NIGHT LIFE

IN A COUNTRY AS BIG AS AUSTRALIA, SOMETIMES FORGING ON THROUGH THE NIGHT IN YOUR 4WD IS UNAVOIDABLE. IN THIS INSTALMENT OF 'HOW TO' WE EXAMINE THE BEST WAYS TO DRIVE SAFELY AT NIGHT

- DEAN MELLOR

MY FIRST terrifying taste of night driving in the outback took place back in 1995 just after I waved goodbye to a few mates at Broken Hill airport. It was late in the afternoon as I pointed the Daihatsu Rocky I was driving towards Cobar, only 470km to the east, and I wondered why then 4X4 Australia Editor Ron Moon, and then Tri-State Safari owner Mick McCulkin had both strongly advised me to spend the night in town and head off in the morning. I soon found out why …

As I watched the sun dip below the horizon in the Rocky’s rear-view mirror, I had no idea of the terror that lay ahead. Sure, I had seen a few kangaroos in the first 50 clicks or so out of Broken Hill, but they mostly seemed content to sit on either side of the road. But as the deepening red sky darkened, the ’roos became much more active … and far more numerous. I started counting how many I could spot and, at their peak, I reckon there could have been as many as 20 or more ’roos between each guide post on each side of the road … and several of them thought the shafts of golden light coming from the Rocky’s spotties were an invitation to hop across the road and reach nirvana.