Fire and Rain part 4
More heavy rain fell over night. This must be good for the fire fighters. In a way yes but it is very hard to do back burns when it is raining.
Packing up
camp, in the damp of the morning after heavy rain, is always slow and a late start for the day. Our mission was to get to the
lookout at Mt Tingaringy. From
camp we would head east along McKillops road and turn left onto Rosendale Track. That was good except that the
Bonang River had to be crossed and that was in flood. Plan “D” was implemented very quickly and we would
check out Tingaringy Track.
Large rocks and mud washed from the banks that lined the road had slowed our progress to put plan “D” into action. A
clearing at the base of the Tingaringy Track doubled as a morning tea break and also the
test the waters of the
creek crossing. A steep climb just after the crossing and the track disappeared from view.
We would give it a go, the sun was out and the track dry. The GPS showed some climbs and descents and another
river crossing, we would take one challenge at a time. What the GPS didn’t show was the tree across the track on top of the next ridge. The chain saw was getting a good work out this trip.
After some moderate climbs and steep descents the
river crossing halted our progress until Belinda did the Friday Night Walk. A large
rock was pointed out to the drivers and one at a time the river was crossed.
A steady climb went from challenging to charter building in a matter of a few conservation mounds. The Troopie was hunting for traction but come up empty. The track got steeper and by now the other vehicles were starting to struggle under the weight of the camping gear and the steep climb.
Turning around on the track was not going to be easy. Backing down to the spoon drain and then turning down the track is not my idea of good fun but it had to be done. Belinda opted to guide me down while Eliza was more interested in listing to music in the back of the Troopie. She wanted to know what all the fuss was about.
The drive back didn’t take as long, the river was already walked and the tree removed from the track. Lunch was back in the morning tea
clearing and then on to the main road.
This trip had a bit of everything fire, rain and fallen trees. Plans were changed as required and we were able to cover a great deal of what we had set out to do. The tracks that I have not done before are on the GPS for future use and I thought that the trip went
well.
Wayne