COFFS COAST

We had been talking to ProComp Tyres Australia about a new set of tires for our rig which ProComp sent to Coffs Harbor for us to pick up. We had them mounted right away and were ready to break them in over the following weekend.

July 29:
First we hooked up with our new friends, Dion and Debby. You might remember that we met Dion on Cape York where he was testing some 4x4s to select the vehicle of the year for a magazine.
Dion got a small group together and we drove into the Great Dividing Range which meets the ocean right here. Locals have their four-wheeling area pretty much in their backyard.
The terrain is mostly loose dirt with washouts, some rocks and the occasional root system growing over the trail (pic01). The mountains are steep and all the above just make for terrific wheeling. Our first trail, the Peaks, proved too slippery since it was raining hard the day before and even Dion's heavily modified Nissan Patrol on 37-inch tires had some issues climbing a rock shelf. Since it was decided that getting all vehicles through would be too time-consuming we pushed on to Koala trail. The intimitating climbs made Rob hesitant a couple of times since his Land Cruiser ran only 32-inch tires but having a good lift and lockers he easily manouvered through any passage (pic02). We snaked along the trail with deep banks left and right and tested the articulation of our suspensions. Damon brought his older model Patrol with open differentials and cruised up most obstacles. He only needed a strap once to not push the vehicle too hard. The forest consists mostly of Eucalyptus trees with some palm trees and heavy undergrowth. Through this beautiful scenery we reached the top of Mount Coramba from where we had an amazing view over the coastline with its islands and the mountains to the north and south.
We covered a good amount of trails and upon our return met up with a big group of Dion and Debby's friends for a delicious dinner in town.
July 30:
We had been in contact with Michael from Jeep Action Magazine since the beginning of our trip and had met him at the Jeepfest in Melbourne. He had featured us in the magazine a couple of times and was eager to take us on a run with members of the Coffs Coast Jeepers Club. Coffs off-roaders just know each other and Michael suggested to also invite Dion and a few other non-members along for a day of great wheeling.
The convoy of twelve vehicles included many Cherokees, a CJ6, two Patrols, a Land Cruiser and three built-up fullsize Jeeps (pic04). We pushed on through the forest. Some vehicles had open differentials and others featured all bells and whistles. Early into the run the CJ6's steering shaft caused problems and they parked the rig on the side of the trail planning to come back for it later. On Rover Trail we lined up for the twisty climb over loose dirt and rock steps. 'Crazy Craig' tried his luck on the tough section without lockers; he made several attempts, bending his bullbar in the process, kicking up lots of dust, and almost rolled his truck a couple of times (pic05) before accepting the help of a strap. Especially the open diff-rigs faced a challenge to manouver the trail but most of them made it eventually. Between trails I disengaged the four-wheel drive for faster driving and when we got to Broken Road I forgot to re-engage it. After a few attempts I actually made it up over half of the way before realizing my mistake - dahhhhh. Well, in four-low it proved much easier and I cruised to the top. Most of the open-diff vehicles had split and we made good progress over the tricky last hill. Before heading home we stopped by the broken down CJ6 and Michael and Jacko temporarily fixed it so it could be driven to their shop for more repairs.

We rounded out the day with a hearty meal at the local tavern in the company of our new four-wheeling friends.
Thanks so much to everybody for coming out with us and making this such a special weekend!

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for more pics click here