Tassie Storm Chasers

T a s m an i a 2 0 0 6

We arrived about 6pm at Todd Road service station to cram the last litre of petrol into the fourby, quickly washed down by some KFC and then into the Vicroads car park. As everyone arrived you could feel the excitement of the big trip. We had to wait a while before we could leave to board the boat, so we went thorough a quick check list of things and filled in some trip details.

We left for the Spirit Of Tasmania, in convoy, this must have been the city part of CITYWEST because we were right smack bang in the middle of the city. We arrived to joint the que ready to board the boat. We had to get cars checked by security for firearms, gas tanks, fruit and what ever else they wanted and then we had to continue to wait in line for about an hour before we got onto the boat. It looked great with all the cars having their CITYWEST stickers on and every one of them fully packed to the brim. We couldn’t get onto the boat quick enough, especially when Woody said that we would meet at the bar at the back of the boat.

Once we made it onto the boat we grabbed out things we needed for the night and went up to find our rooms which turned out to be the hardest part of the trip. It was crazy getting down the narrow corridors and not one person on the boat had any idea where they were going. Some of us went straight to the bar and some to the dining area. We were all keen to have a look around the boat as most of us were on it for the first time. It was smooth sailing through the bay and it looked great with all the lights, there were many great viewing areas on the boat and everybody had a great time. Some thought it was best to get an early night ready to start the trip fresh and some of us found the chance to re-hydrate ourselves too good an opportunity to pass up. As we sailed through the heads the steadiness of the trip quickly changed as we went over the swells. It wasn’t real bad but we had great fun trying to walk around the boat and stay in our beds. Some just slept right through it with out even feeling a single bump. After most of us got a good night sleep some decided that sleeping was not an option and decided to push on through the night and make the most of the boat ride.

Arriving in Tassie was a good sight, I think most of us were ready to hit land and start driving. Yep 50 meters off the boat and it was Breakfast time. Good spread and a good stretch. I think shunt is still waiting for his meal now. After a quick bite to eat it was time to make our way to the airport to pick up the rest of the Andrews clan off the plane and then hit the highway. We were heading for Delloraine and the luxury accommodation on the side of a nice little creek. By this time it was raining and we were trying to set up tents. This trip produced some of the greatest tent set up’s that a CITYWEST trip has ever seen. Talk about some good tarp action, pictures must be seen to be believed and they were only going to get better as we moved to more campsites.

After we had things set up we moved off to the Honey shop where we had the chance to taste all crazy flavours of honey and some thought it was even good enough to buy. After this we were off to the animal park where we got to see some Tassie Devils, wombats and some birds up close, except for Josh who fell asleep at the table next to the entrance, it is quite possible that he was one of the boat wanderers. We had the chance to see Tassie Devils get fed and to hold the wombat. We had to get the group photo out the front with the big devil, always up for a Citywest group photo.

With the short drive back to camp we were all in the mood for some fish and chips and the local shop provided some great hamburgers but some not so great fish. As we arrived back at camp the fire had been stoked by another boat wanderer who had stayed at camp to rest up ready for some serious air guitar action around the campfire. Can’t say who it was but I’m sure if you put some Pink Floyd on for the next meeting you may be able to find out the secret performer. It had also been decided that Josh was to swim the river in the dark in a pair of jocks for $20, at the time of writing this he is still yet to complete the task, maybe he is still deciding whether it is worth swimming it nude for $100. Most had an early night but the camp fire was too nice for some of us to move. Slowly we moved away and hit the tents to catch some shut eye ready for some early morning shopping and packing up ready for the next days of adventure with our trip leader Leigh ‘Woody’ Woodberry from Western Bobcat Hire, Hoppers Crossing, (near) Melton, Victoria, Australia, Best in the West of Bobcats.

