Welcome to the club! Aug 2019

Hi friends,

Welcome to the club! If you’re a past customer of MTE you’re now a member of our new club and we have a small window/bumper sticker for you when we next meet. There’s no joining or membership fee, but there will continue to be a cost for attending trips, hopefully a bit less than previously since MTE is now re-structured as a non-profit association (ie. club) without all the regulatory burdens associated with a passenger transport business. The existing website and booking/admin services also will continue unchanged, through an agreement with Experience Bus Hire & Charter, so that our organising committee can focus on organising and running great trips, as previously. Here’s a brief intro to the team:

 

Marcus ‘Hymie’ Hiam specialises in leading extended outback tours and camping trips. With his wife Helen he drives a Land Rover Defender 130 (aka ‘The Tardis’) and has an endless supply of entertaining stories from his experiences driving trucks, buses, taxis, and army recovery vehicles. He’s also worked in power stations and test-driven new vehicles in extreme conditions. His computer-based mapping and tourist information skills always make his trips enjoyable.

 

Alan ‘Tex’ Coward leads many of our tag-along trips. With his wife Liz he runs Mountain Rivers Tourist Park at Rawson and now owns a series 1 Discovery. As well as knowing much of the 4WD areas of Gippsland like the back of his hand, he has an intimate knowledge of all things mechanical, which often proves handy when things go wrong. Alan and Liz’s trip leading ensures people can relax and know that they will be well looked after whatever challenges may arise.

 

Frank Abela, of ‘Frank’s 4WD Adventures’ is an enthusiastic details-man who you may have encountered on our stand at a 4WD show. He and wife Marilyn have a 100 series LandCruiser and enjoy more relaxed touring-type adventures. He’s a retired ‘ambo’ (which is always handy on a trip) with a huge repertoire of yarns to share,  and is aiming to specialise in running more base-camp-type 4WD trips for fellow caravan owners and ‘grey nomads’.

 

Ron Camier started ‘Mountain-Top Experience’ in 1998 having previously been a research and development engineer in the Latrobe Valley coal industry. He is married to Anne and runs a fleet of four well-known Land Rover Defender 110s. His extensive experience of four wheel driving in Gippsland includes all sorts of dramas and rescues which provide entertaining stories going back to the start of recreational 4WDing in the late 1960s. His specialty is running driver training courses which are often acclaimed as the best in the state.

 

Day Trips

South Gippsland Slither, Sat 14/9/19. Slippery terrain meandering through Middle Creek, along the Grand Ridge Road and down through the Alberton West State Forest, all Alan’s home territory. Starting from Morwell. $150/tag-along vehicle (past customers $130).

 

Mt Margaret Ridgeline, Sat 19/10/19. Some steep and rugged 4WD tracks beyond Licola, which are even more spectacular since the recent bushfires. Beyond Maffra, but starts from Morwell. $150/tag-along vehicle (past customers $130).

 

Amazing Zig-Zag Track, Sat 23/11/19. A spectacular track with corners so tight it was never intended to be able turn on them … but we’ll guide you how to! North of Morwell. $150/tag-along vehicle (past customers $130).

 

Camping Trips

South Australian Beaches, 2~5/11/19 (Melb Cup Day Weekend). The best of SA’s exciting beach runs and sand dune playgrounds including Robe, Beachport, Nora Creina and Carpenters Rocks. This is a base camp trip suitable for caravans and camper trailers, staying at Millicent. Meeting at Millicent at 8:30am, so suggested Friday afternoon/evening start from Melbourne. Note early daily start times to suit tides. 1,500 km Melb-Melb. Led by Marcus. $400/tag-along vehicle (past customers $360).

 

Summer in the High Country, Sat~Wed 18~22/1/20. Featuring 4WDing the iconic Blue Rag Range and spectacular views from Mt Murray. A relaxed base camp trip suitable for caravans and camper trailers, staying at Porepunkah and led by Frank and Ron. Meeting at Mansfield at 10:15am. $390/tag-along vehicle (past customers $350).

 

High Country Huts, Sat~Mon 14~16/3/20 (Labour Day Weekend). Visiting historic cattlemen’s huts around Mt Stirling and the Howqua River at muster time. A photographer’s delight including snow gums and alpine meadows at their best, led by Frank and Marcus. Meeting at Mansfield at 10:15am. $300/tag-along vehicle (past customers $260).

 

Extended Tour

Sandy Blight Junction, Sun~Mon 8~24/9/19, 17-day outback trip. (This trip is mainly outside of school holidays to help avoid the crowds.) Sandy Blight Track is the centrepiece of our next MTE extended tour being led by Marcus and Ron. It is described as “a 4W Drivers dream, combining history, adventure and beauty”, but the early explorers also described it as “desolate and waterless” country, and that hasn’t changed! Anticipated highlights are:

  • Epic 4WD challenges with wash-outs, deep sand, rocky climbs and endless corrugations.
  • The story of explorer Ernest Giles, including Gibson’s tragedy, and Tietkins tree.
  • Len Beadell’s survey roads for the Woomera rocket range and Maralinga atomic bomb tests, including “200 Mile Rock”.
  • The West Macdonnell Ranges and legends of Harold Lasseter’s cave and lost gold reef.
  • Hermannsberg, the Finke Gorge and the fun, sandy stretches of Boggy Holes Track.
  • The Oodnadatta Track, with ruins of the Overland Telegraph and original Ghan Railway and WATER in Lake Eyre.
  • The stories of outback road train inventor Kurt Johannsen.
  • Coober Pedy opal mines and the Painted Desert.
  • An R&R day in Alice Springs, with courtesy bus to evening meals venue.
  • Possibly your last chance to CLIMB Uluru before it is closed.

Start: Meet Sunday evening 8/9/19, at Port Augusta. Optional Sat night at Underbool (Free camping in the main street. Allow 5 1/2 hours from Melbourne).

Finish: Monday evening 23/9/18, at Peterborough.

Distance Melb-Melb: About 6,500 km.

Accommodation: A mixture of caravan parks, established campgrounds and bush camping (BYO food and camping gear).

Cost: $1700/tag-along vehicle (excludes camping/permit fees).

 

Driver Training Courses

Advanced 4WD weekend residential courses. Sat~Sun 7~8/9/19, 12~13/10/19 (almost booked out), 16~17/11/19. Based at Mountain Rivers Tourist Park, Rawson. Entertaining theory presentation on ‘Getting the Right Gear’ and ‘Tackling Tough Trails’. Practical exercises that will carefully take vehicles to their limits. Stories about rescues and incidents that you won’t want to repeat. Pricing $310/participant, $60/partner. Course exceeds industry standards and includes detailed notes, certificate and subsidised motel accommodation.

 

We hope to see you!