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14th January 2006 Bunyip State Park Day Trip |
| Map: | Rooftop Yarra Valley - West Gippsland Adventure Map |
| Weather: | Overcast start, Fining up, Expected top 26° |
| Track Conditions: | Dry & Dusty |
| Tracks Used: |
Tynong North Road, Tonimbuk – Tynong Road, Gembrook – Tonimbuk Road, Burgess Road, Lawless Track, Pines Track, Helmet Track, Two Dams Track, Reids Track, Black Snake Creek Road, Bunyip River Road, Goana Track, Blue Ridge Road, Mt Beenak Road, Beenak Road – Bunyip Gap Road, Sisters Track, Western Track, Tea Tree Road, Tea Tree Track, Gentle Annie Track, Sunset Track Forest Road. |
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Still Photos:
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Craig Johnston |
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| Todays trip starts at The Four Brothers Scenic Lookout on Burgess Road and after a quick smoko it was time to head off down Lawless Track. |
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| This has great woopty doos and would an absolute pearler in the wet as the gravel surface would be washed away leaving a clay base. I can’t wait for decent rains in Autumn. |
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At the intersection of Lawless and Pines Track, we turned right and travelled along here and turned
right into Helmet Track and a short distance down we turned left into Two Dams Track and continued
along to a left turn onto Reids Track. All of these tracks a clay base and when wet, would be very
slippery with ruts developing on some of these. From Reids Track we turn right onto Black Snake Creek Road for a couple of Kms and veer left onto Bunyip River Road travelling under the power lines and turning left into Goana Track where a partially collapsed bridge must be negotiated. Goana Track climbs from the valley and joins Blue Range Road (quite a few half decent bog holes on this track) which we followed to Beenak Road intersection (Kirth Kiln Park) where we stopped and had lunch. Another track running off the intersection and almost parallel with Blue Range Road is Bunyip Valley Road which would also be a pearler in the wet with a clay base and some ruts. |
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| After lunch we travelled along Mt Beenak Road through Bassan Corner and on past Mt Beenak on our left and a couple more Km’s on, the road changes name to Bunyip Gap Road or Bunyip Road (signs and maps differ). Past Seven Acre Rock picnic ground and a little further on is the intersection of Sisters, Lower Sisters & Gentle Annie Tracks. We turned left onto Sisters Track. |
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This track has got a very big reputation as having lots of ruts some being hip deep and deep bog holes.
There’s a bog hole as you turn left onto the track from Bunyip Gap Road and for the first part the condition
isnt too bad however it does get very steep and the ruts start to appear. Travelling in 1st Low we slowly climb
the ruts and over a couple of sharpish woopty doos and came to a grinding stop as we crested another woopty doo
(wrong line taken). Reverse back a little and take a different line and we were over it. Passing the logged area,
the track is very soft from loggers dust and very dry.
A little further along the Sisters Track, the bush closes in and gives you little room for manouvering and the ruts become damp and slippery. Around a slight right bend and BANG you are confronted 2 bog holes. The first is really a large puddle but the 2nd hole is very large and has a smaller bog next to it, the pitures tell the story. |
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Thirty minutes went past and the On Track 4x4 vehicle was still trying to free itself of the bog.
First few winch attempts on a straight line produced nothing but a relocation of the winch rope to a
bigger tree on a 35° - 40° angle with lots of revs and winching eventually got himself out Next up was
a Patrol wagon which thought it best to hit the bog hole head on ………. Oops it go into the middle and
sank into the mud and couldn’t move. The Green Machine hitched a snatch strap on and tried many times
to free the patrol with no luck when all of a sudden smoke started billowing out from under the bonnet
of The Green Machine … (Andrew burnt out a fan belt). A little while later with new fan belts and a few
more attempts, the Patrol finally got freed and hauled up Sisters track like a toy bouncing on the ground.
A short wheel based Patrol (Dr. Bog) decided to use the smaller bog hole on the right which had a few small logs in it. With his winch rope secured off he went almost through the hole and with a little winch, he was on dry ground. Next up was a Patrol tray and with his turbo whisteling merrily, took to the far right side of the smaller hole and cleared it with no problems. The last vehicle a GU Wagon took the same line as the tray and again success. The guys from that group wanted to drag the Mazda through however I said no as I haven’t got a front recovery hook (I do now) or snorkel (will be fitted shortly). So with that I turned and showed my chicken feathers and came back down Sisters Track to Bunyip Gap Road. Opposite Sisters Track is Gentle Annie Track which we drove up and turned right onto Westerns Track. Apart from a couple of almost dried little bog holes, this track can be done in any 4x2 in the dry. At the end of Westerns we turn left onto Tea Tree Road for a while turning left onto Tea Tree Track. Janruary 2005 I came up here as a passenger and the surface was flat and very slippery with one very slippery section with a bog hole beginning to emerge. 12 months later and the track is dry but has shallow ruts and 3 bog holes in the track. |
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| From Tea Tree Track we turned back onto Bunyip Gap Road and 50mtrs on we Turn left onto Gentle Annie Track. The Eastern side of Gentle Annie is steep with shallow ruts and its surface is very slippery in the wet. On the western side of this track are a |
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couple rocky sections. Left onto Westerns Track again and left back onto Tea Tree Road and a little further on
left into Sunset Track. Bog Holes a beginning to build along the flat however the track gets very steep with the
old Fire Line now disuesed. The Old Fire Line is great if you have crawler gears fitted with large rocks and steepness making this old track a real challenge. We went up the chicken track and made it as far as the third woopty doo. Here I decided that only being one vehicle and late arvo, it would be a good idea to come back another day with a second vehicle in case I needed a snatch. A couple of days later we were back with the second vehicle but this time round the track has had a little rain making the surface slightly slippery Stopping at each woopty doo, we surveyed each section and discussed the best line to take. My Mazda is stock height so I have to take the right line first time or out comes the snatch. About ¾ way up we walked the next section and decided to come along the top of the left bank with my left wheels and the right wheels in the middle of the track. It was feared the ruts were too deep for my Bravo Boss girl so the bank option was tried. After coming round a slight bend which blocked my view of the rest of the track, I straightened up and thought “great I may make it” right before the back right slipped into the rut closest to t he bank and ….oops I looked out the drivers window and said hello track which started to come closer to my door as the truck began to roll. |
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| With OOOHH Arghs and laughter from the other guys I remembered that I forgot a clean pair of undies. The ute pivoting on the tow bar, stayed that way for what seems like 30mins but really only 10 minutes as the guys talked about how to get the ute back on all fours. With DJ hanging onto the bull bar to weigh the front corner down, inch by inch I backed down to level ground. |
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| Back on all fours I decided to go up the ruts (for obvious reasons) but only made it ¾ before traction was lost. Half a dozen or so tries and after filling the ruts up with small timber, it was decided to turn around and head back down to Tea Tree Road. We made it ¾ the way to the intersection of Sunset & Gentle Annie Tracks. Down the bottom of Sunset we stopped for a coffee and chat about we did and didn’t do. A great day out. |