Friday of the Australia Day long weekend we travelled down to Braidwood with Auntie Bev and met up with Brad and Sue Moore at Berlang Campground (by Big Hole).  We had a pleasant evening and in the morning drove back into Braidwood to meet the rest of the crew. Braidwood’s a great little town and because we weren’t meeting till late morning we had chance to wander the market in the town park and peruse the shops and cafes.  I know Braidwood bakery is supposed to have a bit of a good reputation but it’s over rated in my opinion; there are shorter queues and better service to be had at the many other cafes.

Enough of that waffle. Why is this trip report called “Wheels of Fire” you ask?  Well I’ll tell you.

Trip Leaders.           TC & Faye.                           Mitsubishi Challenger.

Members.

Steve “Lightning”  & Tracey Murray.                    Mitsubishi Pajero.

Brad & Sue Moore.                                                    Nissan GU Patrol.

Glenn McCreadie & Clarissa Bright.                      Nissan GU Patrol.

Jim & Carolyn Elcoate.                                            Toyota LC70 Tray Back Ute.

Bob Montgomery & Monica Porteous.                 Toyota FJ Cruiser.

Dave & Michelle Edwards.                                      Toyota 150 Prado.

Bev Fort.                                                                      Toyota 120 Prado.

Jason Harmer.                                                          Toyota 120 Prado.

Bruce Close.                                                 Nissan Navara D22 Ute.

We were travelling along the Dampier Mountain Fire Trail en-route to Bendethra listening to the rumbles of thunder rolling around the hills and seeing the odd flash of lightning off in the distance when; “BANG”!!!! What the hell, cripes that was close; too close as we were about to discover.

“The Pajero’s hit” came over the radio, What!

Steve “Lightning” Murray and Tracey his wife had the total misfortune to be passing within metres of a tree that was hit by a lightning bolt; that bolt then tracked across ground to their car and blew two tyres out and covered the Pajero with shredded wood. What are the odds of that happening? We were about a hundred metres in front and it felt like a bomb went off, goodness knows what “Lightning” and Tracey felt. The call came that they were both shaken but not hurt, good news.  The bad news was two tyres flat and only one spare. TC and Faye drive a Mitsubishi Challenger so their spare was considered a close enough match and put to use, whilst the brave few changed the tyres the rest of us stayed where it was deemed safest, in our trucks. Cars apparently act as Faraday cages so the charge dissipates through the steel body; the tyres offer no insulation. Luckily the Pajero had no electrical issues so we got going quick smart and got off the ridge. We saw plenty of other lightning as we headed for Bendethra but nothing hit close, phew good job.

That afternoon in camp Jim helped “Lightning” to plug the two tyres, one held to be kept as a spare the other needed multiple plugs and was kaput.  This left the Pajero running two different size tyres (the spare was an original stock size), the smaller (stock size) were put on the front, the slightly bigger ones on the rear. This did cause some issues with warning lights flashing but for “lightning” who had earlier dealt with Thor; no worries. This difference in tyre size front and rear causing the warning lights to flash was later confirmed by an NRMA patrol man in Braidwood. It also transpired that “Lightning” had only recently purchased and fitted these new tyres to the Pajero; bugger.

The rest of the trip was uneventful really, except to give a young man a lift to the top of the hill just out of Bendethra. He’d flooded his Nissan ute crossing the river to the campground; we took him to where he could get a telephone signal, when he’d managed to get in touch with someone we gave him water and snacks and he was happy for us to leave him and walk back to his vehicle.

We had lots of river crossings mostly about wheel deep but a couple of times we had water over the bonnet; the last one we chose to give a miss, it was running a bit fast.  Jim, TC and myself waded up stream to have a good look and decided if we really had no choice we could do it but why take the chance when we had other options.

So all up, a real interesting weekend.  It’s not every trip a truck gets hit by lightning, in fact I’ve never heard of it before. Top marks to all who helped “Lightning” and Tracey; it’s why we’re such a good club, members pulling together come what may. Thanks to Faye and TC for yet another unforgettable trip, top job guys.