G'day all, I was asked (more like ganged up on) to do the report for today's 4wd M&G to the Border Ranges so here goes nothing. It all began with a message from Lucky_Phill which read as follows :-
Subject: offroad again
« Date: 26.12.06 at 20:00:51 » I am doing the Border Ranges " dirty weekend " trip this Saturday.
pm me back if you are able to come along.
Phill
Considering that it took me two weeks to get the time together to finally remove all the mud and scratches from the duco after the last M&G to Mt.Mee it didn't take me long to reply with a "Yes" answer seeing as it is so much fun to get out on these drives. Even though this trip was deemed to be a lot tamer than the previous two I was expecting a drive through some of our best forest and scenery. It wasn't long before we had a few more interested people in coming along so our meet up point was organized at the Golden Arches at Beaudesert. The vehicles including drivers were Nissan Navara (Phill), Nissan Navara #2 (Paul), Nissan Patrol (Mike), Toyota hilux (Cameron), Pajero (Brian), and Pajero #2(Yours truly).
True to his word Phill had us in our cars and leaving at the agreed time of 9:30am and we headed for Rathdowney to start the tour. Our first stop was a lookout just over the border which gave us a good view overlooking the Brisbane-Sydney railway loop. Some quick group snapshots and off we went again to find some dirt. We managed to find a small road which had a few water crossings which didn't contain much water but managed to get the cars wet so we were all happy.
Our lunch stop was in the heart of some pristine forest and at the base of a 200 metre walk uphill to another lookout known as the Pinnacle. I for one am glad we did the walk because to date I cannot say that I have taken in a nicer view than this one. Awesomely breathtaking views of some of the nicest mountains I have ever seen.
After spending some time at the Pinnacle we packed up and continued on and eventually when we found bitumen again we ended up doing something that was not in the "brochure."
This is where the "twist" comes into it. We somehow (Thanks to Phills navagator Kimbra) ended up in Nimbin. Driving very slowly through the town of Nimbin it became apparent that we were in another world and we had to keep our eyes peeled because evidently these people had less road sense than the average puppy. Pedestrian crossings? Nah.. just cross anywhere man!We drove through Nimbin (all the time listening to my daughter in the back saying "Dad, why are these people so different?") and I was kind of relieved that we didn't stop. Oops, spoke too soon. Next thing our lead vehicle (Phill) has pulled over and is doing a u-turn and heading back to the town. On the UHF radio he tells us that Kimbra wanted to stop in for a drink.
Thanks Kimbra!
Was a different experience but an enjoyable one none the less but now I have to face answering a multitude of questions from my two kids as to why the people there are whacky.
Time is marching on and we headed to Natural Arch (Bridge) as our last stop for the day. Once we arrived we did the walk and with the sun hanging low we could actually see some glow worms to the delight of the kids. Some more photos were taken and the trip has drawn to a close. On our way home we continued to chat on the UHF 21 frequency and it was mutual that today was a fantastic day out. Now I have not covered everything leaving room for some of the other Ausfish Adventurers to add some more to the story if they want to. One thing is for certain is that as per usual the people I meet through Ausfish are the best bunch of people and definitely worth getting to know. What a quality day we had. Thanks from me to all who attended. Drivers and their families were great. First pic is a group shot.
Kind regards,
Poodroo
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