An RBT in Barrington Tops NP?! You might not expect to see the boys in blue in the bush but it can happen, so make sure you do the right thing.
Bumping into the boys in blue in the bush might be a rare occurrence but it can happen, as evidenced by this RBT in Barrington Tops National Park on the June long weekend, with an unmarked LandCruiser pulling up this eight-vehicle convoy and conducting breath testing of all drivers.
Unsealed 4X4’s Bill Callinan was with a group of four-wheel drivers at Barrington Tops when they happened upon a black 200 Series LandCruiser pulled over on the side of the track with no lights on. As the convoy approached, the LC200 revealed itself to be a police vehicle, flashing its lights and pulling up the four-wheel drivers and conducting the random RBT in Barrington Tops NP.
“They asked if we had any knives or firearms with us, had a quick look in the back then we were on our way,” Bill said. “The location of the RBT was just after a really difficult part of the track in the National Park, about half an hour’s drive from the nearest fire trail.”
“The officer we spoke to worked with the NSW Police Rural Crime Investigators, and he quoted the operation they were conducting as ‘Operation Devil Ark’,” Bill said.
According to the NSW Police Rural Crime Facebook page, the focus of ‘Operation Devil Ark’ was aimed at preventing illegal hunting and ensuring safe storage compliance of firearms. Throughout the long weekend, officers from a number of districts, along with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), conducted 60 random breath tests and 14 safe storage compliance checks, with three stock carrier inspections, vehicle searches and traffic infringement notices issued.
“The general-duties cops, along with NPWS, also came around to our camp to check we had our permits and had booked our campsites,” Bill added.
It just goes to show, you never know where the boys in blue will be, so do the right thing when you’re out in the bush and in the case of National Parks in NSW, book ahead if you want to stay overnight.
