Beers at sunset
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Old-fashioned values gets excellent access outcome

Although much of our work is technical and legal, sometimes the solution to a land access problem is a box of beer rather than hiring a lawyer or a surveyor.

Last week, an enquirer used advice and contact details we provided for a landowner to get vehicle access across a high country station. The station managers were happy to let the enquirer drive on their private road in exchange for a box of beer.

The enquirer was a hunter who had identified an unformed legal road on WAMS and wanted to know if it was drivable for 4WDs. The road was impassable, sadly, but our regional field advisor was able to provide some publicly accessible contact details for the station owner. The landowner put our enquirer in touch with the station managers, who then kindly gave permission to use private tracks on the land. 

Many landowners are happy to share their land with outdoor recreationists when they ask politely.

In this instance, it was nearly a perfect outcome — but the hunting was a bust, mainly due to a howling northwester. However, the enquirer says he met up with the station managers on the way out. They offered some local knowledge and the use of their other access points, so "it will be worth another crack at some stage".

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