MEMBER TRIP REPORT
On Sunday , 15 members and guests in 9 vehicles departed Lancefield for a day of technical driving in Cobaw SF , with me ( Dan Ho ) in the lead and Lyndon being the TEC . Unfortunately , just before Xmas , my car threw some error codes concerning the electronic stability control and ABS system . With mechanics closed over the Xmas / NY period , it was anticipated that there was a good chance I would have to park my car in the SF and ride as passenger during the day .
After airing down on Whalans Tk , we started climbing up to Cobaw SF on Walkers Tk . The ground , despite the wet weather during the week , was extremely dry with a thin loose layer of sand on top of the hard clay bottom .
Lo and behold , the car refused to engage the centre diff lock and I only got as far as just before cresting the last spoon drain on the climb . Thankfully Steve came to the rescue and pulled my car over . I then lead the group to the main picnic area via Reilly ’ s Firelane , which consisted of some rutted out slippery descents . This concluded the group ’ s introduction to the technical driving typical of Cobaw .
After leaving my car at the picnic area , I proceeded to ride passenger in Yew Yip ’ s FJ Cruiser . Yew ’ s FJ was unmodified . It was ideal as the alternative lead vehicle as it allowed me to gauge the conditions and suitability of the track for the couple of other un-lifted vehicles in the convoy behind .
I took the group onto Smith Tk , which usually has a couple of shallow but slippery bog holes . However , despite the recent rain they were completely bone dry . We did a quick loop via Mansfield Tk up a short steep climb on slightly rocky terrain , before returning to the picnic ground for an early lunch .
With one twin locked Disco , one twin locked Paj , and a SWB Paj in the convoy , I thought we would take a look at Stumpy Tk as a challenge for those who wished to attempt it . That is exactly what Matt and Lyndon did in their twin locked vehicles , while the rest of us spectated . After Matt and Lyndon got through the hardest obstacles , the rest of us proceeded to drive up Pole Tk to meet up with Matt and Lyndon .
The first challenge on Pole Tk wass a slippery sandy section with a couple of deep ruts , followed by another section littered with large rocks requiring careful navigation around and through . As with the bog holes on Smith Tk , the bog hole on Pole Tk was also bone dry . It was typically mid bumper level deep the last few times I drove Pole Tk .
We rendezvoused with Matt and Lyndon at the exit of Pole track . Upon regrouping , we discovered that a couple of the Pajs suffered some sidestep damage , which led to some excellent technical discussions around protection , rock sliders , traction control systems , etc .
Next was Camp Tk with crossed axle and off camber sections that again had the vehicles ’ putting their lockers and traction control systems to good use .
Back in Nov ’ 21 , Nudist Camp Tk / Evans Tk was blocked by one large tree . I thought we would give it a crack , especially as it is a track that Yew had been wanting to conquer ( he wasn ’ t able to climb it in his previous car ). With two chainsaws in the group and several bodies , I thought the worst case would be a little bit of elbow grease if that tree hasn ’ t been cleared by others since Nov . We proceeded down Croziers Nudist Link Tk , a rocky technical descent , to join onto Nudist Camp Tk .
Unfortunately , while other before us have made attempts to clear the track , more large trees have fallen and clearing the very steep section of the track would have been a “ mission ” taking several hours . Given the narrow nature of the track , after turning around , Lyndon because the Trip Lead with Steve as the TEC .
Rather than backtrack on Croziers Nudist Link Tk , I had Lyndon lead the group back via Croziers Tk instead . It involved the steepest track tackled for the day as well as some tricky technical sections such as descending a rock step (~ 1 foot ) mid sharp ( 90 deg ) corner on a steep narrow descent that is bracketed by a large fallen tree on one side and a drop on the other . Everybody handled the conditions in their strides . Lyndon gave excellent warnings and directions over the technical sections .
I had originally planned for a group dinner in Woodend . However , due to the rising Covid numbers , we all felt it was better to finish the day in Cobaw SF and not mingle with crowds in Woodend . The trip ended at the main picnic ground in Cobaw and we went our separate ways after airing up .