Watagans Sunday 26/04/09 [Archive] - Sydney Jeep Club Forum

stevet

22-04-09, 07:00 PM

Meet-- @ the old truck weight station on the Pacific Hwy,Berowra Heights,
Time-- 8.00a.m. depart 8.20a.m
Have/bring-- Own recovery gear, recovery points F/Rear,CB, food/drink of choice,
Grade-- "C++"/ "B", conditions may been wet/slippery, some winching may be required depending again on the prevailing conditions. Hwy type tyres will struggle regardless ::).
Further info-- Stephen T.- Mob. No. (0412)707903

casey

22-04-09, 08:22 PM

given the rain we've been having.. this could be fun :)

wlublink

22-04-09, 11:45 PM

I know I will be struggling, but I would like to give it a go anyway as I have never been there. As long as it is safe.... :-[

Dutchie

casey

22-04-09, 11:49 PM

will be good to see you out there.

..i've been looking forward to giving my winch a work out ;)

Steve F

22-04-09, 11:50 PM

I'll be there if I can get my brake lights working, put in an alarm today and think I damaged a brittle wire when moving stuff around, should be an easy fix but need to find some time to do it.

Cheers
Steve

TRBN8R

23-04-09, 10:15 AM

Hi there,

I want to come but I have a stock jk unlimited, do you reckon i will be able to make it??? ??? ??? ???

Cheers
Mani

casey

23-04-09, 11:03 AM

we did it in ours stock last time the club went there.
you're tyres will get a bit slicked up, but if you keep up your momentum so the tyres keep themselves reasonably clean you should get through ok.
dutchie has a stock JK, and she got though coffs harbour tracks ok on AT tyres.

there is an AJOR trip going up there on saturday. will be interesting to read the posts on how the tracks were for them before we go on sunday.

wlublink

23-04-09, 12:56 PM

Mani,
It is a good experience just in trying....as I found out during Camp Coffs. And we are all there to help...I am sure Casey will be happy to use his winch !!

Dutchie

VIN18U

23-04-09, 01:37 PM

if i get my jeep back ill come.

DLE068

23-04-09, 08:54 PM

Im in steve. Might be the last time we can go up that way.

TRBN8R

24-04-09, 01:20 AM

Hi Casey and Dutchie and every one else
Thanks a lot for the great words of encouragement. Will see u guys at the LZ at 0800 Hrs this sunday ;D ;D ;D.

Cheers
mani

casey

25-04-09, 12:27 PM

Sorry guys, we're out for this one.
Have fun out there :-)

Steve F

25-04-09, 01:52 PM

Jeep all sorted so I'm in for sure now.

Cheers
Steve

stevet

25-04-09, 02:27 PM

Dutchie, Steve F. is winched up so no worries :D
See you tomorrow.....

Steve F

25-04-09, 02:34 PM

Yep, I have my winch so if we need it it's there, Steve T has also suggested we can modify the trip for the conditions and vehicles if needed with some of the tougher bits optional.

Cheers
Steve

Cpage66

25-04-09, 02:54 PM

We're out...gotta' make up some brownie points tomorrow... :-\

Wolfe

25-04-09, 07:53 PM

i racked up some brownie points :o so i'll be there in the blue hairdressers tj ;D

sbadman

25-04-09, 11:22 PM

i racked up some brownie points :o so i'll be there in the blue hairdressers tj ;D

I've got plenty of lights just in case ;)

See you's there!

azasjeep

26-04-09, 12:05 AM

you guys might run into tonkatoy he is apparently at the buttcrack on rope road upside down ???

and there is a chicken track around the log on rope road as well so it is accessible.

have a good trip peoples

Steve F

26-04-09, 07:33 AM

If they are still in there and need some help give me a call. Hope everyone is OK?

