Landcruiser Mountain Park

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I'm planning to get up to Landcruiser Mountain Park for the 1st time with a few mates, over the Anzac weekend. We'll have two vehicles for 4 blokes. My 07 manual D4D Prado, and a mates 07 V6 auto Paj. No mods. Mine is shod with Cooper ATRs and an ARB Sahara bar. Otherwise no lifts etc. Can anyone recommend any particular tracks that will be relatively challenging without destroying our daily drives?

Also, for camping, any suggestions for a spot or area thats not going to be too crowded?

I'm keen to see how the D4D will perform against the Pajero and its traction aids. I'm pretty confident that the torque, low range and good articulation of the Prado will hold its own against the tech of the Paj.

I've tried the search button but havent found much on this location and there's not a great deal of info on their website. Any info re LCMP would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Mark

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

Mark, when you get their you will sign in and get a map, all the tracks are rated easy to hard and are colour coded which is easy to follow.
Happy wheeling.

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Thanks Hutch, I guess we'll start on Easy and work our way up from there.

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

That's is pretty much what the park is designed for, to build you skill level, just be careful if it rains though as everything pretty much turns sour.

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

i normally start with green, play on a few green hills, then move up to the yellow and there's a couple of tricky but not too hard yellow hills.

plenty of fun to be had in any case!

as hutch said though, bit of rain and even the easy tracks can introduce some challenges!

may be a bit busy on the long weekend though. which can be both bad and good. (good to have others around to help if things go wrong but you may find your crossing paths a bit!

it's a great place! i'm very keen to get up there again.

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

Maybe we could plan a trip up their one day, i have only been once, would like to go back one day but have to go with others, When you are "Colour Blind" like me could easily end up on the wrong track. Someone else would have be trip leader!!!!

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

LCMP is great for variety

Last trip up there though... some yellow (medium) tracks are becoming more like light red (extreme) tracks.

When it rains (and it did on me half way round a green track :evil: ) the greens can easily get tricky. The green tracks can turn into ice rinks quite easily... that said, they dry out quickly too.

'The Gums' camp ground is where I've always stayed (that's where the Overlander Forum people always stay). Hot showers and toilets... don't count on them being overly clean or hot for long on a long weekend.

A good starting trip is...


Depart from the Gums... away from the office, towards the 'Pig Pen'
Along Hawkins rd,
Right at the T Junction (staying on Hawkins Rd)
Continue past 'The Sure Track'
Continue past 'Timber rd'
Right onto '60 series Hwy'
Continue past 'Leo's lane'
Continue past 'Oldmanemu way'
Left onto 'Fourby's Fwy'
Right onto 'Bundera Bypass'
Right onto 'Daiper Rd'
Follow Daiper Rd back to the Gums.

That's usually the route I follow when everyone else is having a nana nap or they've gone home
Add a few yellow tracks as you see fit

The 'Rain Forest' says 'DRY WEATHER ONLY' for a reason... VERY slippery clay when it's wet.

I did 'Club Rally Circuit' last time (yellow track) and I'd say it's not far of becoming an orange graded track :shock:

First time out a few years back... took my then stock 90 series up 'Telecom hill' and down again with no problems (but there has been lots of rain since then... a lot more washed out now.

Most importantly... play safe and have fun

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Thanks fellas, I'm looking forward to getting up there and having a good look around. Thanks Snaga for the directions and the map. I ended up picking one of the maps up from the local ARB shop, when I went in to get something the other day. I'll be printing off your suggested route as a guide to start with.

We'll just see how we go I guess. Has been a little bit of rain around so I'm expecting it to be a little muddy. Hopefully not to the point it restricts us too much.

Might post some pics next week, form the trip. Kids trashed my digital camera the other day, so I'm going to have to get my hands on a camera before then...bugger. Keen to see how the Prado goes up against the new Paj.

Will let you know. Thanks again.

Cheers

Mark

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

Hi Mark,
I was almost going to LCMP myself but the handbrake has to work. Our club has a trip organised for the same time as you.
Have fun mate.
cheers

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Well, I got back from LCMP this afternoon. Had a great time. Stuck to the green tracks mostly. Had a crack at a couple of yellow sections. Some of the hills on Prado Parade were good fun and induced a few moments of "pucker". I was impressed with the 1st gear low range of the 6speed manual. The V6 Auto VRX Paj I was with did not seem to handle the steep downhill sections anywhere near as well as the Prado, and it was pretty cool to watch its tech aids kicking in. I must say, the traction control system on the Pajero was pretty impressive. Point & Shoot was how I described it. On some steeper rutted clinbs, when my wheel travel ran out, I lost traction and had to back up and try another line, whereas the Paj would lose traction, momentarily, then push on. Shame they dont offer TC on the GXL. Despite that, the Prado was very impressive and the D4D engine is a beauty. It would just chug up hills at half the rpm that the V6 paj needed.

Saw a SWB Patrol on a car trailer that had rolled and pushed the roof in a fair way on the drivers side. Serves as a reminder that things can go wrong and I dont know that I would be trying to many more yellow tracks with my nice new prado. We took it easy though and managed to bring both cars home without any damage.

LCMP is a great camping spot. We found a great spot at the end of Horseshoe bend road and camped there. A lot of deer around that place too. Nice spot, great weekend. Looking forward to getting back again sometime.

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

good stuff blacksheep!

any pics?

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No mate, unfortunately the kids trashed my camera a few days out from leaving and hadnt done anything about it. I did take my video camera, but it never left the bag. Hopeless...

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

Glad you enjoyed the LCMP experience

It's amazing how that place transforms when there is an event or something on... :shock:
Much nicer when it's a bit quieter

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Les,

on the way up the range, I passed a group of 4WD's gathered at a side track or cutting. It may have been your club as there were quite a few vehicles. I've been thinking of looking into joining a club up here (Toowoomba). Would be a great way to learn more and get to know some of the local destinations as well. Do you have any affiliation with a club up here?

Cheers

Mark

[spender Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spender]

Leon - perhaps a SEQ PP camping trip would be the go. What do you think.

Never been to LCMP and keen to go after early June - perhaps a Brass Monkey camp in the cold!!!!

Glad you enjoyed the LCMP experience

It's amazing how that place transforms when there is an event or something on... :shock:
Much nicer when it's a bit quieter