Previous Trips

Driver training kicked of on Sunday afternoon mid March with the theory presentation being delivered at Don’s place after a nice bbq feed – thanks for hosting Don. There were lots of great questions being asked from the students and some nervousness as to what we will actually be doing the following weekend on the tracks.

The following Friday we arrived and based ourselves at the Erica Caravan park. The park was pretty busy as there was a scout excursion going on over the same weekend, but we found a fireplace and settled down for a few drinks and a catchup.  Saturday morning dawned and the weather gods had smiled on us. It was a magical morning to be up and watching the sunrise.

Don had camped down the bottom of Trig track the previous night and with his family, so we made our way across the damn wall to meet up at the cleared area at the intersection of Walhalla Road, to completed the pre-trip check lists, complete some under bonnet reviews and inspections, then it was time to drop the tyre pressures and head to the tracks!

With tyre pressures down, a right turn onto Walhalla road for half a kilometre then another right onto Low Saddle track where we first engaged 4WD and students were presented with their first ascent, before stopping at the top of Where Low Saddle and Beardmores tracks meet. We broke the students into groups, one instructor to each car, talking the students through the top section of Beardmores track, putting into practice some of the theory discussed on the previous weekend at Don’s.

There was a chance to demonstrate and practice the correct ‘snatch’ recovery methods for those waiting their turn to tackle Beardsmores with an instructor.

After a brief stop for lunch, we continued on down Low Saddle track and came across a suitable washout that presented the opportunity to demonstrate the effect of open differentials. With Don’s ol’ patrol straddling a washout, the front left and right rear tyres had no grip at all. The result, as we saw, is a vehicle with no forward momentum. The differential will always transfer all energy to the wheels with the least resistance (the ones hanging in the air). The resolution to the predicament can be remedied by numerous means, ranging from choosing a better line when approaching the washout, or to allowing the modern wonders of traction control to assist or to engage diff ‘lockers’ (front or rear) if equipped. Each student took their cars up and over the washout to experience the situation for themselves and understand how their cars handle. If you want to understand more about how to tackle washout in your car, put your name down for the next driver training course (keep an eye out when this is to be scheduled on the clubs facebook events page or club magazine).

We continued down Low Saddle track and students were presented with their steepest descent yet. Palms were sweaty, hearts were pounding and ‘down hill assist’ functions were banned – a great chance to practice driving through the breaks. One section on the final descent that took us back to the Walhalla Road, had been blocked by a massive fallen tree. The tree had been cut but only wide enough for cars to pass by driving up the right hand bank whilst going around the tree, and wheel placement was key to avoid some deep ruts. There were some OMG moments as some experienced right rear wheel lift going around the tree!

Arriving back at the top of Beardsmores Track. This time each student negotiated their own way down the tracks and found themselves preparing to navigate their way across the Thomson River.

After a short drive back to the caravan park, the written assessments were completed and questions answered. After a couple of well-earned drinks, we then went onto the Eric pub for a feed. Once fed and watered we meandered back to the communal fire and to settle in for the evening.

Sunday morning the weather continued to be perfect. We started the day reversing the direction of the way Saturday’s session ended, by crossing the Thompson river and heading up Beardsmores track. There were sections that we tricky and provided little traction, and unfortunately Liam’s steering arm decided it no longer wanted to be straight. After some on track repairs by super bush mechanic Jason Vaughan, Liam was able to drive his way back to the dam wall and call for a tow truck.

Once Liam’s tow truck was on the way we headed back down Walhalla road, and then left down a steep Fultons Creek track (nerves were further put to the test) and finger nails embedded into the steer wheel. At the bottom of Fultons we stopped at a great spot for lunch on the banks of the Aberfeldy River.

After lunch we continued on, a left turn onto One Speck track, another left onto Dream Creek Track, another left onto north East Track, then and right onto the remaining open section of Trig track back up to Walhalla Road. The last climb was the steepest and longest of the weekend, and everyone did it easily, although there were some that held their breath!

Back on Walhalla Road, we aired up and said our farewells, and headed for home.

A special thanks to the driver trainers, Don Jukes and Jason Chambers. Your knoweldge, experience, encouragement and patience was noted by all and made the course such a great success.

‘Princess and Miss Fancy Pants go 4WDriving’

Completely new to 4 wheel driving, when we arrived at Erica, we had no idea what was in store for us.

With words like differential, hub locks, 4lo and 4hi, let tyres down, drive through the brakes, and ‘the first bush pin stripe feels the worst’ running through our heads, we dived in.

Don, Jason and Nigel were our saviours – full of patience, relaxed, and supreme teachers. We took it slowly, adding to our confidence and skill set as the first day progressed. We were constantly surprised as to what our cars could do, and where we could go, with no damage to the cars. The long river crossing was fabulous on that first day!

The second day we all set off, full of confidence, but having a bit of trepidation, as we were told the day was going to get progressively harder. Apart from losing Liam to a bent steering rod (so sad to see him, Jo and Jason go), the second day was amazing. My palms got sweaty, as I faced a huge downhill slope, but we all got down and were rewarded with a stunning river spot for lunch. It would have taken me a day to hike there previously, so I can definitely see the benefits to being able to get places more easily and quicker by 4WD!

Sarah and Steven, Darren and I, Debbie in her amazing Jimny, Andre (and Christina), Liam, Jo (and Jason) were all part of our training group, and it was great meeting them all, and bonding through the nerves we all felt.

What a fantastic introduction to 4wd'ing. We were lucky to have such great weather with dry tracks. The way we learned about communicating using the radios, driving in convoy, with so much support and reassurance along the way with the experienced teachers spread along the line of cars was fabulous. The snatch strap recovery was interesting, and all of it was designed to increase our confidence in just getting out there and enjoying our bush, and our cars – and it worked!

If you told me we'd be doing what we did on the second day, I would never have believed you! Can't wait to do another trip!! I look forward to tripping with the club again, and look forward to meeting more of the members. Many thanks to our trainers for giving up their time.

Jayne Sheehan

The latest in John Ashton's Historical Tours through the high country, join him as he explores new areas and finds new connections between the high country and the peninsula.

The start of the event will be from the Dargo River Inn.

My rough calculation has the time taken from Dromana to Macalister Campground is approx 3 /4 hours according to Google Maps.

On Saturday morning we will approach the turn off from Licola and head up to Arbuckle Junction where we will start on our first location and will travel along to Billy Goats Bluff track and turn left onto Wonnangatta Road. From there we will travel to our first destination.

Once we have concluded our time at that location we will travel onto the rest of the trip. Along the trip I will provide each vehicle with detailed documents relating to each stop along the way.
 

John Ashton

Heading to the farm for the labour day weekend all welcome. Need to do some work around the farm so a few hands would be greatly appreciated. Have some trees to clear out of the river, I  have a tractor with a backhoe but some muscle and winches would be great along with some chainsaws. Have a camp ground set up with long drop toilet no showers.

Can do a days work and then next day some exploring some tracks. My farm is around half hour to Port Campbell and the 12 apostles (think there is only 5 or 6 left). This is a relaxing weekend away to do as much or as little as you like. Plenty of space dogs and caravans welcome as I have plenty of space.

