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
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