High Country track clearing.
Submitted: Wednesday, Nov 09, 2005 at 22:41
ThreadID:
27969
Views:
2823
Replies:
2
FollowUps:
4
This Thread has been Archived
Crackles
Following a successful tree
clearing weekend by the Wangaratta 4x4 club, several more tracks are now open including the Mt Selwyn road from Beveridges Station to the Tea tree range road, the great dividing range track from Mt Selwyn to Twins Jeep track & all of Canyon road. 3/4 of the Selwyn track is clear but still has 50+ trees down at the Whites track end. DSE & Parks have a dozer
clearing Shultzs & Walshes tracks in the next week.
8 clubs have further
clearing planned over the next 5 weeks so tracks that you may want to detour until then are the
Dinner Plain tk,
Dingo Hill tk, Wild Boar range, Top Crossing hut track, the Populars & Kings Plain.
For latest imfo call the local Parks
ranger.
The Vic 4x4 association is getting good press from the working bees & are looking for more to get involved.
Despite all the work being done many of the more remote tracks may not be cleared
well into next year so a chainsaw is more important than ever. (Even a Talon;-)
Cheers Craig...............
Reply By: Inland Sailor - Thursday, Nov 10, 2005 at 20:01
Thursday, Nov 10, 2005 at 20:01
Craig,
1stly, thanks for you advice with taking a CT into theWonnangatta. [Have you/would you/do you know anybody who's done so?]
2ndly, I've taken my camper over the Simpson. which was a piece of cake, but havn't done any high country work, can you give me a degree of difficulty vs Simpson crossing in taking a camper into the Wonnangatta. [Camper has Independant
suspension]
3rdly, You guys from the Wang Club need to be thanked for you efforts in
clearing the tracks for the likes of me, who will travel these track because of you efforts.
Cheers
AnswerID:
138858
Follow Up By: Crackles - Thursday, Nov 10, 2005 at 20:39
Thursday, Nov 10, 2005 at 20:39
Towing a camper into Wonnangatta is easy & not very hard on the
suspension, in fact I'd have no hesitation in taking a standard 6x4 box trailer with leaf springs in via the East Buffalo route even in the wet. The track is wide, not particually slippery & the errosion ditches pretty small. All the old bog holes are gone & the majority is high range.
The Simpson is more an endurance event & much harder on both the trailer & the tow vehicle. You can assure the wife she won't even break an egg ;-)
Zeka Spur, Hearne Spur, Wombat Spur, Heart Spur & the Humffray
river track are all much steeper & in the wet can become dangerous. Although possible, these are best taken without the trailer & that's why I normally recomend camper trailers base
camp & do day trips on the harder stuff.
Appreciate your thanks, we are just one of a dozen up there. The 4x4 association are working hard to keep the tracks open & saw this opportunity to combine with Parks to do something positive in the bush. It was feared that without sufficient $$$$$ that some badly treed tracks would not be cleared this year then closed forever. Vic clubs wont sit on their hands & watch the high country go the way of NSW.
Cheers Craig.........
FollowupID:
392622
Follow Up By: Inland Sailor - Thursday, Nov 10, 2005 at 21:05
Thursday, Nov 10, 2005 at 21:05
Thanks yet again.
Yes I do agree that the Simpson is more of an endurance event, although I think that our Subaru Forester would have made it across 98% of the trip with assistance across the remaining 2%. Mind you I think you need to pick your time to do the trip!!
A degree of difficulty is added by towing a trailor but a HD off- road trailor with I.S. ,as in our case, was OK, though the authorities still advise against taken trailors into
the desert.
Funny though, SWMBO sees the High Country a "Real" 4wd territory and is quite anxious about venturing in there, but takes
the desert and outback travel in her stride. Its the steep and narrow tracks that gives her the nerves. Our only trip into the High country with the camper has been to
Lake Cobbler, Via the Upper Rose/Bennies route. She was ok with that. [We were followed in there later by a Falcon Ute!!!]
I think someone said in the pravious post that you can get a commodore [or Falcon ute] up to the helipad at Van Dammes, so I hope to reassure her with that Info as
well as you reassurances.
Take Care
Cheers
FollowupID:
392628