sundown national park

Hi Harry

I was there over a year ago, if that helps It's rough going in and out with some good patches if you're talking of the Ballandean side of entry to the park? It took us a good hour and a half to get from the self registering box to Burrows W/hole, that from memory was about 14-17 klms. There are different camping places within the park but Burrows w/hole is one of the nicer places to camp next to the creek.There was only pit toilets also. Do remember to get local advice about what the weather is doing before you go into the park. It only has to rain a bit and you could find yourself in there for a few days longer. Also you'll need to be self sufficient and what you take, in you take out. It's a good place to try your 4WDing skills out on. Going in and out can be safely done in a day.
Good luck and enjoy.
Site Link
or
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/publications/p00144aa.pdf/Sundown_National_Park.pdf

I can't wait to take Muddy there oneday!

Cya
:)

G'day Chris
"I hear it is sposed to be pretty nasty" - just very rocky. Let your tyres down some and it will be a lot more comfortable. You should be able to get in and out without too many hassles with a bit of common sense. Take it easy.

Hi Chris
You can get down into Burrows W/hole camping area and out, just take your time, but if your going further on into Rat Castle it will get alot harder. The river crossings are ok "a standed gu patrol will scrape on rocks in river crossing , have 2" lift kit and 285/75X16 tyres and have no problems". If your do no have diff locks take the road to the left, but if you do have diff locks try the road to the right at Rat Castle. Best of luck.........................................
Regards Rough-it

gidday chris

i would have been in there about 2 months ago. Good spot and pretty isolated if you get to burrows. Long weekends may be a different story though.

Easy trip in just very bumpy and slow with some sharp rocks so might be a good idea to carry an extra spare. There is a loop track around Rats castle which is a good drive with only one section which may catch the challenger out. The track crosses the creek about 6 times all easy and shallow however the track does get narrow in places which may scratch the challenger.

It is a trip I would do on my own in a challenger but would take an extra spare or carcass. Be much better with another vehicle though, then you could do Rats castle and take the alternate track out of the park

Jim

Chris
I was there in January accompanied by a friend in a bog-standard Pajero. He found it a bit slippery on some of the steep uphill rocky bits but managed to do the whole trip, including the alternate road, without damaging anything other than his side steps.
Hope this helps

Chris yep its do-able.
I did it on the queens birthday long weekend last year in a rodeo dual cab.
It is slow, rocky going, to Burrows around 2 hrs for 17km..
Rats castle is an interesting loop, fasinating amount of round boulders in the river at one crossing and a very interesting stepped rock shelf type crossing near Rats, a good drive. Apparently very difficult if it has water over it.
The Rodeo had no problems with any of this, where I did come unstuck or rather failed to proceed was coming out of the other camp ground before burrows (turn right at the fork at the top of the hill going in to burrows), just couldnt keep enough wheels on the ground thru the dugouts from "Real " 4wds and huge tyres, the down hill section on compression and low 1st with variable traction was also quite "memorable ", the word tobboggan comes to mind.
As mentioned above do it with a mate in another vechicle, members in our group had to skull drag a very suddenly 2wd hilux with 2 very unprepared females ( no food ,water, map, recovery gear,radio, no idea) about 8 kms so they could drive out in 2wd,just before dark.
Be prepared for tyre damage, I trashed 2 cooper STT's at 25psi, just ripped the lugs off to the steel belt, 2 other vechicles in our group also had flats, funnily enough both on the smooth section of track about 4 km from the balandean gate.
I had a good weekend regardless and learnt a lot.
Pete

Been there heaps pretty rocky but we got around the place in a bravo of all things. I grew up about 30km as the crow flies from there and this time of year it will be bloody freezing (-7 the other morning). Long weekends and holidays it will nearly always be booked out. Shouldn't be much water in the river pretty dry up there at the moment.Another thing grab your wood on the drive in the campsites are picked pretty clean.Hema does a map and chainsaws and gensets are banned.

Tex

Been there 2 weeks ago in the Troopy (standard and AT tyres)and agree with all comments. The loop track has one nasty bit and the bypass (chicken) track is not much better. We kept standard tyre pressures - uncomfortable but did no damage.

Saw a RAV4 near the camp ground with a couple of worried people in it - not a good place to be in a RAV4but with a higher clearnace vehcile, no problems. We were with a standard Disco who had no problems on road tyres.

If you do the loop, take another vehcile with you but you will be OK on the main track to the camp by yourself. THe alternate track may be a bit hard if you have no experience and is also scratchy.

Stevesub