*Please add your own stuff in here guys, this will just be an outline*
Gallagags, Mugginsmoo and I cruised down to Neerim on Friday night - stopping at Innocent Bystander/Giant Steps in Healesville for some of the best pizza anywhere.
We had a quick run out to Neerim and were in camp by before 11.00pm.
Saturday -
Everyone was raring to go, the film crew were at the van park by about 8.10, and Luke, Greg and Cj were all in early. after the normal stuffing around for fuel, food etc. We were underway. The film crew were a little bit (ok, a lot) freaked out that we didn't have any enclosed cars for them.
After some small navigational difficultes, we were on the first track of the day a descent into a creek with some interesting lines out of it. That kept us entertained for a while, with some cool lines to play on.
We headed off to Young's track, and pretty soon in found a cool washed out area with some way deep ruts. Whilst checking it out, Muggins and Gallagags found another track containing the big ledge that had been talked about.
We ran the ruts and drove some pretty good angles. I had a crack at the big ledge, and almost made it but Piggles took its first post widetrack "rest" on the ledge. It pushed back onto it's wheels pretty easy and we moved on. Unfortunately the rest of Young's track had been graded about 20 minutes before and was about 6" deep in the deepest finest dust I've ever seen.
we hooked back into the old track (unmaintained, thankfully) and ran some holes that were pretty cool, steep exits and tight.
out of Young's track, we headed off to the fenceline. on the way though, Gallagags had a check engine light come on and surging at idle. He ran the diagnostics, but we hadn't brought the code list with us. While I was trying to instruct seonaid on how to find them on the computer at home. Michael found the problem - a broken MAP sensor barb (it had been hitting the brake line next to the master cylinder) we glued it to look at a repair, then realised an ARB airlocker diff fitting threaded in (badly, but OK) so we set that up and it ran the rest of the tour.
The fenceline had a couple of biggish climbs in it, one though was super steep and technical at the bottom. Piggles did fine, but it was much sketchier for the SWB cars. Gallagags really struggled with traction and getting his new power down through the auto and at one stage the car turned across the hill and looked like it might go over. Greg walked it OK but only just.
Lukes 40 was plagued by patchy lockers and his winch as getting a workout, but he was doing really well.
it was getting late, so we pulled the pin at this stage and after some confusion with corner marking, we made it back to Neerim for Pizza.
Not unfairly, we were getting a bit of attention from the local traffic unit . Unsurprisingly, as we moved off we "had a little chat" with them. They were very reasonable, and whilst they did give us a little list of things to fix and present to vicroads, they wished us a good weekend.
we made it to Yarra Junction about 11.00pm, had a couple of relaxing ales, and hit the hay.
Day 2 was the "weakest" day. We'd pretty much broken the camera crew on day 1. They came out, but their heart wasn't in it. James and Anthony joined us, and we did the camera crew thing at the bottom of Cemetary, drove cemetary, justice, and onto Cummings spur.
The Bog hole on Cummings spur was in fine form. Unlike cup day, I was denied, Greg was denied, Anthony was denied, and amazingly, despite almost literally drowning Mugginsmoo (really) in mud... (he was scooping it out of his lap) Michael was denied too. We called a break to rinse out Muggins.
The run up the spur went well, James got a bit "comfortable" with the bank but that was all. there was another break at the top to rinse out Michaels radiator, and it was back down cemetary and across to run the little track with the moguls. These are now pretty tame, but running a big line saw greg successful and Michael VERY stuck. Luke did the honors to pull him out.
We dropped down to Britannia creek and Anthony, James and Camera crew left us.
We went for a run to check out Ely Creek, but in all honesty, it wasn't worth the effort to get into the creek for what the climb out was worth. We pulled the pin for the day, and had an earlier night - hitting Cunninghams beer garden for some tasty parma and beverages.
Day 3- the camera crew didn't make it out - took us out to Ellis, where a big rock in the rock section had us playing for a while, and we ran Lady Walkers (down) whch I'd never run before. It's nothing special in the dry but would be cool up in the wet.
we looked at another old track (closed) and then ran onto condon track, were I picked up an old track I'd never seen. It was a corker - A big rock and then a really big ledge, along with some spooky of camber stuff. we were having a ball, but Greg got a bounce up on the ledge and his car gave an almighty bang. We set it up to pull an axle, but after getting both axles out, it turned out to be a rear R&P - Damn! That was Greg's tour over.
It was pretty hot and we were one car down, so we called it over and motored down Britannia to finish up. Greg called total care, Michael and I hit the car lovers in Healesville, and we were back at my place by about 8.00pm.
Well, that was the tour.
I'll post some pics- if anyone has any good shots throw them in here.
Steve.
