Monthly Archives: October 2013

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC)

AWC, Uncategorised

So who are AWC? AWC establishes sanctuaries for the conservation of Australia’s threatened wildlife and ecosystems. AWC now owns 23 sanctuaries covering over 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) in places such as north Queensland, the Kimberley, western New South Wales, Northern Territory and the forests of south western Australia.

The Doc hopes to visit some Australian Wildlife Conservancies on the Excellent Adventure. So he has set up a Blog page to cover his visits, here.

Feel free to donate to such a great cause. Did The Doc mention donations over $2 are tax deductible?

Hobie Pro Angler 12 Kayak

Uncategorised

Quotes are now being sought for the Hobie Pro Angler 12 kayak, which will allow The Doc to commute around inland rivers and waterways. A stable platform to take photos.

It will be stowed on top of the Xtreme Camper which has been modified to take the kayak.

The Doc’s friend Tony Stott has been helping out with advice, equipment lists and getting the best price. Visit Tony’s website, Scene from Above Aerial Images.

That should be The Doc’s last big equipment purchase.

Deposit paid on 28 October for a December 2013 delivery.

Off road driver training

Nissan Patrol, Uncategorised

More preparation for The Doc’s Excellent Adventure, this time I just completed my off road driver training with my new Car Club, TLCC. Driver Training must be done before you can become a full member of TLCC. The training is first rate, superior to private training courses. It is a fully accredited training course run by TLCC volunteers who generously gave up their weekend.

There were 3 modules in the course, including 2.5 hours of lectures and then we had to read a Training Manual before practical training on the following weekend. On Saturday we drove various courses from 8am until 6.30pm. It was “full on” the whole day. The training was designed to take people out of their comfort zone. We started in the deep end and it just got deeper over the day.

Great to see the ladies give their all (most of my class were ladies, the gents were in the second class). One student was over 70 and passed with flying colours. The second class was doing recovery on the Saturday and we reversed places on the Sunday. So Sunday I was trained on recovery equipment and techniques.

A few dented panels and a broken diff were the only casualties on the weekend. I did say it was full on. Often trees and rocks were several centimeters from both sides of the cars. Thankfully nothing happened to the Patrol, but once or twice it was only a centimeter or two in it. In my case the awnings just missed some trees during sharp constricted turns.

I think I will get more off-road driving in before I think about the Advanced Course. Most people would think the first course was advanced enough!