We headed off for some off-roading and camping with our mechanic, Maurice, and a few of his buddies over the weekend. In our vehicle crew, we had an old Land Rover, a Ford Ranger truck, and an old, run-down Toyota Camry. The Camry was purchased as a junk car and the owner, Kam, wanted to try to take it on some intense trails, through rivers, and up/down steep hills. So, we had Maurice and Renee (his girlfriend) in the Land Rover, Darryl in his Ford Ranger truck, Kam and Aaron (who is actually blind) in the Camry, and me and Austin in our sidecar. It was quite a diverse group to say the least, ha!

As a "fun" added challenge, Domino starter does not work which means the bike doesn't start when you use the key. Domino only starts when bump starting it which is where you push the bike to get it rolling (in gear) and then Austin drops the clutch and it ignites the engine so during the entire weekend, we were bump starting it each time we needed to turn the bike on, haha. I think everyone's legs were tired by the end of the weekend from pushing it.

We started the day by hitting the super market on the way out of town to grab groceries for the couple of days we were out in the bush. We got a beef roast and a chicken to roast over a fire for dinner with some potatoes. We also got some snacks, breakfast items, and of course, beer. Beer and drinking is a big part of Australian culture. I don't like beer so I got passion fruit sparkling water which was absolutely delectable and perfect for me! The weather was supposed to be super hot and humid too so I thought water was a solid choice since Austin and I would be in the sun all day.

We got all fueled up and the coolers were full of food, drinks, and ice, so we hit the road toward the bush. Once we got to the the off-road track, we started the day's adventure.

Quickly into the dirt track, we met our first obstacle: a rock-faced hill that led to a route of deep sand. Knowing that Domino doesn't do well in sand, we shifted the bike in 2wd and headed down. Domino made it down the steep pitch and through the 100m sand road thanks to momentum (and the 2wd). Next up was the Camry...the Camry screeched and bottomed out on the first part and tried to gain speed for the sand but quickly got stuck. Since the Camry was a junk car, Darryl in the truck went ahead and came up from behind and nudged/pushed the car through the sand for about 50m, it was quite a funny sight. The final section of this part had a steep ledge sand section so Maurice in the Land Rover hooked up the tow strap to the front of the Camry and Darryl pushed from the back in order to get the Camry up the sandy hill. This was all in the first 15 minutes of the off-road track so I knew we would be in for a treat for the rest of the time, ha! Here is a photo and a couple of snippet videos from this section:

There was one river crossing that would have been quite risky to drive through since it was so deep. Maurice and Darryl were fine in their vehicles but we had to figure out what to do with the Camry and Domino. After discussing as a group, we decided to pull/tow the Camry through with the Land Rover and then push Domino through with the engine off. Towing the Camry was a success but then the Land Rover got stuck where another river met the one we were planning to push through. The Land Rover found a ditch in the river and started sinking and the vehicle looked pretty darn stuck in my opinion...but thankfully, Darryl hooked his truck up to the Land Rover to pull it out and after about 10 different attempts, the Land Rover got out! Next up was Domino! We walked the river and found an approximate path we wanted to push the bike on. While Austin steered and pushed, Maurice, Darryl, and I all pushed Domino from the back of the bike and sidecar through the river (and mud). It was a lot more challenging than I expected with the mud since Domino is very heavy and likes to sink. But alas, we made it through all safe and were ready to continue on.

After a few more bumps along the way, we found a place by a river to camp for the night. We made a fire ring, set up our tents/sleeping accommodations, and headed to the river for a dip to cool off since it was very hot and humid out.

Chicken and beef roasts:

The next morning, Maurice made breakfast sandwiches, we all took another dip in the river, and we packed up camp. Our drive out was equally as adventurous as the way in which was really fun but also quite tiring being in the sun all day again, especially for Austin as the driver.

Here are some other shots/videos from the weekend -

Domino needed a tow through some sand:

Termite mounds:

Kam working on his air filter in the clunky Camry: