Friday night’s campsite saw a staggered entry to camp. Daniel was able to head up early and reserve a cosy little campsite next to the creek. Little setup meant a quick pack up the next morning. Luckily with the campsite being quite close to Mansfield, people were able to head back into town to get last minute forgotten supplies.
The day’s 4x4ing saw a big mix of difficulty as we snaked our way up and down mountains past Lake William Howell and Lake Cobbler. A new route to me meant we were able to take tracks that provided new perspectives on the classic landscape that is the High Country.
Travelling across Bushfire scarred terrain we saw many different areas in assorted points of regeneration. Dropping down into Abbeyard we scooted up the valley road only to find a disappointing campsite next to a very shallow creek. A snap decision pushed us towards
Lake Buffalo where not to far along the valley road we bumped into a hidden campsite right on the river bend. A perfect spot with big, deep pools to watch Daniel work some magic so we could listen to the top 10 of the Hottest 100.
Top up of oils and water the next morning saw us backtrack up Schultz track over a mountain range and into Buckland Valley. A couple of wrong turns found us back on the right track as we “mooved” past some enormous shaggy cows and onto Twin Jeeps Track.
Rattling along the rocky track that is Twin Jeeps, we shot off the side for lunch just as it turned into Bourke St. With the weather heating right up we powered along the high plains road and all the way down to the river flats of the Dargo River. Thankfully to round out the day, the last track had a nice hairy decent with big wombat holes which pushed most vehicles suspension to the limit. Funnily enough this wasn’t the last serious obstacle of the day. While hunting for a campsite Kris accidentally found himself in alittle bit of a pickle. Turning out of a potential spot he cut the corner and fell into a hidden ditch and became locked in with the massive boulder jamming his tray. After a few laughs, we determined this was the spot for tonight and set to work prying him free, throwing down our gear and jumping into the river.
Monday was a stinker, from the moment we awoke the heat was upon us. Cranking the heater to give me alittle extra cooling capacity up the high pains road, we wound our way up to the Grant Cemetery. Luckily the heat was much more bearable in the forest canopy and at this altitude. An hours work saw the place tidied up. After a picture we hopped back on the road and travelled downing Collingwood Spur Track and onto Crooked river Track. Navigating a few river crossings and the many people swimming we switched onto another track that had a few strangers struggling.
After a quick hold up we trundled along and back into the Dargo, and let me tell you we couldn’t get into the river quick enough!
A truly delicious pub meal and cold beers saw a fantastic end to very memorable trip. Thankyou to everyone who came and helped tidy the Grant Cemetery.
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