Our trip to the Blue Rag Range started from Dargo and was intended to be a lovely scenic drive through a few tracks before making it to the 360degree-viewing platform on the peek of the Blue Rag. Headed north onto Dargo High Plains Road, we made a left turn onto Grant Road where we aired down. It wasn’t long on this road before a right turn dropped us into Bulltown Spur Track. We now had a convoy of three cars consisting of our Patrol & camper, Marty & Tiff with their Navara Dual Cab and Sam & Jo with their Patrol Ute. Later we would become rather grateful for the convoy.

The Bulltown Spur Track didn’t present too many challenges but was a pretty good drive all the same. Now, the next track that we took, I had read about and had been excited to tackle since we decided this route earlier that morning. The Crooked River Track is only 7km but it has a staggering 24 water crossings.

The Vic High Country hadn’t had a lot of rain in the past which made the crossings quite shallow, with some pretty steep entry and exits with a mixture of large rocks. Throw in a bit more water, and this 7km track could cause some trouble.

Enter crossing number 24. After pausing to let Jo out to assess the situation, I decided on a line and a ROUGH plan of attack. Half way through my approach, the ROUGH plan changed and a split second decision saw the right foot to go down followed by a loud BANG and a scream from Jo. The big Patrol threw its front wheels up in the air.

After realizing there wasn’t a mark on the car, Jo finally calmed down. Lets just say the ARB side rails are money well spent.

After seeing the Troll and camper JUMP up through that bank, Marty was dying to give it a go and his Navara did it with ease. After a quick sandwich we headed off up the South Basalt Knob Track. No sooner had the track started and we were climbing. Seeing as the Blue Rag Range is a little over 1700 meters above sea level, we had a bit of climbing to do.

About 300m into the track, the camper got stuck on its draw bar on top of a water crest that resulted in the camper wheels not touching the ground. Seeing as there is a water tank to destroy before the wheels would have come back to earth, we decided to get the camper spare wheel off and throw it under the camper tyres to get the height to clear the crest.

After clearing the camper, we pushed on without any hick-ups until Marty came over the radio and said to hold up he until he give us the all clear.

As we waited, waited and waited some more, we could see nothing but dust pouring over the tree tops up a rather steep hill. He came back over the radio and said “um….ah…… I’d give it all you got, its rather loose and steep with a corner or two”.

Now this wouldn’t have been that bad but adding an extra 1500kg of weight to your ass end it makes it a bit different. I looked at Jo (who normally gets out for photos) and said, “hold on”. First low was chosen because I wanted to maintain revs but not lose control around this “corner or two”.

We bounced and slid our way to the top with Jo yelling out several times

“don’t stop Matty”. Great advice Joey!

The only object to pull us up was another bloody water crest. This one was a bit smaller and before we knew it we were on our way again. What a rush!

The South Basalt Knob rolled into the North Basalt Knob Track which was a basic dirt road with some amazing views.

The butterflies came as soon as we drove past the Blue Rag Range sign. I’ve been   reading about this part of the Vic High Country and looking forward to this moment for a long so much so, that we drove straight past the sign without a thought of a photo.

The Blue Rag Range track itself isn’t all that challenging. Anyone that has a 4wd with a little bit of clearance and a good set of tyres could drive it. However, what the track lacks in difficulty, it most definitely makes up for in scenery. Voted one of the best range ridge drives in Australia, it most certainly does not let you down.

After what was already a massive day and needing an Ale or two,we decided to make camp on the summit and why wouldn’t you take advantage of 360 degree view sunset and sunrise!

Check out our quick video of the awesome track and views along the Blue Rag Range to the summit.

Dargo Pub

After pulling into the famous Dargo Pub for a counter lunch and that iconic photo, we headed north towards Talbotville.

Airing down heading to Talbotville

After turning off the bitumen and airing down we made a quick detour to the ruins of the historic gold mining town of Grant.

