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Once again that is being unfair to the Toyotas. As previously mentioned the Toyotas contemporary in service was a real dog, the gutless, exhaust valve burning Series 3 6cylinder leaf sprung, drum braked LandRover,with a fragile gearbox that was anything but soldier proof. The operational guys you mentioned would have been in Perenties in the 90's, which are a different proposition altogether.Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael2
Bill.
Chops the ABC shops still have the Bush Tucker man video's i got the complete set about 6 months ago and must admit i have watched them a couple of times each just amazing to see all the out back wish i was there now instead of Indonesia:angel:
the troopy toyota that Les Hiddins was driving was an interim vehicle supplied to the Australian Defence Forces as the S111 was phasing out. It was an absolutely terrible vehicle, heavily sprung at the rear to enable it to carry ten troops, something the S111 did very easily.The springing front to rear was out of phase and it couldnt be driven in straight line along normal dirt tracks.The purpose of the general purpose vehicle was not to have a "ton of guts" as road speeds were never above 80kmh and often around 50kmh. The S111 was enormously capable of doing its job in the army and had no major reliability problems. It had to go where the troops went and in almost every case did. The landcruiser could not do this and was not used in infantry battalions. It was just not up to the task.It could not be loaded up with troops and equipment with fully loaded trailer and do the job it was asked to do. The only problems I ever encountered in years of driving military Land Rovers was simple stuff like water hoses failing.
Hi Bob10
Norforce actually has several bases, and Kununurra has the second largest base away from Darwin. Norforce originally started with Aboriginals protecting the northern most areas of the coast, and still do for both Customs and the ADF (Australian Defence Forces). They are still frequently talked about in "weekend warrior" terms, yet they serve in areas that are so hostile regular that soldiers have a bad time.
Regards
Tjupurula
G.day, tjupurula, good to talk to you. I don't want to hijack the thread, but is the Mulan community at Kunnanurra?As for Norforce, I remember flying down to Muckety[ I think] Station in a Pilatus Porter in the 80's, for a sports afternoon on wed. [tough life, someone had to do it] to have a look at some Norforce members being taught how to use horses & pack horses on the job, by Aboriginal stockmen. Watching some of the city boys coming to grips with this was .....interesting, & humorous :D BobQuote:
Originally Posted by tjupurula
Hi Bob
Mulan is next to Lake Gregory, about 300km SE of Halls Creek. I regularly go to Kununurra though, as it is our closest major shopping centre, only 7 - 8 hours from where I am. The reason it takes so long is that half of it is the Tanami Track, and that is not a track to speed on.
I have been riding horses since I was knee high to a grasshopper, and I have seen some people go through interesting times trying to learn how to ride. I think the best was an American young fella, who put his foot backwards in the stirrup, kicked the horse in the neck trying to swing his leg over, and got bitten on the rump for his effort. He was fuming and we were laughing so hard we almost cried.
Incidentally, Norforce now use a mixture of Landrovers, Toyotas and Nissans, so I guess they can't make their mind up.
Regards
Tjupurula
Classic! :Rolling:Interesting about the mix of vehicles in Norforce, wonder if it has anything to do with maintainence in the remote areas. I've been down the Tanami, & on to Papunya & Yuendemu, then down Kings Canyon from the north,[can't do that now, apparently] , great country, but cold as in the dry. BobQuote:
Originally Posted by tjupurula
Nice part of the world... Though I saw it in 2010 after ~55 mm of rain. The "Lake" covered most of the land!Quote:
Originally Posted by tjupurula
I'm new to the editing and posting of videos so I hope this all comes out ok:
Original Bush Tucker Man Part1(of4) - YouTube
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A-nqul7w-k"]Original Bush Tucker Man Part1(of4) - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyC9czJi1Qg]Original Bush Tucker Man Part2(of4) - YouTube[/ame]