Cowbaw Forest Day - Sep 2007

In his own inimitable style Sunil Chand treats us to yet another humorous trip report with interesting observations of the foibles and follies of 4WDriving. Enjoy this epic … you can just smell the adventure!

It was Saturday 22nd September 2007 and nine Four Wheel Drives carrying 21 fun-seekers from around western suburbs of Melbourne met opposite the Lancefield Post Office on a cold Saturday morning to have a Meet and Greet day in Cobaw. This was my third trip to Cobaw. I registered my interest for this trip because it was a “President’s Meet n Greet” trip and I had not been on one before. I thought that this would also be a perfect way to introduce my family to Four Wheel Driving as these “Meet n Greet” trips are rated easy.

A few days before the trip, I noticed on the CITYWEST website that Brumby was listed as the trip leader of this trip and the name of the trip was changed to Meet and Greet. There were 12 vehicles registered but only 9 were able to make it on the day. A fine day was forecast with a top temperature of 19 degrees. By 8:30 AM all cars had gathered at Lancefield. I was glad that I made it on time at the meeting point and that I was not the last one to arrive. Brumby greeted as we were getting out of our car. He introduced himself to my wife Ashrin.

This was Ashrin’s first 4WD trip. Brumby introduced himself and then introduced Ashrin to the Jesus bar on the passenger side of the Pajero. On the Pajero, this bar has “PAJERO” written on it. I am thinking of changing the “PAJERO” to read “PRAYER”. That way no one needs to change their religion!

Brumby inspected recovery equipment, collected emergency contact forms in envelopes and got everyone to complete their registration. Around 8:40 AM, Brumby did his first briefing and everyone was asked to introduce each other. Following the briefing, we did a radio check, the convoy order was formed and we all headed to our next stop. Here’s my brief introduction of all who were on this trip in the order of the convoy.

Chris Klenkowski (also known as Brumby); he is an award winning CITYWEST trip leader. Today he came along with the full Brumby tribe (four kids and only one wife). He drives an 80’s series Land Cruiser which has eight seats—still has room for two more kids. He uses his Cruiser for 0 wheel driving to 4 wheel driving. His latest 0 wheel driving was in Portland and the pic made the front page of OTBT. As I learnt on the trip, Brumby has also been known to use his Cruiser to drive to the toilet when he gets a chance. Tallarook is his favourite playground and he could not help mentioning Tallarook at least four times while referring to Cobaw during his first briefing—oops. Then there was Henk Piper: Henk introduced himself as a resident of Romsey and driving the recovery vehicle (GQ Patrol). He has made a switch from WA to VIC. In fact he has been in Victoria for 18 months and still driving around his Patrol with the WA number plate. Henk reminds me of the Hank character in channel Ten’s latest TV series Californication (airs 9:30PM on Mondays). The main character is David Duchovny who made his switch from X-files to sex files (Editor:- please edit this one if you have to. “Nah, we’re cool” - Ed). Steven Simons:- Steven is a new member to the club but certainly not new to Four Wheel Driving. He drives a Hilux. For today’s trip, Steve was travelling with dual Jacks. One was to lift his Hilux in case of tyre change and the other one was his son Jack. Peter Galea: I found out that Peter is my near neighbour. He also lives a few streets away from me in Burnside. Peter drives an 80’s series Land Cruiser. I was checking the trip registrations on the CITYWEST website and noticed that Peter has registered himself on all of Brumby’s trips. Ian Stuart & Penny Rodwell: Ian (who is also known as Playdoh) is also one of the CITYWEST trip leaders. Ian had recently acquired his new toy, a 100 series Land Cruiser with IWS number plate. He is also a Geocaching expert at

CITYWEST. Today he was on the trip with his partner, Penny.

Mike Tamlyn: This was the first time I had met Mike. Mike drives a Prado and today he was by himself. He has been with the club for over two years but could not find time to go on many club trips. It was great to have him come along. Tony Newman: Tony is not new to Four Wheel driving. He joined CITYWEST a year ago and finally decided to go on trip with the club. Tony drives an 80s series Land Cruiser. With his cowboy hat on, he was surely in for a good ride. He was accompanied by his wife Jeanne who is no doubt a confident off-road driver as well.

Sunil Chand: me! I have been with the club for over two years and certainly enjoying my little adventures with CITYWEST. I managed to convince my family to come along and get introduced to Four Wheel Driving. It was a challenge to get the kids out of bed at 6:30 AM and get them ready for the trip on a Saturday morning. I drive a Pajero (a non-Toyota vehicle). Henk and I kept this trip from becoming a Toyota trip in case the Toyotas got themselves into trouble and needed recovery.

Jim Mizzi: Jim is a Trip Leader in Training and was also the Tail End Charlie for the day. He drives a 100 series Land Cruiser. His car has the most gadgets and easily the most number of antennas. Today he came along with daughter Kimberley. Being the Tail End Charlie (TEC), he was going to eat everyone’s dust.

