TRIP REPORTS
Easter in the Pyrenees
19 th – 23 rd April, 2019
Participants
Ron & Carol Reed
David Crainean
Damian Mahon
Terry Barbie
Shaun & Margaret Driscoll
Andrew Williams
Andrew Reed & Millie McCulloch
Friday 19 th April - Day 1
We met up at Maccas on the Western Ring Rd for an
8:30 start. Introductions all round and quick briefing
before we headed off along the Western Hwy. Shaun &
Margaret were meeting u at Moonambel in the
afternoon. The weather was cool & overcast but got
better the further we travelled from Melbourne. Traffic
was generally light.
Just after Ballarat we picked up the Sunraysia Hwy. This
took us past Learmonth, Waubra (and the wind farms),
Lexton and Avoca. We picked up the Stawell-Avoca Rd
which took us to Moonambel, arriving at the recreation
reserve at 11:20 where we set up our camps and had an
easy lunch.
At 2:00 we assembled for an afternoon run on the
tracks north of Moonambel through the Kara Kara State
Park and the St Arnaud Range. Our route took through
Redbank and up to Teddington where we had an
afternoon tea break at the walker’s hut.
Member
No.
963
1279
1391
1906
1337
404
T1520
Vehicle Details
White Pajero
Grey Prado
Red Triton
White Pajero
White Disco
Gold Pajero
Grey Volvo
Geoff explained how they monitor and map fires by
triangulating from several sites. How fortunate we were
that he was there as this was the last weekend of
operation for the season.
Time was getting on. It was nearly 20 past 4 when we
dragged ourselves away.
We continued up Centre Rd until we picked up
Boundary Rd and then exited the Park to pick up the
Barkley Gap Rd. This made for a fast run.
At Barkly, we picked up the Frenchmans-St Arnaud Rd
which brought us out onto the Stawell-Avoca Rd and we
followed this back to camp where we arrived for a late
SA fivesees. Shaun and Margaret had arrived and had
set up camp and waiting for our return.
Bit late, yes, but still time for fivesees. Hmmmm, they
sort of dragged on and dinner was quite late !
It had been a great day. Thanks Ron & Carol.
Tracks were in great condition but quite dusty, as you
would expect, given how dry the whole area was. Millie McC
We continued on past the Teddington Reservoir whose
water levels were well down. Still, plenty of people
camping there. Saturday 20 th April - Day 2
From Teddington we picked up Centre Rd which took us
up to the West of England Fire Tower. The tower was
manned and Geoff allowed Andrew and myself to come
up and have a look. WOW. Incredible views.
On Saturday morning for some of us, the 9.30 to 10.00
am start for our big adventure was a little hectic, as the
day before “fivesees” went on until about 12.30 pm and
that put a few (me) in a bit of a spin. Trying to put on
shoes and eat a Bacon and Egg roll while I was also
cooking my lunch was a challenge. To top that off I was
running close to the final call for everyone to get into
their 4x4's to commence the day.