Just bought Feb. 4X4 Aust Mag - Why Why Why ?

Submitted: Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 18:30
ThreadID: 41436 Views:3582 Replies:18 FollowUps:23
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I am off to the Kimberley in May and in the shop this morning I saw 4X4 Aust mag's cover story "TOP END TAGALONG Ron Moon's guide to the Kimberley".

Beauty I thought , just what I need . The "guide to the Kimberley" however , turned out to be a six page article which consisted of four and a half pages of holiday snaps and an add for Hema maps ( because it was too small to be of any use as a map so it must have been an ad ) and one and a half pages of lightweight "travelogia".

How can a respected guy like Ron Moon put his name on crap like that . How can you advertise rubbish like that as a "guide to the Kimberley" ?

I'm depressed about the quality of our magazines . They could be sooo good , but they are sooo bad .

Willie .
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Reply By: Footloose - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 18:50

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 18:50
It gets worse. A certain "Guide to" book has distances that were surely cooked up in a Cobb !
I find few decent books or mags that have anything of use to me these days.
Some might be good to get the blood stirring, but they are usually innacurate and incomplete. Very few scribes take the weather, track and developmental factors into consideration.
Quite frankly the resources on this site are generally much better. Certainly advice here is more up to date and usually less biased.
I remember reading one article in a mag that described a track that I was interested in as being suitable for a Barina. Lucky I didn't try and tell that to the group of vehicles with their diffs being repaired at the side of that track.
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:06

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:06
But wait Footie - it gets better !

I just read the in depth coverage of off-roading in Victoria which is featured on page 100 .

This quality article ( again by Mr Moon ) is a searching study titled
" CHOICE CUTS .......For a small state , Victoria parks in a wide variety of camping and off-roading . Ron and Viv Moon give you a run-down on what's on offer in the Garden State "

One and a half pages of copy covers Victoria - yeh it must be a small state . So few parks , so little scope for 4Wd driving down there , no wonder their moving to Queensland !

More quality journalism .
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:16

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:16
One and a half pages doesn't even cover the flak I get from our southern mates :))
No wonder I haven't been back too often...its probably shrunk...I probably need Oziexplorer to find it these days LOL
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Follow Up By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 07:52

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 07:52
Willie, it is what isn't in the mag that is even better than what is there too. Save the dollars and buy the diesel. Bit of a pity that the lightening shortened the list of places for a year or three though. Have to head off into South Aussie and have a look at where their puddles have formed. They will be better than the mag too.....
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Reply By: Member - Duncan W (WA) - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 18:53

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 18:53
Willie I agree bought the same mag as it supposidly had stories of the areas we had recently travelled so was obviously interested. If you haven't already got it buy Ron & Viv's book The Kimberley an Adventures Guide it is an excellent read.
Dunc
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AnswerID: 216702

Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:48

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:48
hi Dunc ,
Yes I have the book and I agree , it's excellent . That's why I can't understand how he can write such lightweight bumpf in the mags . Maybe they demand crap , so that's what he gives them - we all have to earn a crust - but surely he can't enjoy it .
Willie
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Reply By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:04

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:04
Usually find Ron & Viv's material quite good.

Some one must have done a serious edit.

I will wait until it comes ot the local library and have a free look.
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Reply By: Member - Andy Q (VIC) - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:19

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:19
G'day,
Wily, Willy, Willy, after being a member of this site for a number of years,I have enjoyed the banter you and others provide on serious and not so serious subjects! What surprises me most is the fact that you were taken in by such a publication! But more than that anything YOU buying this publication, that, in the heading had words 'TAGALONG and guide',

I do not understand, I was once in awe and respected your opinion even more than the Moon himself( who, in his publications have found boring and repetitive)

But enough of this, please do not be another, sucked in by the glossy covers of commercialism

andy
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:44

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:44
Andy

I am a self confessed gadget junkie and like buying the mags to look for any new write-ups or ads . So I keep buying them , then I spit the dummy and have a whinge on here . It's a bit like Groundhog Day - you know your going to hear this rant again if you hang around long enough .