Cheers
Steve

stevet

26-04-09, 08:12 AM

Sorry folk's, I am out today. Have been ill through out the night :(

Steve F

26-04-09, 08:21 AM

Sorry folk's, I am out today. Have been ill through out the night :(

No problem, we'll find something, might go explore Ourimbah and see what's there.

Cheers
Steve

Steve F

26-04-09, 04:44 PM

We went to the Watagans in the end, I had to leave after lunch but it was a great morning, lots of mud and ruts and plenty of potential for the big trucks if we run it again. I gave one of the tougher tracks a hit but the mud sucked me down and I had to back out, well a little anyway, wasn't long before I was going nowhere and needed a snatch for a good 3-4m before I could get out of the goo under my own power. Lucky I wasn't the first or last to be snatched ;) The rest should be back before work tomorrow ;) They were off to Rope Road.

Cheers
Steve

Steve F

26-04-09, 08:42 PM

Hmmm, no sign of any of them back yet, did Rope road take another victim or is it just the post school holiday traffic ;)

Cheers
Steve

casey

26-04-09, 09:13 PM

eep. hope they didnt get stuck... none of them had a winch :o

Maggie

26-04-09, 09:15 PM

Steve, did Wyanda go .. I just tried to ring her and it went to message bank.

Steve F

26-04-09, 09:25 PM

Saw Wolfe on here briefly 20 mins or so ago so I'm assuming they are back. Before I left them I mentioned the winch thing but they said they'd be cautious :) Yep Wyanda went, she was having a good time when I left and got to snatch me out of trouble at one point.

Cheers
Steve

Maggie

26-04-09, 09:32 PM

Miraz

26-04-09, 09:58 PM

Steve F

26-04-09, 10:07 PM

Yep, he did go on the trip, I thought they may have been back as I saw one of the other guys on the forum but he didn't post so it may have been one of his sons or his wife. I've just tried to call a couple of guys on the trip with no luck so the only thing I can think of is they've had a breakage and someone is stuck. There's no mobile signal up there, or very little. Send me your number if you like and if I hear from any of them I'll call you ASAP. If there was any big drama one of them would have left to get some help and made some calls so I'm guessing they are just not keeping a check on the time in an effort to get a broken Jeep out of there.

My number is 0411 688 057 if you want to call it.

Cheers
Steve

Miraz

26-04-09, 10:17 PM

Thanks Steve I will send you a text with the phone number rather than post it on the forum. Appreciate it, thanks.

Miraz

26-04-09, 11:14 PM

Thanks for the call Steve, I'm going to head for bed now. Please post any info on the forum as I will probably be up again later with the baby and I will check then. If it is something serious or urgent you have my number so you can give me a call. Thanks again.

Steve F

26-04-09, 11:15 PM

No problem. I'll be up for a while yet, our little girl isn't ready to go to sleep yet.

Cheers
Steve

Wooders

27-04-09, 12:13 AM

Hi this is Miraz's wife. Can anyone tell me if he went on this trip and if people are coming back now? He left about 7 this morning saying he was going to do some Jeep thing and I haven't been able to contact him since.

Sounds like a standard Wattagans C grade trip ;)
They be fine - although probably a few in trouble ;)

casey

27-04-09, 01:40 AM

just talked to dutchie and got a txt from scott, they're all ok and should be just about home :)

sbadman

27-04-09, 02:00 AM

Just got home, absolutely buggered and gettign my head ripped off by Mrs Badman!

I'm sure the write up will explain all....

Good night peoples

wlublink

27-04-09, 02:02 AM

HI guys,

I made it home, finally!!! It was a great day but we had some ups and downs. Too late to discuss it now, will do that later. Sorry you were all worried but we had no phone coverage.....

Good night everybody,
Dutchie

Wolfe

27-04-09, 02:20 AM

Steve F

27-04-09, 07:48 AM

Great to hear all is Ok'ish, sounds like a few will be staying home for a while.

Cheers
Steve

Wooders

27-04-09, 08:26 AM

LOL - GROUNDED.