At 9:20 AM we were at our air-down point. After air down, there was more Meet and Greet. As we were parked in front of a property entrance, a young male and a female stopped to investigate the line-up of Four Wheel drives in front of their property. The pair left after fulfilling their curiosity. Shortly after, we had the company of a curious black dog. I am no dog expert but it appeared like a cattle dog. It wagged and sniffed around us. It was a scene resembling the security check at the airport where passengers get checked by security and customs and then we have dogs to sniff us for drugs. Given the all-clear by the curious individuals and the dog, the convoy got its second briefing from the trip leader. This is when Brumby asked for a volunteer to write the trip report. After no one volunteered, Brumby picked me with compliments that I write good reports (He really does—Ed.) Thanks Brumby—but no thanks. On the bright side, not everyone gets a chance to write a trip report led by an award winning Trip Leader.

At 9:30 AM, we made our entry into the forest. We got to the steep section of Croziers Track. The trip leader asked all drivers to step out of the vehicles and come over for track assessment and Trip Leader’s instructions for that part of the track. Trip Leader’s advice was to use low range first gear and one vehicle at a time. All cars made the climb without any hassles. This was a long track. After climbing the steep section, and driving for about more than a minute and without any car in sight, I thought I was on the wrong track. A quick check over the UHF (ch.10) and I was assured that I was on the right track. I was relieved to see Tony’s Land Cruiser in sight as I got off the UHF. All bunched up and we were all mobile again. At 9:53 AM we were at our first bog hole. There was plenty of water in the hole from the previous night’s rain. However, this bog hole was not deep or that boggy. We turned right into Camp Track. This track featured a rock ledge and also the home of the legendary Cobaw bog hole. As advised by the trip leader, we bypassed the legendary bog hole. The legendary bog hole teased and challenged us as we all detoured beside it. It was 10:04 AM and the trip leader takes a quick vote over the UHF for a tea break. The convoy stops for a tea break. As per our expectations, Brumby’s Bakery offered Sneakers Rockyroad. With permission from Natalia (Mrs. Brumby), a critic commented that the Sneakers Rockyroad was too moorish. I had no idea what it meant. Natalie responded that he could have more.

10:30 AM and it was time for splash and camera action. Steve sent his son Jack with a camera to the other side of bog hole full of water to capture the big splash. Henk followed with another big splash. Others drove and splashed. By the time it was my turn, there was wasn’t much water in the bog hole to splash. It was all easy going on an easy rated trip. The trip leader kept the conversation going over the UHF providing information of what we were about to encounter and providing tips and advice how to negotiate the hurdles and challenges. A general tip was to be mindful of the placement of the diff when negotiating rock, ledges and logs—good advice.

We reached our next challenge which was negotiating through a set of rocks and then going over a rock ledge. All drivers gathered to assess the rock ledge challenge, determine the path to be taken and take instructions from the Trip Leader. Trip Leader rated that part of the track as medium. Low range first gear was recommended. Our Tail End Charlie helped the drivers negotiate through the rocks while Henk assisted Trip Leader to direct the drivers over the rock ledge. All cars made it through. Some made it without any fuss while others made it with a bit of scraping over the rock ledge.

Next up was a rutted climb. Assistance was provided by the Trip Leader. Tony decided to try the more challenging side of the rutted and rocky part of the track. He could not make it so he had to back out and take the easier way up. The convoy bunched up and headed for a descent in sloppy track conditions featuring deep ruts. Trip Leader’s tip was careful placement of wheels keeping the rut to the centre of the vehicle. After successfully negotiating the rut challenge, the convoy turned right into Pole Track. This track features deep doozy ruts as described by the Trip Leader. To negotiate the deep doozy rut, Trip Leader’s recommendation was to maintain left hand line and take it slowly. A hard track branched off Pole Track where Brumby and Henk had

some fun during the recce a week ago. We then turned left into Ridge Road which features some muddy puddles. More splashing and washing and it was almost midday.

12:03 PM the convoy stopped for lunch next to a water hole. After having a feed, all gathered around for a yarn. We all listened as Brumby vented his frustration at lobby groups trying to close down Cobaw forest for recreation activities and also the media’s portrayal of Four Wheel Drive vehicles. I was surprised to see a number of people drinking Coke, Pepsi and soft drinks at the trip. Maybe we should ask Coca Cola to sponsor our club magazine. If they deny us then we should boycott their drink and only use the can of Coke as a fire extinguisher. During my Warden training at work, one of the trainers mentioned that a can of Coke can be improvised as a fire extinguisher.

It’s now 1:00 PM and we were all loaded up and ready for more tracking. It was a good long lunch break. The time was well utilised by the convoy of 21 as they ate, drank, urinated, farted and even defecated. (Oh, please! Too much detail! - Ed). It was all done within the DSE guidelines, of course. (Well that makes me feel so much better! - Ed). Yes, you read it right. As Brumby was venting, someone farted. Thank God, it was an open place and the stench quickly dissipated. There was no scent of curry so that rules out my family and me.) Using this report as the medium, I request CITYWEST committee to make a rule that with the exception of while driving, all farting to take place at least one hundred feet away from others. (Oh, my giddy aunt! - Ed).

