Speaker 1: It's time now to explore Australia with Vic Widman thanks
Speaker 1: to Great Divide Tours and Club four x four Insurance,
Speaker 1: the four wheel drive, caravan and camper trailer insurance specialists.
Speaker 1: For a quote, visit Club four four dot com dot Au.
Speaker 2: Well he is the own operator of Great Divide Tours
Speaker 2: and you can get in touch with him by visiting
Speaker 2: the website or just go four wd dot net dot
Speaker 2: Au or you can just google Great Divide Tours.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: We tell people here with victwo you know, if you
Speaker 2: want to get out there and explore Australia and you're
Speaker 2: unsure to go on a tag along trip with Victor, Well,
Speaker 2: I saw it in first. I saw it first hand
Speaker 2: yesterday as I bumped into his crew, Tom and Dawn
Speaker 2: running leading the charge as they were leading a convoy
Speaker 2: of four wall drives. Victor, jeez, I can drink Hello.
Speaker 4: How are you going up in the kimbley? Mate?
Speaker 3: Mate? I'm loving it here, Victim.
Speaker 2: I've got to say to you, we did bump into
Speaker 2: your crew yesterday and we then saw them last night.
Speaker 2: They took up half of the Big Garden. But I'm
Speaker 2: sure how many of them were actually I'm not sure
Speaker 2: if they were drinking, and we left them with their
Speaker 2: own devices. But we did have a yarn with Tom
Speaker 2: yesterday and I did tell you. Look, I'm not sure
Speaker 2: whether Vic mentioned you a bit your pay rise you're getting,
Speaker 2: but he didn't mention.
Speaker 3: I hope I haven't. I hope I haven't spilt the secret.
Speaker 4: Uh, well, it will be. It will be a certain
Speaker 4: definitely a big surprise to Tom if you get the
Speaker 4: pay rise. He knows how tight how tight I am.
Speaker 3: You almost said it.
Speaker 4: Look, they're having a fantastic time up in the Kimberley,
Speaker 4: as I am absolutely certain you are. We've had a
Speaker 4: couple of conversations through the week. It is a magnificent
Speaker 4: part of the country, isn't it.
Speaker 3: Oh Look we look are you?
Speaker 2: You and I have spoken about this place many times,
Speaker 2: and you've spoken about it up here and basically hainted
Speaker 2: a picture because I mentioned earlier it's I guess it's
Speaker 2: a bucket list destination for all caravans, camp and trailer
Speaker 2: towers and travelers and tourists. And you know I've never
Speaker 2: been up here. You've been a great help when on
Speaker 2: the serious in the Fedgan department. You have been a
Speaker 2: great help by sending us a lot of information, a
Speaker 2: lot of things to make sure we do way to
Speaker 2: go places to see which our producers have been coming
Speaker 2: through and for os FRO TV. But I've got to
Speaker 2: say to your VIC yeah, it is an amazing place.
Speaker 2: What is I find very refreshing is the amount of
Speaker 2: people doing it this morning where we are camp now
Speaker 2: we are camped at Drysdale Riverside Station, and the place
Speaker 2: that was full of caravans and tents and roof tents
Speaker 2: and camps, it's now empty.
Speaker 3: As I'm sure we'll be.
Speaker 4: Talk to them.
Speaker 2: I've spoked to a couple of listeners here too, but
Speaker 2: I've got to say to you that. But then this
Speaker 2: afternoon roll in again and fill this place up. It
Speaker 2: certainly that's what seems to happen in these places. We
Speaker 2: stayed at a place the other night to Home Valley Station,
Speaker 2: which was fantastic right there at the eastern end of
Speaker 2: the GiB You're beautiful, went to the Bungle Bungles VIC
Speaker 2: Cathedral gorge.
Speaker 4: Seriously, isn't that amazing? Yeah?
Speaker 3: And look, but you stop at them.
Speaker 4: I'm just going to say for our listeners that haven't
Speaker 4: been there. Cathedral Cathedral chasm or gorge is a huge
Speaker 4: cave basically, isn't it. I mean yes, because about what
Speaker 4: five six houses may be bigger and with a nice
Speaker 4: little pond, lights, little lake down there in front of it.
