4x4ing @ Powelltown...

Well to officially start off my Long Service Leave (6 weeks off) I organized a 4x4 trip up to the Yarra Valley.Adrian & Lily in his Disco TD5
Luke in his new Hilux
Bernard & Brett in their twin GU Patrols.
and Me and the kids in my GQ Patrol.

I kitted up with 1 new tire and a UHF CB before the trip.

Having organised everyone I was designated to lead out trip.

Arrived at Powelltown around 12:30pm after coming from Tylers footy game at Ferntree Gully.
Here we met Bernard and Brett who were already sporting some muddy cars.
They work together (business partners) and have a sweet pair of white Nissan Patrol GU's with 35" Tyres, Winches, ARB front and rear bars (inc. jerry can holders), Bead Lockers (Some special rim that allows you to run ridiculously low psi on the tyres without them coming off the rim) and a hole heap of other expensive mod cons.
One thing they didn't have, we found out later, was diff lockers. Which would have come in F#cking handy.

So we left Powelltown planning on heading thru a few track and finally to the Ada Tree.

Looking at the map it went something like, first left, left again, right, right, right.
Anyway, whilst driving along I found the only sign of what LOOKED to be the first left.
It was in fact as we found out later by GPS about 500m too early.

It took us down an overgrown track which passed a hut that someone had built. Probably not far from their wacky tobaccy crop.

Leading the way I stopped to clear a log from the path at the top of a descent. Turns out the log was a sign not to go any further.
I drove down in Low Range, 1st Gear in the auto, and unfortunately being an Auto the car creeps away from you on the slow desecnts, so I had to brake quite a bit, eventually bringing me unstuck as the car locked and went straight, when I needed to turn, I knew it would happen but i was going to fast to just gun it and make the wheels turn me left. So I started going off the track on what was a VERY VERY STEEP descent.
I tried to reverse up but to no avial. I was stuck, good and proper.
So I radioed back to tell the others to stop.
Brett came and had a look and said he'd winch me out. so he drove halfway down to a flat step, but it was still to steep and he couldn't reverse or even straighten up.
So he used a winch extension strap on the back of his car to secure him to a tree. Then straightened himself up. He still couldn't get back up the track despite several good efforts. So while he was still fixed to a tree he winched me up and I corrected my mistake, this time he let me down by winch and I steered the corner fine.
Only to realise that I was already, at the end of the track.
I managed to turn my car around in a 4000-point turn (just like on the driving licence test) so this was the first positive.
We then connected 3 snatch straps togethers (all quiet long mind you) and the winch extension strap (a non stretchy snatch strap) and Luke pulled him out backward.
Once the track was clear, I had a crack at driving back up it, but got stuck not far from where I'd been before but facing the other direction.
Again we used 3 snatch straps and the extension and brett pulled me out, luckily this time we were both facing the right direction.
During all this we had to shuffle and turn around the 5 cars on what was a very steep and very narrow over grown track. FUN!

We continued on and Brett informed me that according to his GPS the track he SHOULD have gone down was only 500m past the one I'd taken. A simple mistake but one a GPS would have helped avoid (I want one now!)

We continued on an toured thru some amazing bush (gotta love Australia)

After a quick stop at Starlings Gap, a small camping area with a fire place and bush dunnies.
Eventually we got to the Missisippi Track which according to Brett had been a Ball-Teared 10 years prior.
We decided to Ditch the ADA Tree for another day and head up the Mississippi track as it was MEANT to be closed at this time of year.
It was a sweet drive with some tricky descents and some amazing fauna & wildlife. (Some weird big bird thing I've never seen before with huge tail feathers. Imagine a crow 4times longer!!!)
The we decided to head back to Wesburn for some muddy work on some of the motorbike tracks there.
Luke led the way and found us a dodgy track with a big bog hole that had been cut into it.
He insisted he wanted to have a crack at it and he ploughed straight in.Got stuck, car started filling with water and I had to battle the mud to JUMP into the back of his ute, reach under the muddy water and connect a snatch strap for Brett to pull him out backwards.Check out the muddy floor in the car. He was spewin.....day over!Awesome day, lessons learnt, I think my next trip will be a little more lame. Maybe some scenic touring.

