Why no decent 4wd camping/touring shows?

[DannyG]

I think a lot of what people are asking for is in the 4WD Action DVD's.

Old 4wd's, old well used gear, tracks that are usually interesting and not your normal iconic 4wd/touring destinations, they usually contain enough relevant information to help the average punter do the track, they showcase their sponsors during the ad breaks but the persona of the presenters annoy a lot of people. Cant win!

Ive probably open a can of worms with that statement!

[Mrs smith]

I think a lot of what people are asking for is in the 4WD Action DVD's.

Old 4wd's, old well used gear, tracks that are usually interesting and not your normal iconic 4wd/touring destinations, they usually contain enough relevant information to help the average punter do the track, they showcase their sponsors during the ad breaks but the persona of the presenters annoy a lot of people. Cant win!

Ive probably open a can of worms with that statement!

That's pretty funny, bogans in the bush.

[gclan]

Danny, I have to agree with you there on the 4wdAction DVDs, and I'll stand up and be flamed with you.

4wd Action is essentially about 4wding (which I love), but is branching out into travel and touring. I only buy their mags for the DVD. I skip through the ads because they're always the same and there's nothing new, plus we have all the gear we need already.

I actually don't mind Roothy and Graham (maybe it's a girl thing?). They at least have a bit of character about them, and I enjoy the mix of local and iconic places they travel to, and the local guides that often go along with them. They show some of the out of the way, less travelled routes as well within those iconic destinations which inspires me to want to get out and explore.

I could do without the whole 'we're the first through this track for XX number of years' spiel though.

As others have said though, the majority of us now have access to those remote areas that years ago, only a few dared to venture into. The only places still unexplored are probably on private property and only a handful are granted permission (usually well known tv/magazine personalities).

This sparked a whole other debate on a different forum. Should the TV shows/mags DVDs show remote, wild, exciting tracks and places that only they (or a very small minority) can gain access to while we, the general public, will never get the chance to experience them for ourselves, or do we want to only see tracks, campsites, stunning vistas etc... that we realistically have a chance to experience for ourselves?

We video quite a bit of our personal travels and a few snippets end up on our youtube channel. Most are our local 4wd hangouts, but we actually have hundreds of hours of our 4wd/camping holiday travels across Australia waiting to be edited and uploaded as well (that would be a full time job in itself).  I, and others, used to complain about seeing the same old places on the screen week in week out, but in reality, it does take a lot of money and time to drive across this beautiful Country of ours, and I can only imagine the cost of having to accommodate and cater for a crew as well as pay for fuel for several vehicles for several months of the year so that we can have a bit of variety on our screens. Unfortunately, sponsors are a vital part of this industry.

I'll keep watching these shows because the adventurer in me wants to keep seeing more and more so I can dream about where I'd like to go exploring next, but only as long as I hold the power to skip through the ads or just turn the box off. 


Karen

[ozbogwam]

I too quite enjoy most of the 4WDA DVDs just can't stand the mag it comes with these days

I enjoy Graham Cahill as a host, not so much the Roothy character, John himself is a lovely bloke and would prefer to just see him be himself rather than XXXX swigging bogan that is expected


I'm surprised Ron & Viv Moon haven't turned their world wide adventure into an ongoing video series.

Hopefully the Overland Journal 7 continents expedition make a decent video series of their trips

There is also aSouth African guy runs a forum that does some pretty good videos of his travels and vehicle buildups etc. will try and find the links

[Bird]

.... not so much the Roothy character, John himself is a lovely bloke and would prefer to just see him be himself rather than XXXX swigging bogan that is expected

that right there puts me off the whole thing..
maybe when I was 15 I'd look up to someone pretending to be a macho hillbilly.

[ozbogwam]

This is the link to the South African forum and the videos

http://www.4xforum.com/

[Paul (SA)]

What's wrong with getting On Top Down Under with Penny Wells? Snigger snigger.

[Carlisle Rogers]

Paul...behave.