Next up was Stumpy Track featuring rock ledges and a steep descent through ruts. Trip Leader’s instruction was to keep a distance of 5 to 6 car lengths while descending. The convoy bunched up at the bottom of the track, turned right into the main drag and then turned left into Pole Track. At the end of Pole Track, we had company of four motorbikes. We turned left into Soil Pit Track featuring a rocky section of climbing. Trip Leaders tip was careful placement of wheels required to negotiate through the rocks.

1:40 PM and we were back to the rock ledge that we negotiated in the morning. All drivers gathered to evaluate the rock ledge. As I was ready to drive off after Tony, I saw him running to his moving vehicle. He then realised it was Jeanne at the wheel—phew! All vehicles successfully negotiated the rock ledge and the rocky section following the rock ledge. Tail End Charlie felt triumph. In the absence of champagne and in an endeavour to do something different, he decided to pop his Cruiser’s engine with LPG. A quick check under the bonnet revealed one clip had popped out of place from the air cleaner cover. It was pushed back in place and the convoy was moving again.

2:00 PM – we reached the morning tea spot. The trip leader announced that we had covered all the track that we had to cover. The recce was cut short because of many fallen trees which still had to be cleared from many tracks. He suggested that we have a chat about what to do with the remaining time. After a quick chat, it was decided that we will be heading to the legendary bog hole to satisfy those who were itching to fulfil their desires of having a go at the legendary bog hole. After all, no CITWEST trip to Cobaw is complete without splashing the water out of the legendary bog hole.

At the bog hole, the trip leader gives some background about the bog hole, the CITYWEST members who had a go at the bog hole and some of the incidents that took place. Henk lines up his Patrol from the forest entry side of the bog hole with Mike joining him as a passenger for moral support. Peter lines up his vehicle for a front recovery while Jim positions his vehicle for a rear recovery. After all vehicles were lined up, trip leader demonstrated how to check the depth of a bog hole using a stick. After the demonstration, he asked if anyone else who would like to practise bog hole depth-measurement technique. Keen Peter took the offer and started poking the stick in the bog hole. Next we saw him in the bog hole with the stick. He had just slipped and he was all wet knees down. Perhaps he was demonstrating how not to measure the depth of a bog hole. I could sense the excitement among the ladies… “Whoa, now he has to take his pants off”. Peter did not take off his pants… sorry ladies.

Engine revs, Steve rolls his camera and the white GQ Patrol makes a big splash like a great white shark in a pool. Henk makes it almost half way in the bog hole. Trip leader decides to recover the recovery vehicle from the rear and he is quickly snatched out of the hole by Jim. Nicholas, my newly recruited reporter, shouted from the other side of the bog hole that the car did not take in water. Next up was Peter. On the count of 1,2,3 and go, Peter makes another slash into the hole. It was not as big as the splash made by Henk’s Patrol. Peter’s vehicle made about two fifth way into the bog hole, took a right nose dive and stopped. Once again, Jim snatched Peter’s vehicle from the rear. This time my new recruit did not report to me so I went to investigate myself. Peter’s vehicle did not take any water. I decided to interview Mike who was a passenger in Henk’s vehicle. I found out that Henk’s car did take in some water while in the hole. At this point I decided to fire my new recruit (Nicholas) because of the following reasons:

• He did not do a proper investigation before reporting about Henk’s vehicle.
• He failed to report the status of Peter’s vehicle.

(The new federal government IR laws allowed me to fire him!).

2:45 PM – Legendary bog hole show is over and the trip leader announced that it was time for afternoon tea break. All gathered for afternoon tea beside Henk’s vehicle as he was letting in some air under the bonnet and the cabin to let things dry. The kids were let free to play in the bush under the watchful eyes of the parents. Henk felt that his vehicle needed new suspension but he does not know how to get approval from his wife. Penny revealed that once she sent her partner, Ian, (Playdoh) with $2 to get a can of tomato soup. Ian returned sometime later with a car. Ian responded that it is easier to say sorry than please and hence the new motto for CITYWEST was formed.

3:04 PM – We decided to head down Croziers to the air down point. By 4:02 PM we were all aired up. The trip leader returned everyone’s envelopes (thanks to a reminder by Playdoh) and gave his final trip briefing. We were all back in our vehicles, disengaged 4WD, engaged 2WD and drove out of Tallarook (I mean, Cobaw) and headed towards Lancefield. My family certainly did have a fun day and I have no doubt that others had the same.

It’s 9:15 PM on Monday night and I have to get off my computer, get the kids into bed and find a TV for the 9:30 PM show on channel 10. My wife is recording something on another channel. I might have to switch the channel. I will say sorry when she finds out because …

“IT’S EASIER TO SAY SORRY THAN PLEASE”.
- Sunil & Ashrin Chand (#65)