Thanks for reading :)

New Muddies and a bit of an Adventure!

Brand New 32" BFG Muddy with a 30% Tread BFG on Top.

Well last week I picked up some BFG Muddies, no not a Muddy Big Friendly Giant, Some BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain tyres.
I've always wanted an extra inch, so these are 32" tyres, compared to the factory 31's.
Good ole' eBay. $217.50 got me 6 Tyres.
1 Brand Newy, pictured above.
2 50% Tread
2 30% Tread
1 All-Terrain (will do as a spare for my bro-in-law)

So I stuck them on and headed out on the Queens Birthday Long w/e to find some mud to test them in.
Having a hunt around on the 4x4 Forums I found a group meeting at Yarra Junction on Sunday morning 10am. But they said for serious cars only, minimum 35" and a winch!
Spewin I thought, too early for me and sounds a bit serz.

Ever felt the need to just JUMP? Me neither, but seeing the ramp starts you thinking.

Sunday found me with all 3 of the rugrats in my care as the Mrs was busy. And the fourth rugrat, Tyler needing to be picked up from the Mo-in-laws in the Yarra Valley.

That was all the excuse I needed and we headed upto Launching Place for the pickup before a quick pie stop and then into the Don Valley to check out the other bro-in-laws new house, a nice 2/3 of an acre with 2bedrooms, perched right on the Pantons Gap road race course.

Just incase any of you felt like joining a Hang gliding club, here's the details.... Apart from that, how good is the bush? Luv it!

From there it seemed obvious that the back way up Mt. Donna would be the best. So we short tracked it and came across this Hang Gliding ramp and several waterfalls on the roadside.

Top-o-Donna Tower + Kids.

After carrying Dakota in one arm and holding Jai's hand in the other, we finally made it all the way to the top of the Tower, and the views were well worth it!
From the top, I could clearly see the City's skyscrapers and the Yallourn Power Stations Chimney Stacks.

The Car way down there somewhere....

Yes we were all the way up there!

After another quick snack and a drink it was time to head down the mountain, which included telling Tyler the story of 'The man who cried Donna' on the descent... (Rob Kleenex)

Hows this for dirty? (no mines the clean one behind!)

So after heading down Mt. Donna, we drove down the warby hwy to Wesburn, where we ventured up 'Old Warburton Rd' to the 'Log Dump' a popular Dirtbike and 4x4 location.
I've only been there once before and it involved 3 cars and a whole day of winching, snatching, pushing, pulling, in all it took us around 3-4hours to drive what was about 5km.

Ok give it da Gas! This poor fella had a hard day out, popping off a radiator hose earlier in the day, then tearing out the radiator plug from underneath! After all that, when I arrived he was having problems getting it started. He didn't care much for my advice or questions....dumbass.

On this day however it was in much better condition than my last visit some 8years before and had been graded sometime recently.
Basically once leaving the 'Log Dump' which is like a open area with lots of cars, vans, trailers and 4x4's where all the Dirtbikes are unloaded, the track heads up a 25% gradient climb about 2km long, with about a dozen serious water bars graded into the track, big enough from most Long Wheel Base 4x4's to case out when going over.

The Muddies did a brilliant job, I'd prepared earlier by letting them down from 40psi to 29psi.
They never struggled really. I don't think I broke traction once. The car basically walked up the climb, I just threw it in the best possible lines and the tyres and 4wd system did the rest. The kids loved it. Having known how hard the track could be I was wrapped to have just walked up it in less than 10mins.

Arriving at the top, I found the track to be blocked by 6 cars who were stopped, 1 of which had the bonnet up and a guy with his head under it trying to fix whatever was wrong.

They were all in LWB GQ Patrols like mine, but were all somewhat dirtier and more damaged.
Every single one of them had 35" Mud tyres, probably Simex brand.

I got out to say hello, see if I could help and see what the problem was. I got a semi-friendly reaction from the dozen or so guys standing around watching one twat trying to get his car fixed and running. He'd popped a radiator hose earlier and then torn out the radiator plug. He'd fixed both problems and had filled it back up. Now he was just trying to get it started.
CRANK CRANK CRANK, no go, I asked if he had a strong spark, he just replied, "It was just running" Pfft I thought, that's enough help for you!
Most likely he'd dirtied up the points.
One of the other guys said to me, 'So how did u get up here?' to which I replied, 'I just drove straight up'.....duh.

