What do we mean by “Off-Road”?

I'll see you your well 33 and raise you a GSD off the Anna Plains Track ;-)




Cheers Al.

Hi Guys. Back in the 60's/70's we used to call that sort of driving "Bush Bashing" . That was local mainly on the East coast of NSW. I'm curious to know how you navigate those sort of conditions out there. Doesn't even look like a trace of old tracks. Good to see though. Thanks, Bob.

Hi Bob,

I still think the terms "Bush Bashing" and "Offroad" are synonymous, however some people, especially environmentalists don't like the former term.

I navigate these days with a GPS, though always have a compass, paper maps and a scale ruler handy. I have yet to learn the skills of the sextant - which is one of those things I would like to learn one day.

Cheers
Alan

That's pretty good Mick!!! Now stop this little game :)) and I raise you a GVD near Cosmo...lol

Cheers
Alan

Toyocrusa,
When your out there its easy when you know what your looking for. I had to find our way through a property with verbal hints of where the track use to be many times with our rallies. Its fun to do.
Sharon

Travelling off road to me is a goat track you wouldn't take the average Hyundai.
Off-road vehicle the older Cruiser/Nissan/Disco/Landrover.
Off road Caravan, Something I cant afford
Off-road Camper trailer heavy draw bar and ground clearance.

Now Now!! You two kids stop that tit for tat stuff or you may just upset some nice old gentleman from SA who thinks he has the monopoly on the off track stuff :-))

Now Now indeed John!!!

Who's stirring the pot now hey????

:-)

Not me Al, You know I'm a really good bloke, straight down the line :-))

I would trump the lot of you by a huge margin reaching a granite rock for work purposes a few years back

but the few times ive shown it everyone screams environmental vandalism

Ahh...

The old 'sidewall' country

Thanks Greg - missed that one - we were "offroad" for a few months at that time!!!!

Cheers

John.

Yep I second that description Motherhen. "Off track" is the travel undertaken with no track. Heading cross country in other words.

Cheers. Mick

I would agree with something that is not gazetted, but it may have started as a survey/exploration cut line. They soon become "Off track" when detours need to be made, eg Simpson Desert. Going off track on a GPS heading is a la Len Beadell using a compass heading, knowing which direction and where you want to go, and going.
Cheers Rob Mac

Bush bashing used to be a term jus used for getting out and about - now its not PC on 4x4 internet forums

I dont worry much for such terms but I guess
off road cold be where the grader/regular maintenance stops
and off track or BB is where everything stops although there are quite a few "tracks" which can be driven and still be counted as "bush bashing"

Thats strange, because up here in the Kimberley, if the roads werent maintained by the shire by grading them each year, i can guarantee you there isnt a vehicle available today that could travers these roads after the wet.

The tourists see this roads as just being corrugated and dusty, but come in the wet and see them how we see them. Im talking washout that can hide cars, and sections of road completely gone. Even the bitumen doesnt stand a chance half the time.

I consider off road to be just that, off the bitumen. I consider bush bashing to be travelling without a track. There is nothing macho about the term Off Road, it IMO only means to be taken off the bitumised road.

Cheers

I second that Boss, I know what you mean down,we have roads like that in N.S.W,especially out west in the black soil.The councils usually just close the roads for a few days, they might be fine in the dry weather but bring on the rain and the only time your on the road is when your crossing it ,until you end up in a table drain. Locals usually just stay at home or if they have no choice they don't drive on the road any way, they make another track off the side and see how they go, and sometimes it only takes an inch or so of rain to bring you to a halt in the black sticky stuff.All the diff lockers in the world aren't going to help when your tyres are all big black soil slicks.When they get a big wet out there ,the bitumen sinks or lifts, or the flood waters just roll it up and take it with it. Cheers ,keep the rain coming anyway.

3rd that Boss. It always just ends up into a urinating competition.

Hi Mikee, when I lived in Tom Price in the 80's I prospected a lot on the Ashburton and the Onslow-Meekatharra Mail road was still a gazetted road so the Ashburton Shire was obliged to grade it at least once a year, the road was great until the first rains then it was very slow going with all the washouts,eg Tom Price to Ashburton turnoff 80 odd Km 1 hour, 50 odd Km to river 1 hour turn right downstream 30 odd Km 1 hour, cross river 19 Km to camp 1 hour, Friday nights after work were a great drive this was when the road was good. Did not consider it off road just what had to be travelled. Had a lot of fun those days
Cheers Rob Mac

From Macquarie Concise Dictionary Third Edition (Australia's Dictionary):

off-road:
adj. 1. having to do with the functioning, etc, of a motor vehicle when it is not being driven. 2. designed for use on ungraded ground, as in natural bushland: an off-road vehicle

G`day Steve,

Good points, so now instead of saying "Off-road", I`ll say "On-track". LOL

Regards,

Scrubby.

Love what you've done with the back yard Stephen Ha Ha Ha. Off Track is Off Track.

Cheers Mick

Not planning on trying to draw this together!!

A recent post suggested that some regarded the Gibb River Road as off road, and this set us to thinking - just what is off road? Last time we were on the GRR there'd been so much roadwork that it seemed a lot of it might be bitumen next time we go that way. I can well imagine that parts are very off road during the wet, but not during the tourist season.

I think the concensus is that off road depends on who's referring to it. The dictionaries suggest that it's where off road vehicles go and no doubt off road vehicles are the ones that go off road, which sounds a solid self supporting circular definition to me! An AWD is an off road vehicle to the city based ad agencies. If we drive where there's no road, concensus seems to be that that's off road. Then there's off track, that means we've left the track, which is ok so long as we intended to, so we are actually on track while we are off the track.

Interesting to see the diversity of opinion, and we haven't even heard from the urban community! What would they make of the video clips?

Cheers

John

I was tickled when I saw this sign (just out of Innamincka) because I thought that many people would consider even the "road" in the picture to be "off road"!
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Hahahaha I agree! It looks like a good track to me but trying to tell the van salesman you didn't take the van off road might be a stretch.

Kind regards