Grant was once populated with over 2000 people in 1865 and played host to 22 licensed hotels, four banks, post office, church, stock exchange, stores and a newspaper – The Crooked River Chronicle. They must really have fancied a beer or two with 22 licensed pubs in a town of only 2000.

Although these days we’re into a bit of history, we were way too excited to get to the next stop, so we pushed on.

Camped up at Talbotville

It got late and cold quick this day so we set up camp at Talbotville for the night. The spot was awesome. A huge flat area of land (another old mining town) with not another single camper in sight – we had the place to ourselves!

The road from Talbotville to Wonnangatta Station made us grateful that we hadn’t pushed on the evening before. It was windy with steep drop offs, sharp turns and even a few “give it some mumbo” hills and water crests. We loved every moment!

Talbotville Track

Give it some Mumbo Matty

And of course, it wouldn’t be the high country without the stunning views. Every day the views got better and better. You could see the tracks on the mountain ridges parallel to ours.

The excitement and awe of the moment was indescribable.One track in particular, which crosses over from one mountain ridge to another, got the hairs on the back of our necks standing. STEEP is the only world for it!

  One moment it was a tremendous decline, the next was a mumbo moment of steep inclines.

Wonnangatta Station wasn’t quite what we pictured. The locals said they had never seen it so dry and considering we imagined fresh green paddocks beside the creek, it was no wonder it didn’t live up to our expectations.

We made the most of the evening the way we know best though…red wine! It seems to be the drink of choice these days as you cant argue with a $4 bottle of clean skin.  

After having a quick look around the Station and where some of the original owners were laid to rest, we pushed on towards the famous Billy Goats Bluff.

Before we could even think of tackling Billy Goats, we had to make our way along Zeka Spur Track. Many people have advised against taking a camper trailer along Zeka Spur, as it contains several sharp switchbacks. There was no way we were leaving the camper behind as we had no idea how long the round trip was going to take us, and this thing is our home!

For those who don’t know what a ‘switchback’ is, it’s when the road turns back onto itself, towards the opposite direction of which you came whilst heading up or down a hill. Sound difficult? Try whilst towing a camper trailer.

Although there were some tight switchbacks, all-in-all, Zeka was merely a stepping stone for what was to come.

We hit Howitt Hut, one of the original Alpine huts still standing, but after Jo was scared off at the sight of some local shooters, we powered on to Horseyard flats for the night.

We woke bright and early to another freezing cold morning, went for a walk and did our burpees (we’re doing a 30 day Burpee challenge). We were super excited for Billy Goats Bluff Track!

Fairly easy looking start to the Billy Goats

For those who are 4wd Action fans, you may have seen last month’s DVD where they towed a small caravan up Billy Goats Bluff.  They have laid claim to being the first to achieve this. WELL, we are laying claim to being the first to take a boat AND fully loaded camper trailer down Billy Goats.

And then came this at the first turn onto the mountain ridge

The Billy Goats Track is famous for being one of the toughest Alpine Tracks with outrageously steep rock steps, loose shale rocks and dirt, lined with cliff drops on one if not both edges at various times. And of course, we couldn’t describe Billy Goats without mentioning the unbelievable views of the surrounding mountain ranges. We chose to tackle the track on the descent, as it was the direction of our route and to be honest, a hell of a lot easier than going up hill with a camper in-toe and a boat on the roof.

Driving down such steep declines, you have very little control over what the vehicle does, let alone anything you tow. It wasn’t until over half way along the track that I looked in the mirror and said to Matt, “the camper is still there”. Neither one of us had spared a moments thought for the camper, we were transfixed on the road ahead. Although no video will ever do the Billy Goats or our experience justice, we were extremely disappointed to learn that our camera had ran out of battery and recorded all of 5 seconds of the track.

Just before the half way mark – what goes down must go up!

