Great Divide Tours: professional and safe 4WD Driver Training
Last weekend I had the pleasure of re-learning how to handle our 4WD in challenging off-road conditions. We went to 'Outback Vic' of Great Divide Tours (GDT) because we have known him and his company for more than 15 years, and we have travelled across this amazing country many times on his tag-along tours ("Across the Top", "Across Oz Safari", "Burke & Wills Experience", "Cox's & Kowmung Rivers Tour", Camp Oven Cook-Off").
I have always been impressed with Vic's calm professionalism in the face of challenging landscape, challenging weather and challenging tag-along customers. His patience is boundless, and he has a very quick wit and great sense of humour that keeps everyone laughing even across the radio waves on tag-alongs.
The introductory tour is a two day affair at GDT's training facility near Braidwood. There over two days Vic took us from the very basics of understanding how 4WD cars work (diffs, hub locks, traction control, and so much more) to wheel placement on difficult terrain and controlled climbing up and down steep tracks, both forward and in reverse. OK so there was heaps more... heaps. But to try to describe this to you all in words will not come close to relaying the experience because the course is definitely something you have to experience behind the wheel in your own vehicle. Whatever vehicle, Vic and his team understand them all, and you will learn how to handle all the different types of terrain in your vehicle, sometimes with an instructor sitting in the passenger seat next to you.
So I can now aim my car's wheels rather well at whatever rocks or parts of a track I choose, even though I can't see the track directly in front of the car. This means I can drive on tracks with deep ruts. And if my car starts to slip into a rut, I know what to do to correct and get out of the rut. I know how to tell if a water crossing is safe to even attempt crossing or not - and how to get across if it is. I know how to drive up or down a steep unsealed track, and when to even think about trying to do that. I also know what to do if I start to climb a steep track but can't make it all the way up. I know how to handle the car on sand and how my tyres will react at different pressures. I even understand a bit more clearly some of the technology that goes into tyre design and why light truck tyres are a better option for our car. I know what river pebbles feel like to drive over, and I know the safe place to attach a snatch strap on my car if I or someone else's car gets bogged and how to much easier a hand winch is to use with even just one pulley than without. I even know about the etiquette of radio communications and the range of available communication systems I could choose to take with me if I want to travel in remote country, and the difference between some of the different technologies (HF, UHF, Satellite).
I tried and achieved all the skills even though I was convinced at every stage that I wasn't going to be able to do any of it. Vic made sure that both drivers in every car achieved every aspect of the training. Then we finished with a drive through a fire trail that put all that learning into practice on tracks we hadn't seen before. It is an exceptional course. Vic and his team covered every area of the training with the focus on staying safe in all conditions while enjoying our 4WD adventures. He has more than 25 years' experience driving in the Australian outback and leading tours off-road in Australia and overseas. He has trained more than 25,000 drivers, and knows exactly what he is talking about. It was a weekend of learning at it's best. Thank you GDT and thank you Vic Widman.