| The Bellarine 4x4 Club regularly partakes in various trips to enjoy the great outdoors. Listed here in the future we will be posting trip reports and pictures of trips that our club enjoys. Our Picture Gallery will also contain pictorial reviews of various trips, see the link on the left of the page. Neil’s High Country Trip Recci Friday 23rd April After it had been raining all afternoon, the trip north was looking grim. 5:30 came, and went, so after we had all finished work and loaded up the vehicles, it was time to make a move. Mark and Tim rock around to Neil’s to meet up with the rest of the crew. Neil, Adam, Peter and Ebony were ready to head off. Moseying on up the highway, a quick top at the roadhouse for tea, and the long journey began. Travelling up the western ring road, and onto the Hume, being the start of a long weekend turned out to be a brilliant idea. It was a long, slow trip in the rain, however we finally arrived at base camp at Sheepyard Flats at about 10:45pm. A quick scout about for the best spot to pitch the swags, we setup as quick as we could, so as we didn’t get soaking wet. Didn’t work. A quick can or two, and it was time to take refuge in bed for the evening. Saturday 24th April Up early, it was still very wet, and we looked about the camp site to see rivers of water everywhere. Marks swag was resting in a pool of water, and required a mote to be created around it to drain the water away from it.
Cooking breaky under a tarp, Mark and Tim had the obligatory bacon and eggs, while the others seemed content with a few Milo bars. Shortly after we headed off for the day, heading towards Mount Stirling and Mount Buller. Cruising along Howqua Hills Road towards Bluff Link Road, we ended up at Bluff Hut for mid morning tea, coffee and for those who hadn’t already, a bit of bacon, eggs and hash browns. Bluff Hut was awash with walkers sheltering from the weather, how anyone could be out in this kind of weather i do not know. Moving on from Bluff Hut, we moved along towards 16 Mile Jeep Track, and Bindaree Hut. After a quick stop to chat to the locals, we crossed the Howqua River, and on towards Craigs Hut. Before arriving at Craigs Hut, we stopped for a quick walk to Bindaree Falls. A quick 15 minute return walk was well worth it, to see Ebony and Neil in the other car shrieking when finding they had passengers of the Leech variety !! At Craigs Hut, we found it difficult to find a car park !! There were that many people there we could not move. As this was the proposed lunch stop, we decided to move onto somewhere a bit more less hectic. The view was also a bit of a letdown, as we couldn’t see anything for the fog. We finally decided to stop at Howqua Gap Hut for lunch, finding a nice fire, warm new hut, and a few friendly Hound Hunters that enjoyed a good yarn. Moving right along, back over Mount Stirling, we then travelled along Cornhill Road, then onto Mount Buller. A quick look around the Ski resort, we couldn’t believe the amount of cash that must has been put into this area. Back onto Mount Buller road, we headed towards Merrijig and Mansfield for some supplies, before heading back to base camp. A cook up of some fine food, and an attempt at a fire, we sheltered from the rain under a tarp that had more holes in it than swiss cheese. After a crash lesson in Fakawi’s and Glibblio’s it was time to hit the sack. Sunday 25th April – ANZAC Day, lest we forget. Once again, up early, and after a hearty breakfast, we headed off along Brocks Road towards Upper Jamieson Hut, and then onto Low Saddle Road. A pesky tree across the road stopped us for a short while, nothing a chainsaw couldn’t fix. We then turned off onto Mount Sunday Road, and to the Peak of Mount Sunday for our lunch stop. It was planned to head back down to Low Saddle road, and then onto Wrens Flat, Mitchells Track and back to Camp.
This path would have had us back at camp around 4:30 5:00. That sounded too boring. Instead we decided to continue on Mount Sunday Road, across the top of Mount Sunday then Mount McKinty and then loop back around to Wrens Flat. Mount Sunday Road, turned out to be a challenge. Rocks, mud, hills, trees, and every trick in the book was needed to get us to the other side.
