mine-spec 4x4 crew tray D-MAX drew large crowds at the Melbourne Convention Centre in July when the 2011 Australia International Motor Show came to town.

The Isuzu UTE Australia stand also featured a lopped-top D-MAX LS-U and a cutaway D-MAX 3-litre turbo-diesel engine that exposed its inner workings.

“There was definitely a buzz at the Isuzu UTE stand, especially from the showgoers wanting to have their photos taken with our D-MAX models in the show piece LS-U,” says marketing and events assistant Issac Stefaniw.

PUBLISHER PUBLISHING PARTNER Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd Edge

ART DIRECTOR Karen Jacobi

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Alex Moller

MANAGING EDITORS Richard Power, Cornelius Ionescu, Victor Petelo

JUNIOR DESIGNER Whitney Moothoo

ADVERTISING SALES Dennis Lee dennis.lee@edgecustom.com.au

EDITOR Ian Neubauer ian.neubauer@edgecustom.com.au CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Sanchia Pegley MANAGING EDITOR Michael Butler

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shane O’Brien ACCOUNT MANAGER Amy Story

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Fergus Stoddart

Disclaimer: The information included in this magazine is intended for interest only. The opinions and views expressed in this magazine are provided in the writers’ personal capacities and are their sole responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of Isuzu UTE Australia or Edge and must neither be regarded as constituting advice on any matter nor be interpreted as such. The reproduction of advertisements in this publication does not in any way imply endorsement by Isuzu UTE Australia or Edge Custom Media of products or services referred to therein. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A selection of the images featured in this publication have been sourced from Getty Images and Thinkstock Images. Business Essentials trading as Edge ABN 22 062 493 869.

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR max*d is published on behalf of Georgina Armour Isuzu UTE Australia Pty Ltd by CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR Sarah Willmott CEO Eddie Thomas

max*d magazine is proudly printed in Australia using renewable resources. Pacesetter Coated is an FSC Mixed Sources Certified paper, which ensures that all virgin pulp is derived from well-managed forests and controlled sources. It contains elemental chlorine-free bleached pulp and is manufactured by an ISO 14001 certified mill.

51 Whistler St, Manly NSW 2095 T +61 (0) 2 8962 2600

SGS-COC-003898

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■ MAX TANK

Perth punter

Picks it A BATTLER FROM PERTH TAKES A WILD GUESS AND WINS A D-MAX LOADED WITH CAMPING AND FISHING GEAR

L

ike most of us, Rex Momus has had to work hard for everything in life. With three children to feed and a hefty mortgage to boot, the sales rep from Perth works 12 hours a day just trying to keep his head above the water.

“With my job, we just make enough money to get by,’’ Rex says. “That’s how it has always been for us. We’ve never had anything fall into our laps.”

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So when Richard Power of Isuzu UTE Australia called Rex last month to tell him he’d won the 2011 Max Run Challenge and with it a D-MAX X-Runner 4x2, $10,000 of camping and fishing gear from BCF and a year’s supply of Mother energy drink – prizes worth just over $50,000 – he assumed it was some sort of elaborate hoax.

“I’m always entering competitions and buying lottery tickets that are basically a waste of money, so when Richard called, it sounded like something out of that show Punk’d,” Rex recalls. “But later in the evening

MAX TANK ■ Top right: With DVG Isuzu Sales Manager Peter Fisher Far left: With IUA's Graeme Simmons Below right: Getting the feel of D-MAX

Photos: Jay Heifetz

when he sent me an email with the official Isuzu UTE signature, I started to think there might be some truth in what he was saying.”

Interviewed by max*d at the official handover at DVG Isuzu UTE in Maddington, Perth, Rex explained how he correctly guessed the amount of diesel Isuzu Motor Sports rally drivers Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki would consume after driving the X-Runner from Melbourne to Cairns – a distance of 3,452 kilometres.

“It was late at night. I was watching TV when the ad came on for the Max Run Challenge and I thought to myself how nice a D-MAX would look in the driveway,” he says.

“So I got on the computer, visited the Isuzu UTE website and followed the prompts to enter. I knew the amount of diesel they’d consume would be low, so took a stab in the dark and guessed

189.67 litres. It was a total fluke but it happened to be spot on to two decimal places!”

Rex’s story couldn’t be more different to that of Mark Pitman, a sparky from Bittern, Victoria, who used a complex mathematical formula to figure out the winning number for last year’s Max Run Challenge to win a D-MAX LS 4x2 and Haines Traveller TC165 powerboat.

“If I’d done the maths I probably wouldn’t have got it right,” Rex says.

“So I can’t explain how it happened because I’ve never won anything before in my life. It’s incredible, really incredible.

Maybe it was some sort of divine intervention or the work of my guardian

angel. It still hasn’t sunk in though. The whole thing feels kind of surreal.”

So, what does Rex plan to do with his new ute “First thing I’m going to do after dinner tonight is take it for a drive,” he says. “I don’t want to be a show off, but my friends are really happy for me and I want them to see it. Anyway, I need to start breaking in the engine, don’t I?” Also on the agenda is a camping trip with the family to Esperance, a large town on Western Australia’s south coast renowned for its long empty beaches and great surf breaks.

They’ll also visit nearby Pink Lake – a saltwater lake that gains its rosy hue from red algae living in it.

“We passed by last Christmas and it looked really nice,” Rex says. “We saw a lot of places you could camp, but because we’ve never owned any camping gear as such, we’ve never been able to try it.’’

“Now all that’s changed. We have a tent, sleeping bags, chairs, a fold-up table, lanterns and even a fridge.

“It’ll be great for the kids because they really haven’t seen much of the countryside,” Rex says. “That’s why I think this is such a blessing.”

“If I’d done the maths I probably wouldn’t have got it right,” Rex says.

“I’ve never won anything in my life.” max*d

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■ ME ’N’ MY MAX

Tattle A

Tellers

short time ago, we asked you what you’d like to see more of in max*d magazine.

The biggest response was more stories about road trips from other D-MAX owners. The result?

Me ’n’ my Max has turned out to be hugely popular. If you have a story you’d like to appear here, send a high-resolution image along with your name, where you live, the make and model of your D-MAX and a 100-word blurb to: maxd@iua.net.au. Or you can mail it to Isuzu UTE Australia, max*d magazine, PO Box 1128, Eagle Farm, QLD 4009.

I bought my D-MAX in 2009 – a limited edition crew ute in luminescent pearl white. I love the colour but more importantly, the thing’s run flawlessly over the past 18 months. I’ve clocked up 60,000 kilometres and a lot of that has been towing a three-tonne fibreglass boat in the summer, yet it’s never overheated once. And here’s something interesting: there are some steep hills on the Bass Highway near my place and my D-MAX can pull the boat up the hill at 73 km/h.

My last car – a V8 Land Cruiser – did it at 82 km/h, but it felt like a billycart and used a lot more fuel.

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THE BEST WAY TO TOP OFF A GREAT ROAD TRIP IS TELLING YOUR MATES. BUT FOR THESE FIVE D-MAXERS THAT’S NOT ENOUGH. THEY NEED TO TELL THE WHOLE WORLD!

Last year, my father-in-law Stan Gruzlewski (a pro 4WDer) took a loaned D-MAX up to Cape York for max*d magazine. He often talks about the sorry state of some of the cars he brings back from the Cape because they just can’t handle the terrain. But he couldn’t stop raving about the D-MAX... said it was one of the best 4WDs he’d ever driven.

So I bought one myself! I often take it down to my acreage in Pottsville, NSW, where I use it to access some pretty hardcore off-road tracks. I’m very happy with it; she never misses a beat.