Wolfe - wasn't expecting it back immediately - and don't need it right now so that's ok.

Wolfe

27-04-09, 08:44 AM

thanks mate, it needs carlovers big time

Miraz

27-04-09, 09:55 AM

Well that was fun wasn't it?

We ended up stuck in a track about 8-9km west of the Pines, to the west of Walkers Ridge Road.

We couldn't turn round and go back, we'd been snatching pretty much everybody up the last few stages, and the final section of the track involved an 6-8 foot rock step immediately followed by a gnarly set of smaller steps, and the bug out track was blocked by fallen trees only a 200 meters from the main road out...and we had no winches or cutting gear.

Everyone did extremely well on some very challenging tracks, Scott and Wolfe were stars and put in a huge amount of work to ensure that everyone made it through with minimal damage. The runaway incident with Scott's XJ breached the sense of humour threshold for everyone, and the focus really turned to how to get out of there quickly - some great teamwork made this possible.

When are we going back?

(obviously after our respective grounding periods have expired)

TRBN8R

27-04-09, 10:20 AM

:D :D :D :D Hi guys,
great fun last night. Thanks Steve, Scott, Wolfie, Sam,, Myraz, Dutchie, Steph,for making my first 4WD trip way more exciting than i could ever imagine. sorry for the delayed post was too sleepy last night to switch on the computer.

Loooking forward to the next one.

Cheers
Mani

casey

27-04-09, 10:29 AM

jeepthing

27-04-09, 11:16 AM

i racked up some brownie points :o so i'll be there in the blue hairdressers tj ;D

Hey Wooders I'll be returning tj in morning big day gonna hit the sack in the doghouse (big time)

cant help but smirk at the before and after contrast. :D

looking forward to the trip report and lotsa pics! ;D

Cpage66

27-04-09, 11:32 AM

damn. i wish i could have been there...

sounds like some of you got thrown in the deep end for a first time out 4wding in your new jeeps! glad you had a good time and got out safely.

i think i might be adding one of these to the recovery kit for when i go out there next..

http://edge100.dealsdirect.net/images/products/15179/1/product1_15179.jpg

i.e chainsaws and State Forests and National Parks...
State Forest... use is now only with a "firewood permit" which is form "30-I" and must be carried at all times. The way it's worded, one could saw out a fallen tree if needed and leave the wood, but you've gotta' have the permit first and write down on the permit load details BEFORE you leave the State Forest if you do take out any cuttings.
National Park...it is about to be an offence under new legislation to even carry a chainsaw into a National Park without written consent for a specific purpose. Right now, it's okay if you have one in an organized recovery kit if the chain is removed, but even that may soon be a violation of new proposed laws which certain groups are STRONGLY pushing...

casey

27-04-09, 12:05 PM

good to know. thanks for the heads up on that one :)

Miraz

27-04-09, 12:13 PM

Just as an FYI - it is possible to snap fallen trees into manageable pieces using nothing but a couple of JK's, 3 snatch straps, 3 shackles and a tree trunk protector....

Pics are coming...

wlublink

27-04-09, 12:30 PM

I have uploaded my pictures of yesterdays adventure into my gallery. My battery run flat before lunch so I do not have a lot of them.....

Just as an FYI - it is possible to snap fallen trees into manageable pieces using nothing but a couple of JK's, 3 snatch straps, 3 shackles and a tree trunk protector....

We actually used 4 snatch straps and 5 shackels if you include the ones that connected my car and Mani's car so we could pull together....

SBADMAN, just remember you did not hurt yourself and it is only the car you damaged. As you realize now it could have been a lot worse....you can repair the car or replace it ....not yourself.....

Miraz, thanks for being a good tour guide. I had a great day and I would definitely go again. Next time tho at the end of the day it will be a better decision to go out and not do another detour..... I had a great time before lunch going through all those mudpools and the lookout points we did after lunch were really good.

