G'day all,
Fronting up a week late for IMD, 6 Mokes gathered at Andy W's place (Wallangarra on the QLD/NSW border) for a weekend of off-road exploring around Tenterfield and Girraween. Two of the Mokes were Andy's but let's not worry about details. The other attendees were James from Mackay, Newie (+ dad), Piggy, Dean (and Dean jnr) and myself.
Saturday was spent welcoming the arriving Mokes and drivers (over a period from 11am to 8pm) and setting up camp in the yard. Andy put on an excellent BBQ for us (and local friends and members of the Stanthorpe Car Club). Andy had also spent many late nights in the shed preparing the Moke BBQ (which also doubled as seating area and entertainment centre - see attached photo).
At the last minute, I decided to take on another Moke project and fit our roof top tent to the cali roll bar of Suzuki Moke. A quick trip to local steel suppliers enabled me to fabricate an additional 'roll bar' fixed to the rear bumper mountings. The end result turned out to be very satisfactory (although top speed seemed to be limited to around 90kph into the headwind on the trip down) - see photos (stored and pitched).
We had some rain overnight on Saturday (which turned out to be very welcome as it suppressed the dust for the rest of the long weekend), but it was broadly dry and overcast when we set off for the 250kms round trip (after excellent Bacon and Egg rolls cooked by Piggy). I decided to remove the roof top tent for our off-road excursion (which was left on the ground in the yard).
Andy and Gerry (Andy's neighbour) had scouted a great route for us which started on the dirt just outside Tenterfield and went roughly clockwise through Washpool and Capoompeta National Parks to our lunch stop at Deepwater Inn. The first half of the drive was over some mixed terrain and turned out to be much slower than the second half. There were no dramas (Suzuki Moke sump survived intact) and we pulled over a few times to take photos and admire the scenery.
Deepwater Inn did us proud for lunch and as promised they put up a post on their facebook page. The main bar was proper warm and it was a bit of a struggle to get everyone back outside for part 2 of the drive.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1758133564487254&set=a.1411307722503175.1073741828.100008718814050&type=3&theaterThe second part of our trip took us through Stannum and Torrington into the State Forest, then Pyes Creek Road and Mole River Road (where we stopped for afternoon tea (homemade scones, jam and cream
). The drizzle became a little heavier after lunch and some of the tracks were a bit wetter than the morning. I nearly had a heart attack each time we stopped - I'm not sure Suzuki Moke has ever seen rain let alone dirt tracks. There will be much cleaning and polishing needed this week
After a brisk drive back up the New England Highway, we returned to Andy's for lasagne and a catch up on the day's activities. We had been out for over 9 hours so an early night was called for (well early-ish).
We were all up and out early on Monday (7am) for a shortish run up through Girraween National Park. This drive was over much more difficult terrain and as result Suzuki Moke stayed under the gazebo (I have a problem with grandparents eh Piggy
). I hitched a lift in Yorkie and Andy demonstrated just how really capable Yorkie is. The car is a testament to Andy's wide-ranging skills and would put some 4WDs to shame.
We were back at 8:30 for another excellent Piggy breakfast before starting to get ready for the trip home. Andy kindly lent me his motorcycle waterproofs which kept the rain gods at bay for my drive back up to Brisbane.
A number of thank yous:
1. To Andy for letting us use his premises and looking after us so well. He refused to take any money for catering etc, instead setting up a collection tin for Careflight (to which we all contributed).
2. Fellow SEQ and NSW mokers for the excellent company and banter (no doubt there will be more photos added to this post by our resident David Baillie a.k.a. Dean and others)
3. Newie and Piggy for their exceptional cooking skills.
4. The locals (for making us all feel very welcome).
I ended up doing just over 800 trouble-free kms (average fuel consumption 8.5l/100kms). Now where's the bucket, sponge and chamois?
Cheers Adrian
Topic: Mokes in the Mountains - it wasn't too wet, cold or muddy honest (Read 1038 times)