Mad Max Car Cemetery

By Mark McConville

LIKE A scene from the post-apocalyptic world in Mad Max these rusting vehicles have been left to rot in the Australian Bush.

The surreal video and images show hundreds of old cars, vans and trucks stacked on top of each other in the middle of nowhere like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie.

Other shots show how the vehicles have been left strewn across what was once an old road, completely blocking it off.

The incredible images and footage were taken at Derwent Valley, Tasmania by an Australian who stumbled across the mysterious car park and wished to remain anonymous.

“It reminded me of the Highway of Death in Kuwait during the First Gulf War,” he said.

“In some places the old road was covered in vehicles but in others they were stacked on each side like a wall.

“I did some asking around and the story goes that all the vehicles were collected there on the old bush road by a bloke who either got them cheap or for free.

“He was storing them there to be sold as scrap later on when scrap metal prices went up, but he died before this could occur. So, the wrecks are just rusting there in the wilderness.

“There are all sorts of strange things in the Tasmanian bush, things left and forgotten.”

The man, who took the shots with a Nikon D90 and his iPhone 7, feels his pictures show incredible power of time.

“Humans cannot easily view the passing of time in nature, not beyond the seasonal changes,” he said.

“We cannot view the world ageing in nature because mountains and rivers and desserts and jungles take thousands of years to change, which is so far beyond our viewing ability. We can however witness decay in manmade objects.

“Quite quickly the elements take over and something strangely beautiful can be created. I think of how the Classical Greek statues that we look at now are white and clean but when they were originally made they were covered in gaudy paint.

“The people who crafted them didn’t enjoy them as we do now. It’s only the passing of time with the washing of the seasons that made them become as great as they are.”

The cameraman also had to be wary of deadly snakes in the area as he explored this abandoned car cemetery.

“There are a lot snakes in Tasmania,” he said. “I didn’t see any but they would have been about.

“The trick is to make a lot of noise so they run away. If you get bitten, you’ll die without antivenom. I probably could have gotten out in time had I been bitten.

“My mobile phone was dropping in and out of coverage but I reckon I would have been able to get to higher ground where I could have phoned for emergency assistance.”

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