MEMBER TRIP REPORT
Off we headed onto Braham Road , Crooked Creek , BS Fireline , Lays Fireline , Stringy bark Track , Lyrebird Track and a couple of others as we meet some difficult sections . Going down these tracks was interesting they were quite slippery with small ruts and it was a matter of keeping a fine line between acceleration and steering control at the spoon drains in order to get over them and not slide off the track . First to find out this was Stuart as he ended up pointing into the bush but luckily he had a winch and could pull his vehicle through the bush back onto the track .
“ Heading bush “ Back on track ”
This track claimed both Pajero ’ s but we eventually made it down to the road below . We moved on to another track again downhill and with a no return option to go back up as it was very slippery . As the lead vehicle I came to what looked like two deep ruts full of water and it looked pretty deep so I attempted to straddle the ruts but unfortunately the front right hand wheel broke away the edge of the rut and was hanging in mid-air 4 feet above a creek . I couldn ’ t go forward or backwards and to use my winch to go forward wouldn ’ t work as I would tip on my side into the creek . It was decided to use Stuarts winch to pull me back which was successful and then I lined up the car to drive straight through the ruts which were not as deep as they looked . After moving on the Pajeros were next and with less ground clearance there were some bad noises but they made it through . Bryce was soon back in his patrol and across as well .
As we had already eaten our lunch trackside early on we decided that it was probably time to head to home now so off we went back to Warburton to air up and get a coffee . We were on our way home by 3:30 and it had been a good days driving .
I had a good day and the others said they had added greatly to their training experience which is always a good thing , it gives people extra confidence in their vehicles and themselves but endorsed why you don ’ t go alone on a trip and also showed the benefits of owning a winch .
Peter Cooney # 538