Hitting the tracks or sandy beaches for some 4WDing this weekend? If you’ll be rolling solo, check out our mates over at 4WD Action Top Tips for getting out of those tough spots.
Spend less time bogged, and more time Taking in the Gold!
Category: Weekend Essentials
Best 12 Volt Accessories
Take in the Gold with our top five 12V tips. From solar panels to cold beers on tap, 12V will revolutionise the way you camp, helping you to enjoy the great Aussie outdoors even more. Cheers to that!
Best of Cape York
Hear the top 3 tips to make your next Take in the GOLD adventure even better. When exploring the toughest track that Cape York has to offer, pitch your camp up at Sam Creek and discover the untapped hidden gems just meters from your spot. From an epic beach run along pure white sand, to collecting oysters off the rocks, Cape York has got your weekend sorted.
Escaping the cold
Princess Charlotte Bay, Cape York
This place is regarded as one of the premiere fishing locations in the Cape York region. It just has so many options available for the landbased fisho it’s not funny! You could spend a month up here and fish different stretches of water each day and still not cover this whole area. Start yourself in Lakefield National Park and fish for Barra and slowly make your way fishing and camping your way to the coast. You have so many options from barra in the mangroves to queenies on the flats. If you tow a small tinny up here, your fishing options have just increased tenfold. From here you will be able to fish for reef fish and pelagic around the island and in the protected waters of the bay.
Pormpuraaw
If you’re got BIG barra on your fishing bucket list it’s pretty hard to go past the Coleman River just south of Pormpuraaw on the north eastern side of the Gulf. After a good wet season (like we had this year!) you’ll have one of your best shots at landing a big girl over the magic metre mark. Of course, you will get your bycatch like threadfin salmon, queenfish and trevally, but if you can get a lure and bait past these guys you are in with a good chance to catch the saltwater barra of a lifetime. The best way to fish these big river systems is to pay attention to your sounder and find deep water rock bars. Slow troll some deep diving bibbed lures down along these rock bars and work the rod to twitch the lure in a frantic motion as you troll.
1770
The only town in Australian that’s a number and not a word, but more importantly, it’s one of the best fishing destinations on the east coast. When you see the photos of reef fish and in particular, red emperor you’ll be planning a fishing trip up here on the next long weekend you can find. If the weather doesn’t play the game you can fish the creeks for barra and mangrove jacks and put a few pots out for a feed of muddies. Offshore you have a limitless amount of reef and shoals to fish for a variety of hard pulling species. For best results use your sounder and spend a good amount of time searching for isolated bommies in 30-50m for your red emperor and coral trout. A deadly way to catch them is using a fillet of husser that are plentiful on all these reefs and send it down on a paternoster rig. Bring your snorkelling gear as well as some of the coral lagoons here are nothing short of spectacular!
Fraser Island
Plan your trip up here between August and October to coincide with the tailor run for some of the best beach fishing of your life. Dust off the beach rods and pack some gang hooks and pillies as well as a few metal slices to give yourself the best chance of hooking up. The tailor can sometimes be that thick that you will be able to see them in the waves as they chase baitfish. Look for good deep water gutters and fish the area where the deep water pushes over a sandbar. The beaches on Fraser Island will have plenty of pipis and beachworms that you can catch at low tide that make great bait for dart, bream and whiting. Up the top of the Island at Sandy Cape, you will be able to fish the calm stretches of water on the western side of the island and if you’re into your surface fishing, cast poppers and stickbaits right up the top of the island for GTs and mackerel.
Beach Camping
Planning a spot of Beach Camping? The beach is a brilliant spot to camp out but it doesn’t come without it’s hurdles. Here’s three top tips so that you’ll be ultra comfortable for your next beach camp adventure.
Bush Communication Tips
Minor emergency: We’re down to the last 3 beers in the esky… While the boys joke around, communications in the bush are absolutely essential. Check out their top tips for when your off the beaten track below.
Winter Camping Spots
1. Nine Mile Beach, Byfield National Park:
Located in Central Queensland, this is a great place to bring the 4WD, mates and family to get off the grid and experience some of the best coastal camping in QLD. Campsites are super cheap, but you do need to book online. Bring your fishing gear, because if you head south on the Nine Mile Beach, there is a track into the back of Corio Bay, which is a great place to wet a line.
2. Sandy Cape, Fraser Island
This is the place you go on Fraser to escape the crowds and experience some of the best camping in the country. My pick of the crop is the first campsite you come to as you round the camp, right next to the big sand dune. You will need to be self-sufficient up here and these campsites are cut off to the rest of the island during a high tide. Waking up to flat, crystal-clear turquoise water lapping up to the beach in front of your campsite is just about as good as it gets! The fishing up here can be spectacular.
3. Moreton Island
This is the perfect long weekender from Brisbane and while you are relatively close to the big smoke, you will feel miles away from civilisation. This is a proper Island getaway and despite being close to Brisbane, Moreton offers less crowds than Fraser and is the perfect spot to escape over winter. While you’re here, have a swim up at the champagne pools on the north-west corner of the island, get yourself some fresh oysters to enjoy with a coldie back at camp and checkout the WWII bunkers on the eastern side. As for camping, my pick is the coastal sites on the north-eastern side.
