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Sundown National Park
21 - 22 April
Trip leader: Eric Rusis
Participants:
Brian McKenzie and Fay Stanley Graham
and Ann Thatcher
Greg Moller and Liz Trembath Jeff Sparkes and son
Jamie
Ken Winders and Di Long Rob and Sylvia Edwards
John and Andrew Hemming
The meeting
place for the start of the trip was McDonalds at Applethorpe. Some of us sampled
the breakfast cuisine at Macca’s while waiting for the rest of the participants
to arrive. After Eric had read the conditions under which we were going to
participate and various members had volunteered for the all important roles of
verbal and written reports/fines officer etc we headed south towards Ballandean
at the very respectable time of 9.30 a.m. Eight vehicles participated including
4 Pajeros (1 SWB), 1 Mitsubishi Delica, 2 Landcruisers and 1 Landrover
Discovery.
All went
well until the first turn off the main road, which yours truly missed, but as
luck would have it, at the next turn we met up with the leader. Some members
claimed they needed to buy some wine for the trip (or perhaps just needed a
quick drink), so we stopped at the Ballandean Estate Winery for supplies and
then headed towards Sundown National Park. After arriving at the gate, we
completed the necessary paper work, dropped tyre pressure and started the trip
towards the campsite.
There are
three main characteristics of Sundown National Park which we came across. The
first of these was dust. It wasn’t long before we came across the second which
was lots of rocks.
We took a
side trip to Red Rock gorge where we left the cars for a 200 metre walk to the
lookout. No sign of the waterfall. Di and Fay mistook the walk to the lookout as
the track to the toilet but by all accounts realised the error of their ways and
did use the room with a view. After our big walk we had morning tea.
The drive
into the campsite was quite interesting as it was the first real 4WD trip I had
done after completing my DAP. Thanks Alan and Macca for running the DAPs which
are a great introduction for us novices.
We arrived
at Burrows Waterhole camping ground which is on the Severn River and set up
camp. Graham and Ken set up their Oztents with the press of a button, at least
it seemed that way. Jeff took a bit longer to find the button on his Oztent. The
Severn River was just a series of large water holes and lots of rocks.
After lunch
we headed out at around 2.30 p.m. on the drive to Rat’s Castle. The trip
involved crossing over and travelling along what used to be a river but is
currently only a rocky riverbed. The main river crossing consists of a rock
outcrop with various steps and ledges. Apparently there was a time when the
crossing was under water whereas now it sits well above the few remaining pools
of water. To Eric’s dismay one of the more challenging aspects of the crossing
had been filled with rocks making the crossing easier for those who chose the
less challenging route. (Guilty!) For those who wanted some more fun Eric guided
them over the various steps and ledges.
Eric pointed
out the more challenging route up the hill on the return journey. There were
some warning signs that this may not be all that easy – the mudflap two metres
up a tree and a few scratch marks on the adjacent trees. Undeterred, Greg in his
short wheel base Pajero made several attempts and had no shortage of advice.
Greg gets full marks for perseverance.
Greg, having
decided that he had had enough fun and in his words, “it’s a long way to get
towed out”, joined the rest of us taking the easier route up the hill. Greg got
part way up the hill when his SWB Pajero went into petrol conservation mode and
remained in this mode for the rest of the weekend. It is times like this that
the value of being part of a club becomes obvious. The outstanding impression is
how much every one pulled together (well some of us just watched) and the skill
of some of the members of the club, especially Ken Winders, Graham Thatcher and
Eric Rusis.
After some
winching up to more level ground, Greg and Liz were towed back to camp by Ken.
This was quoted as “the scariest 4WD trip I’ve ever done” which was made extra
exciting without power brakes or power steering. The dust reduced visibility to
next to nothing for Greg and Liz, comforted only by seeing the feet on the
coffin (Oztent pod) on top of Ken’s vehicle. One particularly rocky section
required a three car tow with Eric’s Pajero connected to Ken’s Landcruiser.
Graham showed everyone that his reflexes are still pretty good by getting out of
the way of a fast moving rock(s?) courtesy of Ken’s Landcruiser. The SWB Pajero
also decided that one of its tyres was too high in pressure and quickly dropped
the pressure a few psi. This brings us to the last of the three characteristics
of Sundown National Park – dust and rocks.
After
following Graham up a side track which he appeared to go up effortlessly, I
started to understand some of the advantages of traction control, but I did make
it after two attempts, albeit with a little less rubber on the tyres than when I
started.
We arrived
back at camp around 5.45 p.m. just in time for happy hour. Ann and Di had a nice
fire going for us and advised that they had made survival plans which involved
raiding the only esky in camp, but fortunately we returned in time.
Despite the
stagnant water in the river bed there weren’t any mosquitoes and everyone had a
very pleasant evening relaxing around the fire.
After
breakfast, we packed up camp and started for Ballandean just after 9.00 a.m.
with the SWB Pajero still in petrol conservation mode closely following behind
Ken’s Landcruiser. Eric towed out Greg and Liz’s campervan. The trip out was
relatively uneventful for those of us following at a respectable distance but
quite challenging for Ken and especially Greg and Liz. The SWB Pajero had
changed colour to “Sundown Soot” by the end of the drive. Just to top off the
weekend, the campervan suffered a broken shock absorber. Greg and Liz must have
a strong claim for the hard luck award for this year.
We left
Sundown National Park around 11 a.m. and stopped in Ballandean to pump up our
tyres. Ken had neatly removed some of the tread from one of his tyres and got to
try out his new high lift jack. Eventually, the manual made an appearance
despite lots of advice from the onlookers. With a little extra manual
intervention to the jack, the tyre was changed and we headed back to Brisbane
separately.
I would like
to thank Eric Rusis for organising and leading the trip. We thoroughly enjoyed
the weekend and would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been to Sundown.
After
visiting the Bramble Patch for lunch and a local winery Sylvia and I headed back
to Brisbane at just the right time to have the car washed by the rain which
removed most of the dust.
Rob Edwards
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