Monday, Mar 21, 2005 at 13:29
Buy a few Rooftop maps of the areas around Noojee and do some exploring there. There's not much in the way of water crossings but there are some pretty steep and rocky tracks. You sound as if you have not been off road before so a few points to watch:
Ensure you have a UHF CB - there are enough people in that area you should be able to raise someone if you get into real trouble.
KEEP YOUR OFFROAD SPEED DOWN. Do things _slowly_ - the object is just to get there not to get there quickly.
If in _ANY_ doubt about which gear to use go for low 1 or 2. Trying to change gear going up a 1:3 is not a good idea.
NEVER think twice about turning back – a 4WD is not a “go anywhere machine” and if you try something too hard for you or the vehicle you _WILL_ break it and possibly yourself too.
Any kind of winching operation is dangerous. If you don't have experience of it, a dark
forest track is not a good place to learn.
It is quite possible to get
well lost in that area. I would suggest a base model Garmin GPS (about $200 I think?) would be money
well spent.
Ensure you have a good
first aid kit.
I'm not big on clubs (but that's just me) but it might be a good idea to look at one. Alternatively there use to be a Yahoo group called "4WD out of Melbourne" or similar which was a loose group of guys who organised one day trips - maybe you could tag along with them?
Have fun – let us know how you go.
Mike Harding
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