Australia Day Four Day High Country Tour with Special Guest Ron Moon ~ January 25th
We’re excited to announce today that on our January 25th Australia Day Four Day High Country tour we will be joined by a very special guest, Ron Moon from 4x4 Australia magazine!
Ron will be providing an extensive history lesson on the area, 4WD training, bush maintenance, recovery training, talks on how to best set up a vehicle for remote travel etc and a good yarn around the fire. Ron will also be taking the lead on our track selection for this tour, using his remarkable knowledge of the region to guide us on the path less traveled.
RON & VIV MOON have spent much of their lives exploring and writing about Australia’s wild and remote areas. In their travels they combine many interests such as 4wd touring, camping, bird watching, diving, hunting, canoeing and fishing, as well as photography, and this is reflected in the many articles that they have written for a wide range of magazines in Australia.
While both Ron and Viv are recognised travel writers specialising in out of the way places, Ron was the long time editor of the 4WD magazine, 4x4 Australia, and now has more of a roving and exciting role as 4x4’s Editor-at-Large. In all Ron & Viv have contributed to or written 13 guide books on Outback Australia, including books for Lonely Planet, Hema Maps and Global Publications.
A WIDE BREADTH OF EXPERIENCES
Born in Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory in 1949, Ron grew up in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia where at a very young age he spent his time trapping rabbits and hunting with a single shot .22 rifle.
Moving to the southern coast of South Australia his teenage years were spent spearfishing, scuba diving, and when the water was dirty or too rough, surfing and rabbit shooting. These are passions that continue to this day.
Gaining his love of travel from his widely travelled father, Ron was travelling far and wide as soon as he got his driving licence. A stint in the Army as an electronic technician added to his travels in the Outback and overseas, while his skill as a photographer earned him a place on a number of expeditions. These were as diverse as:
* Diving the remote southern Maldives in the Indian Ocean as chief photographer with a British scientific expedition;
* Rafting the Franklin River in Tasmania on the first commercial recce trip down that wild river as photographer,
* Acting as a guide and photographer with a National Museum of Victoria expedition to the desert country of South Australia;
* Leading the first trekking group across the Big Desert Wilderness in western Victoria, and a host more.
THE 4X4 WORLD
Between 1987 and 2001 Ron was the editor of Australia’s leading 4WD magazine, 4X4 Australia, and in that time he gained an enviable reputation as one of the most travelled and ‘hands on’ 4WD experts in the country. Today he is now their Editor-at-Large which allows both him and Viv to travel more frequently and more widely.
A range of wilderness canoe trips in the late 1980s and early 1990s resulted in a number of ‘first descents’ on remote crocodile infested rivers in northern Australia; most of these expeditions were sponsored by Australian Geographic magazine.
Their knowledge on the history of exploration in Australia has seen them lead a number of 4WD trips following the footsteps of the early explorers. They have hunted and scuba dived all around the country and have also fished extensively in the wilder, more remote areas, but Ron admits he only chases fish when there is a very good chance of catching some!
While they are not whitewater canoeists, they have paddled many remote rivers in the far north as well as along the east coast and rafted some of the wildest, remotest rivers in Australia.
The last 25 years have seen nine trips to southern Africa where they spend most of their time in national parks or in remote safari camps. Four of those trips included hunting trips in Botswana, Zimbabwe and in a number of places throughout South Africa.
As well, Ron and Viv have been lucky enough to have spent time in the bush driving 4WD vehicles in a range of spectacular offroad environments in the Ukraine, UK, Thailand, Spain, Malaysia, Japan, Canada, Africa, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and the USA. Some of their most memorable times being in Africa, and on the Rubicon Trail and in the ‘Canyon Lands’ of Moab in the US.
Day One - We meet in the heart of the High Country at the town of Dargo where our tour leader will hand out CB radios to those that don’t have one and run through some basic info such as our convoy procedures and radio etiquette. This will be our last chance to refuel and purchase any supplies. Once everyone is ready we will head out of town on the Dargo High Plains Rd to the site of the former gold mining town, Grant. Here we will drop our tire pressures, engage low range and begin a breathtaking descent down McMillans Rd to Talbotville.In Talbotville we will be served lunch and have a coffee or tea, then head back onto the tracks for our first river crossing and through to the summit of Mt Cynthia where we will have a snack for afternoon tea. Dropping back down into the valley we will cross the Wonnangatta River at Eaglevale then follow it downstream to our well-equipped basecamp at Crooked River.
We’ll have some time to get settled into our new home and maybe have a swim or a fish before dinner is served at around 7pm. After dinner, our tour leader will give us a rundown of what to expect for the next few days and some basic 4WD training.
Day Two - After a freshly ground espresso and a delicious breakfast at our base camp we will head up the Wonnangatta Valley to the famous Wonnangatta station, breaking for lunch at the hut then returning via the exciting and challenging climb up Herne Spur which features several river crossings and a steep rocky scramble.
Day Three - Beginning again with a mouth-watering hot breakfast at camp, today we will be travelling through the Dargo High Plains to Blue Rag Range for what is widely believed to be the most scenic ridgeline drive in the country. Depending on track conditions and the time available we may drop all the way to the bottom, or turn around at the high point.
Day Four - After a few days gaining confidence and skills we are now ready for our final challenge, the famous Billy Goat Bluff track! The ascent begins just a short distance from our base camp and climbs steeply up towards the Pinnacles where we will serve lunch and take the short walk up to the fire tower where we’ll enjoy 360 views of the surrounding ranges. After soaking up the stunning views we will head back down Billy Goats Bluff to our Basecamp where the tour will conclude after lunch.
Tour Details
| Tour Date Start | 25-01-2019 12:00 pm |
| Tour End Date | 28-01-2019 2:00 pm |
| Registration Start Date | 30-01-2017 |
| Cut off date | 22-01-2019 |
| Location | High Country |