Mayford + Blue Rag

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Reminds me of a past life, well before Prado. Reef Hills was almost twice the size as the freeway hadn't been built and I was into rallying, mid 1980s. Reef Hills was ffffast! 150kph plus on the main roads at night in drizzling rain....
35kph in low range can seem fast these days.

I reckon I could get the Prado up to 150 down Reef Hills Road (the main one down the centre) if I knew there was no other traffic.
The park does still technically exist on both sides of the freeway, though the part on the north side isn't as accessible as the main part on the south.

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Not Really Mayford at all

So, with the track into Mayford closing this week, our postponed trip will not be heading there. Instead, the plan is to do the Buckland and Blue Rag, then head toward Dargo and take the Upper Dargo Road to a camp site on the river.
We plan to then take the Upper Dargo Road/Berrigun Road up to Dogs Grave and then North to Dinner Plain on the Dinner Plain Track.



Does anyone know much about these tracks? The stretch from Dogs Grave to Dinner Plain could be dicey depending on the weather apparently.

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Tomorrow is take 2 D-Day.
It seems that the weather gods are finally possibly on our side...

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Have fun!

Lots of pics please

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The Report

Righto, so after a 2 week wait, we finally got to get out and hit the tracks in the High Country.

Our trip technically began in Benalla, but thats not interesting. It then started again when we caught up with the last of our 6 car convoy (A Pajero, a 100 Series Land Cruiser, a Navara, a Pathfinder an FJ Cruiser and the Prado) in Myrtleford...Also not that interesting. The interesting bit started when we aired down at the intersection of Buckland Valley Road and the Goldie Spur Track.



We travelled up the Goldie Spur Track in high range, as this was just another dirt road. At the top, we swung left onto the Yarrabuck Track. This is where low range was first required. Climbing this track took a fair bit longer than expected but it was definitely enjoyable.



We regrouped where the Yarrabuck Track turned into the Buffalo Range Track and stopped for a leg stretch and snack. We then proceeded to climb until we hit the highest point on this track where the Pajero of our convoy was getting a bit hot.




From here, I became lazy with the camera, and we travelled to the Twin Creeks Track and onto the Dingo Creek Track. Both of these were fairly easy going low range tracks with plenty of good scenery. I will raid other peoples photos to upload here at a later date.

We stopped briefly at the intersection of Selwyn Creek Road and Tins Jeep Track for lunch. This was a hurried affair as it was already pushing into the afternoon. We followed this track all the way down to the Great Alpine Road where we swung onto the Dargo High Plains Road.
The High Plains Road was in a terrible state, and probably hammered everyone's vehicle more than any thing else.

We took the High Plains Road as far as Ritchies Road where we took a right turn and descended into the valley. We found a quaint little creek side camp site just after the first creek crossing of the track. It was about half three, so we took the opportunity to pull up and make camp.



This seems like a good spot to stop writing for now as its the end of day 1 and I've reached the attachment limit. The next part of this story will see us tackle Blue Rag...so stay tuned.

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Day 2 saw us awake to a spectacular morning, and after a good feed and packing up, we set off along Ritchies Road once more. We followed this all the way to the intersection with the Bassalt Knobs tracks. We stopped and posed for a photo in front of an old railway carriage thing.



We then took on the North Bassalt Knob track and headed to Blue Rag. This was the first real time that the Prado's stock suspension seemed to be a bit low. I personally had to take more time picking lines than the others as i was the only one without a 2" lift.
The note on the Hema map was right about a turn being not suitable for campers...everyone had to perform a tight little 3-point-turn to get around it. The track was good fun though, and made for some good views too.



We stopped at the high point just before Blue rag to enjoy the view, before setting off through the gate and upward. What a track, technically its really not that challenging, but the views, the undulations, the everything make you appreciate why the track is iconic.

I had my go-pro knock off recording the climb to the top, but for watever reason, the footage ended up being a green colour and horrible...very annoyed! I did manage to get a photo in just before climbing the last, and steepest pinch to the top.



The views at the top are spectacular, and we posed for a group shot, as is obligatory on work trips...
Surprisingly there was no wind at the Trig Point, and the sun made it actually quite warm up there.



After about half an hour, we turned around and made the trek back toward the High Plains Road



There were a few nice slippery muddy bits on the way out, but the Prado ate them all up no issue...the tyre ruts were an issue and again the lack of lift meant i was a bit slower than everyone as I had much and many more obstacles to try and overcome.

We aired up at a chain fitting bay on the Great Alpine road and cruised down to Harrietville where we stopped for an amazingly good parmi before blasting our way home.

It was an amazing trip, perfect weather, enough tricky stuff without being too taxing, and great company.

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A few more photos:




- This one was taken while I took "DSC_0234"

I will put together a compilation of the decent footage my "go-pro" managed to capture...

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Video 1 from the Saturday

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Video 2 From the Saturday

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Looks like we will be trying again for Mayford on the 26/27/28th of Feb. Hopefully it'll be nice and dry!

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So far, touch wood, the weather forecast is looking good!

Our plan of attack is to head to the Buckland Valley Friday night after work, and set up camp for the evening. Saturday, we will meet those who couldnt come Friday in Bright and head up to do Blue Rag then down into Mayford in the early Arvo. Set up camp, find much firewood, drink many beers and head out via the Harrietville pub on Sunday.

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We did it. Mayford in the dry. Perfect weather, perfect company and a perfect trip.



Well, until we got to the High Plains road...



...Broken wheel bearing, resulting in no brakes.

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Nice!

Nissans, you get that

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Nice!

Nissans, you get that

It's done 300000kms and countless off road trips. I don't think it's got anything to do with being a Nissan on this occasion. Haha.

He did well to limp it up the hill. It only died properly when we reached the high range part of King spur track.

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A few more photos: