Orange Surprise Recce
24th September 2006

Written by Bryce R Messner.

As with all future trips that you intend to run it’s a great idea to do a recce just to make sure all things are equal. I picked up Chad & I followed him out to Kyle’s house, a property on the Cadia Mine Rd, with a backdrop of various named state forests.

Heading of the tar shortly after leaving Kyle’s house, we entered the forest via a dirt road that led us up a steep clay covered road with a side drift to port that with a little rain would be a nightmare. Nightmare it was for Chad’s last drive along here being bogged after sliding into the scrub for three hours. On this occasion quite dry which was unfortunate. Up & over the ridge turning left & right & left again & ever downward in low range we eventually came to Fourmile Creek Rest Area.

From here we were quickly on the black top only very shortly after back into the trees & dust. We started to climb over rutted forest track made by loggers when wet, now bone jarring. We came, after a turn off, to our first hard descent. Chad down first, Kyle & I were out on the ground guiding his every move as he straddled deep ruts threatening to swallow his Rangie with one inch of wrong wheel movement. Then it was my turn to do likewise, my track a little wider made the job a tad easier to accomplish, we all down & looking back up the hill glad it wasn’t raining as would have been going any where with out winching.

From here we travelled a short distance to start another nasty rutted out decline. Chad in good fashion with Kyle’s coaching straddled each rut with ease thanks to I’m sure auto transmission driving down steady.

Then it was my turn not quite waiting for guidance, which was a bad move as my right front wheel slid off the apex of the rut ridge & deep into the rut. My rear left wheel high in the air & my Rangie rocking steadily until Kyle’s brawny 6’2” frame held down steady so I could concentrate now on Chad guidance to get out of this predicament. When this was achieved it was cream buns & cheese & bacon rolls for an early lunch.

We moved out to seek further great tracks & of course we found plenty. One particular nasty ascent littered with rocks & loose sandy grit, had half way up a fallen tree to big to move aside so it was out with trusty Husqvarna & the job quickly done. A very interesting ascent, that later in the trip proper had a few on the hop.

Across the ridge bone-jarring rocks met our every step & wonderful views over pastureland to our left was our reward.

We travelled now over moderate tracks skirting the forest & following closely to fenced of pastureland. Not far along another tree fallen across our path needing to be dealt with, and of course we did our civic duty of track clearing.

From here we followed the ever-winding track & on our right we were trying to decide why such a swathe of trees had been cleared along our path. We concluded that a firebreak had been bulldozed for the forthcoming fire season. It made for interesting driving, dozers aren’t kind to the tracks & we were in steep country to boot.

We wound up over snake like trails twisting until we finally came to a steep ascent only travelled normally by bike by the boys, & this time we were attempting in our Rangies. The track ahead described over the UHF as very loose rocks over a number of steps with a steep pinch at the end.

I hung back as Chad climbed in a cloud of dust as his Rangie slipped & spun wheels scrambling for grip trying to reach the steep summit.

Out of sight now & then nothing but quite until the crackle of an UHF proclaims “We just broke something…I think an axle”. Chad decides to send Kyle back to my vehicle to lead me around the mountain & try & find the head of the track to try & aid the recovery of Chad’s Rangie via my Warn winch.

A long way around it was & quite a climb in itself to get there & then through tight low scrub only bike wide near the top.

Looking down some 200 feet we could just see the glint of the windscreen & we start unloading all my recovery gear. Well two of my snatch straps, one of Chad’s & 100 odd feet of steel cable later we “just” reached him. As luck would have it my new 20-metre winch extension strap is in the back of my Defender back on the farm.

They set up a snatch block off a tree to give direct pull to the corner to stop the cable rubbing along the rocks. Each section of snatch strap removed as it came hard up on the snatch block until the Rangie rounded the corner for a straight line pull from there.

Eventually getting to a position where I could I could tow Chad to flat ground. On inspection a large tear in the rear centre diff housing could be plainly seen, from an apparent sun gear collapse internally.

So as dark started to fall we removed the axles in case & removed the rear drive shaft to drive out in two-wheel drive. I still had to tow him the few kilometres through the scrub until complete traction on the graded roads could be achieved.

We arrived home safely around 8.30 p.m. The next day Clive & I removed the offending part & Clive set about welding up the tear, which looked pretty good when finished. A spare diff centre was removed from a project Rangie in the back Yard owned by his brother Neal, on loan until needed. Now he was ready to tackle it all again over the Long Weekend, which he did without any problems, thanks to Brindley Spares, Engineering & Sons.

Trip Leaders and their recce teams go through hell to bring to the club great trips like these, there should be a medal for doing something we barely like doing!