We were almost at the intersection of Mount Sunday Road, and Barkley River Road, when we came to one of the biggest, rockiest hill climbs we had ever seen. Mark was the first to have a go, he managed to get about 15 meters before coming to a grinding halt. Calling Neil behind us to stop, we backed down the hill, and re assessed the line. This time with the Locker in, he managed to get probably 50 meters up before the dreaded sound of a rapidly deflating front tyre. A quick winch up to a more suitable spot to change the tyre, we replaced it with the spare, and then re assessed the situation. Another quick attempt at driving on was thwarted, out came the winch cable again, winching up to a point where Mark would be able to snatch Adam’s GU up the rock step. At this point, we had moved approximately 75 Meters, and hour had almost passed. The trees along each side of the track bore the scars of many winching efforts previously. We, however, used the appropriate tree protectors and safety equipment. Another half an hour, and Marks vehicle was in a position where he could have another go at driving further up the hill, this time, with Adam’s GU in tow. Mark kicked in the locker, and spooled the turbo up, and managed to drag the GU up the hill kicking and screaming for the best park of 50-60 meters. At this time, we had spent the best part of 2 hours and moved all of about 135 meters. The afternoon was well and truly upon us, and with only one winch between us, had grave thoughts of being stranded should something happen to the winch. Then began the long slow process of winching the remaining 200 odd meters to the top of the hill. Winching for a minute, then resting to ensure we didn’t damage the winch, it was a long, slow process. After what seemed like hours, Marks GU was finally in a position where he could then drive the remaining 30 or 40 meters to the top of the hill, turn around, and then winch Adam up the remaining rocky track to the point where he could then be snatched the remaining 30 meters to the top of the hill. And then, we were there, we made it to the top. Almost four hours of winching and dragging later, we had managed to move the 250-300 meters to the top of the hill. This was truly one of the most rewarding experiences of any trip i had been on previously. There was no other word to describe it than truly extreme. It was now well into the afternoon, and well behind our schedule. We moved onto the end of the track and then turned right onto Barkley river Road, and then onto the Jameison-Heyfield Road, over the top of Mount Skene, and then onto Mitchells Track, Steiner Track and then onto Howqua Hills Track, and back to Camp. The last three tracks were driven in total darkness, an impromptu night drive, and arrived back at camp approximately 9:00pm. The remaining evening was spent thinking about all the things that could have gone wrong but didn’t, and rustling up some sort of evening meal. This time with a decent fire and no rain, a good time was had by the camp fire, and a few beverages consumed. Off to bed then home tomorrow: Monday 26th April: Getting up early again, and packing up, we ensured we left nothing behind, we transverse one last track, back onto the Mount Buller Road, and then onto Mansfield, and then home. It was a rewarding weekend, with one day in particular, that “lest we forget” Somehow i think the ANZAC Spirit was with us on that day. Thank you to Neil for organising the weekend, Mark for allowing a hanger onerer, and the remaining guests for some excellent company. Walhalla Trip by the Latte cruisers. (Report by Sandra Beggs) Thursday 4 March The Crowe’s and Beggs’s headed off at 9am stopping at Moe for some lunch then onto the Erica Caravan Park arriving around 1pm. The caravan park whilst quite old and at first glance we were not sure what we were getting into, it had clean amenities and nice green grass. First chore was to cut off a few branches of the tree overhanging the camping spot to get the caravan in. Fred, the owner of the park gave us a saw and said go for it but his wife soon made it known she was boss and wanted to know how many branches we were cutting down. A bit of tree trimming later we were set up camp and headed off for the 20 minute drive into Walhalla to check out the area. The trip into Walhalla is a beautiful drive along a windy road through forest and when you arrive it’s a picture book small town. We had a brief look around town then headed back to camp to light a fire and have dinner. To our surprise the park owners informed us that camp fires weren’t allowed that time of the year. After much debating and quoting from the CFA brochure that we’d picked up at the pub and Fred phoning the fire brigade to ask permission, we settled in for a night without a fire – lucky it was rather warm so we didn’t need it anyway. Friday 5 March Woke up to a gorgeous bright sunny day so after a latte at the Grey Horse Café in Walhalla we headed out north of Walhalla driving along gravel road with very steep sides before coming across a lovely river crossing to stop for lunch. Rod tried his luck at fishing and Bill tried to pan for gold but were unsuccessful. The drive takes you past the Thomson