If you don't know very much about real bush driving, I am strongly
in favour of joining a 4WD Club. They are not all hoons by any means,
and many run group outings to places of great interest, often full of
birds. Safer than going solo. You can learn some useful dodges too.
If going to unfrequented places, you really should be prepared to
cope with things that happen.
About 15 years ago, when our Landrover 110 was still newish, we
fitted a new electric winch and used during the day to haul obstacles
out of the way, and then made camp in a Gippsland forest on top of a
hill. A nice flattish spot at a logging-track junction. Come the dawn,
we found both batteries were absolutely flat. Blame Lucas, Prince of
Darkness!
We were just over the hilltop, pointing very slightly downhill. It
looked bad. However, we were able to turn the car round, by jacking it
up in front with the high-lift jack till it was unstable, and pushing it
off sideways each time. Obviously you should take care with this. The
back-wheels were somewhat obstructed by dirt being pushed up, but we
cleared this with the shovel. We also used the long bark strips (left by
loggers) to provide smooth going. After a good many jack-ups, we got
the LR facing the right way - still with a few yards to go of very
slight up-grade.
We could now fix a rope to the road's signpost, and use the
high-lift jack sideways as a winch. Hard work, but we were younger then,
and once onto the down-grade, even a very slight one, it became possible
to get it rolling. Once rolling, the engine would of course start, and
we made it into Bairnsdale to make an appointment at 12 noon. Let's
see them do all that in an automatic! - and I had a glimpse of a White
Goshawk across a valley too.
Another frequent occurrence in forests is finding a tree down
across the track. It's wonderful what you can do with a bow-saw and a
drag-chain, assuming it isn't six feet thick.
Anthea Fleming
in Ivanhoe
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