EXCEED November/December 2018 Vol 35 No:6 | Page 49

Melbourne Cup Weekend HIGH COUNTRY (SAMBIAN LODGE) 3​ rd​ to 6​ th​ November 2018 Participant Name Peter van Riel with Alanah, Georgia, Lochie & Nikki – Trip Leaders (TL) Ian Fieldhouse with Ruby & Finn Terry Barbie Steve & Margie Pow Peter & Jenny Baker Garry & Rani Appleby Peter Symonds & Janine Harron Andrew Douglas & Heidi Smith Paul & Sue Harris Terry Birch Peter & Sue Thomas Caz Hicks with Beth, Jake & Liz Peter Hicks Member Number Vehicle Details 1154 Jeep Wrangler 1888 1906 1528 1787 1889 1577 1745 1721 860 1016 1816 1727 Pajero Sport Pajero Pajero Landcruiser Landcruiser Landcruiser Challenger Pajero Triton Patrol Patrol Maverick Trip started with our usual meeting point at the BP at Officer. To my amazement everyone was early and we managed to get away on time at 7.30am on the Saturday. Leisurely drive on the black top via Traralgon and one to our re-fuelling (morning tea) stop at Licola. Once we aired down we were at the Lodge at Tamboritha by lunch time. Some of the crew decided to do an afternoon recce of some local tracks whilst the reminder stayed at the lodge to chill and settle in with our host Bill and his wife Jan. That night we ran a twilight trip down Dingo Hill track to let people experience night time driving on interesting tracks. All enjoyed and were certainly challenged by the extremely tight switch backs heading down the mountain. Lots of wombats about and even a deer jumped over the track in front of us. By now very dark and after everyone made it to the bottom we turned around and headed back to camp for evening snacks/drinks and the open fire in the main hut. Peter van Riel Trip Leader Day 2 Most people were out of bed and into breakfast by 7.30. The trip briefing was at 9.00 and 11 cars were out of the gate by 9.30 heading south east for a few kms before we turned down Dingo Hill Track. A break was taken by the Black Creek at the bottom of the hill for some photos. We then drove onto the junction of Butcher Country Track and turned right heading north.