20^th 21^st June 2015

  Lachy Tomas      Trip Leader                                                Jack Cobbold                                                                                  Matt Corp & Mate Dave                                                                Paul Cook & Son                                                                              Bob Montgomery                                                                            Marija & Narelle                                                                            Steve Constable & mate                                                             Tony Clarke                                                                                      Greg Middleton & 2 Kids                                                              Diedrie Mudge

I’d read that the Zig Zag Railway had been burnt down during the October 2013 bush fires that ravished the area, well image my surprise when I pulled up early Saturday morning to find that wasn’t the case, the top station at Clarence is intact complete with an open loo block; what was destroyed was the depot shed, offices, storage area along with some of the rolling stock, let’s hope there’s a future for this great little railway. Continue reading ZIG Zag to Ben Bullen Trip Report →

23^rd May 2015 – 23^rd Jun 2015

What was potentially a convoy of 3 was reduced to a convoy of just 1 (us). This setback had a positive side…..we were able to change our itinerary from 3 weeks to 4 weeks and extend our trip further north to include the Undara Lava Tubes and then return via Carnarvon Gorge.

The countryside was wet and green until halfway between Nyngan and Bourke when the extent of the current drought started to show. Almost until the furthest northerly point of our trip, the landscape can only be described as brown, dry and desolate. Continue reading Dinosaur Trial →

16th – 17th May 2015

PARTICIPANTS:                                                           Dave Edwards – Prado                                                     Sue Robinson – Prado                                                       Joanne Love –Mazda BT50                                             Jackie Cobbald – Nissan Patrol                                 Adrian Newman – Landcruiser                                     Graham Tweedie – Hilux

I thought I’d get an early start for Saturday morning and drive up Friday night but so did everyone else and I was still the last to arrive after somehow losing the way through Paterson and going the long round! I did finally arrive about 9pm and set up camp – in the rain (ably assisted by my wife Michelle who was along for the ride and “observing”).   Continue reading DTU Stage 2 →

14^th June 2015

 Participants                                                                                                                                    Mark Furniss                                                                                                                                     Elizabeth Rudd                                                                                                                                     Richard Lock & Teresa Lock                                                                                                         Sophie Knox                                                                                                                                       Paul Cook                                                                                                                                           Sergiu Lisnic                                                                                                                                     Frank Adams                                                                                                                                 Wayne Prendergast

On a cold Sunday morning I set out to do my first ever 4WD course at Cooranbong Community Services Centre. The night before I had been sleeping in a tent at my son’s scout camp at Camp Kariong so it was with great trepidation I attended the course. I arrived early and was greeted by the presenters setting up for the theory part of the day. Continue reading DTU Stage 1 →

Mid Week Trip Report

                                                       28th April to 3rd May, 2015

Participants:

• Tony Clarke – Trip Leader – Mitsubishi Challenger
• Bev Fort – “The Lady Wears Prado”
• Alan Bull – Nissan GQ
• Bob and Monica – FJ Cruiser

I was looking forward to this trip, having bagged a week of work at short notice, and always having been envious that Bob, being self employed, could give himself time off to go enjoy mid week jaunts, without the usual hordes generally encountered on the tracks and at campsites on the weekends.

We packed the car the day before and headed off bright and early.  We had a good run, and had plenty of time to fuel up and run a few errands on arrival at Braidwood. First stop, the butcher for a ‘leg o lamb’ as I was planning a camp oven roast one night.  Next stop, the bakery for coffee and a bun, and meet up with the rest of the crew.  Bev soon joined us, followed by TC, and then we headed off to join Al, and depart on our mid week jaunt. Continue reading Oulla Creek/Bendethera and Wadbilliga →

Well, Scott and I decided to save ourselves a very early rise and headed off to the Blue Mountains on Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning. We stayed at the Clarendon Hotel in Katoomba which is like taking a step back in time. The décor and feel of the place, down to an open fire in the lounge with lots of board games and old books, was like being on the set of a 1950’s movie. The service was friendly, the location quiet and the accommodation basic but clean. There were plenty of eateries within walking distance and we braved the Brass Monkey weather and settled on Ruby’s restaurant, reasonably priced and quiet but most importantly, warmer than it was outside. Continue reading Gibraltar Rocks Trip →

Monday 20/04/2015 – Balranald

We were greeted in Balranald with freezing cold weather and wind that nearly blew your socks off.  We all booked into the Balranald Van Park after individually arriving in the rain. We went to the pub for dinner on our first night so that introductions could be made. The next day all packed up and left the caravan park breaking into two groups so that the second team could visit Yanga Homestead and the woolsheds. Then rejoin the group at Wentworth for the rest of the trip along the Darling River. Continue reading Darling River Run Tour →

Friday April 3 to Monday April 6 2015

Trip leaders, Tony Clark and Faye Goodman                                                                            Also on the trip were:  Deirdre Mudge, Bev Fort, Jo Love,  Narrelle and Maria, Scott Horne, Jacky Cobbold, Trevor Banks, Glenn and Clarissa, Matt, Carole, Daniel and Lucy, Young George Cook (who was also known as Juicy George, the reason for this will be revealed later!)

The trip started on Good Friday, 9.30am in Gloucester Carpark, we were joined by Jo Love who has recently rejoined the club.

Tony gave a brief run-down of what we were going to do over the next four days.  Once we hit dirt we aired down and headed to Blue Knob lookout, unfortunately due to the bad weather there was no view at the lookout just lots of mist and imagination. Continue reading Styx and Stones Trip →

Participants:

Bev Fort  – Prado                                                                                                                             Brian Payne – Landcruiser 100 series                                                                                           Tony Clark and Faye Goodman – “Big Bill”                                                                             Elizabeth Rudd and Mark Furness- Troopy

The Manning Valley is a beautiful part of the World – and very underrated in my opinion.  On recent club trips we have been close to its headwaters up in the Barringtons and swum in its rapids at Woko.  But when it gets close to the coast, the Manning really gets serious about scenic beauty.  Farquhar Inlet is situated at the estuary of one of two branches of the Manning and its serenity is enhanced by the fact that it is only accessible by boat or four wheel drive along the beach.  It is inhabited by many seabirds including rare Little Terns, Pied Oystercatchers, Pelicans and as you will read later – giant bream. Continue reading Farquhar Inlet – 28-29 March, 2015 →

18-19th April 2015!

Hosted by TC and Faye!

Convoy                                                                           TC and Faye challenger                                             Bev prado                                                                     Grant and his mrs patrol                                           Mark and Liz troopie                                                 Glenn and Clarissa patrol                                     Lachlan and his mrs patrol                                       Chilly discovery

As we didn’t fancy waking up early we decided to stay at a B&B ten minutes away from Gloucester. To our understanding the meeting point was in the car park ( “the carpark in the centre of town!”) it just so happens that Gloucester has ” several car parks in the centre of town!” You do the math, we were late! Continue reading Cells River Trip →