Graham Fraser

Meeting at Safety Beach Foreshore for a BYO picnic nick dinner and refreshments after a relaxed dinner overlooking Port Philip Bay watching the sunset we will head off to the Dromana drive
I will post what movies are on as soon as I know a choice of 3 movies will be available.
Pricing
$18.00 per person or $60.00 per car up to 5 people
I will post an alternative meeting place if the weather is no good
cheers Don
 

The event is a 100km run and trek from the summit of Mt. Buller, through some of the most gruelling and picturesque tracks the High Country has to offer. Some runners do it in a day while others take 3 days.

Our part is to man the first major first aid station and overnight camp at Lovicks Hut. We set up tarps and gazebos to dispense water and food to the runners as they come through. We also track their progress through the checkpoint and report to HQ. We have a major professional medical team with us and may be called upon to provide emergency transportation in need. We are also the first overnight camp for those taking more than one day to complete the course. We provide dinner, snacks and breakfast on the Saturday morning before sending them on their way. We regularly have 150+ camping with us on the Friday night and for breakfast. All the food, fruit, snacks and water is supplied and delivered to Lovicks so we need only organise and cook! Saturday is a 4.00 am start to get them on the track by 6.00 am. After that, it’s a pack up and the rest of the weekend is ours.

We need to arrive at Lovicks on the THURSDAY night as the first runners arrive about 10.00am.
WE NEED A MINIMUM OF 12 PEOPLE. It would be best to have more but 12 can manage.

We need to bring all the gazebos, tables, cookers and BBQs, pots and pans to cook everything from sausages and hamburgers through to rice and pasta. Tea and coffee is always in demand so a big burner or 2 plus large billy are needed. I’ll put together a more complete equipment list on the Fb page.

We camp at Lovicks so you need to be self sufficient as there is only a drop dunny which can get “strained” with some many people!
Mansfield is 231km from Dromana and last fuel at Mansfield - the BP closes at 9.00 pm. Lovicks is 75km from Mansfield via Sheepyard and will take up to 2 hours and 30 minutes. It is easy 4x4 from Bluff Track to Lovicks.

After pack up, the time is our own. We have explored all of this area over the years and given the equipment load, my suggestion for this year is to stay and relax at Lovicks. If it’s hot we can move down to Pikes Flat to Binderee Hut closer to water. For those keen, day trips to Pineapple Flat and Craig’s Hut are an option. I’ll leave that decision to the day.

For the time being, please confirm your attendance on FaceBook or call me directly.

Cheers
Nigel Smith

As per my post on FB, this is the Woods Point trip change to Noojee.

I will be heading up to Noojee Friday night after work if people want I can stop at the Longwarry servo before heading into the bush. We will stay at the Toorongo Falls Campsite number 2 for both Friday night and Saturday. On Saturday we will go for a drive around the area tackling a few of Nooje’s harder tracks. Then Head back to camp. Then on the Sunday go for a little drive in the morning then head to Noojee Pub for lunch. I will be heading home from there. Campers, caravans are aloud because we will be base camping.

This trip will be on the harder side so there will be a minimum requirement of 33s, 2” lift and a winch is recommended. If you don’t have these items and still want to come let me know and we might be able to sort something out.

If you have any questions feel free to message me or call me.

Matt Rouget
 

A club breakfast hosted by Maria and Clive.

HO HO HO - Merry Christmas!!!

The Port Phillip 4WD club is please to offer the annual Christmas Party.

Hosted by Danielle (thank Danielle).

Arrive at 3pm, with a visit from the big man in the red suit at approx 5pm.

Dinner 6.30 and the menu is on the FB page.

We would be delighted if members would consider bringing either a happy hour offering or a dessert to share.

Regards

The Committee

A hut tour run in the Vic high country over the Melbourne Cup weekend, leaving Thursday night and camping at Licola for the night. I realise most people won't have Friday off so our drive on Friday will end with us in Dargo Friday night where we can meet up with anyone wanting to do the rest of the weekend. Nothing is set in stone for the rest of the trip due to the recent floods but we will be driving all around the Dargo/Omeo area before ending the weekend around Native Dog Flat or Mckillops Bridge. it is then about a 5 hour trip home on the Tuesday.

The outback NSW trip plan is from Mildura heading to Mungo National Park, Menindee Lakes and Kinchega National Park, Broken Hill, Silverton (for any other Mad Max tragic), Mt Gipps Station, Milparinka, Tibooburra, Sturt National Park, Cameron Corner, Mutawintji National Park.

Leaving Mt Gipps station we'll travel along Corona Rd (we'll need a booster shot and mask) and will run along the Dog Fence before heading to Milparinka and Tibooburra.
There's plenty to see and do at each location, ranging from drives, walks (if anyone's feeling energetic), star gazing, look outs, etc.

A max 8 of vehicles with camper trailers and caravans welcome. You will need to be self sufficient with food, water and fuel for the remote camping and travels, but there'll be opportunities to top up in towns.
There are fees for entry into the National Parks and the camp grounds need to be pre booked. I'll take care of that closer to the time and will let you know the details and I'll find a decent holiday park in Mildura for the first and last night.

If you can't do the entire trip more than happy if you want to do part.
I will be bringing my trailer and will have some room if anyone wants me to carry anything.

This is the annual Charity event raising money to support Autism in Reggional Victoria. We run the major Aid Station and overnight camp for the 100km run/trek over this weekend. We need to be setup and ready to roll by 8:00-9.00am on the Friday morning and are finished by mid-morning on the Saturday. We normally head off to do an afternoon 4x4ing and find a camp on a river somewhere in the area.

We need 12-15 people to run it without too much stress on the volunteers for the cooking and serving dinner and breakfast to the overnight campers on Friday. Last year we had over 100 competitors camped with us!

Article from our Training Co-ordinator:

I asked all students for some feedback on the course, specifically three key questions, and the below are some of the responses I received.

(1)   What worked well?
“Nigel, thanks to you and the training team. Liam and I had a wonderful weekend of learning new skills and making some new friends along the way. The learning was well paced, practical and was put to good use on our trip down the mountain on Saturday afternoon. While I wasn’t proud of being the first victim of the slippery slopes that had to be winched out, I was glad that I got to share that experience with all the drivers that came behind! I was particularly impressed by the skills of our younger drivers”.

It was definitely worth the trip down from Sydney for the weekend so that I could be part of it.

I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to join the crew”. – Chris

“Content was great, vehicle-specific instruction was really relevant, resources were accurate and up-to-date, drive day was really practical way to apply new skills (I think I have got the drive through the brakes thing after that)”. – Liam

(2)   What we could improve on in future courses?
“Saturday morning would have gone a lot smoother if we could have had more instructors”.   –  Leigh

“Very little! Maybe incorporate the paperwork test in to the learning component, as a kind of notes file? That way it saves some scribbling at the end plus physically writing notes helps to lock the knowledge. I’d like to know more about winching techniques as well”.   -  Liam

(3)   Any other comments?
“Also it would have been good to have some live winching. It was rather exciting to actually be winched  out .  Just one point I would like to make and that is regarding travelling in convoy. ” –  Leigh

“Just brilliant all around. Great people, safe environment, awesome location. Super professionally run too. Nice job to all”.   –  Liam

We will hopefully be running the next driver training event next year for those that missed out this time.