S TOW A LIKE P CHAM

Tony Seychell

Lives: Welshpool, VIC Drives: 2009 S-MAX 4x4 LS-U Ltd

AGE ACRE HER S BA

Jack Ray

Lives: Mermaid Beach, QLD Drives: 2010 D-MAX 4x4 LS-U

ME ’N’ MY MAX ■ I just want to say my D-MAX is an awesome machine! It’s pretty well set-up with a few awesome accessories. We’ve mainly done trips around Victoria’s high country where we live as we haven’t had it that long are still setting it up with bits and pieces for longer trips. But we are planning a week-long trip to the Oodnadatta Track, which runs from South Australia’s Outback into the Northern Territory. We attempted it last year but only got halfway and had to turn around because of the floods. But this time, there’ll be no stopping us!

D SOLIH E TO T X MA

Gail Kendrick

Lives: Wallan, VIC Drives: 2009 D-MAX SX

Lowdown: Last year, for mywork fatherI bought my D-MAX in in-law2009.

Stan But Gruzlewski a loaned last yeartook I took it on a D-MAX up with to Cape max*d road trip my York son, for who’d just magazine.

He often talks about the got his learner’s permit, to visit sorry stateinsome of the cars heThe brings family Western Australia. trip back from cape because just tookthe in the Plenty and they Donahue can’t handleGreat the conditions.

But the he highways, Central Road, couldn’t stop raving abouthighways, the D-MAX; Heather and Gunbarrel as hewell said as it was one of of the best 4WDs the towns Port Hedland, he’d ever driven.Fitzroy So I got in touchWolfe with Broome, Crossing, the guys at Isuzu one!Track This Creek Craterand andbought the Tanami picture was taken at my acreage down – some 10,200 kilometres in total. in Pottsville, where Ithe useworst it to We droveNSW, on bulldust, access some pretty hardcore off-road corrugations possible, through mud, tracks.

I’mdid very happy with the ute’s and we a lot of creek crossing. performance; she never a beat.

But the D-MAX justmisses gobbled it up.

A few months ago my grand-daughter, who lives in wheatbelt country near Perth, got married. I figured it’d be more fun driving there than flying so I did the whole thing in my D-MAX – 20,000 kilometres – and didn’t have a single mechanical problem the whole way! A lot of the country was flooded so I constantly had to recalibrate my route and had plenty of flooded creek crossings to contend with, some up to a metre high. I averaged about nine litres to 100 kilometres – a lot less than any other serious 4WD. I love driving my D-MAX; it gives me so much pleasure and has so much torque.

ER FATH N O S & TRIP ROAD

Bernard Cannon Lives: Mackay, QLD

Drives: 2009 D-MAX 4x4 SX

EAST TO T WES

Geoff GeoffMay May

Lives: Lives:Widgee, Widgee,QLD QLD.

Drives: Drives:2009 2009D-MAX D-MAX 4x4 SX 4x4 SX

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■ TECH HEAD

TURBO TALES Words: Richard Power

THE ONE-TIME SECRET WEAPON OF HOONHEADS AND DAREDEVILS, THE TURBO HAS EVOLVED INTO AN INTELLIGENT AND FUEL-SAVING DEVICE

T

he turbocharger – that innocuous, scroll-shaped casting disrespectfully dubbed a ‘hair dryer’ in some circles – spliced into an engine’s exhaust system to deliver gobs of free extra power and torque, conjures up many stories of notoriety in automotive folklore.

Early untamed examples in motorsport history are the stuff of legend, such as the fearsome 1400 horsepower Porsche 917s of Le Mans 1969–71, and the ‘killer bees’: the wildly dangerous Group B World Rally Cars of 1984–6 that killed many top rally stars before being killed off themselves.

Thankfully, latter years’ development has greatly tamed the turbo’s tantrums.

Essentially an exhaust gas-driven air pump, the turbo uses the otherwise wasted energy of those gases escaping the combustion process to suck in and

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force more air into the engine’s intake tract than its pistons can via their downstroke vacuum. Mixed with a touch more fuel, this produces a significant boost in output of turbos (and offer popularity).

However turbo lag – that agonisingly slow acceleration despite lots of throttle – can occur if you accelerate too hard with too few revs. This is because the turbo depends on the faster gas flow of higher revs to spin its impeller – the multi-vane paired wheels that pull and push the air in.

Car and truck makers take advantage of the turbo’s extra output by specifying smaller engines than normal for a given size and mass vehicle. This can lead to better fuel economy and lower emissions as long as the engine is not driven hard at high boost most of the time.

Turbos pair well with new tech

common-rail diesel engines and are universally fitted to them in most new trucks and an increasing numbers of SUVs, light commercials as well as passenger vehicles.

The D-MAX is a textbook example.

Its turbo is optimised with VGS (Variable Geometry System) computer-controlled technology to minimise lag. The angle or pitch of its impeller vanes is variable, so at lower revs, when it needs to scoop more gas to push more air, the pitch angle is acute. And when there are revs to spare, the vanes feather to allow the impeller to spin faster, something like 60,000rpm!

The VGS, along with the Isuzu Motor’s ultra-high-pressure common-rail direct injection technology and other advanced engineering, bestows the D-MAX with outstanding fuel economy and longevity, low emissions and the grunt to perform, tote and tow a sizeable load.

WISH LIST ■

FLYING HIGH Billed as the world’s first practical jetpack, the Martin Jetpack is the ultimate big boys’ toy.

Powered by a petrol engine with twin-ducted fans generating enough thrust to lift the unit and pilot for vertical takeoff and landing, it can cruise at up to 100 km/h. Now in the final stages of development, it was recently tested in New Zealand at an altitude of 1,500 metres before safely deploying a ballistic parachute.

The Martin Jetpack is scheduled for launch in 2013 and will cost about $100,000: www.martinjetpack.com.

AQUATIC SCOOTER Capable of cruising above the water at 22 km/h and up to 40m below the surface at speeds of up to 14 km/h, the German-made Seabob Cayago F7 lets you swim, dive and splash about like a dolphin. Powered by a 5.2kW, 7HP electric motor and 14 high-energy lithium-ion batteries, it’s the coolest, most advanced and efficient sea scooter on the market. And at 1.3 metres long, it’ll fit in the back of a crew-cab D-MAX: www.seabob.seascooters.com.au.

S Y O T ’ S Y O B BIG U’RE AUSE YO C E B T S EAN JU ESN’T M O D P U GROWN H THEM… IT W Y A L ’T P YOU CAN

RETRO PLAYTIME Only 20,000 Kiss pinball machines were made by Las Vegas gaming manufacturer Bally in 1978. Most were relegated to the tip, but thanks to pinball fanatic Michael Formosa of Sydney, a small number of these glorious machines are being refurbished for sale. “Restoring retro pinball machines has always been a hobby of mine, but it turned into a business when they started clogging up my home and I was forced to sell a few to save my marriage,” says Michael: www.pinballshowroom.com.au.

OFF-ROAD FUN Developed by the Israeli military, the rear-wheel-drive Tomcar is one of the most versatile, unstoppable and exciting vehicles ever made. With independent four-wheel suspension, 38-centimetre ground clearance, rack and pinion steering and its centre of gravity located under the driver seat, the Tomcar can climb 80-degree slopes, scale boulders as big as cars and is nearly impossible to flip. Available in Australia from 2012 in 1.4 litre diesel and 1 litre petrol variants, the Tomcar has a 1-tonne payload, fits into a standard trailer and is serious bushbashing fun: www.tomcar.com.

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â– THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN DOORSTEP

Cape

Le

Grand Words & Photos: Sheree Everitt

12

d

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN DOORSTEP ■

TV PRESENTER SHEREE EVERITT TALKS ABOUT WHY SHE DRIVES A D-MAX, AND INTRODUCES US TO ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACHES SHE’S SEEN IN AUSTRALIA

Could these be Australia’s bluest waters?

hen my husband Spida retired after 16 years as an AFL player – 10 with the St Kilda Saints, four with Hawthorn Hawks and two with the Sydney Swans – we decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and drive around Australia. We were about to head off when one of our oldest friends Gerry Ryan, the owner of Jayco, suggested we do a TV show about it and offered to sponsor us. That’s how our TV show The Great Australian Doorstep was born.

