4x4 Recce run at Eildon/Big River - Explore new tracks HARD

Eildon / Big River, VIC

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Going to check out the area and hopefully we can find some good technical tracks. I expect the tracks will be steep, rocky and very slippery so be prepared for lots of winching. You will need to be self-sufficient for 2 days. 

 

Your vehicle has to be in top condition. 

I expect you are a very experienced 4wder (3 years+) with a well setup 4wd ready for tackle anything. Your vehicle need to have at least one traction aid (locker) or traction control, decent mud tyres (with tyre size no smaller than 33" unless you are twin locked)  and resonable suspension lift (no less than 2.5" lift). 

 

Note: This is a hard trip and I am not responsible and liable for your safety or vehicle condition. This is not a trip for idiot or hoon and speed is not your friend in this trip.

 

Primary Camp Ground (Kendalls B aka The Boys Camping Area)

 

 

Secondary camp ground

For whatever reasons we cannot use The Boys Camping Area (Kendall B), we will use another camp ground 15 mins away, called Ned Gully Camping Ground, located at Cathedral Range State Park. The location is here (https://goo.gl/maps/WSj7JEP73EE2). Unfortunately for this camp ground, the camping area is separate from carpark so it may not be as convenient as the first camp ground. I will also inform everyone if we do decide to move to the second camp ground, Ned Gully Camping Ground. 

 

 

 

 

 

Requirement

  • Electric Winch
  • Recovery Gear
  • Kelvin (TREXGQ) I am first-aid qualified Trip Leader - Level 6 (Completed over 84 trips) Premium Member

    GOING
    Myself onlyChecked-In (22-Jul-2016 15:52)
    TREXGQ (1993 Patrol)
    • 33" Tyres, 3" Lifted
    • Front Diff Lock
    • Winch

  • John (JRP) Trip Leader - Level 1 (Completed over 3 trips)

    GOING
    Myself onlyChecked-In (22-Jul-2016 12:04)
    79 series (2017 79 series)
    • 33" Tyres, 2" Lifted
    • Front & Rear Locker
    • Winch

  • Peter (GQ351C)

    GOING
    Driver + 1 AdultChecked-In (21-Jul-2016 23:20)
    GQ351C (1990 GQ Patrol)
    • 35" Tyres, 3" Lifted
    • Front & Rear Locker
    • Winch

  • Steven (ReefMaster) Trip Leader - Level 1 (Completed over 5 trips) Premium Member

    GOING
    Myself onlyChecked-In (15-May-2020 22:04)
    V6 (2012 Fj Cruiser)
    • 33" Tyres, 2" Lifted
    • Front & Rear Locker
    • Winch

  • Dave (Stoops) Trip Leader - Level 1 (Completed over 4 trips) Premium Member


    I am Interested / In Waiting List
    Jeep Wrangler crd (2009 Jk Wrangler)
    • 33" Tyres, 3" Lifted
    • Front & Rear Locker
    • Winch

  • John (Evltd)


    I am Interested / In Waiting List
    Ls1 gq ute / 4.6 Rangie classic (1989 Gq)
    • 37" Tyres, 7" Lifted
    • Front & Rear Locker
    • Winch

  • Hussein (Hussytd42)


    I am Interested / In Waiting List
    76 series cruiser (2016 Landcruiser)
    • 35" Tyres, 2" Lifted
    • Front & Rear Locker
    • Winch

  • Antony (Peloza79) Trip Leader - Level 6 (Completed over 54 trips) Premium Member


    I am Interested / In Waiting List
    Vdj79 landcruiser (2013 Landcruiser)
    • 33" Tyres, 2" Lifted
    • Front & Rear Locker
    • Winch