And Then there was four.

Where to start?

I arrived home from work around 5 o’clock Friday night, did the couple of things I needed to do and left about 6pm aiming to get fuel and dinner in Traralgon.

Around Warragul I received a call from Nigel thinking he would be checking my progress. I answered to then be informed I was now leading the trip as he had broken down and would not be able get there. My first response was “it is a mystery tour I only know the starting point”. He then said he would email where to go when he got back home and it was only 5 vehicles so I agreed to run the trip.

Arriving in Traralgon I discovered that most of Victoria was there with the same idea. 45-60 minutes later we continue on toward Dargo. As we were entering Dargo Lorraine rang see how much longer we would be, driving passed a sign saying 400 metres to the Dargo Inn thinking it was the pub and that was where we are meeting.

After booking in and getting back to the car I was informed we were at the wrong location, arriving at the Dargo Inn I was told I should read instructions better a good start to running a trip could be a mystery where we turn up. Also we were now only 4 vehicles so less to get lost.

The following morning after packing up camp we headed to the Dargo general store to buy a map as no one had one for the area we were about to get into. The first part I new over to Grant then to Talbotville, from there we left out the lower part of Talbotville on the Crooked River Track to Race Corse Track  then up Station Track to Cynthia Range Track making our way to the lunch spot on Mt Von Guerard.

The track to this spot was over grown and a couple of small trees across the track, the first one pushed out of the way by the Cruiser the second not easy Paul came to my assists with a chainsaw which was a problem at first till it was discovered that the chain was on backwards, tree removed we made it to the lunch spot with great views and flys. Moving on from there to Wombat Range Track, Hart Spur Track, Humffray River Track and Wonnangatta Track.

Taking the lower section of this track thinking it would flatter, it was not! With more holes that you could polk a forest at. Reaching Wonnangatta Station we managed to find a nice spot next a creek near the Old Homestead. After setting up camp and getting a fire going we sat down for happy hour where Jo managed to jinks Paul asking about lights on in the car and Paul saying it was all good to only have a flat battery in the morning.

After dinner we sat around till  going to bed around 11. In the morning after breakfast and packing up camp, Paul jump starting his car with a second battery.  We visited the grave site at the station, then we headed toward Zeka Track. Once on Zeka Track about halfway along, Dennis discovered he had an oil leak. On closer inspection it was found to be a front CV leaking. As it was a minor leak, we were able to continue stopping for lunch at the corner of Zeka and Howitt High Plains Rd. During lunch it started to rain again, (Jo jinked us by putting shorts on that morning).

After lunch we headed to King Billy Track then to Lovick’s Hut for Sunday night getting there about 3.30-4 pm still raining, we started to set up camp in our usual spot behind the hut. Dennis and Paul  went looking for wood for the fire. Once settled we enjoyed happy hour and then dinner followed by a couple of drinks before bed

Getting up to a nice sunny day we had  breakfast, packed camp and putting the dead body on the roof rack ( as my tent became known as, having a shovel next to it did not help) we did a group photo in front of the hut. From there we headed to Mansfield though Sheepyard Flats camp ground where we aired up, stopping in Mansfield for lunch before going our separate ways heading home.

I would like to thank John and Nigel for organising a great weekend we had an awesome time lots of laughs and great views. You were a great group to lead and we managed not to get lost with Lisa keeping me heading in the right direction.

My first time on Fraser Island was probably about 1978 and long before it was as popular as it is today.  Back then, I drove a 1964 Series IIA Land Rover powered with a Holden 161 engine.  We ran 7.50 x 16 skinny tyres, used a hurricane lamp for light and had no refrigeration.  There was no need to book camp sites, we could take our dog onto the Island and didn’t have to worry about too many vehicles on the beach.

In short, we had a ball!

One afternoon we decided to go across to the Western side of the Island via the inland tracks.  In those days, they were not well travelled and the Western side of the Island was populated by sand flies and few keen fishermen.  The tracks were soft and slow going particularly on such skinny tyres and being so underpowered by today’s standards.  Also at that stage, my experience, particularly on sand, was somewhat lacking.

Anyway, we came around a corner to find a Nissan Patrol bogged half way up a fairly steep and very soft section of the track.  There was much jeering and many insults being poured on him from his mate in the SWB Toyota – I mean what are mates for?!

I’m thinking to myself – heavy vehicle, skinny tyres, lack of power – great!  Discretion is the better part of valour so I managed to pull off the track without getting bogged and we got out to watch the fun and maybe learn something about getting over this section.

The Nissan backed down and the Toyota driver, with much enthusiasm and revving of engine took off determined to conquer the hill in the name of Toyota’s honour.  After much noise and lots of wheel spin, the Toyota managed to get a few feet further. 

More jeering and insults but this time from the Nissan driver.  They each tried several more time without success.  While this is going on, a Ford F100 or F150 (not sure but looked good) pulled up with it’s 351 V8 burbling nicely right next to us.  Bright yellow single cab, light weight aluminium tray, wide, wide sand tyres and fishing rods everywhere.  I think -  this guy knows what he is doing.

What are these clown’s up to he asks?  Bloody amateurs he says under his breath and walks up and lets them know he coming through.  They pull over and with much rumbling of that beautiful V8 he manages to get a few feet further before also bogging down.

Deafly silence – no jeering at all.  In fact it’s so quiet that I can hear the angry mozzies on their way to devour us – but wait, that’s a mighty big swarm of mozzies!

Around the corner comes a little 2-stroke, 3 cylinder soft top Suzuki, hire car stickers down the side and driven by 2 bikini clad girls.  You guessed it, they didn’t even stop, just drove up the hill around the F150 and disappeared over the crest!

Needless to say, after that performance, we turned around and headed back to the ocean side because the camping was certainly better in the opposite direction!!

Two vehicles and a few years later, we got ourselves a Suzuki Sierra but ours was the big one – a whole 4 cylinders and a whooping 1,000cc!  We had that vehicle for a few years, did many high country trips often out for 3 and 4 days camping with 2 dogs – nice and squeezy but a whole lot of fun!

Moral of the story – size does matter but bigger is not always better!!!!!

Twelve vehicles drove out to Muttonwood Camp (no.8) on the Licola Arbuckle Junction Road on the Friday night with the intention of exploring the tracks in the Tamboritha Spur and Arbuckle Junction areas above Licola. Friday night was chilly but not really cold and those that arrived early had a great fire going to keep the cold at bay – so much so that Alex and I stayed up chatting and fire watching until about 3.00ish. 

