"Wear old clothes and sturdy footwear", he said. "And bring a change of clothes: you'll need them".
Now I am intrigued.
After a 45 minute scenic drive from Airlie Beach, through Proserpine and cane fields, we arrive at the gate of Whitsunday Adventure Park for a few hours of 4WD buggy action.
Helmets and goggles are allocated before the required short briefing. We then headed off into the bush, following the tour leader and tackling a few small obstacles prior to the more challenging terrain. With my husband driving, he made the most of the sweeping corners and short straights. Although the vehicles are speed restricted to a maximum speed of 30 km per hour, it is still a hoot zooming around the bends. We toured through the grass lands and negotiated ditches and gullies before arriving at the skills area; a man-made circuit of tyres, bridges, moguls and mounds. It's challenging when it's dry, but even more so when wet: we had a heavy downpour just before setting out.
The buggies are easy to operate, and can really go over anything: just make sure you keep the power on. It was my turn behind the wheel, which was more like a Sunday drive than an adrenalin rush. But that's the beauty of this tour: anyone can drive the buggies (as long as you have any type of licence), and you can go as fast or slow as you wish. Just make sure you stay on the tracks and look out for others. Don't worry if you get stuck, the tour leader will snatch strap you out: that's all part of the fun anyway.
We continued through dense rainforest, along a creek bed and up a steep hill to The Lookout for a commanding view of the Conway Range and the Proserpine & Goorganga Plain with the steam towers of the Proserpine sugar mill rising up in the distance.
Many spiderwebs, countless butterflies and the odd snake were viewed from the comfort of the buggy as we bounced along the track through open woodland towards home base. Now it was time to get dirty in the mud pit.
The last half hour of the tour is spent spinning around the muddy berms and crashing through the enormous mud puddles on a near one kilometre mud circuit. Make sure you keep your mouth closed, and you'll have to stop now and again for a visor wipe courtesy of the tour leader. As your confidence grows you'll be doing the full circuit with your foot flat to the floor. It feels like you are flying around - until you drive through a mud puddle and are covered with a tsunami of milk chocolate. It's so much fun!!
Time for an outdoor shower and a change of clothes before heading back in to Airlie Beach with a huge smile. That was indeed a fun and dirty afternoon.
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