It has been 6 years since I have taken the OTL to
the tip and while there have been some minor changes it is still very much how I remember it.
The
creek and river crossings have changed the most with banks on either side suffering from the increase in traffic. The tracks have on the other hand are a lot better than I remember.
What did shock me was the way some travelers approached river crossings. As I have said it has been 6 years since I was there so every
water crossing was checked out first, and with the amount of unseasonal late rain they have had in that part of the country I thought it was the way to go.
I can only assume that the vehicles that didn't stop even to let the diffs cool or check the crossing before plunging into bonnet deep
water must have driven the crossing only hours before to know where the holes were and how deep the crossing really is.
We did however come across a few vehicles on the track that were suffering from Deep
Water Ingestion. One driver that had a radiator scored by the fan told us what had happened to him. Too fast, didn't put a blind on the front of the vehicle and didn't pick a line across the river. He then said that putting a blind on was only for inexperienced drivers.
Well we did put blinds on and didn't have any problems with scored radiators. I can safely say that we did learn from his mistake and are now experienced in fitting blinds instead of repairing radiators.
I hope that it is not another 6 years before a return trip to
the tip however my next trip, in November, is at the other end of the country in the
Vic High Country where on a clear day from one of the lookouts you can see Lake Entrance. Got to love my job.
Wayne