Saturday came around a little early but by 10.00ish we had aired down and were on the road heading for Tamboritha Spur.  There was a quick stop at Bennison’s lookout and shortly thereafter we had snow appearing in the side of the road and could see it through the trees on the higher slopes above us. There were a few other vehicles at the Spur where the Dingo Hill track joins the main road so most of us kept moving in the hope of finding more of the white stuff.  Darren hung back and explored a few of the side tracks but eventually joined back up with us reporting most of the side tracks were gated. Shortly after the Spur, we found a large snow covered plain and pulled over to let the small and big kids romp in the snow and throw snow balls at each other.  There was even a small snow hut that was big enough to hold 2 people so after some obligatory photos, we spent some time patching up the hut and dodging and throwing snow balls around.  Already it was a better result than we had had form the last couple of Mt. Selma snow trips.

We continued on toward Arbuckle junction where we came to halt in a line of cars stacked up behind a SUV that had decided to fit chains …. Right in the middle of the track!   Finally got moving again and branched left at Arbuckle Junction heading up the Howitt Road.  We suspected it might be gated at Kelly’s Lane, but the snow on the road looked deeper as we climbed away from the Junction.  We had some great snow driving for a couple of kilometres before finding the track was in fact gated and having to turn around and head back to the Junction and taking the Arbuckle Road toward McFarlane Saddle and Horseyard Flat. Lunch was over by just after 2.00pm and we noticed some good firewood on the inward journey, so four us hung back and collected firewood while the others went ahead to find a campsite for the night.  We re-joined the main road and headed to McFarlane Saddle to catch up with main group.  They however had continued on to Horseyard only to find it far too muddy to be a practical camp site.  A quick decision was made to return to McFarlane’s for the night. While finding somewhere to turn around, we found the Mooroka Hut parking area with sign for a 450m walk to the hut.  Now I know “walk” is a 4 letter word, but three of us walked into the hut for a bit of a look.  It was an easy walk, very picturesque with a well preserved hut nestled beside a small mountain stream at the end.  Well worth the walk if you have the chance.

The “Dead Set Bull#& Tour was a combination of historical sites and stories told of certain points of my life in my younger days.

The idea was for us to visit old cemeteries and certain places dotted around the old towns between Castlemaine and Creswick and for me to spin yarns for the participants to guess if the yarn was true or false. Could I bullshit my way around with believable stories?

Meeting in the eye of a (hopefully) extinct volcano at Mt Franklin was Greg, Jason and Jo,  and Don. Oh! and myself with Merlin.

We decided on a spot and set up camp building that most would say was a relatively smallish fire as we had wood but not a huge amount so couldn’t over do it.

Most were surprisingly happy when I said it was a 10 o’clock AM start. The night was cold and the morning wasn’t much different. But the sun was rising and was looking like being a glorious day.

Packed and loaded, we were ready to rock by 9:40 ish but a frozen iPad meant a ten minute wait, then away we did!

First stop: Guildford to see the ruins of footy legend Ron Barrassi's place where he was born and returned to, for a few years after his dad died. Then on to Vaughan Springs. (Jo did say that she believes Jason’s family came from here), where we stopped at the water spring, the Chinese cemetery and local cemetery to which my masterly manipulation began….

Then we visited Campbell’s Creek to look at the football ground and the local cemetery then quick bite to eat at what was the “Five Flags General Store“ in my day but it’s now a cafe. Surprisingly my cousin was in there as well so I managed to get a quick hello in there too.

Next, we were off to Castlemaine to visit the Cricket Ground where England lost to an Aboriginal 22 in the mid 1800s, briefly driving past the old Castlemaine jail and other buildings with some significance such as Castlemaine Oval where AC/DC once played in the 1970s.

Then it was off to Fryerston to visit two more burial sites and other buildings from the 1800s in that part of town. From there we visited Glenlyon to which was the last cemetery for the trip (thank the stars as I don’t know how many graves could tolerate Jo standing all over them… some would say JUMPING muttering words “take that“. Greg did say that this would cause the Zombies to hunt her down).

Then off the Creswick to set up camp, a quick working bee to cut wood around the camp and pile it around the fire place was soon done and dusted and with Jo making an awesome fire, it was time to sit back and relax with a froth or two.

Night was cold but luckily Don has a sleeping blanket and Jason and Jo struggled the night with having a diesel heater to warm their tent (Greg and I felt sorry for them and would have gladly swapped accomodation).

Morning was damn cold and Greg was the first to waken and set upon getting the fire going .. I got up, and it was not long before the site was humming with the sounds of a jet (Jason and Jo’s diesel heater ,,, poor bastards) then like a seal climbing the rocks coming out of the water arose Don.

Quick breakfast then we went through the results.

But alas, a frozen iPad! So we had to wait while I warmed it up on the demister of the car … so, we started to get our gear in order while waiting.

Ten mins later we sat down to go through the results. First 3 true or false , they were all wrong , and by question 8 with one to go, Jo, Jason and Don were on 3 with Greg on 2, and Don were on 3 with Greg on 2, (my bullshitting worked well )! So, the last question Don and Greg got right and next it was Don first with the other 3 equal second (last really).

A quick detect around the creek then back for lunch where Jason and Jo made camp donuts, I must say that these where absolutely delicious..

Another quick search for allusive gold then back to camp to start that journey home ..

Hopefully everyone had a good time as it was a different sort of trip but everyone did tell me ( maybe they where “bullshitting” me ) that it was great to see places that they haven’t ever been to.

Cheers all! / Adrian.

For those that have completed the training course, there is one practical element can be hard to remember the sequence of steps, so I thought I would provide a little reminder:

MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS

STOP / START Ascent : Manuals

STOP / START Descent : Manuals

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS

STOP / START Ascent : Autos

STOP / START Descent : Autos

The Skills Share weekend was held over the last weekend in March, on private property located at East Warburton. Friday afternoon / night saw many arrive and settle into camp, with a few drinks around the fire.

Saturday morning greeted us with perfect weather, and after a coffee or two we got stuck into the “sharing of skills”, with Don showing us how not to tackle a well placed mound of dirt. It didn’t help that he forgot to engage 4WD, so in the end he actually needed to be recovered from the top of the dirt pile.

Given Don’s perfect example of what not to do, the group spent time discussing snatch based recoveries and the types of gear used:

• Rated recovery points (and those that are not).
• Snatch strap V's Kinetic rope.
• Winch extension straps.
• Ratings of various straps and ropes.
• Equalizer straps.
• Steel V's soft shackles, and associated working load limits.
• Dampeners - whee, when and how to use them.
• Impacts of being lightly or badly bogged.
• Water recovery - why you should prepare before plunging into the water.
• Safety, safety, and more safety

Everyone then got a chance to trial a snatch recovery on a flat section of ground, to familiarise themselves the gear, their cars and the process. This proved to be a little tame and didn’t simulate a proper ‘recovery scenario’, so Graeme kindly found a suitable place on the property to provide a more realistic training moment.

Thanks to Graeme and Jack for volunteering to be ‘recovered’ a number of times by the group.

The property has some very steep sections of clay track, which we made good use of for our next lesson. As the majority of us were still running highway tyre pressures, many attempted the steep incline without airing down at first, but were soon reaching for their tyre deflaters. It was clear to all of the benefits of choosing the appropriate tyre pressure for the condition in which you are driving. It would have been even more educational had the weather not been so dry.

