Beach Driving

Your joking arnt you ? "above the high water mark " beaches are getting closed because of people driving on the dunnes , beach driving is BETWEEN low water and high water marks on the FIRM sand.

Doug, troyoza has got to be so interested in the job he hasn't actually got the state or the area of the state actually mentioned. I think each part of a state may vary. I would agree with you about the high water mark on South Aussie beaches I have been on as the area Alloy suggested is a real soft spot to bury yourself in some of those I have been on. Especially the shelly ones.

John
The only SA beach I have driven on is Maslin Beach in a Torana 2600 ......before it became that too you filthy minded members,

so alloy where do you drive if it is high tide??????
beaches vary. the thomas river beach can be fine during low tides where you can drive lower on the beach where it is firmer. during high tides you are forced into the really soft stuff at the top of the beach making it a struggle

I am not aware of what you are alleging Doug. I hope you aren't saying I am one of the "you filthy minded members". You will hear from my lawyers tomorrow to clarify your wealth ;-)

John
Just covering my Ar$e ....that wasn't bare back in the 70s...lmao

your quote.
you filthy minded members". You will hear from my lawyers tomorrow to clarify your wealth ;-)

My solution.
Your not gonna get rich here then

"Your not gonna get rich here then" ..........bugga ;-)

Doug ,Easter is still to come ,as for the cherry venture I would not like to count how often I have passed the old girl , try the maths for me, at the very least twice every 4/5weeks for the last 18years.

Alloy
well ya won't be driving past it again , and gawd mate don't try and be a Barnsey , don't think I can manage two of him

Nah they don't live in pig pens, if it's in their homes then they have to clean it so they won't do it, What I notice is the way people treat public places, and I mean Truckies too , If there is just one thing that really Pi$$e$ me off is the bloke who has to blow SNOT when having a shower , Grrrr Why they must do that is beyond me , Throwing bottles out the window is another one, I remember once when the roadside was burnt between Cloncurry and Julia Creek back in the 80s, with the grass gone exposed 1000s and 1000s of bloody bottles , That made me realise the mess people are doing by chucking them out , oh yeh it's only one ,but thats your one they forget about all the other 1s.

Doug

you cant damage a beach. next high tide or storm and it is all smoothed off. such is the nature of dynamic proccesse. the only thing constant about a beach is it is constantly moving. People with road pressures do little more than cause amusement as they dig with the shovel while getting evil looks from their SHMBO

Hi Davoe and Doug,
On a certain level I agree with you regarding the ability of the wind and tide to erase evidence of a vehicle passing.

What I'm more talking about is my experience of a summers day on Stockton Beach near Newcastle. On a nice day there'd be literally 100's of vehicles using the tracks.

It gets downright frustrating to have to negotiate a couple of kilometres of tracks full of undulations and axle deep ruts just to reach the high tide mark. Most of this damage could have been avoided if people weren't to bloody pig headed or lazy to let some air out of their tyres.

I listened to an absolutely amazing conversation on the UHF a few weeks ago, it was between two women discussing what to do with the "short gearstick" when they got off the beach. They couldn't work out whether to leave it in "L" or move it to "H" once they got to the bitumen!!
I'd let some wind out of the Troopies tyres, down to my usual 20psi. To me there is no need to worry about "L" on Stockton, correct pressure and it's "H" all the way.

Really I felt like saying on the UHF, "leave it in L for later" or "get a Hyundai Excel, it's easier to park at Woolies"

Geoff

gotta say like your passion bout the topic, and make sence how do you think to best educate them?? I know a big ask and its mostly the city 4X4s that dont (generally) understand, but thats the biggest market, ?????????????

Hi troyza,
I'd take a massive step backwards from four wheel driving and look at the whole driver education system.

Am I really the only person in the world that's realised some kids fail finger painting but after untold attempts they all get a licence??????????

With that feedstock we've got to produce competent and environmentally aware motorists and offroaders!

So, back end of a No. 4 Shovel to the eyebrows of the marketing department of every manufacturer that sells a 4wd.

Realistically, education and more education. You're on the right track mate. What else can I help you with?

Geoff

In addition to what others have said and in in particular Stockton the local indigenous owners don't appreciate people driving across the shell middens and vegetated areas. I guess the same would apply to all coastal sand areas.

I don't believe there is an issue with driving on moving dunes in open areas away from the encroachment on vegetation .

Are you for real ?? Fraser / Moreton / Bribie ,how the ==== is anyone going to get about without driving on the beach. How about dropping your anchor in the WATER instead of on the beach for the kids to trip over.

Alloy is right and so is Member - Davoe
Beaches can't be ruined , King Tides in front of a Cyclone does more damage that a few 4x4s and the ever shifting sands can repair any damage real fast

I do not anchor on the beach .. only in the water ..
and if you can not get about without driving on the beach then don't
simple really .. is it ?

gmd

would you agree that dunes be it foredunes, berms are not all part of the beach?

The problem is that people treat these all as one when they arnt. King tides dont remove vegetation, may cover it up for a while but the veg is still there to hold even slight berms in place when covered.

Sure dune systems and beaches are always moving but if the veg is removed from users not staying or driving where they should, mobile sand sheets and blowouts form, then say goodby to any habitat or dune system left.

How do you all think this can be put to users without bleep them off, with access to such amazing beaches comes responsibility and respect.