Up up up

Up until that point, Billy Goats was one of the toughest tracks I had ever been on, and I wasn’t even the driver. My stomach was in my throat most of the time and it was during this track that I realised there are certainly some times when I prefer being behind the camera rather than in the passenger seat. Close to half way along the track I noticed my legs were aching. I put it down to how firmly they were planted on the floor of the car to stop myself from falling forward. The decline was that vertical. Matt said his right leg and foot was equally as fatigued from working the break pedal. Although no video will ever do the Billy Goats or our experience justice, we were extremely disappointed to learn that our camera had ran out of battery and recorded all of 5 seconds of the track.

Camper following – no matter what angle and degree

We made it to the bottom of the Billy Goats, not one scratch! And although we were gloating in the fact that we made it with the camper still attached, we both agreed that we probably wouldn’t attempt it while towing again, the poor electric beaks got a good work out. We were very ready for a beer at the Dargo Hotel after that.

Matt hadn’t even stepped foot out of the Patrol as we pulled into the pub, when Tom the Publican came out to ask how our trip had been. When we pulled into the pub a few days earlier, we had spoken to Tom and his wife about our plans and he had given us pointers on some of the better routes and tracks to take.

Tom offered us the back paddock to set up camp amongst the sheep for the night.  We had really been enjoying our beers and by around 5 o’clock, hadn’t even thought of dinner.

Before we knew it, several pots down, Tom slapped a frozen roast pork on the bar and said “have you ever cooked a camp oven? I haven’t had a roast for a while”.  So there we were out the back of the pub, digging a hole, scrounging up as much firewood from in and around the pub as possible to get this fire going before another midnight roast was upon us.

Before long a couple we had met at the bar were pulling up camp beside us and joining in the festivities.  No sooner had we sat down around the fire for another can when along came Marty and Tiff, a couple we had met on the Zeka Spur Track and then ran into again on the Billy Goats Bluff Track. The stage was set for a big night and another midnight roast!!

If you’re ever in the area make sure to pull into the Dargo pub to say Hi to Tom and Teen. If you’re lucky, they might offer you a roast, but you may have to promise to have it cooked before midnight.

The views of course!

On the first day of February we arrived in Melbourne bright and early after spending the night on the Spirit returning from Tasmania. WOW, Tasmania was an experience and a half and already we can’t wait for our next visit.

So after three nights, from what was originally only intended to be one, we finally left Melbourne.

The beauty of travelling anywhere and everywhere around Australia with no timeframe or expectations is that you can decide where you are going and for how long at the drop of a hat.

It was a difficult decision deciding where to go after Melbourne. The High Country was so close and inviting, whilst The Great Ocean Road heading to South Australia offered some beach side camping and places we had only dreamt of ever experiencing.  At the time, the High Country was blaze prone while South Australia would be desert filled with extreme heat! What a time to be exploring these areas.

After much umming and aaahing we decided on the High Country.

First taste of High Country dirt road

Pineapple Flat, a one and a half hour drive from the town  of Mansfield, was going to be our home for a few nights.

Good driving Matty

The creek crossing to enter Pineapple Flats camping area

Craigs Hut is situated about 45 minute drive on a rough dirt track south east of Pineapple flats on a mountain ridge with a spectacular view that makes you feel minuscule in this universe!

Exiting a steep crossing towards Craigs Hut

High country alright

Craigs Hut is famous as it was built for and showcased in the movie “Man from Snowy River”. I’ve never seen the movie before but Matt filled me in on the details and I plan to watch it soon. Get your hands on it if you can, says Matt.

Picturesque Famous Craig Hut Snap

The view on the hill at Craigs Hut

A very quick lunch (fly sandwiches)

As most of our family and close friends know, Matt and I have dreaded the day something was to go wrong with the big Troll that we cant fix or don’t understand. As we left Craigs Hut we noticed the dash lights not working. Nothing. Not a flicker, no glow plug indication, no fuel gage reading, no speedo, nothing!