We made our way from the Delloraine Caravan Park with the cars packed up and ready to roll up to the local Woolworths to buy what we needed for the trip. Most wanted vegetables and meat which we were not allowed to bring to Tassie but once in there all sorts of things went into the trollies. We made our way back to Devonport and met up with Dean and Loadie who had been to visit friends for the night. We drove across Tassie to meet up with Mike Peach and his wife Joy who had displayed a nicely painted ‘Welcome Citywest 4x4 Club’ banner across their camper trailor. After some introductions we were on the road to the nearest lookout over the ocean and to the local light house near Smithton and a last fuel, alcohol and tent pole stop right before heading off to Rebecca’s creek. We arrived at the rangers station to pay our campsite fees where we were met with a picture of a 4x4 ute that had be sunk, buried and torn apart in a local beach river crossing and then when recovered just totally destroyed. All that was left sticking out of the sand was a tiny part of the tyre. It was a quick reminder at just how easily you can come unstuck in this terrain we were not use to.  We made our way to the Braddon 4x4 Club ‘Camp Elsewhere’ site and met up with some of the other members. We found a campsite in a small open area and I’m sure it wasn’t big enough for all of us but some how we managed. We settled in for the night with great anticipation of what was to follow the next day. It was an early night for all the Citywest crew.

We woke up early ready to lock the hubs in and get into it. It took a little longer to air down as we had to go to pressures beyond what we were use to, most went down to about 16-18 psi which felt a little weird on the harder terrain but just comfy once we hit the sand. Our first track out of the campsite wound its way along the coast with some nice waterholes and scenic terrain. We stopped at a clearing where we had morning tea and a wander down to the beach to look at some Aboriginal carving in the rocks. On leaving this area we had our first taste of driving on the beach through some short coves before lunch, these involved some very shallow creek crossing but not exactly what we had been hoping for. I think they were just giving us a taste as soon enough we came over a small sand dune which required a nice quick run up and we were straight into the wide open beaches and close to the crashing waves. Straight away we had our first river crossing and the look on the Citywest faces was a little daunting and I’m sure there were some worried looks, but the Braddon guys just jumped into their cars and so did we, straight off a sand ledge and into the drink. We all made it across the flowing river which had waves running up it, so timing was extremely critical. Everyone safe and now it was time to put the right foot down and open these cars up on the open beaches. Everyone loved it, it was amazing how quickly you could travel and have your car thrown around in other tyre grooves. Hard sand, soft sand, bumps and dips, it had it all and this was happening right next to the crashing waves and the sensational views of the Tassie West Coast. We had17 cars in our convoy but we could all travel so fast and overtake that it was amazing at how fast we could all get from point A to point B. We had to keep stopping for river crossing but the way the Braddon Crew organised us made it really quick and no fuss. The timing had to be on the outward running of the river and before the next wave caught us, Ian and Penny hit one wave head on, after a communication error, but it turned out alright with a good picture and a huge amount of laughter. We made it to the lunch break where everyone was buzzing with excitement and couldn’t wait for more time on the beach. We had some bigger dunes and more open beaches to conquer. You really have to drive on these beaches to appreciate how lucky these Braddon members are, the freedom is very different to the tighter tracks of Victoria. We made our way to a bigger dune where ‘Shorty’ had a little trouble getting up and this was our turning around point to head back before the tide got too far in. As we turned around and headed back up the beach cars went down everywhere. First the Paj got buried in the sand almost the shorebreak, and with The Tonka Truck going in for the retrieval finding itself bogged aswell, at the same time this was happening John’s Hilux found itself needing a snatch out and the Shorty coming stuck aswell in the soft sand. Recoveries were happening all over the place and most cars were involved in some way. It was quite a site to see, pity the video camera could not pick up all the action at once. After making it off this particular beach the Braddon guys were keen to keep us moving to keep up with this tide. We raced back up along the beaches crossing rivers like pros by now and gaining more and more confidence as we went. At our last river crossing we had a large step to get back up out of the river which provided quite a challenge. Ian got the front two wheels right up off the ground, the Paj needed a little snatch, Tonka truck also got up on two wheels, shunt got water in the coil and was stuck on the edge and Bullet nearly took Shunt out as he came out of the river due to lack of communication from spectators and a loud scream from Melissa as we exited heading straight for him (this one is on video). All worked out well but it was centimetres in between. We all headed back towards camp having had a great trip along the beaches. We followed our windy sandy, water holed track back towards camp until Shunt came to a stop in the middle of a water hole