After a quick lunch feed, we were back into the sessions, this time it was about all things winching, including:

• Line of Pull - Straight V’s angled.
• Secure anchoring points.
• Power of the winch - current draw on battery life.
• How long to run the winch - 30seconds on, 30 seconds off.
• Ensuring you run your winch regularly fr maintenance.
• Use of extension straps.
• Snatch blocks V’s Slip rings.
• Multiple line pulls / change angles.
• Safety, safety and of course safety!

After a day of learning we were treated to a perfect night’s weather for sitting around and having a chat.

Sunday dawned another fine day. After a later start to the day, we kicked off the day with tyre plugging. Rob brought up a great tyre for us to inflate, attack with a drill and attempt to repair the hole with a plug. Many took the opportunity chance to practice this key skill.

It was then time to discuss and demonstrate ways to reseat a tyre on a rim. First, we had to show how to break the bead of the tyre and rim, which proved to be easier to say than do at first.

Discussion then turned to how best to re-inflate tyres that have come off the bead. Once cleaned, checked for damage and ensuring the valve is removed a demonstration on what to do as a very last resort was successfully (eventually – after a lot of deodorant was used) performed using a can of lnyx and a lighter. Things went off with a bang, or more of a whooomph, and we had a tyre reseated on its bead and smelling very fresh.

After lunch and a final explore of some of the tracks around the property, we were packed up and headed home.

With COVID restrictions at almost pre pandemic levels, the driver training course was run over the first weekend in March.

Based at the Erica Caravan park the course started with theory being delivered on the Friday night in the purpose built ‘Rec Hub’ to our 7 eager and engaged students. A new presentation pack for the trainers, lots of great questions from the students and many a past experience recounted saw the course run until just after 10.30pm. Most opted for some shut eye in preparation for the early morning start, but some continued with the story sharing over a quiet drink.

Saturday morning dawned and the temperature had dropped, and the rain had settled in, as we commenced the practical part of the course. First off, we completed the pre-trip check lists, with some under bonnet reviews and inspections, driver medical forms and then it was time to head to the tracks!

We ventured to the river crossing at the lower end of Beardmore’s track, at the base of the dam wall, to discuss river crossings and how they should be tackled. Tait offered to demonstrate crossing and to see how slippery the clay tracks were going to be. The remainder of the group headed back up to cross the dam wall on the sealed roads, where there are usually some impressive views, however this time the cloud base was so low, the water wasn’t even visible. A short dash up the hill to find the dirt Walhalla Road and air down.

With tyre pressures down, a right turn onto Walhalla road for half a kilometre then another right onto Low Saddle track where we first engaged 4WD and students were presented with their first wet clay ascent, before stopping at the top of where Low Saddle and Beardmores tracks meet. We broke the students into groups, one instructor to each car, talking the students through the top section of Beardmores track, putting into practice some of the theory discussed the night before. There was a chance to demonstrate and practice the correct ‘snatch’ recovery methods for those waiting their turn to tackle Beardsmores with an instructor.

After a brief stop for lunch, we continued on down Low Saddle track and came across a suitable washout that presented the opportunity to demonstrate the effect of open differentials. With Nigel Smith’s 79 series straddling a washout, the front left and right rear tyres had no grip at all. The result, as we saw, is a vehicle with no forward momentum. The differential will always transfer all energy to the wheels with the least resistance (the ones hanging in the air). The resolution to the predicament can be remedied by numerous means, ranging from choosing a better line when approaching the washout, or to allowing the modern wonders of traction control to assist or to engage diff ‘lockers’ (front or rear) if equipped. Each student took their cars up and over the washout to experience the situation for themselves and understand how their cars handle. If you want to understand more about how to tackle washout in your car, put your name down for the next driver training course.

We continued down Low Saddle track and encountered a short steep section of greasy clay. Pulses were raised and the theory on how to navigate slippery clay slopes were put into practice, as we all made our way down. Not far down the track, we turned around and prepared to tackle the hill in the opposite direction. Kyle, in an unlocked Isuzu with highway terrain tyres, made several spirited attempts, before a further reduction in tyre pressures saw him successfully reach the top. Thankfully the rain had stopped some time ago, and the track was drying out after each car made its way over the crest. Cassie driving on L-Plates, with a great deal of right foot, steered her Pajero to the top on the first attempt! Arriving back at the top of Beardsmores Track. This time each student negotiated their own way down the tracks and found themselves preparing to navigate their way across the Thomson River.

After a short drive back to the caravan park, the written assessments were completed and questions answered. After a couple of well-earned drinks, we then went onto the Eric pub for a feed. Once fed and watered we meandered back to the communal fire and to settle in for the evening.

Sunday morning the weather continued to be damp and the tracks were still wet and greasy. We started the day by the direction of the way Saturday’s session ended, by crossing the Thompson river and heading up Beardsmores Track. There were sections that were tricky and provided little traction, but nothing that proved too challenging for the group. At the top of Beardsmores Track we turned right on Walhalla Road, and then left down a steep slippery Fultons track (nerves were further put to the test) and so to was the temptation to touch the brakes! A Left turn onto One Speck Track, where we drove through some low clouds, then and right onto Williamson Spur Track and a left down onto Army Track.

A new challenge was offered to all on a particularly rocky and steep downhill section, that tested the drivers resolve and also their ground clearances. At the bottom of Army N track, we veered left onto Donnelly Creek Road towards O’Tooles Campground for lunch. O’Tooles is currently closed for works, so we continued on to Jorgensens Hut.

After lunch some decided to head home, and some decided to head home via Beardmores track for one last bit of wheeling. We then all aired up to highway pressures, before heading back to the caravan park, packing up and hitting the black top home.

This is an annual event where manage a major Aid Station for the Oscars Foundation 100km run raising money for Autism Services in the Mansfield and Regional Victoria areas. Our Aid Station is located at Lovick’s Hut which one of the iconic High Country Cattlemen’s Huts. We provide food and water and other requirements to the runners as required. We have a full medical team with us so it is mainly a “refueling” and monitoring/reporting exercise. We are also an overnight camp for runners who cannot manage the run in a single day. Last time it was held, we hosted about 110 people overnight. This entailed making sure their tents were up, providing snacks, dinner and breakfast the next morning. Our involvement is done by midday Saturday leaving the rest of the day and Sunday free to drive the many 4x4 tracks, other huts and river crossings.

It’s a 6.5+ hour trip out to Native Dog Flat which is just over 50km east of Benambra in far East Gippsland, but so worth the trip when you get there.

I didn’t get away from Toot until 5.30 on Thursday night and while the traffic was moderate, I had a really good run and with a fuel top up at Bairnsdale and quick coffee and dinner (pies!!) at the Driver Reviver at Bruthen, I called it quits at 12.30 am just where Limestone Rd turns to dirt – not a bad spot to turn in for the night.

Up at 7.30 on Good Friday and finished the last 30 odd kilometres into Native Dog to meet up with the others, set up the van, have breakky, put up the Camp Host banner and meet up with the local NP Ranger to discuss all things Camp Host, tracks etc.