dam and onto Abercromby with afternoon tea at the cemetery. It would have to be the cemetery with the best views over the valley. It was a bit eerie walking over the children’s section and the suicide section. Sandra H tried to offer a cup of tea to anyone listening in on channel 20 and managed to get a few takers. The homemade Anzac biscuits were a real winner! Arriving back at camp late in the afternoon to greet the 3rd latte cruiser Chris, Joel and Cheyanne Kershaw. It had started to drizzle rain so we threw caution to the wind and lit a camp fire underneath the roof of the camp kitchen. We sat back and watched heaps of campers arrive with looks from the park owners as we burnt their old fence posts in our roaring camp fire. Sandra B was ready to have a go at some campers that used the broom stick to discipline their dog. Saturday 6 March A Begonia festival was on for the weekend in Erica so we had breakfast watching all the “Begonians” from the caravan park heading over to the town hall for their days entertainment looking at “Begonia’s”. Another gorgeous day and the three vehicles headed into Walhalla to take a train ride on the historic Walhalla Goldfield Railway through the spectacular Stringers Creek Gorge to Thomson station and back. We stopped at the Grey Horse Café for our latte and another chat with one of the 12 locals who live in Walhalla. Headed north again on the Walhalla Rd turning right onto Maiden Town Track. Stopped at a clearing for lunch, we found a cable lead across a track. We all agreed that there shouldn’t be a cable across the tracks and the sign saying “Danger do not enter” shouldn’t be there so Rod attempted to remove the cable and the padlock holding it onto the tree. Unsuccessful at that we moved on reading signs advising that much of this area is still under a 100 year lease for gold mining so perhaps they did have the right to keep people like us out! We arrived at Coopers Creek, which was just beautiful, in time for afternoon tea. Joel and Cheyanne played in the river which was flowing rather fast – Joel was hanging onto the rock to prevent him from floating down the river but his board shorts had other ideas! Rod had another attempt at fishing and Bill tried once again to pan for gold needless to say we found no food and no riches. Crossed the river and drove through the rather large camping spot which was packed full of campers. That night we ate at the Erica Pub which was a fantastic meal and unique surroundings - they have a large array of old chainsaws hanging from the ceiling. Unfortunately another camper had taken over the camp kitchen with a pathetic looking fire so we settled in under the canvas of The Crowe’s camper. Sunday 7 March It was raining this morning so we decided to drive to Mt. Baw Baw. The drive is spectacular cut through tall trees either side of the road with probably more tree ferns than we’ve ever seen in one spot. We enjoyed the morning latte at the Mt. Baw Baw Chalet with fabulous views. Took the long scenic route back to Erica through Mt Baw Baw National Park stopping for lunch at a clearing where Joel found the biggest worm we’d ever seen. We arrived back at camp to take back our camp kitchen with two roaring fires for the evening. Monday 8 March The Beggs’s packed up and headed home while Crowe’s and Kershaw’s stayed on another night. Rod decided to try his luck again at fishing (not) and did some more exploring of the Walhalla town. It is a beautiful area and definitely worth a visit. There are loads of good tracks and you would never get bored looking for something to see and do. There is a great General Store at Erica which has freshly home baked bread and pies every day. Walhalla has only 12 Residents half of which don’t speak to the other half although we can recommend the friendly atmosphere of the Grey Horse Café. There is plenty of bush camping available close to Walhalla but have no amenities. Coorong National Park Trip January 2009
Friday 16th Jan – Met up with Rob, Michelle and kids at Beaufort around 9am, took of to meet up with Ron and Mary at Ararat around 10am. We headed on our way and our first stop was at the Pink Lake near Dimboola for photo op’s. We stopped for lunch at Kaniva and from there went to Bordertown, where Gary, Jane and the kids caught up with us. From Bordertown we went through to Willalooka, taking the dirt road on the way to Salt Creek.This is where it get’s interesting. ¾’s the way along Pethrick Road we hear on the UHF Jane yell out “STOP STOP”. We all stopped to find Rob and Michelle’s camper trailer had broken a centre bolt on one spring and the hanger, which caused the spring to fall out and the trailer to tip up, almost rolling over and it had bent the axle and guard.The next 3 hours were spent on the side of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, welding, banging, repairing springs, making up new centre bolts out of tent pegs (thanks to Ron), trying to get it back together to make the next 40kms to Salt Creek. Once the trailer was back together, we could only travel at 10 – 15kms/hr because the trailer axle was bent. We only made it as far as 28 Mile Crossing Camp Group, as it was getting dark.Saturday 17th Jan - Saturday