Just past 18:00 hours, thirty engines roared into life and a convoy of four wheel drives ranging from Landcruisers to Suzuki Vitara's headed towards Muchea to the starting point.

The starting point was on Chittering Road MUCHEA, and the convoy was split into groups of 3 vehicles to make up independent convoys. The name of the game, follow the navigation notes to get from the Muchea starting point to a place just behind the Power station in Pinjar. The track was filled with different terrain starting with a mud bath, into boggy sand and narly hills. From this point I can only give my side of the run.

I was in the second ‘mini convoy’ away and I was in the worst position ever, Tail End Charlie. Our little convoy consisted of the leader Mark Peacock driving a diesel 80 series Landcruiser, Gavin driving a Pajero and myself driving my 80 series Turbo diesel Landcruiser GXL. When Froggy said we could leave we did with all the confidence in the world, we rounded the first corner only to watch Mark go down to his axels in mud. The reason been the first group through had actually got large mud tyres on and had dug huge channels. With the Pajero to the rescue Mark was pulled out backwards and tried again ending in the same result. The Pajero snatched him back out and he managed to drive along the edge of the bog (out of the wheel ruts to the other side). In went Gavin with the same results down to the axels. The Land Cruiser that had just got through pulled Gavin out front ways and to the other side of the mud.

I selected 3^rd low range and hurtled into the mud with all the speed and grunt I could muster out of the Turbo diesel, and down I went. Well, we really didn’t get bogged first, it’s just that the ruts were too deep even for my high lift suspension kit and we sat on our bellys with the wheels hanging in the troughs. Yep, I got pulled out as well, and been free of our bogged area we were off. Into the secound lot of mud and water, this time all three of us got through without the embarrassment of been snatched through.

About 10 minutes later, I noted through the dark and blinding dust storm from the two vehicles in front that the Pajero was conjuring up the fatal muffler fire from weed and grass lodged somewhere underneath. As we followed the Pajero it started to trail burning embers from the rear. A quick message via CB radio had him quickly stop and our little team went about trying to clear the debri from the muffler area – this was to haunt us for the rest of the trip. Everytime we thought it was out we would drive off only to find about a km down the road she started trailing embers again, nessessatating in several stops through out the evening. On one particular stop smoke started billowing quite badly from his wheel arch causing a little panic from the Pajero owner, Gavin. Out came the fire extinguisher and the instructions were quickly read by Gavin as well as "How the Fu…… do I use this". I was under the car trying to locate the offending pile of muck when I remembered Gavin saying "Do I squeeze this bit" all of a sudden I copped a blast from the extinguisher in my face. I politely told Gav to go and sit down over there and calm down. affrfdv

The rest of the track went pretty well until our leader Mark got us lost, missed the turning and took us off via woop woop. I radioed to him that I thought we had missed the turning point and back we went. With the assistance of my wife and my passengers, we managed to work out the track we were supposed to be on, I told Mark immediatley where to turn. Off he went in the lead and proudly announced on the CB "we are back on track now" Yeah good one mate :-)

After been 2^nd group off we arrived at the first check point a tad late, in fact we were almost last. A lot of vehicles had already qued up in front of us and a good hour was spent waiting for our turn to try the hill. It was a long shallow boggy climb, probably a good half a Km but the top half went steep and trapped a good many vehicles. We watched as Hilux’s and the smaller powered 4x4 struggled to get to the top. They would get about ¾ of the way up and had to be snatched over the hill. Marks Diesel Cruiser almost made it up and so did Gavin’s Pajero but I am sure they were snatched the last bit from what I could see of their tail lights.

My turn came and I felt the Turbo really helped. I hit the start of the hill in 5^th low range and she kept going up and over the top without a gear change. I was ecstatic and shouted my joy to the world considering some 20 vehicles had churned it up before me. The rest of the track was well thought out and after not getting lost or having to stop for the Pajeros fire we made it to the base camp. Although we did stop and help get a F100 re-started. As we approached the final hills, the camp site and BBQ area looked like a welcome sight. It was lit by spot lights and a string of party lights. We completed the course and enjoyed a great BBQ at the camp site.

So it was supposed to be a 2 ½ to 3 hr trip – we left at around 7pm and arrived at camp around 11pm, Hmmm, a little longer than we thought but we did spend a lot of time at the first hill waiting for our turn to climb out.

Upon arrival at base camp there was a rescue operation under way, four vehicles had come off secound best, the F100 with a fuel pump problem, the Overlander with a brocken CV joint, a Land Cruiser with a bustered slave cylinder and a Suzuki Vitara that overheated and lost all its lights and radio. The Land Cruiser and the Suzuki had to be rescued. Arrangements were made to retrieve the two vehicles as soon as possible and get them back to base camp.

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