[benbsb29]

Day 6

We woke up in no hurry, as the distance ahead wasn't much, and also there was no point rushing to get back home. Breakfast was decided to be at the McDonalds in Roma, as the brekkie menu is quite good.

A small feast later, we decided to check out some local attractions in Roma, one of which was the Uniting church in Roma.





Being a Sunday, the mass was just beginning as we reached the place, so we made a quick entry to make an express prayer, and then tiptoed out.

I had remarked during our last trip to the Outback areas of Mitchell etc, on how the roads are quitre wide, and lined with bottle trees. Roma was no different.

Wide roads lined with bottle trees




In the outback, its function over form


We got back on the highway, and proceeded towards Brisbane. Along the way we spotted a cowboy herding cattle, which resulted in a different sort of traffic jam one usually finds themselves in.

A different sort of traffic jam!


Don't miss the cowboy in the pic, to the left


As we got closer to Toowomba and the Lockyear Valley region, the sky began to manifest itself in different hues, and the clouds looked ominous. By now, we recognized these as the tell-tale signs of an oncoming storm.



Soon enough, the heavens opened, and the clouds imparted their blessings with great fury. The rain was so intense that some cars pulled over owing to reduced visibility.

I turned on the front and rear fog lamps, switched to 4H mode on the Pajero and carefully carried along, Graham leading the way in his Xtrail. We carried on along the fast lane, considering most vehicles were either making their way rather gingerly, or else pulled over with hazards flashing.

It was a fair bit before the rains subsided, and we got to know later than this was a massive storm, which resulted in some homes in that region losing power. Thankfully, we made it home safe, and without incident, this being the second time during this trip that we had been through a storm.

Overall, this was yet another awesome trip, and only went on to show us how much more there is to explore in this country, rather than stick with the most common touristy options.

A good chance for our cars to stretch themselves, and with the amount of walking we did over the trip, covering over 35 kms on foot with kids! No mobile coverage, daunting as it was initially turned out to be a good thing, as the kids were more physically active, and mingled with other kids in the camp too, playing and socializing.

Here's to the next one.

Thanks for reading!

[benbsb29]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section.

[SajiNSalin]

Very interesting travelogue. Encountering storms both ways is interesting. Look forward to visiting Australia in the future, and going for a drive around the country. Please keep writing about the Australia trips; these provide useful information about the country and what to expect in a road trip. I will seek your advice when I am ready for that drive around Australia trip.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

Very interesting travelogue. Encountering storms both ways is interesting. Look forward to visiting Australia in the future, and going for a drive around the country. Please keep writing about the Australia trips; these provide useful information about the country and what to expect in a road trip. I will seek your advice when I am ready for that drive around Australia trip.

Thanks SajiNSalin. Glad you enjoyed reading it.
I try to get away from the usual touristy stuff limited to the cities, which explains some of the offbeat locations we head out to.

Hope you read through our first trip to the Outback, link provided in my opening post.

Do let me know when you plan your trip, and i shall do my best to assist.

[SajiNSalin]

Thanks. Have you come across any one who has driven the coastal route through Darwin-Perth-Adelaide, circumnavigating Australia? I would like to spend about 3 months driving this and also the Darwin-Adelaide route through Alice Springs. Also Tasmania looks interesting.

Thanks for the offer of help for this trip, this will be a couple of years from now. Keep writing about your travels so we can benefit from your experiences.

[blackbeast]

Benbsb29, Apologies i did not read. I only looked at pictures. Everytime i see a montero, i skip a crazy heart beat. Is it priced lower than endy/everest in australia ?

[AJITHAAA]

Why can't the new designs be quaint and simple, yet modern and good looking as these. Why do they have to be scar faced, chrome laden cheese graters.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

Thanks. Have you come across any one who has driven the coastal route through Darwin-Perth-Adelaide, circumnavigating Australia? I would like to spend about 3 months driving this and also the Darwin-Adelaide route through Alice Springs. Also Tasmania looks interesting.

Thanks for the offer of help for this trip, this will be a couple of years from now. Keep writing about your travels so we can benefit from your experiences.

I dont know anyone personally who has done that exact route, but my friend Graham, who is mentioned on this travelogue has done quite a few long distance trips of a similar nature around Australia, on his bike. If you have any specific questions, i can check with him.