We arrived to find him climbing out the window and onto the roof rack to get ready to hook the snatch strap on ready for Dean to pull him out. We all made it back to camp tired and exhausted from our day of driving but we had all had a fantastic experience and one that we won’t forget in a hurry. We also got some great footage from our day out in Tassie. We finished our day off with some great crayfish and Abalone around the camp fire.

We set out on the Monday morning back down the beach on our way to ‘The Bowl’, which we had heard a little about. We were not quite too sure what to expect except that some crazy motor bike riders love this place. It took about half an hour along the beach to make it but it was well worth the effort. Better explain what the bowl is first, the best way to explain it is a four wheel drive skate park. There is a football oval size flat area of hard packed sand which leads into a sand dune that fairly much goes straight up, the aim is to get as far up the hill as you can. It is like the hills on the side of the training grounds at Werribee but you have a 70m run up as fast as you can before you hit it. You get up about 50m, if your lucky and then you throw it in reverse and back down it. Awesome to practice your reverse stall starts. The footage has to be seen to be believed but it is nothing like what I have seen in Victoria. Everyone had a ball and became quite competitive whit tyre pressures dropping to get that extra power and grip into the sand. There was even studies done on whether high or low range was better. Off to the side of the bowl there was another little track which went into a circle with a big dip in the middle, you might have to ask Shunt about this one and how scary it can get on certain angles. There are also little tracks with berms running off all parts of the bowl. It is quite an amazing place. The fun quickly stopped when Deano had his last go at the big hill taking off at full speed and hitting the bottom of the ramp his back windscreen came flying out and making quite a loud popping noise. We later found out that his draw system moved about 2 inches on impact smashing the window right out. Once again you might want to have a look at the photos. We made our way up to the ‘Edge of the World’ where we took our group photo and Ian and Penny set a Geocash marker as there were none around this area. We headed back to camp and everyone wanted to go back along the beach as it was so much fun. We made it back to camp early as we were having our big group cooking session. Another great day lead by the Braddon 4x4 club. This beach driving is unreal.

Part 2.

The camp cook up was a well planned and well travelled meal. May have been flown in from a fair distance away but everyone was on hand in some way to prepare the feast. Whether it be peeling vegetables, preparing the fire, running for cooking utensils or carrying chairs and tables over to the eating area, everyone was a part of it.

We had been know for big CITYWEST cook ups in the past and this was another fine example. The weather was looking a little threatening but we were not going to let that stop us.

As the food slowly started cooking it was time to hit the shower, Colin had his shower running out of a bucket and through the motor giving it some real heat and Shunt had his running out of the river for endless water. Considering it was freezing cold weather the shower was heaven and refreshing for all. Thanks guys for the excellent set up, something else to ad to my wish list for the future.

As the Braddon and CITYWEST crew gathered around the campfire to tuck into the amazing spread that had been prepared, we were all excited for a night around the fire. We had many things to talk about as we had just got back from the Bowl. Dean and Loadie had been patching up the back window and deciding where to go to get it fixed the following day, John Parrish had worked up the perfect camp fire and everyone else was swapping stories from 4x4 trips they had been on. Many of the CITYWEST members had been very interested in incidents that had happened along the coast in the past. We heard that there had been many wrecks from cars crossing the rivers. There was talk of the best way to get further up the sand dune, low range, high range, lower or higher tyre pressure, road tyres, mud tyres there were so many differences. It was interesting to see how the Tassie guys took on the dune. I am defiantly keen to have a go at it next year, I have a few different things that I will be doing to get further up there.