Will I never learn ? Apparently not says my wife - I'm a slow learner .

Cheers

Not many people must have a whinge on here - "whinge" is not recognised by the Spell Checker.
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Reply By: Pomgonewalkabout - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:58

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 19:58
Every now and again I buy the mags, then wished I hadn't!
What makes me laugh about Ron Moon is that he appears in so many adverts and of course whatever he is advertising is the best thing that he has ever seen!

cheers
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Reply By: Willem - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:04

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:04
Oi! You leave me mate Ron alone...........

Willie, you still going walkabout with our bearded friend?
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:40

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:40
Hi Willem ,

I met Ron in Durba Springs last winter . He was a nice bloke surprisingly . Most writers are real over the top " I ams ".

I spoke to that young bloke last week and he is still keen for a mid March departure . I hope he can make it , but nothing is certain , because of health problems in the family .

I am keeping my fingers crossed .

How you wheely bin ? I knocked back an unsolicited offer for the "Queen of the desert" today .

Willie .

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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:49

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:49
Yeah I am OK

Got the truck down to a lean mean machine less Roofrack, tubeless tyres and flares.

Still at Warraweena for a week maybe, then home. Apart from EO weekend in July I am lying low this year until we go to Tassie in November.
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Reply By: Footloose - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:13

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:13
He who takes the Kings schilling ...writes for the masses and says yessir to the editor.
After 30 years of reading mags I've discovered that I shouldn't have bothered.
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Reply By: growler - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:45

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:45
Why dont you do as most people,flick thru the mag at the newsagency,if you like it buy,if not put it back
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Reply By: Truckster (Vic) - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:46

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 21:46
You have just discovered the "quality" ???

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 22:12

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 22:12
No , if you check the archives it will become obvious that I am someone who does not learn from his mistakes . I am a serial mag ranter .
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Reply By: sjp - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 22:22

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 22:22
i love em ,a bloody good read
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Reply By: Shaker - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 22:56

Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 22:56
They did the same thing last year ...... "17 page guide to the Victorian High Country".
Wasn't worth reading, had the desired effect though ... I bought a copy!
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 07:06

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 07:06
Hi Shaker ,

Let me guess . A seventeen page guide to the High Country would be made up of four and a half pages of travelogia , half a page of facts and twelve pages of happy snaps which would include :
Snap of a family standing around like half wits , looking at a creek .
At least two snaps of vehicles doing river crossings .
At least two snaps of a line ups of the intrepid traveller's cars .
Campfire snap with a camp oven in use .
A couple of mountain landscape snaps .
A snap of old mine workings with bored kids in foreground .
A snap of a flat tyre .
A snap of semi tame wildlife with bored kids in foreground .
A ruined hut with bored kids in foreground .
A snap of an old bridge .
A snap of the fellas watching a vehicle negotiate a steep section .
A snap of the camp including tents and campers (loaned by advertisers) .

Shaker ,

If you still have the mag , let me know how I scored .

Willie
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Follow Up By: Kev M (NSW) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 08:16

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 08:16
Willie,

Didn't you just copy and paste your last rant from the one you did last year when you were suckered into buying it for the Vic High Country guide?????????????

ha ha ha ha ha

Kev
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:25

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:25
Kev ,
Could have been . I get old timers disease and I lose the plot a bit - I think .
Willie .
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 11:18

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 11:18
Willie 11/12
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Reply By: David from David and Justine Olsen's 4WD Tag-Along - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 09:15

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 09:15
Footy
I have to agree about " a certain guidebook" The one of the Kimberley is full of incorrect distances. The Cape one is worse in places.

Willie,

I have to agree about the article. We'll be in the Kimberley in May, maybe we will run across each other.

Cheers
David
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Follow Up By: Member - Banjo (WA) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:09

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:09
I Agree.

Used the Cape York guide and wondered if the author had actually been there. It had so many errors!

Banjo (WA)
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Follow Up By: John R (SA) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:48

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:48
Would someone be kind enough to post or PM the name, or a close hint, or this guide book. Post is better. I know people don't like to bag things, but I'm sure there are a lot of people on this forum, me included, who are quite likely to buy this guide and set off without knowing it's inaccurate.

