Trip Detail

The meeting place was no surprise … the famous Mc Cooney in Pakenham at 7.00 pm . Everybody was there on time , and after a few burgers , chocolate sundae and other delicacies , the occupants of the 3 cars were ready to leave . Peter was leading , we took the second position and Mark went last . It soon became obvious that his radio was not working , so after Moe where we stopped for some fuel , we placed him in the middle in order not to lose him on the way . Our destination was O ' Tooles Flat near Walhalla and after letting down our tyres , we made our way down through Pheasant Track . By then it was quite dark , and it was an interesting drive with a few 3- point turns . Arriving at O ’ Tooles Flat via Flats Track , there was already a few people camping where Peter wanted to set up camp . Therefore , in the dark , we had to look around for another nice spot . We settled for a small clearing next to the river and in no time the tents were up . Thanks to Grant a nice fire was soon burning high and we just had to sit , relax , enjoy some coffee and Port and listen to Mark ’ s daughters chatter … and believe me , they do talk quite a lot ! By one o ’ clock we were all in bed , and judging by the snoring coming from all tents , it took us less than 5 minutes to fall asleep .

The next day was bright and sunny . When we got out of the tent , Peter and Grant were already slaving over the fire , making themselves pancakes , and soon Mark joined them to cook bacon and eggs . We were just finishing our breakfast , when above the giggles of the 2 girls , we heard a car coming . A few minutes later , Alberto ’ s car came to a stop near our camp . The team was complete . The fun could begin .

And fun it was , as it is always with our fearless trip leader . We left the camp through Donnelly ’ s Creek Track , did a bit of video recording when the cars went up the steep and rocky Morning star Track , and stopped for lunch at Crook Historic Sight . We could not find anything historic about the place , but it didn ’ t stop us from having a good time . I found quite funny that Peter thought I was “ an ideal wife ” because I love 4WD … After tackling Mc Evoys Track and Mc Guires Track , we went down Eaton Track . Somewhere along the way Peter decided to collect some wood for the campfire , by jamming a stick under his car . It took 4 men and half an hour of hard labour with a saw to get rid of it . Back onto Donnelly ’ s Creek Track , we stopped first to buy some local honey , then to pay a visit to what is left of the Toombon gold mine . We walked to the shaft where there is still a few relics of equipment and an old chimney . Michelle was trying with all her might to find some gold , and she even took some rocks back with her to the camp where she proceeded to smash them with a hammer . Despite being very busy , she never forgot for one minute … to talk … It was time for dinner , and I was quite amazed to see Alberto munching his way through nearly 2 kilos of chicken