morning, after pulling the trailer apart, finding that we needed to straighten or replace the axle, we were standing around discussing what we were going to do, when out of nowhere walks up a guy, no shoes or pants and in a singlet. He told us him and his mates have been stuck on the beach overnight broken down and he had walked approx 12 kms when he found us, telling us he needed a jump start for his Suzuki. We said – Sure, if they can help us fix an axle.Off we went to find his car and his mates and got them back to our camp. They said they could help us straighten out the axle at the workshop on a nearby property. On the way there, their Suzuki ran out of fuel, so we had to tow them to a farm so they could get another vehicle and we followed them to the workshop, where we got the axle straightened, thanks again to Ronnie’s skills and knowledge.Once back at camp, we put the camper trailer back together and late that afternoon/early evening, went for a drive up the beach, along the Coorong National Park, checking out some dry salt lakes and saw the Margit Shipwreck.Sunday 18th Jan - Sunday morning we packed up camp and headed off towards Beachport, via the Granites, which are 6 large rocks on the beach edge. From there we headed to Kingston, stopping for photo op’s at the Big Lobster and to see the Tractor Museum. We headed off after lunch towards Robe to stock up on supplies. A bush fire held us up just out of Robe for about 90mins with a road closure, then we made a detour around, via the dirt roads, arriving at the Southern Ocean Caravan park at Beachport around dinner time.Monday 19th Jan - We had a full day of 4wding on the beaches and tracks of the Beachport Conservation Park between Beachport and Nora Creina. Then from Nora Creina to Robe through the Little Dip Conservation Park. The tracks were varied, going from dirt tracks in the National Park, onto beaches, back inland around rocky outcrops and over some large sand dunes, giving us a wide variety of tracks along the 48km trek. It was a long day, arriving back at the Caravan Park after 8.30pm.Tues 20th Jan - We started out in the morning from Beachport, taking the beach track to South End, which was approx 20kms long. From South End we went into the Canunda National Park, stopping for lunch at Boozy Gully. After lunch we travelled on tracks to Geltwood Beach, stopping at the beach, exploring the rock pools and beach for a while. From there we went back inland through the Canunda National Park, via tracks and sand dunes, back to South End, following the beach track back to Beachport.Before going to the Pub for dinner, we went to “The Pool of Siloam”, which is a small lake that is said to be 7 times saltier than the ocean, and is supposed to have healing properties. After swimming for a while – we can report that it is a lot saltier than the ocean, but the healing properties are still up for debate.Wed 21st Jan - Zoran, Vanessa and the kids had to go to Millicent to see a Doctor about a bite on Vanessa’s leg, which she got in the car on Friday morning, as it was not looking or feeling the best. Gary, Jane, Rob, Michelle and their kids headed off for a day at a few wineries at Coonawarra. Ron and Mary had a relaxing day and visited the Woakwine Cutting not far out of Beachport. That night we relaxed at the caravan park.Thurs 22nd - The last day of our trip before ending up at Portland for our long weekend gathering. After packing up camp at Beachport, we headed to Mount Gambier via the Tantanoola Caves. We stopped and replenished supplies at Mount Gambier, visited the Blue Lake for photo op’s and arrived at Portland late in the afternoon.Even after a couple of drama’s along the way, our trip was really enjoyable. We loved exploring the South East Coast of South Australia. We hope to be able to return again some day to explore even more.Thank you to Ron, Mary, Gary, Jane, Gemma, Alex, Rob, Michelle, Christine and Michael for joining us on a trip to remember.Zoran, Vanessa, Stephanie and Kaitlinn. NEW YEARS EVE 2007 Middle Creek Camp Ground. The weekend started with Rob and Michele first to arrive and chose the camp site up the back of the camping ground. Next to arrive were Gary and Jane on the Saturday and Tim, Amanda and Mark arrived Sunday afternoon. After Tim and Mark set up camp it was a nice time to sit back and relax enjoy the sunshine and nice cold refreshing beverages. The evening turned coolish and the camp fire was lit. New Years eve morning it was decided that it was time for a drive in the lovely bush, with Gary leading in the Patrol followed by Jane in her cruiser, Tim, Rob and Mark as tail end Charlie we all headed off. A rock ledge provided a challenge for Gary, on the second attempt and with the Lockers in he made it over the top and up the hill calling and encouraging Jane to follow. With the rest of the group waiting at the bottom of the hill, we were watching Jane edge up to the ledge. With a quick driver swap and Gary now behind the wheel of the Cruiser all the group down the bottom could hear was a lot of wheel spin and with Gary asking for help, we all traced up the hill and found the cruiser on a 60 degree angle and stuck. After about 10 minutes of