Latest news with #caravanning
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Brutal outback photo sparks warning to Aussie drivers: 'Consider the legalities'
An experienced outback traveller is urging Australian motorists to stay vigilant on rural roads, especially in regions with roaming livestock — highlighting not just the serious safety risks of animal collisions, but the potential legal consequences for drivers as well. Simon Christie is a well-respected voice in the 4WD and touring community in Australia and shared a disturbing example that highlights the dangers. A photo taken at the time of the incident shows a cow that was killed on an outback road northeast of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory, after it was obscured by a cloud of dust created by a passing truck before it was ultimately hit by the driver of a ute. Simon snapped a photo of the collision aftermath when it happened last year but recently shared it with a caravanning community page online before describing the confronting scene to Yahoo News. "A truck was coming the opposite way, and a dual-cab ute was heading the same way as us, just in front. In the dust behind the truck, a cow suddenly stepped out onto the road," Simon said. "The ute had a proper steel bull bar fitted and was travelling at a safe speed, but it couldn't avoid the cow. It hit it head-on, and the impact instantly killed it. "The cow landed in the middle of the road, and the driver pulled over safely, and we were able to pull up behind them. Thankfully, they were medically fine, and the vehicle only had minor damage — it was completely driveable thanks to the bull bar." Simon said this reflects how conditions can change in an instant, especially on dark, outback roads, and it highlights the life-saving benefits of having a proper bull bar fitted. "We helped drag the cow off the road using a recovery chain attached to the back of my caravan, because leaving it on the road would have been incredibly dangerous — especially at night," he said. "Someone else could have hit it, including a semi-trailer, which could cause a major crash. Plus, the carcass could attract predators like foxes and dingoes, creating more road hazards." Simon, of 4WDTV, arrived at "just the right time to help" and was able to tow the animal off the road despite also towing a caravan himself. But, "incidents like this are actually quite common", and he encouraged drivers to be aware of how they can stay safe in the event of similar scenarios. Calls grow for total 4WD ban on Australian beaches Outback neighbours in bitter $400,000 battle over 28km fence Air crew makes exciting 'once-in-a-lifetime' discovery in outback "If someone hits livestock, and they're equipped and know what they're doing, moving the animal off the road is the right and responsible thing to do. A lot of four-wheel drivers carry recovery gear, like winches and drag chains, and can do it safely," he said. "Night-time adds to the risks — poor visibility makes it harder to spot animals. That's why our vehicles are fitted with steel bull bars and a lot of aftermarket lighting — front, side, and corner lighting. It's basically as close to daylight as we can make it." He said the overarching message is simple: be aware, understand the risks, and drive to the conditions. "If that means slowing down, then slow down," he said. "And if you need to drive at night, make sure your vehicle is properly equipped — bull bars and lighting are essential. Factory headlights alone aren't enough out here." It's also important to consider the legalities, Simon said, adding that in some states, if livestock is on a road and is hit, the driver may be liable for the animal's death — or vice versa. "If the road is fenced and the animal got through a broken gate or fence, the farmer might be liable. But on unfenced roads with cattle grids, like in the outback, it's your responsibility to drive with caution, the animals are allowed to roam," he said. Drivers "should absolutely report these incidents", either to local authorities or the nearest town. "That can help with insurance, too, and it makes sure others are aware of the hazard," Simon added. A spokesperson from the Everything Caravan and Camping group, who shared the photo initially, echoed Simon's plea. "The key message for caravan owners, and all travellers, is to stay vigilant, particularly in outback areas where conditions can change quickly and visibility can be poor," a spokesperson told Yahoo. "Hitting an animal can be tragic and extremely dangerous, not just for the driver but for anyone else on the road. "And while every incident is different, we always encourage travellers to act with care and responsibility. If it's safe and legal to do so, removing roadkill can help prevent further harm to others, as Simon and his team did in this case." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Kmart find transforms caravan's family's kitchen for $10: 'We don't have drawers'