I am also part of the 'Pajero Club of Victoria' forum, which while mainly is a forum related to the Mitsubishi Pajero, has members post similar writeups about their drives around Australia. I am pretty sure there are people who have done similar trips, but i haven't checked as such.

Tasmania is really beautiful, and is surely worth a driving trip. One option is to take the ferry where you can transport your car to Tasmania.
Here is the link : https://www.spiritoftasmania.com.au/

Alice Springs is true outback territory, and subject to extreme temperatures too. Seems to be a popular driving destination too for the grey nomads, etc.

Originally Posted by blackbeast

Benbsb29, Apologies i did not read. I only looked at pictures. Everytime i see a montero, i skip a crazy heart beat. Is it priced lower than endy/everest in australia ?

Do read, if you get the time.
I absolutely love the Pajero/Montero/Shogun. I feel that it looks amazing in its 4th avatar, and hope Mitsubishi continues with a next generation, rather than throw away the name they have earned over the years.

The Pajero/Montero is not priced lower than the Everest in Australia, based on my knowledge, but i checked the official prices out of curiosity.

Both top end versions being compared:
Pajero Exceed LWB, 4WD : AU$ 63,990
Everest Trend 4WD : AU$ 63,561.

So, i stand corrected.

Originally Posted by AJITHAAA

Why can't the new designs be quaint and simple, yet modern and good looking as these. Why do they have to be scar faced, chrome laden cheese graters.

Rightly said. I completely agree!
Here is one of my favorites, from the pics i had clicked.

[basilmabraham]

Hi Benny, nice travelogue again. Wonderful pics as well. Happy to see that you managed to do this so often. I have to get into the habit of driving outside the comforts of the city to places like this. All I did so far was a trip to Hunter Valley.

My biggest worry on going on such trips is my car. Through out your trip all I see are decent roads, did you encounter any unpaved ones where you had to use your 4x4?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

Hi Benny, nice travelogue again. Wonderful pics as well. Happy to see that you managed to do this so often. I have to get into the habit of driving outside the comforts of the city to places like this. All I did so far was a trip to Hunter Valley.

My biggest worry on going on such trips is my car. Through out your trip all I see are decent roads, did you encounter any unpaved ones where you had to use your 4x4?

Thanks Basil. Glad you liked it.

Aimless drives towards the exterior of city limits has been something we have been doing even when in Bangalore. What we try to do now is more offbeat locations. But, it's not always easy, as these would require leaves, etc.

On this trip to the Outback, we had good roads almost everywhere. I left the vehicle in 4H (similar to AWD mode) when we were going to the Carnarvon region as some gradients were steep (not overly), and more so for the additional grip. These can be managed with a regular sedan too, with some momentum, surely.

Our entry and exit to the bush camp resort involved a small water crossing, so one can argue AWD/4H is required here. That's about it.

On our previous Outback trip, we climbed some inclines on Bunya mountains, as well as get off the beaten track to a camping spot.
Camp spot



In my opinion unless you are accessing such spots, or going totally remote, your sedan can manage it. Ofcourse due discretion is always advised.

[wheeledsoul]

Hello Ben, loved the travelogue. Reminds me of my trip to Australia with wife, on my brother in law's invitation. We did a road trip from Sydney to Apollo bay with a night halt at a motel in Canberra. The drive on the Great Ocean Road was awesome. We stay put at a holiday home in Apollo Bay for about a week and covered the places around like the Apostles, Penguin parade & tree top walk etc.

On a side note, out of curiosity, how are the NVH levels of your Pajero (I guess, it's a 3.2 Diesel) and of course "kitna deti hai"? I've read rave reviews of the 3.2 Diesel compared to it's petrol 3.8 sibling.

I drive a Pajero 3.8 here in Kuwait and the NVH levels are about acceptable (not that I am complaining), I however love the engine note when accelerating, it's like music to my ears. I get a fuel efficiency of 4.8km/l (traffic) to 6.8km/l-7.2km/l (highway drives). The only thing I crib about my Pajero is the service interval of 5000kms.

[blackbeast]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I absolutely love the Pajero/Montero/Shogun.I feel that it looks amazing in its 4th avatar

The Pajero/Montero is not priced lower than the Everest in Australia, based on my knowledge, but i checked the official prices out of curiosity.