The tea was a great night and we decided that it was to be our last night at Camp Elsewhere and that tomorrow we would be heading for Strahn for some town action, helicopter flights, boat and train rides, and some shopping. A camp site was to be booked with showers washing facilities including dryers, bbq and a camp kitchen. Sounded good just with the shower part. We all had different things we wanted to do for a few days and were keen to spend some more money on souvenirs. Strahn had many options for the tourist and also the chance to visit Zeehan just down the road. Once the dinner was finished and we were all ready to kick back and relax the rain started coming down and it was off to bed for everyone. Little did we know we were in for a long night.

As we got into bed to the sound of light consistent rain we were all quickly off to sleep. Most tents had tarps over them to try to keep the rain off the tents which was a great move so far on the trip. We were a few days into the trip so the tiredness was starting to kick in and it didn’t take much to get to sleep. I must have gone straight to sleep and the next think I knew Colin Walker was banging on the tent and call me out. It took a little while for me to get out of the toasty warm sleeping bag and get a jacket and some warm pants on. As I opened the door I see Colin holding the tarp up at waste hight ( I could have sworn it was hard to even reach before I went to bed) and it was totally full of water. There would have been at least one hundred litres of water in the tarp and that is no exaggeration. As both of us had to try to tip it out over the edge we were just flooded as it ran under the tent and splashed up all over us. Everyone else was asleep except the two of us, lucky Colin got up. The whole camp site was under water and it was still bucketing down at a great pace with a howling wind. After about 20 mins of tightening up ropes replacing bent poles from the weight of the water and making sure we were ok it was time to check everyone’s tents. Next door was the Andrews who had a half collapsed tent with water but we managed to tip most of that out as we woke up mark for some more help. Another ten mins and it could have been a very different story (probably more funny for now but not then as it was so cold). Shunt and Woody had a tent about to take off because the tent pegs were just ripping from the soken muddy ground. Ian and Penny’s tent bent over with the wind so much that the top was hitting the ground but it stayed up. Richard and Robbyn started to leak and halfway through the night retreated to the car. The Parish’s come out of it ok and I think Dean and Loadie didn’t even notice till morning.

As light broke the rain didn’t, and we were all very keen to get out of here but that was easier said thank done. After half packing in the rain the rain gave us a few mins break to that we had a bit of a chance to get things organised. For the next hour it was raining on and off as we sorted ourselves out. Eventually got there and by the time we had totally packed everything up the rain had stopped. After saying our goodbyes to the Bradden Club who had done a great job as hosts it was out the gate onto the dirt roads and up through the hills. We stopped for morning tea at a great view point, pity it was freezing and you could only manage to stay out of the car for a few mins. Car line up shot and a few quick shots of the views and it was back in the car and of towards the Pieman River.

At $20 a car the guy made his daily money with just our group, we probably paid for him to get a new barge. It took about 1 hour to get all the cars across but it was good to say we have done it. The weather was getting better as we travelled and there was some great scenery along the way. At this stage we were on the black top and moving towards Zeehan. After watching the 4x4 monthly DVD’s Zeehan was a place I was keen to get to and have a look around. By the time we got there it was time for a petrol stop and quickly moving on to Strahn to get the camp site set up and tea. Ian and Penny headed off to Hobart.

We had tomorrow to come back and explore. The camp site in Strahn was a lot more roomy and we could spread out a bit more. The win was still up and after about half an hour of trying to set up tarps we gave up. Straight tents was the go for now and everyone was wrecked. Cooking and hiding out in the camp kitchen was the place to be and we soon took over the place. The kitchen had a kettle, toaster, and hot plates which made life a lot easier. After tea it was either off to bed or to the pub for some pool. Woody had just enough energy to keep off his death bed but only just, you would think someone who lived over here could handle the weather. (remember to get out of wet clothes next time). A few rehydration ales and cracking some balls around the table it was time for bed, hammered on the table by BJ and Shorty I cut my losses.

