On
arrival in the main street of Blackbutt, we were
all given a trip description and map of the local
area. There were 12 vehicles in all, including
(ahem) 2 Nissans. The start of the trip was delayed
as one vehicle was late arriving (due to the trip
leader's misleading estimate of time taken to
get to Blackbutt) and then the failure of a Land Rover to
start (battery problem) – our Rangie
was the culprit. However, the delays allowed time for a quick
trip to the local market across the road for some
and the local bakery was also a very popular diversion.
Heading
back east we turned off the main road at a road
sign posted to Jessie’s Well, an historic watering hole
from the coaching days. We followed a dry and dusty
track to a sign for the Old Coach Road, marked 4WD only. Continuing along a rocky bumpy
track, it was not long before a Disco
got cross-axled on a rutted corner. Fellow travellers
helped to dig and push it out. At the same
time as this drama was being attended to, someone near
the front (oh no, it was the trip leader!) reported a
problem with an air bag popping out. He stopped
to investigate and found the uneven terrain caused
problems for a normal jack. Stones were placed
under the vehicle to improve the lift, but to no avail.
A high lift jack was required and fortunately “tail end
Charlie” had one. It was quite a sight to see him wend
his way forward, wheels in the air, on rugged terrain to
the front where the action was. Meanwhile another club
member arrived with his “assassin’s case” of tools
which fortunately also contained some WD40 or similar.
Luckily, as it was required for servicing the high
lift jack which had seized. Due to the
uneven ground, lifting the vehicle was no easy
task, but eventually it was raised enough to give access
underneath. This revealed another problem, a broken
shock absorber and an airbag that had popped out
of where it was supposed to be. This was a problem for
the rest of the trip and caused numerous delays while
it was put back where it belonged. It was all hands
on deck to make the necessary repairs and we were on our way again.
Continuing
through deeply rutted ground, we had a stop
start journey as several vehicles got had to do“
double takes” or have a bit of a push to get off the
awkwardly placed rocks in the ruts. As we went on we
encountered a few optional
tracks. Most took the chicken track, but
as always, boys will be boys
and a few felt they needed to give
it a go, some very successfully (well done Fred,
apart from temporary bumper damage). Hate to say this
but it was not the Nissans that got into difficulties,
rather a certain green Land Rover that got itself in a strange
position on the heavily rutted ground. Once
clear of this hazard, the trip leader again got into
difficulties
with the airbag. Once again the high lift jack
was put to use, this time revealing another problem. In addition
to the airbag and shock absorber, the fuel
pump
had packed up. We cruised on a slightly cooler
spot in the 37 degree temperatures, which had the added
bonus of a steep uphill play track. Several of the
vehicles were taken for a play both up and down the track,
while morning tea turned into a lunch break. For
extra
entertainment we watched as “tail end Charlie” (Charles)
changed a punctured tyre.
Finally
we were on our way again, but
the trip leader did a swap
with“ tail end Charlie” so as not to create
further hold ups. We reached smoother terrain passing cattle
in unfenced paddocks but after just 15 minutes the trip leader
had further difficulties with the temporary repairs but was soon on his way again.
The
trip was formally concluded at the start of the track to
7 Mile Diggings, with some continuing on there, and others
going back to do the trip in reverse and others heading
for the pub to quench their thirst on a very hot day.
Most who had done the trip before were surprised how
rutted and rocky the track had become over the past
year and expect it would be quite a challenge if we ever got any rain.
Steve
and Chris |