Speaker 4: Sandy Beach as well, and of course it's in the
Speaker 4: Bungle Bungles right in the heart of that fantastic be
Speaker 4: high formations. We fow that beautiful orange and oca colored
Speaker 4: rock in that. It is a stunning location for sure,
Speaker 4: as is a lot of that Bungle Bungle area. Mate.
Speaker 4: It's just yeah, I must see location for.
Speaker 3: Sure, unbelievable.
Speaker 2: And that big pond of water you're talking about, you
Speaker 2: can when you look up at the at the rock walls,
Speaker 2: you can see where the waterfalls run down into there
Speaker 2: that area during the wet season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you wouldn't believe it.
Speaker 2: And I recorded a chat with Miles who is the
Speaker 2: manager of the Bungle Bungle caravan park.
Speaker 3: That place. I don't know if you stay there, that
Speaker 3: is unbelievable.
Speaker 2: There, that is that is your true definition of an
Speaker 2: outback caravan park.
Speaker 4: Right at the entrance to the road that goes into
Speaker 4: the Bungle Bungles. Yes, a lot of people use it
Speaker 4: with the big vans and that because you can't take
Speaker 4: the big vans into the bungle, so they make that
Speaker 4: at their base and there's a magnificent drive into the
Speaker 4: Bungles for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure why that rule is in place about
Speaker 2: dual actual vans going in there, but anyway, but what
Speaker 2: I've got to say that you can see where the
Speaker 2: water runs into that, into that cathedral. But what what Miles,
Speaker 2: people will hear this that on Australia Day because when
Speaker 2: the wedding is on, there's only him and.
Speaker 3: His wife back there.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Right, So there's a ranger in the Bungles Bungle, in
Speaker 2: the sorry in the Perlu National Park as a ranger,
Speaker 2: and then there is at the Caving Park there is
Speaker 2: Beck and Miles. What he does is he goes in
Speaker 2: to Cathedral Gorge on Australia Day and plays Australian songs
Speaker 2: on his guitar, just him and his missus.
Speaker 4: Oh wow, and the echo and the acoustics that would
Speaker 4: be fantastic, unbelievable.
Speaker 2: But imagine he has the whole entire National Park to himself.
Speaker 4: Pretty good one today. Yeah, so fantastic part of the
Speaker 4: country made and you've scratched the surface of it. But
Speaker 4: there's a lot more you're going to enjoy over the
Speaker 4: next couple of weeks. I'd imagine. I believe you've got
Speaker 4: a crew going up to Mitchell Falls and as we
Speaker 4: as we speak, the road up there, unfortunately from Dry
Speaker 4: South Station towards Kongbloo is still closed as a result
Speaker 4: of the rain that they had there a couple of
Speaker 4: weeks ago. But you've you've something, you've conned your way
Speaker 4: onto a leak off or something, isn't it.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, we have with a big CHECKVIC and when
Speaker 2: there was no conning involved, what we wanted we wanted
Speaker 2: to well, we wanted to film. We look, we've had
Speaker 2: I was afraid. TV has a few sponsors. We don't
Speaker 2: mention them here because it's a separate thing. All that
Speaker 2: club four by four also sponsors it. But basically we
Speaker 2: wanted to film from the top of the falls. But
Speaker 2: we just thought that would be amazing footage to put
Speaker 2: that on TV, to put that on TVV and you
Speaker 2: wait till you see the footage that we've got. We
Speaker 2: got to that chasm in the National Park and you
Speaker 2: had to be there right on midday to get the
Speaker 2: right light.
Speaker 3: Through the chasm.
Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, we were.
Speaker 2: We were set up make camera waiting and you said,
Speaker 2: I've looked at it already and I've just gone wait, wow,
Speaker 2: So people are going to see this on TV. We've
Speaker 2: taken this thing to a whole, a whole other level.
Speaker 2: And so what we did, Vic, we wanted to get
Speaker 2: up there and film up the top there, So so
Speaker 2: we did. We charted a plane and a helicopter. So
Speaker 2: so yeah, so basically we and obviously you know that'll
Speaker 2: come straight out of our budget. But at the end
Speaker 2: of the day week well, I actually rang my partner
Speaker 2: back of I was afraid, I think we should do this.