In the first series filmed in 2008, we zigzagged up the east coast all the way from our home in Melbourne to Cape York. The show proved a hit, and since then we’ve done four more major trips, with the fourth series now screening on Channel 7Two every Saturday at 5pm.

Filming a TV show in regional and remote parts of Australia takes a lot of organising and loads of gear. We need three vehicles, the first of which is a motor home that Spida, Boston (our four-year-old son) and I can sleep in. Then we need two 4WDs: one for towing a 7-metre Jayco Base Station with our cameras and editing equipment (weighing 2.7 tonnes when fully loaded), and the other for towing a Jayco Expanda where our three cameramen and our soundman sleep.

With all that weight, we need very good tow vehicles, especially when we take the show off-road. In the first season we leased vehicles that were not up to such demanding work and often became bogged.

So we started talking to people in the know about which tow vehicles would be best and we kept hearing about the D-MAX. We met with the guys at Isuzu UTE Australia in Brisbane, who told us they loved our show and would be happy to loan us a couple of D-MAXs for the production.

The utes have since taken us around the country and we’ve been bogged only once, when Spida drove down a narrow sandy road leading to a beach on the Gulf of Carpentaria and then couldn’t turn around. But we often deliberately put the utes in situations where we know we’re going to get bogged just to show how our recovery gear works.

If you’re not the kind of person who sits at home in front of the TV on Saturday afternoons to watch the show, you’ll be able to keep abreast of all D-MAX-driven adventures in max*d magazine, starting with this issue.

In this first instalment, let me tell you about Cape Le Grand National Park, a little place on Western Australia’s south coast, about an hour’s drive from Esperance.

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Cape Le Grand Road

WACAPE

LE GRAND NATIONAL PARK

Main: Now that’s a speed hump!

Below: Enjoying the sun with Boston

Perth Esperance Cape Le Grand

For more information…

Address: via Cape Le Gra nd Road, Esperance, 6450 Phone: +61 (8) 9083 155 5 Email: info@visitespera nce.com Website: www.visitesp erance.com Camping: www.dec.wa .gov.au/ campgrounds

WA

“I’ve seen a lot of beautiful coastal areas in Australia, but nothing as striking as Cape Le Grand.”

I’ve seen a lot of beautiful coastal areas in Australia, but nothing as striking as Cape Le Grand. One minute you’re driving though the Outback, the next you see freshwater pools, incredibly white sand and the bluest sea you can imagine. Seawater can look green or even brown, but here it’s brilliantly blue for about 300 metres out from shore.

The wildlife at Cape Le Grand is pretty special, too: it’s the only place I’ve seen kangaroos sunbaking on the beach!

The national park is also home to three endemic frog species as well as legless lizards and a rare species of blind snake.

And the fishing here is sensational. Spida took a dingy out at Lucky Bay, catching massive Red Snapper from the moment he threw his line in. Locals tell us it’s a great place to see southern right whales in winter when they come into the coves to give birth to calves.

Perth Esperance Cape Le Grand

You don’t need a 4WD to reach Cape Le Grand, but there are some great off-road drives inside the park. We counted 24 different tracks, including one running on the sand along the coast and then cutting up through the bush to Thistle Cove. Mount Le Grand and Frenchmans Peak offer a range of bushwalking options and excellent rockclimbing where there are huge granite cliff faces and domes. Views from the top of Mount Le Grand are out of this world, and if you happen to be there in spring, you’ll see the whole place carpeted in wildflowers.

But the best thing about this area is the solitude and remoteness. Even during the Christmas season, the campsites are spread throughout 32,374 hectares, so you don’t get huge crowds concentrated in one area. However, if you do intend to visit at this time, it’s recommended to book ahead.

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OUT OF THE BOX ■

A NEW

HOPE WITH SOUTH SUDAN NOW AN INDEPENDENT STATE, WE GET TO KNOW MELBOURNE’S VIBRANT SUDANESE COMMUNITY

Words: Chris Canty Photos: Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Fairfax & Getty Images

hen Ambrose Mareng’s village in Sudan was attacked by government troops it was his responsibility, as the son of the chief, to lead the 251 children out of harm’s way.

The arduous walk to safety took more than four months and Ambrose was just 14 years old.

“We lived on wild roots and fruits, and we were always in fear of snakes and crocodiles,” he says. “We lost one child.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are 26,199 Sudanese-born residents in Australia. Like Ambrose, many fled from violence, choosing a journey of hardship that offered a fresh start.

“When I arrived in 2005, my first impression of Melbourne was that everything was new,” he says. “A new world, a new beginning. Everything seemed green, beautiful, peaceful... I knew nothing would be as hard or as difficult here as what I had already experienced.”

Years after his trek to freedom, Ambrose is once again a respected leader.

He hosts a radio program for Melbourne’s Sudanese community featuring news and current issues, with the main topic of broadcasts being the creation of the independent state of South Sudan achieved in July this year.

“It’s a new hope of change,” he says with obvious pride.

When the conversation turns to the future of the South Sudanese people, the subject of his five children is raised and a smile instantly appears.

“In Australia there is the hope of gaining education. This is the way that they can get what they want. They tell me they want to be doctors and football players.”

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Sudanese food, song and dance

The list of South Sudanese performers impacting on Melbourne’s diverse musical landscape is impressive. Along with Ajak Kwai (www.ajakkwai.com), acts like pop singer and dancer Treza Kau can also be found performing around the city’s music haunts.

Nearly all Southern Sudanese immigrants endured displacement and war. This may explain why so many of them have gravitated towards Hip Hop music, with acts such as SS Superstar (Lang Yearchak) and Grey Bull (David Thon Garang) developing a steady following. The most successful is Ajak Chol, a young rapper who became a sensation after his song Take U To Da Movies attracted more than 5 million Youtube hits.

Melbourne-based Sudanese are also making waves in fashion circles, most noticeably Ajak Deng, who has become the face of fashion superbrands such as Calvin Klein, while up-and-comers like Ayor Makur hope to follow in her footsteps.

Sudanese cuisine is quite hard to find in Melbourne though favourites such as Taste of Africa (34 Walker St, Dandenong) and Khartoum Centre (145 Nicholson St, Footscray) give an insight into typical Sudanese fare. Stews and traditional breads such as kissra and gurassa are the main staples.

The latter career aspiration is inspired

by Sudanese-born AFL-listed player Majak Daw, who has captivated the Melbourne public despite not having played a game for the senior North Melbourne team – as yet.

But Ambrose has even higher expectations for his children. “I joke that one of them will be the next president of South Sudan in 30 years to come,” he says.

TOGETHER AS ONE Above left: Ambrose Mareng Centre: Ajak Kwai Right: Majak Daw, the first Sudanese Australian drafted to an AFL club

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For Sudanese-born Abraham Mamer, Melbourne’s multiculturalism was the most striking aspect after arriving from New Zealand.

“In New Zealand there aren’t many Africans, so my friends expected me to know everyone on the street who looked like me and [for me] to wave to them,” he says. “But here in Melbourne, everybody is living together.”

Today Abraham is the Director of a Sudanese Community Development Project at the African Australian Centre in

the Melbourne suburb of Footscray – providing settlement support and training to African migrants looking for employment in the area.

He says that South Sudanese independence brings with it hope that the city’s Sudanese community will come together as one.

“It is the beginning of healing,” Abraham says. ”The anxiety of worrying about family back in Sudan can be eased and we can now focus and learn. We are no longer refugees; we are citizens and legal residents. Sudanese people will need to meet the challenge.”

One of his top priorities is to create programs to teach the Sudanese how to apply for government funding and learn how to manage their finances.

“There might be 10 groups now who each receive $500, but if we can put the funds together and work together, we can achieve our goals,” Abraham explains.

Another positive aspect of South Sudan’s independence is that the Australian media – which has hitherto focused almost exclusively on negative stories – now has something positive

OUT OF THE BOX ■

to say about Melbourne’s resilient Sudanese community.

“We were lacking good stories,” Abraham says. “Until now.”

Melbourne-based singer songwriter Ajak Kwai, who is known for her heartfelt songs of love and hope relating to her homeland, also reckons media coverage has not been balanced.

