SUNDAY TIMES (Perth, Australia) 10 February 08 Toadbusting the latest craze for travellers (Louise Pemble)
Toadbusting is becoming a craze with travellers looking for quirky adventure in the North-West.
The Kununurra-based Kimberley Toadbusters' volunteers now include local residents, Aboriginal communities, backpackers and holidaying Australian families.
Even Vietnam veterans have caught the bug, combining bush camping with doing something positive for the country.
Ex-military men make great toad-busters, according to Kimberley Toadbusters president Lee Scott Virtue, because toad-busting is "like a military operation" that requires good reconnaissance to find the toads' routes and destroy them in areas that are being invaded.
Toadbusting tours may soon make an appearance in Lonely Planet guides - the backpackers' travel bible.
Toadbusting groups have been contacted by Lonely Planet for details about the trips every weekend from Kununurra.
A toadbusting adventure weekend includes a 450km drive over the border into the Northern Territory, camping in remote bush sites, barbecues, and sometimes riding on quad bikes or in a gyrocopter to get to remote toad-infested waterholes.
Perth-based toadbuster Sandy Boulter said local Aboriginal children were treated like heroes at school if they had been out toadbusting all weekend.
Toadbusting the latest craze