Another bluddy Do-Gooder

gmd - there are some places in Australia where the only route in and out is on the beach.

I agree that quad bikes and wannabe 4by racers making dramatic attempts on massive dunes is not environmentally friendly - it is accelerating sand movement, destroying vegetation that holds dunes in place, etcetera, but you really are going overboard (no pun intended) by suggesting banning beach driving.

Most beaches around Australia that have traffic on them are under the control of local or state authorities of one sort or other, and local or state governments do environmental assessments of environmental assessments. If vehicles are on the beach it will generally be low impact.

Rubbish on the beach is as much a problem of the fishing community - professional and amateur, in my experience (including those in boats) as it is other beach users who used 4WDs to get there.

There is other environmental damage that occurs on beaches from indiscriminate vehicle access - nesting birds, in particular, and for this reason quite a number of National Park beaches are being closed to vehicle access.

But to the OP's original question, in my view it is rather naive and I suspect that is why others expressed interest in his brochure. Beach driving requires knowledge of the particular beach - it's environment, sea-weed, tides, dunes, tracks, access to name a few, and whilst some beaches are easy (like Aldinga, Maslins etc beaches in Adelaide) and can be easily driven on with 2WDs, other beaches demand intimacy, experience and skill to be attempted. Beach driving should really be a book not a flyer.

Cheers
Andrew.

Andrew
Just between Geraldton and Drummond Cove they have a fantastic Dune system for a playgroung google Earth S28 38 54.5 E114 36 25.7 Seems no problems because its blown all the time, wheel tracks dissapear in a few hours

gmd-pps ,the only simple thing I see in this thread is a simpleton who happens to think that the land as in beaches belongs to boats.

A book would be great, however for now the aim is to inform those we can as simply as possible.

Just because a vehicle is on the beach doesnt mean there will be low impact. A great deal of people have noted that you should stay on softer sand in this forum, as you mentioned Hooded plovers nest in these areas on beaches so encoraging people to stay on the harder areas is a simple start, if the tides too high you just dont go, thats why you plan. It doesnt have to be a national park for these birds to be nesting on thats for sure and the main damage from vehices are those moving into dunes and these areas are mostly not in National Parks as not as tightly regulated.

Inform thats what this is about, it needs to be simple put in the glove box and always easy to read. Have rules, regulations tips, positive advise, like yours.
It will have a map identifying access, so on

Again, which beach is the important question.

There are rules in National Parks, and rules if the beach is a declared road (like 60km speed limit I think) ... but not too many others.

The Wattle Ranges 4WD Club material for Beachport would be a good place to start, but it is specific and detailed, and it changes from time to time when conditions change.

Some beaches (Great Australian Bight, for instance) are too soft to drive on the sand between high and low water marks - driving on the treacherous seaweed is the only viable solution.

I'm still inclined to think the project will be underdone and give people enough information to be dangerous.

Cheers
Andrew.

Sure your right, far to big as a Aus wide scale, thats why this is for a certain stretch to start with between varying shires and cities.
But hopefully a guide for others to do the same at there beaches.

Theres no way a pamphlet could be done for all of oz, a book as you suggested before maybe!

Hey GMD - ever been scuba diving ? ever see the damage that boat anchors do to underwater reefs and sea grassed areas? Not to mention if you hit an animal whilst full noise out to your favourite swimming spot or fishing spot.

if you want to ban 4x4 because they damage beach areas - perhaps we should ban boats with anchors for the damage they also make - not to mention the water polution they produce - remember - most outboards have the water outlet and exhaust out of the same pipe - would you want to drink the water that comes from this ?

If your going to preach to the masses - be sure that your teflon coated

Boc

Ozboc,

I am a certified diver since more than 30 years .. I know where to anchor and
where not and I am coming from a background where you have to have a licence
to operate a boat and not like all these morons here driving their boats or 4by
the way they want. I don't mind to ban outboards also .. and I don't mind to put a 50.000$ luxury tax on boats or 4by's as it now was introduced for the Hummers for example (a bit less though but still a decebt amount) ... this will reduce numbers greatly and one might be able to enjoy the space again .. most of the people who can afford that would not go bush anyway .. one might find peace again in the outback .. and .. I don't preach to the masses ... couldn't care less..
have fun
gmd

"In my experience they are mostly fishermen (not most fishermen I might add), and often drunk."

A very observant man is young Andrew!

Familiarity breeds contempt springs to my mind.

Geoff

Sure, fisherman. Most of the people who go down there go to fish, Fisherman surfer, recreational, thats what this is about, targeting them and atleast trying to educate them.
Thats a good point, maby it needs to be put into fishing shops also!

Also, on beaches with traffic;
Put your headlights on. Visibility isn't always great if there's spray around.
Indicate when you see oncoming vehicles. They don't know which tack you might take.
Observe road rules. A head on is a head on anywhere.

"The nesting birds issue is the simple catch cry of Tassies Dept of "Parks and Wildstrife" to justify closing acces to OUR beaches in OUR parks."

Just got back after a couple of weeks in Tassie where we did many of the tracks on the west coast beaches. There were warnings about the nesting sites of the hooded plovers in Summer, but I didn't notice any closures. Just wondering what closures you're referring to?

Here's the SA one:

http://www.parks.sa.gov.au/publish/groups/public/@visitormgt/@tourrec/documents/all/parks_pdfs_rec_vehicles.pdf