“There are Sudanese people doing really well for themselves, but these are things the news people don’t talk about,” she says. “Our community is learning very fast to fit in, with many young people studying and completing higher education in the past few years.”

MAKING AUSTRALIA RICHER Ajak insists it’s not only about what Sudanese-Australians are doing for themselves, but also about the things they’re giving back to Australia.

“Ours is a vibrant community,” she says. “It is [one of] the best things that has ever happened to Australia [because] we have brought new arts, dancing, music, films and food.“ A look at Melbourne’s cultural scene

“We lived on wild roots and fruits, and we were always in fear of snakes and crocodiles,” he says. “We lost one child.” verifies her claim, with Sudanese acts such as the Lopit Community Cultural Dance Club and Acholi women’s dance group now a regular feature on the festival circuit. Sudanese-born hip-hop artists SS Superstar and Grey Bull are also making waves.

Community worker Abraham also points out that more SudaneseAustralians are starting to open their own businesses. “There are four shops owned by Sudanese in Footscray alone, and it filters down employment to other Sudanese,” he says.

But when asked if Australia was still a land of opportunity for newcomers, his answer is more measured.

“Yes, I do believe that Australia is great country and if you have a thick skin you can achieve your goals,” he offers.

“Support is needed for the young people

to complete their studies, however, and for families with younger children. Support is about making people independent not making them dependent on you. It is about helping them to help themselves” Abraham holds the same thoughts in mind when looking at how Melbourne’s Sudanese can help rebuild, or in fact, build South Sudan. “Sending one person to South Sudan to teach 100 people isn’t as effective as training 100 South Sudanese people here. The trainees will become the trainers and they will [in turn] teach thousands.”

And while none of our three interviewees have plans to move back to South Sudan, radio host Ambrose hopes to one day visit family who remained in the state, including his mother and brother.

But this time, he’ll walk without fear.

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Words & Photos: Ian Neubauer

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INTER STRALIA’S W U A E B Y A M IT SZKO , BUT KOSCIU D N U O R G Y A PL PS K IS ALSO TO R A P L A N IO T NA TIME THE SUMMER IN IN P S A R FO

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a ■ EAT MY DUST

ustralia has an abundance of all kinds of terrain, bar one –­ alpine. Of the little we have, most is found within Kosciuszko National Park, a 690,000-hectare conservation area laced with rivers, glacial caves, snow gum forests, lakes and high-altitude plains. The park is also home to NSW’s ski fields, and Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak.

Early this year, when the snow that seals off most of the Kosciuszko’s dirt roads was still many months away, I spent a week exploring Kosi in a D-MAX with my best mate Shlomi Bonet. An environmental scientist from Israel who knows more about Australia than anyone I know, Shlomi was the source of all the ecological tidbits weaved into this story.

We followed a route outlined in See Australia 4WD, a Gregory’s guidebook written by husband-and-wife off-roading legends Ron and Viv Moon. Between the two of us, Shlomi and I have seen a lot of this country and a lot more of the wider world. But what we saw at Kosi blew us away – it was that beautiful.

PLAINS, CAVES AND A UTE

Previous page: Coolamine Homestead Top left: Magnificent Charlotte Pass Top right: Grading a date cake and (centre) a prize merino at the Dalgety Fair Bottom right: Dusk at the Snowy Wilderness brumby sanctuary Bottom left: The geothermal pool at Yarrangobilly Caves Middle left: Cruising past the Australian War Memorial in Canberra

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Picture this: two men, one in a weathered Akubra, and the other in a stained Bonds singlet, scoffing down croissants and coffee while leaning on a ute in a Woolies car park in Canberra.

“Are we being too ‘bogany’?” I ask Shlomi, shovelling food down my throat.

“Don’t be stupid,” he answers. “This is Canberra.”

Minutes later we’re barrelling west out of the capital towards Brindabella on the ACT/NSW border. This little-known route ebbs and flows through Brindabella National Park and vast swathes of state forest relegated to pine plantations.

Sixty-five kilometres down the track, our guidebook instructs us to turn left onto an unmarked, unsealed road that leads into the little-visited northern half of Kosciuszko National Park. We’re transported to another world where the pine monoculture gives way to a snow gum forest alive with birds and

EAT MY DUST â–

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■ EAT MY DUST

Ask Shlomi Why does Australia have so little alpine terrain?

“The earth’s surface is covered in tectonic plates. When plates rub together, they cause seismic activity: earthquakes and volcanoes that renew the landscape. Australia sits in the middle of a tectonic plate, but there’s been no major seismic activity here for ages so the land is really old. It hasn’t been regenerating itself. This explains why our tallest mountains, like Kosciuszko, tend to be domed instead of pointy. Because they’re so old, they’ve been exposed to hundreds of millions more years of wind and rain – the mechanisms of erosion – than alpine formations in other parts of the world.”

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EAT MY DUST ■

The great Murray River near its genesis in the Snowy Mountains

butterflies. The road becomes rocky and wet in parts as we scale Australia’s rooftop, while the gums shrink in size and density as the environment becomes increasingly inhospitable in terms of temperature, sunlight, wind and rain.

The trail veers onto Long Plain Road and the terrain changes again. We are now in a highland plateau carpeted in snow daisies and Kangaroo grass – the type of wide, open space that first attracted grazers here in the 1830s.

We stop at one of their former stations, Coolamine Homestead, lovingly restored in 1983 using period tools and original building techniques.

A few kilometres later we reach the end of the road and our first campsite at Blue Waterholes – an azure pool filled with icy spring water. We take a quick dip and sun ourselves on a rock before setting off to explore the area on foot. The Coolamine Plain looks like the Scottish Highlands, with unexpected gorges, disappearing streams and limestone karsts pockmarked with caves. A popular nesting ground for bogong moths, Aborigines came here in pre-colonial times to spot-roast the insects – “the equivalent of today’s fast food”, Shlomi explains.

colossal limestone caverns, it’s been a tourist hotspot for more than 100 years.

The caves are extremely well cared for

by National Parks and Wildlife, which built and maintain an intricate series of steps, handrails and sensor lights so visitors can get the most out of the site.

Tickets are bought from the visitors’ centre, and we opt for a 40-minute self-guided tour of South Glory Cave.

Its mouth is several times the size of a football field; an awesome geological phenomenon that makes one realise how puny we humans really are.

Inside, it’s like Superman’s ice palace with underground rivers, cathedral-like chambers reaching 200-metres high and thousands of stalactites and stalagmites.

It’s midday by the time we exit the cave. We rustle up a couple of sandwiches and walk down a steep path that ends at a mountain clearing and a 25-metre thermal pool. The water is crystal clear and heated to 27°C by geothermal ducts. I can only imagine how amazing it must look in the winter, edged in frost with steam hovering over the surface.

After lunch we return to the highway and pass Kiandra, a ghost town that sits 1400 metres above sea level. The

...we’re transported to another world where the pine monoculture gives way to a snow gum forest alive with birds and butterflies.

Luckily, we have some tastier grub: lamb cutlets and corn barbecued on a wood stove, followed by a couple of coldies and Leonard Cohen CDs.

SUPERMAN’S ICE PALACE Although we’re still at the tail end of summer, the high altitude delivers a wintery night. We regenerate with coffee and baguettes toasted on the embers of last night’s fire, pile into the D-MAX and head southwest. We see no other cars until we reach the Snowy Mountains Highway at Rules Point, where it’s back to bitumen through a rolling Alpine valley.

Our first stop of the day is at the Yarrangobilly Caves. Home to four

epicentre of the local gold rush in the 1850s, the landscape is dotted with unsightly erosion bogs that Shlomi tells me are the remains of disused mines.

We pass Lake Eucumbene, the largest of 16 dams created by the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, arriving at the town of Jindabyne late in the afternoon. Perched on the edge of an artificial lake of the same name, Jindabyne is a supply base for the nearby ski fields at Perisher and Thredbo. After stocking up on ice, we travel south along Barry Way to Snowy Wilderness, a privately owned brumby sanctuary. ”Brumbies are an important part of our heritage,” says the manager AJ.

