BreakawayOffroad4x4.com.au

Well some of us met at Aratula BP when the rest went to the Shell, for our trip to Glendon so I'm writing the trip report.
Ben, Jane and kids.
Dave, Belinda And Kids
Steve, Yvonne and Simon
Mark, his brother Graham and kids
Tim and Allan
Visitors Charlie and Kate and kids

All headed of from Aratula at 9:30 up the range of a weekend of interesting driving .
Half way up the range it looked like we were heading in to cloud and a wet weekend but it was only the smoke blowing from the newly tuned Toyota's up front.
Under a cloudy Sky we met with Dave's mates Paul and Kerry just out of Warwick and headed of to the camp site.
After setting up camp and having a bite to eat we headed of to explore the new park to see what it had to offer.
We head down the track signed to mines, after looking at a couple of small holes full of rubbish we come onto
Three deep holes used to mine gold, it would take some digging out of the rock in the old days.
Then to the look out at the highest point on the property which give great views of the surrounding country and lots of roos.
Back out the hill we found a washed out dam Tim decided that it would make an interesting of camber drive with a drop off at the end. After he went through Ben could not help himself and had to have a go.
Up the next hill and we need to do so road building to get us all up. Down the other side Ben discovered a wash out that looked promising with steep drop offs and steep climbs out. After Ben, Kerry had to have a go followed by Allan, Mark and Paul.
Heading back to camp and we found the lake (biggg dam) Ben and Kerry coming at the rear of the convoy decided to clean their bonnets, more on this later. Back to camp and time to set the fire for the night. Glendon sell firewood and we got $20 buck worth, $5 would have done the job, so we had a great fire and had plenty left for Sunday.

Sunday morning after a short light shower of rain during the night the morning start up nice and fine. After breakfast and coffee around the fire we headed of at 8:30am and head down the uninspiring sounding " flat track". This track went around the other side of the lake and lead to four interesting hill climbs. Well descents to start with, so we spend some time going up and down these climbs as all were having a good time testing their skills. At the bottom of the last two climbs was a water feature which looked like trouble. Kerry decided that it need to be crossed so after Paul had walked through, of she went only to have all four wheels spinning half way across. Ben had to come to the recuse with a winch on the tow bar. Not to let a bit of water the get in the way, Kerry had to have another go with a bit more right foot, and managed to shoot out the other side. Dave could not allow other Prado show him up so he was next thought the pond. Followed by Ben and then Allan who had to back up and go again. Then we followed tracks around the park, we believe we covered most tracks there including a little run down a creek bed. We could not go back to camp without trying to clean our bonnets at the spot that Ben and Kerry had found the night before. So thought the water again Ben followed by Paul then Tim, as Tim did not get his bonnet wet the first time so he had to go back the wrong way,this time the bonnet got wet.

Back to camp for some lunch, then pack up, the end of another great weekend of 4x4 fun

Good report Boxy, you didn't waste any time getting that up there. And thanks for organising a great trip Ben.

I didnt get many phontos, but here are a couple to get the ball rolling.

Ben sporting some new trailer mods at the Aratula Shell.


The arrival at Glendon


All the cars on top of the hill


Yvonne doing a little gully crossing.

Great trip report, Boxy.

The first few mines weren't much chop. The other ones further down the hill had proper shafts but not proper protective barriers.



This dam had a small leak.



Dave has some good maps (trying to find our way home).



On the "flat track" we found the only steep hills.



At the bottom of one of these hills we found a little puddle. Paul made the mistake of wearing sandals, so he was volunteered.



They said we could make our own track, so I took everyone on a few exploratory trips through the plains.



A creek bed is a ready-made track!



I was really impressed with the camping facilities there.

I finally had some time to review some photos. I have many more interesting photos, so bring along a USB drive/stick to this Sunday's meeting, and I'll bring along my laptop for people to download photos of their vehicles.

The gold mine shafts were interesting. Is that gold down there?


The stop at the top of the hill was very scenic.


We drove over a few hills on tracks with a lot of green on either side.


The wash-outs were providing some interesting challenges


And strangely no one was going to drive over this one.


Even with all the rain in Brisbane, the ground at Glendon was still a little dry, and it was easy to slide backwards off a dry track with lots of loose gravel. Getting a little close to a tree here.


And then we were waiting for the red light to change. Congestion in the bush.


A prize shot. The rare 4x4Fordus out on the range(r). With few natural predators, it freely roams the countryside. Unfortunately, it didn't realise it was being stalked by the deadly ........


Nissan


A Prado giving a wash-out a test.


A Nissan easily navigating the terrain.


The camp fire at the end of the first day was great.






On the Sunday, we found some steep hills, and Dave made a joke about driving through the pond. But Keri was fearless, and gave it a go, and got about half way. So the Prado was taken for a bubble bath ..... bubbles were coming from the exhaust.

But after being winched out, Keri showed her skills and gave it a second go, and made it through. Dave, Ben and Tim/Allan then had to follow .... after Keri showed it could be done.

The scenery was nice, and probably greener than it's been in years.


Some of the tracks were a little rocky. Oh wait, that was a dry creek bed.


Around lunch time Dave realised why a white car was so cheap to buy.


Although the car was did help a little.


Unfortunately the time to go home came around too quick. But even the road home was scenic.


Where's the video you ask? I'll work on it over the week-end. I have lots of footage of many vehicles doing interesting things, including a Prado taking a bath, various hill climbs, vehicles driving through wash-outs, etc.

But here is a sample.


Cheers
Dave.

What a fantastic weekend we all had. Here are just a few photos of the fun! Thanks Ben for organising it.