Speaker 2: He said, that's your call. You've got the money in
Speaker 2: the budget, just do it. So and it's a long
Speaker 2: way to come not to at least cature it. So
Speaker 2: I sent my young bloke. He was the co pilot
Speaker 2: in the passenger seat of the plane. They're up there
Speaker 2: out there as we speak, VIC, fluid look and then
Speaker 2: they fly to some somewhere land that then hop on
Speaker 2: the helicopter. So I sent the young bloke, I said, So,
Speaker 2: I said, the young bloke, the cameraman, the camera assistant,
Speaker 2: and as a bit of a treat I sent me
Speaker 2: as duck as well.
Speaker 4: Do don't you as you're trying to get in the
Speaker 4: good books after all the bad things. Listen look for
Speaker 4: our listeners say. It's not something that they can't do either.
Speaker 4: When you get into the when the road opens and
Speaker 4: you can drive right up towards the Mitchell Falls, which
Speaker 4: you can do. It's a bit of an intus road,
Speaker 4: but a good four drive set up can do it.
Speaker 4: You can do the walks into Mitchell Falls and you
Speaker 4: get the same vision from the top of the falls
Speaker 4: when you do that. But there is a helicopter Hell
Speaker 4: Works I think it is, that operate out of there,
Speaker 4: and of course it costs a bit of money cup
Speaker 4: hundred dollars and they can fly you either in or
Speaker 4: fly you back out, or fly you both ways if
Speaker 4: you want. So it's still there for our listeners and
Speaker 4: anyone who's driven all the way out and Tom will
Speaker 4: be doing that with our crew, and you know he's
Speaker 4: done the flights into the bungles because they were there
Speaker 4: a bit earlier than you and they couldn't get into
Speaker 4: the bungle so they flew in and ye look at
Speaker 4: cost money, but you know you try and offer elicopters
Speaker 4: that work costs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well the flights there in the we saw all
Speaker 2: that happening, and it certainly and look at and look
Speaker 2: people will say, you know, people say, oh, there's some
Speaker 2: of the things up there expensive. You've got to remember
Speaker 2: they operate for four to five months of the year
Speaker 2: best exactly, and then they claim one hundred percent. So everything,
Speaker 2: all the services, all the goods that you're buying and
Speaker 2: using here has to be trucked up here, which is
Speaker 2: an amazing expense, I mean, to be huge.
Speaker 1: Ye.
Speaker 2: Then imagine having a business when you're in your freight
Speaker 2: expenses and transport costs are higher than the average, and
Speaker 2: you're only opening your business for four to five months
Speaker 2: of the.
Speaker 3: Year, I mean.
Speaker 4: And a lot of those places mate like station and
Speaker 4: it probably still is that their power is off diesel generators,
Speaker 4: that's right. You know, that all cost money. When we
Speaker 4: were down in the malley last week, you know, we
Speaker 4: were talking to one of the local station hands and
Speaker 4: he said he spends two thousand dollars a day on
Speaker 4: one machine on diesel when they're playing on the fields.
Speaker 4: You know, So it's it's hard for us to comprehend
Speaker 4: that that kind of expenditure, and that's that's not you know,
Speaker 4: they're not doing it the expensive way, They're doing it
Speaker 4: the best way they can. And that's the cost of stuff.
Speaker 4: So you know you're right when when people say, oh,
Speaker 4: it is it cost a lot to get an helicopterne Well,
Speaker 4: like I said, were you own well and see what
Speaker 4: it costs?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 2: Well, somebody actually said there are two people this morning
Speaker 2: asked me. They said, what is that noise over in
Speaker 2: the distance, But that's the generator that's powering this place. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that's right, And I said, it was not not noisy.
Speaker 2: We camped away from it obviously, but it's not it's
Speaker 2: not that noisy anyway. But I mean, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2: That all costs, I mean, the proces of diesel. It
Speaker 2: was just incredible anyway, victim. But it was good to
Speaker 2: bump into your crew yesterday up here and you could
Speaker 2: just see the way they operate.
Speaker 3: They pulled over, they made sure your group was together. There.
Speaker 2: There was a bit of traffic on the GiB as
Speaker 2: you'd expect, and a couple of cars may have got
Speaker 2: in between, and obviously you've got to keep your distance
Speaker 2: from the vehicle in front of you. You have no choice
Speaker 2: in that because of the dust, extremely extremely dusty. But
Speaker 2: they seem to be doing a great job. And I
Speaker 2: can tell you again this is.