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■ EAT MY DUST

Snowy Mountains HWY

Tumbarumba

Mt Selwyn

“A lot of people would like to see all of them dead, like what happened up at Guy Fawkes River National Park in 2002 when they culled a whole bunch of them.

Our brumbies come from there, so this place is a sanctuary for them.”

FAIRS AND PYGMY TREES The next morning we say goodbye to AJ and head 30 kilometres east to Dalgety for the Dalgety Fair – one of the Snowy Mountains’ premier calendar events.

Dalgety Fair is larger and more commercialised than expected, with fast food trailers, tacky market stalls and children’s rides. But there are also a tonne of interesting things to see here: wood chopping and sheep mustering competitions, cattle judging, an antique and classic car show, equestrian events and a bake-off at which the region’s best lamingtons, scones, fruit cakes, shortbread and Anzac biscuits are judged.

The next leg of our journey takes us back to Jindabyne and into the Perisher Valley along the highest public road in Australia. The scenery is spectacular, with wide-open skies, boulder-strewn hills and trickling streams that fade into grasslands sown with billy buttons, mountain celery and other wildflowers.

We climb ever higher, passing a number of deserted ski fields until we reach the end of the road at Charlotte Pass.

At 1835 metres, Charlotte Pass marks the treeline between Kosciuszko’s subalpine and treeless alpine zones.

The few snow gums that grow here are more twisted and stunted than those at lower altitudes, though the fact that they even exist here is testament to the great evolutionary powers of the eucalyptus family. “Eucalyptus is the master species of Australia,” Shlomi says. “From the desert to the mountains to coastal plains, there is no other plant species on earth that dominates an entire continent.”

There are a number of interesting hikes around Charlotte Pass, starting with a 400-metre pygmy snow gum walk and advancing to an 18-kilometre round trip to Kosi’s peak. We’re told that on a clear day you can see the Victorian border from the summit. But it’s too late to head there now, so we find a good vantage point on one of the many viewing platforms in the area and take it all in, one breath at a time.

THE MURRAY BEGINS The next day we wake up at Tom Groggin Camping Area – a grassy clearing that sits on a bend of the Murray River. At this altitude it’s just another gentle alpine river rather than the caramel-coloured waterway most of us know it to be. Up here, it’s clean enough to drink from, and a great place for a morning swim.

After breakfast it’s back to Canberra and home to the big smoke of Sydney.

It’s been an amazing road trip and a very comfortable one, too, thanks to the D-MAX. If you have one, get out there… go see the Snowies. It’s one of the best things you’ll ever do.

Adaminaby

Khancoban

Mt Kosciuszko

26

Sawpit Creek Smiggen Holes Perisher Jindabyne

Thredbo

NSW

VIC

FACT FILE

GETTING THERE

The back road from Ca nberra to Kosi heads west out of the capital along Cotter Road to Bri ndabella.

From there, take the We e Jasper– Brindabella Road to Bra mina Road and veer left onto Broken Cart Trail.

For up-to-date road and off-road conditions, contact Roads and Traffic Authority (131 70 0; www.rta. nsw.gov.au) or the Nation al Parks Authority (1300 361 96 7; www. environment.nsw.gov.a u).

WHERE TO STAY

Blue Waterholes Camp ground lies at the end of Long Plain Road.

The turnoff for Long Pla in is 54km south of Talbingo on the Snowy Mountains Highway. Sn owy Wilderness is 29km sou th of Jindabyne on Barry Wa y (www. snowywilderness.com .au). Tom Groggin campsite is on Kosciuszko Alpine Way, 23km east of Thredbo (www.exploroz.com).

WHAT TO DO

Driving along Kosciuszko Road – one of the highest, and perhaps most beautiful, sealed roads in Australia

KOSCIUSZKO NATIONAL PARK

Yarrangobilly Caves are 6km north of Rules Point on the Sn owy Mountains Highway. Veh icle entry is $3. Entry to the South Glory Cave is $13 per person (02 64 54 9597).

Snowy Wilderness offers two-hour horse rides for $98, and quad-bike rides for $119 (1800 218 171).

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Main: Paradise found – just one of Taveuni’s hundreds of waterfalls Left: Just getting around is an adventure Right: The Catholic Mission at Wairiki Over: Proud locals pose above the remains of an ancient hilltop garrison

AN ANCIENT HILLTOP FORTRESS UNEARTHS THE SECRETS BEHIND FIJI’S GORY MILITARY HISTORY

ONCE WERE

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PASSPORT ■

A

mong the most ferocious warriors of the nineteenth century were the cannibals of Taveuni. The third largest and most fertile island of the Fijian Group, Taveuni was the site of some of the South Pacific’s most vicious power struggles. Today it is home to a fortified hilltop garrison that has altogether escaped the attention of mainstream archaeology.

Known as the ‘Garden Island of Fiji’, Taveuni is a whopping 50 per cent national park. Overflowing with natural waterslides, freshwater lagoons and waterfalls that empty directly into the sea, this 40-kilometre-long, cigar-shaped landmass is Paradise found. Its pristine highlands are a haven for nature lovers hoping to get a glimpse of the endangered Fijian flying fox, the fabled orange dove or Fiji’s national flower, the Tagimaucia.

Nevertheless, it remains off the beaten track, attracting less than two per cent of Fiji’s foreign arrivals.

THE LEAD

“Welcome to Paradise!” announces the concierge at Paradise Taveuni, an eco-resort on the island’s isolated south. It caters mostly to divers drawn to what is known as the soft-coral capital of the world.

But I’m here on an altogether different mission: to investigate Taveuni’s rich military history. For it was here the canoe navy of Tongan warlord Enele Ma’afu was finally defeated following its 13-year-long campaign of terror against the people of Fiji. Key to the Tongans’ downfall was a series of watchtowers and fortified hilltop villages that helped Taveuni stymie surprise attacks.

The resort manager Allan Gortan explains the largest of these is found on Vatuwiri, a 600-hectare copra (coconut meat) plantation a few kilometres down the road. It's owned by the Tartes – descendents of British cotton farmers who settled in Taveuni in 1871. The patriarch, Spencer Tarte, is known to be an extremely private man who might not appreciate a journalist snooping around on his land. But Allan promises to make enquiries on my behalf and get back to me if he has any luck.

Words: Ian Neubauer Photos: Francesco Solfrini

THE MISSION

The next day I catch a taxi along Taveuni’s palm-fringed west coast, taking in vistas of the translucent blue

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Paradise Taveuni is a remote and secluded boutique oceanfront Resort.Nestled among five acres of lush tropical gardens with a mountain rain forest backdrop.

We cater to discerning travellers looking for their own piece of paradise.

With 14 luxury Fijian bures and vales on site, it’s deep-water frontage allows guests to dive, snorkel, kayak and swim in pristine Tropical waters.

Paradise Taveuni is perfect for small, boutique groups searching for a memorable adventure holiday experience.

P a r a d i s e Taveuni

Info@ParadiseinFiji.com www.ParadiseinFiji.com SKYPE: paradise.taveuni Phone: 679 888 0125

PASSPORT ■ Somosomo Strait. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sailed past here in 1643 but never dared set foot on dry land.

Captain Cook likewise abstained, as did Captain William Bligh of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ fame. Such was the reputation of the archipelago known to European mariners of the time as the ‘Cannibal Isles’.

I get off at Wairiki near Taveuni’s administrative centre Waiyevo, to rendezvous with Fijian–Canadian land developer Charles Stinton. The son of the former Fijian ambassador to Australia, he’s offered to show me around for the day. “Things have definitely changed here since I was a kid,” he says, “but Taveuni still has that raw quality."

“THEY WERE BIGGER THAN US AND THERE WAS MORE OF THEM, BUT WE ATE THEM.” Our first stop is the Wairiki Catholic Mission. It was built by the Fijian warrior-king Ratu Golea for French Marist missionaries who helped him defeat the Tongan navy in 1861. Set against a backdrop of towering green mountains, it’s an impressive example of Romanesque Colonial architecture.