Cheers,
John
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Follow Up By: Member - Duncan W (WA) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 11:10

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 11:10
John if your talking about the Kimberley one its: THE KIMBERLEY- AN ADVENTURER'S GUIDE by Ron & Viv Moon. Look also for A guide to the Kimberley Coast Wilderness - north western Western Australia by Len Zell.
I bought both these books off of ExplorOz.
Another basic but interesting reference book is the Great Stay Guide - Surviving the Outback - A Guide to Australia's Nother Territory and Kimberley.

Use the books as a reference and then rely on your maps etc for distances
Dunc
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 17:29

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 17:29
i read a trip report about the Kimberly (overlander I think)which Could have been a cut and paste of any of the many. It was proved to be just that when the author spoke of Komodo dragos at the Wyndem croc farm - they hadnt been there for a few years
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 21:20

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 21:20
David ,

I will be in the Kimberley from about 24 May for a month . We will be in a silver Landcruiser and a silver Prado .

It would be good to meet you ,

Willie .
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Follow Up By: David from David and Justine Olsen's 4WD Tag-Along - Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 09:17

Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 09:17
We are back in Alice on the 30th. So probably at the Western end of the GRR by the 24th. We will keep an eye out for you. We will be in a white Patrol wagon accompanied by a number of vehicles.
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Reply By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 09:19

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 09:19
I Propose that we have a WHIP-AROUND to compensate Willie for his purchase of this disturbing material. Yoou can remit your donation to my address (click on my rig pic) and in 1 week I shall bundle up the copius returns and send them to Willie.

In Vic we care

Or is that in Viv we care?
.
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.

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AnswerID: 216792

Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:30

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:30
Bonz ,

You have a heart bigger than the great outdoors . I'll let the missus know that the money is on the way - somewhere . She was really angry when I spent my lunch money on 4WD mags .
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Follow Up By: Gramps (NSW) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 11:42

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 11:42
WARNING - WARNING - Scammer Alert ********

Are you trying to finance an upgrade to that box on wheels of yours Bonz ???? I'm getting very worried about you crying poor mouth lately.

Or is it just a smokescreen because you already have a replacement on the way ????????

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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 14:28

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 14:28
Out of concern for Willie and his misguided acquisition I simply offer a way out and you try and turn it into a scam to buy new wheels HA! The Mighty Nissan is going great guns and shall outlast even me
.
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Reply By: pete - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 11:46

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 11:46
After travelling to both the North West and Cape York using these books, I would only recommend them as "guides" - do not rely on the information in them. As an example I recall one saying that fuel was available from a particular location - on arrival I found out that they had stopped providing fuel about 6 years before the "guide" was printed - no excuse for this sloppiness.
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Reply By: Tia Maria - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 17:11

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 17:11
Have you read Tim Bowdens "Bungles to Broome"? Not a guide but never the less a good read, 'specially if you are interested in aboriginal art as seems likely.

John L.
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Follow Up By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 21:13

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 21:13
Hi John ,

Yes , I have read it . I enjoyed it as a read , but the info. was of a very general nature .

I was up there last May, but only for a two week reconoitre . We have a good idea where we want to go and what we want to see , but I am searching for more info. on good rock art sites .

We have two cars and are equipped for bear !

Cheers ,

Willie .
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Reply By: Member - John (Vic) - Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 18:13

Sunday, Jan 21, 2007 at 18:13
Toilet paper is cheaper and works better.
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Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 11:10

Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 11:10
and is more entertaining
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Reply By: Member - Beatit (QLD) - Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 09:16

Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 09:16
Willie,

As a member of EO I would have thought that you needed to go no further than here for the low down on travelling the Kimberley - right down to the latest weather report if required. Are you an EO non believer?

Kind regards
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Reply By: Rod W - Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 10:17

Monday, Jan 22, 2007 at 10:17
A year or two ago I bought Ron Moon's video on Cape York expecting it to be full of useful info on the track, places etc. 99% of it was nothing but advertising, the vehicle the fridge etc etc, a complete and utter waste of money.
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