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