The Northern end lacks the more demanding obstacles that can be found further South in the forest, but we managed to keep ourselves well
entertained just the same. Brian followed his usual game plan – drive around, turn left when it looks good, then turn right if there's nothing on the left …… reach a dead end, double back, try some tracks through
the cut over areas, and if there are no tracks, make some!! Hey ….. exploration is part of the fun of going off-road!!After driving around for a while looking for something a little more challenging to tempt
our taste buds, we found an area in the mature pines to make a "trials" type track. We had a play around for half an hour or so, managing to get the Disco and the 110 bellied out on a couple of break overs, and a
Rangie had a close encounter with a pine tree when it sledged sideways. A little spade work and some helpful bodies pushing the Rangie away form the trees saw it extricated without damage.
From here we headed
for a slightly more demanding track that had an excellent hill decent that allowed all the vehicles to lift some rear wheels off the ground. Unfortunately, Paul's "THUMPA" decided to cook the fuel pump wiring
which resulted in a spectacular smoke plume. (Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any photos as I was positioning my Rangie on the hill decent to photograph the cross up, and Paul seemed unwilling to re-connect
the wiring for a retake)
While Paul improvised some replacement wiring, Brian headed out to the locked gates to let Andrew and family in as late arrivals. With lunch consumed we continued along the trail to find
another area for a good hill decent and a hill climb. This time THUMPA decided to break an axle!! Not a good day for THUMPA!!
Paul managed to drive out on 2-wheel drive and hide THUMPA in some young pines
until we finished the day's fun. Paul jumped in with me and savored the luxury of driving over rough ground with coil suspension for the next couple of hours.
All in all a relaxing little jaunt through the
forest, which is a great way to unwind before the busy hustle and bustle of the working week.
