OZ ATV :: The Australian ATV Forum

[ordunner]

I am a huge ATV riding supporter and am looking at getting some down under rides in while I am on vacation. My wife and I will be on the East coast from DEC 23 to Jan 14 and would like to find some great rides. I see some sand dunes out of Newcastle; do they have some good rental ATV’s in that area? I currently ride a Raptor 843 so I expect to not find anything like that but a stock 700 would be great for a day or 2. I also plan on doing some scuba diving as well I know off topic but looking for good info on this as well. Anyway so looking forward to seeing the sites.

Thank you for any information
Chris and Georginna
Troutdale Oregon USA home of the Oregon dunes
_________________
Raptor 843 NW Raptor Rally Event Organizer the largest Raptor rally in the world for now.

[richie_supercharged]

Hey mate I recommend hiring a 4x4 and checking out the Stockton sand dunes on the coast north of Newcastle(dunes that we all ride in)
They do atv tours but these may be a little tame for you and boring.
If you have experience 4x4ing this will be alot of fun for you just note that our sand is a lot finer here which makes it very soft specially in the summer

I also am a keen diver and there are a number of great places between Sydney and Port Stephens.
The navy a few months back sank ex hmas adelaide off the coast Terrigal which is at the new south wales central coast area it's in about 30meters of water and the local dive shop runs charters to the area
Newcastle/Port Stephens/Nelson bay has dive stores that can help you out in these areas wether its shore or boat or with sharks dives your after they've got it.
hope this has helped pm me if you want further info on specific place I've dealt/dived with most of the dive stores I mentioned
Have a good vacation
_________________
If in Doubt.. Flat out

84 ATC 250r (290kit)
82 ATC 250r
77 ATC 90

[Dino]

4 wheel drive Hire and don't forget Frazer Island in Qld.
But forget about atv's there.
_________________
Remember. We elect politicians, but we have to deal with bureaucracy.
Notice that crazy in the bureaucrats.

[ordunner]

Thank you for the info, bummer on the ATV's. Howbout a RZR XP? anyplace to rent one of them? If not what is a good place to rent a 4X4 with out blowing all my vacation money to get one? I look forward to riding Stockton. Dino what is Frazer Island knowen for?
_________________
Raptor 843 NW Raptor Rally Event Organizer the largest Raptor rally in the world for now.

[Dino]

ordunner wrote:

Thank you for the info, bummer on the ATV's. Howbout a RZR XP? anyplace to rent one of them? If not what is a good place to rent a 4X4 with out blowing all my vacation money to get one? I look forward to riding Stockton. Dino what is Frazer Island knowen for?

Compared to the states, things are very expensive over here.
And that includes RZR's and most anything to do with off road.
It will cost you motsa to hire anything.

A web search will tell you heaps about Frazer Island. It won't tell you about the tourists that dissappear there every year, though. Some say they were taken by great white sharks, others reckon it was the drop bears or rogue dingoes. In any case, you don't have to worry about crocs that far south, they've been eaten too!
_________________
Remember. We elect politicians, but we have to deal with bureaucracy.
Notice that crazy in the bureaucrats.

[ordunner]

I am finding out that things are very spendy there, what is up with that? just dose not seem fair for things to be so hi, hope you all have great jobs lol. As for me I am emptying my bank to go on this trip and not quite sure how to pay the card off when I get back. This is a place I want to see now not when I am 80 and can hardly walk. Anyway thank you for the information and looking forward to seeing as much as we can in the short time we will be there.
_________________
Raptor 843 NW Raptor Rally Event Organizer the largest Raptor rally in the world for now.

[wa5]

A little late, but here are some places for tours of Stockton beach.

http://www.quadbikeking.com.au/

http://www.sandduneadventures.com.au/
pretty sure the second one is the one managed / owned by the local indiginous people The Worimi..

For 4x4 rentals, try Thrifty, they have a branch at Newcastle Airport (5 minutes from Stockton Beach...

I would reccomend a quad tour first... from what I have seen on the web, some of our sand seems a bit softer than some of yours..

some pictures I see of Quads in the US show Winebagos and 2wd cars on the sand.. that wont happen at Stockton .. I dont know what its like where you ride, so I am just trying to give you a bit of a heads up)..

Also be very careful when cresting hills, some can appear quite gentle on one side, they can drop off sharply on the other.. more than one person has died when their 4x4 has flown off one of these drop offs, and landed nose first and flipped onto its lid.. There is a 25mph (40kph) speed limit on the sand.

Not trying to be preachy, just like to see you enjoy your holiday (and not die)...

Also a word on Distances, Frazer Island would be around 15 hours drive north of Stockton Beach.. our 'interstates" are not what you might expect, in some places the main highway is a two lane undivided road...
Stockton beach is about 2 and a half hours drive north of Sydney (the capital of NSW).

it is a three and a half hour train trip to Newcastle from Sydney, and around 40 minutes in a bus to Newcastle airport. you can see stockton beach across the harbour from the train station, the Sygna should be visible if you walk up the foreshore a bit.. Ferry ride to stockton is pretty cheap.

Nelson Bay is a 2 hour bus ride (or 55 minutes if you drive). from Newcastle (same bus to the airport) and is a nice touristy spot... whale cruises etc..

Williamtown Airport shares its' runway with Australias largest fighter base which houses F/A 18 Hornet fighter squadrans.

The Hunter Valley (the area surrounding Newcastle / Stockton) has quite a few wineries, if you are into such things...

http://www.winecountry.com.au/

also in winecountry is hunter valley gardens..
http://www.hvg.com.au/

Hope this helps... Trev.