“Okay” we both think. No big deal, it’s probably just a fuse and … WE HAVE SPARES! We have spares for nearly every occurrence; we just don’t know what to do with most of them!! In this instance though, we undoubtedly knew where the fuses were and how to change them. We made our way down the hill to a flat clearing and proceeding to test and replace every fuse that seemed reasonable to change. NO LUCK! It isn’t a fuse!

Again, after thinking about it for a few moments we both agreed that it was no big deal as we could still drive the car –what’s the issue right?! It’s not immobilized! We made our way back to camp and assessed the situation. We decided to leave base camp and headed towards the nearest main road to get phone reception and make a call to Roadside Assist the very next day, Friday. Friday morning wasn’t as much of an early start as planned. The Bundy’s and Chardonney the night before might have had something to do with that. We made our way to the main road by about 10am and called Roadside Assist. Not a drama in the world – they will have someone out to check the vehicle out within the hour.

Holy shit didn’t we feel like idiots!!! Old mate from RAVC (contracted by Nissan Roadside Assist) arrived within 30 minutes, took a 2 minute look at the fuses and assessed that the “Meter” fuse had blown! Typically, that was one of the fuses we hadn’t checked. But that wasn’t the end of it!!

We filled up at the nearby Petrol station and within 50 meters of leaving the station, we noticed the dash lights disappeared again. Bugger, old mate had just left and we were on our own again. He did happen to mention that if it happened again, it might be an electrical wiring issue after all and that we should call Nissan or an Auto-leckie for help.

Matt made the call to Nissan Roadside Assist. I got the drift of the conversation from listening in on Matt’s end within the car.

After a few moments of Matt explaining the situation, Sheila from Nissan explained that “technically” the car is deemed immobilized, as it cannot safely be driven to the nearest town without a speedo.

Everything will be alright

      From my end, all I heard was “tow-truck”. Oh shit!

Of course, Matt had to explain the situation entirely. We have an off road camper some 20km’s and 1 hour drive into the hills from our current location that we needed to collect…AND…..we have a boat on the roof of our car. “A boat…what do you mean a boat?” said Sheila from Nissan.

I was giggling in the background mainly from anxiety rather than thinking the matter is funny.

……………

So in a mad rush we headed back to Pineapple flats, packed the camper in record time and made our way to the Petrol station before the tow truck arrived.

Packed up within the hour from this…..

To this…

Matt and I jump in the front of the truck after the same “old mate” that came out as RACV arrived as the truck driver. We looked at each other as we were driving down the road and I knew Matt was thinking the same as me “what on earth is going on and how did we get to be in this situation”.  The Patrol was bouncing around on the back of the tow truck when about 15km from the town of Mansfield I hear Matt say to ‘Old Mate’ “the strap over the left tyre has come undone. Maybe we should pull over and strap it down again”. Old mate, without a moments pause says “NA, we’re almost there”. I grabbed Matt’s leg and squeezed hard as to say, “is he for real???” It must have been his beer-o-clock.

Camper was nearly bigger than the old Rodeo

Thank heavens we made it to the Mansfield Nissan dealership with the Patrol still on the truck, and thanks to Roadside Assist we used an old Rodeo rental car to drag the camper to the Arlzberg Hotel  where we spent  a lovely 2 nights with an actual room, with a Pool, Tennis Court and some Austar Channels. We really couldn’t complain seeing as we have been on the road living out of the camper for nearly 2 months.

The problem ended up being the reverse light cable shorting out causing the fuse to continually blow!

My dear friend Andrea Williams would understand the next paragraph of my reasoning. I often wonder if everything in life doesn’t happen for a reason. As we were packing up at pineapple flat, the thought crossed our mind that perhaps this had happened for a reason and we have to look on the bright side. Arriving in Mansfield we learned that the entire state had been declared a total fire ban for the weekend and the region was on high alert (we had no phone, internet or radio reception at Pineapple Flat). The weather conditions were expected to be worse than those that existed during the exact same weekend five years ago (07.02.2009) on Black Saturday!!

