Southbound for Adventure

The magazine for Toyota owners

Issue 1 / 2012

Southern Exposure Uncovering Antarctica’s unspoilt wilderness

Tasmanian getaway

Travelling across the island state in Camry Hybrid

Heart warmers

Sensational soup recipes for the colder months

Depth of confidence

Red Bull Cliff Diving Championships

Welcome

inside

The magazine for Toyota owners

Contributors Paul Bradshaw With more than 15 years’ experience snapping cars and landscapes, photographer Paul Bradshaw was well qualified to shoot All-New Camry Hybrid in Tasmania for this issue’s cover story.

Welcome to the first edition of Driver’s World for 2012.

Many of you will be seeing Driver’s World for the first time. We hope you enjoy it.

Happily, we started 2012 in celebration, with the announcement that your support has again made Toyota Australia’s favourite car company, for the ninth consecutive year in 2011.

Your love of our Corolla, Camry and HiLux models is quite clear –all three cars were in the top 10 list of vehicles sold last year.

You are helping us to continue that exciting trend, with Toyota remaining the number one vehicle brand in Australia through the first quarter of 2012.

And 2012 promises to be a year of further excitement with the launches of the All-New Camry Atara, All-New Aurion, a new family of Hybrids and the much-anticipated 86.

In this issue, you’ll see a lot of the impressive All-New Camry Hybrid as we take it on the breathtaking roads of Tasmania and the legendary Targa Tasmania route. You can read all about it from page 12.

This is a very important car for Toyota; it demonstrates all the fantastic traits of our Hybrid Synergy Drive technology – superb power output and incredible fuel economy – in a luxurious, practical, sporty family-sized sedan.

Toyota sponsored the Australian leg of the Red Bull Cliff Diving Championships, and there is coverage from the event on pages 28 and 29.

We’ve also launched the All-New Prius range, a brand new family of Hybrid vehicles derived from the world’s leading hybrid vehicle. These include rejuvenated Prius, new seven-seat Prius v and the sassy city-car, the Prius c – which you can read about in this issue, from page 24.

4

Driver’s World

The Prius model expansion invigorates Toyota’s hybrid line-up, with vehicles ranging from three door city hatchbacks to large sedans and seven-seat people movers all now available with Toyota’s proven Hybrid Synergy Drive.

They will open the door to many people who had perhaps previously not considered driving a hybrid. I believe these will be the vehicles that will change perceptions of hybrids forever.

This year is only going to continue to get better for our customers, with the launch of the exciting Toyota 86 rear-wheel-drive sports car in June.

This car brings driving passion and sporting design to a new audience, and promises a great deal of fun for the driver.

We are extremely proud of the 86, and also very pleased at how the world’s press has already received it. In this issue’s news section, we take a brief look at what the world has been saying about our sports car.

I trust you enjoy this first edition of Driver’s World for 2012.

We appreciate your feedback, so please send us an email with your thoughts and suggestions (info@toyotaenquiries.com.au).

Safe motoring.

Matthew Callachor Executive Director Sales and Marketing Toyota Australia

Roderick Eime Roderick is an Adelaideborn travel journalist and photographer specialising in soft adventure and expedition cruising.

He has sailed to locations including the Mekong and Amazon rivers, crossed both polar circles and visited locations as far flung as Easter Island, the Marquesas and Australia’s Kimberley.

Patrick Lyons Patrick has more than 30 years’ experience in journalism, public relations, marketing and event management. He was motoring editor of the Herald Sun for five years and was founding editor of Automotive Business in The Australian.

Executive Editors Jason Viney, Joshua Wood and Bree Tanner Editor Ben Nightingale Sub-editor Nick Raman Contributors Ewen Bell, Paul Bradshaw, Roderick Eime, Matthias Engesser, Richard Garfield, Patrick Lyons, Bob Seary, Tracey Spicer Art Director Alan McArthur Photo Credit Paul Bradshaw (pp12-16), Bob Seary (p10, p22, pp24-26), Ewen Bell (pp18-21), Roderick Eime (18-21), Red Bull Content Pool (pp28-29) ©iStockphoto.com/tpgartdept (p31).

12

Escape to Tasmania Driver’s World grabs the keys to the newly-launched Camry Hybrid and heads to Tasmania to take on challenging roads while taking in spectacular scenery.

18

24

Antarctica is the last great unspoilt wilderness on earth, and as we discover, modern technology is now making it easier to visit and appreciate.

The new family of Prius vehicles is bringing Toyota’s renowned hybrid technology to more people. Driver’s World takes a look at the new range of exciting models.