The mission is also a mausoleum for a sterling-silver crucifix considered holy to Taveuni’s Christians, as the pastor, Father Petero, explains: “The day before the Tongan army came, the missionaries told Ratu Golea if he accepted this crucifix, he would defeat his enemies. This cross therefore reminds us of his promise because it saved our ancestors from total destruction.”

THE FORTRESS

It’s my last day on Taveuni when I get the call I’ve been waiting for – permission to visit the fortress at Vatuwiri. I’ve also been granted an audience with Marcus Tarte, a fourth-generation family member.

“You’re welcome to go have a look at the ruins but they’re covered in jungle,” Marcus says. “Don’t expect to see much; no one has been there in years.”

We take a 10-minute drive along a gravel road that ascends into a

series of hills. The site lies on an irregularly shaped mount where the final battle for Taveuni was waged 150 years ago.

On the verge of a discovery, it’s with bated breath that I climb the hillock searching the ground until I stumble upon a stone hedge.

I begin tearing at the vegetation and soon identify the remains of an elevated rotunda where the paramount chief Tui Vuna held court.

“They were bigger than us and there was more of them, but we ate them,” boasts our driver, in reference to his ancestors’ partiality for human flesh.

But it wasn’t the Tongans who attempted to take this fort. It was the man who defeated them – Ratu Golea of Waiariki – looking to create an empire of his own.

And while Ratu Golea failed to conquer Tui Vuna’s army by force, he did, in time, emerge the victor.

He did so by bribing Tui Vuna’s relatives to abduct his firstborn – destroying his enemy from within.

Peering down the ridge toward the sea, I imagine an armada of enemy canoes crashing through the reef. But my thoughts are interrupted by my increasingly vocal driver, mouthing the word I haven’t been able to stop saying all week.

“Raravinaka – beautiful,” he says.

FACT FILE

GETTING THERE

Jetstar flies from Austr alia’s east coast to Fiji from $515 return. Visit jetstar.com.au. Sun Pa cific flies from Fiji’s Nadi Internatio nal Airport to Taveuni twice a day from $311 return. Visit airpacific. com or phone +679 67 2 0888

WHERE TO STAY

Paradise Taveuni charge s $1,690 a week for a luxury bu ngalow for two and all meals includ ed. See paradiseinfiji.com or ph one +679 888 0125. Taveuni Palm s rents ultra-luxurious two-bed room villas on private beaches for $1,200 per night. Visit taveunipalm s.com or phone +679 888 0032 .

WHAT TO DO

Peckham Pearls (+679 888 2789) offers lectures on black pearl cultivation and sno rkelling excursions to their pe arl farm for $13. The Vidawa Rainf orest Walk (bnhp.org or +679 820 4709) is a full-day rainforest tre k taking in friendly villages and sta ge one of the Tavoro Waterfalls for $21.

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“I SMASHED MY HEAD THROUGH THE REAR WINDOW. WHEN I CAME AROUND, I COULDN’T FEEL MY LEGS. I WAS STUCK AND I COULD SMELL PETROL.” Words: Matt Khoury Photos: Courtesy of Jol Fleming

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UNSUNG HEROES ■

LIFE ON OFF-ROADING LEGEND JOL FLEMING ON HOW HE BROKE HIS BACK AND HOW HE GOT HIS GROOVE BACK

I

t was meant to be the happiest day of his life. Jol Fleming was on the Stuart Highway, 40 kilometres south of the Alice, on route to sign his marriage papers. His fiancée Anne, who was driving, asked him for a cigarette. It ended up in her lap and their car ended up careering off the road.

“I smashed my head through the rear window,” Jol recounts. “When I came around, I couldn’t feel my legs. I was stuck and I could smell petrol. I thought, ‘I’m the BBQ on the menu today.’”

Drifting in out of consciousness until the paramedics arrived and fed him happy gas, it took several hours before Jol was wrested free of the wreckage.

The incident changed his life. Jol

Jol Fleming

broke his neck and suffered a spinal injury that meant he’d never walk again.

After six months’ rehabilitation in Adelaide, the first thing Jol did was ask about what he had to do to drive again, and to set about signing those marriage papers. He also set in motion a chain of events that would turn him into an inspiration for the hundreds of people he teaches off-road driving to every year.

“I don’t know any other off-road driving instructors who can’t walk,” Jol admits.

BORN TO DRIVE Jol grew up in Yuendumu, 400 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs, where his parents were missionaries.

“My best friends were Aborigines,” Jol says. “We’d go bush, go walking through the shrub and look for lizards.

If we wanted to play like whitefellas, we’d go for the bikes and toy trucks.”

By the age of eight, Jol was belting around in his old man’s car. It would become his life’s passion. While the young would-be off-roader was still a teenager, Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin and roads were inaccessible. Jol decided everything could be overcome: “Fiveto seven-tonne trucks were coming down the highway, but they’d encounter

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UNSUNG HEROES ■

Bruce highlights Jol’s commitment to safety and problem-solving skills that have seen him organise airlifts for injured drivers during the Finke Desert Race.

“People listen to him,” Bruce says.

“He’s got a really good attitude. A lot of people in his situation would give up, but Jol just soldiers on.”

Right: Jol’s lifelong affiliation with Indigenous Australians began early in life while growing up in an Outback mission with his folks

swamps. If they tried to cross them, they’d disappear in the water.”

But Jol had 4WDs waiting to tow vehicles or take goods over crossings, acting as a lifeline to the region.

His early working life would include driving 40-foot coaches and being the first to steer a 37-foot bus through Kakadu. The go-getter had the world at his feet until that fateful day in October 1981, when his life changed forever.

ROAD TO RECOVERY Jol was taught to drive without the use of his legs by Rob Simchoon – a man he describes, for his patience and understanding, as the most inspirational person he’s ever met. Jol built up his shoulder muscles so he could steer – his brake and accelerator situated on the side of a steering wheel similar to a Formula One racing car.

A few years after his accident, he’d already converted a car, built a house and opened up an auto spares shop.

And even though he was confined to

JOL HAS TAUGHT MORE THAN 2,000 PEOPLE THE INS AND OUTS OF OFFROAD DRIVING...

BED OF ROSES, BED OF NAILS a wheelchair, he became the founding president of the Off Road Racing Club in 1984. He was also the first to enter the Finke Desert Race with a car.

“They were good times and hard times,” he recalls.

He and his wife Anne had a son, Ryan, in 1990 – and things started to look up.

The sense of adventure that was so ingrained in him never waned. He would famously say, “I will be back” and “I will return” before taking 2WD utes across the desert.

“Then I started teaching people how to drive,” he says. “In 1998, I registered as a driving instructor.”

Jol has taught more than 2,000 people the ins and outs of off-road driving – a not inconsiderable feat given that he’s unable to walk.

Queensland-based off-road driving expert Stan Gruzlewski has crossed the Simpson Desert several times with Jol, following camel tracks and charging across sand dunes.

“Is he daring? No, I think he’s just clever. He’s very experienced and knows what he’s doing,” Stan says.

“Jol’s motto is ‘Don’t concentrate on what you can’t do, concentrate on what you can do’. To see somebody do what he can do in the condition that he’s in is amazing. I look up to him.

He’s my hero.”

Accolades within the off-road fraternity don’t stop there. “Jol can do in a 2WD what regular drivers struggle to do in a 4WD,” says D-MAX rally driver Bruce Garland.

Despite Jol’s amazing success in his profession, his personal life has been more complicated.

In 2000, Anne, his wife of nearly 20 years, left him. “She always felt guilty and I’d say, ‘What’s the point in feeling guilty, it’s already happened.’”

But things started looking up again in 2002 when Jol received the Territorian of the Year award. Moreover, his adventures became increasingly challenging, such as an 84-day, 13-car jaunt from Alice Springs to the Kimberley.