Matthew (discomatt)
How do trips fill so quick, haven't been able to get onto a trip for months and its starting to piss me off. Its not as though I never check the forum either, I get on and check for new trips at least twice a day and all I ever see is full trips.
This one was not listed at 4.00pm yesterday and at 7.45am the next morning its already full GRRRRR
07 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
I know what you mean Matt. But the things is... the trip was posted around 9ish last night and most of our members would have got the email before midnight... as you know there are literally hundreds of members waiting for new trips so its really a game of fast clicker......
Having said tha there are no reasosns why you can't post and run your own trips.... you have the map... you can read the route... time to give back to the community....
07 Jul 2016
Colin (Col_and_Nic)
Matthew (discomatt) wrote: How do trips fill so quick, haven't been able to get onto a trip for months and its starting to piss me off. Its not as though I never check the forum either, I get on and check for new trips at least twice a day and all I ever see is full trips.
This one was not listed at 4.00pm yesterday and at 7.45am the next morning its already full GRRRRR
The problem is there isn't enough people posting trips for the amount of people wanting to be led. Most trips are filling within a few hours.
07 Jul 2016
Matthew (discomatt)
That is exactly what I was thinking after I had my little sook, will just start running my own trips and ensure I get a spot :)
Have done heaps of month and week long trips over the last couple of years but over the last 12 months have not got out on weekenders or day trips nearly enough, time to fix that!!
07 Jul 2016
Allan (allanmac) Premium Member
Matthew (discomatt) wrote: How do trips fill so quick, haven't been able to get onto a trip for months and its starting to piss me off. Its not as though I never check the forum either, I get on and check for new trips at least twice a day and all I ever see is full trips.
This one was not listed at 4.00pm yesterday and at 7.45am the next morning its already full GRRRRR
Matt, think you are one of the many here who have the same issue. It has been brought up before, but not many members where prepared to comment on the subject, that being DROP THE EMAIL SYSTEM!.

Am not trying to be mischievous in anyway, but not everyone is in a position to check their emails 24/7, so for the many who cant, they are at a distinct disadvantage from the start. As I have said before, if the email system for upcoming trips was dropped, it would mean EVERYONE would have to check the site for upcoming trips. IMO a 'win win' as a more level playing ground to join a trip and added bonus is that by having to log into the site, it might become a little more active.

Maybe it is time to re visit this issue that IMO is only going to become a bigger problem in the near future, especially when the weather improves.

Anyway, hope the guys who are attending Kelvin's trip have a great time.
07 Jul 2016
Antony (Peloza79) Premium Member
Only problem with this site is not enough trips being run! I am not having a stab at anyone in particular but there are a lot of suggestions on how to improve the site from a lot of people and not one address the real issue of there being not enough trips. If people (who are semi/experienced) are going to join a trip they should be able to lead a trip. With enough trips there shouldn't be an issue on as many people missing out
07 Jul 2016
Matthew (discomatt)
Agree with the email issue but even with the current system numerous times I have seen trips fill before I have even received the email so the issue is not enough trips which can only be fixed one way....
07 Jul 2016
Allan (allanmac) Premium Member
Probably not the place to discuss this but, agree Antony and Matt re; not enough trips but there are many many members who for whatever reason dont want to lead trips but prefer to just take part. I think when the weather improves there will be more posted but irrespective of enough trips or not, Matt rightly pointed out that many trips fill before he, and I suspect many others, even receive the email.
07 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions. Let's keep the conversation separate and keep this for discussing for this trip only. We are listening, but it's not a problem we can easily solve. Even we have suddenly 5-10 more trips posted per month, they will still be filled quickly regardless. I have also seen many trips with no takers at all. Again, this is the nature of 4wd trips and there are no silver bullet.
What's important is your passion and your contribution to the 4wd community, not just for this site but across the whole market/community. For those who are experienced, get out of your comfort zone and start leading trips. Yes the weather plays a major part too. Anyway, let's move on and bring this discussion on our forum. Thank you for all your inputs :)
07 Jul 2016
Antony (Peloza79) Premium Member
WITHDRAWN from Trip - Reason: Unfortunately Toyota won't have a new starter Moter for me for nearly a month so I will just jump in with my brother
07 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Antony (Peloza79) wrote: WITHDRAWN from Trip - Reason: Unfortunately Toyota won't have a new starter Moter for me for nearly a month so I will just jump in with my brother
Damn it!...
07 Jul 2016
Matthew (discomatt)
Ah crap now there is a spot and the better half tells me we are busy that weekend, did anyone hear me swear....
07 Jul 2016
Luke (bushstig)
I could meet you guys sat night somewhere after work if need a recovery vehicle. Haha haven't seen you guys for a while, if you like??? If not I will be up there anyway somewhere hunting.
07 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Luke (bushstig) wrote: I could meet you guys sat night somewhere after work if need a recovery vehicle. Haha haven't seen you guys for a while, if you like???
Hey mate, love to catchup with you again but not sure where we will be camping on Sat night though
07 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Welcome Steven... looking forward to meeting you. Just for my information. .. have you done much hard trips in the past?..
08 Jul 2016
Hussein (Hussytd42)
Hey guys if anyone withdraws from the trip prior to it can they let me know. I know there's a few others interested but you never know what happens.
0429428388
Cheers guys
09 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Steven (ReefMaster) wrote: Yes I have done hard trails in the past. During my younger years - my friends and I would go places and I had great exposure to many trails but who ever remembers their names ? (I used to be a big drinker at night so memories are missing :))and to be honest have driven 4wds since 1998 . I used to have a GU Patrol , a Prado and the past few years a Pajero. Over the years I have garnered enough trips including some in NSW which were hmmm rock cra ...
That's great to know you are a very experienced 4wder. We should definitely share our stories around the warm fire :) Looking forward to meeting you.
09 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Hi all, please respond and let me know if you are going to camp on Friday night. Thanks. If you are keen, I am happy to meet up somewhere on the way. I probably won't be there till 9ish.
14 Jul 2016
John (JRP)
Kelvin (TREXGQ) wrote: Hi all, please respond and let me know if you are going to camp on Friday night. Thanks. If you are keen, I am happy to meet up somewhere on the way. I probably won't be there till 9ish.
Kelvin, yes happy to camp on the Friday night but will meet you at camp, not sure what time will be leaving home yet (depends when me and Antony finish work).
Also not sure how to update it but Antony will be in the car with me as his has broken down AGAIN and waiting on parts.
Thanks....
14 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
John (JRP) wrote:
Kelvin (TREXGQ) wrote: Hi all, please respond and let me know if you are going to camp on Friday night. Thanks. If you are keen, I am happy to meet up somewhere on the way. I probably won't be there till 9ish.
Kelvin, yes happy to camp on the Friday night but will meet you at camp, not sure what time will be leaving home y ...
Haha no worries John. If possible, you can ask Antony to "Interest" in this trip so that we can also keep him in the loop in our comments. I will see you at the camp.
15 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Steven (ReefMaster) wrote:
Kelvin (TREXGQ) wrote: Hi all, please respond and let me know if you are going to camp on Friday night. Thanks. If you are keen, I am happy to meet up somewhere on the way. I probably won't be there till 9ish.
Hi Kelvin,
I will be be camping Friday night as the Saturday morning drive will mean I have to wake up ...
Just sent you a PM
15 Jul 2016
Peter (GQ351C)
I will also be camping Friday night, but not sure on what time I'll be getting there.
15 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Hi all, to show my commitment, I have done a recce trip to the area to check out the camp sites and tracks condition. The camp is good, should be plenty of room to fit 5 cars. There is a drop toilet. It's right next to a creek, pretty good location. It's a No.2 Kendalls camp (it's signed post, and it's NOT called The Boy's camp though it was stated on the map), the first Kendalls camp is closed in Winter.