discussions the Cruiser was attached to Gary’s Patrol to be winched out. Gary in all his wisdom had shut off the Cruiser, which now resulted in the fuel draining from the filter and back down to the Fuel Tank, as a result, obviously the car would not start. With a very loud crack, and Mark nearly having a heart attack, the winch cable snapped and it was back to the drawing board to work out how to get the cruiser up the ledge. Snatching was the only option as again it wouldn’t start. After and hour and a half the cruiser was on flat ground and running again and it was time for the next 3 cars to come over the ledge, (all were Patrols without a hiccup! ). We kept driving and ended up at Richard’s camp ground in search of the waterfall as the temperature was in the high 30’s. On arriving here we discovered that it was an half hour walk up a steep hill, refreshing beverages were taken over a lovely chat and the idea of the hike wasn’t appealing so it was back in the trucks heading to Ferntree waterfalls. With one patrol over heating (Gary not to mention any names) it was a slower trip but we made there and took a refreshing shower under the waterfall, and then headed back to camp, were again we sat around drinking ice cold drinks. As the kids nearly falling asleep (and we had to see in the new year) a child friendly game of ‘Have you ever’ was played (it is a dangerous game) after which it was time to celebrate the New Year 2008. New Years Day again was hot so we packed up early and then headed into Beaufort for a relaxing swim in the pool (which Gary and Tim found the bottom of which was not so stable), then it was then on our way home via Ballarat. It was the slowest climb up Mt Buninyong as once again a certain Patrol was overheating we would lucky to be traveling at 20km/hr. It was a very enjoyable New Years celebration and thanks go to Gary, Jane, Rob, Michele, Mark and the kids for a wonderful camping trip. Amanda Track Clearing with Parks Victoria Saturday the 27th of October 4 X Vehicles were joined by one from Parks Victoria to open and clear a number of tracks before the official re opening date later in the month. Mark Radburn and Gary Filbay ( Bill and Ben) arrived in Marks truck, Anthony "Axeman" Post and Mick O'Brian came along in Anthony's Truck, Neil Clark and Nephew Christopher and his brother were in the Shorty, with Chris driving, and Tim and Amanda in Amanda's Maverick. We met Dale and Dale from Parks in Anglesea before heading down the Otway Road to our first track, which was opened and inspected, with minimal work required to make it safe for opening. A quick stop at a camping ground for a toilet stop and to air down was required before moving onto the remaining tracks for the day The next track required a little more work in order to clear it for use. Minimal chainsaw work and the persuasion of a tiger snake to move on was in order here. These first two tracks appeared in good condition, a sign that the closures had been adhered to and respected. Moving on through Lorne, we moved to our next assigned track, with some issues when it came to opening the gate ! After a little while trying to get the lock undone, it was decided to move down to the next track and come back down to the gate that way. Parks would then attend to the stubborn lock on the Monday. The next track was the first opportunity to get into low range, with the entry being steep, rutted and tricky in spots. Just after the main entrance we found our first tree down, spending time here to move it off the track and make sure it was safe to continue onwards. A number of stops of a similar nature were required as we moved along the track. Moving back down towards the gate that was being stubborn, we then turned around and headed back towards the next track to be cleared. Stopping at a clearing to "enjoy the serenity" we stopped for a bite of lunch and a general chit chat, before tackling the remaining few tracks for the afternoon. It wasn't long before the chainsaws were once again needed, with a few larger specimens requiring some attention. A slight hiccup with Micks chainsaw resulted in Mark diving into the blackberry bushes to retrieve it. After all that excitement there was one last track to do. Having been a fairly smooth day so far, Neil once again reminded us that it was about "that time of the day, when things turn to crud" Thankfully he was wrong this time, however we did come across multiple large trees blocking the track that took longer than expected to clear and make safe. The second tree was an obvious casualty of lightening, which was a first hand reminder of the dangers of mother nature. Arriving at the end of the track, it was extremely disappointing to see that a gate had been intentionally damaged to gain access during the closure period. A few pictures, refreshments and chat before we all headed home for the evening. Thank you to Dale and Dale from Parks Victoria for hosting the day. Thanks to Anthony, Mick, Mark, Neil and nephews, Tim, Amanda and Gary for attending and assisting with the day. Trip report from Gary
Park's and DSE have decided to make the Clearwater creek crossing sediment free and the allowing the clubs to use the track.
