Riverland 4by Club to the Pyrenees for a weekend

Loosie, too many things to worry about at home, and if I can organise a few things at home to do when I am there all's sweet. ;-)

John around here there is always too much to do that I don't so I worry about it :))

Shhhh. ( I went there last year with Glenn, Mr and Mrs Al, Crazie and the Diamonds ) and had a ball. The Glenpatrick camp ground didn't have any water for the flushing loos this time. I guess with two trips I am learning more, even people my way don't know it, just a little more that two hours travelling. wheeee {:-)>

Had slipped my mind that Bro Willem and Judith were on their way home from Victoria and found the harder core driving quite enjoyable as Jeddah was tested just a bit too.

It's not really a secret place Pat, the locals know the place well but don't go shouting from the rooftops because there are many such places in Vic, just one of the reasons I decided to settle in that area. Being a citizen of Australia but not born here I don't align myself to any one state, Vic is my favourite based on experiences not emotion.

Can't disagree with a word of that Ray.

John and Pat, have you got names for these really steep tracks ? I've been there a couple of times and haven't come across much, obviously must I be travelling in the wrong part of the park.

Tried to email you Mad Dog but it bounced back.

52.5 series I think. Just half the car of a GU 4.2. Actually he got through without a scrape til when we left. Travellers quickly learnt the value of getting the tyre pressures down on the steep stony stuff. I had mine to 20-25 front to rear and would have gone lower had I any problems of slippage.

We copped 20mm of rain on easter Saturday John, made life very interesting on some of the tracks.

Ohh, that would be fun on the steeper sections Pat :-( We just had troubling drizzle when the camp ovens were being managed but the fly over the table caught a little of that. I was amazed how the floodlight up a tree went with a Honda genny. May have to get one for Mothers Day.

Actually Brew he was having trouble with the second battery and hope he can get his wiring worked out to drive the fridge and keep the beer cold. Reckon although the hydrometer was showing green it had lost a cell and he was below 10 volts some of the time.

Hi Ruthie, the Pyrenees are just NE of Ararat and North of Beaufort and loosly take in a number of small mountains with testing tracks over them, but the Pyrenees themselves have ridges and peaks with rocky shelves and sheer faces too. There are wineries round the area galore with some top ones too like Mt Langi Ghiran, Taltarni, Dalwinnie, Redbank and Warrenmang. I love the Langi Shiraz or Cab Sav and at $$$ a bottle I should too. Had it for my 50th for any red drinkers. LOL When you come South for summer perhaps a priority to try them out.

Good camping areas, bakeries too around there though not the tourism yet of other areas. Hence Pat's comment on the shhhhh Some good autumn colour round the deciduous trees at the moment if you look for that sort of thing.

Hope to go away for part of May actually and that was the reason to talk with DL. Is nearly 14 here at the moment.

Hey John
How you going?
I was going up to Wyperfeld on the Thursday Afternoon and I reckon it was this group that passed me on the Western Hwy.
Does that White Nissan in the photo with the rear canopy have a duel wheel carrier with and EO cover or two?

They were talking about how to get to Avoca on the UHF and seemed lost????? LOL

Cheers mate will have to catch again one day.

The Pyrenees was the site of the first ever EO get together weekend campout on the 2-8-2003.

I can remember a few who attended but not all, Diamond clan, Bonz, Truckster, myself, apologies to those missed.

John, nobody was lost on the highway mate, was easy to find Avoca. In Ararat the directions were being given if that was where you heard it. So you had the trailer behind? I saw the EO wheel cover on the trailer behind the Troopy in my mirror but that was West of Ararat and I mentioned it on the UHF to Mr Lexic

The white Nissan didn't have a wheel cover on the back above, but and not sure where he carried the spare. Travelled with a caravan usually.

Ray, I was talkng with Bruce about that trip this morning and his reference for photos is www.gqpatrol.com/pyrenees.html No pictures can capture the steep nature some of the tracks it seems if you actually found any that trip. I was hoping to find an excuse to get back there again soon, perhaps another EO trip.

No trailer for me mate, detest the things. LOL and no wheel covers either only a poor lonesome sticker.

Maybe another group then.
I didn't see your Nissan and I would have known that one.

Cheers

John, the troopy looked neat as a new pin and with the white trailer on the back and the EO cover it was really set off. Who says you don't see EO stickers and wheel covers on the road, eh? Have stickers on Moses, Nick's Green Machine, the Falcon ute and Snony here actually. Heather has barred it from the little supercharged machine......

Was a good weekend John. From the top of my head we did, no 2 creek, Jackson, Sanderson, Cameron, Mill, Emery, Fraser, Waterfall, Porcupine, Radigan and Patrick, few step sections on Radigan I think it was. Patrick was a great ridge track. Nothing really steep but some great driving on Radigan and Patrick. I'm in for a return trip.

JR, thanks for the photos - gosh the trees are so beautiful. I'm looking forward to the travel part of life so I can see all the things like mountains, hills, green, grass, trees, autumn leaves and flowers that I miss here.
Won't be coming to Melbourne Cup this year (the house is going up) but I can see future possibilities very clearly, more clearly than ever before. The 'plan' is underway.

Particularly loved the gum tree photo. Wonder if you enhanced it to get the bark to look so red?