[ordunner]

Wa5 thank you for the information I think this will help out quit a bit for getting there and also gave me some options. No problems with all the sand information I would do the same thing if you came to Oregon to ride the dunes. From what I am seeing your riding areas are much more restricted and you do not have much for rent. People may think the sand is hard in the us because that is from the water on the beach but when you hit the dunes just like your sand there is no way a 2 wheel drive car is going any ware and for that matter anything less than 250cc quad is stuck. Are beach riding is also limited to 25mph but on the flats away from the beach you see people riding over 80+ mph all the time. I love to hit the big sand dune bowls and tree shots my self. You are so right about the razor backs (top of the hill dropping straight off) been close my self a few times with tricky lighting. Because I am not shipping my Raptor 843 cc 76hp 61 Fpt I want to find something very nice to see, do not need to go fast to see the sights. Anyway thank you so much for taking the time to help and if you every get to Oregon look me up I will be happy to load the quads up in the trailer and take you to the dunes for a ride with my buds
_________________
Raptor 843 NW Raptor Rally Event Organizer the largest Raptor rally in the world for now.

[Duneblazer]

Gday, Where are you hopeing to spend the majority of time? sydney is a beautiful city and like wa5 said, there is stockton beach to check out, the hunter valley wine is very well renound!! Then there is queensland.. gold coast, sunshine coast and up north further... Townsville, Cairns for some amazing scuba diving on the great barrier reef.
Western Australia is also quite amazing, though i dont think you have the time to check that out. Its coast line is huge and something to definitely see someday. And Lancelin dunes is about 2 hour drive north of Perth (capital city) i think they are less resticted riding there!

and of course im partial to recommending visiting Tasmania! haha And we are even less restricted on riding our dunes and bush! The West coast dunes especially ive been told are much like OR area dunes you ride. And there is Cradle Mountain, Bay of Fires, Coles Bay, and down south around the capital is amazing too! You will have a blast where ever you visit, after all we are the best country in the world haha

Cheers
Mark!
_________________
dunes... Ride em mean but keep em clean !

Hit us up if your riding anywhere north/west Tas!

[ordunner]

Duneblazer We're planning to spend 3 or 4 days inn sydney and then go to melborne for another 2 or 3 days and after that I was hoping to go Carina then rent a car and headed towards sydney. You think that would be a nice drive if I had 7 to 10 days to do it? Sydney for 3 or 4 days but after that were no plans set that's why I'm asking the questions so thank you so much for the information I plan on using it.
_________________
Raptor 843 NW Raptor Rally Event Organizer the largest Raptor rally in the world for now.

[Duneblazer]

That all sounds like a good trip you've planned there! Ive never done the drive from cairns to syd but im sure it would be a good drive! Feel free to ask any other questions!
_________________
dunes... Ride em mean but keep em clean !

Hit us up if your riding anywhere north/west Tas!

[odd1]

Where in Sydney are you staying and how many of you?

[kawboy]

There are some great places to see between Cairns and Sydney but imo there is a lot of boring bits in between. Also keep in mind that the time of year you will be visiting in QLD is part of our wet season and every chance that the weather will be crappy.

For the short time you will be in oz I would try and concentrate on the highlights of each state that you intend to visit that suits your interests.

For QLD Frazer Island and The Great Barrier Reef is a must see.

I have just got back from riding at Stockton Dunes in NSW and although I had a great time and met some great people the atv riding there is very restricted so don't expect to ride on any decent sized dunes legally but it's a great place for sure.

While there I stayed at "The Retreat" which is a great place to stay with clean and comfortable cabin accommodation, pool, wildlife etc......we could see the bigger dunes right from our bedroom window prob not more than 150-200 meters away but unfortunately you can not ride on those and the legal RVA area was about 30 mins drive.

If you truly want an atv friendly holiday in oz then I would head for Tasmania as they have the least restrictions as far as atv's go and although I have never been there myself from what I have seen and heard there are some great places to visit and ride down there.

Australia is very large so don't waste your time and money trying to cover large distances by car.....pick the places that interest you and maximize your time enjoying those places and you will have a much more enjoyable experience imo.

If I can help with anything in QLD let me know. Where I live the Great Barrier Reef is just offshore, also have a friend that does local atv tours and another with some resort style accommodation with great views.
_________________
"Happiness is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it but only you can feel it"

LOONEY TUNED KFX 450R
LOONEY TUNED BRUTE 765

http://www.youtube.com/user/michealmannion?feature=mhum

[kingquad]

+1 on going to Tasmania.

It has the best riding for road bikes in the country.
The roads are simply majestic.
I swear half of them were built by people that ride bikes.

As for the off road scene Tasmania comes up tops as well.
Miles and miles of beach, Dunes and trails that you can ride no problems.

[ordunner]

Odd1 my wife and I have not found a place yet but were thinking on the bay for 3 nights in syd. Wanted to see the fire works but to damed expensive so we thought about finding a cheep hotel out syd and taking the train in for the night but not sure where to camp out for the best view. We may just skip the fire works and use the money to pay for a few extra days vacation. Anyway I know we will be watching the sail boat races on boxing day, think we will pay to be on a boat so we can watch the start up close. After that just might go north to do some scuba diveing or?

Anyway thank you all for the information and if anyone ever has questions about riding in oregon or mods for Yamaha Raptor 700 let me know and I am happy to help out.
_________________
Raptor 843 NW Raptor Rally Event Organizer the largest Raptor rally in the world for now.

[wa5]

ordunner, I am interested to know if you got to Stockton?
If so, did you go on a quad tour, and how did you find it?

Somebody I know was booked in with Quad bike king, After some unpleasant conflicts.. she got a refund...