On the 23rd of September 4 x participants left the Warn Pond's Hotel around 9:15am for a jaunt in the bush, the day started with an airing down exercise somewhere in a pine plantation out the back of Birregurra. From this position we got ourselves lost for a little while before we were able to find our next track, this track although having a steep and rutty hill caused the long wheel based vehicles no problems, but held up a shortie on 2 x tree roots.
The next track tackled had a few bog holes along its length and again no problems for the long wheel based patrols, the shortie didn't like the water though. Next we tried to find a path that would give us access down to the Gellibrand river and while trying to find a path, "you guessed it", that bloody shortie again, this time a flat tyre. We found a way down a steep decent to the valley (Shortie trying to roll down the hill), there we found a short little run into the bush and back along a track that was quite slippery, from this point made it to lunch at 12:15pm. After lunch made our way back to a track where we were going to do 4 x hills before moving onto Beach Forrest, the first track we went up we came across log, probably a 3 footer in diameter, we could have left it there and turn around but decided to clear it from the track as this track is one we use during the Christmas break-up, while Chain sawing and winching 30 motor bikes from the Otway trail riders came through, the entourage took some time to pass.
After moving the log the next track saw the shortie in action again with only one wheel on the ground at one stage climbing a hill, this track was then completed then onto the next which was well rutted; the 4 of us provided entertainment for some guys on bikes who came to watch. Moving on from this heading towards Beach Forrest came across a heap of large trees down across the road; this meant a little redirection though the scrub to another track where we could get around the obstacle. We arrived at the next track at 3:30pm, last time this track was surveyed by the club we new that one bog hole had to be winched, with only 4 trucks in the group we moved on. Well the first hole we came too, we had to winch out of and this was not the hole of expected winching, the next we came across was the expected bog hole in which we spent a couple of hours winching as one of the trucks had smoke coming out of his winch, meaning that the shortie had to turn around and lend him a hand. Right 'O' now it’s dark!
The next hole we came to was again a long wincher, after the first truck all the rest were pulled through with 3 x snatch & right foot, the next hole after mucking around a bit we actually drove which brought us to half way along the track and a side exit . We moved off along this track and came across another tree down requiring use of the chainsaw, once past this obstacle was clear sailing to the beach forest pub looking out through small clean spots on the windscreen, at the pub we aired up and cleaned lights and a viewing through the windscreen area, at this stage we also met the new licensee of the pub who wants business from the 4x4 clubs & is now serving meals again. Anyway I think this was now around 8:00pm so we headed down the bitumen with an overheating, alternator & head lights stuck on Hi-beam back to Colac. At Colac went to Kentucky Chook walking in on a freshly mopped floor to get a bite, leaving here moving onto the servo to have a bit of a wash, after leaving the servo we now had alternator & no overheating arriving home around 10:30pm.
City West 4X4 Swap Meet (Report from Rob and Michelle) We attended the City West 4x4 Swap meet on Sunday, on our short walk around the stalls we ran into Kevin with half his garage spread out across the ground. An articulation ramp was set up out the back ready for those willing to give it a go. So Kevin and Rob said what the hell and up they went. We have sent some pictures to show how we went. (see the gallery) Kevin measured up at 169cm Forward and 200cm backwards Rob measured up at 192cm forward and 205cm backwards Both of us were quite impressed with the articulation of the trucks. The swap meet was small but well run with lots of room for growth. I am tipping the grey skies and hail stones kept quite a few people at home on the couch! Cheers, Rob Otways Night Drive - 30th June 2007 On a cold, windy and raining Saturday night, what could be better than staying home by the heater and curling up on the couch with the wife? A Night Run in the Otways that's what ! The plan was for tea at the Forrest Hotel at 6:30, out by 8:30 for a pleasant drive, a stop about 11:30 for a cuppa, and all be home in time for bed around 2:00am. That plan went out the window about 6:00 when it was found Neil was having electrical issues (described over the radio as, now its going now its not, now its going now its not) and was spotted on the side of the road with Kevin, trying to find the source of the issue. A little hot wiring and Neil's truck fired to life again, with the problem solved for that evening at least. Arriving at the Forrest Hotel about 6:45, we found Geoff Storey, Marjan, Zoran and Steph waiting for us. A pleasant meal and conversation was had, with a few refreshments before proceeding to let the tyres down in the rain, and locking