Unfortunately most of the tracks in the area are either seasonal closed or permanently closed. My plan is to head to a very narrow track (on Rooftop map only) which is around 15 mins drive from our camp. The track is not long, I only walk in for about 300m. It looks interesting and technical, with deep rut. It's not a steep track so shouldn't be a problem even in wet.

Depends on how long it will take us to finish, we may head to a few sightseeing points (a spectacular waterfall and an awesome lookout).

I plan to head south to Big River area where there should be more interesting tracks to be checked out.

Again, this is an exploration trip so there will be plenty of surprises, unknown, turning around, deadend, etc..... so no whinging please :)

I will meet up with a few at maccas in Lilydale at 7pm. If you would like to head there together, meet me there.

Get your truck, winch, recovery gear ready. It will be cold, probably we will see some snow too...... yes I did drive on snow on Sat in my recce run :)

If possible, bring a bag of firewood too. Unfortunately it is not allowed to cut firewood at Rubicon State Park so we will have limited firewood supply on Fri night.

See you on Fri.
17 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Sounds good Steven. I will bring my stove but may use your Webber if they cook better :)
18 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Hi again. We will now meet at 8pm in Lilydale if you want to head to camp on Fri night together. Otherwise see you all at camp.
20 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
HI guys, just updated the trip details. I have picked a secondary camp (Ned Gully Camp) for Fri night in case the first camp is full/occupied. See latest trip details.