“It always gets up my nose when somebody has more capability than me but doesn’t use it,” Jol says.

He likes pushing himself to the limit, but most of all, he likes saving lives.

“I give weekly lectures on driver safety,” he says. “And the training’s going off its head – I’ve taught 325 people to drive in the past 12 months.

“I tell them all about my accident.

It doesn’t take much – two seconds of your life and it could all be over. I ask them, ‘Do you want to be upside down on the side of the road for 12 hours?’”

Jol has a safe driving record: he’s backed into someone once and counts bowling over two ’roos.

Just this year, Jol experienced a chilling sense of déjà vu when he received an early morning call from his son Ryan.

“They’d hit a bull and ended upside down on the other side of the road.

I drove out there and within 10 hours I had him and his mate back home. The car was a mess, but they were fine.”

“Those boys are lucky,” Jol says.

“And so am I.”

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â– INTERNATIONAL REPORT

i a h T per su

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iermodels

INTERNATIONAL REPORT ■

WITH THE SALE OF ONE-TONNE UTES GOING THROUGH THE THAI ROOF, IT’S NO WONDER ISUZU STOLE THE SHOW AT THE BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW

T

Words: Victor Petelo Photos: Courtesy of Tri Pitch Isuzu Sales Co., Ltd

hailand is known as a popular hotspot for Australian and foreign travellers alike, with a variety of treasures and pleasures that keep tourists coming back time and time again. From the beautiful beaches of Phuket, to the hustle of the Chatuchak markets in Bangkok, to a buzzing nightlife that keeps backpackers entertained from dusk ’til dawn, Thailand has something for everyone.

It may come as some surprise to learn that, in the automotive industry, Thailand is known as the ‘Detroit of Asia’.

The automotive industry in Thailand has grown steadily over the past 10 years despite the country’s ongoing and unresolved political turmoil.

Thailand’s continued growth in this industry can be attributed to the Thai government having signed a number of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with countries like Australia, New Zealand, China and India. According to the Federation of Thai Industries, about 38 percent of vehicles manufactured in Thailand are for export, while demand for Thai-made one-tonne utes has grown in both the domestic and the export markets. Automotive sales in the Thai market for 2010 were 800,357 with one-tonne ute sales accounting for 47 percent (376,124 units) of total sales.

Main: Bangkok's showstopper: The D-MAX Super Titanium X-Series

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■ INTERNATIONAL REPORT

In Thailand, Isuzu is one of the leaders the one-tonne ute market. In 2010, Isuzu accounted for more than 37 percent of one-tonne utes, reaching 264,000 units in sales.

The Bangkok International Motor Show is Thailand’s annual super automotive event. From its humble beginnings 32 years ago, it had grown this year to accommodate more than 70 car companies and 119 accessory manufacturers.

The Bangkok Motor Show was duly welcomed at the new location – the 60,000-square-metre Challenger Hall – the world’s largest column-free hall. With a venue size this big, it was only fitting that more than 1.8 million visitors passed through the gates during the 12-day event – an average of 150,000 people per day.

The Isuzu D-MAX was back again this year, bigger and better than before.

Never to be outdone by its competitors at the event, the Isuzu stand measured a whopping 1,120 square metres.

Over 12 days at the motor show Isuzu sold an astonishing 2,232 units – that’s an average of 186 cars every day of the show!

The glistening colours of red, black and white made for an eye-catching stand, showcasing 14 Isuzu vehicles, including the special edition lifestyle ute – Isuzu’s Super Titanium – and the Isuzu MU-7 Super Titanium SUV. The vertically positioned lopped-top D-MAX and specially made Military Utility vehicle proved to be real showstoppers.

And if that wasn’t enough, professional jugglers were commissioned from Japan to wow the crowds during the event.

The Isuzu stand required 60 sales staff at any one time to help manage the enquiries generated by the volume of visitors. This number didn’t include the

Isuzu PR team and the beautiful X-Series models and Miss Maxim Supermodels (Isuzu is the major sponsor of the Miss Maxim Supermodel competition).

With such a large investment, one would hope there were significant sales to be made. And there were.

Over 12 days at the motor show Isuzu sold an astonishing 2,232 units – that’s an average of 186 cars every day of the show!

These kinds of figures are wholly unheard of at any Australian Motor Show. It just goes to show the significance and serious purchasing power of the Thai one-tonne ute market in the mid-sized Light Commercial Vehicle segment.

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Casey Stoner

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■ GET STUFFED

D.I.Y.

CALIFORNIA

ROLL i ) k a M (

MAKING SUSHI IS NO PIECE OF CAKE, BUT IT’S NOT BEYOND ANY FOODIE’S ABILITIES, RECKONS JAPANESE SUSHI CHEF TOMOMI TANIKAWA

1

COOK IT Start with a cup of sushi rice – a short-grain rice holds together better than ordinary rice. Rinse and wash vigorously several times to remove starch.

Boil for 15–20 minutes with 1.5 cups of water and season with sushi vinegar.

2

SLICE IT Slice avocado in half, remove the seed, peel and slice into thin pieces.

Wash the cucumber, peel the skin and then peel the vegetable to create a cucumber sheet (see left).

Cut in quarters and shred into thin little strips.

40

TOOLS OF E THE TRrpAknD e if

• Large sha pping board • Large cho owls • 3 small b el w to d • Han at bamboo m – su ki a •M plastic wrapped in n • Saucepa

SPARE PAR TS • 250g

rice • 1 avoca do • 1 straigh t cucumb er • 250g cra bmeat • 2 tbsp J apanese mayonna ise • Seasone d sushi v inegar (vinegar, sugar, sa lt) • 5 sheets nori (seaweed paper) • 4 tbsp fl ying fish roe (fish eggs ) • Pinch Ja panese ro ck salt • Fresh gin ger • Soy sau ce • Wasabi

3 DRESS IT Place the crabmeat in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, rock salt and mix. Try to use Japanese rock salt, and, more importantly, Japanese mayonnaise as it’s sweeter and creamier than other mayonnaise.

4 LAY IT Put a bamboo mat on the chopping board and lay a piece of seaweed paper over it. Wet your hands, take about 50 grams of rice and shape it into a sausage. Place in the middle of the seaweed sheet and spread evenly.

5

FILL IT Wash and dry your hands to remove excess rice and spread a tablespoon of roe over the rice. Pat down gently, then flip the whole thing over. Lay 50 grams of crabmeat along the centre, with cucumber and avocado on either side.

6 ROLL IT Pull the seaweed towards your end of the bamboo mat and, using your thumbs and forefingers, roll the two together like a cigar. Make sure it’s tight but don’t apply too much pressure or you’ll squash the ingredients together.

THE MASTER

Tomomi Tanikawa makes California rolls so effortlessly you’d think she’d been doing it her whole life. But the soft-spoken sushi chef from Hokkaido only learnt how to make them after migrating to Australia a decade ago. Today Tomomi is a specialist sushi chef at Toko Restaurant & Bar, a Sydney eatery that owes its roaring success to the subtle yet sensational taste of its sushi variations. “In French cooking, the main objective is to match a sauce to a food like fish or meat and create new flavours,” Tomomi says. “But in Japanese cooking we keep things simple to bring out the food’s natural flavour. California rolls were not invented in Japan but they adhere to the rules of Japanese cooking.”

TRY THE REAL DEAL Toko Restaurant & Bar is at 490 Crown Street Surry Hills, NSW. Open Mon–Thurs, 6pm to 11pm; Fri–Sat 6pm to midnight and Tues–Sat noon to 3pm. 02 93576100; www.toko.com.au.

7 EAT IT Shear half a centimetre off each end of the sushi roll. Cut the roll into six pieces and stack into two pyramids. Serve with fresh ginger, soy sauce and wasabi for Japanese food with a kick!

