Head north from Manilla across the Namoi River turn off onto the Fossickers Way. The first 15km is a narrow sealed road wandering past hobby farms and old buildings, as soon as you hit the dirt the farms grow in size to huge pastoral stations and crop growing areas beside the Namoi River, you’ll soon go over the Nandewar Ranges, which was first seen back in 1818 by explorer John Oxley. There are several turns towards Warrabah, but these are well sign posted.

Discovering Walcha Waterfalls: Ultimate Guide to 4WD Tracks and Riverside Camping

Unlocking the Kunderang Wilderness

It was to the south of Mount Surprise that copper and gold was found way back in 1866. Many people flocked to the area to seek their fortune here and in the Gilbert River region to the west. By 1908 a single line railway reached the outstation and it became a hub for the western section of the tablelands with a telegraph station, several hotels, schools and police station.

Woolgoolgaoffroad and Outback Armour

In 1920, a small settlement was established at Southend, where today several hundred people live and many do the commute to the mainland every day for work. Once on the island, you’ll need a 4WD to get around and explore its sheer ruggedness, like the newly cut in Ship Hill 4WD ridge-line track where at the last viewing point, it’s where Matthew Flinders stood in 1802 and looked down on his survey vessel, the Investigator.

An east coast low saw me held up in Mackay Queensland for a few days until it passed further north and out to sea. I’ve never explored the Mackay region before and until now it was only to pass through heading to the Cape. It’s a busy place where industry meets the tourism sector and with a near-perfect climate, the Mackay region is growing fast.

One of the areas that I’ve spent time at has been at the old township of Beacon at the base of Mt Coramba. There is little information about this place and even less signs of any civilisation there. But get this for a fact - there used to be up to 4 times more people here than what there was in Coffs Harbour !. You go there now and the bush has taken over this once thriving place. There were stores, police station, a doctors house, dance-dance - rec hall, a pub, a playing fie

My turn for the Starke River track was just up the road from my overnight camp along Isabella McIvor River road for 30km to Mount Webb station.  It’s from here that the Starke Track starts. Rated as a medium track on maps and online, it was honestly just a nice drive through several Aboriginal land trust areas, where the cattle were serious fat and the area was severely green from a late wet season.

Georgetown in the gulf of Carpenteria is a quiet town these days with tourists passing through in the cooler months and large cattle stations surrounding the town, but it was once the site of a gold rush and played an important part with an overland telegraph station that provided crucial information to Cape York especially during critical times like WW11. I’ve stayed in Georgetown a few times and found it a great base to setup and explore the surrounding area.

I can’t believe its taken us over 30 years to actually get to K’gari Island to discover its inner beauty and explore the islands amazing history and stunning scenery. Realistically, I think I’ve been avoiding the island because I thought there would be massive crowds and a lot of sand recoveries across the island, but boy was I wrong.

Tambo in central Queensland is one of those places where most people zip through giving no thought on past history or local attractions.

Unveiling the Hidden Gems of Borroloola and Seven Emu Station on the Savannah Way

When I was planning this trip I knew I’d have to fuel up along the way, and my target was the Aboriginal community of Ampilatwatja, nearly 500km from Camooweal. Ampilatwatja ( pronounced um blood a-watch ), is a community of around 500 people that welcome visitors to their community to fuel up and shop at the general store.

My 80 series is constantly off-road in some of the harshest conditions that our country can dish up. Quite often I’ll be away in dirty and dusty conditions for weeks at on end. But I find with the right products my 34-year-old Landcruiser 80 comes up a treat time and time again. Now while I’m happy to use self-serve car washes for soak and pre-wash while I’m on the road, I totally refuse to use those scratchy brushes they offer to avoid any more paint damage.

One of my favourite areas to explore is 90mins west of Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast which is known for its dramatic gorges, waterfalls & landscapes with granite outcrops. My starting point was the little hamlet of Ebor which is surrounded by world heritage areas, multiple National parks, walking trails and some of the best waterfalls you’ll find.

Wyperfeld is the third largest NP in Victoria broken up into three different management areas to protect its fragile Mallee country, indigenous heritage and European history. Covering a staggering 357,000 hectares it was first reserved in 1909 but declared in 1921 to protect and manage. The Wotjobaluk people have called Wyperfeld home for many generations and there are signs throughout the park where artefacts, middens and burial sites have been found and are now protected.

By 1852 the light was built and it was a 15-wick oil-burning lamp lighting the way, 1920 it was converted to kerosene and today it's an efficient LED light that shines and is still a crucial navigation aid. There’s a self-guided heritage walking trail around the ground with a dozen different landmarks to explore. Cape Willoughby is often the coldest place in the state and the Sturt Light made of granite and lime mortar is the oldest lighthouse in South Australia where it’s na

Woolgoolgaoffroad using DMOS gear

My end goal was still another 30km to the east of Beltana into the remote and isolated Warraweena Station. The station is located where the Flinders and Gammon ranges meet and makes for a stunning drive across barren landscapes and through gorge country. The drive eastward towards Warraweena has long stretches of road passing between ancient rock formations on either side, crossing over rough dry creek beds until you enter the station's boundary.