One place I take my Highlander

I just wanted to share with you all one of the places I take my Highlander. Yesterday I spent the entire day in the Mojave desert exploring and hiking around. Below are some photos with descriptions of what I did. And, of course, there's a couple photos with my baby in it.....





A view from on top of a lava bed looking out toward China Lake. I was looking for ancient Indian petroglyphs, but didn't find any that day.





Looking west from the same lava bed. It was 110 degrees out, but worth the hike.







Sin Nombre Dry Lake, or it could also be called Kevin's Black Rock Desert speed zone. I tear around all over this dry lake creating clouds of dust and just having fun. It's so peaceful and quiet, except those days when Air Force or Navy jets scream overhead at high-speed.







Early evening in the Mojave...my favorite time of day for obvious reasons.







I came across three tarantulas on the hike back to my vehicle. It was actually almost totally dark, but the flash makes it look like daylight.







Anyone else who has pictures of their Highlanders in the great outdoors is welcome to add them to this thread.

Reply 1 : One place I take my Highlander

Wow, what an amazing place! and that spider is scary!

Reply 2 : One place I take my Highlander

I don't have to many pictures of my vehicle in the great out doors, only the one below. It was taken in Lamington National Park which is in the hills behind the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. I plan to go to some more out of the way places and hopefully grab some shots of the car







Rainforest on walking trail





Caves. The brown mass at the top is a large native bee hive. The buzzing form the bees was deafening





View from the top of the mountain at Binaburra Lodge.

Reply 3 : One place I take my Highlander

Wow, great photos! I was very impressed with that beehive, and that from someone who's been attacked by Africanized bees. When you do have more photos, by all means post them...very cool....

Reply 4 : One place I take my Highlander

Australian native bees are not that agressive, although we were a little nervous.



Here are a couple of more shots from the great out doors around South East Queensland. Sadly, no Kluger/Highlander. There is some much to see and do within 1-2 hours drive of Brisbane.



These two were taken at Greene's Falls in D'Aguilar Range National Park, Mount Glorious approximately 1 hour's drive North-West of Brisbane. It had been quite dry for the previous few months so there wasn't much water running.











The following two were taken in Tamborine National Park, approximately one hour's drive South of Brisbane in the Gold Coast Hinterland.



Curtis Falls





Cedar Creek Fals





We need some more contibutions from people positing photos of their vehile and some of the interesting places they've been.

Reply 5 : One place I take my Highlander

Quote:

Originally Posted by kesawi We need some more contributions from people positing photos of their vehile and some of the interesting places they've been.

Ditto...I agree.



Awesome photos there of some really beautiful areas...nice shots!

Reply 6 : One place I take my Highlander

Here is our Kluger with Uluru (Ayres Rock). For hundreds of km around there is nothing except for this huge red monolith sticking up out of the sandy desert.







In the Australian Outback, Road Trains, consisting of a prime mover and up to 4 trailers transport everything including food stuffs, cattle, minerals, oil and petrol.

When you see one of these beasts barreling down the highway you get off the road to let them pass.











There is nothing more Australian than camping beneath a Coolibah Tree next to a Billabong.

Reply 7 : One place I take my Highlander

Awesome posting!!!



Call me crazy, but I've always had some deep-rooted desire to go to Australia and drive those land trains. I think they're the coolest thing.



BTW, love the color of your Highlander.....

Reply 8 : One place I take my Highlander

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrailDust Awesome posting!!! Call me crazy, but I've always had some deep-rooted desire to go to Australia and drive those land trains. I think they're the coolest thing. BTW, love the color of your Highlander.....

Thanks TrailDust,



When those photos were taken last year, there was no speed limit on the roads in the Northern Territory, so those Road Trains as well as everyone else would travel at around 150 - 180 kph.

(just imagine the hundreds of tonnes in those road trains at that speed)



The highway in the photo is about 2000 km long, straight and flat, so when going at that speed if a kangaroo, cow or camel stepped out in front of you, you were history. You really have no sensation of speed as there is nothing to see to give you a sense of speed.



They changed the speed limit to 130 kph after a Japanese bloke doing about 200 kph in a cannonball rally style race down that hwy, collected and killed people including himself at a rally checkpoint.





Here is another roadtrain carrying ore from a mine.

Reply 9 : One place I take my Highlander

I read a National Geographic article many years back about the land train drivers and have been intrigued ever since. Hundreds of miles of open road, few people to screw with you unlike California freeways, and rigged up with the ultimate bull bar to knock roos and whatever animal life that jumps in front of your rig into next Tuesday. Thanks for the photos.

Reply 10 : One place I take my Highlander

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrailDust Awesome posting!!! Call me crazy, but I've always had some deep-rooted desire to go to Australia and drive those land trains. I think they're the coolest thing. BTW, love the color of your Highlander.....

When I worked in the Northern Territory many years ago I had a chance to take the workshop manager's V8 ute for a spin on the highway. With no speed limit, and being young and stupid, I thought I'd see what it would do. I was sitting on 180km/hr when I went past a road train coming in the opposite direction. With its bulk and speed, it was pushing so much air out of its way that it almost blew the car off the road and then sucked it underneath the trailers. Definitely need to respect them.

Reply 11 : One place I take my Highlander

Recently explored Northern New South Wales, approximately 1.5 - 2 hours South Brisbane. Lots of beautiful beaches and sights.



Cape Byron is the most easterly point on the Australian Mainland. It also felt like the most windy point that day as well.





Light House at Cape Byron





Cape Byron. Nothing but the Pacific Ocean.







The coast in this region is lined with beautiful beaches and great surf. This is the Kluger at Hastings Point.

Reply 12 : One place I take my Highlander

Beautiful pictures! Cape Byron reminds me of the Northern California coast. BTW, I'm a nut about lighthouses...did you get to go inside that one?

Reply 13 : One place I take my Highlander

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrailDust Beautiful pictures! Cape Byron reminds me of the Northern California coast. BTW, I'm a nut about lighthouses...did you get to go inside that one?

It wasn't open. I don't think I've ever been to a light house in Australia that is open to the public.

Reply 14 : One place I take my Highlander

I love the Mojave desert as that is where I spent most of my childhood and growing up as a teenager long ago. Of course the only transportation I had back then was my own two feet or just two wheels. I travelled a lot of miles in southern California and over to Nevada way in the 50s & 60s. (I did have a '39 Willys Overland coupe though.)