The rest of the day was a fairly lazy one around the campfire before going out in search of wood and the odd trip to visit other campers and perform our Camp Host duties.  Come about 4.00pm Christine and Ian suggested that as it was such a glorious day, we should go and watch the sunset from the top of a mountain peak they had been shown by Amanda Lloyd who knows the area well.  Sounds like a plan.  As it was an hour’s drive along a 4x4 (easy) track, we decided to take our “happy hour” nibbles and drinks as well.

It was well worth the drive as Christine’s pictures on Fb show.  We arrived back at camp in the dark, made up the fire, had dinner and opened a bottle, or can depending on your preference!  The usual great night around the campfire was had by all!

Leaving Mt. Murphy, we headed along Buckwong Track to the Davies Plain Track where we were travelling on the rooftop of Victoria – at times around the 1600m mark - and stopped for lunch at Charlies Creek – a beautiful Alpine meadow with a creek and a number of great camping areas.  We continued along Davies Plain Track with more magnificent views, this time over to Mt. Kosciuszko, until we made it to Davies Plan Hut.

This was a spot I had wanted to get to for years and it did not disappoint.  A well preserved hut in a magnificent alpine meadow surrounded by forests of gum trees with a creek and horse yards .  We spent some time walking around, taking photo’s and reluctantly headed off on the return journey although we all agreed it would be nice to return and camp overnight.

There’s an idea for a great trip next year!

We returned along Davies Plain Track until we hit Limestone Creek Track which is a good 4x4 track with some steep descents and a number of river crossings.  Would be great fun in the reverse direction.  We got back to camp just before dark having driven around 115km for the day – a long way in 4x4 on those tracks.  Another great evening was enjoyed around the fire.

Sunday dawned another perfect day and after such a big day yesterday, we opted for a shorter easier day.  Jason C had a trip in mind so he took the lead and I went tail end Charlie for a change.  We followed the main road back to Benambra and some fuelled up and others got coffee from the general store before heading out across Lake Omeo, over a steep climb affording beautiful views finally leading us onto the Mitta Mitta River.

We then followed the Mitta back into the Alpine National Park heading for Kennedy Hut and Taylors Crossing.  What was meant to be an easy drive turned into quite a long 4x4 track with long steep climbs and descents often with very deep ruts that required spotters to assist drivers through safely – thanks Julie, Jan and Tait for doing such a great job.

Along the way we marked a large number of wonderful camping spots on the banks of the Mitta that really need to be explored more closely.  They are relatively accessible so a mid-week trip would be best.

We made it into Kennedy Hut beside the Mitta for lunch at about 1.00ish or so and it was decided that the afternoon run would be cancelled and we would head straight back to camp to get the fire going as we needed coals for damper!!

Saturday dawned fine beautifully clear so after a quick breakfast we headed out on a day drive that took us along the historic “Misery Trail”, a route followed by the old goldminers to the Mt. Murphy historic gold mining area.  The tracks there provided the most magnificent views over the ranges but also showed the extent of the devastation from the bush fires.  It is coming back but very slowly.

Lunch was consumed, but there were so many wasps that we didn’t hang around too long before making our way to Taylors Crossing.  This would be a great camp spot other than all the people but the river crossing is quite wide and has a enough depth to make it interesting.  Jason took some good video that hopefully can be posted on the Fb page.

From Taylor’s Crossing it was back to 2x4, out to the bitumen and back to camp via Benambra and Limestone Road. It was still well after 4.00pm that we arrived at camp and I was surprised to see that it had been another 100+km day. The fire was enjoyed as was the damper.

Monday we had to head home and we were dreading the traffic.  The day dawned another beautiful day allowing tents and campers to dry before packing and most of us were on the road by 11.30am.  Air-up, a quick stop at Benambra General Store – pretty good hamburger for lunch – and home via Omeo and Bairnsdale.  The traffic was constant but no problem thankfully.

Thanks to everyone who came along, it was a great trip and we all enjoyed ourselves and most saw new country leaving us hungry to return and explore further.  I think the next trip will start at the NSW end of the Davies Plain Track, work its way to Native Dog and onto McKillops Bridge exiting the bush at Orbost.  Watch this space!!

The MMHT came about after reading a book titled The History of Wonnangatta Station by Wallace Malcolm Mortimer. The book got me in and I wanted to learn as much as I could and to see if a trip to Wonnangatta and finishing up at Lovicks was something that could be done over a long weekend. I asked Ken W. if he would join me on a planning trip where we would check the condition of the tracks and the timings for each day. It all worked out very easily and we passed the baton on to VP Nigel to be the Trip Leader. Not only was I interested in the tracks, but also the history of the people that had made their mark in this part of Victoria. The key people included Jim Barclay who was the station manager until he was murdered some time between 21st Dec. 1917 and 22nd Jan. 1918. In addition, two other prominent figures arose being Angus McMillan and Alfred William Howitt, both of whom played a major role win the history of Victoria. But, that’s another story.

The date was confirmed for the March long weekend and the starting location was the Dargo River Inn Camp Ground. 

Most arrived at the Dargo River Inn in the Friday afternoon & evening while a few arrived in the early hours of Saturday. Nevertheless, by around 9:00am we were on our way. First stop was Grant, just off the McMillans Road. Here we explored the many notices and land lots that would have been there many years after the gold had petered out.

The group was introduced to Alfred Howitt and Angus McMillan, both notable explorers of the 1800’s. Angus McMillan was responsible for the opening up of Gippsland in the 1840’s. In 1860 with the gold mining in and around Ballarat and Bendigo in decline, a Prospecting Board was established by the government of the day to search for other gold bearing locations. Angus McMillan recommended  exploration of the Macalister, Mitchell, Nicholson and Dargo areas. Alfred Howitt was selected as leader for the Mitchell River expedition. Howitt’s party travelled to McMillan’s Bushy Park Station then up to the Dargo.

From Grant we moved on directly to Talbotville where we crossed the Crooked River, named by Alfred Howitt due to the crooked nature of the river. Howitt reported to the Minister of Mines that the Crooked River and Good Luck Creek fields fields were a payable proposition and as a result in 1861 there were 800 miners on these fields. With the crossing complete, we travelled along Crooked River Track to Racecourse Track where we crossed the Wongungarra River, passed Howittville Hut then turned on to Station Track for the seemingly long haul with some heart stopping steep climbs and spectacular views to where we joined the Cynthia Range Track. Here we travelled on along the Cynthia towards the junction with Eaglevale Track - that’s one for the bucket list in the future.

From that junction we continued along Cynthia Range Track up to and onto the partially hidden Sugarloaf Creek Track to the helicopter landing area on Mount Von Guerard. Here we found that another group had got there a little before us, and had pinched the best view and parking spot!  Nigel B. took a great photo of our vehicles set opposite where the others had been. See the photos in the Photo Gallery.

Mount von Guerard was named by Alfred Howitt for his good friend, travelling companion and noted artist, Eugene von Guerard who had been with Howitt on a trip to the Baw Baws area and had also spent time on the diggings in the Bendigo and Ballarat areas.