Speaker 3: No word of a lie.
Speaker 2: Everybody when we pulled up at this rest stop, they
Speaker 2: pulled him behind us. Everybody had a smile on their face.
Speaker 4: Oh that's good the money I go and played off
Speaker 4: well done.
Speaker 2: That was because they met It was because they met
Speaker 2: me with Tom.
Speaker 4: I'm going to say to you, true that you were
Speaker 4: getting selfies with people.
Speaker 2: I have had one hundred in the last three weeks.
Speaker 2: But I'm going to say this to you, Vic, Vic.
Speaker 2: I'm going to say the stuff I said to them
Speaker 2: made last All those customers that were on this trip
Speaker 2: are looking forward to that bonus trip next year as well.
Speaker 4: So that you're going to leave at your expense.
Speaker 3: That I promised them on your behalf, On your behalf.
Speaker 4: I don't care what anyone else is about. I still
Speaker 4: hate you, but no, you.
Speaker 2: Definitely are the best in the business. And I saw
Speaker 2: it first hand yesterday. Well, they made in. Your crew
Speaker 2: looked happy. They were all sitting together having dinner last
Speaker 2: night in the facility here, which I'm.
Speaker 3: Sure was part of it. And and they.
Speaker 2: And look they've left the swan of even see them
Speaker 2: dry out. But certainly it was good to bump into
Speaker 2: a mate.
Speaker 4: Oh it was great. And look, you know, as I say,
Speaker 4: the Kimbley is just a magic part of the country.
Speaker 4: It's a long way away from the East coast. It's
Speaker 4: certainly something that most people have on their bucket list.
Speaker 4: And you know, as you and I keep saying, you've
Speaker 4: just got to get out there and do it, make
Speaker 4: the time and go and do it, because we've you're
Speaker 4: leaving the rewards of what I've been talking about for
Speaker 4: years about how good that Kimblely is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well we've because we've been zigzagging because of closed
Speaker 2: roads and then reopened. We've zigzagged to and fro we've
Speaker 2: done so far, we've done five thousand, seven hundred kilometers. Wow,
Speaker 2: we have zigzagged a bit because we did things in reverse.
Speaker 2: We come on the GiB, then off the GiB and
Speaker 2: now back on.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: So' and you're you're still going to get back mate,
Speaker 4: You've got to lease a number five or seven before
Speaker 4: you finished and come back.
Speaker 3: So a long way we're looking now.
Speaker 2: It's sending the crew up, sending half of our party
Speaker 2: back and continuing on down the Wa coast and then
Speaker 2: into cow Gogoli now so having a production meeting this afternoon.
Speaker 2: I'll talk to you about that if we do. And
Speaker 2: we have looked credited you a bit because you have
Speaker 2: been helpful on this trip, as you are on most
Speaker 2: of the trips.
Speaker 3: All right, man, I've got a fly, Victor.
Speaker 4: You enjoying it. We're down a braved I'm down here
Speaker 4: training some people. It's about two degrees and there's been
Speaker 4: a huge snowfall this week. There's snow all over the
Speaker 4: snowy mountains, so that the people back home if you
Speaker 4: can't get to the Kimberley coming down to the snow country,
Speaker 4: there's some great sights to be seen in some great
Speaker 4: full riding.
Speaker 3: Good on your Victor.
Speaker 2: I gott to go mate, and talk to you soon
Speaker 2: next week.
Speaker 4: See Nucky there he is.
Speaker 2: That's vict We've been great Divide tours. And I said,
Speaker 2: I saw it the firsthand myself. Very very professional. He's
Speaker 2: guides are fantastic and I saw them working making sure
Speaker 2: everyone was happy yesterday and chatting. Everybody looked like they
Speaker 2: were enjoying themselves. And fancy that bumping into one of
Speaker 2: Vic's tours right out in the Kimberley. Not surprised because
Speaker 2: he runs tours all over the place. Four of d
Speaker 2: dot net dot a you Google Great Divide Tours and
Speaker 2: book or spot now for one of Vic's fantastic trips
Speaker 2: that he has all over the place