Southbound for adventure

Modern family

06 Inside Line Catch up on all the latest news in the world of Toyota, from the launch of the new-look LandCruiser wagon to Toyota Racing’s entry in the FIA World Endurance Championship with a hybrid-powered race car.

22

Your Toyota The story of one family’s 60 year relationship with its Toyota vehicles.

28

Diver’s World A look at the incredible Red Bull Cliff Diving Championships.

30

Sultry Soups Recipes to soothe the soul through the colder months.

32

In Gear All the latest in handy smartphone apps for the busy traveller and motorist.

34

Toyota Tips Arrive at your destination safely with this guide to preparing for a road trip.

For enquiries and address changes Driver’s World PO Box 1633 NORTH SYDNEY 2059 T 1800 356 554 F 1800 556 151 E info@toyotaenquiries.com.au Toyota Driver’s World is published and distributed by Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited, ABN 64 009 686 097, Cnr Captain Cook Drive & Gannons Road, Caringbah NSW 2229. Information carried in this issue was correct at the time of printing and Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited, to the extent permitted by law to do so, shall not be liable in any way as a result of any reliance by any person on anything contained in this publication. Authorised Toyota dealers will provide upto-date information on all aspects, features and pricing of Toyota vehicles, parts, accessories and servicing.

The magazine for Toyota owners

Issue 1 / 2012

Southern Exposure

©2011 Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited – no part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or distributed without its consent.

POSITIONAL ONLY

Uncovering Antarctica’s unspoilt wilderness

Cover image: Antarctica is a stunning vista of stark, sun drenched icebergs and unique wildlife.

(Image: Ewen Bell) Main image: Dramatic scenery is everywhere you look in beautiful Tasmania.

Tasmanian getaway

Travelling across the island state in Camry Hybrid

Heart warmers

Sensational soup recipes for the colder months

Depth of confidence

Red Bull Cliff Diving Championships

Driver’s World

5

TRAVEL

Southbound for Adventure

Brace yourself for adventure as we take you into the unique, unspoilt wilderness of Antarctica in a special trip that marks 100 years since Sir Douglas Mawson established his base there.

Words Roderick Eime

18 Driver’s World

I

f your idea of a cruise is sitting on a deckchair beside a pool with a pina colada in one hand and a Jackie Collins potboiler in the other, read no further.

Antarctica is one of those places, like the moon, that is just so distant and unreachable that to travel there almost seems like pure fantasy.

One hundred years ago, men like Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton and Mawson were the astronauts of their time, venturing to lands so remote and inhospitable that returning safely was by no means assured.

Even today, their tales of heroism and courage still reverberate with young men and women who seek extraordinary adventure.

2012 marks the Mawson Centenary. Our best known polar hero, Sir Douglas Mawson established his base at Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay during January 1912 and started an Antarctic research program that continues to this day.

Mawson’s tale of struggle and survival is legendary, and one of the great Antarctic stories of all time, rivalled only by Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition tragedy at the South Pole.

These Antarctic centenaries have reawakened our passion for adventure travel and the most ambitious and hardy among us have shelled out thousands of dollars to visit the preserved historic huts dotted around the coastline of the world’s driest, windiest and coldest continent.

The trip to Cape Denison on the shoreline of the Ross Sea (where Scott’s huts are located) means spending weeks at sea, just as the great mariners John King Davis and Frank Worsley would have done. It’s not a voyage for the faint-hearted, but the rewards are great.

For this writer, the great fascination lies in the insight, albeit meagre, that one gets into how incredibly harsh life would have been for the men who came here a century ago.

After many years spent reading the famous tales of hardship, heroism and privation, it is a surreal experience to stand inside Mawson’s snow-covered main hut with its rusty Columbia stove centrepiece, surrounded by the scarce items that sustained them through dark and bitterly cold winters.

Ice-encrusted tins of Colman’s mixed mustard, bottles of Imperial stout and jars of Heinz sweet midget gherkin pickles still line the shelves, just as they were left.

Official expedition photographer James Francis (Frank) Hurley’s darkroom is still there, complete with discarded Lumiere dry plates and packets of Kodak Pearl PlatinoArgentic paper.

Driver’s World 19

TRAVEL

His notes, including the prophetic phrase: “Near enough is not good enough”, are etched into the woodwork. I wonder whether, a century on, adventure travellers might marvel at the site of the first lunar landing in the same way.

Unlike the other preserved and recreated historic huts of Scott and Shackleton, Mawson’s has been left ‘as is’.

For most of the past decade, conservators and restorers from the Mawson’s Huts Foundation have diligently documented every item, right down to old boots and broken bottles in the rubbish heap outside, recording their final resting places and leaving them there. Naturally, our briefing beforehand carried a firm “look but don’t touch” warning.