This location on the tour turns out to be a good place to stop for a lunch break before continuing on to the junction of Wombat Range Track and Hernes Spur Track, the latter being only for the brave who are prepared to tackle the steep decline down on to the Wonnangatta River where it becomes the Wonnangatta Track.  So for some of us, Herne Spur Track will have to remain on our bucket list. Nevertheless, one only goes a short few metres before becoming to the not so steep decline down Wombat Range Track and on to where we turn onto Hart Spur Track for probably less than 100 metres to the beginning of Humffrey River Track. On this track, you only have to cross the Wonnangatta River once compared to six crossings if you went down Herne Spur.

The Humffrey River Track joins the Wonnangatta Track, and that track runs close along side the Wonnangatta River for quite a way up to Conglomerate Creek and onto Wonnangatta Station. Now at the Station some of us stretched our legs while others went in search of a suitable campsite. Ultimately a spot was chosen right beside the Wonnangatta River that was close by the Station Hut and soon a fire wood detail was formed and before long a good collection had been made and the campsite fire was on the go.

The first non-aboriginal to enter the the valley flats of the Wonnangatta was probably Angus McMillan who in 1859 occupied the original Eagle Vale Run which then included the Wonnangatta Valley. In Wallace Mortimer’s book The History of Wonnangatta Station he tells us that an American who had been prospecting  around Dargo, growing tobacco at Mathieson’s Flat and also share farmed at Crooked River. On one of his “prospecting rides he came upon the Wonnangatta Valley”. Oliver Smith soon set to work building an American style log cabin for his entourage which included his three sons and his de facto wife Ellen Hayes and her son Harry. Ellen and Oliver never married however, Ellen soon used Smith as her surname.  Sadly, in 1872 Ellen died giving birth to twins Malinda and Mary on the 5th of March, and Mary died on the 11th of March while Malinda also died the following day. Oliver, who could neither read or write crafted a slab of slate like rock he collected from the river and inscribed Ellen’s name.  Unfortunately he inscribed the letter N in her name in reverse and her date of death as 5th March 1873. Ellen and her babies were the first recorded deaths at Wonnangatta and were the first to be buried at Wonnangatta Station. See the trip photos in the Gallery for Ellen and her daughters. (NOTE: since the trip, the Friends of Wonnangatta have been succesful in the creation of a new tombstone with the correct dates for Ellen, Mary and Matilda. See new photo on Keith Leydon's Facebook page here (scroll down to 6th April 2021)

The other family to inhabit Wonnangatta around that time was the Bryce family, but that’s another story for another time.

Fast forward to 1914 when Arthur Phillips and Geoff Ritchie, both from around Delatite, purchased Wonnangatta Station from the Bryce family. Their first priority was to engage a manager of the property. Jim Barclay was duly employed.  Jim was born on 18th Feb. 1869 to James, a Scot who had emigrated from London in 1849, and Mary Fiddler in  who had emigrated from London in 1852. They were married in St. Enochs Presbyterian Church, on 14th Feb. 1853  and eventually built a home named Heroville which was located on Barclay Crescent in what was then known as Tyabb, but was later renamed Hastings after some rezoning in that part of the Peninsula.

By 1917 the work on Wonnangatta Station had gotten to the stage that he needed another hand to assist with the workload. So on the 14th of December that year he hired John Bamford as cook and odd-jobs man.  On the 20th of December there as a Referendum that Jim and John Bamford rode in to Albert Stout’s Post Office and Store in Talbotville to cast their votes. They stayed with Albert and his wife overnight and by 10 o’clock in the morning of the 21st of December, the pair rode back to Wonnangatta never to be seen again.

On the 22nd of January 1918, Harry Smith (son of Ellen Smith) rode up from his home in Eaglevale to deliver Jim’s mail. There was no sight of Jim or Bamford, but there was a note on the kitchen door with the words “Home Tonight”. Harry decided to stay at the homestead overnight. With no arrivals from Jim or Bamford for two days, Harry decided to return to his work at Eagevale. Harry’s next visit to the homestead was the 14th of February, and once there he found the mail from his previous visit was still where he left it and the “Home Tonight” sign still remained untouched. Harry decided to pass on the news of the disappearance of Jim and Bamford on to Jim’s employer, Arthur Phillips who arrived at the Eaglevale on the 23rd. Feb. After another day of searching around the river flats they eventually came to the conclusion that Jim and Bamford must have met with foul play. On the 25th of Feb, Harry and Phillips decided to conduct a search of the Conglomerate Creek valley where they eventually discovered the remains of Jim Barclay partially buried beside the Conglomerate Creek.

With this discovery, the Police were notified and when they arrived Harry led them to the grave which was just 425 paces from the homestead. Further search found no sign of John Bamford, consequently he was being seriously considered as a person of interest and so, a new search was to follow around the Wonnangatta Station area.

But more of this further on……

Back to the trip….

During the afternoon new members Daren and Julie joined us with their children and before sunset we gathered for our evening meal along with some selected wines, beers, chips n cheeses we all sat back to chat and yarn. :)

Next morning after a quick breakfast we did some more exploring of the cemetery, the large Hut and some of us collected fruit from the trees beside the area marked out with stones where the homestead once stood. And soon, we were off to tackle Zeka Spur Track which in places it is quite narrow and on a number of occasions we were forced to stop, move to the left and allow the oncoming traffic to pass by. In places there are seemingly dark tunnels through the heavy canopy of the trees, in other areas we were in more open ground until finally there was the decent down to the junction with Howitt Road. Here we turned left and travelled on to Howitt Hut where we stopped for a quick lunch break.

But, what about John Bamford…..

When the Police arrived at the Station they had travelled there from Mansfield and on the way, the group included amongst others William Hearne and Jim Fry who had been a very close friend and mentor to Jim. Both Hearne and Jim Fry were experienced stockmen who knew the country well in and around Wonnangatta. Harry Smith took them to the shallow grave and confirmed to the Police that the body was Jim Barclay. They then returned to the Station and carried out a search in and around the house and noticed that not only two dogs, blankets, a saddle and bridle were missing as was Bamford’s horse Thelma.

When the search for Bamford started there was much discussion on where he may have travelled to. He still could have been on the Station somewhere. Maybe he had gone up to Dry River and followed that up to the Howitt Plains, or disappeared up Riley Creek to escape being captured.

So the search for Bamford was started and eventually William Hearne and Jim Fry were searching on the Howitt Plain. Bamford’s horse Thelma was found wondering around without a saddle or bridle.

Bamford’s body was soon discovered not far from Howitt Hut under a pile of logs. Who killed John Bamford? We may never know.

The mysterious murders of Jim Barclay and John Bamford remain just that: A Mystery.

Back to the trip…

With lunch break finished we headed off again. This time back up Howitt Road, past the intersection with Zeka Spur Track, passed the Car Park which is a starting point for the hike up to the top of Mt. Howitt, and eventually onto King Billy Track. This is a very picturesque track with everything you could ask for on a 4WD Trip. A mix of open bush country, to thick trees and bushes. Along the way we passed a few Rivers of Rock, made the odd creek crossing and a number of very tight corners as we climbed up to eventually join onto Bluff Track. On the way up Bluff Track we stopped for the photo opportunity at the King Billy Tree, stopped for another photo op at Picture Point and finally stopping beside the Lovick’s Hut campground, which by this time was quite crowded.