So in the end, the meatheads decided to turn him around so he could try roll starting down the 25% Gradient hill! F#CKING CRAZINESS if you ask me. Great if it starts. But if it doesn't you've got no brakes, no steering! F#CKING NUTZ!
So I moved around them to let them get on with it and continued up the track to the top.
Turns out he got it started, lucky for him. He had 2 kids in the back and it's not a move I would have tried!

Check out the video of this cowboy damaging his car on the track here...

Awesome weekend and a heap of fun!

A 4x4 day trip to Craigs Hut and the High Cuntry

DYK The beast

After a couple of weeks of late nights and several $$$ spent tidying up the car, it was ready for some dirty muddy action! GQ Patrol 4.2lts, 1989 31/10.5/15" Desert Duellers with only25% tread.

The 3 Cars parked outside the Mansfield Bakery

• Dutchys (Vortex) Landrover Discovery TD5, Series 2.
• DYK GQ Patrol (Achieved 20.9ltr/100km for the first time!!!, Less than half of it's worst)
  
• Quikys '07 Hilux Dual Cab TDi with 32" Simex Muddys.

After meeting at Lilydale @ 7:30, 3 cars, 6 peepz. A bad night sleep for me with a bad cough and a cold hard floor after being pushed out of bed at 5am for coughing too much.
The morning was the foggiest I've seen in ages and didn't clear until we were about to drive into Mansfield, it cleared to be a glorious sunny day.
Along the way plenty of UHF CoT style banter, sh!t stirring each other and basically taking the piss.
Also along the way we had a quick stop at Yea to let 'Bucks' the dog into the back of my wagon as it was freezing it's ass off in the back of Quikys Ute. Great Dane x Labrador it's a beast of a dog. It enjoyed the warmth of the Nissans heater, eventually requiring a window open to poke it's head out and breath some fresh air. Great dog! Massive to boot.

A quick stop at what Dutchy (Adrian) claimed to be the BEST BAKERY IN THE WORLD!

