Talbotville December 2008

Four cars met at 10.30 am on Friday 12 December in Yarragon for a coffee. Terry Jones with grandson Samuel in one car and Peter Rashleigh, Graeme Giles and Nick Wirubov in their respective cars. Four of a kind in Nissans, the odds were looking good.

After a coffee the five travellers headed in an easterly direction. The weather was fine, but overcast. During the lunch stop by the lake in Sale, a few drops of rain were detected, but nothing major. Having studied the maps. it was decided to turn off the highway just short of Bairnsdale and head through Fernbank and Glenaladale towards Dargo. Once we turned off the maid highway, the rain started and continued on and off all the way to our camp site on the Wongangarra River. Trevor Cooke's directions to his favourite campsite were spot on and we arrived at about 4.30 pm.

Terry and Nick set up their tents in the rain, while Graeme and Peter decided to sleep in their respective cars. Pretty quickly the camp was set up, tarps stretched out for cover and the business of having a pre-dinner drink commenced. While preparing dinner, Nick had to get something out of the car when he heard a radio message from Pam Sexton. The Sextons were in the vicinity of Station Track and were wondering where the rest of the campers were hiking. Peter went out onto the track to guide the Sextons in their Nissan and trailer to camp - a flush of Nissans - a very good omen in deed.

Saturday morning was overcast but reasonably dry. After breakfast and a tidy of the camp site, the travellers headed off to explore the area around Talbotville. We visited the Talbotville Cemetery and then headed along the Crooked River Track in the direction of Bulltown. On the way, we stopped at the New Good Hope mine and walked all the way to the top to see the steam engine and battery stamp. After 23 river crossings, we arrived at the junction of the Crooked River Track and the Bulltown Spur Track where we saw a third track towards Stonewall. The area is a day picnic ground at the junction of the Crooked River and a small stream. It was a perfect spot for some lunch before tackling the Bulltown Spur Track. After a morning of sunshine and a warm wind, the track appeared bone dry and even threw up some dust. The track was extremely steep in places but no one had any problems getting to the top.

As we arrived at the Grant Cemetery, a light rain started to fall and continued for the whole time that we were at the cemetery and the township. We had planned to go down the Collingwood Spur to get back to camp, but following the rain there was some discussion on the viability of that plan. In the end, we decided to drive as far as the helipad and if the top part was suspect we would turn around and go home another way. Needless to say, there were no problems to the helipad and no problems all the way to the bottom.

Back at camp, a roaring fire was started and a few drinks had after an absolutely fabulous day driving and exploring. Towards evening, the rain started again so there was not much sitting around the campfire. We all fell asleep with the sound of rain on the tents or cars.

Our plan for Sunday was to head up Station Track to Cynthia Range Track and then to Eaglevale for coffee. There after was going to be Billy Goats Bluff to the Pinnacles and then through Licola back to Melbourne.

About half way up the Station Track we had the first of events that would cause us to review our plans. On a particularly steep and soft part of the track, the Nissan + trailer decided that it was all too hard and that a bit of winching would be in order. Two winching sections was the Nissan back on firm ground and with a bit less air in the tyres it was able to make its own way to the top.

Having assisted with the recovery, which was ably carried out by Gerard and Peter, Nick who was in the lead drove to the junction of Station and Cynthia tracks to wait for the rest of the team. In the meantime it started raining again and the tracks became wet very quickly. The trip up Cynthia did not present any problems and the remaining question was how the Nissan and trailer would negotiate the decent into Eaglevale. In the end, the only problems were trees across the track that required the team to mobilise chainsaws to clear the tracks. On one occasion, we had to cut back a tree that had only been cleared across half of the track. It is really annoying when 4W drivers only clear just enough for their car to squeeze through.

Finally we arrived at the river crossing. The river was running higher that normal and the bottom could not be seen because of the depth and silt in the water. There was no other option but to walk the crossing first to test the depth and strength of the flow of water. Pretty quickly water depth increased to crotch level and stayed at that depth for the majority of the crossing. Water flow was fine and depth for diesels equipped with snorkels was fine. Pretty quickly, all cars were across and hot cups of tea, coffee and hot chocolate were being enjoyed by all.

The drive from camp to morning tea break was just 12 kilometres, but it took us the best part of two hours to complete. Somewhere before we arrived at the river, it was decided that Plan A was not a good idea and that Plan B would come into force. Plan B was to pump the tyres up at Eaglevale and head off to the Dargo Pub for lunch.

While the weekend was wet, it was not that bad or cold that we had any other thoughts other than to continue with the trip. Saturday was dry and sunny, with only Sunday morning being unpleasant, having to pack wet tents. In the end, a great time was had by all with absolutely no regrets. In addition, we had to do some winching, track clearing and a crossing of a reasonably deep river and to finish off the weekend, a great pub meal.

Saturday January 10 leave Melbourne and travel to a base camp on the mainland, with Meningie being a possibility. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday can be spent looking around the lake system with a visit to a winery or two at Langhorne Creek and a visit to Hindmarsh Island.

On Wednesday we would pack camp and head to Tea Tree Crossing or 42 Mile Crossing to get onto the Younghusband Peninsula for the 100 km beach drive to the mouth of the Murray. Wednesday and Thursday night will be in a bush camp on the peninsula with fishing, swimming and relaxing being the order of the day. On Friday, we will head back to Melbourne, either trying to get home in one day or possibly with a break on the way, depending how long it takes to get off the peninsula and back on the black top.