When Kat and her hubby, Stuart Sobczyk, took to the road in their campervan two and a half years ago, one thing quickly became very obvious. With three little kids, organisation was key. 'You're in a small space which has to work efficiently,' Sobczyk, 41, told Yahoo Lifestyle. 'You need order, and everything has to be stable and stay in place for off-road travel.' It's something she discovered other families were interested in learning about, and, alongside their journey around Australia, she started sharing her tricks and tips on Instagram. Perhaps one of the most "controversial" decisions they have made for their home on wheels is not to have drawers. Yep, you read that correctly. The Sobczyks have learnt that drawers add weight to their van and, instead of eight drawers, the kitchen space can be better utilised with shelves and cupboards. 'We chose not to have instead have opted for a few random storage solutions,' Sobczyk told her followers in a recent post in a popular caravanning group. One of the best things about Kat's storage solutions is that while they are perfect for fellow caravan owners, many of them can also be used in brick and mortar homes or by anyone who is craving a little more organisation and less clutter in their lives. Kat tells us that many of the products she uses to streamline her space come from Kmart and Bunnings, with a few other, more obscure brands also thrown into the mix. RELATED: Kmart shoppers praise 'brilliant' kitchen storage idea using unlikely $9 item Caravan owners' $5 Kmart hack for storage problem on the road: 'Never had any issues' $5.50 Kmart item professional organiser swears by for caravans: 'These are ideal' Take, for example, one of her favourite items: Kmart's $10 turntable, which allows her to have all the pantry bits they use regularly easily accessible and not stuffed at the back of a cupboard. She also uses Kmart's clear storage boxes, which make it easy to pull out items on a top shelf and see, at a glance, what she has. Another Kmart favourite is the $14 collapsible laundry basket - perfect for slotting in somewhere instead of needing an entire shelf for it. Herbs and spices take up a lot of space in a van (and can also take up their fair share of space in regular homes, too), but it's something Sobczyk can't live without, so she's had to find somewhere to store them that works. 'We love to cook and we take our spices everywhere,' Sobczyk tells us. Her spice storage always provokes lots of questions from her followers because instead of chucking them in a cupboard, they are mounted on the door of one. 'The spice racks are from eBay, about $12 for a set. They come with stickers but with the heat they un-peal which would be a spicy fail so we use tiny screws to mount them,' she says, adding that she also uses labels from Pretty Little Designs - making the area look straight out of a catalogue rather than a caravan. 'I love, love, love how you style and create these great storage spaces! Thanks for sharing,' read one comment on Sobczyk's recent pantry post alongside many followers asking for details of where to buy. Jokingly describing 'Kmart as life', Sobczyk's biggest tip for organising a caravan is to go to Kmart and buy up big. 'Buy all the things and then return what you don't need,' she said. 'It's too hard to go with 30,000 measurements for all the different spaces. Get what you think will fit, and if it doesn't, take it back,' she said. Some of her biggest Kmart storage hits have been shelves and shelving units, which she's added her own touch to with a different colour paint or by trimming them to size. 'We want things off the benches as space there is a premium,' she said, explaining why the extra shelves are useful. 'We hook things up for a week to see if they work and then mount them [properly]. Sobczyk has the $13 Kmart shelf in her lounge area and various other rattan shelves from Kmart, which she has customised. 'It's our home, our space,' she added. It has to look good as well as being practical. Since they started their adventures, the family have had three different vans and each time she's learnt something that she's changed in the next one. 'In our first van we had a cupboard we fitted out with [$14] metal baskets from Bunnings for the kids clothes,' Sobczyk said, 'The kids were three and four then and they couldn't read so I got pictures to go on the baskets so they could put things away themselves. It's important they can be independent.' That's changed now, and she has replaced the wire baskets in their new van with shelves and a lighter wicker basket from Adairs as a space saver. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stu ☀️ Kat ☀️ + 3 (@retreating_into_the_sunshine) There are certain things Sobczyk couldn't find in Kmart, but another, less well-known brand has come up with the goods. Drop Bear Storage is Sobczyk's go-to for storage pockets, which she has attached around the kids' beds and on the back of cupboards, customising them with hooks to hang handy items like hats and sand brushes from. SHOP: 🦥 Boody's new range in sizes S to XL are 'the softest sets you'll ever wear': 'Comfy and chic' ✈️ New Qantas points hack hailed 'smart way to shop': 'Up to 30 per cent off' 🤫 Secret feature of Aussie brand's new undies labelled a 'total game changer' for women 'The kids put their school work, readers and sight words in there,' she said. Of course, Sobczyk confesses that sometimes things don't work and her van doesn't always look as neat and beautiful as in the photos. 'If it doesn't work, I'll post about that too,' she said. 'We live and learn and have a laugh. It's all part of the journey.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Caravan dad 'blown away' by sketchy problem at Aussie campsites: 'Bogged for days'
When reflecting on Australia's iconic landscape, it's hard not to picture the distinct dusty, red dirt that stretches across the centre of the lucky country. However, that might not be the case for everyone, with a lesser-known 'sketchy' soil creating big problems at caravan parks and campsites, leaving some travellers 'bogged for days'. When Aaron Schubert, 35, his wife and their two young sons hit the road to embark on a two-year lap of Australia, the dad told Yahoo he was pretty familiar with the 'clay mud' often seen in his home state of WA. But as the family trekked further north and along the coast to Queensland, they were shocked by the stark difference in the dirt beneath their feet. 'We've done a ridiculous amount of 4WDing and black soil was fairly new to us, but it blew me away with how sketchy things can get,' Schubert, who has shared tips about caravanning and camping on his website for 15 years. Black soil, otherwise referred to as a vertosol, is Australia's most fertile soil and can be found largely across Queensland and NSW, especially in agricultural areas. While it is prime for produce, the cracking clay soil can get 'really sticky' and soft when wet, former president of Soil Science Australia Dr Vanessa Wong told Yahoo. Unsurprisingly, this has landed numerous campers in quite a pickle, with Schubert saying it's 'very easy for people to get caught out'. 'I was quite taken aback as to how slippery it was on a number of occasions in Cape York,' he added. One morning, while staying at a caravan park in Karumba, a coastal town in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Schubert told Yahoo he awoke to find some cars 'stuck at the bottom' and wandered down to see what was going on. 'I nearly stacked it in my thongs. You don't even have to sink into [black soil]. There's just zero traction,' he said. 'We went to another campsite not long after and there were cars that were bogged for five or six days. They just had to wait for it all to dry out.' In nearby Normanton, Schubert popped into the visitors centre and learned multiple campers had gotten stuck near a river after ignoring a warning to move before the rain set in. 'They'd rung up asking for recoveries, with some people saying their van started sliding towards the river at night when the rain hit. If you imagine the slipperiest stuff you can stand on, black soil is pretty similar! 'If there's black soil on the surface and it rains, that's it — you're in big trouble.' Schubert, who returned home to Perth late last year, said his family avoided getting bogged by being 'pretty cautious' and consistently keeping an eye on the weather. 'I think that applies in general to 4WDing. You don't want to be at the top or bottom of a mountain if it's gonna rain because you it doesn't have to be black soil for you to end up in a world of pain.' 🏕️ Caravan couple blast 'selfish' act creating major camping issue in Australia 🌊 Camping trip at Aussie beach ends in heartbreak after callous act 💰 Warning as major camping fee hike will 'price ordinary Aussies out' In Australia, there are several kinds of vertosols — black soil is just one of them, Dr Wong said. It shrinks and swells depending on whether it's wet or dry, with some farmers reporting losing entire fence posts in the soil's large cracks. 'Clay soils can be found all over the world but Australia has the largest variety of these shrink/swell soils — it's one of the really neat things about the Aussie landscape. They also make up a large area relative to our land mass which is probably why people keep coming across them,' Dr Wong told Yahoo. 'These soils can be quite deep so once you get stuck in them they get really, really sticky because of the clay contents. There's nothing underneath to stop you from sinking.' Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