Both top end versions being compared:
Pajero Exceed LWB, 4WD : AU$ 63,990
Everest Trend 4WD : AU$ 63,561.

Every face lift on this car since 2008 is amazing. I hope they don't go the pajero sport way in the future. You should be comparing Everest Titanium 4WD not the Trend. i think its well above AU$ 70,000. Considering that fact,Montero is 90L ( with duties) makes Endy at 40L such a value for money proposition.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by wheeledsoul

Hello Ben, loved the travelogue. Reminds me of my trip to Australia with wife, on my brother in law's invitation. We did a road trip from Sydney to Apollo bay with a night halt at a motel in Canberra. The drive on the Great Ocean Road was awesome. We stay put at a holiday home in Apollo Bay for about a week and covered the places around like the Apostles, Penguin parade & tree top walk etc.

Sounds like an awesome trip! Great Ocean Drive is on my to-do list, however its the execution i need to plan. While i would love to drive down all the way from Brisbane, this would mean a really long drive, spread over 2 days and more, just to get there. The other option is to fly in to Melbourne and hire a car from there, however there is nothing like doing it in your own car. Still need to work it out.

Originally Posted by wheeledsoul

On a side note, out of curiosity, how are the NVH levels of your Pajero (I guess, it's a 3.2 Diesel) and of course "kitna deti hai"? I've read rave reviews of the 3.2 Diesel compared to it's petrol 3.8 sibling.

Mine is indeed the 3.2L diesel, the one with the updated figures, currently on offer with the present version. I havent driven the petrol version of the Pajero, as it is quite inconspicuous by its relative absence here. Diesel SUVs rule the roost here, which explains the same. I have seen a couple of people on the Pajero forum who have the petrol version, and they are quite happy with their cars too, except ofcourse the lower range when travelling long distances touring, as compared to the diesel.

Originally Posted by wheeledsoul

I drive a Pajero 3.8 here in Kuwait and the NVH levels are about acceptable (not that I am complaining), I however love the engine note when accelerating, it's like music to my ears. I get a fuel efficiency of 4.8km/l (traffic) to 6.8km/l-7.2km/l (highway drives). The only thing I crib about my Pajero is the service interval of 5000kms.

NVH levels on the diesel are not any great shakes either. However, i recently got to travel in my friend's brand new Landcruiser Prado which happens to be the segment leader, and realized the Pajero comes really close, despite the fact that mine is more than 7 years old compared to his and covered a lot more kms as well. So, i am clearly satisfied with the NVH levels on offer. Despite the diesel clatter outside when cold, it does feel reasonably refined during highway cruising.

Within city limits, i have observed the Fuel Efficiency to hover around the 7-8 kmpl mark (instantaneous FE readings), and when driving like a good boy on highways (80-90 kmph), it easily see close to 12kmpl on the instantaneous reading. That said, usually get a tankful to tankful FE value of 9-10 kmpl, which is what my regular commute entails - city slicker, short drives as well as weekend drives.

Originally Posted by blackbeast

Every face lift on this car since 2008 is amazing. I hope they don't go the pajero sport way in the future. You should be comparing Everest Titanium 4WD not the Trend. i think its well above AU$ 70,000. Considering that fact,Montero is 90L ( with duties) makes Endy at 40L such a value for money proposition.

Sorry, i don't know what i was thinking comparing the Trend variant.
The Titanium variant retails at about AU$ 83,328, which makes it much more pricey than the Pajero. Am not sure if that extra is truly worth it, but depends on what people fancy with all the additional gizmos etc.

Clearly the situation in India is different, as the Montero is a CBU, IIRC, as compared to the locally assembled Endeavour.

[nitinbose]

Great going mate! Please upload the route map you took so that its easier for some of us. I would request other tbhp-ians in Oz to post their travelogues as well.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by nitinbose

Great going mate! Please upload the route map you took so that its easier for some of us. I would request other tbhp-ians in Oz to post their travelogues as well.

Nitin, as requested, the route we used was relatively straight forward, as there is just one major highway to get here.

Brisbane to Roma



Roma to Carnarvon Gorge



Fuel options are only available at Injune, Rolleston and Springsure, as we were informed by the resort.

Owing to the absence of other route options, we used the same route to return as well.