hubs in. (Yes Tim did remember this time) We then headed off towards our first destination, after losing the State Ranger, and arriving for a "look" at a decent hill and creek crossing, no more than 800 meters from where we started from. Here we were to stay for the next two and a half hours, honing our snatching, winching and recovery skills, in the pouring rain. Geoff Storey had completed the downhill run across the creek and then up the other side. After Gary suggesting that one should not tackle this hill unless lockers were fitted, Kevin decided to give it a go. .... and there he stayed for the next two hours or so. Whilst going down the hill, things seemed to get a bit hairy. Then came the fun bit, trying to drive up the other side, with little luck, he managed to spin the car 180 degrees and fall back to the bottom of the gully. With no momentum there was little hope of Kevin getting back up the hill, so it was decided to winch from a robust looking tree, that turned out to be not so robust, and sent Kevin sliding backwards back down the hill to the bottom again. While Kevin was having trouble getting the winch to work, Geoff had driven onwards from the other side of the track and come back around to where the others were watching in bemusement the attempts to conquer the great hill. All this not more than 5 minutes from where we started from! The master move came when Geoff drove back down the hill, tied off to a tree, and brought on the High Mount power of the Warn variety, and dragged Kevin up the hill kicking and screaming. Finally moving on around 10:45pm, and not more than a good few minutes from where we began, it was time to get into some mud and fun. There were plenty of muddy bits, and bog holes to cover before the night was out . A couple of slippery fire type tracks were covered by all easily, before we came to the nights first challenge. The first obstacle had 3 options, far left, middle and right. The left was for the no snorkel variety, with still enough water to cause a problem, the middle was snorkel territory, an the third, well, no one bothered with. Gary and Kevin proceeded through the middle hole, plunging themselves into darkness when the lights submerged, with a bit of right foot, that shortly passed, with relatively no problems. Tim and Amanda went to the left, with no issues, and Zoran following behind, or so they thought. Zoran had decided he wanted a bit of a challenge, after Kevin asked why there was only one Toyota on the trip that evening. Picking the deepest possible path through the hole, soon after the headlights submerged the engine died. Unable to restart, Neil went around the other side, to see if he could snatch him out. Unable to do so Geoff turned to recovery specialist again, snatching him backwards out of the merky water, after which 30 minutes passed before the Toyota would fire again. Moving onward we stopped for a quick running repair on Garys truck to re inflate a slightly down on pressure front right tyre. After popping the tyre back on the bead, and firing a balancer back off into the bush, it was off again back through where we came from, and with no Toyota delays this time. A few short tracks, a fallen tree and a 3 point turn onto what turned out to be final track for the morning, and we were on the home stretch, at least we imagined it would be. All going well, we came to a slightly slippery section where some tricky maneuvering around a falling tree was required. Gary had some traction issues but managed to get around and up the other side. Kevin then followed, where he managed to get him self stuck on the fallen log, which required the winch once again, finally getting through and Neil then following. Tim then followed, requiring a bit of rocking action to first clear the log, then navigating past the tree. That done we moved on along some off camber slippery stuff, and then down a slippery hillside that caught Tim out in the trees. A slight bend to the new bull bar was all that resulted. Zoran then followed sliding sideways down the hill after stalling, safely stopping at the bottom ready to move on. The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, with the group stopping at a cross road just out of Barwon Downs to air up at around 3:30am. Some chatting, Scooby Snacks, damage reports and refreshments and we were on our way home. Gary led the way, with Zoran the first to turn off at the Winch-Cape Otway Road on his way back to Bannockburn. A quick loo stop at Moriac, Gary going onwards back through Mt Moriac and the Princess Highway. Kevin, Tim and Geoff turned off at the Barwon Heads turnoff, and went back through Mount Duneed towards Drysdale and Clifton Springs. Geoff headed his own way in Ocean Grove, Tim and Kevin continuing on. Kevin not having enough excitement for one morning, decided then that he would go and do one last track by himself close to home. As tempting as it was, Tim decided not to partake, and went home to bed, leaving Kevin out to have his fun. We can only assume that no harm came to him, as we have not heard any missing persons reports on the news. A big thank you to Gary and Jane for organizing a fantastic night trip, and a pleasant meal at the Pub. Thanks to Geoff for his expertise in vehicle recovery. Thanks to the tree for not