It was not long after Christmas when the Wild West Coast decided to live up to its reputation, so with 70mk/h winds we decided to get the heck out of there. As we made our way to Granville Harbour on the southern end of the Arthur Pieman via Wynyard, the weather turned pear shape. It was a long way around to the South, through to the north first, and then back down as the western explorer road, leading straight from the northwest to the south, was closed due to a landslide earlier in the week.

Once we hit Corinna and while waiting for the fat man to take us over on the barge, (which is misleading because he’s actually quite skinny), we decided to have a couple of cold Bundys next to the warm fire at the Tarkine Hotel. By this time it was nearly 7pm and in hindsight we probably should have pulled up for the night and travelled the rest of the way in the morning. But what the hell, if we had hindsight, we wouldn’t have a story to tell now would we!

Once over the river, we headed into Granville Harbour. By the time we go to Granville, the wind had really picked up, the skies had opened and the temperate dropped to what us Queenslanders would call FREEZING.

As we drove in we came across a couple of young local fellas on Quad bikes who said they would escort us to a sheltered camp site that would be better for us with the campers. An hour and a half of 4WDing through the sand and getting bogged twice, we finally made it to a small bay just big enough for the two campers and a great fire pit in the center. There was a lovely spot to launch the boat and take advantage of the clear blue water in the morning and the young Tucker boys would have had a blast playing and running around the sand. There was only one problem, a locals perception of “sheltered” was no where near what ours were and we had little chance of getting the ladies and kids out of the cars, let alone setting up our campers without something blowing away during the set up or over night. So after a quick thank you beer with the local boys and waiting just long enough to make sure they wouldn’t see us leaving, we set off into the darkness back out again. By the time we got back out to Granville and aired up the tyres, it was nearly midnight. Jon remembered there was a somewhat sheltered car park near Zeehan from a few years ago when he was over with the family so we headed there for the night. Gees I’m glad he has a good memory.

Needless to say, we are now somewhat dubious of “local” advice.

After a quick and restless sleep in the carpark at Zeehan we made the most of our location and went to check out Motezuma Falls. After chatting to some locals who said we should be fine heading in with the campers in toe, we decided to leave the campers behind, and that wasn’t a bad choice at all.

The track in was slow through the rainforest with a few washed out potholes, but it was extremely scenic and refreshing.

A short walk at the end of the vehicle track lead to the falls and the photos speak for themselves. It was rather busy and slow going with the pedestrian limit of two adults or one adult and two children on the bridge at a time.

When it was our turn, we steadily walked on, and I think Matt was holding on tighter than I was because when it was time to turn around and wave to the camera, there was a pause and a look of “oh no” on his face (not that I think I was any better).

So falls done and dusted, lets find the next challenge we decided, after a quick team meeting. We had heard of the Ring River Track, which would take us back to the highway so we could pick up the campers.

Lucky we can confidently say that we were attempting this track with two very well equipped vehicles and again thought we would let the Tuckers lead the way.

Right from the start, this tracked posed a few challenges with some steep muddy descents and deep water holes.

  After a long water crossing that the Tuckers   powered through first, we got the call “give it some, it’s a bit boggy”. So it was no surprise that mud and water came flying over the bonnet and the number plate was dangling on its last legs at the end of the crossing, but we made it.

The track wound in and around the forest, some narrower sections plastering the Troll with deep pin stripes on either side. Bound to happen I guess.

When we came to the Ring River crossing, it wasn’t a simple cross over the river, but rather a short drive up stream before heading back onto the track.

Some previous travellers clearly had some troubles with the track, presumably in wetter weather, as there were logs and shrubs in some of the deep muddy ruts.

We have been lucky so far and all the hard work of logs lying across tracks that needed cutting and ruts filling have been done for us by previous 4WDers.

One number plate repair required, no bogs and we made it back to the highway to collect the campers and head to Strahan for a well-deserved shower and to do some washing.

We couldn’t be in Tassie, with weather as good as we had it, without testing out the old Troll on the infamous Balfour Track just up the road from base camp!

