EXCEED May/June 2019 Vol 36 No:3 | Page 16

TRIP REPORTS Toolangi Trip Going for easy! 5 th May 2019 Participants Nas & Kyra Foscarini (TL) James & Charlie Cooke Arie & Nadav Yahav Brett Nuske Lejoe Kuriakose David Cartwright Darren & Kerry Straub Baby Thomas Rod Chapple Sunday 5 th As the title of this trip suggests, I was going for easy. Not only was this my first trip as leader, it was also my first trip with the club. Having recently completed my first level training with the club. And after following up with a trip planning course, I was motivated to get out there. But I thought it best to start with something easy. I planned out this trip as best as I could by going out a few weeks before to map out a track. I was taking out my brother in his stock Land Rover. He’d be hassling me for ages to help him put a little dirt on his Toorak tractor as he calls it. But thanks to the recent dry conditions, all he got was a heap of dust. I ended up mapping out what I considered to be a fairly easy trail. With just enough action to get my brother’s little heart racing. I was ready now to introduce the trip to a bigger group. I put out the word and bang. Within hours the trip was booked out. Then of course the nerves started to kick in. What have I done? Was I really qualified for this? Member No. 1933 1855 1902 1929 1811 1928 1319 1908 1814 Vehicle Details Challenger Pajero Sport Prado Pajero Landcruiser 79 (TEC 1) Nissan Patrol GU Toyota Troopy (TEC 2) Pajero Pajero Did I choose the right track? Oh well. Too late. There was no turning back now. So the day before the trip, it rained almost all day. I started to get more nervous because to be honest, I didn’t know this track or Toolangi well enough that I could guarantee what the grading levels were going to be like in the wet. I had to simply trust my instincts and planning. I had to remind myself at this point that I hadn’t promised anyone it was going to be easy. All I had said was that I was simply trying for easy. “Last minute toilet break at Yarra Glen”