taking out Tim's new Bull Bar, Bonnet, Guard and Grill (right hand side this time.) Thanks to Kevin for the evenings entertainment. Queens Birthday Long Weekend 2007: What better excuse for a trip than a long weekend! Many months ago, Neil and Mark had an idea, lets go down the coast and do some fishing and sand driving. What started off as a small weekend get away, turned into a long weekend trip, organized by Foz, with 7 trucks attending. (Neil wishes to thank Foz for organizing his trip, and Aaron for the transport !) Mark and Elaine Radburn arrived down there on the Thursday, gathering the shower trailer, firewood, and picking the best spot. Foz and Mary arrived Friday morning with Mary's Pajero and the caravan. Rob, Michelle and the Kids arrived early Friday evening, and were almost done setting up when Tim and Amanda arrived. At this time, many bets were taken on what time the Filbay's would arrive. Tim and Elaine said 11:00, Foz reckoned 1:00am, and there were a few other wild guesses. Neil (Abraham) and Aaron (Rex) were next to arrive, with swags packed. The Filbays still no where to be found. Turns out Tim and Elaine were closest to the pin, with Gary, Jane and Kids arriving at around 10:45. The rest of Friday evening saw stories and a few refreshments by the fire, and a country hick with a part of a volksy gearbox exploding in the fire, with plans on what was to happen for the rest of the weekend. Saturday morning saw few stirring early with Neil the only one up with the birds. Zoran, Vanessa and kids arrived early morning, a much admired effort considering Zoran had not long finished working! Tim and Amanda headed into town for the morning/early afternoon, with Aaron and Neil heading down to the beach to do a spot of fishing. Upon their return, Aaron and Neil had a slightly disturbing smirk on their faces. Aaron had hauled in a monster marlin (salmon) with Neil netting a big fat 0. That was all Aaron needed to crow all weekend, and with good right too, it was a monster! Mark caught two smaller size salmon also, so it was a good mornings fishing. Whilst Tim and Amanda were town tarting, the rest of the crew were putting their machinery to the test out on the Dunes. There were two newbies to sand driving, Zoran and family in the 60 Series, and Michelle and Rob in the Parrokeet (Jeep Grand Cherokee) with Aaron not having his Maverick on the sand before either, it was a test of man and machine trying to get up the access track and onto the sand, without letting tyres down. All succeeded, with the 60 Series having a couple of goes, before finally performing the "2 Wheel Drive Tim" Maneuver of locking the hubs in......see..... easy isnt it Zoran. That afternoon saw some more beach fishing, with Mark catching 2 good size salmon, and the rest of the crew getting some decent bites, however no more fish produced. Foz suggested it should have been called fish feeding instead of fishing. Saturday night was a feast of fish, with the Marlin cooking up beautifully. Some more refreshments were had, along with a roaring fire led to a pleasant evening. Sunday Morning saw some more fishing, with the swimming chickens not so plentiful, we gave up earlier than otherwise and headed back in. Due to the inclement weather, the planed trip to the wall was postponed and a trip into Nelson with a drive back through the Glenelg State Forrest. Mark and Elaine went on through Nelson to Mount Gambier, while the rest of the crew cruised into Nelson and had a counter meal at the pub. The drive back was rather nice, with a scenic route through the Glenelg River Gorge, and scouting out potential camping spots along the way. All was going well until that magical time of 3:30-4:00 came along. On the way back to camp, it was noticed there were allot of skippys and exploding bush chooks on the sides of the road. An exploding bush chook with a death wish decided Jane Filbay's Cruiser was a nice way to die. Gary did everything he could to miss it, but after almost passing it, it did a U Bolt and ran into the rear quarter panel with some force. Tim did his best to try and exact revenge, however did not succeed, and its death wish was denied as it ran off into the pines. A twilight outing saw the crew head out to the dunes to do some driving, with a few nice sand hills found and some air conveyance taken. The evening meal was well complimented by Jane Filbay, with some old fashioned home cooking of golden syrup dumplings for dessert that went down a treat. Thanks to Jane for the culinary delight. Monday morning saw some moisture about, with most not rousing untill later on in the morning. Tim and Mark decided to go fishing even though the conditions were not up for it. Neil and Aaron watched from the coziness of the truck as wind, rain and surf were getting the better of Mark and Tim. Tim and Amanda, Neil and Aaron started packing up, while the others went for the postponed trip to the wall. Half the fun of the Wall is finding it, which they did this time after a failed attempt on the Sunday. Sand Surfing was the game here with the big and little kids all having a go. Thanks must go to Foz, Mark and Neil for organizing the weekend. All those that attended had a delightful weekend, with great company and fun to be had, it was what a long weekend should be about. |