The rain PISSisted down through the night and I woke up once again to a wet tent dripping onto my head. I could not be bothered and just rolled over and went back to sleep, worry about it in the morning.  The next morning was slow and we finally organised a group (Bullet, Banana Jack, Shunt and Shorty) to head back to Zeehan to try and find the Train tunnel. After a few wrong turns we made it past the golf course and to the entry to the tunnel. I was first in line but was very unsure if my car would fit. After entering the tunnel with mirrors folded in I realised that I did fit but only just. You would not be able to open your doors once you were in. The tunnel goes for about 100m and it great to drive through. After we had a few goes at it and some photos we looked around for some other tracks. It was raining and the tracks were very slippery. There were heaps of tracks that just linked back up to the main road. The first track we took was too hard. Deep ruts and very slippery tracks made for some great fun. We found a very slippy track that went up a hill and around the corner and Shorty was all to keen to get up it. With mud flying all over the place and the truck getting very sideways, this made for a great sight watching and I’m sure it was good inside the truck as well. Next up was shunt who gave it everything but still couldn’t got up it, each had about 4 goes. Time for some Nissan power, straight up and the track went to nowhere it just got narrower. Dean and Loadie had just got communication with us and came flying around the corner to find us so of course he had to give it a crack to, unfortunately he didn’t make it either. We have now named it Nissan Track, well I have anyway. For a track that went to nowhere it was very fun. Moving on to another track we found one that went over a little creek that had a steep entry and exit covered with bushes. We went over this about 4 times cruising around and around. Some other tracks had very slippery areas in them as the rain continued to fall. We ended up at an old mine that looked like it hadn’t had many visitors for a long time. Shunt had to do a 180 degree turn on a spot that was the same size as his car as he went off on some unknown track. We came along a long rutted boggy slippery enjoyable track that went for about 500m. Shunt just got through then the rest of us had to be snatched through. This was one of the best tracks on the whole trip. One of those little trips that Woody would love to have been on. It was such a great little session that we didn’t want to go home even though it was getting dark. We tried to slip another track in but to keep woody less stressed we decided to come back to camp before dark. (woody you owe us another track on next years trip for that) We headed back to camp for tea and were soon over at the pub again out of the cold hitting a few balls around the table.  The rain continued to fall all through the night and the tent had a nice little drip right into my lap, just what you need in the middle of the night.

As morning came we woke to what resembled more of a swimming pool than a camp site. Everywhere was at least 10cm under water and that is no exaggeration. Packing up in between the heavy rain and  even hail became a task in itself. The temperature felt like it was in the minus and we were all bunched in the small camp kitchen trying to keep warm.

Once we were all packed up it was time to hit the road and head towards the centre of Tassie and the Great Lakes. As we stopped at the local servo Shunt noticed one of his tyres had a small bubble in it so it was quickly changed and we were off. We made it through the steep mountains and great scenery on our way to a lovely country pub. The road there took us through many different conditions, from rain to fog, light snow to sunshine, it has it all in Tasmania. The unmade roads and light snow combined with loaded up cars made driving at times a little difficult and challenging. As we got closer to the lakes the snow became thicker until it was like a small blizzard as we arrived. As we got out of the cars Woody hat blew right off his head and onto the roof of the pub. Quite funny. As he climbed up on Shunts car to retrieve it we all dashed inside to the warm fire place. As we looked out the back porch with big open fire places we had a paddock of white snow but within 5 mins it had quickly melted and gone back to a clear green paddock again. This happened for the hour that we were there snow, clear, snow, clear. Woody got to finally have his Kangaroo Patties, not sure if we could have gone on any further having to hear him talk about his Kangaroo patties.