Secondary camp ground
For whatever reasons we cannot use The Boys Camping Area (Kendall B), we will use another camp ground 15 mins away, called Ned Gully Camping Ground, located at Cathedral Range State Park. The location is here (https://goo.gl/maps/WSj7JEP73EE2). Unfortunately for this camp ground, the camping area is separate from carpark so it may not be as convenient as the first camp ground. I will also inform everyone if we do decide to move to the second camp ground, Ned Gully Camping Ground.
20 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
[Private Message Sent] - If you are GOING, please check your inbox.
20 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Car is packed!........... see you all at The Boys Camping Area (Kendall B) tomorrow night around 9pm.
21 Jul 2016
Peter (GQ351C)
I haven't packed yet but will do tomorrow, I'm expecting to get there at around 11pm.
See you all there. Cheers Peter
21 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Peter (GQ351C) wrote: I haven't packed yet but will do tomorrow, I'm expecting to get there at around 11pm.
See you all there. Cheers Peter
No worries mate, pack warm...it will be cold.....
21 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Hi guys...just found out i have a leaking alternator return ooil hose... i am trying to replace it but may not be able to get to camp by 9pm... Steven i will let you know if I am going to run late... if yes please head to camp first and i will meet you there... very sorry for any inconvenience
22 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Ok car is fixed... should be camp 9.30-10pm...
22 Jul 2016
Jason (FauxBogan) Premium Member
Awesome trip! If anyone with vid of me could post it to Facebook I'd appreciate it. I don't have much footage of myself. See you all soon.
24 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Haha yes it was an awesome trip. .. great company... great tracks and points of interest... great campsite...mud...rock... rut... hillclimb...snow... deer...waterfall... can't wait to do it again...
I will upload all my videos on 4wdtrip Facebook and post photos here as well...
Until next time....
24 Jul 2016
Allan (Big Pig) Premium Member
Jason (FauxBogan) wrote: Awesome trip! If anyone with vid of me could post it to Facebook I'd appreciate it. I don't have much footage of myself. See you all soon.
How did you weasel your way in to a full trip, did you pay the trip leader, I don't even think you where on the interested list ?
24 Jul 2016
Jason (FauxBogan) Premium Member
😆 I tried to run a trip last week which no one could commit to as I gave such short notice, so I cancelled. I was pretty bummed out cos I can't get our again until September. I assume Kelvin noticed my comments and the trip cancelation and he kindly offered me a spot on the trip. And guess what...IT WAS AWESOME! The perfect balance of sleep ins, camp fires, pubs, panel damage and red lining. 😆
24 Jul 2016
Peter (GQ351C)
Great trip Kelvin, Mimma and I had a great time.
It was good exploring a different area with lots to see with a bit of everything.
I've put up all the video's I took in the "files" icon
Enjoy, Cheers Peter
25 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Thanks Peter, great to have you guys on hard/explore trip like this. I will run more explore trips and will certainly see you again.
25 Jul 2016
Peter (GQ351C)
Kelvin (TREXGQ) wrote: Thanks Peter, great to have you guys on hard/explore trip like this. I will run more explore trips and will certainly see you again.
Cheers mate
25 Jul 2016
John (JRP)
Thanks Kelvin for a great weekend. Great tracks with a great group of people to head out with.
Thanks again.
25 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Steven (ReefMaster) wrote: Hi Kelvin , if there is any vids of the Pajero that look decent , please feel free to upload to the 4wdtrip Facebook or here . I am particular interested in the incline mud climb . That definitely had the adrenaline rushing :)
Yes I will upload them over the next few days. Cheers mate.
25 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
John (JRP) wrote: Thanks Kelvin for a great weekend. Great tracks with a great group of people to head out with.
Thanks again.
Good to have you both.... fun to be the last car right :) .....
25 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Hi all,

I've uploaded all my pictures to the Photos section. Enjoy :)

http://www.4wdtrip.com.au/offroad/trip/photos.aspx?tripid=482
30 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Hi mate, first few tracks don't have name. The last track is called Fireline No.2 at Big River.
30 Jul 2016
Trip Leader Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member
Garry (Gazza) wrote: Do you have the name of some of those tracks? Wouldn't mind have a look in that area. Cheers
Hi mate, first few tracks don't have name. The last track is called Fireline No.2 at Big River.
30 Jul 2016
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TRIP COMPLETED

4 GOING, 4 Interested
5 adults
Trip Date
23-Jul-2016 (Sat) to 24-Jul-2016 (Sun)

Meeting Point
The Boys Camping Area (Kendall B) at Rubicon
8:30 AM (Sat, 23-Jul-2016)

TRIP FULL

Organiser 4WD TRIP
Kelvin (TREXGQ) Premium Member

View my trips