What really makes me laugh now is seeing Mani using his little hammer trying to bang on that fallen tree and Wolfe using his tiny little saw hoping to cut through the tree .... ;D

I am sorry to hear you all are grounded and sleeping in the doghouse. The reason we go 4wdriving is we like to be out there and we like a bit of adventure. We got more than we bargained for, but the unexpected can always happen... I am glad we all kept our spirits and we did great teamwork!!

See you next time!
Dutchie

sir_camel

27-04-09, 12:49 PM

Sounds like an epic trip. Glad everyone is ok!

sbadman

27-04-09, 06:16 PM

Some photos of the damage

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/1378/dscf2732small.jpg
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/6014/dscf2733small.jpg
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/6348/dscf2734small.jpg

Seems to be no shock damage to any other part of the car, and as you can see, XJ tail gates are definatelly fibreglass......

Steve F

27-04-09, 07:40 PM

Geez, that corner certainly took a hit, looks repairable though, spoke to Wolfe today and it sounds like you are lucky to have it at all though!!!

Anyone else have pics from that first step in the morning etc, i wish i took some.

Cheers
Steve

sbadman

27-04-09, 07:58 PM

Geez, that corner certainly took a hit, looks repairable though, spoke to Wolfe today and it sounds like you are lucky to have it at all though.

Already spoken to Chris about repairs, and it's seeming that the cheapest way to get parts may be to buy a whole car and sell off the rest!

The tree did some damage, but it kept me awake last night imagining what could have happened if it wasn't there. Certainly a sobering message as to how quickly things can turn to shit in a matter of seconds when you've been wheeling for so many hours. I don't know how the AJOR guys did 25 hours in there, but it's certainly put me off any night wheeling for a while.

As for the first step....
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1663/dscf2704small.jpg
We thought it was best not to tell Dutchie she was only on 3 wheels!

wlublink

27-04-09, 08:04 PM

Thanks for not telling me guys.....nice pic tho!

SBADMAN, you were not the only one not sleeping....it took a long time before I could go to sleep...I kept on seeing your car rolling down the hill......it was not a pretty sight.... I really hope you manage to repair it for a good price/or buy a new one.....

And of course I hope to see you out there again soon.....but just like you I will not be on a night drive for a while.... :-[

DLE068

27-04-09, 08:25 PM

SBADMAN what happened mate did you get into some trouble mate, did you end up having another late one.....

DLE068

27-04-09, 08:28 PM

Sorry i missed this one. sounds like a adventure missed. Whens the next trip to Watagans Steve?

Miraz

28-04-09, 09:27 AM

You can find my pics http://www.miraz.com/gallery/v/4wd+trips/wataganssjc0409/

http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/10679-1/IMGP6093+1.jpg
http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/10692-2/IMGP6089+5.jpg
http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/10713-1/IMGP6082+12.jpg
http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/10725-1/IMGP6078+16.jpg
http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/10761-1/IMGP6066+28.jpg

Miraz

28-04-09, 09:47 AM

And a few from a previous trip that show what the top section of that track is like in daylight...

http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/3993-2/IMGP1691.jpg
http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/3999-2/IMGP1693.jpg
http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/4023-2/IMGP1700.jpg
http://www.miraz.com/gallery/d/4040-2/IMGP1705.jpg

sbadman

28-04-09, 10:25 AM

SBADMAN what happened mate did you get into some trouble mate, did you end up having another late one.....

Later than the recent Menai Trip, and IMO more challenging, would have been good in day time, not so good after 10pm when everyone's getting tired.....

My XJ got away from me and was thankfully stopped by a tree before either going back down the climb we were working through which would have surely taken out 2 cars and possibly Mani who was at the bottom waiting to come up, or into the bush and who knows how far it would have gone before stopping. I was able to drive it off the tree and help the last two up the hill, but as Miraz said from that point on everyone was driven by the common goal of just getting out of there, no one could afford to lose their head. I wasn't just shaking from the cold when we were airing up let me tell you!