Carolyn

Hello Carolyn, pleased you liked the picture of the bark. I had taken a couple of pictures of the trees in the area but hadn't bothered to get out of Moses and with this one Heather got out and took the picture. She asked me to put up for Ruth the picture of the autumn colours but I thought the bark more worthy.

No, there had been no enhancement of any colours. I am not that cluey with the software, saying that I guess I did animate the Moses pic. Have not seen you on here much in a while, remembering you did Brew's animated beer and a few others. How far afield are you folks going these days?

JR - please thank Heather for thinking of me - I particularly like the bark on the tree - it would make a great photo for me to use to make a cross-stitch, think I'll have to beg a copy of the photo please.
Carolyn - where have you been - we've been missing you? Are you on the wallaby?

I agree Ruth it would make a nice wall hanging. At our local hospital (Sutherland Shire) there is a huge weaving done by a local weaving group made up of a series of three hangings of gums and bush, from memory one is before and the other after a fire and I cant remember what the third in the series is (senior moment ha ha). Heathers photo really caught something special I feel colour and composition wise.

I guess I am like lots initially I used to come in frequently but as we acquired knowledge and experience of what we wanted to do in regards to 4WD and camping I dont visit as often. I am not that interested in the all the mechanical details and technical stuff I leave that to Sparky.

We have revisited and survivied Green Patch taking two tents and the grandies and it rained most of the first week during the Christmas School holidays. We now have a Colwell as well as the oz tent. We did the Bridle Track and visited Turon Gates which we loved. I did a group week at Ettalong. We went to the Sydney Caravan & Camping Show where we looked at c/trailers and pop tops and decided for the time being we will stop with the rig we have. We are heading shortly for a week at Lord Howe Island where we will ride bikes and cant take the Troopy. We picked up a few ideas from the show for places to visit and for us there is no place like home during the summer months (we retired to our sea change) I am hoping we will go north for a few weeks at least during winter.

I have been going to a digital art group and so still play with photos and animations, hence the question on enhancement. They also use ProShow Gold for dvd shows and when away I download and start on these on the laptop.

There you go it is only April lol I am sure something more interesting will come up as the year goes by. t.c.

Carolyn

Carolyn, no wonder we thought you were away on a big trip - you've been really busy (and it is only April). Won't be long and we'll be playing grandies as well - and hopefully I will get some stitching in and plenty of gardening in between camp trips. We had a houseboat on the Murray up from Renmark one September and the magnificent old trees had beautiful bark - took a lot of photos so could do a tapestry/cross stick later on. Hope the 'atrthur' in my fingers stays at bay so I can still do the fine stuff. Ha ha. Really loved Heather's photo tho - show quality I think. Heather knows I love autumn colours in the leaves as well.

Funny thing Pat, I was just talking to Lyn, Mrs Al about just that when you posted that. Wondering when it could fit in bearing in mind with rain some of the tracks could get slippery and with the steep rocky sections could be made quite tricky. Perhaps later in the year before too late so will keep a watching brief on it.

It got very hairy in the rain John, I almost asked Nick to get out of the car on one track just in case. Spring would be nice if we can get a long weekend. We did a few tracks in Mount Cole with the publican from the Elmhurst Hotel, that was a great drive.

Could do with some help round Mt Cole then Pat as we only did the track to the transmitters which was eeeasy..

From memory Eversley and Sugarloaf tracks then the gravel road to the transmitters. If i haven't logged the tracks I can get a copy. Good scenic drive, the tracks were a bit twist with tight turns for LWB vehicles with some nice climbs. Awesome view from the transmitters with a few hangliders having a play. Then publican at Elmhurst (Steve) should be able to help, he's a 4wder and born and raised in Mt Cole.

Did a couple of hundred metres of a track up the side of Mt Cole that was great fun, low range and high clearance vehicles only, we had to turn back for a reason I can't quite remember, may have been a gate, this track was really passed its use by date. :)

Pat, this is OT, but seeing as you are clever, did you find an answer to the Post about empty/full gas bottles - how many hours they cook etc - don't go technical on me, you know I'm only a girl?

Mr and Mrs Lexic. Pleased to hear you got home safely. Glad you had the successes of all other sorts apart from the cemetery and the gold diggings. I look forward to hearing of the proposed Otways trip but I will have to do some homework obviously to cover some more of it myself before then. Glad your tyre problem was overcome easily. I was surprised I didn't have some slippage issues actually. I hope to get a new set of boots on Moses soon.

I thought when I attended the meeting back in July last year you have a great group and they proved it this time with their enjoyment of each other's company. We enjoyed theirs and their relish of garlic bread too along with their fellowship of all. I reckon the Avoca baker did pretty well there too and his wasn't the garlic bread of course, but plenty of pies.

Garlic Bread!! Garlic Bread!!! What Garlic Bread? Must have missed it. Bugga

The garlic bread - first batch was out of the oven while the firewood was being brought back. The second batch was out on the table when Pete got there, I thought you had too. Sorry about that. I don't think Mrs Lexic missed it.

I spied a couple of bread sticks in bags at the checkout at the Ararat supermarket, nice and fresh it looked and was. While I queued Heather ran back, well strode back to get a tub of garlic butter. The combination was heaps better than the ready prepared packages. Heated it in the camp oven for about 15 minutes for the appetiser.