As we left the pub, the Andrews departed and left for Hobart and some chocolate tasting. We kept in radio contact for a while as we got deeper into the snow and blizzards. We stopped further up the mountain to get a photo but it was freezing and the cars were completely covered in snow. Driving off from this point was very slipper with snow all over the roads as the cars fishtailed from side to side trying to get traction? As we came down the other side the weather fined up and it was off to Woody’s mums for afternoon tea of delicious scones and lamingtons. We also got to see some fantastic photos of woody from in his prime. Well worth a look and I’m sure quite a ladies man in his prime (haha). With some work around the house to be done it was all hands on deck clearing gutters, fixing a broken down pipe and feeding the horse and goat. After all the jobs were done it was back to the original camping spot to set up once again for our last nights in Tassie.

The next day was a god sleep in and we decided to check out some of the four wheel driving around Delaraine that Woody knew. Some steep tracks and tree plantations made for some interesting driving. Seen as it was Woody home town he lead us off. We came to a tree plantation that had recently been all cleared leaving only stumps and cutting all over the place. As the tracks got narrower and there was more logs laying over the tracks it wasn’t looking too good. But not for Woody he just kept ploughing through. As shunt and I stopped we walk around the corner only to find a car stumped on top of a stump. We don’t even know how he could get that far, but now he wasn’t moving. His car was sitting on top of a tree stump like a trophy, out came the winch and with some help from Shunt he did a 180 degree turn on the spot and drove back out. The amount of places these two can get into and out of trouble is amazing, they are defiantly on the top of my list to go driving with. Seen as we didn’t really know where we were going I though I would have a go at leading us through the bush, a few tracks with small bog holes and some little climbs we played around for the afternoon, and we didn’t get lost. Making our way back to camp for a well earned rest and our last night around the fire in Tasmania, and what a fire it was, we had to sit about 20 meters back so we didn’t get torched.

The last morning we woke up to a frost and some sunshine, at least it wasn’t raining. We packed up our tents and were on our way to the Don railway. Dean and Loadie rejoined us on the way and we were off to look at old trains and sheds of bits and pieces. With the purchase of your ticket you got a free ride on a train but some were too busy looking around the work shed and missed the ride. Colin and Shunt were in their element, for a while I thought Colin was going to stay and not come home with us. The Andrews were back from Hobart and met up with us here.

Our journey back to the boat was interesting, we stopped off at a lookout to watch the boat come in. As the wind blew hard and cold the spirit of Tasmania came into site which meant that it would soon be time for us to leave. A quick stop at McDonalds and a Pizza shop for tea and it was time to hit the boat. I think everyone went a different way to the boat than each other and there were cars spread out all over the place but we all made it in the end. As we checked our cars into the line our trip was coming to an end.

We all went to our rooms and then up for tea. We had a quick meeting after tea in the dining area where Woody got a call from Mike telling us that a Victorian car had been swept out to sea in one of the rivers that we had crossed days earlier. All they recovered from the vehicle was the spare wheel. Just shows how lucky we were with the help from the Braddon club. They ran a very enjoyable trip with loads of amounts of knowledge about beach driving and river crossings.

The boat trip was a rough one back with waves crashing over the front of the boat and the movement made sleeping a tough task.  We arrived back in Melbourne as it was getting light. By this time everyone was keen to get home and into their own beds for some well earned rest. All agreed that it was an awesome trip and well worth the effort.

On behalf of all the people that went I would just like to say a big thankyou to Woody for all the effort and planning that he put into the trip, it was well organised and a fantastic experience. Thanks to the Braddon Four Wheel Drive Club especially Mike and Joy for the effort they put in. And personally to Shunt, the work you helped me with before the trip made it so much easier I love those draws.

For anyone thinking of going on the trip next year, I highly recommend it and I’m sure that everyone else would too. The beach driving is like nothing we have in Victoria and the bowl needs to be seen to be believed. If only the weather could be a little more kind next year it will be another awesome CITYWEST adventure.

Robert (Bullet) Lake #39

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