While he rang to check on his ill Mrs in hospital I headed off to top up on LPG and check the economy! The result... an impressive 20.9ltr/100km. Which is by far the best I've ever got, I have once managed 28.5ltr/100km when driving like I had no throttle. But mainly it's been 30-35 and as bad as 42ltr/100km when towing!
So getting Lilydale - Mansfield for $22 had me jumping for joy! 144km & 30ltrs LPG @ 74.5c/ltr
In the last few kms after Mansfield we could see Mt.Buller, Mt. Sterling and some of the High Cuntry that we'd be exploring. Full of anticipation for the journey to come.
After heading into the National Park (with a dog, which is a no no) it took us about 30minutes of windy uphill and downhill over several mountains before we reached a track named 'monument tk.', at this point I was given an option. Take the easy road up to Craigs Hut, or go up 'monument tk'.
Not being a soft c0ck I took the latter option.
Monument Tk. is about 2-3km long, has 2-3 very sharp switchbacks and has points of approx 25-30% gradient. Full of ruts and rocks boulders it's a track that most cars only descend after visiting Craigs hut. and on the way up we passed 1 cruiser coming down, with a hottie driving!
Quiky headed up first and we could see from the bottom that it was muddier than anything we'd encountered thus far.
Halfway up he radioed thru that he wasn't sure if my old Desert Duellers would be upto the task.
Meanwhile I was on the ground at the bottom letting my tires down from 34 to 19psi. (I meant for 20 but went a bit far and CBF Pumping up).
The idea was, Quiky go up with his super capable Hilux, jacked up and with 32" Simex Muddys and a ARB Winch. Then I'd follow and if necessary he'd pull me up with his winch or snatch.
Then Dutchy would follow up in the Disco.
In the event, Kayla and I took off, with Adrians advice, lock in 2nd Low Rang and Keep the Revs up.
I wasn't going to be beaten by this track and I figured that there was nothing that could stop me if I applied enough speed and aggression.
So as the radio calls kept coming thru from Luke up top I struggled to reach the handheld to reply as I gripped both hands on the wheel and threw the car from rut to rut.
The car was either sitting in 1st Low Range Revving it's nut off or mid revs in 2nd low. At one point I was going so fast I had to reach for 3rd low.
Basically Luke was quite concerned having reached the top, that I'd struggle with wheel travel and traction on some of the ruts thru the switchbacks.
He could hear nothing and waited at the top with his brother.
All of a sudden a GQ came flying around the corner making a hell of a racket, front wheels almost off the ground and the big 4.2ltr engine screaming.
Luke and Matt broke out into laughter, cheering and clapping.
They'd been sh!tting themselves and wondered where we'd gotten to, the steep hilly corner had hidden the noise I was making.
Upon arriving at the top, I said 'Is that all you got? C'mon bring it on!'
I seriously found it much easier than they'd had me thinking.
And I had to conclude that the 4wding I'd already done previousy had put me in good stead, where as they must have thought I was a complete newb!
I also came to the conclusion that these guys hadn't put 2wd and 4wd into conditions anywhere near as bad as I had. Possibly even putting them into the category of City W@nkers.
We parked in the car park along with about 15 other 4wd's that had come up for the day.
It all felt strangely familiar, then I realised why, hundreds of KM from the city I realised that I'd parked at Cafe Racer. And all the w@nkers with their Colnagos and Pinarellos were here in their souped up 4x4 with stickers on them, snorkels, muddys, lift kids, winches and all sorts of stuff that they too would probably never use to it's designed potential.
Yet out of these Toorak tractors climbed grey old me, then term 'All the gear and no idea' rung in my arrogant mind.
These weren't serious hardened serious 4wders, they were just old family men that had riced up 4wds for some offroad work with the family. They were family men.
It almost looked like a bunch of Hondas and Subarus in BoxHill with stickers all over them.
This plaque was for a previous verison of Craigs hut which after being burnt down was rebuilt in 1993, only to be burnt down in the bushfires again in December 2006 and Rebuilt in December 2007.Then we saw for the first time in my life. Craigs Hut!
One of hundreds of Huts in the snowy mountain region but arguably the best.
For those of you who don't know, this hut is the one people speak of because it is the one that was built solely for the movie 'The Man from Snowy River'.
The man in the movie who lived there surname was Craig so the hut has been known by that name since.

Kayla and Dutchys girl Lilly. Behind them looks out North-East towards Timmy Cuntry. The hills seem to roll on forever.

Kayla and I infront of the hut.

After some food we headed back down, here is the Bro-in-law heading down a pretty steep track behind me. Adrian kept asking me to back off as he reckons I was too close behind him, I'm obviously too used to sitting on wheels.We then headed back to bitumen briefly to Buttercup track where we found Tomohawk Hut. Which had also recently been rebuilt after some of our bushfires.
These huts are cool, I'll definetly be planning a camping trip up here probably sleeping in the huts. They're all open and most have fireplaces! Awesome!!!!
Outside they have campfires and wooden benches.
Kayla and bucks explore this nearby hut. Or is it just a leaning post to dry out timber for the fire?
The scars of recent bushfires are still present.

After this we made out way home down buttercup tk. which Lukes GPS Told us eventually took us home. We found a few big bog holes and doughy patches and even a couple of creek crossings that we did, unfortunately we didn't stop for photo's but I got my car thru some impressive bog holes that Luke got his Hilux stuck in (until he switched to 4wd mode) and after winning the burnout comp in the doughy patch I came away from the trip the muddiest!

At Mansfield we all went our seperate ways with Luke heading for Launching Place pub for a countermeal and Adrian rushing back to see his sick wife in hospital.

I filled up again on LPG when we got back to Mansfield this time after 158km of Offroad work I'd upped my fuel comsumption upto 37ltr/100km which shows just how hard I was pushing it. And I guess there was a lot more Low Range work done.

Kayla and I crept home as economically as we could only passing around 3-4cars. And slowing on the hills down to 60kmh if I had to. Refilling at Bayswater when we got home I check the economy again to find that I'd managed to get the fuel ecomony under 20ltr/100km. I'm wrapped with that. Maybe with some improvements to the engine I can improve on that too.

Awesome day out. 450km approx.
12hrs from go to whoa.
Next Trip, Snow Trip upto Jamieson in a month or two.