4. Teewah Beach, Sunshine Coast
About an hour and a half north of Brisbane and on the doorstep of Fraser Island, you can avoid the ferry costs and this makes this beachside camping area the perfect weekender in SE QLD. There is a stack of campsites up on the dunes overlooking the beach. Once you’ve set up camp it’s worth a day trip up to Double Island point at the northern end of the beach. Park your 4WD up beside the lagoon for a swim and set up your awning up for shade and park your favourite camp chair beside your esky.
5. Pennefather Beach, FNQ
Just north of Weipa is a great campsite not known by many punters making their way up to the tip of Cape York. Pennefather River Camping Area is the pick as you’re near the river and camped up to one of the best fishing spots in the Cape. If you’ve got a roof top tinny you could easily spend a week or more here chasing barra and other tropical speedsters, but even the land-based fishing is phenomenal.
6. Chilli Beach, Cape York
Have you ever wondered where they get those postcard shots of coconut trees lining the whitest sandy beach and aqua blue water? Well, I’m not sure either, but Chilli Beach is the postcard perfect location of Cape York and definitely worth stopping in for a few days to kick back and take it all in. With tropical temperatures and white sand under your feet, you’ll have forgotten all about the fact it’s winter when you crack a beer with your family and mates in one of the most picturesque places on earth.
7. Lorella Springs, NT
Situated on a Million acres of wilderness in the heart of the Gulf country is this little (huge) slice of paradise. Kick back in the natural hot springs, discover one of the many swimming holes or head to the river and fish until your arms get sore. My favourite campsite is out at the mouth of the Wuraliwuntya creek, they call it the ‘secret fishing spot’. Yep, it lives up to its name. This is the ultimate Top End adventurers’ playground.
8. Cameron Corner, QLD
Right on the corner of QLD, NSW and SA is the ultimate Outback experience. Camp beside the pub and crack a coldy and play the only golf course that has a hole in three different states. Winter is the best time to visit the outback, as the days are warm however the nights can get a bit chilly not that it will bother you as you sit around a campfire as you burn some mulga wood and kick back watching the sun set over the sand dunes. From there, either head out to the Simpson Desert or turn south and follow the dog fence down to Broken Hill for a good adventure.
9. Mcgowans Island, WA
This has to be one of the best campsites in the Kimberley region and that’s really saying something because this is one of the best camping destinations in the country. Many people come up here to escape the cold of winter and end up staying here for a few months. Chuck your own oysters straight from the rocks and fish straight off the beach in front of your campsite. There’s a couple of tame emus running around the campsite, so make sure there’s a latch on your esky!
10. Pebbly Beach, NSW
About an hour north of Coffs Harbour in the Yuraygir National Park is a true little secret gem. If you’re looking for a proper beach side campsite where you roll out your swag on the grass right on the beach, then this is it. It’s a 4WD only campsite and a shallow little creek crossing that you should only tackle at low tide. Get the kids to ride down the big sand dunes on an esky lid or body board and walk metres from your camp to fish from the beach, this is one of the best kept secrets on the east coast.
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5 camping must haves
At the end of the day, nothing much beats pulling into your favourite campsite and getting set up for a few days of R&R away from the worries of the world. Camping is what we all love, it’s a way of life and an activity we aim to spend as much time as possible doing. Here are 5 accessories we have found that we wouldn’t leave home without when it comes to spending quality time out bush.
SOLAR BLANKET
Forget the generator and the jerry of fuel; simply chuck a solar blanket on the bonnet of the 4WD and walk away. Even on days of partial cloud you’ll still be pumping in more than enough current to keep your batteries topped up and your beers cold. The ease with which modern solar blankets operate means that despite the initial cost of getting into one, you will simply not look back. No noise, no fuel and no fuss. They can be easily moved to capture the most sun, fold away into a small space and can be setup and operating in minutes.
LED LIGHTING
The old kero lantern is a museum piece these days thanks to LED lights. When it comes to bang for buck, you cannot beat the light output of modern LEDs. Strips lights can be mounted just about anywhere, meaning you can get really creative with your placement and they pull minimal current from your batteries.
JAFFLE IRON
Don’t laugh; the entire 4WD Action crew have their own personal jaffle iron and it gets used from breakfast through to dinner. The older they get the better they work and you can use them just as effectively on the gas cooker as you can over coals. A ham and cheese toasty is the bomb but getting creative is where it’s at. Favourites of ours are asparagus, ham and cheese, grab a can of chilli stew and add tasty cheese for a taste explosion or get fancy to impress that special someone with brie, smoked salmon and capers….yes indeed, nothing is as downright useful as a waffle iron around the camp.
STRETCHER BED
Your trusty old swag has always been a comfortable respite at the end of the day but the first time you roll it out on a stretcher bed and crawl in, you’ll wonder how you existed without one. It gives you a place to sit and take off your boots (not to mention a place to place your boot under), it gets you up off rough, stoney ground, it allows you to have a level bed on any terrain and as a complete bonus it keeps your swag clean of mud or sand making rolling it up a breeze. Trust us, nothing will transform your night’s sleep like a simple stretcher bed.
AWNING WALLS
Most of us have at least one vehicle awning bolted to the roof rack of our 4WDs and for good reason, they keep us out bush and in comfort rain, hail or shine. However, a simple square of canvas with velcro tags that attaches to your awning and runs out at a 45 degree angle to the ground transforms your liveable area substantially. It protects from wind and rain, gives you more area and creates space for swags out of the weather. They are cheap as chips so for the ultimate awning set-up, grab three and run two off the sides and a third off the front. You now have a huge covered area that will transform your awning into a palace.