Jimna State Forest

[Fozzy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fozzy]

A group of us headed up into Jimna State Forest today.

A great trip, spoilt by the humungous amount of latana present. I reckon I put more pin stripes on the car in the trip today than in the last 5 years. Gigher Creek Road was particulalry bad, more so because it narrowed in so much that there was no way to turn around so we were commited to carrying on.

The way off the mountain after lunch turned into an ordeal. Whilst the road was visible on the GPS, after a while all that could be seen at ground level was bonnet high grasslands. As the lead car I had to follow subtle clues in the terrain whilst keeping one eye on the GPS to ensure we were heading in the right direction. The high grass meant I couldn't see what the surface was like, whether there were potholes or timber present etc.It was one of the scariest things I have done in a vehicle, at a couple of places there was no margin for error..

Once we were off the mountain the farmer who met us at the gate was very concerned we weren't going to make a habit of the run or encourage others to do the track. To be honest I don't think I'd want to try the run again!

Log Bridge on Middle Road:



Muddy track:



The road out, after 4 other vehicles had covered the terrain:



The view as we descended the mountain:



More photos to come.

Cheers,

Dave

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

I'd like to say I wish I'd come alone Dave but from your reports of all that Lantana, it was probably a good thing I couldn't make this one, as if I had, with my black prado, I think it would have been best I not return home!
It does look like a memorable day though. Were the MAXTRAX broken out again this time?

[Fozzy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fozzy]

I shudder to think what a black car would have looked like Craig. I was in trouble from the boys for not doing enough track clearing from the front spot but we'd still be there I reckon. In the end you just had to ignore the squeal of lantana on paintwork and push on, there was nowhere to turn around on a couple of the worst sections.

It will be interesting to see the damage once I wash the mud off, I'm going to need a 20kg drum of polish I think, I even have a deep gouge right down the centre of the roof. With your sunroof you could have looked up and seen it doing its work.

We didn't need the Maxtrax, the tracks themselves were in good condition overall.

Cheers,

Dave

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

I'll post some pics later on today, but I must say..... I'm VERY GLAD that I took the Zook this time

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Is that view atop Wranger Country? View and the track look familiar.

[Rogerthatv2 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Rogerthatv2]

Looks great Fozzy, apart from the lantana (I hate that stuff).

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

Fozzy...sort of pleased I missed this one, although I sustained a huge wide scratch right down the side of the car on the Belthorpe run. I know exactly where, I think Rob macca was behind me..I'm not fussed though..why I bought 2003 not 2013 car!! Thanks

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Pin stripes or not, I wish I could have come

[Fozzy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fozzy]

Pleased to report that 99% of the scratches have come out so very pleased. If SWMBO had put more effort in it might have been 100%.

I will say, though, that I intend to track down the ancestors of those who introduced lantana into this counrty and give them a darn good thrashing with a particularly nasty bit. Only fair IMHO.

Cheers,

Dave

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

Only 99%? You need to crack that whip harder then Dave! (Prue doesn't read this does she?)

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

As has already been said, it was a great day with great scenery. Good to see the countryside looking nice and green....


Here's some pics:



One of the nice locally made bridges

One of the muddy tracks

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

More pics:


One of the locals



One of those enclosing Lantana Tracks




Here's one for Fozzy

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

One of the few creek xings





Out the other side of Lantana Lane....



The remaining Pics can be located here: PP Stage-2 Bellthorpe Outing

[Jeffers Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jeffers]

Great photos guys, looks like you had a great day!
Sorry I missed it, hopefully get there next time.

Cheers,

Jeff

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Awesome trip. I loved the descent we did the most, down the side of the grassy mountain. I was the 3rd car through and fully appreciate how difficult and nerve racking it would've been for Fozzy to have been the lead car trying to navigate his way through without really knowing where the track was visually a lot of the time. I was following closely behind Bia 88 (only a few meters where possible) to know where the track was and it was still difficult to pick up in parts. The lush green grass covering the track and everything else on the mountain would've completely hidden any washouts , erosion and branches on the track. I'm just glad the track wasn't 'too' cambered towards the drop off and that the grass was reasonably dry. If it was wet you'd be very lucky to make it to the bottom without slipping off the edge in some parts. I was watching the temperature gauge like a hawk when we were descending in the long grass and half expecting the needle to creep up at some stage due to lack of airflow around the radiator and engine and the higher revs from the low range gearing.

I was watching Bia's rear tyres slipping slightly sidewards in parts due to a slight side camber and it was nerve racking to watch. I knew I had to keep the car moving in low range 1st to keep it on track and to keep it tracking straight. If I had road tyres I would've been terrified in some parts on that mountain descent. But all in all, we got down it okay and it was awesome to have done it and been the first people down it in probably years. I asked the farmer's son how long ago it was before previous cars had been down there and he said, "We've never seen anyone else come down that track." The boy was probably 12yrs old give or take. From the bottom where we parked our cars you couldn't even see where we had driven to come down. I looked hard to find the track that lead to our parking spot and for the life of me couldn't see it but it was right there somewhere, just covered in long thick green grass.

The lantana was bad on one of the tracks. It was so closed in quite often with lantana and tree branches that they'd scratch up your bonnet, thump up onto your wind screen and then sound like the world's coming to and end as they scraped, scratched and bashed their way across my roof cage. I was a good feeling to get off that track let me tell ya that haha. I washed the car today and yes, there's some nice surface scratches there stretching their way from front to back along the side of the car. A bit of polish would make most of them disappear though so no biggie. That's why I bought an older car so it didn't matter so much. When I bought it I knew I was going to put scratches on it just by going 4wding in the bush.

I started the car this this morning and put the driver's side window down and immediately smelt fuel. I got out and knelt down for a look underneath on the driver's side. I then walked around to the passenger side and knelt down again and saw a clear liquid going, 'drip, drip, drip.' I crawled under the car and touched it and smelt it. It was fuel. I then saw one of the fuel lines was torn off the 3-way fuel connection switch just before a main fuel line feeds into the fuel filter. A plastic nipple that the fuel line clamped onto had snapped clean off exposing the side of the connector and it was dripping fuel, but only when the car was running, not when it was switched off. The free hanging hose was venting air due to the fuel pump and then made a gargling type noise when I switched the car off for a minute. That loose fuel line ran from the sub-tank which I switched over to the main just before we started the tracks & I hadn't used the sub-tank since. I had very little fuel left in the sub-tank when the hose would've been ripped off. I'm going to book it in a mechanic tomorrow to get it fixed. I think I found the culprit that did it too. A 4 foot long stick 2 inches thick was wedged down the side of the main fuel tank between the tank and its guard. Somehow it found its way in there and took an almighty effort for me to pull it out. For it to get in there it followed a path which the fuel hose was directly on line of. Bia 88 tore a CV boot seal, I tore a fuel line and broke the fuel connection switch but was able to drive home, and we all got scratches haha. Good trip out though. I don't let things like that turn me off. I bought a 4wd to take it off road, not to have it never leave the bitumen. The scenery was terrific. I was great with a smaller group too. I just wish I bought my camera and was snap happy with it to show others exactly what some of the terrain was like. Will have to remember to bring it on the next trip. Great trip guys.

And Rob_macca, that Zook of yours is a little weapon. I hope to see it on more day trips. It's good to follow or see something in the rear view mirror different than a Prado from time to time haha. Change is good

PS: I got the fuel connection switch replaced on 30/04. A new part was $345 fitted. 2nd hand from a wreckers was $245. I went with the 2nd hand part. All good now.