Tweet
Hi All,
Having just recently purchased my Prady, and done a few trips on the soft sands of Stockton, went down and bought myself a recovery kit, got on the blower to some mates and asked them to take me bush for the day, to break my bush virginity they decided Monkey Gum was a good spot to take a beginnner on one of the wettest weekends the Southcoast has experienced.
A small puddle near the end of Monkey Gum
Up early Sunday morning and headed down to Wollongong, shoved the ruggies and the esky in the back of the Prady, where at Mt Ousley we were greeted by an exceptionally heavy downpour that slowed progress to a crawl for a fleeting moment, but alas the guys on Ch40 kept my spirits up. Met up with the boys at Gerringong before pushing onto Nowra, just beyond Nowra Fair we threw a right and headed towards Yalwal National Park.
Boolijong Creek (More like a small river)
First stop was Deans Gap rd, bucketing down we quickly reached for the jackets and dropped some air before chucking it into 4WD. I was a little egdy not knowing what to expect with the weather so nasty but its too late to turn around now, we are off. We headed down quite a slippery rd before we reached Mint Bush Fire trail. Looking quite washed out, Mintys was a combination of sandstone and rock, with a few small watering holes and what looked like waterfalls running down some moderate terrain. Threw it into Low to descend some steep rocky sections where I started exfoliating the underbody of the Prady as I chose wrong lines and went a little too quick (ouch!!). Nothing extremely challenging or scary until we reached Boolijong creek whilst on Wombat Plat Rd, which was more like a river. Some MB's braved the crossing and had to empty the airboxes, but the descent to the creek almost resulted in a rollover and a bruised ego so we headed back.
Spot of Lunch Before going to Monkey Gum
Went over to the back entrance to Monkey Gum, got a little more interesting here where water holes turned into Olympic sized swimming pools but at most only waste deep.
Choosing the right line was going to be important and we quickly had the snatchy out for our leader who didnt want to get his thongs wet, and the Explorer decided to take some water with a undisturbed 3 year old inside. More caution beyond that but some very challenging, big, long wet holes to break me, the Prady and my terrified 13yr old daughter in (parenting is great !!!!). We got down to the lookout where we stopped to scope out some heavy terrain heading down towards the creek. Sensibility and the laws of physics got the better of us that day as what ever goes down must come back up and she was going to be hard work for the winches. Whilst at the lookout found some campers who's car we had identified as being burnt out at the start of the track, unaware we decided to take these guys back to see what they could salvage before calling it a day.
Old mates Car!
With some new pinstriping decorating my Prady, and a quick trip down to Carlovers for a wash, I declare that I was impressed, am looking forward to new challenges and hope to see yas out on the track one day.
FInally got pics attached, due to inclemant weather my daughter didnt want to take any action shots from outside the car, perhaps next time. But very wet as you can see!!!
Having just recently purchased my Prady, and done a few trips on the soft sands of Stockton, went down and bought myself a recovery kit, got on the blower to some mates and asked them to take me bush for the day, to break my bush virginity they decided Monkey Gum was a good spot to take a beginnner on one of the wettest weekends the Southcoast has experienced.
A small puddle near the end of Monkey Gum
Up early Sunday morning and headed down to Wollongong, shoved the ruggies and the esky in the back of the Prady, where at Mt Ousley we were greeted by an exceptionally heavy downpour that slowed progress to a crawl for a fleeting moment, but alas the guys on Ch40 kept my spirits up. Met up with the boys at Gerringong before pushing onto Nowra, just beyond Nowra Fair we threw a right and headed towards Yalwal National Park.
Boolijong Creek (More like a small river)
First stop was Deans Gap rd, bucketing down we quickly reached for the jackets and dropped some air before chucking it into 4WD. I was a little egdy not knowing what to expect with the weather so nasty but its too late to turn around now, we are off. We headed down quite a slippery rd before we reached Mint Bush Fire trail. Looking quite washed out, Mintys was a combination of sandstone and rock, with a few small watering holes and what looked like waterfalls running down some moderate terrain. Threw it into Low to descend some steep rocky sections where I started exfoliating the underbody of the Prady as I chose wrong lines and went a little too quick (ouch!!). Nothing extremely challenging or scary until we reached Boolijong creek whilst on Wombat Plat Rd, which was more like a river. Some MB's braved the crossing and had to empty the airboxes, but the descent to the creek almost resulted in a rollover and a bruised ego so we headed back.
Spot of Lunch Before going to Monkey Gum
Went over to the back entrance to Monkey Gum, got a little more interesting here where water holes turned into Olympic sized swimming pools but at most only waste deep.
Choosing the right line was going to be important and we quickly had the snatchy out for our leader who didnt want to get his thongs wet, and the Explorer decided to take some water with a undisturbed 3 year old inside. More caution beyond that but some very challenging, big, long wet holes to break me, the Prady and my terrified 13yr old daughter in (parenting is great !!!!). We got down to the lookout where we stopped to scope out some heavy terrain heading down towards the creek. Sensibility and the laws of physics got the better of us that day as what ever goes down must come back up and she was going to be hard work for the winches. Whilst at the lookout found some campers who's car we had identified as being burnt out at the start of the track, unaware we decided to take these guys back to see what they could salvage before calling it a day.
Old mates Car!
With some new pinstriping decorating my Prady, and a quick trip down to Carlovers for a wash, I declare that I was impressed, am looking forward to new challenges and hope to see yas out on the track one day.
FInally got pics attached, due to inclemant weather my daughter didnt want to take any action shots from outside the car, perhaps next time. But very wet as you can see!!!
Comment