DEALER LIST ■

ISUZU UTE DEALERS ASO = Approved Satellite Outlet

QUEENSLAND Ayr Burdekin Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4783 7077 Bundaberg Bundaberg Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4131 8211 Cairns Trinity Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4081 5000 Cleveland ASO Keema Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3479 9880 Currimundi ASO Pacific Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 5438 4818 Dalby ASO Black Trucks Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4669 8988 Gladstone Reef City Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4971 4000 Goondiwindi ASO Black Trucks Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4671 3512 Gympie Isuzu UTE Gympie Phone: 07 5480 5200 Ipswich Blue Ribbon Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 5523 6600 Mackay River City Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4968 0111 Maroochydoore Pacific Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 5458 9740

Townsville Pickerings Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4726 5555

Batemans Bay Alan May Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4472 1100

St Leonards Northshore Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 8198 1818

Kalgoorlie Golden City Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9021 1699

Warwick ASO Black Trucks Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4661 3228

Blacktown Gilbert & Roach Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 8825 1000

Maddington DVG Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9492 0000

VICTORIA Ballarat Ballarat Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5335 3600

Bowral Highlands Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4861 1100

Tamworth Peel Valley Motors Tamworth Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6768 3111

Bundoora Sterling Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 9467 5533

Broken Hill Far West Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8087 2311

Taree Mid Coast Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6592 6300 Tweed Heads Tweed Coast Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 5524 3555

Caroline Springs ASO Werribee Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 8361 8255

Dubbo Sainsbury Automotive Dubbo Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6884 6444

Dandenong Patterson Cheney Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 9215 2300

Eden Ron Doyle Motors Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6496 1420

Young McAlister Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6382 3033

Epsom Central Victorian Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5449 4500

Gosford Central Coast Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4320 0900

Geelong Winter & Taylor Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5225 4850

Griffith Griffith Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6969 5080

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY Goulburn ASO John McGrath Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4823 1000

Horsham Dick Wilson Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5382 4677

Hornsby Isuzu UTE Central Phone: 02 9472 2111

Mildura Autosynergy Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5022 0927

Kingswood Sinclair Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4736 2143

Ringwood Genesis Motors Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 9879 7776 Traralgon Isuzu UTE Gippsland Phone: 03 5175 8060

Lansvale Lansvale Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 9726 1111 Lismore Trevan Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6627 7999

Wagga Wagga Wagga Motors Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6933 0100

Merredin ASO Northam Isuzu UTE Merredin Phone: 9041 4444 Midland Midland Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9464 1000 Moora ASO Waltons Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9651 1363 Northam Northam Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9622 0888 O’Connor Major Motors Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9331 9331 Osborne Park Regents Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9273 1000

Mitchell ASO John McGrath Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6201 1800

Picton South West Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9725 4911

Queanbeyan John McGrath Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6166 1111

Port Hedland ASO South West Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9140 1811

SOUTH AUSTRALIA Angaston Eblen Isuzu UTE Phone: 1300 ISUZU UTE

Wangara Wanneroo Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9403 9403

Fullarton Fullarton Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8338 2303

Wagin ASO South West Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9861 2188

Maitland Hunter Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4999 6740

Mount Gambier O.G.R Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8724 1111

NORTHERN TERRITORY Alice Springs Isuzu UTE Territory Phone: 08 8952 5155

Moree Hill Fitzsimmons Phone: 02 6752 1777

Port Lincoln Mike Raleigh Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8683 1211

Darwin Isuzu UTE Darwin Phone: 08 8946 4460

Nundah Norris Motor Group Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3635 5100

NEW SOUTH WALES Albion Park Rail Shellharbour Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4230 3100

Narellan Narellan Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4622 2552

Port Augusta Emanuele Bros Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8643 6233

TASMANIA Derwent Park Jackson Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 6277 6600

Redcliffe Northstar Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3480 8600

Albury Wodonga Blacklocks Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6049 5500

Newcastle Newcastle Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4980 0660

Rockhampton Rockhampton Prestige Phone: 07 4922 1000

Armidale Grant McCarroll Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6772 1566

North Wollongong ASO Wollongong City Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 4222 7999

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Albany Albany Autos Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9842 5522

Southport Cartwright Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 5557 7333

Ballina ASO Trevan Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6681 4499

Orange Orange Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6362 8100

Broome Broome Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9192 7357

Springwood Keema Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3884 8300

Bankstown Dale Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 9742 1766

Parramatta Denlo Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 8892 8150

Esperance ASO Albany Autos Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 9071 1060

Toowoomba Black Trucks Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 4631 4200

Bathurst ASO Orange Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6332 4007

Port Macquarie John Patrick Isuzu UTE Phone: 02 6584 1800

Geraldton Waltons Isuzu UTE Geraldton Phone: 08 9921 5044

Moorooka Moorooka Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3373 0777 Mount Gravatt Keema Isuzu UTE Phone: 07 3426 1500

Warrnambool Clinton Baulch’s Warrnambool Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 5561 6000 Werribee Werribee Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 9974 3799

Whyalla ASO Emanuele Bros Isuzu UTE Phone: 08 8649 0000

Launceston Jackson Isuzu UTE Phone: 03 6323 7000

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■ HOOK, LINE ‘N’ SINKER

Trout

Time!

WITH THE 2011 TROUT SEASON UPON US, SHIMANO’S BRETT WILSON EXPLAINS HOW TO CATCH – AND COOK – TASTY TASMANIAN TROUT

A

fter spending the winter spawning in feeder creeks and rivers, Tasmania’s abundant trout stocks are now moving back downstream towards the freshwater lakes that dot the island’s central plateau. And with the opening of the recreational trout season in spring, it’s the perfect time to jump in your D-MAX and spend the day, or the weekend, trout fishing along a crystal-clear mountain stream.

The only problem is catching the things. Fly-fishing – the art of casting a fly onto the water’s surface in a way that imitates the natural movement of an insect – requires a great deal of skill and experience. But there is an easier way: using light spin tackle.

You’ll need a small threadline reel, a 2–3 kilo fishing rod and braided fishing line – a thin, high-breaking line that’s perfect for casting and retrieving lightweight lures because of the way it cuts through the water, giving the angler maximum sensitivity.

You’ll also need a pack of spinning lures like Wigston’s Tasmanian Devils – a hollow, weighted torpedo-shaped lure with curved wings. When trawled through the water, it imitates the wobbly movement of a wounded smaller fish or a crustacean. The

44

trout think it’s an easy target, and snap – they’re fried!

The trick to trout fishing is to keep your lure moving by constantly casting and retrieving your line. If you’re fishing in a river where the water runs fast, you need to cast and retrieve quickly to match the speed of the current. If you’re in a deep pool where there’s not much of a current, you need to slow things down so the lure is presented to the fish in a natural way. Once you feel a bite, you need to strike straight away: lift the end of the rod up to jam the hook into the fish’s mouth and reel the fish in slowly.

Remember, recreational licenses are mandatory for freshwater fishing in Tasmania and all the proceeds from the fees go towards restocking fish hatcheries. Also keep in mind size limits, which differ according to species, region and season. Finally, make sure you take some salt, butter and a fry pan, because nothing beats the taste of fresh fried trout!

junior_ISUZ29535

Limited Edition III Isuzu D MAX Rally round ye knights – consider this your call to arms against lame rides into your daily battles. Limited Edition III Isuzu D-MAX is the ultimate protection against such evils. LE III’s armoury impresses with Kenwood touch-screen audio with GPS, DVD, rear camera, Bluetooth® and iPod® connectivity, embossed leather seats and monogrammed carpet mats.

There’s also distinctive chrome front features, special polished alloy wheels, body-colour side steps, unique stripes and decals, chrome sports bar and a tub liner. Only in Starry Black mica & Silky White pearlescent, 4x4, auto or manual.

There’s more features in LEIII than one can poke a jousting stick at.

Visit isuzuute.com.au or call 1300 147 898 for your nearest Isuzu UTE dealer.

Spirit of Truck

FE EL C LEA N ON THE IN SID E

CAL0289/C/IDM

Your car may look clean on the outside but what about the inside? That’s where Vortex Premium Diesel comes in. We’ve specifically designed it to clean your engine while you drive. So with regular use, the advanced additives protect both new and old diesel engines by removing deposits left on critical parts of the engine. Caltex Vortex Premium Diesel. Designed to clean.

CAL0289_275x210_C_IDM.indd 1

25/08/11 1:32 PM