[xcvator]

What's wrong with getting On Top Down Under with Penny Wells? Snigger snigger.

Buggard if I can remember anything about her show 

[McGirr]

Here is a preview

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSHUgfSA06M

At 4.52 you will see some really tough 4wd 

Carlisle I would maybe consider her instead of Craig 

Mark

[xcvator]

Here is a preview

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RadNxWrePsw

At 4.52 you will see some really tough 4wd 

Carlisle I would maybe consider her instead of Craig 

Mark

That's a weird link there Mark ?

[McGirr]

All fixed apologies

Mark

[Paul (SA)]

Paul...behave.

Come on Carlisle. I have so much more material. Especially from MCGirrs link.   

I just wonder who the dirty great pig was she talked about early on. Might have been a swagger having a kip.

[kylarama]

These types of shows are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

They need this infomercial style of show to financially survive, but the problem is 95% of viewing public don't want to watch infomercials!  I know I struggle and end up turning off.

The Leyland brothers, Malcolm Douglas and the Alby Mangels type shows were all very successful for a very good reason.  They had never been done before. 99% of the viewers had never been to the places they went too and 95% had probably never heard of those places.  It was all new then, now every style of shows been done 100 times over.

I'd deffintly watch them more if they didn't stop for 5 minutes in a half hour show (20 minutes without ads) and bang on about brand X's new tyres with brand X's marketing manager.

[Paul (SA)]

I was watching Simon Christies show today and at the end he had a bit of a rant saying he wanted to categorically state he wanted nothing to do with the 4x4 shows in brisbane this weekend and Melbourne later this year and that he was only going to support some other one. He gave a rather pointed reason why indicating that the only one he was going to support was genuine and what 4x4 enthusiasts really want etc etc.

Anyone know what all this was about?

[Rumpig]

I was watching Simon Christies show today and at the end he had a bit of a rant saying he wanted to categorically state he wanted nothing to do with the 4x4 shows in brisbane this weekend and Melbourne later this year and that he was only going to support some other one. He gave a rather pointed reason why indicating that the only one he was going to support was genuine and what 4x4 enthusiasts really want etc etc.

Anyone know what all this was about?

not sure exactly what he's on about but i have an idea... i heard some very interesting talk at a party last night about several well know people in the 4wd industry and future shows. i don't know the full details or certainty of it happening so won't say who they are or what they are doing, but there's definately some interesting stuff happening behind the scenes in the 4wd industry at the moment.

[wakychapmans]

so yes... this is kind of a gravedig.

But I was watching some DVD's on the weekend and it made me remember this thread.

I'm more of the 4wd touring tyre. Not overly keen on "hardcore balls to the wallz" 4b'n.

A few years back I stumbled across a Canning Stock Route 3 DVD set though a mutual friend. At the time, I watched it and put it away. I dug it out last week and watched it again.

I then logged onto the producers website ( http://4x4videosofaustralia.com ) and had a look at what else they had released...

Well blow me down... placed an 11 DVD order and received them on Friday. (they even did me a discount on the set)

I've only had time to watch a few of them but so far the stand outs are:

Binns Track - showed me places I had no idea existed
Desert Highways - (2 disc set) covering pretty much all of Len Beadells roads/tracks/highways
Savannah Way - loved it all.

They're releasing a new Canning DVD later this year too. (though the old one from 2004 ain't bad)

What I liked:
scenery, normal people in normal vehicles (having normal problems with them) and NO BLOODY ADVERTISING (bar a thank you in the credits)

what I didn't like:
nothing. I'm happy with them all (so far)

what SWMBO didn't like:
in her words... "too many dampers" and the fact that they played the same music every time a damper was being cooked...

anyway... I'm not connected to these people at all. But if you just want some "normal", Leyland Brothers style outback touring DVD's, then they might be appealing to you.

I can tell you that the wife is now interested in heading out for some longer trips after (being coerced into) watching some.


Wayne.