05:50…. it’s cold, wet and miserable. Nothing could bring a bigger smile to my face coz we are heading to Brunswick and where there’s rain there’s bound to be mud. After making lunches and checking all the gear is in the car we head off for the lonely drive to Pinjarra to meet up with the rest of the gang and grab a pie for brekky.
08:10….. The phone rings, “Sorry mate but I have slept in. Is it OK if I head down now?”
YES… We have a story teller!!
9:15… TARMAKH8R pulls in to the carpark just as the call goes out to saddle up & roll out. Unfortunately Sideways’ car had other ideas, requiring a bit of a bump start to unseize the starter solenoid. With the main group about 10K ahead of us, Wildrover, Sideways and myself seemed to have a magnetic field attracting every Sunday driver & horse float in the South West Region. To top it of my UHF decided to develop a mind of its own and channel surf, leaving me out of touch with the main group. Finally we catch the main group and head down Mornington Rd for about 5K then turning right to meet up with Selfy & Ronnie (most of the group turned left due to a U turn after missing the turnoff). While airing down, where we were casually passed by the Land Rover Owners Club, who were also in the area for the day.
With everyone aired down & eager for action, it didn’t take long before we were into the thick of it. Literally. For those of us at the back of the convoy, there was some confusion as to what was happening up ahead when we were asked to back up a little so those in the middle could back out to find the resale route while GU4X4 winched himself out of the very first mud hole. This was looking to be an interesting day with a start like this. In the meantime some passers by were having some problems of their own, having nosedived a Patrol into a rather large hole, slipping a 75 series sideways in an attempt to go round and reversing a 100 series onto a tree stump while attempting to drive up the hill to recover the Patrol. After a few winch recoveries and a snatch or two the passers by decided our group was more interesting to watch than the recovery of their own vehicles and were on hand to witness Sideways live up to his name. It was Poida who showed us all how it should be done, being the first to make it through without the aid of recovery gear. Next through was Ando who made it look easy. Not to be outdone, I lined up the mighty Trity ready to give all and go for broke…. Well broke is what I almost got, clearing the first section on the second attempt I was unwilling to back off for the next, sending me sideways into a rather deep hole and leaving me deaf from the panicked scream in the passenger seat. Reluctant to remove my weight from the drivers side, the crew jumped into action getting the snatch strap hooked up and the Triton back into an upright position relatively damage free. A very big thank you to GU4x4 & Ando for their efforts. Last through was Wildrover who, unfortunately, didn’t have much of a chance after the dirty great hole I dug in my attempt to get through… Sorry mate.
From here we headed through the old forestry tracks, tackling just about everything that GU4X4 could throw at us with the only hiccup being TARMAKH8R falling victim to a washout that was just a little deeper than his tyres & suspension would tolerate. After a quick recovery and many comments on ET’s absence we came upon the next serious challenge of the day. A very slippery & well rutted incline that just went on & on. After watching GU4X4 do his second self recovery for the day many of us pulled over to enjoy the view and let those a little more game have a crack at it. Megs gave it a really good go but unfortunately his All Terrain tyres didn’t want a bar of this terrain. Due to a ratio of those not being able to make it up or unwilling to give it a go, the guys that had made it had the privilege of being able to come back down again, which had its pucker-up moments for some who got a little sideways on the way down.
From here we made our way to a nice little clearing for a bite to eat and a lesson in “ON VEHICLE TYRE REPAIRS 101” with another big thanks to Selfy. Next time we catch up I owe you a beer, the tyre is still holding pressure & no I haven’t had it repaired yet. Some of the guys went for a bit of a walk and found a nice stretch of mud prompting Poida to have another go at showing us how it should be done. All he achieved this time was to put another notch in the recovery tally, but top points for effort mate.
After lunch it was onward & upward, making our way to the peaks of the ranges. While making our way along one of the tracks bordering the river we were looking down on some very clean Land Rovers that were looking up at some seriously dirty Patrols. Now doing the planned circuit in reverse, for which I am sure the greater majority are eternally grateful as there is no way some of us would have made it up some of the hills we came down, we came to the last major challenge of the day. A snaking hill climb with mud, ruts, washouts & difficult angles. With the camera girl in the passenger seat, GU4X4 made his way around the resale route while Ando made his way to the top. Megs also decided to go the resale route which gave him almost as much trouble as Selfy was having getting past the halfway point of the climb. After precariously backing down the hill, it was Sideways who next had a crack but was also unable to get beyond the halfway point regardless of how many different lines he took. It appeared that he was suffering from a broken CV / Diff problem as the front Lokka wasn’t locking. Next to go was GEC, who with balls of steel and foot of lead went in at full noise. After a short reverse for realignment, the V8 clawed its way past the worst of it then basically idled up round the corner to the adjoining track. Wildrover, not to be outdone was intent on proving the worth of the oil-burner & hairdryer, but alas it was not to be, giving it away after the 3rd attempt.
After collecting the cameraman from the halfway point, we rejoined the rest of the group to make our way back to the finish point. This gave those who hadn’t made it up the pre-lunch hill to at least come down it before crossing the river again and heading back to the day’s first mud hole for those who wished to give it a crack in the opposite direction. Unfortunately for me, my passenger was in no mind to go anywhere near the mudhole again so we diverted around it, following sideways into the greasiest track I’ve had the displeasure of driving on. Sideways, who very aptly found it increasingly difficult to stay straight, causing us to back off and also drift toward the stumps on the side of the track. In the meantime a call came over the radio announcing Megs was sitting on his diffs in the hole that had claimed me earlier in the day, so it was out with the winch again while the rest of us aired up in readiness for the journey home and inspected our cars for damage. More importantly, we discussed the number of hours required to wash all the mud out from underneath the cars before we could start proper assessments of the damage. Once all vehicles were recovered and accounted for the group said it’s goodbyes and headed for home with the southern guys heading further inland while the northern guys hit the highway, peeling off one by one at their relevant turnoffs.
All in all it was a brilliant day with a fantastic bunch of people and I look forward to the next time we can all get together again for another run. This area is a must for the winter schedule on next year’s trip calendar.
A BIG THANKS TO GU4X4 & ANDO FOR ORGANISING THIS TRIP AT SUCH SHORT NOTICE AND THE ASSISTANCE GIVEN ON THE DAY IN RECOVERIES.
HATS OFF FOR A JOB WELL DONE FELLAS