We all had to find spots to park our vehicles, then start on setting up a fireplace, collected firewood then at last settling down to a good evening meal followed by cheese and crackers all of which were taken with good measures of fine red and white wines…

Next morning we broke camp and travelled down to Bluff Hut for a look see at what is a fine “establishment”. After that the next stop was on Mt. Lovick for more photo opportunities. Eventually after what always seems like a very long slow trip back down to the main road we eventually stopped to air-up the tyres then headed on to Mansfield for lunch and then home.

On – off!

On again – off again!

Wednesday lunch- time with less than 48 hours to the start ….. we are ON!!!! ….. but……

…. a modified course so go to Pikes Flat instead of Lovicks Hut!  All good – we are nothing if not flexible!

Lead by Lorraine and Ian, most of the team arrived at Pikes Flat by late Thursday afternoon and by the time I arrived at about 10.30pm, the fire was roaring (Ian had been busy constructing his master piece of a fire) and we had a plan of where we were setting up the food and hydration tent.  The first-aid team had also arrived and were good to go.   About 45 minutes later, Alex and Ava rocked up in the Ironman truck and shortly after Amy and the girls arrived in the new D-Max.

Great that’s the whole team arrived safe and sound (other than Darren and Julie who were arriving Friday night) and ready to greet the first runners at about 8.00am-ish on Saturday morning.

As usual, Alex twisted my arm – you can’t leave a man alone with a drink around a camp fire – and so with a mighty effort we sat fire firewatch until …… quite late!!

Friday dawned (way too early) and we were up with the sun to erect gazebos and tables, mix hydrolytes, cut fruit, make sandwiches and set up the “Check-In” tent ready for the first runners to arrive.

These guys are nuts – awesome but nuts.  The morning slowly heated up and by 10.00am about 190 runners had come through our aid station having run about 27km from the summit of Mt. Buller, across Stirling, to Craig’s Hut and then down to Howqua Gap and another downward 800 vertical meters to us!  From our Aid Station it was a “leisurely” 23km mainly flat – ignoring the killer climb up 4 mile - back to the summit of Mt. Buller.

All done by about 11.00 am, so back to camp for a quick lunch and then head out by 12.30 for a drive to enjoy the local scenery.  It was a great drive.  The route took us across to Bindaree Hut, ford the Howqua River, up Monument Track – a nice little climb – to Craig’s Hut.

From Craig’s we followed Clear Hills Track to Circuit Road and then around to King Basin Road and down to Pineapple Flat.  There we crossed the King River and had a brief afternoon tea with most saying they just had to come back to Pineapple Flat for a weekend’s camping.

I had forgotten what a wonderful camp site it is!

From Pineapple Flat we continued along King Basin Track, crossing the King River several times and noting another 6 or so magnificent river side camping sites along the way.  Even better, we found plenty of pre-cut firewood to throw in the tray for the nights fire!  Finally we came to King Hut and from there to Speculation Road, Circuit Rd and back to Pikes Flat. All in all, a very pleasant drive that allowed to some to cross off Craig’s from the “bucket list”, give all of us a few more camp sites in the memory bank and for Amy, her first real taste of 4x4 driving in the new D-Max.  Watch out Terry, I think you lost driving rights to the new fourbie!!

Back at camp, the situation had changed.  Due to the “on again/off again” and forced course change, Pikes Flat was “double booked”.  While we had been enjoying an afternoon’s drive, 25 horse riders plus support crew and vehicles had arrived and there wasn’t room for all!  It turned out they had priority so while our Aid Station could remain, we had to move camp.  It was only about 100 meters and truth be known, while pretty small, it was closer to the river and had its own beach for swimming!

Darren and Julie rocked up early Friday evening and were found a spot and soon had made themselves at home around the fire.

Saturday dawned fine and threatening to be hot! Today we had about 170 runners doing it for a second time (but in the opposite direction) plus another 230 (or so) runners doing the Archie 50km run for a total of nearly 400 runners to be checked in, feed, watered, tended to and got back on the track.  The temperature just got hotter and we encouragingly told them…

“…You’ve done the easy part, it’s all up hill to Buller!”  or perhaps

“… got plenty of water?  It’s 13 km and 900 vertical metres to the next Aid Station!”

Did I mention these people were crazy?

You do realise they called it “fun?”

It was all hands on deck as the runners came in thick and fast and I think we lost count of the number of sandwiches that were made, the number of pieces of fruit that were handed out and the number of water bottles and bladders that were filled.  Suffice to say there was not an awful lot of the 1000 litre water tank remaining by the end of the day.  And those 2 and half trays of loaves of bread – gone!!!

Just to make it interesting, the days heat culminated in a thunderstorm that halted the race for an hour or so until it was determined it was safe to continue.  By 5.00pm or so, we were all done and started the packing up before finally throwing ourselves in the river with a cold beveridge or two … or three!

Jason and Julie made an unexpected arrival late on Saturday arvo taking the new Ranger and camper out for a maiden voyage – great effort guys and always pleased see around the camp fire.

Saturday night around the fire was a bit more relaxed as our work for the weekend was done.  One of the Race Directors made the journey down to say thank you for our efforts and sorry for the camping stuff up – eh these things happen in a Covid Year, here, have a seat and beer! Apparently even with all the uncertainty, the race had raised a bit over $40,000 for Autism in the High Country – a great effort by the team and we are certainly proud of the role we play in this event.

The evening was capped off with a magnificent damper made by Julie – it literally evaporated!  I think it was Julie’s way of making sure their membership application got approved – and I think it may have worked!!

Sunday dawned another beautiful day and we packed up and by 9.30amish (very ish) we were heading up 16 Mile Jeep Track – another nice little climb – and then up Bluff track for a quick stop at and “morning tea” – left over bags of lollies – at Bluff Hut.  From there over Mt. Lovick for a quick photo opportunity ….

Once again, we found some magnificent high altitude camp sites with the most spectacular views that I must return to for a nights camping.  It would be cold but absolutely stunning!  We stopped for a brief lunch under the snow gums at Lovicks Hut, and then Jason took the lead further along Bluff Track to take us to what is reckoned to be the oldest snow gum in the Alps. The pictures show a gnarled and twisted specimen … and then there was tree itself!!!!

From the old snow gum we continued along Bluff Track until it met Brocks Road and from there we headed back to Sheepyard and out to Mansfield for a final stop (and iced coffee for me) before heading home after another very successful weekend trip.

Finally, a huge, huge thank you to all the members that turned up and worked so hard through the heat to help raise $40,000 for Autism in the High Country and make sure that those “bat #@%! crazy” runners get to have a safe and enjoyable (??!!) run through our spectacular high country.

It’s great that we participate in such a wonderful and local charity that really makes a hands on difference in the lives of children in the local area.  At the same time, we have built a great bridge between the “greenie” oriented runners and trekkers and the 4x4 community and had a good time doing it!