Removing any items from the site, even pebbles, is forbidden.

“There is some debate about the value of these items,” says Dave, the conservation team’s doctor, as we survey the debris. “But for now at least, everything stays where it is.”

“Men wanted for hazardous journey.

Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness.

Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.”

Ernest Shackleton’s famous recruitment advertisement reputedly published in the London Times a century ago.

Dave is one of a team of five that has just arrived aboard the French icebreaker resupply vessel Astrolabe, for a five-week stint.

He invites me into their modern ‘digs’ over the hill, just in time to see teammate Pete stirring a bolognaise sauce on their tiny gas stove.

“I’m also the postmaster,” he chuckles, showing me great packets of philatelic items he has to process for collectors all around the world. “I did a crash course before I left. These guys are serious: everything has to be just so.”

He franks my little pocketbook and poses for a photo.

Not all voyages to the great south need be fraught with hardship. For over 20 years, tourist voyages to the much more accessible Antarctic Peninsula have set out from Ushuaia, Argentina, the world’s most southerly port.

In 1991 the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) was formed by seven pioneering operators to set guidelines for responsible tourism and conservation.

Antarctic tourism slowed during the GFC but is now showing signs of a strong recovery, especially by Australians who seem less concerned about travel warnings and currency fluctuations than other travellers.

In fact, the muscle-bound Aussie dollar makes Antarctic travel cheaper now than 20 years ago as most cruises are priced in US dollars.

While the great white continent draws history buffs like the proverbial, at least an equal number are moved to action by the staggering scenery, incredible wildlife and pristine environment.

In the early days of Antarctic cruising, most vessels were recruited from the newly dormant ex-Soviet fleet of oceanographic and ‘spy’ ships.

The sturdy, ice-strengthened, (if somewhat

utilitarian) workhorses were perfect for the task. Ships with names like Akademik, Shokalskiy, Vavilov, Multanovskiy and Kapitan Khlebnikov have transported thousands of travellers and dilettante explorers to the icy realm below 70 degrees south.

In more recent years, the prospect of rugged adventure has given way to a more hedonistic approach, with the latest wave of expedition vessels touring the ice-choked passages of the Bransfield Strait during their Caribbean or Mediterranean off-season. The recently launched, French-flagged vessels of Compagnie du Ponant are an example.

Aboard their latest vessel, L’Austral (the second in a planned trio of 264-passenger state-of-the-art boutique expedition vessels), first-timers will experience a level of luxury A Shy Albatross, also known as Shy Mollymawk.

and, dare I say it, decadence rarely seen on adventure cruise ships. For those with memories of the ex-Soviet fleet, the Ponant experience will come as a shock.

Captain Jean-Philippe Lemaire, master of L’Austral and one of the founding team of Compagnie du Ponant told me: “We wanted to use small niche vessels with much conviviality on-board targeted to high-class passengers.”

Lofty intentions perhaps, but it appears Ponant is well under way with its plan to entice people from all over the world to experience their own peculiar Gallic flavour of expedition cruising.

So if are you planning an Antarctic cruise vacation, decide whether you are a cocktail sipper or a thrill seeker, because now the choice is yours.

A seal shows off for tourists.

Mawson’s hut is remarkably well preserved.

Adelie peguins bring real life and character to Antarctica.

Antarctic Wildlife Penguins, seals, whales and seabirds make up the majority of the fauna present in the southern latitudes.

Unless you are on a specialised itinerary, visitors to the peninsula can expect to see almost exclusively adelie and gentoo penguins.

The emperors of movie fame live much further south and require a dedicated voyage, while the similarly regal king penguins can be seen on the sub-Antarctic islands.

L’Austral is one of the newest additions to the Ponant cruise fleet.

Humpbacks, minkes and occasionally fin whales are seen in the waters around Antarctica. On rare occasions, massive blue whales can be sighted as well as orcas.

Cocktail sippers: Ponant Cruises www.ponant.com Adventurers: Aurora Expeditions www.auroraexpeditions.com.au Expeditioners: Heritage Expeditions www.heritage-expeditions.com A graceful Buller’s Albatross flies under the radar.

Humpbacks are renowned for their spectacular ‘breeching’, where they leap out of the water.

For birdwatchers, the majestic albatross are the blue-ribbon sighting, especially around the sub-Antarctic region. The superb wandering albatross, with the largest wingspan (three metres) of any living bird, is the prize.

Crab-eater, carnivorous leopard and fur seals are the most common, with the ungainly elephant seals in the sub-Antarctic region. The young, wide-eyed pups are curious and playful. Lucky visitors may see a leopard seal hunting its favourite prey, penguins.

20 Driver’s World

Driver’s World 21