The day after Boxing Day and a few hangovers well set in, we decided to tackle the Balfour. We had seen many videos showcasing the treacherous conditions, heard many stories of the Balfour being closed majority of the time and mixed opinions on how many hours and potentially, days, the track could take to complete.  But as luck has it, we arrived in perfect conditions, the Belfour was open and the local ranger believed it was in a somewhat good condition compared to other times of the year.

All the great conditions in the world would still not have stopped the butterflies in our tummies when we hit the first major crossing. We must admit, it was good to have a crash test dummy in the form of a Toyota Land cruiser piloted by Jon Tucker and the Tucker clan taking the leap of faith before us. Although the track itself was no exceptional challenge, the major water crossing was 70 meters long and over 1 meter at its deepest point, covering the bulbar and seeping slightly through the car door seals and soaking the edges of the Trolls carpet.  It seemed this crossing had intimidated a few other 4WD’s in the past, as there was a “chicken track” on either side of the crossing. Although it was tempting, it was clear that the chicken tracks were in fact mud holes waiting to get a hold of a touring 4wd. We were warned by local rangers to stick to the main track with its solid base to avoid the recovery fee that others before us have paid.

We found that a car engine makes some rather strange noises when its submerged in water. We didn’t know who was going to last the longest, the car or us as we held our breath while the car crawled inches at a time over the 20 odd meters when the engine was fully submerged.

After a water crossing that gets your blood running that fast, some of the other shorter crossings with softer bases didn’t take our breath away quite as much.

All-in-all, the track was another adventure and tick off the bucket list that we wont forget in a hurry.  Check out this short video clip of the major crossing!

Would you learn from previous mistakes ??

Lets rewind…. Easter 2013. A trip over to Brisbane from Innaminka SA, where we decided to stretch the diesel to the next bowser. 40km’s from our destination (dead flat road, no camper, no boat) and the fuel light shines bright. Lucky that day we made our destination before the big Trol decided to die of thirst.

Fast forward…. December 21^st 2013. Coonabarabran to Gilgandra = 93 km and we decided to punch on with a ¼ tank of diesel. Five mountain ranges and 33km into the 93km trip, Matt says “Shit, we are nearly out of juice – we’re turning around”. So back we go to Coonabarabran. Every down hill decent we pick up speed…..110….120…130km’s per hour to hit the uphill incline at 60km per hour without staining the poor Trol.

I think its fair to say we have certainly learnt our lesson FOR NOW!!

As I write this, Matt asks where the nearest Servo is because the tank is 1/3 full with 110km’s to the next main town!! Should we push on?

…………

We arrived in Parkes from Coonabarabran to find that the Goobang National Park was closed due to recent fires. This was going to be home for the night, but instead we pulled into the Spicer Park Caravan Park for a decent shower and toilets for the first time since leaving home – how spoilt are we!

A lazy coffee for breakfast on Sunday morning after a late night at Spicer Park on Cleve’s good old home brewed Bundy. Enough said! The trip from Parkes to Tocumwal could not have gone quick enough, but we finally made it there and parked up next to the Murray River on the Victorian side of the boarder.

Tocumwal Murray River Camp Site

Our Tassie travelling buddies joined us next to the Murray this afternoon with their three very energetic boys. They are an endless source of entertainment and laughter. Matt can’t wait to get them out in the boating bending rods!

We discovered two things over the last few days:-

1)   Don’t bother replacing a cracked windscreen before a trip around Australia. Trucks throw up very BIG stones!

One O’Brien sticker just wasn’t going to cut it!

2)   Don’t pack a $700 fishing rod next to moving draws. Clothes Draw: 1, Fishing Rod: 0 (or 3, if you count the amount of pieces the rod is now in).

NOT HAPPY about the rod!

After much rushing and excitement to get on the road by Thursday! We are still here in Gladdy finalising the last bits and pieces before we take off. The count down is now well and truly on….